Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince William and Prince Harry looked sombre as they followed Prince Philip's custom-built Land Rover hearse on his final journey.

The first in line to the throne, his sister and sons - who were separated by Anne's son Peter Philips - were visibly moved as they followed the modified motor across the grounds of Windsor Castle to St George's Chapel.

Prince Andrew, Prince Edward. Vice-Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, and the Earl of Snowden also took part in the moving procession.

The coffin was adorned with a wreath of white lilies and roses, white freesia, white wax flower, white sweet peas and jasmine, personally chosen by The Queen, as well as the late royal's personal standard, his naval cap and sword.

The 94-year-old monarch had traveled behind in a Bentley and was seen arriving at the doors of the chapel.

A national minute's silence was then held in The Duke's honor at 3pm.

The Queen, who stood alone due to COVID-19 social distancing restrictions, was seen with her head bowed inside the chapel as the nation fell silent to remember her husband of 73 years.

Once inside, William, 38, stood in front of Harry, 36, as the siblings put their rumored rift aside to pay their respects to their late grandfather - who died on April 9, at the age of 99.

It's the first time the brothers have been seen together since Harry relocated to the US with his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, after the couple stepped down as senior royals last year.

Prince William, Duchess Catherine and Charles were among the first to arrive earlier today.

William wore a black suit and tie and face mask, while his wife, Catherine, 39, wore a netted veil over her mask, and pearls and matching earrings from the Queen as a nod to her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, who had previously worn the necklace.

The Prince of Wales, 72, was seen arriving in a Tesla with his wife Camila, the Duchess of Cornwall, 73.

The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin was moved from Windsor Castle's private chapel ahead of his funeral this afternoon (04.17.21).

The casket was transported by a bearer party, from the Queens Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, from the chapel to the inner hall at 11am.

Philip had served as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards for 42 years.

Following the moving funeral, Philip was interred in the Royal Vault at Windsor Castle in front of millions of viewers for the first time in Royal history.

The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin was lowered into the burial chamber beneath the chapel - which was constructed between 1804 and 1810 on the instruction of King George III.

At previous royal funerals, only The Queen and close members of the royal family would be present.

It won't be his final resting place, however, as Philip - who died on April 9 at the age of 99 - will be transferred to the gothic church's King George VI memorial chapel to lie alongside his wife of 73 years, when she dies.

Queen's father George VI, her mother the Queen Mother, and sister Princess Margaret's remains are also located at the same memorial.
NASA chose SpaceX on Friday to build the lunar lander that will eventually put the first woman and person of colour on the moon.

The announcement came a few hours after SpaceX's most international crew of astronauts yet arrived in Florida for a liftoff next week.

Elon Musk's Starship  the futuristic, shiny steel rocketship that's been launching and exploding in Texas  beat out landers proposed by Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Dynetics, a subsidiary of Leidos. The contract is worth $2.89 billion.

We won't stop at the moon, said NASA's acting administrator Steve Jurczyk. Mars is the ultimate goal, he told reporters.

NASA declined to provide a target launch date for the moon-landing Artemis mission, saying a review is underway. The Trump administration had set a 2024 deadline, but on Friday, NASA officials called it a goal.

We'll do it when it's safe," said Kathy Lueders, who leads NASA's human space exploration office.

She indicated NASA and SpaceX are shooting for later this decade. The astronauts will fly to the moon on the NASA-launched Orion capsule, then transfer to Starship in lunar orbit for the ride down to the surface and back.

NASA has said at least one of the first moonwalkers since 1972 would be the first woman on the moon. Another goal of the program, according to the space agency, is to send a person of colour to the lunar surface.

The SpaceX prototype Starship hopper stands at the Boca Chica Beach site in Texas. NASA chose SpaceX on Friday to build the lunar lander that will eventually put the first woman and person of color on the moon. The announcement came a few hours after SpaceX's most international crew of astronauts yet arrived in Florida for a liftoff next week. (AP)

On Friday, Jurczyk greeted the four astronauts arriving at Kennedy Space Center for SpaceX's third crew launch in less than a year. By coincidence, their flight to the International Space Station is set for next Thursday  Earth Day. It's a reminder of NASA's core mission of studying the home planet, Jurczyk said.

The three men and one woman represent the US, France, and Japan: NASA's Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, Thomas Pesquet, and Akihiko Hoshide, all experienced space fliers.

It's definitely getting real, Kimbrough, the spacecraft commander, said after arriving by plane from Houston.

This will be SpaceX's first crew flight to use a recycled Falcon rocket and Dragon crew capsule. NASA turned to US private companies for crew transport after the space shuttle programme ended in 2011.

Certainly, I think all of them, until we get several years under our belt, should be considered test flights, Kimbrough told reporters.

SpaceX uses the same kind of rocket and similar capsules for supply deliveries, and recycles those as well.

McArthur is the only member of the crew who has yet to visit the space station. She flew the shuttle to the Hubble Space Telescope in 2009. And launching out of Kennedy is new to Pesquet after more than 11 years as an astronaut.

We're living in the golden age of human spaceflight, said Pesquet, a former Air France pilot. Looks like everybody, every country, has a project or a spacecraft.

The astronauts left the runway in a pair of white gull-winged Teslas; SpaceX founder Musk also runs the electric car company. They had an early bedtime to sync up with what will be pretty much an all-nighter Thursday. Liftoff time is 6:11 am.

The four will replace the SpaceX crew that launched last November. Those four will return to Earth at the end of April. A fresh three-person Soyuz crew, meanwhile, arrived at the space station last week from Kazakhstan, replacing two Russians and one American due back on Earth this weekend.
Styling: Holly Elgeti. Make-up: Nicky Weir using Hourglass Beauty. Hair: Alex Szabo at Carol Hayes using T3 Haircare. Dress, Temperley London. Earrings, Motley x Scott Wilson. Rings, Daisy Jewellery, Pilgrim

One of the many unanticipated side-effects of a pandemic is that time loses meaning. One minute youre on a crowded train to work without it even having crossed your mind to sanitise your hands; the next, youre a year into lockdown, have a mask in every pocket and a codependent relationship with your cat.

So instead of using my watch or calendar, Ive measured out lockdown in television hours.

The pandemic kicked off with Tiger King, which we watched wrongly believing the whole thing would blow over by the time we found out what really happened to Joe Exotic. Then we segued to Normal People  six hours of perfectly crafted TV where not much happened, but in a beautiful way which made us feel better about not much happening in our own lives. There was the Selling Sunset phase, the I May Destroy You phase, the Married At First Sight phase and throughout it all, like a distant drumbeat signalling the onward march of an approaching army, there were the press conferences, which saw Chris Whitty catapulted to a much-loved national treasure.

Now that were cautiously allowing ourselves to catch a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, weve entered the final chapter which is, of course, the Line of Duty phase.

There are many reasons I love Line of Duty: the fact that screenwriter Jed Mercurio refuses to pander to the viewer and bombards us with sharp, smart dialogue, which is 85 per cent acronyms you have to google. Its a rewarding viewing experience because you have to commit your full attention. Its also good old-fashioned event television: you cant binge it as the BBC releases it weekly at 9pm on a Sunday. Theres the mind-blowing plot twists and superlative acting, especially Adrian Dunbar as Superintendent Ted Hastings uttering his catchphrases about bent coppers and sucking diesel.

But now in its sixth series, its become blindingly obvious that, above all, what I value about Line of Duty is its treatment of women. In this programme, the women are in senior positions of power without a single eyebrow being raised. They are allowed to be complicated and unlikable and mysterious and often downright criminal. Some of the most dastardly masterminds have been female  including the terrifying DI Lindsay Denton in series two, played by Keeley Hawes in a career-defining performance.

Nor are they expected to wear sexualised or feminine clothes: Line of Duty women are more accustomed to trouser suits or armoured vests than anything as impractical as a dress. Unlike other police procedurals, they do not have their private lives pored over unless its necessary for the plot. So we know DI Kate Fleming (played brilliantly by Vicky McClure) is divorced and has a young son, but only because of occasional glimpses and not because it interferes with her work. We suspect there might be a flirting undertone to her interactions with DCI Jo Davidson (Kelly Macdonald) but its hinted at without prurience. Many dramas have women emoting uncontrollably. Not Line of Duty. Instead, Fleming or Davidson portray their internal feelings with the slightest forehead wrinkle or twitch of a lip.

All of which means that the women in Line of Duty are powerful. They do not for one minute expect or need our sympathy. But heres the thing: because they do not conform to stereotypes, we end up rooting for them anyway  even the baddies. And thats the most satisfying plot twist of all.

This week I'm...
What's changed?

After a rollercoaster week of changes, Ireland's vaccine roll out plan has been revised again for what health chiefs say is the 25th time. Now, the AstraZeneca vaccine is limited to the over-60s and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been paused by the manufacturer, while Ireland will now receive an additional 545,000 Pfizer vaccines.

Officials provided a brief update on what is going to happen in the coming weeks, essentially issuing a revised vaccine model without Johnson & Johnson factored in. Most the additional Pfizer doses will be available from mid-summer onwards.

When will I get my vaccine?

People aged 60 to 69 will still receive the AstraZeneca vaccine in the coming weeks.

The portal to book vaccination slots launched for 65-69 year olds yesterday and vaccination starts early next week; 60-64 year olds will be able to register in late April.

Very high risk people aged 16 to 59 will have vaccinations resuming next week and completed by mid-May, while the high risk group aged 18-59 may be vaccinated in parallel if medically advised. All first doses should be issued by early June to those groups.

As for the general population aged under 60, it is unlikely they will receive a vaccine until June. However, the HSE remains confident 80% of all adults will be vaccinated by the end of that month.

People aged 60 to 69 will still receive the AstraZeneca vaccine in the coming weeks. Picture: AP

Hold on  I have already received one jab. What happens next?

People in a younger age group who already received their first dose of AstraZeneca, which mainly includes thousands of healthcare workers who started their jabs, and some people in the group 4 category who have a high risk of mortality or severe illness, will have their second jab despite the changes.

Healthcare workers have a 16-week interval between jabs, while those in group 4 have a 12-week interval between shots.

What happens if you dont want a certain type of vaccine?

You will not be permitted to choose the vaccine you want, despite a number of vaccinations being used in Ireland.

Anyone who refuses an AstraZeneca vaccine will have to wait until the entire population is vaccinated to be offered an alternative, the Tanaiste warned yesterday.

Okay  when will the programme be finished?

The Government remains confident that their target of having 80% of the adult population receiving one dose of the vaccine by the end of June, despite the series of setbacks.

It is hoped that Johnson & Johnson will be accessed quickly by the European Medicines Agency this week and will be reinstated back into Ireland's vaccine plan. Health officials last night stressed that these have been minor bumps to the plan  and it would take something far more significant to slow down the plan to reopen the country.
Catholic priests group backs bill requiring Christian adoption agencies to place kids with LGBT adults

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A group of Catholic priests has come out in support of a bill that would require all adoption agencies that receive federal funding to place children with same-sex couples.

The Association of U.S. Catholic Priests, which describes itself as a pastoral voice of compassion, hope and joy in our pilgrim church and world, has expressed support for the "Every Child Deserves a Family Act."

According to the Lepanto Institute, a research and education organization dedicated to preserving the traditional teachings of the Catholic Church, the bill would effectively shut down the adoption services of Catholic Charities by mandating homosexual adoptions as well as potentially adopting children to couples of any belief system, including active satanists.

In its March 28 E-Bulletin, the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests touted the Every Child Deserves a Family Act as a bill promoting the best interests of children in the foster care and adoption system by ending discrimination against LGBTQ+ and religious minority youth, foster parents, and families. It encourages readers to sign onto a letter urging members of Congress to support the measure.

As people of faith, we celebrate the important work of the many faith-based child welfare agencies that support and foster youth, the letter adds. Yet, some states have laws that allow taxpayer-funded child welfare agencies to misuse religious freedom to turn away prospective parents and in some cases, limit services to children due to their religion, marital status, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Such discriminatory practices break the cardinal rule of child welfare, to always act in the best interest of the child.

We are committed to religious freedom and believe that it need not conflict with other essential rights and protections. Religious freedom protects everyones right to practice the religion of their choice or no religion at all, as long as doing so does not inflict harm on others. To argue that religious freedom justifies the use of taxpayer dollars to discriminate against children and prospective parents is a distortion of such freedom and a misunderstanding of civil rights law.

The Every Child Deserves a Family Act was introduced in the 116th Congress but it failed to become law. While the bill has not been introduced in the 117th Congress, the push by the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests to support the bill comes after Sister Simone Campbell, a nun well-known for her progressive political views and social justice advocacy, wrote an op-ed in support of the measure in February.

In addition to prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or religion in the provision of child welfare programs and services by entities receiving federal funding, the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, as introduced in 2019, would require the establishment of the National Resource Center on Safety, Well-Being, Placement Stability, and Permanency for LGBTQ Children and Youth Involved with Child Welfare Services to provide training, technical assistance, and guidance to applicable state and local agencies and service providers.

Additionally, the bill would prohibit the use of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as a basis for challenging the provisions of the measure.

While the Every Child Deserves a Family Act has yet to be introduced in the 117th Congress, congressional Republicans have already introduced a measure designed to enable faith-based foster care providers to carry out their business practices in accordance with their religious beliefs about marriage and sexuality. The "Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act," introduced last month, faces an uphill battle for passage in the 117th Congress, with Democrats in control of both chambers of Congress and the White House.

Conservatives warn that the religious liberty of faith-based foster care providers is in danger even without the passage of the Every Child Deserves a Family Act. Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Greg Baylor warned that the passage of the Equality Act, a sweeping civil rights package billed as a necessary measure to enshrine nondiscrimination protections for the LGBT community into federal law, has no exemption for religious foster care providers.

The Equality Act has already passed the Democrat-led House of Representatives but has stalled in the United States Senate due to opposition from both Democrats and Republicans.

In addition to supporting the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests has also come out in favor of the ordination of women as permanent deacons, which has put the organization at odds with its local Roman Catholic diocese.

In a letter announcing the ex-communication of Association of U.S. Catholic Priests representative Beverly Bingle, who attempted to be ordained to both the diaconate and the priesthood, Bishop Daniel Thomas of the Diocese of Toledo warned that affiliation with the group may be a source of grave concern due to the confusion and scandal it has caused.
It's a 46-second video that people can't stop watching:

A man in a placid, sylvan subdivision of suburbia, in this case Burgaw, North Carolina, population 3,872, near Wilmington, was saying "good morning" to a passing jogger, and carrying a car cup and a plastic disposable plate of brownies, probably for his workplace, over to his SUV. He remarks to himself that he needs to wash his car as he begins to load it. His name is Happy, his wife's name is Kristi, she's bringing out a cat-carrier with a cat in it for a trip to the vet, and they are the Wades, getting ready to be off for the day.

Way off in the distance, some sort of animal darts across the street toward him at high speed and gets under one of the driveway cars.

Suddenly, there's an unearthly call-of-the-wild scream, and then the man's wife screams, as some sort of creature claws and crawls up her back and seems to be after the cat, but clawing and biting her as it pursues. She screams in pain and yells to her husband to get away.

The man runs to her instead, not away, emerges, improbably holding the bobcat up like an auntie holding up a baby, and screams: "Oh my G*d, it's a bobcat! Oh my G*d," as the beast thrashes. He then flings the filthy thing about 15 feet across his yard, tossing it end over end like a rag doll, pulls out a gun, yells to the jogger, who runs back, either to gawk or help, and yells at her to "get back! get back! get back!" as the bobcat darts back under the car. Then someone, apparently off camera, seems to question him again and he yells, "It's a bobcat! It attacked my wife!" and he would "shoot the f-----."

...which, it turns out, he does, before the sheriff comes after a neighbor calls 911 and finishes the job himself.

Leftists on Twitter and beyond screamed bloody murder  animal abuse, foolhardiness, etc.  because the man confronted and flung the bobcat instead of running and calling authorities, leaving his wife to fight it in the meantime.

They had little understanding of what an immediate threat the man faced, let alone the dangers it posed, or the merit of his quick actions. They just wanted the bobcat, which is the equivalent of a small lion or tiger in its power and predatory killing instinct, to feel good.

Here's how fast and hard they can strike:

[Bobcat trends on Twitter]



Me:



I said NO PICTURES! pic.twitter.com/bGFMnPsT6e  Natick (Please Do Not Yeet The) Bobcat (@NatickBobCat) April 16, 2021

But anyone watching it could see that this was a good husband, running toward danger, not from it, and protecting his wife from an obvious physical threat.

As news comes out about the disposition of things, it turns out the bobcat was indeed rabid, bit the man three times, bit the man's wife a lot, too, and bit another neighbor earlier. The creature was rabid, vicious, in pain, a hazard to the community, and had to be put down. They underwent painful rabies shots because it clawed and bit them.

After the video drew two million viewers on Twitter (apparently TikTok's pampered tech princes censored it as "violent"), he got interviewed on the local news and responded humbly:

"I'm not happy that this happened, we don't take any pleasure that I shot the cat" Happy said. "I knew when I realized it was a bobcat, having been born and raised in Eastern North Carolina and hunting all my life, you know, that's just not normal." It was later confirmed the Bobcat did have rabies. "In my head, I knew it had already attacked two people. If it had attacked somebody else and I didn't do something, morally it would have bothered me for a long time," Happy said. "It was hurting my wife and I didn't want it to."

What it shows is Americana, as one of the tweeters noted. Specifically, that's courage, self-reliance, quick thinking, not panicking, not waiting for the state, the friendliness of the suburbs, home ownership, SUV rides, gun ownership, and above all, as writer Mollie Hemingway noted, the power of marriage and a good husband. It's everything that's not "woke" in today's culture.

You wouldn't see a snowflake wokester doing any of this.

You want a guy like that around when nature strikes unexpectedly and gets out of control.

Give that man a medal.

Image: Screen shot from Vivint/YouTube video.
The number of Supreme Court Justices has changed many times. It was once 6 justices, then 7, then 9 to 10 then back down to 7 until eventually in 1869 the court was set back to 9, where it has stayed ever since. That is until now, it seems President Biden and Democrat legislators may be changing the number yet again. But this time it is being done wrongly for their own gain.

After Justice Amy Coney Barret was appointed, the imbalance of Republican chosen Justices to Democrat chosen justices has made the idea of expanding the court a hot topic. Even so, during the election Biden never clarified his position on packing the supreme court. Though, now he has now commissioned 180-day study on the Supreme Court. The study is supposed to focus on possible consequences of expanding the number of justices, changes in the way court nominees could be picked and the effects term limits could have.

Even though the study is far from over, there is a new legislation to pack the court being developed by Democrats in the house and senate. It seems likely the decision to pack the court has already been made by Democrat representatives and the study will just be a futile attempt to justify this momentous change. The legislation will add four new justices, making our 9 justices, 13.

The thing is, its not that Republicans are appointing necessarily republican judges the court. Republicans appoint originalist judges. Originalist judges interpret the law in the way its written. Not the way they want it to be written.

In the past the value of an unbiased judge was shared by Democrats and Republicans. However, in recent years Democrats have seen the Supreme Court less of an enforcer of laws and more as a legislator for laws. We elect legislators because they represent us and make the rules that govern us. So, when people start thinking of judges more as legislators, it may beg the question, why dont we vote to elect our Judges? Judges are not supposed to represent Democrats or Republicans. They are not supposed to have opinions or biases. Justices are not elected because they simply interpret the law.

If we set a precedent to change the number of justices whenever one party does not like it, when the next Republican President is elected, can the Right just change it back? If Republicans become the majority in the next two or four years, could they just change it to whatever they want? This could just start a cycle of constantly revising the previous administrations work.

The last time a president tried to pack the court was in the 1930s. President Franklin D. Roosevelt tried to expand the court in the New Deal. It failed, miserably. Then and now, the idea of packing the court for political gain has been rejected by the people. Thats why Biden didnt run with it during the election. According to The Washington Examiner only 34% of Americans support packing the court. With even the Lefts beloved Ruth Bater Ginsburg opposed court packing. In a 2019 interview with NPR, Ginsburg said nine seems to be a good number.

As it turns out, not even some current Democrat representatives want to pack the court. Nancy Pelosi rejected the idea saying, I have no intention to bring it to the floor, when asked about possible legislation to expand the court. This is a nice bit of sanity to see from Pelosi. Its good to know some democrats recognize the consequences of such a change.

But for those who dont understand, instead of rigging the system, how about convincing people to vote for Democrats? It is legal, but wrong to change the system to pass policy, instead of passing policy via getting elected by the people.

When Democrats won Georgia, and took control, it seemed like only a matter of time until they overstepped their boundaries. Now it is clear they have, and Republicans dont hold power. The only way to stop this is to make it clear political votes are on the line if Democrats push this. Right wingers have the responsibility of making it known the majority of people are on our side. If representatives dont listen to the people now, the people wont listen to representatives in 2024.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
FOLLOWING a recent military siege on the northern Mozambican town of Palma by Islamist insurgents, killing dozens, including a Zimbabwean, while leaving a trail of bloodshed and destruction in its wake, President Emmerson Mnangagwa deployed special forces to the gas-rich Cabo Delgado Province to battle the rampaging militants.

Security sources told The NewsHawks this week that Zimbabwe deployed combat special forces to help Mozambicans with the Palma sweeping campaign at the end of March, a week after the deadly attack.

Zimbabwe sent some special forces team into Cabo Delgado in the aftermath of the siege on Palma by Islamic insurgents to help clear out the militants, a security source said.

Soon after the Palma attack, the special forces were deployed working under the Mozambican army to help drive out the militants. They had to go in because of the surprise attack which marked a serious escalation, the subsequent bloodbath and also that there are Zimbabweans who are in there, one of them was actually killed.

Zimbabwes deployment will be followed by a quick regional military manoeuvre under the Mozambican army. Sadc countries want a collective response to avoid being targeted by insurgents individually.

Mozambique prefers a strategic Sadc technical deployment to avoid inflaming the situation into a regional conflict and making the situation worse by drawing in more terrorists from outside.

This comes as Sadc defence ministers from South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe  which form the troika of the organ on politics, defence and security cooperation  are due to meet on Wednesday next week to finalise the regional intervention in Mozambique ahead of troika leaders summit the following day.

Addressing a Zanu PF politburo meeting on Wednesday in Harare, Mnangagwa sounded belligerent and ready for action, a further sign Zimbabwe was already on the ground.

As Zanu PF, we stand in solidarity with our sister party, Frelimo as well as the Government and people of the Republic of Mozambique in the wake of the ongoing disturbances in Cabo Delgado Province, in northern Mozambique. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. United we stand. Hence, we cannot sit back and allow acts of insurgency to continue without a robust regional response. Last week, I therefore attended the Sadc double troika summit in Mozambique, where the regional bloc resolved to immediately make technical deployments towards restoring peace and stability, Mnangagwa was quoted as saying by the state-controlled daily The Herald.

Government is currently working with the Mozambican authorities to establish the number of our nationals who were entrapped during the attack of Palma town, on March 24, 2021. Against this disturbing background, the party structures across all provinces must ensure that our communities are on high-security alert. Let us continue to jealously guard the peace and stability that is existing in our country.

It was confirmed this week that a Zimbabwean hospitality and catering worker, Nyasha Mugwagwa, was killed in Palma. The government, working with his family and the Mozambican authorities, are frantically trying engage a forensic pathologist to exhume his body and repatriate it home for reburial.

The sources said Zimbabwe sent special forces mainly drawn from One Commando Regiment (formerly One Commando Battalion, previously the Rhodesian Light Infantry), based at Cranborne Barracks in Harare and the Special Air Service.

The special forces deployed to Mozambique are more or less the size of a platoon, which usually has about four squads (of between seven and 14 troops each) up to 50 soldiers and is commanded by a lieutenant, the sources said.

The commando regiment is one of the special forces units in the Zimbabwe Defence Forces entrusted with difficult critical operations.

The role of the commandos and other special units is to conduct special operations  like the sweeping of Palma  across an operating continuum, typically expeditionary in nature.

The commandos usually operate either as an independent force element or in support of joint manoeuvres for the conduct of advanced force operations or precision strike missions. In this case, Zimbabwean special forces will operate under the aegis of the Mozambican army, a security source said.

They can operate on their own as they are trained to exceptionally high levels, both physically and psychologically and are expected to perform accordingly, but there are political and operational factors that come into play like in this case.

Commandos are renowned for being mentally tough, quick-thinking and keeping a cool head in difficult and complex situations. They are highly trained and skilled in a range of advanced specialist weapons and equipment.

Commandos operate in small units. For instance, each commando team can be a small group of four or five fighting troops, with a heavy weapons troop, and a signals platoon, the source said.

These soldiers are taken from trained troops for further training. The units are trained to conduct special activities, which include military manoeuvres conducted by specially designated, organised, trained, and equipped forces.

In Zimbabwe, the selection process for special forces training includes four-day day and night navigation in the Zambezi Valley, while carrying a 30kg weight on an empty stomach.

Further, the training curriculum includes river crossing, mountain climbing, reconnaissance, anti-hijacking, sniping, unarmed combat, tracking and bush craft. Also included is jungle survival on wild fruits and natural remedies for medical treatment.

The special forces have been deployed in several African conflicts, including the Mozambique Civil War in the 1980s and 1990s and the Second Congo War from 1998-2002 for Zimbabwe.

The latest Zimbabwean deployment came a week prior to the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) double troika summit in Maputo on 8 April, which authorised an immediate technical deployment into the conflict-ravaged Cabo Delgado region.

The double troika summit combined the Sadc main summit and the troika of the organ on politics, defence and security cooperation summit.

It was attended by six regional leaders, including Sadc chair, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and Sadc organ troika head, Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi.

Security ministers are meeting on 28 April to refine the roadmap for intervention in Mozambique, while security service chiefs are already working on a plan to send in the Sadc standby force.

Although Nyusi wants help, his government is opposed to foreign armies converging in Mozambique in large numbers as he fears that would trigger a regional conflict  drawing in more terrorists  and make the situation worse.

The insurgents have killed over 2 000 people and displaced more than 750 000. Even with clashes from the actual battle for Palma over, insecurity in the town continued this week, according to the Cabo Delgado weekly bulletin.

Zimbabwe Defence Forces spokesperson Colonel Teddy Ndlovu denied the army has deployed special forces to Mozambique.

Thats not true and in any case if something like that happens I will advise the nation. You cant hide that kind of information. I advise that you also look at the Sadc deployment schedules so that you know the meetings that need to take place and what needs to happen before deployment.

Mnangagwas spokesman George Charamba said: Zimbabwe will take part as part of the Sadc brigade. The best person to ask would be (Sadc executive secretary) Dr (Stergomena) Tax. NewsHawks
Srinagar, April 17 : The Jammu and Kashmir police on Saturday appealed to the people not to pay heed to those trying to paint the arrest of a woman SPO (Special Police Officer) from South Kashmir's Kulgam district in any hue other than for a criminal act.

On Friday the Jammu and Kashmir police had arrested and terminated the services of a woman SPO for allegedly glorifying terrorism.

The police in a statement on Saturday regarding the termination of the SPO from service for allegedly glorifying terrorism said it has been found that on various media platforms, a number of vested interests with malafide intentions have put in a lot of efforts into making the incident appear like an "over-reach" and an "excessively strict action".

"It is clarified that the accused woman uttered anti-India and pro-freedom slogans off-camera thus inviting penal action under ULA(P)Act," police said.

Police said the utterances made on-camera were livestreamed for further dissemination on diverse social media platforms with the intention to cause disruption of an ongoing operation and to incite disaffection towards the State.

"This is punishable under the Indian Penal Code and ULA(P)Act," police said.

Police said the accused being a police employee, is bound by a code of conduct which was brazenly violated by her.

"Thus the concurrent departmental action has been taken against her," police said.

Police said the household of the accused is a suspected shelter point of an active Hizb-ul-Mujahidin terrorist namely Aslam Dar and the woman has been on the police radar as a suspected Over Ground Worker, and thus was subjected to a search.

"It remains to be investigated whether her act was meant as a disruption tactic to aid escape of the said terrorist when the search operation was underway," police said.
YEREVAN, APRIL 17, ARMENPRESS. The Permanent Representative of Armenia Mher Margaryan has addressed a letter to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres regarding the inauguration of the so-called military trophy park in Baku displaying a most dehumanizing collection of grotesque wax figures portraying ethnic Armenians, as well as a macabre exhibition of helmets, equipment and personal belongings of the Armenian soldiers murdered during the 44-day war, ARMENPRESS reports the Permanent Representation of Armenia to the UN informs.

The celebration of human death and suffering at the highest political level in Baku through the propagation of denigrating, dehumanizing imagery of ethnic Armenians is yet another manifestation of the state-led policies of inciting anti-Armenian hatred and is an overt demonstration of a genocidal intent, Ambassador Margaryan states in the letter.
The son of a hero of the Falklands War is among the group of senior officers who will carry Prince Philip on his final journey today.

Deputy Colonel Commandant of The Rifles, Major General Rupert Jones, is the son of Herbert 'H' Jones, who was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross by the Queen for his heroism in the face of battle with the Argentinians in 1982.

Major General Jones will also be joined as a pallbearer by Lt Alec Heywood, a Grenadier Guard whose grandfather served at both the funeral of George VI and the Queen's coronation. He will be in command of the bearer party carrying Prince Philip's coffin.

H Jones, as he was known to all his comrades, was killed as he led the 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, into battle on the occupied British islands in the south Atlantic. He was mortally wounded by machine gun fire as he personally led the attack near Goose Green.

His son, Major General Jones, is a leading office in The Rifles. Philip, who served heroically in the Royal Navy during the Second World War was Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment, one of 42 appointments he enjoyed in the British armed forces and the Commonwealth.

Pallbearer Deputy Colonel Commandant of The Rifles, Major General Rupert Jones (left), is the son of Herbert 'H' Jones (right), who was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross by the Queen for his heroism in the face of battle with the Argentinians in 1982.

Prince Philip lifts his hat during his final public engagement in 2017 with his beloved Royal Marines, whose leaders will help carry Philip's coffin today

The Jaguar Land Rover that will be used to transport the coffin of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at his funeral. He helped design it himself

Lt Alec Heywood will lead the unit from The Queen's Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards as it moves the coffin from Windsor Castle's private chapel to the inner hall before the start of the funeral procession.

As a third generation Grenadier Guard Lt Heywood's family have a long history of service in the British Army. His grandfather captained The Queen's Company at George VI's funeral and the Queen's Coronation in 1953.

Lieutenant Alec Heywood, a third generation Grenadier Guard, will command the Grenadier Guards bearer party. His grandfather was the captain of The Queen's Company at George VI's funeral in 1952 and the Queen's Coronation a year later.

The Duke of Edinburgh's beloved Royal Marines will accompany his funeral on its final journey.

Commandant General Royal Marines Major General Matthew Holmes will also walk alongside the hearse during the procession.

Philip's first major appointment after his naval career ended in 1953 was as commander of the marines. His grandson Prince Harry took the role in 2017 until the Queen stripped him of all his titles when he quit as a frontline royal with his wife Meghan Markle.

Other pallbearers include Brigadier Ian Mortimer, Colonel of The Queen's Royal Hussars, Lieutenant General Roland 'Roly' Walker, Regimental Lieutenant Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, and Brigadier James Roddis, Deputy Colonel of The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Lieutenant General Paul Jaques, Master General of the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), the regiment who helped Philip design his Land Rover hearse, will also help carry the coffin, as will Lieutenant General Sir James Hockenhull, Colonel Commandant of the Intelligence Corps, and Group Captain Nick Worrall, Station Commander RAF Northolt Group.

Commandant General Royal Marines Major General Matthew Holmes will also walk alongside the hearse during the procession. Group Captain Nick Worrall, Station Commander RAF Northolt Group, will also accompany the coffin

The British army's Lt. Gen. Paul Jaques (centre), Master General of the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), the regiment who helped Philip design his Land Rover hearse, will also help carry the coffin

Other pallbearers include Brigadier Ian Mortimer (left), Colonel of The Queen's Royal Hussars, Lieutenant General Roland 'Roly' Walker, and Lieutenant General Sir James Hockenhull (right), Colonel Commandant of the Intelligence Corps

Military duties begin hours before the funeral at 3pm on Saturday afternoon, with Philip's coffin - covered with his personal standard and surmounted with his sword, naval cap and a wreath of flowers - moved at 11am by a Bearer Party found by The Queen's Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, from the private chapel to the inner hall of Windsor Castle.

By 2.15pm, the service detachments recognising Philip's special military relationships will be in position in the Quadrangle, which will also be lined by the Household Cavalry and The Foot Guards.

The Band of the Grenadier Guards, of which Philip was Colonel for 42 years, will lead the procession to St George's Chapel.

They will be followed by the Major General's Party, and then the Service Chiefs, which will include the Chief of the Air Staff, Naval Staff and Defence Staff.

Philip had a distinguished career in the Royal Navy and while he gave up active service in 1951, he remained closely connected to it and other military elements throughout his public life.

The coffin, transported from the castle to the chapel in a specially-modified Land Rover Philip helped to design, will be flanked by pallbearers drawn from the duke's special relationships - the Royal Marines, regiments, corps and air stations.

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 RAF.

Minute Guns will be fired by The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery from the East Lawn for the duration of the procession and a Curfew Tower Bell will sound.

As the procession approaches Horseshoe Cloister, the Band of the Grenadier Guards will stop playing and march through into Denton's Commons.

The Rifles Guard of Honour, positioned in Horseshoe Cloister, will give a royal salute and the national anthem will be played.

In tribute to Philip's Naval service, a Royal Naval Piping Party of 1 Chief Petty Officer and 5 Ratings will be present.

The piping party will pipe the 'Still' once the Land Rover is stationery at the foot of the steps.

A bearing party of Royal Marines will carry the coffin up the steps and pause for a minute's silence.

The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Dean of Windsor will receive the coffin.

Inside the chapel, Philip's insignia - the medals and decorations conferred on him by the UK and Commonwealth countries - together with his Field Marshal's baton, Royal Air Force Wings, and insignia from Denmark and Greece, will be pre-positioned on cushions on the altar.

The Last Post will be sounded by buglers of the Royal Marines from the west end of the Nave.

Buglers of the Royal Marines will sound Action Stations during the service at the duke's request.

It is played on a warship to signal all hands should go to battle stations and is sometimes featured at funerals of naval men.

Members of the royal family will not wear military uniform, but instead the royal men will wear morning coats with their medals while the women will wear day dresses.

Land Rover hearse that Philip designed himself: Open top Defender TD5 130 was custom built to Duke's orders at manufacturer's Solihull factory in 16-year project - including new coat of military green paint

For 16 years Prince Philip tinkered and toiled on a secret project he knew he would never live to see used - the hearse to carry his own coffin.

Now, two days before his funeral on Saturday, the custom-made Land Rover designed by the Duke has been unveiled for the first time.

His work on the bespoke Land Rover Defender TD5 130 chassis cab begun in 2003, the year he turned 82, and was finished aged 98 in 2019.

The open-top rear has been modified to fit his coffin and equipped with special rubber grips on silver pins - known as the 'stops' - to keep it secure while it makes the journey through Windsor to St George's Chapel.

A military man to his core, Philip also requested the original Belize Green paintwork was changed to Dark Bronze Green like those used by the armed forces.

Now, two days before his funeral on Saturday, the custom-made Land Rover designed by the Duke has been unveiled for the first time

The Land Rover Defender hearse that will carry Philip's coffin is seen for the first time as it is driven into Windsor Castle today

His work on the bespoke Land Rover Defender TD5 130 chassis cab begun in 2003, the year he turned 82, and was finished aged 98 in 2019

The open top rear has been modified to fit his coffin and equipped with special rubber grips on silver pins - known as the 'stops' - to keep it secure while it makes the journey through Windsor to St George's Chapel

For 16 years Prince Philip tinkered and toiled on a secret project he knew he would never live to see used - the hearse to carry his own coffin

The military green repaint was one of many modifications Philip made to the vehicle, that was first built a the manufacturer's Solihull factory.

With heavy duty wheels and angular structure, the sturdy design stands testament to the Duke's penchant for engineering and functionality.

Indeed, Jaguar Land Rover's chief executive has admired Philip's handiwork, hailing his 'impressive knowledge and deep interest in vehicle design, engineering and manufacturing'.

Land Rover has maintained the vehicle since it was built and has prepared it for the funeral in collaboration with the Royal Household.

Chief executive Thierry Bollore said: 'We are deeply privileged to have enjoyed a very long and happy association with the Duke of Edinburgh over many decades.

'We are also honoured that the Land Rover which the duke designed will be used at the funeral on Saturday.

'The duke was a tremendous champion for design, engineering and technology.

'During his visits to our sites he engaged with hundreds of employees and demonstrated his impressive knowledge and deep interest in vehicle design, engineering and manufacturing.

'The duke was a truly remarkable man and will be greatly missed.'

The military green repaint was one of many modifications Philip made to the vehicle, that was first built a the manufacturer's Solihull factory

Details on the vehicle include matching green hubs, a black front grille, a single cab and no registration plates

With heavy duty wheels and angular structure, the sturdy design stands testament to the Duke's penchant for engineering and functionality

Details on the vehicle include matching green hubs, a black front grille, a single cab and no registration plates.

The Duke used Land Rovers throughout his adult life and granted his Royal Warrant to Land Rover over 40 years ago.

He visited Jaguar Land Rover's manufacturing facilities on numerous occasions over the decades and accompanied the Queen when she opened Jaguar Land Rover's new Engine Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton in 2014.

The Land Rover's original role would also have been to transport the duke 22 miles from Wellington Arch in central London to Windsor, but the coronavirus pandemic curtailed the long-held plans for military parades in honour of Philip through the streets of both the capital and the Berkshire town.

It will be flanked by pall bearers reflecting the duke's special relationships with the military, the Royal Marines, Regiments, Corps and Air Stations.

Palace officials have told how the duke's interest in design sparked his desire to make the Land Rover and include it in his funeral plans, codenamed Operation Forth Bridge.

Two Land Rovers were made for 'belt and braces' in case a backup was needed.

In 2019, the duke, then 97, was driving a Land Rover Freelander when he was involved in a serious car crash involving a mother and a baby.

The car Philip was driving was hit by another vehicle when he pulled out of a driveway on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk on to a busy A road, after being dazzled by the low sun.

The duke's car flipped over and he was trapped, and had to be rescued through the sunroof by a passing motorist. He was miraculously unscathed.

The baby was unhurt, but both women in the other vehicle had to be treated in hospital, and one broke her wrist.

Three weeks after the crash, Buckingham Palace announced that Philip's driving days on public roads were finally over and that he had voluntarily surrendered his driving licence.

The CPS later confirmed Philip would face no action over the crash.
The rise in the number of daily confirmed coronavirus cases in Oregon and Washington is currently outpacing the national average, causing an increase in deaths and hospitalizations in both states.

Lacy Fehrenbach, deputy secretary of the Department of Health, answers questions from reporters, as Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (rear), listens, during a news conference outside of the governor's mansion on the Capitol campus Thursday, April 15, 2021, in Olympia, Wash. (AP Photo/Rachel La Corte)

Across the United States, the number of daily cases has increased from about 56,000 in mid-March to just under 72,000 now, an increase of about 29 percent. In Oregon, however, the average number of daily cases had dropped to less than 250 and now stands at 590, a 136 percent increase. Similarly in Washington, cases have risen from a low point of 650 per day to more than 1,200, an 86 percent increase.

In total, Washington has suffered more than 384,000 cases of coronavirus and at least 5,400 deaths. Oregon has had nearly 173,000 infections and more than 2,400 confirmed fatalities from the deadly disease.

The growth in new cases has also spurred a rise in hospitalizations. In a press conference Thursday Washingtons Democratic Governor Jay Inslee noted that new hospitalizations caused by the pandemic are now more than 40 a day, up from 30 last month. We have to prevent this from taking over the state of Washington, the governor commented, warning of a fourth wave of the pandemic in the state.

Inslee did not, however, announce any new changes for the ongoing reopenings in the state. Just last week, he updated the criteria for counties to stay in Phase 3 of Washingtons reopening plan, ordering that a given county must have both increasing case counts and hospitalizations before being forced back into Phase 2 restrictions. Under earlier metrics, a county would be moved back to Phase 2 if either case counts or hospitalizations were rising.

As such, only Cowlitz, Pierce and Whitman counties are in Phase 2. The vast majority of the state, including King County, which includes Seattle, remains under Phase 3 restrictions, in which indoor dining, retail stores and gyms can operate at 50 percent capacity.

Moreover, despite the rising case counts, school reopenings proceed across the state. Elementary students in Seattle returned to classrooms on April 5, while at least 10,000 middle and high school students will be returning to partially in-person classes on April 19. The return to in-person learning has spurred on the ever greater spread of the pandemic, as shown starkly in recent data from Michigan .

The move to reopen was ratified by the Seattle Education Association union, which claims that four-fifths of its members approved the agreement with the Seattle Public Schools administration. The school system reports, however, that only about 50 percent of families will be allowing their children to again enter schools, indicating a widespread concern over the continued and ongoing dangers of the pandemic.

Oregon faces a potentially worse situation. Genetic testing of the virus has found eight variants of the coronavirus, including those first detected in the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa. As of Wednesday, the state epidemiologist Dr. Dean Slidelinger noted that of those variants there were 69, 4 and 8 cases known in the state, respectively. All are suspected to be more contagious and deadly, and there is a danger that they could become the dominant strains in the state and wider region if they are allowed to continue spreading.

Most concerning is a threefold rise of the number of cases of the British variant over the past week. Known cases from two other variants, both from California, also doubled from April 5 to April 10, which experts warn are likely more widespread than currently known, given that all the variants of the coronavirus often spread asymptomatically.

It is suspected that the rise of these variants is what has driven renewed coronavirus surges in the state. In Lane County, for example, there are currently about 270 known infections, bringing the total of those infected in the county of 351,000 to 11,430. Of those infected since March 24, 93 have been under 18 years old, further indicating that children can and do get infected and spread the virus. Health officials have warned about transmission at sporting events.

Despite these warnings and clear dangers, the Oregon Department of Education is going forward with its reopening plan. Per Governor Kate Browns claim in March that students should return to the learning environment we know serves [students] best: in-person instruction, schools in the state have now been ordered to begin offering full or hybrid in-person learning by April 19.

Moreover, the guidelines for closing schools are based on cases in the general population, which can be as high as 200 per 100,000 residents before schools are forced to revert to in-person learning. The other metric used is the test positivity rate, which can be as high as a staggering 10 percent before the state recommends schools shut down. This is in line with policies around the country, which state education departments are making restrictions as limited as possible.

The excuse used is that, with the rollout of the vaccines, schools are safe (though other large gatherings inexplicably remain restricted). Such statements ignore the fact that the vaccine rollouts have been disorganized at best, and that wealthier areas are receiving the vaccine first. ZIP code data from the Oregon Health Authority reveals that the Portland suburb of Lake Oswego, one of the highest income towns in the state, has a vaccination rate of 58 percent. In contrast, only about 22 percent of those in eastern Portland have received the vaccination.

In other words, the working class areas, with those who are more likely to be unable to work from home, are the least vaccinated and thus the most susceptible to the virus. In addition, the proliferation of so many variants in the state greatly heightens the danger of a mutation that avoids immunity, gained either from surviving the virus or from a vaccine.

As such, workers must be clear that the only way to stop the pandemic in Oregon, Washington, nationally and internationally, is through as many measures to contain the virus as possible, including vaccines, continued testing, contact tracing and isolation. Schools and nonessential businesses must be shut down, with full financial compensation for those impacted. As has been demonstrated by the fourth wave of the pandemics crashing over the Pacific Northwest, half measures do not suffice.
Although Ferrari's current car is clearly still improving, team boss Mattia Binotto says the Maranello team is focusing more intently on designing the all-new car for 2022.

Charles Leclerc claims Ferrari brought "nothing much" in terms of new parts to Imola, but La Gazzetta dello Sport has revealed that the 2021 machine is actually featuring a new diffuser and floor.

At the same time, the pace has taken another step forward since a promising start in Bahrain.

"It's too early to take stock," team boss Binotto told Sky Italia.

"Being competitive is a duty we feel at every race, especially here at home on the circuit that bears the name of our founder.

"But it is a very difficult season for priority management - not only for 2022 and developing an engine that will have to last at least three years, but also because of the budget cap.

"We are working intensely on 2022 - that is the absolute priority," the Italian insisted. "We are already seeing the first forms of the 2022 car in the wind tunnel but it will be the details that make the difference."

Therefore, he said he will not be seen at every single race this season.

"I know I run a very efficient team - a well-oiled machine that runs almost on its own," said Binotto.

"That said, I'm still going to see a lot of races, and for the ones where I'm not at the track I'll be in the garage at Maranello which is pretty much like being on the pitwall."

(GMM)
Thanks to the supporters of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth, hundreds of U.S. senators and representatives have received or will soon receive copies of the new documentary SEVEN along with letters urging them to hold the National Institute of Standards and Technology accountable for its unscientific investigation of the World Trade Center destruction.

When all is said and done, more than 300 activists will have sent the DVDs to 90 senators and 209 representatives. Senators in the most populous states will see a deluge of packages, with senators Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein of California receiving 50 DVDs each and senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York  the state most affected by 9/11  each receiving 18 DVDs. AE911Truth will also send DVDs directly to every member of Congress who didnt receive one from a constituent.

Click to see the members of Congress who are receiving packages.

AE911Truth operations manager Andy Steele says hes pleased that so many supporters have risen to this challenge. He says ongoing congressional outreach is important because there are always new members being elected who need to be exposed to the evidence that the three World Trade Center towers were destroyed in controlled demolitions.

Because of all our public education, were constantly reaching new minds, and who knows which of those will be open, Steele says.

If were going to have an acknowledgement of what really happened to those buildings on that day, it will have to come through an official body like the Congress. Its also important to let the historical record show that our legislators were not ignorant of this glaring smoking gun that 9/11 was not what we were told it was.

Architect Bill Brinnier, a long-time AE911Truth supporter who lives about 90 miles north of New York City, sent DVDs to Schumer and Gillibrand as well as to his U.S. representative, Antonio Delgado. Brinnier has participated in past AE911Truth congressional outreach efforts, including on the 9/11 anniversary in 2018, when AE911Truth supporters hand-delivered informational packages to every member of Congress.

He has high praise for SEVEN and thinks the film is very much worth getting into the hands of elected officials.

I love the movie, he says. It was beautifully done. And professor [Leroy] Hulsey did a great job of showing that the destruction of Building 7 couldnt possibly have been because of fire.

Brinnier lost his best friend and colleague, Frank DeMartini, who was the World Trade Center construction manager, in the North Towers destruction. DeMartini famously commented in early 2001 that the Twin Towers could sustain multiple impacts from jetliners and not collapse. DeMartini and some of his colleagues died because, rather than simply saving themselves, they stayed in the building to rescue others. Brinnier dedicated to DeMartini the letters he wrote to his three elected officials.

Hes the driving force for me, Brinnier says. Hes the reason I push as hard as I do. Im not going to back down. Were up against a really nasty group of ruthless bastards.

Bill Brinniers letter to Rep. Antonio Delgado.

David Mack, who studied architecture at Notre Dame University and who works in construction management in Florida, sent copies of SEVEN to his two senators, Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, as well as to his representative, Val Demings.

Mack says he became suspicious of the destruction of the WTC towers when he saw it on TV that day. He points out that the Twin Towers were incredibly strong structures and that a gravitational collapse could not have pulverized the concrete in the structure to the extent that we saw.

I thought, Something about this is really fishy. The buildings looked like they just disintegrated.

Retired Vermont structural engineer William Rice, who taught at Vermont Technical College for more than two decades, sent copies of the film to senators Bernie Sanders and Patrick Leahy as well as to his representative, Peter Welch.

Rice says he wrote to Leahy about 9/11 sometime around 2007 but did not get a positive response.

He very much discouraged me from doing anything with 9/11.

Despite this, Rice says we have to keep up the pressure on Congress and continue to do all we can to educate elected officials about the evidence.

I think its a good idea, he says. We cant give up.
Tier 1 financial institutions command much of todays small and medium-sized business banking market with about two-thirds of those primary relationships, according to a Raddonstudy. However, those businesses expressed a readiness to switch to other institutions, such as credit unions, for better services. Adding fraud risk prevention as a business banking service could help steer SMBs to credit unions.

Fraudsters present an ongoing threat to businesses. Scammers typically try to take advantage of new authentication measures, leaks at firms, social media-related data exposures and natural disasters, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, fires and, of course, pandemics.

Developing an increased awareness of the types of fraud schemes threatening business accounts is an important part of mitigating and lowering the risks they pose.
People will travel across the border to avail of nights out in the north if pubs and restaurants dont reopen in Ireland in six weeks time, Irelands two main vintners groups have claimed.

The Licenced Vintners Association (LVA) and the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) are calling for the return of outdoor eating and drinking before the end of May, following the return of pubs and restaurants for outdoor service in Northern Ireland on April 30.

LVA CEO Donall OKeeffe says it is inevitable border counties will try to travel into the northunless the Republic is given some options.

At the border counties and maybe further afield, you will see travel into the North for weekends, you will see travel across the border for nights out  it is simply inevitable, he told Newstalk Breakfast.

That is further impetus for our roadmap to be followed. If we begin outdoor on May 24 as we propose, that is the same day as the North begins indoor  at least there will be some options for people at this stage.

Padraig Cribben, CEO of the VFI, said restaurant owners and publicans feel abandoned by the Government, and asked that it follow the norths suit to offer some degree of certainty and stability to the trade.

Mr OKeefe said the country will be in a very different position in six weeks time in terms of the vaccination rollout and that it would be an appropriate stage to begin for all services.

In terms of outdoor service, there is a consensus view from the health experts that outdoor is the safest way to go, the LVA CEO said.

Both the LVA and VFI have said that pubs and hospitality businesses should be allowed to reopen at the same time, to avoid the divisions seen between wet pubs and gastropubs last year.

We can see no difference why you cant have a drink outside a pub as opposed to a meal outside a pub.

That changes the perspective for everyone. When we approach 80% of the population being vaccinated then surely our businesses can resume, he said.

Mr OKeefe highlighted that come the end of May, pubs will have been closed for nearly 15 months and claimed: these businesses have played no role whatsoever in the Covid pandemic.
Vast swathes of British industry may have been brought to a complete standstill by the pandemic. But the property market has defied all expectations.

Thanks to a stamp duty holiday, a stampede to the countryside and a chronic housing shortage in many areas, prices continue to soar.

Speaking via Zoom from his home office in Battersea, South-West London, Zoopla's chief executive Charlie Bryant tells me his company is already pulling out the stops to invent new ways of simulating the housing market and feed Britain's fascination with property.

Fast track: Charlie Bryant has seen demand surge at Zoopla

Zoopla's bright idea is a new database for every home, a sort of CV for your house, that Bryant says will encourage more homeowners to enter the race for plum cottages in the Cotswolds and the Chiltern Hills.

The website, called My Home, will allow homeowners to view and edit a page dedicated to their property, and track other homes they might want to buy  even if they are not on the market.

'Just over one million people move home every year, but that pales into insignificance compared to the ten million people who are active on property portals every month,' says the boss of the online property giant.

'If we can help equip them with the information they need to turn that aspiration into a transaction, then that will play a massive part in driving this industry forward.'

Every page will list all of the details about that property, alongside photos and valuations. It will also display a timeline of key events for the property, such as sales information, historic floor plans and home improvements.

Ten million Britons are active on property portals

Bryant says: 'This site will provide encyclopedic knowledge of everything a homeowner, or prospective homeowner, needs to know about the house they own, or would like to buy. We will also let people track properties they are interested in, so they can come back to them time and again, and see what is happening in the neighbourhood.'

Homeowners will be able to log on to the page for their own house and add details of renovations and all the essential documents they might need to sell. They will then be able to contact an agent for a valuation and, with the documents at the ready, they can quickly share this with the agent to speed up a sale when the time is right.

'Currently it takes around 14 weeks on average in the UK to sell a home,' Bryant says. 'We need to speed up this process and in the years to come, My Home, with other Zoopla products such as those enabling faster mortgage underwriting, will play a role in this.'

Zoopla has around 19,400 estate agent branches on its site, while Rightmove has 19,197

Zoopla already stores a lot of data on its main site. But My Home will give a far more comprehensive and colourful view of the housing market and encourage homeowners to update their listing even if they aren't considering a move.

The business generates its income from estate agents listing properties on the site, and from selling software to them. If My Home generates more sales for agents, then it will attract more to list on Zoopla.

The portal has around 19,400 estate agent branches on its site, while Rightmove has 19,197. Bryant thinks his team's data expertise will keep increasing their numbers. And he is convinced the property market will remain buoyant as people continue to compete for space in Britain's most attractive rural areas.

'We are seeing demand 80 per cent higher than in the same period in previous years,' he says.

Big swing to commuter and rural properties

'As long as that demand outstrips supply, the property market will remain strong. And we've seen a big swing towards commuter properties and the rural hinterland.

'For every house that is for sale in the Cotswolds, there have been over 50 expressions of interest. People are reconsidering their lifestyles, they don't need to be in the office every day of the week.'

The technology industry is still reeling from Deliveroo's disastrous flotation, when the takeaway firm's shares tanked 30 per cent on its stock market debut. But Bryant, 51, who worked as an investment banker for 14 years, thinks other technology firms will still want to float in the London market.

'Every company has its own peculiarities and I don't think that in any way shows souring relationships in tech between UK investors and UK corporates,' he says.

'There's always been this widely-held view that European tech investors don't understand the industry the way US investors do. But you can see people get it from the success of big tech icons like Ocado.

'The City does recognise the UK is a service-based economy, and that it can make a real difference in tech. I think the City can see the returns for investors, but valuing tech businesses is never easy because they are so high growth.'

Charlie Bryant, 51 Family: Wife and three children. Book: The Hard Thing About Hard Things, by Ben Horowitz. Restaurant: Daphnes, Italian restaurant in South Kensington, London. Film: The Thomas Crown Affair 1999 remake (above). Hobbies: DIY and refurbishing properties. Ideal holiday: Zanzibar, post-lockdown.

Bryant was chief executive of property data firm Hometrack before it was acquired by Zoopla in 2017, and he became head of the wider group soon after.

Since Bryant took over at Zoopla, the company has been on a hiring spree, recruiting 258 new staff since the first lockdown  a third of its current workforce.

He is thrilled to have so many new people join the company, but he hasn't met any of them in person yet. Some started going back to the London offices last week, but it won't be fully staffed until September.

Bryant is still mainly based in his home office in Battersea, and he says employees will also be allowed to work from home in future.

'I'm excited to meet all the new colleagues, and hopefully they are dying to meet us,' he says.

'But every job will be flexible by default now. We know that a lot of the best innovation happens face-to-face, but there are times when people don't need to be in the office, such as when software engineers want to get their heads down writing code. It will be a bit of an experiment though. We don't have all the answers yet.'


Qualities of the family of cats were apparently next to godliness. The ancient Egyptians are well known for their love of all things feline. There's no scarcity of artifacts that are cat-themed - from bigger-than-life statues to complex jewelry - that have got through the millennia since the pharaohs led the Nile.

The First Known Pet Cemetery in the World

The ancient Egyptians mummified numerous cats and even made the first known pet cemetery in the world, and almost 2,000-year-old burial ground that largely contains cats putting on remarkable beaded collars and iron.

But why were cats valued so highly in ancient Egypt? Why, as stated by the ancient Greek Historian Herodotus, would the Egyptians shave off their eyebrows as a sign of respect when grieving the loss of a family cat?

Many of this reverence is due to the fact that the ancient Egyptians thought their rulers and gods had the qualities of cats, according to an exhibition in 2018 on the usefulness of cats in ancient Egypt that was held at the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C.

Also Read: There's Hope for Europe's Rarest Cat

Feline-esque Statues

Specifically, cats were viewed as having a duality of temperaments that are desirable - on one hand, they can be trustworthy, nurturing, and protective, but on the other hand, they can be fierce, aggressive, and independent. To the ancient Egyptians, this made cats appear like unique creatures that are worthy of attention, and that might give an explanation on why they made feline-esque statues.

The Great Sphinx of Giza, a 73 meters (240-foot-long) statue that possesses the face of a man and the body of a lion, is possibly the most well-known example of such a statue, although truly, historians aren't exactly certain why the Egyptians went through the difficulty of carving the sphinx.

As well as, the strong goddess, Sekhmet (also spelled Sakhmet), was portrayed as possessing the head of a lion on a woman's body. She was called a protective deity, especially during transition moments, including dusk and dawn.

Ancient Egyptians Named their Children After the Felines

Another goddess, Bastet, was frequently represented as a cat or a lion, and the ancient Egyptians had a belief that cats is sacred to her. Cats were possibly also loved for their snakes and mice hunting ability. They were so loved that the ancient Egyptians nicknamed or named their children after the families of cat, both the name "Mitt"' (which means cat) for females, according to University College London.

Live Science previously reported It's not obvious when cats that were domesticated emerged in Egypt, but archaeologists have discovered burials of kittens and cats dating as far back as 3800 B.C.

Most study has suggested, however, that this obsession wasn't often doting and kind, and there's proof of a more menacing side to the feline fascination of ancient Egyptians. There were likely whole industries that have the devotion to breeding millions of kittens to be killed and then mummified so that humans could be buried close to them, largely between around 700 B.C. and A.D. 300.

Related Article: Cats Can Interpret Their Owner's Emotions, New Study Reveals

For more news, updates about cats and similar topics don't forget to follow Nature World News!
Teagasc is urging all involved in outdoor activity to exercise extreme caution, and to heed the high-level warning for fires which is in place this week.

The current high pressure dominated weather patterns has resulted in a high fire risk in all areas where hazardous fuels such as dead grasses and shrub fuels such as heather and gorse exist.

John Casey, Teagasc Forestry Development Officer, said: This risk phase is expected to peak Friday, April 16, but the warning remains in place until Monday April 19. Based on recent fire activity, ignition risks appear to be mainly focussed on areas with public access, particularly peatland sites. Wildfires not only pose a serious risk to property and the rural environment, they also threaten lives directly in their path and by potentially diverting the resources of our emergency services.

Teagasc is urging famers, land owners, rural dwellers and those using the countryside to be extremely vigilant in light of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marines Condition Orange Fire risk alert, and reminds everyone that it is illegal to burn growing vegetation on uncultivated land between March 1 and August 31. Fire Services and forestry teams around the country have already been called on to tackle gorse and scrub fires this month.

The relaxation of some Covid-19 requirements mean that members of the public can now travel within their respective counties. Coupled with a spell of good weather, many people will be outdoors enjoying the Irish countryside, from forest walks to hiking and camping activities.

It is essential that everyone is alert to the danger of fires, in particular adjacent to amenities, private property and forest resources. Teagasc also urges forest owners and forest managers to be vigilant regarding fire over the coming days and to have appropriate measures in place to help prevent loss or damage through fire. These measures include having:

A risk assessment completed

Adequate insurance against fire risk

A current and accurate fire plan in place

Access routes clear

Fire breaks maintained along boundaries

Fire suppression resources at the ready

Cooperation with neighbours and fire patrols planned where required

Teagasc staff will continue to work with Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), the Fire Services and local interagency groups to support farmers and forest owners in regard to awareness of fire threats, as well as providing training and advice in relation to mitigation of risks. The DAFM Forest Fire Danger Rating can be consulted at www.teagasc.ie/firerisk on the forestry section of the Teagasc website, www.teagasc.ie.

This index provides information on the fire risk and provides a forecast index for the coming days. Working together we can help minimise the current serious threat from fires.
Opponents of Myanmar's junta forces have set up an interim National Unity government on April 15. The members of Aung San Suu Ky's ousted cabinet and major ethnic minority groups have formed the government. The National Unity Government is an upgrade from the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw(CRPH), which was established shortly after the coup by elected lawmakers who were denied access to the seats by the military.

A video was posted on social media that showed activist Min Ko Naing who announced the formation of the new government. He was a leader of the failed 1988 uprising against a previous military dictatorship and he after the coup went underground. He has apparently been active in political organizing against the Myanmar forces. He has urged the people to support the National Unity government for the future of citizens.

Please support the National Unity Government for the future of our citizens and our younger generation, he said. The people are the decision makers and the people will fight the final battle. Victory is coming, We must win our revolution, he added.

Dr. Sasa, the online public face of the CRPH on social media said that they are announcing the formation of the National Unity Government. He said that the new government will reflect the diversity of the Burmese. The CRPH announced that despite being arrested in the coup Aung Suu Kyi retained the post of state counsellor and Win Myint is chosen as president. According to Sasa, the interim government's vice president and acting president of National Unity Government is Duwa Lashi La, a political leader from Myanmar's Kachin minority, and the prime minister is Mahn Win Khaing Than, a Karen minority leader from eastern Myanmar who has previously served as speaker of the elected upper house of parliament.

Today, at the end of Thingyan on the eve of Myanmars new year, we are proud to announce the formation of a new National Unity Government and the dawn of a new era for the people of Myanmar, he said. For the first time in our history, Myanmar has a unity government that will reflect one of our nations greatest strengths - the diversity of our people, he added.

After the February 1 coup, tens of thousands of people have been protesting against the military. The people of Myanmar are demanding the restoration of democracy in Myanmar. Security forces have failed to stop the protests of the people and the junta has ordered the use of force against peaceful protesters. The killings of civilians have drawn international condemnation, with leaders from across the world are calling out the army in Burma to follow international standards of military professionalism.

(Inputs and Image from AP)
Every one of America's united states has its own batshit history, as well as its own collection of utter nonsense that still goes on there today. Let's take a trip to the states to call out every one of them in turn.

And hey -- let's say a little something about America's non-state territories as well, so we don't have to round this list out by giving you five extra facts about New Jersey.

1. Alabama

Albert Patterson won the nomination for attorney general of Alabama in 1954, beating an ally of the previous guy, Si Garrett. Before he could take office, he was gunned down. And who'd ordered the shooting? Why it was Attorney General Si Garrett, of course.

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2. Alaska

Some places have people tightly packed in buildings, while other places have low populations. Whittier, Alaska, has both. All 205 residents of this town live in a single building.

3. Arizona

In the desert outside Phoenix, a flight school has a fleet of German aircraft, so you can learn how to fly combat missions in less than a day. No prior knowledge of how to fly planes required!

4. Arkansas

Arkansas has a hotel carved right into a mountain. It's called the Beckham Creek Cave Lodge, and its architect, John Hay, originally meant it to be a bomb shelter during the Cold War.

5. California

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In the '50s, California got a religion called Unarius, the followers of a million-year-old spacefaring angel. Then the founder's wife starting claiming that she was the angel in question and got her own public access show to share the good news.

6. Colorado

For details, read Nikola Tesla's Biggest Coil Turned Butterflies Into Blue Balls Of Fire

7. Connecticut

Police in Glastonbury, Connecticut, put together a sting to arrest a 71-year-old woman for prostitution. Apparently, they had nothing better to do that day.

8. Delaware

A woman hanged herself one October in Frederica, Delaware. She chose a tree beside a busy road, but people first didn't think anything was wrong, mistaking her body for a Halloween decoration.
On Friday, Apr. 16, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo officially signed a bill that covers the low-income households in the state with high-speed internet. This time around, it will be offered for $15 per month so many users could be able to utilize it especially in the middle of the pandemic.

New NY Law Offers Low-Cost Broadband to Low-Income Users

In a report by Bloomberg, Amy Paulin, a member of the NY Assembly stated that New York has currently an average broadband price which sits at $50.

The new law which was taken into effect by Cuomo will offer a $15 price for the regular broadband. If a New York resident wants to improve his/her broadband speed, he/she could go for the $20 broadband, but this only targets those who belong to the low-income people.

From the official statement released by Cuomo's office, there are more than 7 million people out of 2.7 million households who are considered low-income users.

Read Also: Millions of Internet-Connected Devices Need to be Patched After Vulnerability Issue, Singaporean CSA Alarms

This move is an impressive action for creating a vast internet service that is affordable to the residents. In an interview with The Verge, Internet Service Providers should supply the people with two options for $15 a month: the speed of the current ISP broadband service to low-income households or the 25 Mbps down.

The latter shared the same speed as FCC's broadband. However, this is not categorized as high-speed internet. Since 2015, there are criticisms that FCC has received in its broadband service which was believed to be "outdated."

Earlier last month, the senators have requested the FCC to improve their broadband service as 100 Mbps up and 100 Mbps down since it would mirror how people utilize their internet.

Regardless of the comparison in the service, selecting a monthly $15-internet is much better compared to a $50 internet per month which bears the same speed.

For those who are residing in New York City, expect to afford a faster internet as the same bill implements a cap price of $20 per month for a 200 Mbps broadband.

Cuomo Launches Affordable Broad Portal and ConnectEd NY Fund

Not only the internet service was the concern of New York City to its people, but also the Affordable Broadband Portal, which is a newly-launched website by Cuomo for those who want to seek an affordable internet in their location.

Moreover, he is also headed to establish the ConnectED NY fund in collaboration with the Ford Foundation and Schmidt Futures, a venture facility founded by Eric Schmidt, the Google founder.

The fund will be allocated to about 50,000 students from disadvantaged schools. The operation will persist through June 2022.

Providing high-end and affordable internet to everyone is a must during these times. Since people rely on the digital era nowadays, the service should be continuous so people could live their life to the fullest despite adversaries like a crisis, public health threats, and other problems.

Related Article: FCC Authorizes High-Speed Internet Subsidy to Low Income Households in America



This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joen Coronel

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
(Newser)  Before the pandemic, millennials were already starting to ditch America's biggest cities, leaving New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles for opportunities in cozier urban enclaves, per CNBC. COVID hasn't changed that trend, and SmartAsset wanted to see which smaller cities draw the demographic of those ages 25 to 39. The site looked at Census Bureau data for the 180 largest cities in the US, as well as in the District of Columbia, comparing the number of millennials who moved into a city in 2019 with those who moved out to come up with a net migration figure for that year. Denver ranks as the hottest draw. Check out what other cities have piqued millennials' interest:

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Denver Seattle Phoenix Austin, Texas Colorado Springs, Colo. Frisco, Texas Cary, NC Portland, Ore. Henderson, Nev. Cape Coral, Fla.

Check out what other cities make SmartAsset's top 25 for millennials. ( Here are the cities in America that remote workers may soon leave behind.)
New York, US (PANA) - The UN Security Council has unanimously passed a resolution which calls for all foreign forces and mercenaries to leave Libya and gives the green light for a UN team to monitor last Octobers historic ceasefire agreement
The Biden administration on Friday lifted restrictions on the use of fetal tissue for medical research, reversing rules imposed in 2019 by President Donald J. Trump.

The new rules, disclosed by the National Institutes of Health, allow scientists to use tissue derived from elective abortions to study and develop treatments for diseases including diabetes, cancer, AIDS and Covid-19.

The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the N.I.H., essentially restored the guidelines in place during the Obama administration. The N.I.H. will manage and oversee research using human fetal tissue according to policies and procedures that were in place before the June 2019 ban, the agency said in an emailed statement on Saturday. The development was first reported on Friday by The Washington Post.

Scientists may purchase fetal tissue from sources approved before the ban, and all projects that had been approved before the Trump administrations restrictions will be reinstated without further review, according to an email sent to scientists by the N.I.H.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 13:30:44|Editor: huaxia

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SUVA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Fiji reported on Saturday four new imported COVID-19 cases, bringing the number of active cases to five in the Pacific island nation.

According to a statement by Fiji's Health Ministry on Saturday, the first two cases are a 38-year-old female and a 15-year-old male, who are family members that travelled to Fiji from Manila, Philippines. They arrived in Fiji's third largest city of Nadi on flight NZ952 from Auckland, New Zealand on April 8 this year.

The next two cases are a 69-year-old male and a 38-year-old male, who are family members that travelled to Fiji from Rajkot, India, arriving in Nadi on flight FJ1362 from Singapore on April 10 this year.

All the four persons returned positive test results during routine testing while undergoing the 14-day quarantine in Nadi. They have been transferred to the isolation ward at Lautoka hospital, about 24 km north of Nadi.

Fiji has had 72 cases in total, with 65 recoveries and two deaths, since its first case was reported on March 19 last year. The last 54 cases have been international travel-associated cases detected in border quarantine. And it has been 364 days since the last case was detected outside border quarantine on April 18 last year.

A total of 42,492 COVID-19 laboratory tests have been conducted, with a daily average of 237 tests per day over the last seven days.

Currently, a total of 698 people who have recently arrived from overseas are undergoing mandatory 14-day quarantine in Nadi.

Fiji maintains strict travel restrictions to date for foreign visitors alongside a nationwide curfew effective from March 30 last year to ensure safety on the island nation. Enditem
A federal lawsuit has been filed against two Loveland, Colorado, police officers and a sergeant after a 73-year-old woman with dementia was injured during an arrest.

Karen Garner suffered a dislocated shoulder, fractured arm and sprained wrist after officers with the Loveland Police Department slammed her to the ground and hog-tied her June 26, 2020, the lawsuit states.

Photos released by attorney Sarah Schielke showed Garner with a purple and bruised arm.

The arresting officer was placed on administrative leave as the incident is investigated, the department said in a news release Thursday. An assisting officer and police supervisor were reassigned to administrative duties, it stated.

The incident began when Garner was accused of stealing $13.88 worth of items from a Walmart. Schielke said her client has dementia and sensory aphasia, which impairs her ability to verbally communicate with people or understand others' communications.

The attorney said because of the dementia, her client forgot to pay for the items.

Walmart did not immediately return a request for comment on Friday.

After leaving the store, Garner was walking through a field two blocks from her home. She was stopped by Loveland police Officer Austin Hopp, according to the suit.

In body-camera video provided by Schielke, Hopp asks Garner to stop walking and talk to him. Garner is seen, shrugging her shoulders as she continues to walk.

Hopp grabs Garner and roughly takes her to the ground and handcuffs her. Garner repeatedly tells the officer, "I'm going home."

Hopp then forces Garner to her feet and walks her over to his police car as a female officer arrives to assist. The suit identified the second officer as Daria Jalali.

Both officers are seen in the video struggling to get Garner into the back seat of the police car.

A bystander watching the arrest questions the officers on using "that much aggression." Hopp tells the witness to "get out of here" and says, it's "not your business."

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As the struggle with Garner continues, Hopp tells Jalali to help him get Garner on the ground. He then hog-ties her ankles, the video shows. Garner is then forced into the back of the police car.

The lawsuit states that Garner was "crying for home."

"She was bleeding from the nose, forehead, and wrist, all over herself," it says.

Image: (The Life & Liberty Law Office / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG0wfPMMR4k)

A Loveland police sergeant, identified in the lawsuit as Phil Metzler, arrives on scene. At one point, the video shows Metzler commenting about how muddy the officers are.

"A little bloody. A little muddy. That's how it works," Jalali says. Hopp tells the sergeant the blood is Garner's.

Schielke said her client did not stop when the officer asked because she didn't understand him.

"When she indicated she did not understand him, and turned to continue walking home, [Hopp] grabbed her and violently assaulted her, twisting her arms behind her back, throwing her to the ground and handcuffing her," she said in a statement. "Just eight seconds passed between Officer Hopp reaching Ms. Garner and Officer Hopp throwing her tiny body to the ground and putting her in handcuffs."

The attorney accused officer Jalali of assisting Hopp in "violently and needlessly" injuring Garner. Metzler, the attorney said, did not offer Garner any medical assistance.

Metzler deactivated his body-worn camera, according to the lawsuit.

Garner was taken to the police station where she remained for more than two hours before being sent to the Larimer County jail. The district attorney later dropped charges against her.

The Loveland Police Department said in its statement that it takes the allegations seriously "and shares with the community the concerns about video images that became public on Wednesday."

"LPD had not previously received a complaint regarding serious injuries to Karen Garner, and learned only on April 14 of the allegations surrounding her arrest," the statement said. "The investigation of the event will include an examination of the actions of all officers who may have been involved."

Schielke said her client has become withdrawn and depressed since the incident.

Ms. Garners experience with Loveland Police is not about bad apples, she said. It is about culture. And the culture in Loveland is one of lack of care, lack of humility."

Hopp and Jalali did not immediately return NBC News' request for comment. Metzler could not be reached at phone numbers listed publicly for him.

CORRECTION (April 20, 2021, 2:36 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated the status of Loveland Police Sgt. Phil Metzler in a federal lawsuit. He is named as a defendant.
Refugees who fled the conflict in the Ethiopia's Tigray region traveling in December to a temporary shelter near the Sudan-Ethiopia border. Refugee camps in neighboring Sudan are now home to more than 45,000 Ethiopian refugees. (Associated Press )

I will never forget the little girl from Pakistan who, with her parents, was resettled in this country with the help of one of our United Methodist congregations.

Aaima and her family were attending a Sunday service in 2013 at All Saints Church in Peshawar, Pakistan, when terrorist bombs exploded at the site, killing her two older siblings and her grandmother, along with many church members. This family had faced a life of persecution for being part of a religious minority even before that horrific tragedy.

Their resettlement in Claremont gave them a chance to build a new life. They quickly became involved in the church that welcomed them. While the church supported them in their resettlement, Aaima  the most joyful and loving spirit  and her family brought renewal to the church, teaching us about courage, faith and love. Under the Trump administration, however, this mutual gift was rejected and nearly destroyed.

Over four deeply painful and divisive years, President Trump did his best to dismantle a 40-year-old federal program and a longstanding commitment to welcoming refugees to the United States. By his last year in the White House, his administration had reduced the refugee resettlement admissions goal to 15,000 a year  a historic low, down from an average admissions goal of 95,000 a year.

This is a reflection of our abysmal commitment to refugees. It leaves thousands of families and children like Aaima abandoned in life-threatening circumstances, stranded in refugee camps, and forgotten in a global pandemic. Millions of refugees are in desperate need of protection and hope.

President Biden has spoken to that hope by announcing his commitment to reinvigorate the refugee resettlement program. His administration has said it would raise the resettlement goal in its first full fiscal year in office to 125,000 and proposed increasing the current years goal to 62,500.

But despite that promise, the president on Friday signed a new presidential determination leaving the refugee admissions goal for the remainder of this fiscal year at 15,000. While he did remove several harmful resettlement categories, his order will leave many refugees who have been vetted and approved to travel to the United States in harms way. After receiving immediate criticism, the White House said it would increase the cap next month, but did not give details.

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People of faith and goodwill in this country stand ready to help those who face violence and death and see America as their chance for safety and a real future. But none of this will happen unless the Biden administration quickly lifts the cap and opens the door to more refugees waiting in line.

Worldwide, nearly 80 million people have been displaced from their homes. Of those, 29 million  half of whom are children  are refugees who have been forced out of their countries and need a safe, permanent home. Many have been subject to vicious persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or their political opinion. The Holocaust, the Rwandan and Cambodian genocides, the civil war in Syria, the political instability in Myanmar, and other moments of life-destroying violence, continue to teach us how critically important it is to protect those fleeing from oppression and tyranny.

The United States was once recognized in the world for extending protection to refugees, but our moral leadership on this front has been lost in political warfare and the rise of white supremacy, white nationalism and xenophobia, all emboldened by Trump. It is time to reclaim Americas moral voice.

Over the last year, communities of faith across the country have encouraged local and state officials to register their commitment to serving refugees. In August, 540 state and local elected officials from all 50 states came forth to state their support for refugee resettlement in their communities.

The opportunity to save lives, extend hospitality to new neighbors, and invite new members into our churches, synagogues and mosques, renews our own spirits with hope in the restoration of life.

As Christians, we believe that in welcoming the refugee we are fulfilling the work of our faith. I hope that Biden acts on the immediacy of this need and makes the spirit of welcome his guiding principle.

Minerva Garza Carcano is the first Hispanic woman to be elected to the episcopacy of the United Methodist Church. She was previously resident bishop of the Los Angeles Episcopal Area, and now serves as resident bishop of the San Francisco Episcopal Area. She chairs the United Methodist Churchs immigration task force.





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 04:42:15|Editor: huaxia

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TUNIS, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi said on Friday that terrorist threat still exists and threatens the country, assuring that the security institution is fully prepared to face it.

According to a statement released by the government, Mechichi made the remark on the sidelines of his visit to a number of border posts and security installations in Kasserine province in western Tunisia, located near the border with Algeria.

"We have not yet overcome the terrorist threat ... it is still there," Mechichi said, adding that terrorist elements are still present in Tunisia, but they suffered major blows which weakened their capacities.

Tunisia has started to witness terrorist acts since 2011, leaving dozens of security and military agents, civilians and foreign tourists killed. Enditem
China's central bank will take a slew of measures to improve its support for green finance, according to Yi Gang, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC).

The PBOC plans to launch a support toolkit to provide low-cost funds for carbon emission reduction, and it will also support green finance through a host of measures ranging from commercial credit ratings, deposit insurance rates to collaterals for open market operations, the governor said.

The international community is forming a broad consensus on tackling climate change. China has announced the goal of peaking carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.

"Achieving these goals requires a comprehensive economic transition, and green finance can be an accelerator in this process," Yi said Thursday at a high-level seminar on green finance and climate policy held by the PBOC and the International Monetary Fund.

"In a nutshell, central banks could contribute to the net-zero goal in many ways, such as developing a strong policy system, a diversified market system, and enhancing international coordination," he added.

The PBOC attaches great importance to green finance and has put in place an initial policy framework for green finance, Yi noted.

By the end of 2020, green loans and green bonds in China totaled 1.8 trillion U.S. dollars and 125 billion U.S. dollars, respectively, ranking the world's largest and second-largest. More than 40 carbon-neutral bonds have been issued, with a total volume of over 10 billion U.S. dollars.
Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021.
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The Duchess of Cornwall has paid tribute to her father-in-law the Duke of Edinburgh by wearing the commemorative brooch of the regiment he was associated with for 70 years.

Camilla wore the silver Bugle Horn brooch of The Rifles on her black coat as she accompanied her husband Prince Charles to Prince Philip's funeral at St George's Chapel today.

Camilla was gifted the brooch last year after Prince Philip transferred the historic military title of Colonel-in-Chief of the infantry regiment The Rifles to her in July.

Meanwhile the Queen brought out the diamond Richmond Brooch, which she inherited from her grandmother Queen Mary.

The Duchess of Cornwall has paid tribute to her father-in-law the Duke of Edinburgh by wearing the commemorative brooch of the regiment he was associated with for 70 years

Camilla wore the silver Bugle Horn brooch of The Rifles on her black coat as she accompanied her husband Prince Charles to Prince Philip's funeral at St George's Chapel today

The Queen brought out the diamond Richmond Brooch, which she inherited from her grandmother Queen Mary

The brooch, a present from the town of Richmond for her 1893 wedding to the future King George V, is comprised of diamonds set in silver and gold in a scrolling design surrounding a central pearl, with a pearl and diamond pendant hanging

The brooch, a present from the town of Richmond for her 1893 wedding to the future King George V, is comprised of diamonds set in silver and gold in a scrolling design surrounding a central pearl, with a pearl and diamond pendant hanging below.

It is a flexible jewel - the central pearl and pearl pendant are detachable - and today the Queen chose to leave it off.

The Duchess of Cornwall's choice of brooch is a subtle and fitting way to honour her father-in-law's service.

The Duke of Edinburgh had been closely associated with The Rifles and its earlier regiments for almost 70 years.

The Duke of Edinburgh transferred his role as Colonel-in-Chief of The Rifles to the Duchess of Cornwall in a socially-distanced ceremony.

The Duchess of Cornwall, who arrived at the chapel alone, was dignified in a black dress as she waited for the coffin to arrive

The Duchess of Cornwall stepping out of the car at St George's Chapel ahead of the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral

Prince Philip remained in isolation at Windsor Castle while the Duchess of Cornwall was at Highgrove.

The Duke of Edinburgh was formally thanked for his 67 years of support and service to The Rifles, and their forming and antecedent regiments.

The Duchess of Cornwall made her first visit to The Rifles headquarters in September.

The Rifles were formed in February 2007, following the merger of four celebrated infantry Regiments - The Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry; The Light Infantry; The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry; and The Royal Green Jackets.

Forged during the campaigns of Iraq and Afghanistan, they are now the largest infantry regiment in the British Army. Their motto is: 'Swift and Bold.'
Oregon State Hospital employees were hit with bad news at the end of March.

An unprecedented 20% of the hospitals full-time nursing staff was out on leave, marking the latest effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. And beginning April 1, another wave of workers from throughout the hospital would be required to assist with the day-to-day care and supervision of patients  roles for which many staffers had limited experience and training.

Employees have since reported increasingly dangerous working conditions as they have sustained frequent and severe injuries from patients and suffered exhaustion and burnout from working overtime. Theyve also started pressuring hospital leaders to take immediate action to ease the strain.

Meanwhile, administrators asked a judge on Tuesday to halt new admissions for two weeks, citing a spike in people waiting to be admitted into the hospital.

State hospital administrators said theyre aware of staff complaints, and said they continue to focus on quality care and safety.

But employees say theyre growing increasingly concerned with conditions.

Its all been like sticking your finger in the holes in the dam, said Kim Thoma, an administrative specialist and president of a union that represents many hospital employees.

People are working double shifts, being mandated  theyre working so many hours to try and cover this need.

CRITICAL STAFF SHORTAGE

Low staffing has plagued the hospital for months.

While 116 staffers have contracted COVID-19 over the past year, more than 180 currently arent coming to work because they or a family member are medically fragile  or theyre unable to find childcare.

The hospital has been offering staff paid time off for childcare. But some staffers say that employees without children have taken the time off, and the hospital does not check whether employees using the time have children. Some staffers say that has created an increased burden on employees who dont take the time off.

The state hospital did not immediately confirm details about staff using childcare time.

In order to deal with the staff shortage, the hospital in November launched an emergency staffing plan with five waves of staffing to replenish the ranks as the number of staffers on coronavirus-related leave grew.

The first three waves call for hospital staffers to be reassigned in order to fill vacancies. The fourth draws administrators from throughout the Oregon Health Authority to help staff the hospital floor. The fifth requires the hospital to call in the Oregon National Guard.

The hospital is currently in the third wave. But Superintendent Dolly Matteucci said Tuesday that administrators planned to meet this week to discuss whether to bring in health authority staffers earlier than anticipated.

We have less available in-house resources than we thought we would when we constructed the plan, she told The Oregonian/OregonLive. We are engaging in those planning conversations currently.

The shortage has also prompted administrators to mandate record numbers of employees, requiring them to keep working past the end of their shifts without prior warning.

Last weekend, for example, administrators required 52 employees to work beyond their scheduled hours. And even then, the extra help was still not enough to meet minimum staffing requirements.

In response to the shortages, the hospitals SEIU Local 503 union chapter on Tuesday began circulating a petition calling for administrators to find an immediate solution to the growing problem.

We are concerned that the Emergency Staffing Plan has put numerous people with limited experience in protecting residents and staff onto units creating a less safe environment, states the petition, which had been signed by at east 140 hospital staffers as of Friday.

Problems stem not only from staffing shortages but also from abrupt changes to teams on the hospital floor.

Roberta ODell, who recently retired after a 31-year career at the hospital, said administrators gave members of her team less than a week of notice before splitting them up  a move she claimed hurt employees and their patients.

I think morale is very low, ODell said. Ive seen a lot of changes at that hospital, and these are not good.

A worker from the hospitals vocational services program  one of several employees interviewed by The Oregonian/OregonLive who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation from administrators  said there are often as few as four staffers on a unit with 20 or more patients.

The employee said shes also worked overtime on units where shes the only staffer familiar with the patients housed there.

The ideal number of trained staffers varies depending on the needs of patients in each unit. But ODell said administrators typically staff units with at least five employees who are both trained for the job and familiar with the group of patients.

WORSENING ASSAULTS

The staffing shortage has also taken a physical toll on employees, who say theyve experienced more frequent and serious assaults by patients over the past several months.

At least eight workers were injured last weekend alone, including three who required hospital treatment, according to staffers. In one case, an employee suffered facial lacerations from the sharp edge of a plastic chair wielded by a patient.

The state hospital confirmed that three staffers were hospitalized last weekend. Rebeka Gipson-King, a spokesperson for the hospital, said not every staff member who goes to the hospital reports their injuries.

Other assaults from past months have been similarly serious.

On March 19, a patient broke a staff members arm. And in December, a patient wrapped a piece of clothing around an employees neck  requiring two other workers to wrestle the patient away.

While such stories pour in, state hospital data shows the number of reported assault cases  ranging from a patient spitting at a staffer to a patient causing serious physical injury  has actually taken a slight downturn.

The hospital averaged nearly 55 assaults per month in 2020, as opposed to an average of 56.5 per month between January 2016 and December of last year.

Matteucci, the superintendent, acknowledged assaults have intensified because of the increased strain on patients.

She said part of the hospitals solution is improving trainings and policies so employees can avoid getting hurt in the first place. The hospital also offers injured employees a peer-support program, which connects them with resources and offers them a platform to talk about their trauma.

Were trying to get people back into the classroom to practice what are truly perishable skills, Matteucci said.

Moreover, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sara Walker said its become more difficult to implement patients treatment plans because many patients rely on social workers or other therapeutic specialists who have been tapped to fill other roles.

Its hard enough to effectively implement that when you do have consistent staffing, Walker said. Its virtually impossible when youre dealing with folks who arent accustomed to that work or dont know the patients well.

But staffers are concerned administrators have shown little understanding of the problem, with one mental health technician calling their lack of response absurd.

Weve been drowning, the technician said.

She said when staffers ask nursing administrators for more resources or tell them about assaults, theyre slow to take action.

We have to wait till theres another one  or something bigger, she said.

The technician said nursing administrators began working the hospital floor this week, meaning directors who usually dont work with patients are now helping with day-to-day care.

The move, which underscores staffing problems, frustrated the technician, who said bosses are just now beginning to experience the difficulties faced by others on the hospital floor for the past year.

ODell, the recent hospital retiree, said frequent changes in staffing are partly to blame for the worsening assaults.

Patients arent familiar with these staff at all, she said. You dont have a connection with the patients. You dont know what their triggers are. You dont know their propensity to either verbally or physically assault you.

Patients, too, are feeling the strain.

Some tried to start a riot to demand better food privileges last weekend, according to another mental health technician.

Apparently, patients are listening to staff talk about how were short and dont have any staff, so they planned a moment when they were low and tried to start a riot, the technician said in a text message.

The state hospital did not immediately confirm the attempted patient riot.

Employees worry that if their staffing problems worsen, a patient will kill or critically wound someone.

Safety is not just a concern now, but COVID has put it under a microscope, said Thoma, the SEIU Local 503 chapter president. Its so much bigger now because we dont have the staff to do this.

Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR
Rio de Janeiro: The global death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering 3 million people Saturday amid repeated setbacks in the worldwide vaccination campaign and a deepening crisis in places such as Brazil and India.

The number of lives lost, as compiled by Johns Hopkins University, is about equal to the population of Kyiv, Ukraine; Caracas, Venezuela; or metropolitan Lisbon, Portugal. It is bigger than Chicago (2.7 million) and equivalent to Philadelphia and Dallas combined.

And the true number is believed to be significantly higher because of possible government concealment and the many cases overlooked in the early stages of the outbreak that began in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019.

People wearing face masks as a precaution against coronavirus outbreak carry offerings during Hindu festival of Galungan in Bali, Indonesia. Credit:AP

When the world watched back in January, the toll passed the bleak threshold of 2 million deaths, immunisation drives had just started in Europe and the United States. Today, they are under way in more than 190 countries, though progress in bringing the virus under control varies widely.
New Delhi:

Manish Giri, a sailor with the Indian Navy, was sacked on Monday evening. The reason for Manishs sacking, as cited by the Indian Navy is that Manish underwent a sex reassignment surgery.



Manish, who is now known as Sabi, underwent the surgical procedure in August at a hospital in Delhi while he was on leave.



Indian Navy issued a statement which says, "The Indian Navy has discharged Manish Giri, a naval sailor evoking the clause of Service No Longer Required under the Navy Regulations."



The Indian Navy said that Manish, who underwent the sex change operation "at a private facility whilst on leave, was administratively discharged from the Service."



Manish Giri is deemed guilty of breaching service rules and eligibility criteria for his employment as a Sailor in the Indian Navy.



"The existing service rules and regulations do not permit the sailor's continued employment owing to his altered gender status, medical condition and resultant employability restrictions," says the Indian Navy statement.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
The Queen has been no stranger to grief in her 94 years.

As Princess Elizabeth, she attended her first Royal funeral at the age of nine, when her grandfather, George V, was laid to rest.

Much has changed over the decades but at each solemn occasion, she has cut a dignified figure, her face etched with memories of those she has lost.

1936: George V

Young mourner: Elizabeth, in black beret and holding her mother's hand, arrives for her first funeral at St George's Chapel

1952: George VI

A new monarch: Just nine days a Queen, Elizabeth attends her father's funeral  he died, aged 56, during her tour of Kenya

1972: Edward VIII

Back in the fold: After his death in Paris, the abdicated Monarch was laid to rest in Windsor, with his niece mourning

1997: Princess Diana

Crisis: The Queen had been criticised for her 'cold', protocol-led response to Diana's death, but she led the grieving with gravity

2002: Princess Margaret

Goodbye, little sister: Fifty years to the day after her father's funeral, the Queen mourned Margaret, who died at 71

2002: Queen Mother
US President Joseph R Bidens newly set up commission to recommend reform of the United States Supreme Court has brought to the forefront the political role of constitutional courts. While the US Supreme Court inhabits a vastly different legal, constitutional and political sphere from its Indian counterpart, nonetheless there are interesting parallels given common shared values towards the independence of the judiciary and constitutional governance.

On 9 April 2021, United States (US) President Joseph R Biden announced that he was setting up a 30 member commission to study the functioning of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) and propose reforms where needed. The composition of the commission was decidedly bipartisan with leading legal academics and lawyers, irrespective of their political or jurisprudential views, forming part of the commission. The immediate impulse for the creation of the commission seems to be circumstances under which the last three appointments to the SCOTUS were made (Shear and Hulse 2021).

According to the US Constitution, appointments to the SCOTUS are made directly by the President but the same has to be based on the advice and consent of the US senate.1 Intended as a check on the Presidents powers this means that nominees to the SCOTUS need to receive the approval of a majority of the current 100 member senate.
In the course of 20 years of travel journalism the most impactful article I ever wrote was one about Ethiopia. It began with the words I may have, inadvertently, unearthed the perfect holiday  affordable, unforgettable and in one of the most awesome, exotic and unexplored parts of the world. A holiday that will actually enrich your life, and that you may very likely look back upon from your deathbed with a smile.

As an opening gambit, it was almost embarrassingly effusive, but I was certain at the time that the holiday was one of a kind, and in the years since its been beyond compare in terms of natural beauty, cultural richness and the sheer uniqueness of the whole experience.

It was a walking holiday along the spectacular basalt escarpments of the Ethiopian highlands around Lalibela, one of the worlds most astounding sacred locations, set in a mountain range along the Great Rift Valley where the Blue Nile rises. The holiday involved a series of gentle hikes through the hills, staying with local communities at night in clean, elegant traditional lodges.

I realised that readers would be wary about travelling to Africa, and most especially to Ethiopia, which Irish people equate with war and famine, and so I emphasised how safe the holiday would be, how great the food was, and how it would cost only a fraction of normal holidays, while also directly benefiting some of the poorest people on earth in a provable, tangible way.

I used every journalistic device I had in the hopes of convincing readers to take a chance, and it worked. In the 12 years since I wrote the piece Ive had more positive feedback about it than for anything else Ive written. The same holiday is still available today and run by a philanthropic community tourism offshoot of the original TESFA organisation (Tourism in Ethiopia for Sustainable Future Alternatives).

And I still get emails from grateful readers.

So, what exactly does it entail? You start out at either the town of Lalibela or Bahir Dar, or Gondar, depending on how you wish to travel north from the capital, Addis Ababa. All are spectacular places and youll want to spend a few days exploring them before you arrange to get dropped at the trailhead with your guide, where porters from the community will be waiting with donkeys. And, from there you simply set off walking 8km along a tree-lined path up towards the escarpment, through a pastoral landscape of grain fields, terraced vegetable plots and soaring stony upland meadows, with clusters of mud and thatch farms here and there.

Its a magical land of olive groves, shepherd boys and women scrubbing cloths at acacia-lined streams. Youll encounter hidden Orthodox churches made from stone and wood, and processions of garlanded priests with gold-tasselled sun umbrellas.

Although the land looks arid, its remarkably bountiful and everywhere there are men ploughing with oxen and wooden ploughs and winnowing with forks cut from tree branches.

The trail is easy and the pace is slow, so you will feel a nice fatigue rather than exhaustion at the end of the first day, and the beauty of your overnight location will soon revive you. Its right on the edge of the escarpment, with mountains running on to the ends of the earth and surging outcrops of hexagonal basalt columns rising up beneath you. The smoke from cooking fires is all that hints at possible habitation down below.

Above you are a profusion of auger buzzards, falcons, and eagles soaring on the thermals. You are served tea and a freshly-baked snack as you take in the view. Then, while dinner is cooking you head out to an over-hanging rock-ledge for a sunset beer, as Gelada baboons scramble along the cliff face beneath you. Dinner is served around an open fire in one of the traditional circular, stone-walled, thatched-roof tukuls, and since there is no electricity you go to sleep early.

The days continue more or less like this  you can trek for between one and six nights  the landscape and people becoming ever more alluring the deeper you enter the region. Each trek between the various camps is beautiful for its own reason, but in my memory, the most spectacular and challenging of all was the walk up into the remote highland sanctuary of Abuna Yoseph. This route is long and requires stamina. It leads you up through a forest of giant heather to a community-run camp at 3,500 metres and onwards the next day over a highland plateau farmed by resilient mountain people, to a 4,300-metre peak in an Afro-Alpine ecosystem of giant Lobelias (massive cabbage-like trees) and rare Ethiopian wolves.

Hopefully, its now clearer why so many readers were lured to try out the holiday and enjoyed it so much. Its remarkable that the trip is still available after 12 years, especially since its a philanthropic, community-run venture, and such things are normally hard to maintain long-term. TESFA was initially set up by an Englishman, Mark Chapman, who realised that since there were no tarred roads or any other type of infrastructure in the area, the usual rich white investors from South Africa or Europe could not be enticed in, and this provided an ideal opportunity to develop a genuine network of community tourism sites in which the locals themselves could benefit in a tangible way, rather than having all the profits siphoned out to wealthy investors overseas.

He hiked out to what he considered was the most beautiful spot in the entire region, a fertile meadow right at the edge of a plummeting black basalt escarpment, and explained to the local elders that if they built a few of their traditional tukuls he would bring tourists to them and hed give them 55% of what the tourists paid, while 25% went to the local guides with the remaining 20% being used to cover marketing and booking costs. They were initially sceptical, wondering where the catch was, but they grudgingly agreed, and in 2003 the first lodges were built on the very edge of a sheer precipice at Mequat Mariam overlooking a tawny-coloured stretch of undulating paradise.

By the time I visited six years later, I was able to see the grain store and school buildings built by the community with the funds they had received. By then, TESFA had an office in Addis Ababa and were setting up other trails throughout Ethiopia.

The organisation has continued to grow with remarkable stability ever since and with valuable support funding from the Irish government through Irish Aid. Some internal challenges led Chapman to set up an offshoot, Tesfa Tours, in 2010, but the holiday is still the same.

In 2019 I was all set to write a follow-up article focusing on some new destinations that Tesfa Tours were offering, but then everything changed. The world seemed to wake up to the fact that the Earth was now the warmest itd been in 120,000 years, and that concentrations of carbon dioxide were the highest theyd been in millions of years. I realised it was no longer justifiable to be promoting foreign holidays, even ones that do as much tangible good for the local community.

Reluctantly, I cancelled my trip and gradually began to accept the new reality that my holidays would have to be taken by train from now on. Ethiopia would remain a beautiful memory for me until such time as electric planes are developed that can affordably fly that far.

As for what other people should do, its not for me to say. I definitely am still passionate about the ability of community tourism to bring great benefits to disadvantaged areas. Perhaps people need to take fewer journeys, but for longer and make them more impactful. Ethiopia has been struck by Covid as badly as anywhere in Africa, with most infections confined to the capital. The situation is compounded by war in the northern province of Tigray, but despite these setbacks, Tesfa Tours is still continuing to offer hikes in the mountains and Ethiopian Airlines is still operating flights direct from Dublin.

Tesfa Tours PO Box 33007, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, +251-11-126-0301/03 - tesfatours.com

Flights: Ethiopian Airlines operate direct flights from Ireland - ethiopianairlines.com/ie
- By Graham Griffin





The T. Rowe Price Japan Fund (Trades, Portfolio) has revealed its portfolio for the first quarter of 2021. Top trades for the quarter include reductions in the fund's Fast Retailing Co. Ltd. (TSE:9983), SMS Co. Ltd. (TSE:2175) and SoftBank Group Corp. (TSE:9984) positions and an addition to its Hikari Tsushin Inc. (TSE:9435) holding alongside a new buy into Coconala Inc. (TSE:4176).





The fund was started in 1991 and seeks long-term growth of capital through investments in common stocks of companies located, or with primary operations, in Japan. The fund relies on a global team of investment analysts dedicated to in-depth fundamental research in an effort to identify companies capable of achieving and sustaining above-average, long-term earnings growth. Its leaders seek to purchase stocks of such companies at reasonable prices in relation to present or anticipated earnings, cash flow or book value.

Portfolio overview

At the end of the quarter, the fund's portfolio contained 61 stocks, with one new holding in Conconala (TSE:4176). It was valued at $1.11 billion and has seen a turnover rate of 1%. Top holdings for the fund are SoftBank Group, Hoshizaki Corp. (TSE:6465), Suzuki Motor Corp. (TSE:7269), Keyence Corp. (TSE:6861) and Fanuc Corp. (TSE:6954).

T. Rowe Price Japan Fund Slashes Portfolio in 1st Quarter

By weight, the top sectors represented are industrials (31.37%), technology (15.30%) and communication services (14%).

T. Rowe Price Japan Fund Slashes Portfolio in 1st Quarter

Fast Retailing

The fund slashed its Fast Retailing (TSE:9983) holding by 50.24% with the sale of 21,200 shares. During the quarter, the shares traded at an average price of 94,295.10 yen ($866.48) per share. Overall, the reduction had a -1.53% impact on the portfolio and GuruFocus estimates the total gain of the holding at 63.81%.

T. Rowe Price Japan Fund Slashes Portfolio in 1st Quarter

Fast Retailing is Japan's largest apparel company, operating the casualwear retail chain Uniqlo, known for its high-quality functional apparel at reasonable prices. The business is founded on a private-label apparel model whereby Fast Retailing is in charge of product design, production and sales. Fast Retailing is ranked the third-largest apparel company by sales globally, thanks to expansion of Uniqlo, which contributes more than 80% of group sales and 90% of profits. As at the end of August 2020, it runs 3,630 stores globally, including 813 and 1,439 Uniqlo stores in Japan and overseas, respectively. Other brands in its portfolio include GU and acquired brands Theory, Comptoir des Cotonniers, Princesse Tam Tam (French lingerie) and J Brand (premium denim).

Story continues

On April 16, the stock was trading at 90,230 yen per share with a market cap of 9.17 trillion yen. According to the GF Value Line, the shares are trading at a significantly overvalued rating.

T. Rowe Price Japan Fund Slashes Portfolio in 1st Quarter

GuruFocus gives the company a financial strength rating of 7 out of 10, a profitability rank of 8 out of 10 and a valuation rank of 1 out of 10. There is currently one severe warning sign issued for assets growing faster than revenue. The strong profitability rank is propped up by operating and net margin percentages that beat at least 72% of industry competitors.

T. Rowe Price Japan Fund Slashes Portfolio in 1st Quarter

Coconala

The fund established a new holding in Coconala (TSE:4176) with the purchase of 377,200 shares. The shares traded at an average price of 2,251.89 yen per share during the first quarter. The new addition had a 0.58% impact on the portfolio and the holding has gained an estimated 0.98% in its short lifetime.

T. Rowe Price Japan Fund Slashes Portfolio in 1st Quarter

Coconala operates a website to buy and sell knowledge, skills and experience from users who are willing to teach.

As of April 16, the stock was trading at 2,217 yen per share with a market cap of 48.83 billion yen. There is not enough data to display a GF Value Line and the stock has yet to make it back to its debut price.

T. Rowe Price Japan Fund Slashes Portfolio in 1st Quarter

GuruFocus gives the company a financial strength rating of 4 out of 10. There is currently one severe warning sign issued for poor financial strength. The company's cash-to-debt ratio of 1.76 ranks it worse than 68.29% of the industry and is an all-time low for the company.

T. Rowe Price Japan Fund Slashes Portfolio in 1st Quarter

SMS

During the first quarter, the fund's SMS (TSE:2175) holding was cut by 17.89%. The fund sold 173,000 shares at an average price of 3,712.62 yen per share. GuruFocus estimates the total gain of the holding at 87.23% and the sale had an overall impact of -0.53% on the portfolio.

T. Rowe Price Japan Fund Slashes Portfolio in 1st Quarter

SMS is a Japanese company involved in providing various services targeting information infrastructure for the aging society. The company divides its search service by the following segments: nursing care, medical care, career, health care/senior life and global.

The stock was trading at 3,425 yen per share with a market cap of 293.98 billion yen. The GF Value Line shows the stock trading at a modestly overvalued rating.

T. Rowe Price Japan Fund Slashes Portfolio in 1st Quarter

GuruFocus gives the company a financial strength rating of 7 out of 10, a profitability rank of 9 out of 10 and a valuation rank of 1 out of 10. There is currently one severe warning sign issued for assets growing faster than revenue. The company has consistently increased revenue and net income throughout the last decade.

T. Rowe Price Japan Fund Slashes Portfolio in 1st Quarter

SoftBank Group

The fund's top holding SoftBank Group (TSE:9984) was also pulled back during the first quarter. With the sale of 58,300 shares, the holding was reduced by 5.7%. During the quarter, the shares traded at an average price of 9,370.64 yen per share. Overall, the sale had a -0.37% impact on the portfolio and GuruFocus estimates the total gain of the holding at 140.49%.

T. Rowe Price Japan Fund Slashes Portfolio in 1st Quarter

SoftBank is a Japan-based telecom and e-commerce conglomerate that has expanded mainly through acquisitions, and its key assets include a 28% stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba; a 40% owned mobile and fixed broadband telecom operator business in Japan. It also owns 75% of semiconductor chip designer ARM Holdings although has agreed to sell this and is waiting on regulatory approvals, and has a vast portfolio of mainly internet- and e-commerce-focused early stage investments. It is also a general partner of the $100 billion SoftBank Vision Fund 1 and sole investor in Softbank Vision Fund 2, both of which primarily invest in pre-IPO Internet companies.

On April 16, the stock was trading at 10,080 yen per share with a market cap of 17.65 trillion yen. According to the GF Value Line, the shares are trading at a significantly overvalued rating.

T. Rowe Price Japan Fund Slashes Portfolio in 1st Quarter

GuruFocus gives the company a financial strength 3 out of 10, a profitability rank of 6 out of 10 and a valuation rank of 1 out 10. There are currently five severe warning signs, including an Altman Z-Score of 1 placing the company in the distress column and new long-term debt. Free cash flow and net income took a dive for the company in 2020 hitting a low point in the company's recent history.

T. Rowe Price Japan Fund Slashes Portfolio in 1st Quarter

Hikari Tsushin

One of two additions to any holding for the fund came from its position in Hikari (TSE:9435). The purchase of 18,100 shares boosted the holding by 29.38%. The shares that were purchased traded at an average price of 21,860.20 yen per share during the quarter. GuruFocus estimates the total gain of the holding at 65.21% and the addition had an overall impact of 0.30% on the portfolio.

T. Rowe Price Japan Fund Slashes Portfolio in 1st Quarter

Hikari Tsushin is a Japanese company that provides services such as networking and automation products offering individual insurance plans for small and medium-size enterprises. The company has three reporting segments: corporate, shop and insurance. The corporate segment offers products such as Wi-Fi routers, SIM cards, water coolers and LED lighting. Revenue is evenly split between the corporate and shop segments with insurance adding a small portion. The company earns the vast majority of its revenue in Japan.

As of April 16, the stock was trading at 22,500 yen per share with a market cap of 1.05 trillion yen. The shares are trading at a modestly undervalued rating according to the GF Value Line.

T. Rowe Price Japan Fund Slashes Portfolio in 1st Quarter

GuruFocus gives the company a financial strength rating of 5 out of 10, a profitability rank of 7 out of 10 and a valuation rank of 3 out of 10. There are currently no severe warning signs issued for the company. The company has consistently increased value for shareholders over the last few years by maintaining a return on invested capital that supports the weighted average cost of capital.

T. Rowe Price Japan Fund Slashes Portfolio in 1st Quarter

Disclosure: Author owns no stocks mentioned.

Read more here:

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Not a Premium Member of GuruFocus? Sign up for a free 7-day trial here.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 20:28:07|Editor: huaxia

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TEHRAN, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian health ministry on Saturday reported 21,312 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, taking the country's total infections to 2,215,445.

The pandemic has so far claimed 66,327 lives in Iran, up by 319 in the past 24 hours, said Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, during her daily briefing.

A total of 1,772,688 people have recovered from the disease or been discharged from hospitals across the country, while 4,694 remain in intensive care units, she noted.

The spokeswoman added 14,277,782 tests have so far been carried out across the country.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday that Iranians are now in danger of contraction of the mutated strain of the COVID-19, which is 70 percent more contagious than the earlier variant.

Rouhani urged the people to adjust their lifestyle to the new condition by observing stricter health measures.

Iran reported first cases of the coronavirus in February 2020. Enditem
Sports

Joshua and Fury clash set to take place in Saudi Arabia

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua

London, Apr 17 (Agencies) | Publish Date: 4/17/2021 12:44:13 PM IST

The undisputed heavyweight clash between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury is set to take place in Saudi Arabia this summer, according to reports.

Talks have been continuing in recent weeks over a date and venue for the huge fight, and Joshuas promoter Eddie Hearn revealed that both sides had agreed on a site offer for the bout.

While he did not confirm what country that was, Talksport report that the super fight will likely take place in Saudi Arabia, with a fight date to follow soon.

That would see Joshua return to the country where he avenged his shock defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr, with a comprehensive win on points in 2019.

Whats been agreed is that both Anthony Joshuas camp and Tyson Furys camp want to fight in Saudi Arabia, Mark Kriegel told Talksport.

Saudi Arabia was the frontrunner from the beginning, and thats where everybody wants to go now.

Its not real until someone under the auspices of the Saudi government puts money into escrow.

Both sides have yet to sign  this is a crucial document  a memorandum of understanding.Ive had several sources tell me today that theyre, waiting for the paperwork from Saudi.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Uzbekistan, Russia, America, Singapore, China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and England had been among the options considered to host the mega fight.

However, the slim chances of British stadiums being allowed to welcome a capacity crowd in the summer meant it was unlikely that fight was going to take place domestically. Speaking to Behind The Gloves, Hearn revealed a meeting with Fury this week confirmed to him that the fight was going ahead.

Both sides have approved the site offer that they want to go with, and now were just finalising the site deal and were in a great place, Hearn said.

I saw Tyson yesterday. I just messaged him and said, Im in Vegas, Im in your hotel if you fancy a cuppa.

We just had five or 10 minutes together and it was good, because I dont represent Tyson Fury, so I dont know what is in his mind. What he basically cemented in my mind was, this is the only fight he wants, and I know thats the same with AJ.
The damage happened slowly and invisibly. It burst into the open a full month after Februarys winter storm.

Celia De La Rosa came home from work on March 18 to find a collapsed roof, burst pipes in the ceiling and a flooded house.

Ruined tile in bathrooms had to be pulled out. Soggy sheetrock had to be removed. De La Rosa, 45, had to shower at friends homes.

She was at wits end. Then she found out about the San Antonio Water Systems Community Pipe Repair program.

Contractors working under the programs auspices repaired some of the burst pipes. De La Rosa said a representative of the program has been in touch with her to schedule repairs to leaky fixtures.

Im thankful shes been calling, said De La Rosa, who works in a pharmacy. Im just trying to get back to a normal life. Its bad enough with COVID. Its been a struggle.

Donations to the SAWS program are helping residents such as De La Rosa restore water service and repair damaged pipes.

Since early March, residents, businesses and philanthropists have donated nearly $867,000. Of the total, nearly $50,000 was in small donations from SAWS customers who want to help fellow San Antonians.

More than 1,000 households have applied for assistance.

The San Antonio Area Foundation played a key part in creating the program. Corporate donors have included Spurs Give, Toyota, NuStar Energy, the Greehey Family Foundation, the Frost Charitable Foundation, the Schultz Family Foundation, the Latino Foundation of San Antonio, Broadway Bank and Wells Fargo.

Owners of single-family homes with a 2019 value of $140,000 or less are eligible for assistance. Residents whose homes are valued at more than that may still apply; they may qualify for help, depending on family size and income.

Renters may also apply if the property owner signs a waiver of damages and agrees to the terms of the program.

Customers can apply online at saws.org/CPR. Residents can also apply by emailing CPR-SA@saws.org or calling 210-233-FIXX (3499).

Mayor Ron Nirenberg helped secured corporate donations to the fund.

The winter storm dealt a blow to many residents who already had spent the past year coping with the pandemic, Nirenberg said. Many of our neighbors cant afford to repair storm-damaged pipes, but they cant afford not to. The best of San Antonio invariably surfaces to combat tough situations. Neighbors helping neighbors is the San Antonio way.

To donate to the program, go to saafdn.org/cpr.

Bexar County has a separate plumbing assistance reimbursement program related to the winter storm. The deadline to apply is April 30. Residents in unincorporated areas and any of the suburban cities in the county are eligible, regardless of their water supplier. Those who rely on private wells also are eligible.

Reimbursement is available for up to $1,500 for repairs directly related to water supply, such as broken pipes; water damage to floors and walls is not covered.

For more information or to apply, go to bexar.org/plumbing. The application and information are available in Spanish as well as English.

vtdavis@express-news.net
What exactly are you looking for ? 2wd ? 4wd " a project or something that doesn't need a lot of work ? if you're willing to travel a little it might save you time and money in the end.This is kind of a starting point , I assume it's rust free since it's located where it is and the paint looks original. something like this would need a lot of work but I bet you could have it shipped to your town and be in it no more than $2500. there are much better ones of course depending on your budget. just an example of what you can find elsewhere if you have problems locally.
Canada is experiencing a shortage of tapioca pearls, or boba, used in bubble tea as shipping delays continue to affect the global supply chain.

Most Canadian wholesalers get bubble tea supplies from Asia, particularly from Taiwan, where the popular drink originated, said a Vancouver-based supplier of bubble tea products.

"Right now, the supply of popping boba and (tapioca) pearls are running really thin," said Greg Tieu of Bubble Tea Canada, which provides wholesale supplies to companies in Alberta, Quebec and Ontario.

This is causing concern among bubble tea cafes and shops in Canada as demand for the drink grows with warmer weather, Tieu said.

Bubble tea, a Taiwanese tea-based drink, commonly features chewy pearls of tapioca or boba, which are made from the starch of cassava.

Tieu said the shortage is caused by the pandemic, coupled with the obstruction of the Suez Canal last month after a container ship blocked the trade route.

"The cost of that (delay) is being passed onto shops and consumers," he said, noting that the backlog has caused some wholesale prices to go up.

"That stop in the supply chain can hit stores very hard, whether they'll have supplies or not."

The delays are not only affecting the supply of tapioca pearls, popping boba and flavoured syrups but also items such as disposable cups, he added.

The shortage has been going on for at least two weeks and could take months to catch up, he said.

"We're hoping the backlog would catch up," said Tieu, adding that the business has started to limit purchase quantities.



AB Distribution, a Canada-wide bubble tea products distributor based in Calgary, said it is also experiencing a shortage tied to delays.

Some shipments that should have arrived in March are only arriving this week, said Carol Tang, AB Distribution's sales manager.



"There's definitely a lot of unpredictable factors. Shipments can be cancelled, containers can be cancelled, even when we already have them scheduled," she said.



Tang said this can cause a lot of stress for businesses.

Story continues

"We're hoping that once we get through this jam, the remaining arrivals will continue to arrive," she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2021.

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

Denise Paglinawan, The Canadian Press
Since the pandemic emerged last year, tech companies have tried their best to provide people with the most authentic information and help them in all ways they can. When the pandemic initially started a lot of people started spreading ideas and knowledge related to the it based on what they have heard without any authentication and social media and search platforms tried to stop this by providing authentic information authorized by WHO on their platform to all their users. When the vaccine rolled out similar things happened and similar actions were taken. Among these social media companies was Google who provided information on its main page on how many Covid19 cases were infected in your country and also provided some health care knowledge related to it.Now since the vaccine has rolled out globally Google had other purposes to fulfill related to it as well. Google announced a number of additional efforts it will be playing to ensure that the vaccine distribution achieves equity worldwide, like surfacing locations in Maps and Search.Google and Maps will help people search where there is a vaccination outlet near their locality and if the vaccine at the current time is present there for people to get vaccinated. The company has made this information available in a few countries like US, Canada, France, Chile, India, and Singapore and hopefully this feature will roll out for other countries as well.Apart from this Google.org is providing $2.5 million in grant funding to three organizations working on pop-up vaccination sites and other efforts. Partners in Health, Stop the Spread, and Team Rubicon are working directly with over 500 community-based organizations to serve Black, Latino and rural communities.This effort is being done because Google realizes that though almost a quarter of United States has been vaccinated, vaccination rates vary by geography and community and to ensure that the facility for vaccination reaches everyone in the country the company has paired with community-based organizations and local health centers that have on-the-ground expertise and the trust of the people they serve.The philanthropic arm is funding the amount of 250,000 US Dollars for low and middle class families to ensure no body because of less financial means gets deprived of vaccinations. Google.org is also providing Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, with pro bono technical assistance to speed up the global distribution and committing $15 million in Ad Grants.Lastly, the company is committing an additional $250 million in Ad Grants to governments and community/public health organizations, like WHO, to fund more than 2.5 billion vaccine-related PSAs.This is a great initiative by Google because at such crucial times the world need as much help as it can get and it is nice to see big tech companies coming forward in whatever ways they can help.Read next: Turkeys Competition Board is fining Google $36.65 million for having a dominant position on the internet and not giving other promising companies the chance to come forward
An events worker who was out of a job due to the coronavirus pandemic amassed more than 130,000 followers on TikTok after she reluctantly downloaded the app - and became a representative for Sydney's western suburbs in the process.

Veronica B shot to stardom on the video sharing app last year when she began making short clips about Sydneysiders - ranging from satirical pieces about retail workers to the types of Louis Vuitton owners.

But the 24-year-old said she was initially 'so against TikTok' and dismissed it as an app just for young children.

'Exactly one year ago, my job was put on hold due to Covid. I was bored and lonely at home, just like everyone else,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'I was one of those who kept saying ''I'll never get that app'', ''I'm not being a sheep in this trend'', then I got it, just like everyone else.'

Veronica B (pictured at a TikTok event) started using the app after her job was put on hold during the coronavirus pandemic

The 24-year-old became an online sensation by commentating on Sydney's western suburbs

Veronica's first video followed a TikTok 'trend' and failed miserably.

'It got no views, I was like what a waste of time,' she said.

'Then I made a comedy skit, the types of guys at Sydney nightclubs.

'This video went viral. My account blew up. The followers wanted more, so I created more comedy skits based on stereotypes.'

Some of her most popular TikTok videos include tongue-in-cheek analysis about the degrees studied by both sexes, the types of women to dress in Louis Vuitton and the sort of female workers in suit stores.

She also commonly speaks about 'The Area', which typically refers to suburbs in Western Sydney that are made up of diverse cultural groups.

'All the meme pages in 'The Area' would share me, I was viral within 2 weeks of posting,' she said.

'I'm known as 'Veronica B The Area girl'.'

Veronica started collaborating with other creators and her followers quickly rose to 10,000 and then on to 30,000.

When she reached 50,000 TikTok followers, Veronica dropped merch with the slogan #CloutChaser (pictured), which sold out

Veronica said TikTok has become her full-time job and she is quickly approaching 150,000 followers

When she reached 50,000, Veronica dropped merch with the slogan #CloutChaser, which sold out.

'I noticed a strong niche was formed and it was all Sydney and Melbourne people,' she said.

'The hype was real.'

Veronica said TikTok has become her full-time job and she is quickly approaching 150,000 followers.

'Known businesses are reaching out wanting me to create comedy videos for their company. Even SBS news reached out to shoot a tv segment with me,' she said.

Veronica said she works with businesses to give them exposure on her TikTok.

'The way that I'm making a living is working with other businesses to show off their stuff,' she explained.

Veronica commonly speaks about 'The Area', which typically refers to suburbs in Western Sydney that are made up of diverse cultural groups. ''I'm known as 'Veronica B The Area girl',' she said

She can make between $400 and $2,000 per video.

It has also opened the doors for other opportunities, as she looks to pursue stand-up comedy and hosting events - rather than just organising them.

'I still don't realise how known and inspirational I've become. People stop me all the time wanting photos, thanking me for making them laugh,' she said.

But the TikTok success is not without some criticism.

Veronica said she often receives threatening and bullying direct messages.

While it was hard at first, Veronica has learnt to use the hate mail to her advantage.

'But hate is the new KPI right? If you're getting hate, you're obviously doing something right,' she said.

Veronica said she often receives threatening and bullying direct messages. While it was hard at first, she has learnt to use the hate mail to her advantage

Veronica recently attended an intimate event hosted by Jessica Power from Married At First Sight and she even planned a TikTok creators event in Sydney.

The event included content creators from all over Australia, with three people flying in from Melbourne and two from Perth.

'I wanted to do it because I wanted to be the one to bring together your for you page,' she said.

Veronica hopes to plan bigger events in the future and her next step is to involve the community that watch her on TikTok.

'I've been striving for this social media breakthrough for so many years and to know it finally happened because of TikTok is insane,' she said.

'It's crazy to think I've built this platform and lifestyle for myself.

'I have big things planned for the future, things that I've only ever dreamed about, but now I can make it happen.'
Chennai, April 17 : Tamil movie comedian and Padma Shri recipient Vivekh passed away on Saturday at a private hospital here. He was 59.

He was admitted to SIMS Hospital on Friday morning after showing "acute coronary syndrome with cardiogenic shock".

Vivekh, who was in a critical condition, was put on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) support, the hospital said.

Vivekh was brought to the emergency ward of the hospital in an unconscious state at about 11 a.m. on Friday by his family members, the hospital said.

The hospital said that he was resuscitated in the emergency room by specialists and later underwent an emergency coronary angiogram followed by an angioplasty.

According to doctors, Vivekh had complained to his family members about chest pain.

Condoling his death, Telangana Governor and Lt.Governor of Puducherry Tamilisai Soundararajan said Vivekh through his comedy dialogues had spread good social messages and earned the sobriquet "Chinna Kalaivanar" or Little Kalaivanar (Late Tamil movie comedian N.S. Krishnan had the sobriquet Kalaivanar) and was also an environmentalist in planting lakhs of tree saplings.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K.Palaniswami in his condolence message said that it was shocking to hear about the Vivekh's death.

With his incomparable service the passing away of Vivekh is a big loss for the movie and the social service sectors, Palaniswami said.

DMK President M.K. Stalin said that Vivekh by his distinctive style offered comedy and social messages.

PMK Founder S. Ramadoss said that Vivekh's death was difficult to believe. He was socially and environmentally conscious and was instrumental in planting lakhs of tree saplings.

Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) leader M.H. Jawahirullah in his condolence message said that Vivekh had sowed good thoughts and constructive actions in people's minds.

In a tweet Rajinikant said that he was greatly pained at close friend Vivekh's death. He will not forget each and every day during the shooting of the movie Sivaji.

Several movie actors and fans are paying homage to the mortal remains of Vivekh at his residence here.

Vivekh born as Vivekanandan first joined the Tamil Nadu government service and later switched over to the movie world.

He made his debut in 1987 in the movie "Manathil Urudhi Vendum" directed by the late K. Balachander.

Soon he was in great demand and has acted with top heroes like Rajinikanth, Vijay, Ajith, Surya and others. He has acted in over 200 movies.

Vivekh was awarded the Padma Shri in 2009 and the Kalaivanar award from the Tamil Nadu government.

Vivekh an admirer of late President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, under the Green Kalam project was instrumental in planting lakhs of tree saplings and also for mass campaigns for tree planting and environment protection.

Meanwhile the Tamil Nadu government has decided to accord full police honours during Vivekh's final rites in recognition of his contributions to arts and the society.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Ashen-faced, Prince Philip's close friend, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, looked 'heartbroken' as she arrived for the funeral yesterday.

Penelope Knatchbull  known as 'Penny'  sat quietly at the back of St George's Chapel.

In many ways, Penny, who turned 68 on Friday, was the second-most important woman in the Duke of Edinburgh's life  a constant confidante, loyal companion and 'keeper of secrets'.

'Penny was one of the few friends that Philip continued to see regularly after 2017 and his withdrawal from Royal duties,' said one aide.

'They were brought together by tragedy but were there for each other through thick and thin. He trusted her implicitly and she adored him. She never betrayed him.

'She was a keeper of not only his secrets but those of the entire family.

'Theirs was a deep and lasting friendship. Penny was always jokingly referred to as 'and also' because whenever a list was being drawn up for a family event, be it private or public, it would be 'let's invite X and Y' and then Philip would insist 'and also Penny'

'No Royal event, major or minor, was complete without her.'

Penelope Knatchbull arrives at Windsor Castle to attend the funeral of Prince Philip

While much has been made of their shared passion for the sport of carriage driving, their ties were deep and went back decades.

Penny is thought to have met Philip in 1974 when she was dating Norton Knatchbull, now the 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma, one of Prince Charles's closest friends at Gordonstoun School in Scotland.

The only daughter of Reginald Eastwood, a butcher-turned-businessman, she was educated in Switzerland before taking a business degree at the London School of Economics.

Penny met her husband at a party thrown by mutual friends in London and was described by one acquaintance as 'one of the most natural young women I have ever met, outgoing but not brash or flirty. Utterly delightful'.

They added: 'She was also very bright, engaged and clever. Well read. She's easy company and lovely to be around'.

Pictured: Prince Philip and the Countess Mountbatten of Burma watch polo in 1975

Earl Mountbatten, 73, whose family seat is Broadlands in Hampshire, where the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh spent their honeymoon, is the grandson of Lord Louis Mountbatten, Prince Philip's beloved uncle.

When he married Penny in 1979  with Prince Charles as best man  it was just two months after Lord Mountbatten had been murdered by the IRA. The Earl also lost his brother Nicholas and grandmother, Lady Brabourne, when a bomb, planted on the family's fishing boat, exploded in County Sligo.

Until 2005, the Countess was known as Lady Romsey and later Lady Brabourne until assuming her current title on the death of her husband's mother in 2017.

The Knatchbulls were always close members of the Royal circle but tragedy bonded Penny and Philip when, in 1991, her youngest daughter Leonora died of kidney cancer at the age of five.

Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, and Penny watch the driven dressage from the Prince's Landrover during day three of the Royal Windsor Horse Show in 2009

'He was a tremendous support for her during a time of unimaginable grief,' a source said.

'Despite their 30-year age difference, they had a lot of things in common. Penny has always been utterly discreet, totally loyal and always gave her honest opinion on things, good and bad, as best pals are supposed to do.

'But the friendship was a two-way street. Philip was always there for her.

Protocol puzzle over invitation Mystery surrounded the inclusion of what was described as an 'odd' mention of Countess Mountbatten of Burma in the official 'commentary notes' released by Buckingham Palace to the media. In them, the Countess  widely accepted as one of Prince Philip's longest and most loyal friends  was described as attending on behalf of her husband, rather than in her own right. They declared: 'The Earl is unwell and unable to attend so The Countess is attending as his representative. The Earl is the grandson of Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg; 25 June 1900  27 August 1979), a British Royal Navy officer and statesman and uncle of The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.' But one Royal observer described the reference as 'baffling', adding: 'It seems odd to put that paragraph in there and, frankly, slightly demeaning to Penny as she was far closer to the Duke than her husband ever was.' Advertisement

'She looked heartbroken when she arrived at the funeral and she is heartbroken. She's lost her best friend.'

After Leonora's death, Philip began to invite Penny on carriage rides and she became passionate about carriage driving, a sport one aide described as 'one of the big loves of his life after the Queen'.

The Duke and Penny were often together at events such as the Royal Windsor Horse Show, sometimes on matching mini-motorbikes as they rode around the course they would later follow in their carriages.

Indeed, two black Fell ponies and a carriage designed by Philip stood at Windsor Castle yesterday as his coffin made its way to St George's Chapel.

The dark green four-wheeled aluminium and steel carriage, accompanied by two of his grooms, is one he designed and began using at the age of 91.

With it in Windsor Castle's Quadrangle were his two beloved Fell ponies  Balmoral Nevis and Notlaw Storm  both born in 2008.

In 2010, Earl Mountbatten left Penny to live with his mistress in the Bahamas, but within a couple of years had returned to a cottage on the Broadlands estate.

Penny took over the running of the 18th Century, 60-room mansion during her husband's absence and continues to run the house and estate today.

She allowed her errant husband to move back into the 'big house' after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. The Earl has not been seen in public for several years.

Their daughter Leonora is buried within the 86-acre grounds of Broadlands and Penny has devoted her life to raising money for a charity in her name.

Seven years ago, the Leonora Children's Charity Cancer Fund was merged with The Edwina Mountbatten Trust, a charity founded by Leonora's great- grandmother.

'Her life of service and charity is something which bonded her to the Duke,' the source said.

'There was a great mutual admiration between them.'

While many will miss Philip, the pain etched so clearly on Penny's face yesterday suggests few people outside his immediate family will miss his company more than her.

Prince Philip's closest confidante: Penny Brabourne who shared his love of carriage driving and was a regular visitor to Sandringham in his retirement

By Bridie Pearson-Jones for MailOnline

Penny Romsey, 68, who is 32 years younger than Prince Philip, remained close to the Duke of Edinburgh for years after he took it upon himself in 1994 to teach her carriage driving.

Formerly Penelope Meredith Eastwood, 'Penny' Knatchbull, previously known as Lady Romsey and later Lady Brabourne, is the daughter of a retired army major.

Penny's father left school at 15 and became a butcher, like his father and grandfather before him. He founded the Angus Steakhouse chain of restaurants which he sold for several millions, giving Penny a privileged childhood. She grew up and was educated in Switzerland before attending the London School of Economics.

She first met the Duke  who is 30 years her senior  at a polo match when she was 20 and in a relationship with Lord Romsey, Earl Mountbatten's grandson Norton Knatchbull.

She first met the Duke  who is 30 years her senior  at a polo match when she was 20 and in a relationship with Lord Romsey, Earl Mountbatten's grandson Norton Knatchbull (pictured the trio together in 2009)

Norton, 73, is the grandson of Lord Mountbatten - who was famously close to his nephew Prince Philip. Philip was Norton's godson, while Norton is the godfather of Prince William.

Penny's father, Reg Eastwood, had sold his steakhouse chain to the Golden Egg company and was living with his wife in Majorca when his daughter married Norton.

The wedding had been delayed for eight weeks because five months earlier, on August 25, IRA bombers blew up a small boat in the sea off Mullaghmore, Co. Sligo, where Lord Mountbatten had a holiday home.

It killed Mountbatten, Norton's 14-year-old younger brother Nicholas (after whom he was to name his own son), his paternal grandmother the Dowager Lady Brabourne and Paul Maxwell, a 15-year-old local.

Prince Philip with his confidante Lady Brabourne (Penny Romsey) at The Royal Windsor Horse Show in 2007 in Berkshire

Prince Philip and Lady Penny Romsey riding an 'Easy Rider' Monkey bike at Windsor Horse show in 2005 (pictured left) and in 2009, pictured right

Mountbatten's murder meant that Broadlands became the newlyweds' first and only home. Brought up in his parents' comfortable 18th century country house in Kent, Norton dreaded it. He never wanted the burden of Broadlands and knew he could hardly live up to his illustrious grandfather as the local 'lord of the manor'.

A family friend previously revealed: 'On the other hand, Penny was always comfortable there because she knew it was their duty.'

But Norton fell out with the locals when, in the Eighties, he tried to get planning permission for Tesco to build a superstore on the estate.

Feelings ran so high that opponents of the development carried a burning effigy of their High Steward through the streets of Romsey. The supermarket was never built.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh attended Penny's wedding to her husband Norton at Romsey Abbey in Hampshire

Royal expert Ingrid Seward previously said Prince Philip supported Penny when her husband Norton left her in 2010

Meanwhile, the family's original closeness to those in The Firm came through Norton's friendship with Prince Charles. This went back to when they were schoolboys together at Gordonstoun and Norton, a year older, was asked to show Charles the ropes.

In 1981, Penny and Norton welcomed their first child Nicholas Louis Charles Norton Knatchbull and a daughter Lady Alexandra a year later. In 1986, Penny gave birth to another daughter, who had kidney cancer and died aged five in 1991.

Just like his father and Charles, Nicholas was a year older than Prince William and was given the responsibility of showing him the ropes at Eton. In 2010, Norton moved to the Bahamas to embark on a new life with Lady Nuttall, 60. However, their affair fizzled out and he returned in 2014 to Broadlands estate in Hampshire.

Meanwhile, Prince Charles is also a close friend of the family, giving away Penny's daughter Alexandra at her 2018 wedding

Royal expert Ingrid Seward previously said Prince Philip supported Penny when Norton left her.

One of her oldest family friends previously revealed: 'I often wonder how their mother, Penny, copes with all the tragedy she has suffered.

'But she's a strong character - much stronger than Norton. I think Penny gets it from her father. He was a man who always seemed to know where he was going.'

She has always been close to the royal family, as one friend who has known her since those early days previously recalled: 'She was one of the most natural young women I have ever met, outgoing but not brash or flirty.'
Scientists at Johnson & Johnson on Friday refuted an assertion in a major medical journal that the design of their COVID-19 vaccine, which is similar AstraZeneca's, may explain why both have been linked to very rare brain blood clots in some vaccine recipients.

The United States earlier this week paused distribution of the J&J vaccine to investigate six cases of a rare brain blood clot known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), accompanied by a low blood platelet count, in U.S. women under age 50, out of about 7 million people who got the shot.

The blood clots in patients who received the J&J vaccine bear close resemblance to 169 cases in Europe reported with the AstraZeneca vaccine, out of 34 million doses administered there. Both vaccines are based on a new technology that uses a modified version of adenoviruses, which cause the common cold, as vectors to ferry instructions to human cells.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is scrutinizing this design behind both vaccines to see if it is contributing to the risk. In a letter on Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine, J&J scientists refuted a case report published earlier this week by Kate Lynn-Muir and colleagues at the University of Nebraska, who asserted that the rare blood clots "could be related to adenoviral vector vaccines."

In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert and an adviser to the White House, said the fact that they are both adenovirus vector vaccines is a "pretty obvious clue" that the cases could be linked to the vector.

"Whether that is the reason, I can't say for sure, but it certainly is something that raises suspicion," Fauci said. In the correspondence on Friday, Macaya Douoguih, a scientist with J&J's Janssen vaccines division, and colleagues pointed out that the vectors used in its vaccine and the AstraZeneca shot are "substantially different" and that those differences could lead to "quite different biological effects."

Specifically, they noted that the J&J vaccine uses a human adenovirus while the AstraZeneca vaccine uses a chimpanzee adenovirus. The vectors are also from different virologic families or species, and use different cell receptors to enter cells. The J&J shot also includes mutations to stabilize the so-called spike protein portion of the coronavirus that the vaccine uses to produce an immune response, while the AstraZeneca vaccine does not.

"The vectors are very different," said Dr. Dan Barouch of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Harvard's Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center in Boston, who helped design the J&J vaccine. "The implications of issues with one vector for the other one are not clear at this point," he said in an interview earlier this week.

The J&J scientists said in the letter there was not enough evidence to say their vaccine caused the blood clots and they continue to work with health authorities to assess the data. A panel of advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are expected to meet on April 23 to determine whether the pause on use of the J&J vaccine can be lifted.

Also read: UK expert committee recommends Pfizer, Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women
(Newser)  Molly Yeh made a popcorn salad with mayonnaise in a video on the Food Network Facebook page and absolutely nobody had a neutral feeling about it. The food blogger called it "one of those classic midwestern dishes that you would often find in a church basement pot luck," which startled quite a few people who have attended church basement potlucks. As commenter Cassie Marie put it, "Am I the only one who has lived their entire life in the mid-west and have never seen a popcorn salad?" Newsweek reports. Maybe stay-at-home orders and social-distancing guidelines have home cooks eager for new ideas. Maybe the long moment of the crouton has passed and American palates are ready for something new. Regardless, some people reacted to the idea of folding popcorn into a mayonnaise-based salad that also features carrots, snap peas, and celery with unflagging positivity.

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Penny Hafner commented, "I know it sounds weird but it's so yummy. Ya have to try it just once," per Newsweek. Its true that putting mayonnaise on food transforms it into a salad in the Midwest. And popcorn salad recipes predate Yehs video, reports Vice Munchies, which shares details on several, including one from the 1920s that involved topping a banana half with mayo and popcorn. Back in 1994, a community cookbook in North Dakota published a popcorn salad recipe, and other versions, one a century old, are out there. And then there are even older uses of the ingredient: The US Department of Agricultures website makes a brief but intriguing mention of Iroquois cooks popping corn and putting it in soup. Still, Yeh's recipe has currently earned only 2.5 stars. (Read more popcorn stories.)
As a child in the Ysleta neighborhood about a quarter of a mile from the U.S.-Mexico border, I had a strange recurring dream: I would be suspended in the clouds or fog, on a beam, gently falling into oblivion to one side and then falling to the other. I would never feel any pain or terror, and I would never know what happened after I fell to one side of the beam or the other. In the dream, it was the falling that mattered, somehow, the movement, and it was sitting on the beam for a few seconds before inevitably I would sway and fall to one side or the other.

Over the years, after I left childhood and El Paso, after I left the border and returned to it, I would interpret this dream of the middle ground in many ways. Living between Spanish and English. Being Mexican yet also American. Choosing values I inherited from my parents while also choosing values I created for myself. Living in many worlds in a single day  the worlds of the past and the present, the worlds of cities and rural areas, and the worlds of different languages and cultures. I believed the dream image even applied to my feeling of being in between the outsider who is ignored or attacked and the native who inherently belongs in the United States. Lately, as I have gotten older, I think about this dream in another way, as living on the border between life and death, with the many questions to be answered about the undiscovered country all of us will visit, but also about how those very questions change the life I live today. Strangely, falling to one side helps you to understand your falling to the other side in the next instance.

This middle ground or borderland is called nepantla by Mexican and Mexican-American writers. The word comes from Nahuatl, the language used by Aztecs. Nepantla has been with me, in one way or another, all my life. A new anthology of essays, poems and short stories I edited is called Nepantla Familias: An Anthology of Mexican American Literature on Families in between Worlds. Nahuatl. Spanish. And English. The title itself contains the many worlds Mexican Americans have traveled.

The anthology reflects the diversity and variety of experiences that might explain, reveal and mysteriously explore this liminal land that is so essential to the Mexican American experience, particularly within families. Because it is through our families that we live nepantla, that we negotiate it, that we have questions about our identity and choices, that we are convinced to fall one way or another, or even to balance perpetually between many different worlds. Through our families, we understand better the other side, even if we perhaps fall more to a side different from our ancestors.

This Mexican American experience of living between two worlds has been  and will forever be  essential and important to the United States for at least three reasons. Of course, the first reason is the proximity of Mexico to the United States and the growing numbers of Mexican Americans who are citizens of the United States. But the ability of at least some Mexican Americans to go easily back and forth, between countries and languages, gives this first reason a continuing vitality that does not exist for other immigrants to the United States. And that many non-Mexican Americans not only regularly travel to visit our southern neighbor but also live and retire in Mexico has created another version of nepantla that in a way dovetails with Mexican American nepantla.

The second reason Mexican American nepantla will remain at the forefront of our culture and society is what it reveals: the wounds of our history. The wounds of Mexicans feeling like outsiders in a land that was once theirs. The wounds of leaving Mexico for opportunity in the United States and then often feeling a step behind in language, knowledge and power. The wounds of leaving home for some place better that you also want to make into a home. Some of these wounds heal permanently, and some heal for a moment, only to be ripped open again later. Many of these wounds may haunt us even as we appear polished, accomplished and well integrated into our communities in the United States. These wounds in many ways define us, and should define us, not only for the pain they have caused us, but also for what we have endured and overcome. In moments of peace, these wounds may even be a source of our tragicomedy and laughter.

That brings us to the third reason why I believe nepantla will remain a vital experience in the United States: as much as nepantla helps to understand Mexican Americans, living in a middle ground  with its uncertainty and questioning of the self  is also a deeply universal experience. But to appreciate this, we need to cross our own borders. Toward empathy.

The new anthology I edited is one way readers can discover new possibilities for understanding the Mexican American experience no matter their background.

That is my hope, at least, as the editor. Anyone who has left their home and tried to find a new one in a strange place  at times welcoming and at times hostile  they should find themselves in the work of Mexican American writers exploring nepantla. Anyone who has felt stymied by ancestors and their demands, yet also emboldened by their sacrifices and forgotten values  they should find themselves. Anyone who has forged a self from pieces of many worlds, to fit and not fit in a new home, who has balanced on many beams to understand different sides  yes, they should find themselves. Anyone who has loved another from a different world  they should recognize a version of themselves. And anyone who has crossed any border to create who they are, rather than to take who they are for granted, rather than to assume a place belongs to them  and suffered the consequences for it  they will find their fellow travelers, their kindred spirits.

In her essay Losing My Mother Tongue, Reyna Grande writes of her struggle, one many Americans share, to remain connected to a parent who speaks another language: I am slowly reclaiming what Id been forced to give up  my connection to my mother tongue and, with it, my relationship with my own mother. Little by little I will rediscover what I once lost, one word at a time.

I hope Mexican Americans writing their experience of nepantla speaks not just to Mexican Americans but also become a bridge for those who are not Mexican Americans to understand another community as well as to understand themselves. To understand and write from the perspective of a particular community  to be deeply proud of that community  does not inherently mean that you cannot understand others outside your community. The either/or proposition that forces you to choose between your community and, say, your country has never been true. The very skills we learn to cross borders within ourselves help us to cross borders toward others outside our community. The many worlds Mexican Americans have traveled convey a balancing among these worlds that points to a new self for a new world.

Troncoso is the editor of the new anthology, Nepantla Familias: An Anthology of Mexican American Literature on Families in between Worlds (The Wittliff Literary Series and Texas A&M University Press, 2021). This essay is adapted from the books introduction. He is also president of the Texas Institute of Letters.
Replying to reporters question about the report released on April 16 by the US Department of the Treasury, Hang noted that the report said there is insufficient evidence to decide that Vietnam manipulates its exchange rate.

She added that in the recent past, Vietnamese relevant agencies have shared information and discussed with the US to clarify that Vietnams exchange rate policy has been steered by managerial agencies in a uniform and flexible manner that matches the reality in the country for the purpose of stabilising macro-balances, not to create unfair competitive advantages in international trade.

In the spirit of respecting the economic  trade ties with the US, a pillar in the comprehensive partnership between the two countries, Vietnam will maintain constructive dialogue and consultation with the US side about this issue, the spokeswoman added.
In a statement released by Hariris office, it is reported that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that Russia supports Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri in forming Cabinet.

The statement noted that Hariri wrapped up his visit to Russia after discussing with officials in Moscow the obstacles hindering cabinet formation in Lebanon and the impact of political deadlock on the local economy. "Russia supports Prime Minister Hariri's efforts to form a cabinet capable of dealing with the current crisis and receiving support from Arab and foreign countries,"

The statement added that Hariri also discussed with Russian officials the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland and the possibility of receiving doses of Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccines for the fight against the pandemic.

Hariri's advisor on Russian affairs George Chaaban said that Moscow has also expressed its readiness to contribute to developmental projects in Lebanon, namely in the fields of electricity, infrastructure reconstruction, and reconstruction of the Beirut port destroyed by blasts on August 4, 2020.

He started his official visit to Russia on Wednesday. This is the third time that Hariri has been designated as the Lebanese Prime Minister.

He resigned in 2019 after nationwide protests that blame the ruling class for causing the country's collapse.

Hariri was appointed Prime Minister for the third time in October 2020, but has been unable to form a cabinet since then in the light of his differences with President Michel Aoun on the form and nature of his cabinet.

Coronavirus R-Rate in England' drops slightly to between 0.7 and 1

The Cuban Communist Party inaugurated a historic four-day Congress, Castro era to end

Portuguese Govt announces post-pandemic recovery and Resilience plan
As pubs in Northern Ireland were told they can resume indoor drinking and dining on May 24, the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) says the Irish Government must immediately publish its plan to get the hospitality sector reopened in the Republic.

In a significant move, similar to the reopening plan in England, all hospitality outlets in the North will reopen together.

Padraig Cribben, VFI Chief Executive, says the most significant message coming from the North is that all hospitality opens together, including pubs, hotels and restaurants. "Similar to England, there is no divide based on food. That must be replicated here and avoid the divisions created in 2020," Mr Cribben says.

There has been commentary from senior politicians here about allowing hotels reopen in June. Our message is clear that if indoor premises such as hotels are deemed safe it logically follows that, with the appropriate measures in place, a pub is also safe. All hospitality outlets must open together, Mr Cribben continues.

In the absence of any meaningful plan from Government, the VFI is publishing a reopening template that highlights the key metrics NPHET and Government must address to allow pubs reopen.

Pubs in the North know they will reopen indoors on May 24, which introduces a welcome degree of certainty and stability to the trade. Thats exactly the sort of approach we need here, as publicans continue to feel abandoned by Government," Mr Cribben says.

The reopening template highlights details Government need to provide to give our members some certainty.

"The key to reopening is vaccinations and hospitalisation numbers. As our template illustrates, we need Government to tell us how many people need to be vaccinated to allow hospitality reopen. We also need to understand what level of hospitalisations will Government deem safe for our members to resume trading. This will give re-assurance to employees and hope to publicans."

He says the VFI is "gravely concerned" about how reopening in the North will impact businesses along the border.

From April 30, pubs in the North will resume outdoor drinking and dining, so in a few short weeks our members in the border region will start to lose customers across the border. For how long is that sustainable? Its another clear cut reason why Government must publish its reopening plan for hospitality immediately," Mr Cribben says.

England will reopen indoor drinking and dining on May 17 and has correctly abandoned the mandatory meal provision, while Northern Ireland will follow suit one week later. After being closed for over 14 months, our members in the Republic deserve the same level of respect.

For the sake of businesses across the country its vital this is the last lockdown. The reopening must be sustainable and carry a strong degree of confidence that progress towards a full reopening without the need for social distancing is the ultimate destination.

If the delay in publishing a reopening plan continues any longer, we are calling on Government to double the CRSS payment to publicans. As we approach the make or break summer season, the Government must either provide confidence to the trade through a sustainable reopening plan or else increase supports, concludes Mr Cribben.
Canada is looking to allow more categories of essential workers to travel to Canada from the U.S.

More essential workers may be allowed across border Canada is looking to allow more categories of essential workers to travel to Canada from the U.S.

More essential workers may be allowed across border Canada is looking to allow more categories of essential workers to travel to Canada from the U.S.

More essential workers may be allowed across border Canada is looking to allow more categories of essential workers to travel to Canada from the U.S. Mohanad Moetaz Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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The Canadian federal government is looking to consider more occupations as essential work in an effort to allow more workers to travel across the Canada-U.S. border during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Marc Garneau, Canadas Foreign Affairs Minister.

We are specifically talking about different groups that would be potentially considered to be essential workers, that have the need to cross the border for specific reasons, Garneau told a parliamentary committee.

As an example, the minister said technicians in the integrated auto industry could be considered essential workers.

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Travel restrictions hurting economy

Garneau also said that the flow of goods across the Canada-U.S. border has slowed due to the travel restrictions.

The situation is gradually changing and we are very, very sensitive to the need to recover our economies, he said.

Millions of dollars of goods still travel between Canada and the U.S. every day. Around three-quarters of Canadas exports go to the U.S.

Since the transportation of goods is considered essential, commercial traffic has only decreased about 8 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels, according to traveller statistics from the Canadian border. This is significantly less than the 92 per cent drop in non-commercial land travellers. In the week starting on April 1, more than 103,000 commercial truck drivers crossed the Canada-U.S. border this year. In the same week in 2019, that number was closer to 112,000.

It is currently unknown as to when the Canada-U.S. border will officially reopen.

Garneau said the most important factor to consider before reopening the border is the health and safety of Canadians, but Canada should also consider what it needs to do to recover its economy.

Who is exempt from the travel restrictions?

Since March 18, 2020, Canada and the U.S. agreed to restrict non-essential travel between the two North American nations. These travel restrictions were initially expected to end on April 21, 2020 but were regularly extended every month since.

Only certain individuals are exempt from these travel restrictions, and are allowed to cross the border into Canada. Those include Canadian citizens and permanent residents, as well as some family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Temporary foreign workers, and international students attending a school that has a COVID-19 response plan are also allowed into Canada.

Those who are exempt from travel restrictions are still required to:

show proof of a COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test;

Take another COVID-19 test upon arrival;

Stay in a government-approved hotel for three days while waiting for the test results;

Quarantine for 14 days (the three day hotel stay is included in the 14 day period).

Essential workers currently exempt from quarantine rules

Those who are crossing the border to provide an essential service are exempt from the mandatory quarantine requirements.

This can include health care practitioners, students in a health field, workers in the trade or transportation sectors, some technicians or specialists, emergency service providers, as well as others.

Those who maintain the flow of essential goods, live in a trans-border community, regularly cross the border to work, or are receiving medical care in Canada, are also exempt from these requirements.

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As India witnessed a whopping 234,692 cases within a span of 24 hours on Saturday, Director explained why the country suddenly found itself in the grip of a severe second wave.

"The cause for the surge in Covid cases is multifactorial. But two main causes are when in January/February vaccination started, cases started going down and people stopped following Covid-appropriate behaviour and at this time the virus mutated and it spread more rapidly," said Dr Randeep Guleria.

He also spoke about the massive pressure on the country's health infrastructure as the second Covid wave continues to intensify.

"We are seeing a huge strain in the healthcare system. We have to keep increasing our hospital beds/resources for the increasing number of cases. We also have to urgently bring down the number of Covid-19 cases," Guleria said.

The chief also weighed in on the Kumbh Mela and other ongoing religious activities.

"This is a time when a lot of religious activities happen in our country and polls are also underway. We must understand lives are also important. We can do this in a restricted manner so that religious sentiment is not hurt and Covid-appropriate behaviour can be followed," said Guleria.

He also said that vaccine hesitancy needs to be eschewed among the citizens to rid the country of the fatal disease.

"We have to remember that no vaccine is 100% efficient. You may get the infection but the antibodies in our body will not allow the virus to multiply and you'll not have the severe disease," said Guleria.

"We have now a larger spike in Delhi as compared to 6-7 months ago. In terms of health infrastructure and containment, what we were doing in the past we need to do that again," he added.

A record single-day rise of 234,692 cases and 1,341 fatalities have pushed India's COVID-19 tally to 14,526,609 and the death toll due to the viral disease to 175,649, the health ministry said on Saturday.

The number of active cases in the country has surpassed the 1.6-million mark, the ministry's data updated at 8 am showed.

Registering a steady increase for the 38th day in a row, the tally of active COVID-19 cases has climbed to 1,679,740 in the country, accounting for 11.56 per cent of its total caseload, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has dropped to 87.23 per cent.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has gone up to 12,671,220, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.21 per cent, the data stated.

India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 2-million mark on August 7 last year, the 3-million mark on August 23, the 4-million mark on September 5 and the 5-million mark on September 16.

It went past 6 million on September 28 last year, 7 million on October 11, 8 million on October 29, 9 million on November 20 and the 10-million mark on December 19.

Of the fresh cases, Maharashtra reported 63,729, followed by Uttar Pradesh (27,426) and Delhi (19,486), according to the data. All three states registered the highest daily spike in the number of cases since the outbreak of the pandemic last year. West Bengal, where Assembly polls are underway, also recorded the highest-ever daily jump of 6,910 cases.

Maharashtra also reported the maximum number of fresh casualties at 398, followed by Delhi (141), Chhattisgarh (138), Uttar Pradesh (103), Gujarat (94), Karnataka (78), Madhya Pradesh (60), Punjab (50), Tamil Nadu (33) and Rajasthan (31).
Two Russian cosmonauts and a U.S. astronaut have landed safely in the Central Asian country of Kazakhstan following their six-month stint at the International Space Station (ISS).

Cosmonauts Sergei Ryzhikov and Sergei Kud-Sverchkov and astronaut Kathleen Rubins touched down as scheduled in the early morning hours of April 17, according to a live broadcast on the television channel of Russias Roskosmos space agency.

It was the first ISS mission for Kud-Sverchkov and the second for Ryzhikov and Rubins.

On April 22, the private firm SpaceX is scheduled to launch a four-person mission to the ISS, made up of astronauts from the United States, France, and Japan. It will be the first manned SpaceX mission to reuse the Falcon rocket and the Dragon crew capsule.

NASA recently began using U.S. private companies for transport to the ISS after years of relying on the Russian space program to reach the orbiting laboratory.

NASA has chosen SpaceX to build a lunar lander that the U.S. space agency says will return Americans to the moon. SpaceX beat out proposals by Blue Origin and Dynetics to win the $2.89 billion contract, NASA said on April 16.

NASA declined to provide a target launch date for the mission, known as Artemis.

SpaceX is developing a vehicle called Starship that will be used for the moon mission. A number of prototypes of the bullet-shaped 50-meter-tall rocket have exploded or crashed during test flights with no crew.

But CEO Elon Musk has been undeterred, saying Starship will succeed at carrying people and other tasks such as putting satellites into orbit.

Based on reporting by AFP, AP, and TASS
CLARION, Iowa  A man arrested for a fatal stabbing at Prestage foods has been found not competent to stand trial.

Lukouxs Alan Brown, 26 of Fort Dodge, is charged with first-degree murder for the death of Wayne Allen Smith, 50 of Fort Dodge. Authorities say Brown cut Smiths throat while both men were inside an employee locker room at Prestage Foods in Eagle Grove on February 16.

Both men were employed by the company.

After a court-ordered evaluation, a judge has ruled that Brown suffers from a mental disorder that prevents him from appreciating the charge against him, understanding the proceedings, or assisting effectively in his defense. Brown has been committed to the Iowa Medical and Classification Center for treatment to restore him to competency.
Plans to regulate Britain's booming 2.7billion buy now, pay later industry will be released within weeks, This is Money understands.

A consultation on draft regulation affecting platforms like ClearPay, Klarna, Laybuy and PayPal is expected to be published in early May, after an amendment to credit legislation was passed in parliament this week.

A Financial Conduct Authority review of the sector released in early February found it needed to be regulated 'as a matter of urgency' as it was found to pose 'a significant potential consumer harm'.

Checkout credit providers like Clearpay, Klarna, Laybuy and PayPal were said to pose 'a significant potential consumer harm' according to a regulatory review of the sector

The regulation will likely cover the marketing and ease of use of these platforms, which enable consumers to spread the cost of their online shopping using credit.

It could require platforms to carry out hard credit checks which appear on borrowers' reports, after the FCA review - led by its former chief executive Christopher Woolard - reported that it would be 'relatively easy' to rack up as much as 1,000 in debt from different providers.

Some platforms currently only carry out 'soft' searches which are not publicly visible to lenders, while some, according to the review, do not carry out any at all.

Regulating buy now, pay later providers will allow borrowers to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service, while This is Money also understands credit card-style protections could be applied to checkout credit providers.

Under Section 75 of the 1974 Consumer Credit Act, credit card providers share the liability if a purchase of between 100 and 30,000 is not as described, or if a consumer suffers breach of contract or misrepresentation.

This could also apply to purchases made using buy now, pay later providers, particularly given consumers are increasingly using such payment methods to purchase higher-value items like white goods and electrical products.

Although Treasury minister John Glen said two months ago that the Government would regulate the sector to 'mitigate the risks of consumers getting into unaffordable debt', there had been little substantive action before this week.

Treasury minister John Glen said in February the 2.7bn industry would come in for regulation

The Treasury was 'under a lot of pressure' to introduce regulation, according to a source, although it remained very positive on the industry.

Government minister Earl Howe said an amendment to the Financial Services Bill passed in Parliament on Wednesday marked the first step towards bringing the sector under 'proportionate regulation.'

The amendment would allow the Government to change which companies are exempt from the Consumer Credit Act; legislation which largely does not cover buy now, pay later providers in its current form.

The Government has said a consultation would be published 'later in the spring', and This is Money understands draft regulation covering the sector is expected in May, meaning guidelines could be as little as a fortnight away.

Any regulations would be implemented using secondary legislation, which would let MPs vote on but not amend them if they felt they were insufficiently tough on checkout credit providers.

But while this would make the passage of any rules 'significantly quicker', sources said it was 'still likely to be late this year at the earliest before regulation takes effect, given the time required for consultation process.'

The Labour MP Stella Creasy told This is Money in February that she hoped retailers would take such payment methods off their websites until any regulation came into effect, having warned the rapidly growing sector could become the next Wonga-style scandal.

Some providers of buy now, pay later services do not carry out any kind of credit checks, not even performing soft searches which do not show up on borrowers' credit files

She said: 'As we wait for the Government to act on recommendations, retailers who are currently promoting buy now, pay later products which we now know are exploitative could take the first step and remove them from their websites until regulations are in place.'

The Woolard review of the 2.7billion industry found it represented just 1 per cent of Britain's credit market 'but has accelerated very quickly to get there and is still growing'.

The value of payments made through such services nearly quadrupled last year, with increasing numbers of retailers signing up to offer them because they make consumers spend more and more often.

This is Money reported last month how John Lewis and Marks & Spencer appeared to be developing their own in-house pay later methods, with John Lewis also poaching former Experian director Amir Goshtai to run its financial services business.

New Look has branded its store credit to make it more like a buy now, pay later service, while John Lewis and M&S are introducing their own in-house versions as retailers cash in on credit

Meanwhile the high street retailer New Look has branded its in-store credit card, provided by Swedish bank Ikano, as a 'buy now, pay later' service.

Some of those who have called for a clampdown on the sector told This is Money they were disappointed to see the likes of John Lewis and M&S jumping on the 'buy now, pay later bandwagon', which they described as 'a ticking time bomb'.

While many of these new providers often do not charge interest or fees on purchases, concerns have been raised about how stringent their affordability checks are and the invisibility of such credit on borrowers' credit reports, which has been criticised by high street banks.

In response to the idea that such financing would be subjected to formal affordability and credit checks, as the Treasury had suggested, credit agency Experian told This is Money: 'We welcome steps to encourage more credit data sharing by the buy now, pay later industry because it benefits both lenders and consumers.

'In doing so, all lenders will have an improved view of what their customers can afford to repay so they can make the most appropriate lending decisions. We will continue to work closely with the sector.'

However, regulation could prove burdensome for small businesses which benefit from these providers, if they need to apply for a credit broking licence in order to provide such financing.

Swedish import Klarna, one of Britain's largest pay later platforms and a fintech valued at as much as 22.5billion, previously told This is Money: 'At Klarna we have long been calling for regulation to raise standards across the sector and we welcomed the Woolard Review into change and innovation in the unsecured credit market.

Labour MP Stella Creasy has called for a crackdown on pay later services

'We now look forward to working together with the FCA, Government and the wider sector to build a modern regulatory and supervisory framework that delivers the best outcomes for customers.'

Gary Rohloff, the managing director of Laybuy, said: 'We feel we're in a good place and welcome proportionate regulation. We have never used influencers to market our product and we conduct hard credit checks to make sure customers can afford to pay us back.

'People increasingly see the benefits of using buy now, pay later, but it's important it's done responsibly.'

Stella Creasy added: 'The test of whether the government is getting a grip of the damage the BNPL industry is doing is whether consumers are protected from getting into loans they can't afford or able to complain if they are mis-sold credit.

'It's a step forward to say the BNPL industry needs to be regulated, but worrying that the detail is still not clear or the timescale from when it will be implemented.'

The Treasury said it had nothing to add beyond its announcement in February that the sector would be brought under regulation.
Ericsson topped the 5G infrastructure market in the latest Frost Radar

Ericsson ranks highest in the 5G network infrastructure market in the latest Frost Radar, leveraging its current leadership in 4G network infrastructure market. According to Frost & Sullivan, the 5G network infrastructure market includes radio access networks (RAN) as well as transport networks and core networks, which may include one or more edge networks.

In its latest report, Frost & Sullivan independently plotted the top 20 companies from a field of more than 100 global industry participants. These companies either lead the market overall, lead a market segment, or were thought leaders in certain segments. The Frost Radar reveals the market position of companies in a particular industry using their Growth and Innovation scores as highlighted in the Frost Radar methodology.

Denis Brunetti, head of Ericsson Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos stated, At Ericsson, we continue to invest in research and development (R&D) to build best-in-class and innovative product solutions for our customers. Being recognised as the leader in Frost Radar reinforces our technology leadership, market competitiveness, innovation, and most importantly, our commitment to our customers. We will continue to further strengthen our 4G/5G portfolio to meet the needs of our customers.

Growth and Innovation indices

The Frost Radar measures growth rates and absolute revenue, combining them with several other factors to measure a companys performance along the Growth axis. It also measures innovation for each company by assessing its product portfolio, examining how scalable its innovations are and looking at the efficacy of its R&D strategy, as well as other factors.

Commenting about Ericsson and the Growth Index, Troy Morley, senior industry analyst, Frost & Sullivans Information & Communication Technology group, said: As a leader in the 4G infrastructure market, Ericsson enters the 5G market with a large customer base. The company has done an excellent job keeping its current customers and adding new customers Ericsson maintains a significant pipeline of customers that have yet to move to 5G but will over the coming years. Ericsson has spent the past few years adjusting its overall strategy to focus on profitability. The company recently indicated that the turnaround has been successful, and the company has significantly improved profitability and its financial position.

With regard to Ericsson and the Innovation Index, Morley said: Ericsson has proven its ability to scale its innovations globally with 2G, 3G, 4G, and now 5G. For 5G, the company currently reports 72 live 5G networks in 37 countries (the highest level Frost & Sullivan has seen publicly reported). The company invests significant amounts in R&D; this is essential in a market where technology is always evolving.

A leading 5G portfolio

Ericsson outperformed global competition both in growth and innovation

Ericsson has evolved its end-to-end 5G offerings to include the Ericsson Radio System, 5G Core, Orchestration and 5G Transport as well as professional services. The company has introduced innovative software solutions such as Ericsson Spectrum Sharing, 5G carrier aggregation and Uplink Booster, to significantly improve coverage, user throughput, and spectral efficiency.

These solutions support service providers in deploying and evolving 5G to ensure the best end-user experience. In addition, Ericsson Radio System products delivered since 2015 can support 5G New Radio (NR) capability through remote software installation.

Ericsson Digital Services offers a cloud native dual-mode 5G Core solution for smarter networks to drive smarter business, allowing communications service providers to offer a multitude of new business opportunities for mobile users and industries. Ericsson network automation solutions will improve network efficiency, performance, customer experience, and enable new revenue streams for new 5G use cases.

In February, Ericsson was also named a Leader in the 2021 Magic Quadrant for 5G Network Infrastructure for Communications Service Providers by independent IT research and advisory company, Gartner.
AS Covid-19 deaths show little sign of abating, good news has come to Trinidad and Tobago of a vaccine gift from the United States.

According to Shante Moore, Charge dAffaires at the US Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago, this gift comes with no hidden conditions and imposing conditions as other countries are doing.
Central provinces are facing a shortage of seamen in both quality and quantity, hindering the development of fisheries industry as many boat owners are forced to sell their ships and change their jobs.

Illustrative image.  Photo ndh.vn

With a coastline of 102km, Thanh Hoa Province is considered to be in an ideal position for fisheries activities. However, offshore fishing fleets in the province are struggling while locals are no longer interest in fishing.

The hustle and bustle in the past is completely absent at the Lach Hoi fishing port in Sam Son City which once seen baskets full of freshly-caught seafood are transported ashore and then traders deliver to many places.

Hundreds of big and small boats quietly anchored at the port although the first months of the year was considered as the golden season for fishermen.

Nguyen Van Tuyen, director of Lach Hoi fishing port said the number of ships arriving and leaving the port have reduced significantly.

Our port now operates at about 35 per cent of its capacity, he said, blaming on economic restructuring which causes local workers away from fishing.

Pham Gia Son, a ship owner, said his family has been attached to this ship for many generations.

We used to make 3-4 fishing trips a month and need 12-14 labourers for a trip but we have faced a lot of difficulties in the past two years due to scarcity of labourers, he was quoted by Quan oi nhan dan (Peoples Army) newspaper as saying.

Son said those who have experience and have attachment to the marine for many years have shifted to other jobs.

Although we are fully prepared to sail offshore, our ship dock for days because we could not find enough workers, Son said, adding that there were trips that only the shipowner and the chief engineer are professional and the rest are seasonal labourers.

Echoing Sons opinion, Nguyen Van Long, director of Ngoc Son Seafood Processing Co.Ltd said the hiring of seamen has met many difficulties over recent years.

His company had 6 large ships specialising in fishing logistic services. Each trip requires 12-15 workers but they could only employ 8-10 people.

Due to lack of labor, the company have to hire workers from other localities, even inexperienced ones from mountainous districts such as Quan Son, Quan Hoa, and Muong Lat.

Nguyen Duc Cuong, head of Thanh Hoa Fisheries sub-department said a lack of labour needed to set sail was occurring in coastal areas of the province.

He said unstable income and hard work were causing fishermen to seek other work.

A decline in fisheries resources, traditional fishing grounds have been narrowed and low efficiency were also problems.

The effect of COVID-19 pandemic, storms and floods and extreme weather condition as well as rising cost of gasoline and labourers have led to inactive of fishing boats.

Similar situation also reported in other central provinces including Nghe An, Quang Tri and Quang Binh

The number of labourers engaged in fishing activities has tended to decrease and turned to aging in Nghe An Province in recent years. There are few seamen aged between 18 and 35, even 30 per cent of the marine workforce is more than 60 years old.

Nguyen Van Uoc from Quynh Long Commune in Quynh Luu District said he had joined with seven households in the commune in building a fishing boat with capacity of 717CV.

Due to difficulty in fishing, especially the scarcity of labour, they had to sell the ship at the end of last year at VND1.7 billion (US$73,557), less than one-third of the initial cost. Selling the ship meant that Uoc and dozens of other workers had to find another jobs.

Bui Xuan Truc, deputy head of Quynh Luu Districts Agriculture and Rural Development Office, attributed the decrease in marine labour to unreasonable occupational structure, shortcomings in exploiting and preserving seafood products after harvesting and increasing competition between localities in a fishing ground.

This requires fishing activities to renovate themselves to keep up with the current trend, he said.

Coping with the labour shortage, many boat owners in Quang Binh Provinces Bo Trach District had to retain workers by paying salary for them in advance.

Shipowner Nguyen Ngoc Hai in Bo Trach District said: It is difficulty to recruit enough workers who will accompany us. Thus, labourers will get paid in advance to entice them.

However, some people did not work for them after receiving the salary, he said.

Longterm solutions

As the shortage of labour on offshore fishing vessels has negative impact on livelihood of fishermen and fisheries exploitation and processing, localities in the central region has adopted solutions to deal with the problems.

Cuong, the head of Thanh Hoa Fisheries Subdepartment, said the province has encouraged boatowners to apply modern equipment in fisheries exploitation such as Sonar fishfinder and promote the mechanisation in the fishing and net collection stages which aims at increasing the exploitation efficiency and reducing the number of employees on the fishing vessel.

In the short term, we are suggesting localities to have support policies for fishermen to change their jobs to ease their concern over income and livelihood.

Special attention should be paid to reducing the pressure on exploitation in coastal areas, Cuong said.

Le Cam Long, head of Bo Trach District Agriculture and Rural Development subdepartment said, in order for the fisheries to develop sustainably as well as bring adequate income to people, local authority was directing communes to restructure the occupation accordingly, expanding the fishing grounds to the Truong Sa area to catch more valuable fish while reducing the pressure of exploitation in the Gulf of Tonkin at the same time.

Tran Nhu Long, Deputy Director of Fisheries Sub-Department of Nghe An Province said in the longterm, it was necessary to take measures to regenerate resources in the direction of both exploitation and protection due to declining marine resources.

Only when the aquatic resources is well regenerated, people enjoy exploitation and have better income, people will engage with the marine again, he said.

Le Ngoc Linh, Director of the Fisheries Sub-Department of Quang Binh Province proposed the Government study more practical and long-term policies such as banning sailing the sea during the fish breeding season and providing fuel for fishermen.

More attention should be paid to dissemination work, calling on fishermen not to change their jobs, increase labour productivity and get training on how to exploit marine resources effectively.

VNS

For the sake of sustainable fish export The price of tra (pangasius) fish has experienced one fluctuation after another. This year is forecast to be a recovery time for the fish.
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Delhi Chief Minister on Saturday will hold a meeting to review the COVID-19 situation as the national capital has been witnessing an exponential rise in cases.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who is also nodal minister for COVID-19 management, and Health Minister Satyendar Jain will also attend the meeting.

"To monitor the current situation of Corona in Delhi on a day-to-day basis, Hon'ble CM Shri @ArvindKejriwal will convene a review meeting on COVID management along with the nodal minister, health minister and officials at 1 PM today," the chief minister's office tweeted.

Weekend curfew is currently underway in the national capital to arrest the spread of

On Friday, Delhi recorded the biggest single-day jump of 19,486 fresh COVID-19 cases and 141 deaths.

On November 18 last year, the city had recorded 131 COVID-19 deaths, which was the highest single-day fatality count in Delhi till April 15 since the start of the pandemic.

(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.)
Karlie Kloss revealed that her newborn son's name is Levi Joseph in the caption for a photo that she shared on her Instagram account on Friday.

The former Victoria's Secret model's post showed a close-up of her holding her son's hand while wearing an Alison Lou gold ring, which retailed for $975, that featured the word 'mama.'

The fashion industry figure, 28, shares her first child with her husband, Joshua Kushner, whom she married in 2018.

Big reveal: Karlie Kloss announced that her baby son was named Levi Joseph in a post made to her Instagram account on Friday

Kloss was first romantically linked to the 35-year-old investor in 2012 and dated for several years before becoming engaged six years after they met.

The two notably renewed their wedding vows during a second wedding ceremony held in June of 2019.

The following October, the model confirmed that she was pregnant with the couple's child, who arrived earlier this year.

Shortly after the model announced her pregnancy, a source told People that the fashion industry figure was 'overjoyed' about the prospect of becoming a parent.

Happy parents: The former Victoria's Secret model shares her first child with her husband Joshua Kushner, whom she married in 2018; the couple is pictured together in 2020

Ready for motherhood: Shortly after Kloss announced her pregnancy, a source told People that the model was 'overjoyed' about the prospect of becoming a parent

The insider also commented on the spokesmodel's enthusiasm for raising a child and noted, 'She will be the most amazing mother.'

Kloss and Kushner may have chosen their son's middle name as a tribute to the businessman's real estate tycoon grandfather, Joseph.

Her husband is best known for his various business ventures and for his familial relationship with former president Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

The circumstances of model's marriage have often brought her into the public eye, and in 2018, she spoke about her experiences to Vogue.

Family affair: The fashion industry figure's son's middle name, Joseph, may be a tribute to Kushner's real estate tycoon grandfather; the two are seen at the 2019 Met Gala

'Ive chosen to be with the man I love despite the complications. Its frustrating, to be honest, that the spotlight is always shifted away from my career toward my relationship,' she told the publication.

Kloss also spoke about how she and her spouse connected on more than just a superficial level, which made their marriage much more special.

'Weve really grown together personally and professionally. Josh knows that Im just a nerdy, curious human being. I think thats why he loves me. We have each others back,' she said.

Through thick and thin: Kloss noted that 'despite the complications' about her spouse's familial relationship to Jared Kushner, she still was happy to have married the investor

The fashion industry figure went on to tell the publication that she was not sure about where her future would take her, although she did not see that as a problem.

She expressed, 'The truth is, I dont know where Ill be a decade from now. Nothing about the last ten years has gone exactly to plan, which is part of the beauty of life.'

Kloss concluded that she was open to new experiences and that she wanted the best for herself and her family.

Specifically, the model hoped that her future would 'bring...many surprises and adventures, and that no matter what Im doing, Im happy, healthy, and surrounded by loved ones.'
VANCOUVER - A support group for families of people who have fatally overdosed is expanding its services across the country to also help those whose loved ones are addicted to illicit drugs.

Moms Stop the Harm members carry crosses bearing photos of loved ones as they march together in the Downtown Eastside to mark the five-year anniversary of British Columbia declaring a public health emergency in the overdose crisis, in Vancouver, B.C., Wednesday, April 14, 2021. Moms Stop the Harm has received funding to expand support groups for families of people who've died of overdose and for those whose loved ones are in active addiction. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VANCOUVER - A support group for families of people who have fatally overdosed is expanding its services across the country to also help those whose loved ones are addicted to illicit drugs.

The Alberta chapter of Moms Stop the Harm has received $345,000 in federal funding over two years to launch the Stronger Together Canada project from Alberta to all other provinces except B.C., which has already established its own program with provincial funding.

Stronger Together B.C. includes two groups: Healing Hearts for people grieving the overdose death of a family member to substance use and Holding Hope for those connected to someone in active addiction.

The B.C. model, which includes input from families and Indigenous communities that are disproportionately affected by the overdose crisis, is being used in Alberta to establish the larger program for the rest of the country.

Helen Jennens, a Moms Stop the Harm spokeswoman in Kelowna, B.C., says the group that began in 2015 with three mothers from B.C. and Alberta has seen a 25 per cent increase in membership in the last three months.

Jennens, whose two sons died of overdose, says the two Stronger Together B.C. groups are led by volunteer facilitators with lived experience.

"We also had a doctor come and talk to us and we've had an ex-coroner come and talk to us," she says.

Jennens says facilitators will receive training to lead each group that will meet online during the pandemic to ensure people in remote communities get help while in crisis.

Half of the 2,000 members of Moms Stop the Harm across the country are from B.C., where over 7,000 drug users have died of overdose since 2016, when the province declared a public health emergency.

Jennens says provincial funding provided last year has helped the group produce a guidebook for facilitators, pay for online accounts and hire someone to organize the groups.

The BC Coroners Service reported a record 1,716 annual deaths last year as border closures during the pandemic disrupted the usual flow of illicit drugs and more toxic fentanyl-laced substances took their place.

British Columbia and the City of Vancouver are asking the federal government to decriminalize small amounts of drugs for personal use as one way to reduce stigma for people needing treatment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2021.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 14:49:45|Editor: huaxia

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Genocide suspect Beatrice Munyenyezi (L) is inquired by Rwanda Investigation Bureau in Kigali, capital city of Rwanda, on April 16, 2021. Beatrice Munyenyezi charged with crimes against humanity during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi arrived in Rwanda on Friday following her deportation from the United States. Munyenyezi, a genocide suspect who was arrested in 2013 in the United States and sentenced to 10 years there for lying about her role in the Rwandan genocide to obtain U.S. citizenship, arrived at Kigali International Airport at 7:04 p.m. local time (1704 GMT). (Photo by Cyril Ndegeya/Xinhua)

KIGALI, April 16 (Xinhua) -- A Rwandan woman charged with crimes against humanity during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi arrived in Rwanda on Friday following her deportation from the United States.

Beatrice Munyenyezi, a genocide suspect who was arrested in 2013 in the United States and sentenced to 10 years there for lying about her role in the Rwandan genocide to obtain U.S. citizenship, arrived at Kigali International Airport at 7:04 p.m. local time (1704 GMT).

Munyenyezi, who played a major role in the genocide in the former Butare Prefecture, now Huye district, in southern Rwanda, is accused of seven counts of murder as a genocide crime, conspiracy to commit genocide, planning of the genocide, incitement to commit genocide, complicity in genocide, extermination and complicity in rape, Thierry Murangira, acting spokesperson of Rwanda Investigation Bureau, told national broadcaster Rwanda Television during a news program.

On various occasions, Munyenyezi was seen on roadblocks participating in checking identification cards in order to identify the Tutsi ethnicity to be killed, Murangira said, adding that the suspect also handed over Tutsis to the Interahamwe militia for rape and participated in the shooting of a Catholic nun after handing her over to the militia for rape.

"Munyenyezi's deportation means a lot in terms of justice delivery to the victims of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi because our case file was already in place," the official said.

Her U.S. citizenship was stripped after being found guilty of the charge in the United States.

Munyenyezi's husband and mother-in-law had been sentenced to life in prison for genocide and other crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

There are more than 1,100 genocide fugitives still at large in both Western and African countries, head of Rwanda's Genocide Fugitives Tracking Unit Jean-Bosco Siboyintore said in April.

The majority of the fugitives, standing at 408, are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 277 in Uganda, and others in Malawi, Tanzania, France, the Republic of the Congo, Belgium, and Burundi, said Siboyintore.

Rwanda has so far signed extradition treaties with 10 countries out of the 30 countries where suspects are believed to be hiding, according to him. Enditem
Every spring, the great blue herons return to a secluded patch of forest near Cascade Creek outside Rochester to nest in the treetops and rear their young.

Neighbors  the only people who knew about the hidden colony  say the herons have nested there for decades. The wild oasis with as many as 40 or 50 nests sits on the edge of the fast-growing city.

"It's amazing," said Pat Adamson, who lives near the heron rookery. "We look forward to seeing them every year."

The great blue herons are now cause celebre in a dispute over a proposed housing development in Rochester Township. And with a "Save the Rookery" campaign in full swing, the clash is exposing fault lines as the rapidly growing home of the Mayo Clinic struggles to balance relentless growth with natural spaces and declining bird populations.

The Rochester developer seeking to build Pavilion Estates characterizes the battle over the birds as an 11th-hour tactic to stop a project that neighbors have simply opposed. The company says most of the heron nests are not on the 30 acres slated for development.

Neighbors, birders and concerned citizens say the construction will destroy an irreplaceable natural resource. They are pushing for an official environmental impact review. One lawsuit, a temporary restraining order and petition later, the development has skidded to a halt.

Because of the controversy, the Olmsted County Board has tabled a decision to change the land's use to allow for suburban development.

"We are upset at being accused of destroying the [great blue herons] when we have no intention of taking eggs or birds," developer Aderonke Mordi said. "We are as environmentally conscious as our future neighbors."

Until the dispute, first reported in the Rochester Post-Bulletin, is resolved, the future of the colony and the development remain uncertain.

Some residents welcome the pause.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for people to take on the hard decisions, and maybe even realizing their own role in wanting to have a suburban lifestyle and what it actually means," said Brett Ostby, a Rochester environmental consultant. "We're so detached from our natural world."

Story continues

Important nesting siteGreat blue herons are easily identifiable with their head plumes and pale orange beaks. They grow up to 4 feet tall and have a wing span of about 6 feet.

Local birders said they're surprised that such a large heron rookery was able to remain so isolated.

Lance Vrieze, a board member of the Zumbro Valley Audubon Society, said he visited soon after learning about it. He said he easily counted 20 nests as he stood in one spot in the forest. They look like large squirrel nests, he said, jumbles of sticks perched precariously at the very tops of trees.

"I know of no other nesting site in Olmsted County," Vrieze said. "It would be devastating to have the project remove the nesting site."

Although bird numbers are plunging across the United States, great blue herons are not a threatened species. Their numbers across the middle and eastern United States are fairly stable, according to Tom Cooper, regional Migratory Birds Program chief at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Bloomington.

But the Rochester Township colony is large, Cooper said, and "kind of rare" in that it's not on an island or in a marshy area but in more of an upland forest.

"Heron colonies are definitely pretty neat features on the natural landscape and we certainly want to protect them where we can," Cooper said.

Great blue herons are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service enforces. The agency has not stepped in, however. While the act prohibits disturbing active nests with chicks and/or eggs during breeding season, it does not cover empty nests, nor does it necessarily cover nests during nest building, he said.

"There's nuance there," Cooper said.

Rookery vs. growthAdamson and his neighbor Leal Segura say the heron rookery needs protection. They live in the fern-filled forest next to the 30 acres slated for development, land owned by Byron resident Steven Connelly, who declined to comment. The rookery spreads across all three properties.

In a complaint filed last month in Olmsted County District Court, Adamson and Leal call it a unique natural resource protected under the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act. They want the court to declare that the rookery can't be disturbed and that no trees within 1,000 feet of a nest can be removed.

"The eggs or fledglings currently in the nests will be killed or abandoned if their rookery is disturbed," the complaint said.

The court has extended a temporary restraining order related to the lawsuit; the next hearing is April 29.

In the meantime, more than 1,100 people immediately signed a "Save the Rookery" petition sent to the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board calling for a review of the project's impact on the environment. That board determined Rochester Township must make the decision on doing a review, and it forwarded the petition to that local body on April 6. The township has 15 business days to make a decision, the state board said.

Rochester Township Board Chairman Matthew Kitzmann said the heron matter will be discussed more fully at the next monthly meeting on May 13.

Mordi said her company, International Properties LLC, feels blindsided by the public controversy. The birds never came up earlier in the process, she said.

In a written response to questions, she said the state and federal wildlife officials whom they contacted "tell us that rookeries are not protected because [great blue herons] are common birds that are resilient and move their nest sites often."

Mordi agrees the birds and their eggs are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty but said that it doesn't protect trees with empty nests.

The company remains committed to the 10-lot development with a private road, she said, and has signed a contract to buy the 30 wooded acres from Connelly for $1.4 million.

It's also considering voluntarily conducting an environmental review, she said, and will save "as many nest trees as possible."

Meanwhile, the "Save the Rookery" supporters are plotting their next move.

"It all happened so fast," said Lynn Cornell, a bird enthusiast who created the savetherookery.com website and is new to such activism.

"I'm thrilled Rochester is growing, that we have restaurants to go to," said Cornell. "I want us to grow in a way that still respects the natural environment."

Jennifer Bjorhus  612-673-4683
The Queen could take a 'step back' from increasingly more of her duties following the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral, a royal historian has said.

Sarah Richardson, professor of modern British history at the University of Warwick, said that Prince Philip's passing could be a 'turning point' in the future of the monarchy.

Ms Richardson also said the 'poignant' service in Windsor on Saturday would have been an 'ordeal' for the Queen.

The Queen (pictured at St George's Chapel) could take a 'step back' from increasingly more of her duties following the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral, a royal historian has said

Speaking about the Queen sitting on her own at her husband's funeral, she told the PA news agency: 'She has a really strong sense of service and duty and protocol and she's attended many funerals in the past and she strongly follows the rituals and so on.

'In some ways it would have been comforting for her that the Duke of Edinburgh played such a strong role in planning and organising the service but it must have been an ordeal at the very least.'

Ms Richardson went on to say: 'The other thing I think it represented to me was that this is a turning point in the future of the monarchy.

'To some extent this is the end of a period, the Queen will carry on and she will carry on doing her duty, she's already gone back to work to some extent.

Sarah Richardson, professor of modern British history at the University of Warwick, said that Philip's (pictured previously with the Queen) passing could be a 'turning point' in the future of the monarchy

Ms Richardson also said the 'poignant' service in Windsor on Saturday (funeral procession pictured) would have been an 'ordeal' for the Queen

'I think she will step back more and more, she's in her mid-90s, and seeing her there solely on her own, when she's been accompanied by Philip for 70-odd years, I think it represents a turning point.'

The royal expert also added that the conversation at the end of the service between the Duke of Sussex and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge would have been a 'conscious decision' by the trio.

She continued: 'The whole family apart from the Queen walked back to the castle from the chapel and the fact that Harry walked with William and Kate I think was perhaps a symbol that there is at least a willingness to talk and perhaps have some rapprochement between the two princes.'

Ms Richardson said the Queen would want a 'reuniting' but that William and Harry will need to have 'discussions' going forward.
A man charged with shooting two other men dead at a Caboolture unit lived at the residence and knew the pair, police say.

Police have now identified the alleged gunman as Caboolture local Adam Bird, who has been charged with two counts of murder and a range of other offences. He will face Pine Rivers Magistrates Court on Monday.

Police have charged Caboolture man Adam Bird with two counts of murder following a fatal shooting on Saturday. Credit:Nine News

Detective Superintendent Ben Fadian said the investigation into the shooting was still at an early stage, but he said the 24-year-old lived at the address and the men were known to each other.

It is the early stages of the investigation and a motive is still being established for the incident, Superintendent Fadian said.
A home in the Dallas Bay area was destroyed by fire Friday afternoon.

At 2:50 p.m., a neighbor called 911 reporting a house fire at 261 Serena Drive. The Dallas Bay Volunteer Fire Department responded and arrived on the scene reporting heavy fire on the back right side of the house.

Since firefighters could not confirm if anyone was inside, firefighters conducted search and rescue efforts and found no one in the home. The homeowner was at work when the fire broke out.

The cause of the fire will under investigation by the Hamilton County Sheriffs Office.

The house is a total loss and valued at $175,000. The American Red Cross will be assisting the homeowner with his emergency needs.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 03:16:03|Editor: huaxia

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OTTAWA, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Canada's international transactions in securities generated a net outflow of funds of two billion Canadian dollars in February 2021, according to Statistics Canada on Friday.

Canadian investors acquired 10.5 billion Canadian dollars of foreign securities in February, continuing a trend of net purchase that began in May 2020.

Meanwhile, foreign investment in Canadian securities reached 8.5 billion Canadian dollars due to strong acquisitions of Canadian shares.

February marked the tenth consecutive monthly investment in foreign securities, bringing the total for this period to 99.2 billion Canadian dollars.

Canadian investment in U.S. shares amounted to 9.7 billion Canadian dollars in February and focussed on shares of large-capitalization technology firms and investment fund shares tracking broad market indexes.

Meanwhile, Canadian investors sold 116 million Canadian dollars of non-U.S. shares, compared with an investment of 7.1 billion Canadian dollars in January.

Foreign investment in Canadian securities totaled 8.5 billion Canadian dollars in February, reflecting strong foreign investment in securities from the corporate sector, moderated by a continued large divestment in securities from the federal government sector.

Foreign acquisitions of Canadian shares hit 9.5 billion Canadian dollars in February, the largest investment in four years.

On the other hand, foreign investors reduced their exposure to federal government debt securities by 11.2 billion Canadian dollars in February, following the divestment of 10.9 billion Canadian dollars in January.

This activity in 2021 followed unprecedented foreign investments in 2020. Enditem
As most Portland-area middle and high schools prepare to reopen over the next two weeks, there will be wide gulfs in how much in-person instruction students receive by years end, an analysis by The Oregonian/OregonLive shows.

White and affluent districts will deliver the most face-to-face time with teachers and classmates, while districts serving the highest proportion of Black and Latino students will serve up scant hours.

Education experts say in-person instruction meets students most profound learning needs. Gov. Kate Browns early March order mandating schools across the state open for classroom instruction was also predicated on that idea.

Fewer than 10% of the states public school students regularly saw the inside of a classroom in December. Now that Oregons elementary schools are open for in-person instruction, about half of students do.

More than a year after the pandemic constricted public schools, an Oregonian/OregonLive survey of reopening plans in the 18 largest Portland-area districts shows their start dates for in-person teaching and planned hours of instruction in middle and high schools add up to massive inequities.

In Parkrose, which serves a high proportion of Black and Latino students in a high poverty section of Northeast Portland, secondary students are set to get roughly 18 hours of in-person instruction for the entire school year, at just 2.5 hours a week for seven weeks.

The Estacada district, meanwhile, offers its middle and high schoolers in-person classes for 20 hours every week  more than Parkrose students will get all year.

In Lake Oswego, middle and high school students are on track to get about 110 hours of in-person teaching this year. In West Linn-Wilsonville, those hours are closer to 140.

Nearly 78% of Estacadas students are white, the highest of the districts surveyed by The Oregonian/OregonLive. Lake Oswego, where only 8% of students are Black or Latino, has the lowest child poverty rate among the 18 districts, according to the most recent census figures.

Parkrose, by contrast, serves a higher proportion of Black students than any other metro area district: 17%. More than 28% of Parkrose students are Latino and 12% are Asian.

Since last March, Congress has pumped billions into schools, most recently as part of a $900 billion coronavirus bill that earmarks $1.1 billion for Oregon alone. Districts say the bulk of that latest cash infusion will be dedicated to measures that allow them to provide more classroom instruction.

The Oregon Legislature also passed a $325 million package for summer programs, acknowledging the likely academic setbacks students will suffer due to the lack of classroom time during the pandemic. But that is likely to provide summer learning and enrichment opportunities to only a fraction of the states 580,000 students.

Baker Prairie Middle School students in Canby have been attending classes in-person since March 30. The district is one of the few in the metro area to adopt 3-foot spacing in its classrooms.Photo courtesy Canby School District

The Oregonian/OregonLives findings about hourly in-person instruction time for middle and high schools across the metro area align largely with the news organizations analysis of elementary plans.

But the racial and economic patterns were less distinct, with some heavily white districts including Portland and Oregon City offering relatively little in-person learning to their middle and high school students and some serving a concentration of Latino and Black students, including Canby and Forest Grove, providing ampler hours.

And some districts that offered the fewest in-person hours to students in kindergarten through fifth-grade designed middle and high school schedules that allow for more face-to-face time between students and teachers.

In North Clackamas, middle schoolers will get nearly 10 hours of in-person instruction every week. High schoolers will get more than 11.

Part of the reason, spokesperson Jonathan Hutchison said, is that the district adopted updated spacing standards for its classrooms.

At the outset of the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended spacing students 6 feet apart in classrooms and common areas. The agency changed its guidance last month and the Oregon Department of Education also rewrote its rules to require only 3 feet of spacing in classrooms.

The state agency also eliminated its cap on the number of people students can interact with on a weekly basis. Until mid-March, the limit was 100.

Secondary hybrid hours in the Portland metro area.Table by Eder Campuzano and Betsy Hammond/Staff

Both those tweaks, officials in North Clackamas said, will allow larger groups of students back in middle and high schools.

Instead of separating students into two groups that spend time in the classroom on alternating days, every pupil now will spend Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays in the same room as a teacher.

The Oregon Trail district will do the same for its middle schoolers next week. Spokesperson Julia Montieth said officials expect high school students will also begin attending classes in-person four days a week soon.

Some of the districts that offer the most classroom time for middle and high schoolers are small.

Estacada, for example, has about 3,000 pupils. The Canby and Oregon Trail districts serve about 4,000 apiece.

All three are set to offer 16 hours or more of in-person instruction to their high schoolers. Canby students will log 18 hours in the classroom per week. Should the Oregon Trail district expand its in-person offerings for high schoolers, those students will get 16 hours per week.

Portland Public Schools, which enrolls about 47,000, will offer its middle and high schoolers just five hours of in-person instruction per week in two 2.5-hour sessions.

The districts high school teachers will deliver lessons virtually during the first half of the day during two 75-minute periods. In the afternoon, half of the students will attend in-person sessions.

Parents have criticized the setup as a glorified study hall, blasting the districts plans on social media and in emails to teachers, principals and school board members.

Chief of Schools Shawn Bird bristles at that notion.

When he was a teacher not many years ago, Bird told the school board, he would begin a lesson by introducing students to a concept in the first half of class.

Students at Athey Creek Middle School in the West Linn-Wilsonville district will get about 91 hours of classroom time by the end of the academic year. Their peers in the Gresham-Barlow district will get about one-third that. And students in Parkrose will get 18 total.Photo courtesy West Linn-Wilsonville School District

The second half would include an exercise guiding students through that concept and testing their understanding. Bird says Portland Public Schools hybrid approach to high school classes mirrors that.

What is happening in those classrooms will look much like it did during normal times except students will be masked up and distanced, Bird said.

Introducing new material during in-person sessions would also be unfair, he contended. Half the class wouldnt be there for the lesson.

The neighboring Beaverton district plans to offer its middle and high schoolers twice as much time in the classroom  about 75 hours by years end, compared to 35 in Portland.

Beaverton students will also spend two days in their respective school buildings. But instead of attending class virtually in the morning, Beaverton students will learn in-person for the whole day  middle schoolers for five hour-long periods, high schoolers for four 75-minute periods.

Both Portland Public Schools and Beaverton say they will exceed four-fold the Oregon Department of Educations guidelines on classroom spacing. The regions two largest districts require students be spaced 6 feet apart, ensuring each one has 36 square feet not the nine that the state requires.

Portland school leaders are bound by the outdated spacing guidelines, having inked a working agreement with the teachers union that enshrined it as standard for the remainder of the school year.

In Beaverton, middle school classrooms can accommodate between 16 and 19 students under the 6-foot rule, spokesperson Shellie Bailey-Shah told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

In Portland? Maybe 12, Bird has said. Classroom sizes are one factor, spokesperson Karen Werstein said, but many middle and high school classes use shared tables rather than individual desks.

Our furniture impacts how many students we can fit in a classroom, Werstein said.

--Eder Campuzano | 503-221-4344 | @edercampuzano | Eder on Facebook

Eder is The Oregonians education reporter. Do you have a tip about Portland Public Schools? Email ecampuzano@oregonian.com.
Journalism has always been a competitive business. When The Sydney Herald was founded by three recently arrived English immigrants in 1831  Morning was added to the masthead just over a decade later  there were no fewer than five main newspapers in Sydney. By 1936, the Herald was selling more copies than its more expensive and less moderate rivals, and today its audience is the largest of any newsroom in the country.

Over the past 190 years, a bewilderingly long lineup of news outlets have challenged the Heralds preeminence. More recently, the digital revolution has upended how people consume news and transferred advertising revenue to Facebook and Google. Low barriers to entry for online news have allowed small independent publishers to flourish; multinational news giants such as The New York Times and The Guardian to set up in Australia; and the ABC to move into digital publishing. Meanwhile, the competition for eyeballs has been joined by the likes of Netflix, Stan and, yes, TikTok because people have more choice about how they spend their limited spare time.

The Sydney Morning Herald has delivered constant coverage of the global pandemic across all platforms. Credit:Wolter Peeters

Yet the Herald is in its strongest editorial and financial position in decades. This is no accident. Good journalism is in the business of holding the powerful to account; it should also inform, explain and, when appropriate, entertain. Newsrooms compete to come up with the best ideas. But any examination of this mastheads remarkable longevity must also call attention to the fierce spirit of independence that has shaped its evolution.

The addition of the words Independent. Always. under the title is a relatively new addition to the Heralds front and home pages but they have served as the newsrooms guiding principle for much longer. The newspapers founders adopted Alexander Popes Sworn to no master, of no sect am I as their motto while the Fairfax family, which owned the Herald for almost 150 years, put in place editorial policies based upon principles of candour, honesty and honour. For the past 33 years, the newsrooms have operated under a charter of editorial independence which ensures full editorial control of the newspapers, within a negotiated, fixed budget, be vested with the editors of the papers and that the editors alone shall determine the daily editorial content of the newspapers.
Actual size of the implant

It was hailed as a quick and easy solution to birth control. Instead, hundreds of women claim Essure ruined their lives. Lorraine Fisher reports on a modern medical horror story

Waking up once again with her face lying on a wet pillow stained with the tears of agony shed cried in her sleep, Tracey Pitcher felt a familiar throbbing coursing through her lower body. It had been barely noticeable at first, just a slight ache in her hips. But gradually, over the following weeks and months, the pain had intensified, radiating into her knees and stomach, becoming a raw, jagged torture.

Everything good in her life juddered to a halt. Days working at the preschool shed once loved became a trial. Evenings were spent on the sofa with a hot water bottle, unable to move. Adventurous trips away with her Guides and Rangers troops were unbearable.

Most distressing to Tracey, though, was that she couldnt be a proper mother to her five children any longer. Instead the elder girls learned to parent their younger siblings, ripping the heart out of the then 40-year-old.

And even after two years in agony  despite many GP and hospital appointments and scans  still no one could tell her what was causing the pain. It wasnt until the beginning of July 2019 that Tracey, from Southampton, saw a report on the local news about claims of problems with a sterilisation implant called Essure.

Id had it in 2016, she says, but never thought it could be responsible as the pain didnt start immediately  it came on slowly over the next year. But this woman on the news was describing everything that was happening to me.

Tracey, now 44, went straight online to research the claims and discovered a 21st-century horror story. Essure came on to the US market in 2002 when it was hailed as a revolution in birth control. Until then, if a woman wanted to be permanently sterilised, she needed an invasive procedure called tubal ligation, which was carried out under general anaesthetic in hospital and had a long recovery time. But Essure could be implanted in less than half an hour with just pain relief, and the patient could go back to work immediately afterwards.

Or that was the theory. In practice hundreds of British women now claim it is to blame for gut-wrenching pain, impossibly heavy periods and even their hair falling out and teeth crumbling. In short, they say, it ruined their lives.

Tracey had had Essure fitted in May 2016 after deciding her family of five girls  now aged from seven to 24  was complete. I had a chat to my GP about sterilisation, says Tracey, who is married to postman Daniel. Then I had a flu jab with a nurse who recommended Essure, so the doctor booked me in to the clinic where shed had it done.

Left: Removing Essure was the best thing Ive ever done, says Tracey Pitcher. Right: I felt sick  with horrendous headaches, stooped over in pain, says Karen Tonge

I looked it up on the internet and the NHS website to find out as much as possible but there was nothing.

Unknown to Tracey, concerns had been raised about Essure as far back as 2013, although they werent widely reported. So at the time it just seemed like the answer to her prayers.

I didnt have any worries when I went in to have it fitted. They gave me some ibuprofen and I lay on the bed with some gas and air. It hurt, but it was a lot easier than an operation and it only took 20 minutes.

Essure is a small coil, just a few centimetres long, inserted through the vagina and uterus up into the fallopian tubes. It works by creating scar tissue that blocks the tubes, thus preventing sperm reaching the ovaries. Afterwards I felt good, says Tracey. But then I started having niggles  joint pain that I put down to exercising. My periods started getting heavier and more painful and I started flooding.

It all got more painful over time and within a year I would wake up to find Id been crying in my sleep as my hips hurt so much. In 2004 Id had Hodgkin lymphoma and the pain was so severe I thought it had come back again.

But while scans showed she was still clear of cancer, they didnt reveal the reason for her pain. Instead, doctors diagnosed irritable bowel syndrome and recommended she take ibuprofen.

The story began to hit the headlines four years ago

After that I was in constant pain and had no energy. It affected all my familys lives. Id go to work, come home, make tea then sit on the sofa with a hot water bottle unable to move. I didnt want to do anything.

Daniel was very understanding  I couldnt fault him. But I felt guilty. I wanted to be the person he and the children needed but I couldnt be his wife or their mum.

I couldnt get up and run around with the children or go camping  anything we used to enjoy. I missed out on so much.

My youngest daughter got used to going to her older sisters instead of me when she needed something  it was heartbreaking, but thank goodness I had them or I wouldnt have known what to do.

Finally, in 2019, Tracey saw that local news report. The relief was overwhelming  Id finally found out what was causing all my problems.

Simply removing Essure is not generally possible  it can fragment, leaving tiny metallic pieces behind  so instead most women have to have their fallopian tubes removed or, as in Traceys case, a hysterectomy that left her ovaries in place so she wouldnt go into the menopause immediately.

I went to see my doctor thinking Id have to fight for it, but he put me on a waiting list there and then. Six of the longest months of my life later, Id had the operation and was walking on air. Tracey says the pain stopped immediately. Now I can sit on the floor playing with my children, enjoy the adventure trips I go on with my Girl Guides and Rangers groups and Ive qualified as an early years practitioner. Removing Essure was the best thing Ive ever done.

In Bolton, nearly 250 miles from Traceys home, laboratory technician Karen Tonge tells the same story. She had Essure fitted in 2014 on the recommendation of her family planning clinic. I had it done at the local hospital then went back to work the same day, says the 46-year-old, who is married to engineer Craig and has a son, Aidan, 21. I had period-type pain and cramps but nothing I couldnt deal with.

The next two or three years passed uneventfully but, in 2017, Karens periods began to get very heavy. For two weeks before, I felt awful  sick and with horrendous headaches. Id be stooped over in pain  even my colleagues noticed I couldnt stand up straight. Then my period would happen and it would ease off only to begin again a fortnight later.

Like Tracey, she became unable to do anything, spending every evening on the sofa in agony, and her relationship with her family suffered. I got snappy with my son when I didnt mean to and also with my husband  I was overly moody and took my pain out on him. He was very concerned about me.

After about a year, Karen was in so much pain at work one day, she took herself off to A&E. The doctors couldnt find anything wrong and referred her back to her GP who booked an ultrasound. It was there that the problem was revealed. The guy doing it pointed at the screen and said, That doesnt seem to be where it should.

Left: It put me in a dark place, says Jan Faulkner, who set up a Facebook support group. Right: I lived on painkillers. Its wrecked my life, says Debby Gordon

He was talking about her Essure implants. One had moved away from the fallopian tube it had been placed in, causing the problems. She had both tubes removed in April 2019. The pain went immediately, says Karen.

Both she and Tracey eventually found the Facebook support group Life After Essure UK and Ireland that had been set up by Jan Faulkner (pictured top right) after her experience with the implant. There are now 1,300 members.

Jan, 49, had hers fitted in 2008 after giving birth to her fifth child. As with the others, she wasnt warned about any side effects. I was fine at first, she says. Then the third year after Id had it, my body shut down and I didnt know what was wrong with me. I lost five years of my life.

You think youre dying. You wonder, Whys my back gone, why dont my legs work? but doctors cant give you an explanation. Like Tracey, Jans nightmare began with pain in the hip area. Then Id have anxiety attacks that would knock me for six, brain fog that left me unable to think straight and an exhaustion so severe I couldnt even pick up a cup.

Eventually she couldnt walk and had to give up her job as a dispute advisor for a water company. I lost friends, I couldnt go out, I dont know how my husband Lee coped with it, says Jan, from Warrington. It got to the stage of me thinking, How can I carry on like this? It put me in such a dark place.

She had MRI scans, brain scans and was wrongly diagnosed with several conditions including osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia. It was while researching the latter that she stumbled upon a US website about Essure problems. Finally she felt she had her answer. And, after her fallopian tubes were removed in June 2016, she says life was back to normal within days.

Shes since dedicated her life to ensuring other women know about her experience with Essure, first setting up the Facebook page then teaming up with lawyers suing the manufacturer Bayer (which bought out Conceptus, the company that developed Essure, in 2013), which has already settled a similar case in the US.

Theyre being led by solicitor Lisa Lunt of law firm PGMBM, which served documents on the defendant in February. Its the very first step in the litigation process, she says. We have cases from Brazil and Holland and represent just over 200 women in the UK.

Theyre suing because this was advertised to them as a quick and easy noninvasive surgical procedure but it has caused all sorts of damage and ruined their lives. The device has migrated and attached itself to internal organs, theyve got pain and bleeding and changes to their menstrual cycle. There are huge amounts of hypersensitivity  in some women their hair has fallen out, their teeth are crumbling and these are young women.

The basis of our case is that there wasnt sufficient research and pre-market testing and that it was defective. The safety of the procedure wasnt what youd be entitled to expect.

Essure has also been blamed for allergic reactions and organ perforation. Bayer withdrew it from the UK market in 2017, citing commercial reasons. A spokesperson told YOU magazine: Patient safety is the greatest priority at Bayer and we investigate reports of side effects of all our medicines and medical devices thoroughly.

We stand behind the positive benefit risk profile of Essure, which is demonstrated by an extensive body of research undertaken by Bayer and confirmed by several independent expert reviews. The research includes results of more than 40 clinical trials and real-world observational studies conducted pre- and post-approval over the past 20 years and involving more than 270,000 women.

The US settlements have no impact on pending litigation in other countries, as Bayers decision to resolve these cases is based significantly upon factors that are specific to the US legal system. We do not routinely comment on individual cases nor discuss ongoing litigation.

Whatever the outcome, it wont be enough for Debby Gordon. Like many women whove had Essure removed, her pain hasnt gone, although its not known why. The 44-year-old had the implant fitted in 2014 and says she was in agony right from the start, spending the next four years going back and forth to various doctors, having different tests and being told it couldnt be the Essure. I lived on painkillers, she admits. I thought I must be imagining it.

So when her mother saw a news article about Jans Facebook group, she secured an appointment with her gynaecologist who agreed to perform a hysterectomy which she underwent in May 2019. I woke up and the pain had gone, says the mother-of-two from East Sussex. But six months later it came back. I was beside myself and messaged Jan who said I was the second person in two days to say that.

Debby still believes that the implant was the source of her pain. I thought Essure was going to be the answer to our prayers  but its wrecked our lives.

If you have concerns about an Essure implant, consult your GP immediately. You can also visit the Life After Essure UK and Ireland Support Group on Facebook or email essurelitigation@pgmbm.com
US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga have pledged to work with India and Australia to strengthen the to build a free, open, accessible, diverse and thriving Indo-Pacific, as the two leaders discussed the impact of China's actions on peace and prosperity in the region.

The two leaders met at the White House on Friday in Biden's first face-to-face talks with a foreign leader as president.

"Together, we will continue to work with allies and partners, including with Australia and India through the Quad, which has never been stronger, to build the free, open, accessible, diverse, and thriving Indo-Pacific we all seek, said the two leaders in a joint statement issued after their maiden in-person meeting.

is the grouping of India, the US, and Australia.

We support ASEAN's unity and centrality in the Indo-Pacific, as well as the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. We also concurred that trilateral cooperation with the Republic of Korea is essential to our shared security and prosperity.

Announcing the launch of the US- global partnership for a new era", the joint statement said the United States and renew an alliance that has become a cornerstone of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world.

"An ocean separates our countries, but commitments to universal values and common principles, including freedom, democracy, human rights, the rule of law, international law, multilateralism, and a free and fair economic order, unite us," they said.

Together we pledge to demonstrate that free and democratic nations, working together, are able to address the global threats from COVID-19 and climate change while resisting challenges to the free and open rules-based international order. Through this new era of friendship between the United States and Japan, each of our democracies will grow stronger still, it said.

The US-Japan alliance, the statement said is unwavering, and they are more prepared than ever to address regional challenges.

Our alliance advances a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific based on our commitment to universal values and common principles, and the promotion of inclusive economic prosperity, it said.

We respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity and are committed to peacefully resolving disputes and to opposing coercion. We promote shared norms in the maritime domain, including freedom of navigation and overflight, as enshrined in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the statement said.

Biden and Suga exchanged views on the impact of China's actions on peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and the world and shared their concerns over Chinese activities that are inconsistent with the international rules-based order, including the use of economic and other forms of coercion.

Beijing claims almost all of the 1.3 million square miles of the South China Sea as its sovereign territory. Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan have counterclaims.

China is engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea. Beijing has built up and militarised many of the islands and reefs it controls in the region. Both areas are stated to be rich in minerals, oil and other natural resources and are also vital to global trade.

We will continue to work with each other based on universal values and common principles. We also recognise the importance of deterrence to maintain peace and stability in the region. We oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East China Sea, the joint statement said.

They reiterated their objections to China's unlawful maritime claims and activities in the South China Sea and reaffirmed their strong shared interest in a free and open South China Sea governed by international law, in which freedom of navigation and overflight are guaranteed, consistent with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the statement said.

We underscore the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues. We share serious concerns regarding the human rights situations in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region," the statement said.

"The United States and Japan recognised the importance of candid conversations with China, reiterated their intention to share concerns directly, and acknowledged the need to work with China on areas of common interest, it said.

Observing that COVID-19 has shown them countries and the world that they are not prepared for a biological catastrophe, the joint statement said that the United States and Japan will also strengthen cooperation to advance health security, respond to future public health crises, and build global health.

At the first-ever leaders' summit of the on March 12, 2021, we established the Quad Vaccine Experts Group designed to expand safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing, procurement, and delivery for the Indo-Pacific region to supplement multilateral efforts, the statement said.

The two leaders also condemned the violence committed by the Myanmar military and police against civilians.

"We firmly condemn violence committed by the Myanmar military and police against civilians, and commit to continue taking action to press for the immediate cessation of violence, the release of those who are detained, and a swift return to democracy, they 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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The heartbroken family of a Weet-Bix factory worker who died from a blood clotting condition linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine have broken their silence.

Genene Norris, 48, from the New South Wales Central Coast died on April 14 after receiving the embattled coronavirus jab on April 8.

She developed blood clots the next day and four days after she received the jab she was placed on dialysis in an intensive care unit until her death.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration's vaccine safety investigation found Ms Norris' case of thrombosis is likely to be linked to the vaccine.

'We want to first thank everyone for your condolences, your understanding and for those who are grieving with us at this terribly sad and difficult time, we thank you for your love and support,' her family told Daily Mail Australia on Saturday.

Genene Norris, 48, from the New South Wales Central Coast died days after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine

'Everyone who knew Genene talks of her fun loving, happy character and her sense of service to those around her.

'Genenes devotion to our family was deep and gave her much joy. Her passing leaves a gaping void in our family.

'We cannot believe that this time last week she was with us and now she is gone.

'We want to thank the medical staff who did everything they could to save Genene. Currently, we know as much as the public knows as further medical investigations need to take place.'

All vaccines will now be 'continuously reviewed' after Ms Norris' death.

Health authorities said the review of the woman's case was complicated by her underlying health conditions - including diabetes among others.

Ms Norris was given the jab before health authorities declared the Pfizer vaccine was the preferred option for patients under 50.

It is the third report of an Australian case of blood clotting from the AstraZeneca vaccine. The other two cases were treated in hospital and are recovering.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration's vaccine safety investigation found Ms Norris' case of thrombosis is likely to be linked to the vaccine. (Stock image)

The Therapeutic Goods Administration's Vaccine Safety Investigation Group met late on Friday after Daily Mail Australia revealed on Thursday that the woman died after receiving the Covid jab.

Experts on the Vaccine Safety Investigation Group said despite the absence of antibodies in the woman's blood which have been found in other clotting cases linked to the vaccine, a causative link should be assumed.

They also noted some laboratory tests were still pending and a post-mortem examination will be in the coming days.

'Given this is an atypical presentation, should the test results and/or the autopsy provide an alternative causation, VSIG would review their decision,' the TGA said on Friday.

The same group advised earlier in April that people aged under 50 should not be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca jab due to a risk of blood clots.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt extended his condolences to the woman's family and said the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) would now conduct 'continuous review' of all vaccines.

This would dovetail with the TGA's work, Mr Hunt said.

Sanitarium Health Food Company, which is based on the New South Wales Central Coast at Berkeley Vale, confirmed the 48-year-old woman was one of its 800 employees

'Throughout the course of the pandemic, we have followed the medical advice and we will continue to do that ... sometimes that leads to difficult and hard decisions,' Mr Hunt told reporters on Saturday.

'That is the greatest protection for Australians in a pandemic that daily produces challenges and heartaches and tragedies.'

An autopsy on the 48-year-old woman will be conducted next week and a NSW coroner inquest into the woman's death will be held.

There have been 885,000 doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine given to Australians since the rollout began.

The three cases of blood clots gives a rate of one in 295,000 jabs that could potentially result in these complications, the TGA said.

WHICH COUNTRIES HAVE SUSPENDED THE ASTRAZENECA VACCINE? NOT SUSPENDED Austria

Bulgaria

Croatia

Cyprus

Czechia

Hungary

Latvia

Luxembourg

Malta

Poland

Romania

Slovakia

Slovenia SUSPENDED FOR UNDER-30s Greece

United Kingdom SUSPENDED FOR UNDER-55s Belgium

France SUSPENDED FOR UNDER-60s Estonia

Germany

Ireland

Italy

Portugal

Spain SUSPENDED FOR UNDER-65s Finland

Lithuania

Sweden SUSPENDED FOR UNDER-70s Iceland SUSPENDED FOR ALL AGES Denmark

The Netherlands

Norway Advertisement

Australia Chief Health Officer Paul Kelly pointed out on Friday that Covid-19 patients were far more at risk of developing blood clots than those who get the vaccine.

He said 'people should be cautious about jumping to conclusions' over the case and he urged people to continue to get vaccinated.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison also called for calm, saying concerns around vaccine hesitancy meant it was important the matter was investigated.

Professor Kelly confirmed some Australians have been reluctant to receive a vaccine since the medical advice on the AstraZeneca jab was updated.

However he stressed the vaccines were safer than the alternative, quoting a new Oxford University study which found the risk of blood clots in the brain is eight times more likely after a COVID-19 infection than an AstraZeneca jab.

'Clotting is a feature of COVID,' Prof Kelly said.

'It also happens to be a feature, very rarely, of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

'But the benefit absolutely, and particularly for those over the age of 50, outweighs significantly the risk.'

Vaccination is crucial because the Australian community will not remain virus-free forever, Prof Kelly warned.

A study of 500,000 Covid-19 patients in the US found that 36 in a million developed a potentially deadly blood clot.

By comparison, only four per million people suffer a serious blood clot as a result of the AstraZeneca jab.

Symptoms of the rare clotting complications include severe headaches, blurred vision, pain or bruising away from the injection site, leg swelling and shortness of breath.

Health authorities advise anyone experiencing any of these after vaccination should seek medical attention.

The effects are different from more common side effects which include fatigue, sore muscles or fever that subside by day three after vaccination.

Sanitarium Health Food Company, which is based on the New South Wales Central Coast, confirmed the woman was one of its 800 employees.

'The company is saddened by the loss of a much loved employee, and we offer our heartfelt condolences to her family, friends and workmates,' a spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.

Mr Morrison promised the whole adult population would be immunised by October, but the rollout has since been derailed by the jab's link to blood clots.

Twenty million doses of Pfizer are on their way but no more help is on hand for younger Australians until at least October.

The prime minister said he 'would like' all Australians to get at least their first dose by the end of the year, but made no guarantees.

In a desperate attempt to get the stalled program back on track, he plans to create huge hubs to ramp up vaccinations.

Ms Norris' death follows Denmark declaring they will be ceasing use of the AstraZeneca vaccine all together, while under 30s in the UK are already being offered alternative vaccines.
Fastmarkets calculated its steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India at $457.22 per tonne on Friday, compared with $456.38 per tonne one week previous.Deals were heard at $455, $457 and $460 per tonne this week, against deals at $445-455 per tonne last week.Offers were as high as $465 per tonne this week, the same level as last week.

Market participants expressed concern over the lack of buying activity in markets such as Turkey, which have not been...
Of the many things that Democrats dislike about Donald Trumps presidency, one issue probably sits on the top of the pyramid  his Supreme Court choices. All three of them irritate Democrats for different reasons, and they are determined to get some payback under President Joe Biden. Hence the bill filed last week to expand the Supreme Court from nine justices to 13. Democrats would love to see four clones of Ruth Bader Ginsburg added to the court.

It probably wont happen, but its hard to argue that Democrats dont have some legitimate reasons to feel that Trump packed the court in his own way.

First then Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to let President Obama fill a court vacancy in the last year of his term. There was no precedent for such a move, and if there was, it certainly should have applied to the vacancy that occurred in the last month before Trump sought re-election. Republicans ignored the arguments they made four years ago and rammed through Amy Coney Barretts nomination  all the more galling to Democrats because this very conservative justice replaced the revered Ginsburg.

Oh, and in between there was Justice Brett Kavanaugh, confirmed despite allegations that he tried to rape a girl at a party when he was in high school. His accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, insisted that the assault occurred and indeed traumatized her for many years. But her corroborating proof was thin, and many were uneasy about holding high school actions against an adult. Democrats also looked bad in 2019 when the tables were turned, when presidential nominee Joe Biden was accused of assaulting a woman as a senator. This time, it was Democrats arguing that proof was murky  and awkwardly retreating from their earlier pledge to believe all women.

The sting from those defeats lingers in the hearts of many Democrats, but a 13-member court would make a lot of bad memories go away. There is no constitutional limit on the size of the court, and the number of justices has changed seven times over our history. But several problems stand in the way of this scheme to tilt the scales of justice.

If this change occurred, a future Republican president and Congress could just add two more justices and throw the majority back to conservatives. Should that happen, a future Democratic president and Congress would be tempted to add two more to retaliate for that move. And on and on. Voters dont like this kind of gamesmanship even if politicians inside the Beltway relish it.

President Franklin Roosevelt also tried to pack the court with additional justices in the 1930s, and that effort was struck down. It just has a bad historical feel to it now, just as nine justices feels about right  not too small or large but still allowing for diversity.

For these reasons, even many Democrats dont want to expand the court, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Biden himself. Its unlikely that this bill could pass the House, with just a six-vote Democratic majority, much less the 50-50 Senate where just one Democratic defection dooms it.

Oh, and did you know that liberal justice Steven Breyer recently gave a speech at Harvard throwing cold water on the idea? And did you also know that at 82, Breyer is the oldest justice? Democrats are terrified that they will lose the Senate in 2022  a very real possibility  and that Breyer could pass away in the third or fourth year of Bidens term.

If Biden gets a court vacancy in his third year, he could probably fill it with a very moderate Democrat, though thats not even certain. If the vacancy occurred in his fourth year, McConnell would trot out the same argument and say that the opening should be filled by the next president  which he of course hopes would be a Republican.

Its a circus in a town known for melodrama and posturing. The whole thing could go many different ways, but one thing is certain: The sure-fire way to get your partys justices on the court is to prevail in elections, both for Senate and the presidency. If Democrats do that often enough in the near future, they will restore the court to a balance they prefer, and they can do it with nine justices. In politics, as in sports, winning cures everything.

Thomas Taschinger, TTaschinger@BeaumontEnterprise.com, is the editorial page editor of The Beaumont Enterprise. Follow him on Twitter at @PolliticalTom
Kolkata, April 17 : Myanmar military commanders posted along the borders of northeast India are using separatist rebels from the region to attack refugees fleeing the Pagoda Nation after the February 1 coup.

Senior Indian intelligence officials told IANS the local Tatmadaw (military) commanders have struck a deal with Manipuri rebel groups, UNLF and PLA, to carry out such attacks.

"This may not be national policy but a tactical move by local commanders desperate to stop refugee flow into India. The deal is the UNLF and PLA factions with bases in Myanmar's Sagaing province will attack the refugee stragglers walking towards the Indian border and force them to return to their villages," a senior official said on the condition of anonymity.

"In turn, the Tatmadaw has assured the rebels they will not attack the PLA-UNLF bases inside Sagaing." Burmese opposition sources told IANS that at least 12 refugees have been killed by the PLA and UNLF insurgents in the Tamu region in the last one month. Four members of a family were among those victims.

The Tatmadaw had started operating against the northeast Indian rebel bases in Sagaing.

Myanmar had for the first time handed over to India 22 activists of rebel groups from the northeast.

Nearly 3,000 Burmese nationals have taken shelter in Mizoram and Manipur after the February 1 military takeover in Myanmar, where firings by security forces has so far led to more than 700 deaths with five times more injured.

A dozen lawmakers elected to Parliament in the November 2020 polls are among those who had escaped into Indian territory.

Some journalists have also fled, among them staffers of Mizzima, one of whose director Thin Thin Aung has been detained by the military.

Thin Thin is also the president of the Burma's Women League and her husband Soe Myint is the chief editor of Mizzima.

The military coup in Myanmar has compelled many people of the neighbouring country to take shelter in the "no man's land" along the India-Myanmar border near Manipur's Moreh town.

These people, who have fled from Myanmar due to atrocities in their country, are seeking refuge in Manipur and give shelter inside the Indian territory.

As per reports, more than 1,000 Myanmar citizens have fled to India after the military coup.

A media report quoted police saying that over 100 Myanmar nationals tried to flee to India through Moreh's borders on Monday.

It has been reported that over 30 families were seeking help for their stay near Border Pillar No 79 at Moreh.

But they were stopped by the Indian security forces at the international border.

"Yesterday, some Myanmar nationals had tried to sneak into the Indian side, but security personnel had pushed back them. Many Myanmar nationals are trying to enter Manipur," the report quoted Tengnoupal superintendent of police in Manipur, Th Vikramjit Singh, as saying on Tuesday.

The police officer said some of the Myanmar nationals may have already entered Manipur because a large part of the India-Myanmar border is forest area.

He said more security forces personnel have been engaged along the Indo-Myanmar border areas.

More than 300 Myanmar nationals have already entered Manipur and are taking shelter in hillside areas, the report quoted locals of Moreh town as saying.

The report quoted a villager of Moreh as saying: "Following the violent situation in Myanmar, many people from the Tamu area in Myanmar have fled and entered Manipur by crossing the Indo-Myanmar border to seek shelter. We have tried to provide food and clothes to them at best." Meanwhile, the people who are opposing the military rule in Myanmar cancelled traditional New Year festivities on Tuesday and showed their anger with the generals, who seized power through low-key displays of defiance.

The people also staged small protests across the country.

The UN human rights office said it feared that the military clampdown on protests since February 1 coup risked escalating into a civil conflict like that seen in Syria and appealed to stop the "slaughter".

A Myanmar activist group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, said the security forces have killed 710 protesters since the military coup that ousted an elected government, led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Refugees and migrants are rescued by members of the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms, after leaving Libya trying to reach European soil aboard an overcrowded rubber boat in the Mediterranean sea. On Dec. 24, 2020. (AP Photo/file/Sergi Camara)

Tunisian Divers Find Another Body From Migrant Boat; 22 Dead

TUNIS, TunisiaNavy divers recovered another body on Saturday from a migrant boat that floundered and sunk off the coast of eastern Tunisia, bringing to 22 the number of known dead, including nine women and a baby, as police searched for the smuggler.

An estimated 40 people were aboard the boat which sank Friday off the coast of Sfax in the Mediterranean Sea and the search for the missing continued, according to Ali Ayari, spokesman for the port citys National Guard.

Also sought is a Tunisian said to have been the main smuggler and two others from sub-Saharan Africa, Ayari told The Associated Press. A Tunisian middleman has been arrested, he added.

The boat took on water shortly after leaving the Sidi Monsour beach, near Sfax, which leads one to think the migrants were (victims) of a scam, Ayari said.

The craft was allegedly headed to Italy, a main destination for migrants taking to the Mediterranean from this North African country.

On March 9, two boats ran aground in the same area, killing 39 people with 165 others rescued. Most people aboard were from sub-Saharan Africa.
AG Nessel Joins Bipartisan Coalition Calling on Congress to Fund Modernization of State Systems for Sealing and Expungement of Criminal Records

AG Nessel Joins Bipartisan Coalition Calling on Congress to Fund Modernization of State Systems for Sealing and Expungement of Criminal Records

Kelly Rossman-McKinney 517-512-9342 Attorney General

April 16, 2021

LANSING  Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined a bipartisan coalition of 22 attorneys general urging Congress to provide federal funds for state systems and technology upgrades needed to seal and expunge criminal justice records.

These funds could help some of the nearly 70 million Americans  one third of U.S. adults  clear or expunge records of arrest or conviction. Research shows that automatic record clearing could regain billions in lost economic activity for eligible people by clearing the way for secondary education, job opportunities, professional licensing, and stable housing. It would also help children and families as 30 million U.S. childrenalmost half of all children living in the UShave at least one parent with a criminal record.

"Millions of Americans are cut off from employment opportunities, education, and stable housing as a result of their prior convictions, Nessel said. The current expungement system is time-consuming and confusing. We must modernize expungement technology and give individuals the second chance they deserve.

Nearly every state has laws in place to seal or clear certain arrest or conviction records for people who have demonstrated that they have been reformed. However, only a small fraction of eligible Americans are able to navigate the time-consuming, confusing, and expensive processes of getting their records cleared or sealed. The group of state and territorial attorneys general are asking for the investment necessary to streamline record-sealing processes and make the justice system more cost-effective and fairer.

Joining Attorney General Nessel in sending this letter are the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Guam, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.
ALTON  About 150 families received food assistance Friday at an event sponsored by the 100 Black Men of Alton.

The pop trunk, drive through food distribution behind Horace Mann School was the first presented by the organization. Assisting them through sponsorships were the Greater St. James Missionary Baptist Church, Stephanies Place, Stephanie Elliott and Cameo Holland.
New Delhi, April 17 : With the surge in the number of Covid-19 cases in the national capital, Delhi Congress chief Chaudhary Anil Kumar on Saturday said that the party will collect plasma from its workers to help the coronavirus patients in need.

Speaking to media here, Kumar said that the Covid-19 cases in Delhi has taken a form of monster and Delhi government and the central government are proving to be completely unsuccessful in controlling it.

He said that the plasma bank started by the Arvind Kejriwal-led government in Delhi is seen only in advertisements and Covid patients are not getting any help in this disaster.

The Congress leader said that today when patients in Delhi are in need of plasma, they have to run from pillar to post but the government is consistently failing to provide plasma.

"In order to provide plasma to help the corona patients, Delhi Congress has requested all its workers to donate plasma," he said.

He said that the Delhi Congress is preparing a list of such activists and supporters of the party workers or their families who had recovered through Covid-19 three months ago and can contribute to this noble cause by donating the plasma.

"The Delhi Pradesh Congress office will gather information of all such people so that plasma services can be provided to the needy patients," Kumar said.

He also appealed all the party workers to come forward, so that someone's life can be saved.

On Friday, Delhi has recorded almost 20,000 fresh cases of Covid-19 in last 24 hours.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Omaha, Nebraska  Obtaining 8(a) Business Development program certification from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is a big advantage for companies owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and the challenges of navigating the lengthy process can be lessened by the experienced consultants in the Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC) Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) program.

The difficulties inherent to the 8(a) certification process can be very frustrating for small business owners, says Veronica Doga, PTAC program director. After they submit an application, the SBA reviews and often sends it back with more questions about the business.

Its not a linear process, and every time the SBA asks questions, the clock stops. When a process can take up to two years, PTAC consultants provide the advice and encouragement these business owners need to make it to the finish line.

Through the 8(a) Business Development program, the SBA works to level the playing field for owners of socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses by limiting competition for certain contracts. Businesses in the 8(a) program can:

compete for set-aside and sole-source contracts in the program;

get a business opportunity specialist to help navigate federal contracting;

form joint ventures with established businesses through the SBA's Mentor-Protege Program; and

receive management and technical assistance including business training, counseling, marketing assistance and high-level executive development.

Effective July 15, 2020, to qualify for the 8(a) program, applicants must not have previously participated in the 8(a) program, be at least 51 percent owned and controlled by U.S. citizens who are socially and economically disadvantaged, have a personal net worth of $750,000 or less, adjusted gross income of $350,000 or less and $6 million or less in assets, and demonstrate good character and potential to perform on contracts.

PTAC consultants recently assisted two Nebraska companies that successfully obtained their 8(a) certifications. For each company, it took more than a year from initial application to acceptance.

RTG Building Services, Inc., has found the federal government to be a great source of potential revenue, says Fred McBride, the Omaha firms vice president,. Federal contracting affords exponential growth, and we felt 8(a) certification would open our company to opportunities nationwide, he says. An 8(a) certification can cut the red tape, remove obstacles and help grow your business.

McBride and RTG Building Services owner Ramiro Gaitan began the process with NBDC and PTAC by determining if the company qualified for certification. Several steps in, it appeared that because the companys previous owner was an 8(a) program participant, the company under Gaitans ownership did not qualify, McBride says.

With everyone interpreting the regulations differently, we knew it would be an uphill battle, he says. At NBDCs recommendation, the company turned to a law firm that wrote a legal argument on behalf of Gaitan and RTG Building Services showing four other instances where the SBA approved certification for businesses in very similar situations.

The process continued with several exchanges between the company and the SBA until, on March 13 this year, Gaitan received an email stating the SBA had approved the companys certification. Because it was a Saturday, we didnt know whether to believe it or not, McBride says. We had already started to work on a Plan B in case we were turned down.

Mark Santo is the owner of Mark VII Enterprises, a general contracting firm in Omaha that is a City of Omaha Tier-I Small Business, Economically Disadvantaged Total Small Business, and Center of Veteran Enterprise verified Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business. A veteran of the U.S. Army National Guard, Santo has built a solid reputation by leveraging his past experience on government and military projects.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant effect on his business, Santo says. The 8(a) program certification is important because, as a set-aside contractor in the pandemic era, economic inclusion, Small and Emerging Business and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (SEB/DBE) and diversity participation requirements have all but evaporated, he says. The 8(a) program provides multiple business development opportunities that would not otherwise be available, at a time when companies like ours are literally on life support.

Mark VII Enterprises had previously worked with NBDC on other certification processes. In 2014, the company was named NBDC Government Contractor of the Year.

Most recently, Santo worked with Director Doga and consultant Mary Graff to overcome numerous challenges during the 8(a) certification process. NBDC was always our partner and guiding force through the certification process, he says. In fact, I credit them for being the impetus. They patiently, methodically and persistently kept me on course by setting out small achievable milestones along the arduous and painstaking path.

Mark VII Enterprises submitted its 8(a) application in March 2019 and was accepted into the program in October 2020.

Santo says NBDC and PTAC were there every step of the way. They were the voice of reason and resolve. They continued to pick me up, dust me off and put me back in the process through 19 months, five rounds, one reconsideration and a claim.

Doga says assisting small businesses through the 8(a) certification process is just one of many services provided by the PTAC program. These processes can be long journeys that make some companies give up without getting very far, she says. A partnership with NBDC is just that. We go into it together, and we dont stop until they succeed.
This is our opportunity to experience a different kind of life and get a quality education, Akama says of receiving the scholarship.

UCs first and second sets of Global Scholars came from India and Nepal.

While the Global Opportunity scholarship program, overseen by UCs International Admissions Office, is normally funded in full by tuition revenue generated by undergraduate international students, this time around theres a collaborator with a special connection to Tanzania: Village Life Outreach Project, a nonprofit organization based in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Village Life was founded in 2004 by Chris Lewis, UCs vice-provost for academic affairs and professor of family and community medicine. It partners with the villages of Roche, Nyambogo and Burere in the Rorya District of Tanzania, East Africa, to implement projects to fight poverty by increasing access to clean water and health care and improving educational outcomes. Over the years, the organization has taken over 700 UC students and faculty to work in collaboration with their partner villages in Tanzania. In 2019, UC Magazine featured a article titled "Lessons in Love" to showcase the relationship between Village Life and the UC community.
Phuket concludes Seven Days road-safety campaign for Songkran with one dead, 21 injured

PHUKET: Phuket last night concluded its Seven Days of Danger road-safety campaign for the Songkran Thai New Year holidays with 21 officially recognised accidents that resulted in one death and 20 people requiring hospital treatment.

accidentstransportSafetypolice

By The Phuket News

Saturday 17 April 2021, 11:10AM

Photo: PR Phuket

The seven-day campaign, which began last Saturday (Apr 10), concluded at midnight last night (23:59pm Apr 16) with just three officially recognised accidents that resulted in three people requiring hospitalisation on the last day of the campaign, but with no deaths.

Muang District recorded the most officially recognised accidents, with 13 accidents recorded during the seven days, followed by Kathu District with five accidents and Thalang District with three.

The one road-accident death during the campaign was that of Hiroshi Chamoto, 50, who died after suffering fatal head and torso injuries in a motorbike accident on a small road at the entrance to Moo Baan Suan Chor Phon at about 5:15pm on Monday (Apr 12).

All three accidents yesterday occurred in Muang District, said the report by the Phuket office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) this morning (Apr 17).

Pakaphon Sirisang, 20, suffered head injuries, including a three-centirem gash to the head, when he hit a building wall on Pattana-Thongthin Rd in Wichit at 5:42am.

He was riding eastbound towards the Muang Thong roundabout when he overshot the curve and hit the wall of PM Technical Service Co Ltd building. The force of the impact left him thrown across the street, said the report.

Mr Pakaphon was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. He was taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital, where he was admitted to the ICU for surgery, the report noted.

Alcohol was not mentioned as a contributing factor to the accident.

Myanmar national Mrs Tha Zin Phyo, 31, suffered head injuries when a pickup truck cut across in front of the motorbike she was riding on Chao Fa East Rd in Wichit at 4:03pm.

The pickup truck had pulled out from the entrance to Moo Baan Song Khun to turn right onto Chao Fa East Rd, cutting across in front of Mrs Tha Zin Phyo, the report explained.

Mrs Tha Zin Phyo was taken to Chalong Hospital and later transferred to Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town. She was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, but the extent of her injuries was not reported.

The third officially recognised accident yesterday saw Suriya Ungsakul, 59, suffer head injuries when he struck a roadside kerb along Muang Chaofa Rd in Wichit at 8pm.

The report noted that he was riding from Thung Thong towards Chao Fa West Rd when he lost control of the motorbike by himself and struck the kerb.

He was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, and was taken to Mission Hospital, where oit was confirmed that he had a broken nose but a CT scan confirmed that he did not suffer bleeding on the brain.

Again, alcohol was not mentioned as a contributing factor to the accident.

Police reported having 579 people staffing 12 checkpoints across all three districts in Phuket yesterday, altogether inspecting a total of 1,201 vehicles.

A total of 335 traffic violations were reported for yesterday (Apr 16), as follows:

15 fined for operating an unsafe/illegally modified motorcycle

32 fined for not wearing seatbelts

130 fined for driving without a license

0 fined for speeding

15 fined for ignoring traffic signals

9 fined for ghost driving (driving opposite traffic flow)

3 fined for dangerously cutting off other motorists in traffic

8 fined for using mobile phones while driving.

1 person was arrested for drunk driving

122 people fined for not wearing helmets

Police reported a total of 3,398 traffic violations throughout the seven-day campaign, as follows:
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has revealed more details about the upcoming 2021 Oscars ceremony.

On Saturday, during a virtual press conference held by show producers Jesse Collins, Stacey Sher and Steven Soderbergh, the trio said that the impact of COVID-19 will be highlighted throughout the show and masks will "play a very important role" in the story that the ceremony is trying to convey.

"If that's cryptic, it's meant to be," said Soderbergh. "But that topic is very central to the narrative."

"I think movies are a large portion of how we have gotten through this incredibly difficult year," added Sher. "And I think you have to look at the films as well  whether they're period [or] whether they're contemporary  they are about the times that we live in."

She continued, "And they're beautiful, they're moving, sometimes they're painful, but ... we need to have hope to move forward. So we have to acknowledge what we've been through, and the historic losses we've been through, but we also have to fight for cinema and our love of it and the way it has gotten us through things."

RELATED: Oscars 2021 Ceremony to Take Place 'Live from Multiple Locations,' Academy Says

Bryan Bedder/Getty Academy Awards

On Thursday, the telecast's returning director Glenn Weiss (he's directed the Oscars ceremony for the past 5 years, winning two Emmys for it in that timespan) also spoke with PEOPLE about his vision for the show, and teased a little of what to expect.

It was previously revealed the ceremony will be broadcast live from multiple locations, including the landmark Dolby Theatre and the historic Union Station, both in Los Angeles.

"It's not going to be 3,000 people in a theater," he shared. "It's going to be a very intimate celebration with the nominees. I think the viewer is going to feel like they're part of this intimate gathering, not that they're just witnessing something from the outside."

Story continues

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While other awards shows this past year have given attendees the option to virtually attend, the Oscars' producers previously sent all nominees a letter asking them to come to the ceremony in-person.

Asked what that means for the nominees, Weiss said, "I think the nominees are in for a really intimate fast-moving evening as opposed to a bigger show where you could get, I don't want to say lost, but there's a lot more going on. I think this is fairly focused on us telling stories about the storytellers because we're here celebrating them and we're here celebrating the craft that they do."

"What you're going to see is not going to be a standard awards show fare... 'Ladies and gentlemen, your next presenter coming to the stage.' It's not about that," he teases. "It's more about a true line of these nominees. It's learning about them. It's being with them and being a part of this whole journey of movie-making."

RELATED: The 2021 Oscar Nominations: Chadwick Boseman, Andra Day and Carey Mulligan Lead Nominees

Carlo Allegri/Getty

The show's theme is "Stories Matter," and the producers asked those invited to take part in interviews where they'll share their own personal stories to connect each of them at the ceremony next Sunday.

On the topic of dress code, the producers previously told attendees to avoid casual attire.

"We're aiming for a fusion of Inspirational and Aspirational, which in actual words means formal is totally cool if you want to go there, but casual is really not," they said in a previous statement.

The safety protocols for the show include "specially designed testing cadences to ensure up-to-the-minute results, including an on-site COVID safety team with PCR testing capability."

RELATED: VIDEO: First-Time Oscar Nominees Amanda Seyfried, Maria Bakalova, Yuh-Jung Youn & Paul Raci React

The list of Oscars 2021 presenters were announced this week, and include previous winners like Brad Pitt, Halle Berry, Reese Witherspoon, Renee Zellweger, Joaquin Phoenix and Laura Dern.

Ahead of the Sunday ceremony, an Oscars: Into the Spotlight special will also air, where Celeste, H.E.R., Leslie Odom, Jr., Laura Pausini, Daniel Pemberton, Molly Sanden and Diane Warren will perform the five nominated original songs. One performance will be recorded in Husavik, Iceland, and the other four at the Dolby Family Terrace of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, according to a press release.

Hosted by Ariana DeBose and Lil Rel Howery, the special "will highlight the nominees' journey to Hollywood's biggest night," per the release, and will also feature an appearance DJ Tara.

After the Oscars, another special  Oscars: After Dark  will air, hosted by Colman Domingo and Andrew Rannells. The special will feature interviews by film critic Elvis Mitchell and will recap "the evening's must-see moments" and show "Oscar winners as they have their statuettes personalized."

The 93rd Academy Awards will air live on Sunday, April 25 starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ABC.

As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from the CDC, WHO and local public health departments. PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMe to raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, click here.
SAN FRANCISCO, April 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Boutique Air today announced plans to expand its network out of the Merced Yosemite Regional Airport in California. Boutique Air will begin operating nonstop flights to Las Vegas, Nevada starting Thursday, April 22, 2021. The new route will offer round-trip service on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Boutique Air plans to operate its executive style aircraft, the Pilatus PC-12.

This will be the third Boutique Air route out of Merced and provides customers in the Las Vegas region with a quick direct flight to the Yosemite National Park area.

"Several years ago we operated flights from Merced and we are thrilled to offer this popular destination again." stated Shawn Simpson, Boutique Air CEO. "With the lifting of pandemic restrictions people are really ready to start traveling again. Vegas has been at the top of the request list for our Merced customers."

Fares start at $99 per person. For the current schedule and to book directly with Boutique Air, please go to www.boutiqueair.com .

Boutique Air is a full codeshare partner with United Airlines and has an interline agreement with American Airlines.

Boutique Air is an FAA certified and US Department of Transportation authorized airline founded in 2007.

SOURCE Boutique Air

Related Links

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Veteran Tamil actor Vivekh died at the SIMS Hospital in Chennai due to a massive heart attack early morning on Saturday. The actor, who was 59, was hospitalised in an unconscious state on Friday after he complained of chest pain.

He tested negative for novel coronavirus when he was admitted to the hospital. The actor was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and placed on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO). The late actor also underwent an emergency coronary angiogram, which was followed by angioplasty, according to news agency ANI.





Actor Vivek was brought to the hospital in an unconscious state today. He underwent emergency coronary angiogram followed by angioplasty. He is currently in critical condition on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in the intensive care unit: SIMS Hospital, Chennai  ANI (@ANI) April 16, 2021

Earlier this week, the Sivaji The Boss actor had also taken the first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine at the Omandurar government hospital in Chennai. After getting the vaccine, he also urged other people to get the shot as soon as possible.

Thadam actor Arun Vijay and Laxmii director Raghava Lawrence expressed their condolences on Padma Shri Vivekh's death on Twitter. Arun Vijay wrote, "Shocking to know that Vivekh sir is no more with us. A great man with a lovely heart who made us laugh and think responsibly. Gone too soon... We are definitely going to miss his presence. We love you, sir!! You will always be there in our hearts.."

Shocking to know that @Actor_Vivek sir is no more with us.. A great man with a lovely heart who made us laugh and think responsibly. Gone too soon..

We are definitely going to miss his presence..

We love you sir!!

You will always be there in our hearts.. #RIPVivekSir  ArunVijay (@arunvijayno1) April 17, 2021

Raghava Lawrence shared an image of the late actor and a letter and wrote, "I'll try my best and continue to do all the good work he wanted to do for the society."

Ill try my best and continue to do all the good works he wanted to do for the society  #RIPviveksirpic.twitter.com/GypfnZVk1L  Raghava Lawrence (@offl_Lawrence) April 17, 2021

"I'm devastated to hear the demise of Padma Shri Dr Vivek Sir. It's not only a loss for the cinema industry but a big loss for our society. I pray to God for his soul to rest in peace. I'll try my best and continue to do all the good work he wanted to do for society in his name. May his humanity and greatness live long forever," Lawrence said in his letter.

Edited by Mehak Agarwal

Also read: Akshay Kumar hospitalised; 45 crew members of 'Ram Setu' test COVID-19 positive
The situation in eastern Ukraine remains tense. Everyone seems to be ready for war. On the one hand, Kiev's motives are quite understandable. It wants to take back its territories. On the other hand, theories are being put forward that Russia itself needs the war. Vestnik Kavkaza's political observer Kamran Hasanov discussed how this "muscle flexing" could end with an expert of the Valdai Club, professor of the Department of Theory of the History of International Relations of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia and director of the Center for Studies of Post-Soviet Countries Konstantin Kurylev.

- In 2019, when Vladimir Zelensky was elected, many had high hopes for him. It was expected that he would be able to resolve the conflict. Indeed, everything started off well: Ukraine pulled back the troops from the front line, exchanged prisoners, participated in a summit in the Normandy format. But after less than a year, there was a rollback. Now the number of ceasefire violations is in the thousands. Why do you think Zelensky failed to reach the settlement of the conflict?

- I'm not sure he really had this task. Although in the pre-election campaign it brought him votes, and he won. Politics is the art of the possibilities. Even if he had plans like that, he could never realize them. The question is - is Zelensky really an independent figure. Of course, at first there was a movement, but then it stopped.

- So due to Zelensky's lack of independence - due to him being hindered by the hawks in the leadership, in the General Staff - he can't implement diplomatic solution?

- That's another reason. We know how he came to power, who supported him, who financed his campaign. I don't think that this is his constant environment, although hawks are everywhere, just like pigeons. There's also the street factor. They are all afraid of the street. Pravoseki (members of the terrorist organization Right Sector, banned in Russia - ed.), Although they don't have massive numbers, in terms of their activity and passion, they hold the street. Zelensky is on a minefield. To reach diplomatic solution, you have to communicate with the republics, not blame everything on Moscow.

- Deutsche Welle columnist Konstantin Egert and British political scientist James Sherr believe that the war is no longer necessary for Ukraine to return the territories, but that its necessary for Russia for internal political reasons. Allegedly, Putin needs to boost his rating before the elections to the State Duma, so that the West will forget about Navalny and so on. What scenario do you think potential war might follow, will the DPR and LPR be recognized, and what are the consequences of the war for Russia?

- I'm not a prophet. When it comes to Ukraine, any assumptions, as history has shown, are not worth a damn. Seven years ago, no one knew that there would be reunification of Crimea with Russia. Eight years ago, no one expected that there would be a civil war. As for the war, Europe does not need a conflict like this near its borderlands. The current president of Ukraine also doesn't need it. What will Zelensky gain from it?

- Rating?

- If the outcome is positive for Ukraine, yes. But there will be no positive outcome. As for Russia, the internal resources are at such a level that it makes no sense to use this factor. Seven years ago, they said that Syria is a distraction of attention from Ukraine. But we can see now that was not the case. Moscow doesn't need a war at this stage. Russia needed to be more active seven years ago. Our entire policy in the post-Soviet space created the problem we faced. Solving it now by military means, given that Putin drew the line between a handful of nationalists and the brotherly Ukrainian people, is not an option. It's possible to provide support (for Donbass - ed.). It's quite possible that nationalists have a goal to provoke Russia to such actions. So the question is, who benefits from it?

- So neither Russia, nor Europe or Ukraine need a war. So the only possible side interested in it would be the US...

- Yes, there's the US. This is classic geopolitics. Control over Europe, Eurasia, the notorious Heartland, and Ukraine as the center of Eastern Europe. Does the US need an escalation or a military campaign? If its task is to further contain Russia, then it's more convinient to maintain the situation (in the Donbass) as it is today. Permanent aggravation to a boiling point. Otherwise, there may be a different outcome, up to the expansion of the territories of the unrecognized republics with the recognition of their independence. The persistence of the conflict is an instrument of influence on Russia, Europe, and even China. Why pour more gasoline to the fire, if you can just add coal to maintain the conflict in this state for a long time.

- Zelensky said that Ukraine's accession to NATO is one way to resolve the Donbass conflict. We cannot sit forever waiting for the EU and NATO, the Ukrainian president said. How realistic is Ukraine's accession to the Euro-Atlantic structures without resolving the Donbass conflict? Wouldn't it basically mean the rejection of the DPR and LPR?

- Ukraine's accession to NATO means, first of all, renouncing its sovereignty, although it already did that long time ago. Why should Ukraine join NATO if it's effectively cooperating with it without being a member state? Ukraine can get certain guarantees anyway, they have already switched to NATO military standards. It doesn't make much sense for NATO itself. It's much more convenient to keep Ukraine on a short leash than to add such a problematic state to your organization. That's especially true for the European countries of the block.

- Is there any compromise solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine? Is Kremlin ready to return the DPR and LPR to Ukraine, given that the mood of people in the Donbass is extremely negative towards Kiev?

- All these events are tragic. But history heals any wounds. How many times the French and the Germans cut each other and fought, and today they are developing quite harmoniously together. Everything takes time, in our case, perhaps much more time compared to the EU. We are much closer to each other, but it is more difficult to overcome the split (between Ukraine and Russia - ed.). We need de-escalation of the conflict. I don't see the possibility of a compromise. Nobody fulfills the Minsk agreements and is unlikely to fulfill them. Ideally, the conflict should be frozen so that the situation calms down and people don't die. Another thing is that certain forces inside Ukraine are hardly interested in this, and outside too. Obviously, the escalation will continue.

Preserving the DPR and LPR as part of a federal state of Ukraine could meet Russia's interests, especially in the context of the powers of Ukraine's parts in foreign policy in terms of blocking NATO membership. But on the other hand, there is the question of how far Moscow is ready to go to support (Donbass - ed.) Economically and socially. There is also a financial aspect here, it is not just that, the situation with Crimea has shown this. There is a war going on and the destruction is enormous. Therefore, you need to take into account the human, political and financial aspects. It is necessary to extinguish the degree of tension.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 21:27:30|Editor: huaxia

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Video: Imposing sanctions on one hand, while calling for de-escalation on the other -- where are the U.S.-Russia ties going under the Biden dministration? (Xinhua)

"The sanctions showed America's pragmatism. They choose to cooperate on some matters, while they don't on others," says Pavel Koshkin, fellow of the Institute of U.S. and Canadian Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences.



WASHINGTON/MOSCOW, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The United States has imposed sanctions on Russia and expelled 10 diplomats, while Russia vowed to respond with retaliatory measures.

The sanctions, in response to Moscow's alleged election interference and cyber activities, were announced on Thursday, just two days after U.S. President Joe Biden proposed a summit meeting with his Russia counterpart, Vladimir Putin, during their phone conversation on Tuesday.

TOUGH MEASURES

The White House said in a statement that President Biden had signed a new sanctions executive order against Russia.

According to the order, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a directive that prohibits U.S. financial institutions from participating in the primary market for ruble or non-ruble denominated bonds issued after June 14, 2021, by Russia's central bank, the national wealth fund, or the finance ministry.

The Treasury also designated six Russian technology companies that "provide support to the Russian Intelligence Services' cyber program," and 32 entities and individuals related to the 2020 U.S. presidential election interference, the statement said.

In addition, the Treasury, in partnership with the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada, sanctioned eight individuals and entities over the Crimea issue.

The United States is expelling 10 personnel from the Russian diplomatic mission in Washington D.C., the statement added, saying the personnel "include representatives of Russian intelligence services."

The statement also accused the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service of carrying out the alleged SolarWinds hack last year.

The Kremlin repeatedly said that claims of Russia's alleged meddling in the 2020 U.S. elections were baseless and regretful, calling them a pretext for additional sanctions.

On the same day, Russia Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov summoned U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan, telling him that the new anti-Russian sanctions will shortly be followed by "a series of retaliatory measures" in the nearest time.

Ryabkov told Sullivan that these measures are "unacceptable" and have dealt a new heavy blow to the pragmatic relations between the two countries.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told a press conference Thursday that Washington must realize that it will "pay a price" for the degradation of U.S.-Russian relations.

Photo taken in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, on April 16, 2021 shows a screen displaying U.S. President Joe Biden delivering a speech at the White House in Washington, D.C. in a live stream provided by FOX. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

SOFT TONES

Even so, Biden called for de-escalating the tension with Moscow after authorizing the sanctions.

During his remarks on Russia on Thursday evening, Biden detailed his phone call with Putin, as well as his administration's approach to bilateral relations.

"I was clear with President Putin that we could have gone further, but I chose not to do so. I chose to be proportionate," Biden said, referring to the punitive actions.

"The United States is not looking to kick off a cycle of escalation and conflict with Russia," Biden said. "We want a stable, predictable relationship."

Biden suggested that Washington and Moscow work together to address global challenges such as non-proliferation, global pandemic, and climate change.

"Now is the time to de-escalate. The way forward is through thoughtful dialogue and diplomatic process," Biden said. "The U.S. is prepared to continue constructively to move toward that process."

The White House on Thursday also held a background press call on Russia by senior administration officials via teleconference.

"We do not seek, we do not desire a downward spiral. We think we can and should avoid that," a senior administration official said.

"But we have also been clear, publicly and privately, that we will defend our national interests and that we will impose costs on Russian government actions that seek to harm our sovereignty," the official said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the annual press conference via video link in Moscow, Russia, Dec. 17, 2020. (Xinhua/Evgeny Sinitsyn)

"Unfair Competition"

Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Director Sergei Naryshkin said the sanctions are "an unfriendly and very ill-considered step," which undermine international stability.

"Competition between the world's leading intelligence services should be fair. However, the series of sanctions are a sign of unfair competition," Naryshkin noted.

"The sanctions were rather inconsistent with a friendly phone conversation between Putin and Biden just two days ago," he added.

In the view of Russian parliament member Sergei Zheleznyak, the U.S. sanctions are a rather "strange move," which will most likely affect the U.S. banking sector itself more than the Russian economy.

"Through the anti-Russian hysteria in the United States and the fabrication of different pretexts to pressure Russia, the United States is pursuing a policy of Russia containment," Zheleznyak said. "These actions will negatively affect the development of bilateral dialogue."

Ivan Timofeyev, programs director at the Russian International Affairs Council, said Washington's move was intended to show the American public that Biden's offer to hold an in-person meeting with Putin is not a "concession and that Biden is approaching the summit with Putin from a position of power."

"The sanctions showed America's pragmatism. They choose to cooperate on some matters, while they don't on others," said Pavel Koshkin, fellow of the Institute of U.S. and Canadian Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

"The sanctions are not only political but also economic in their nature. Similar to the situation with the Nord Stream 2 project, Washington is pursuing its economic interests with the help of sanctions," Koshkin added. 
The time has come to call a spade a spade. And, this spade is about the governments spectacular unpreparedness in anticipating the second wave of the pandemic, and the woeful absence of strategy and planning to cope with it. It is not as if the unexpected happened. Global experience shows that a second wave  more vicious and infectious than the first  was to be expected. A responsible government, not lulled into complacency by its own propaganda of how well it had handled the pandemic, would have  beyond dramatic gestures  diligently prepared for it. The truth is that the government did not.

A key difference between the first and second waves is that now we have vaccines as a significant weapon to fight the onslaught of the virus. The government itself made much of the fact that India is the vaccine capital of the world. What then led to the deplorable condition that when we needed the vaccines the most, they were  and are  in short supply? The government squandered away the natural advantage India had by exporting or gifting millions of vaccines. It did not give the required monetary support in time to indigenous producers like the Serum Institute of India so that they could ramp up vaccine production, even when it had an earmarked budgetary allocation of Rs 30,000 crores to handle the pandemic. And, it unforgivably delayed the introduction of new vaccines like Sputnik and Johnson & Johnson, by not speeding or abridging trials and approvals. Where imports were planned there are reports of major mess-ups leading to cancellations of major contracts. What we are now seeing is incoherent and improvised action when the crisis is upon us, rather than a planned anticipation that was the need of the hour.

Contrast this with what other governments like the UK and the USA have done. In America the government not only gave credit liberally to vaccine producers, but guaranteed them an assured buy-back at remunerative prices so that they could pay back the loans extended to them. The result is there to see. One-third of Americans are vaccinated, and the entire country will be vaccinated by the middle of the year. The UK, too, imported vaccines from every source that it could. We, on our part, gave away what we had, and did precious little to boost production at home for which we had the capacity.

There is a shortage, too, of oxygen, ventilators, testing kits and hospital beds. While it is true that the demand has gone up exponentially, a wise government would have prepared for the demand in anticipation of the inevitable by increasing production and capacity prior to the second wave hitting us. There is little accountability in this bureaucratic muddling, and total opacity in how the money has been spent thus far in the PM Cares Fund.

The administrative listlessness of the government can be seen in its inability to take stern measures even in the face of the second wave. Why else would have permission have been given to the Kumbh Mela celebrations at Haridwar, where some 40 lakh sadhus and devotees took the plunge in the long-suffering Ganga? All norms of social distancing or masks were thrown to the wind, even as our netas smiled at the devotion of what they assume is their vote-bank. Hinduism certainly does not sanction this abdication from duty. Shri Krishna in the Bhagwad Gita tells Arjuna to do his duty irrespective of the consequences. Our theory of dharma also includes a particular category  aapad dharma  which kicks in times of crisis or emergency and allows individuals and leaders to take hard decisions for survival. The Modi government likes the label of a decisive government, but its actions are quite to the contrary.

The same lackadaisical approach holds true for the governments defence of political rallies in the ongoing state Assembly elections. Both leaders and the crowds they want so desperately to get seem to believe that Covid does not exist. The Prime Minister lectures to the nation about do gaz ki doori and mask hai zaroori, but when it comes to electioneering all such advice is thrown out of the window. There is no point in saying that other political parties do the same. If you are in the hot seat you have to set the benchmark for Covid-appropriate behaviour and uphold it through your actions. It also begs all rational thinking why the Election Commission is not agreeing to club the balance three phases of the Bengal Assembly elections and hold them on one day. Mamata Banerjee endorses this proposal. Why doesnt the PM do so, too? If he does, I am convinced  for obvious reasons  that the EC will agree.

The second Covid wave has vividly shown the glaring gulf between image and delivery of the Modi Sarkar. This is not politicking over a crisis. This column is written in anguish at a crises that could have been mitigated by better preparation and handling, and anger at the long list of omissions and commissions that account for TV screens exploding with visuals of grieving citizens whose loved ones have died for lack of oxygen or a hospital bed, or who have returned empty handed from vaccination centres. Our health workers deserve our enduring gratitude, but what can we make of a health minister who expostulates that states are indulging in cheap politics when they ask for vaccines which are verifiably in short supply? Beyond a point, bluster does not work. It is time to call a spade a spade.
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Britain's daily Covid cases fell again today as officials recorded just 2,206 positive tests  down 14.8 per cent in a week.

Department of Health bosses also posted 35 daily deaths  down 12.5 per cent on last Friday's figures.

And the most up-to-date hospital admission figures show the number of infected coronavirus patients needing NHS care plunged to 179 on April 13, compared to 222 the previous week. Daily admissions were above 4,000 at the peak in January.

Another 119,306 first doses were also dished out yesterday, taking the UK's total number of vaccinated adults to 32.6million. Some 485,421 were also given second dose, with the number fully vaccinated now at 9.4million.

It comes as a leading immunology expert claimed the Indian Covid variant is unlikely to set lockdown easing back to 'square one' because immunity from vaccines 'won't just disappear'.

Member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Professor Adam Finn said he expected a 'gradual erosion' of vaccine protection as the virus evolves.

But he said it was but not enough to 'scupper' the Prime Minister's road map, as one leading scientist had predicted.

Boris Johnson plans to remove all legal limits on social contact by June 21 - after non-essential retail shops and outdoor pubs and bars reopened this week.

On Friday, Imperial College's Danny Altmann said 'we should be terribly concerned' after 77 cases of a potentially vaccine-busting Covid-19 mutation first discovered in India were identified in Britain.

Member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Professor Adam Finn said he expected a 'gradual erosion' of vaccine protection as the virus evolves.

Professor Altmann told the BBC: 'They (variants of concern) are things that can most scupper our escape plan at the moment and give us a third wave. They are a worry.

But Professor Finn blasted Professor Altmann as 'a bit pessimistic' with his assessment.

He told Times Radio: 'We've all expected evolution of this virus to occur from the start.

'I also think that we know from other viruses and previous experience that the immunity that vaccines give won't just disappear.

'It will be a gradual erosion. It won't be back to square one. I would be really surprised if that happened.

'So, I think, possibly, that interpretation is a bit pessimistic.'

The Indian variant is thought to be the cause of a huge second wave of infections across the south-Asian nation.

The country, of more than 1.3billion people, had 176,000 new cases on Thursday - a rate of 127 cases per million people, compared to 23 per million in the UK.

But the Government has so far left India off the mandatory hotel quarantine list - unlike neighbouring countries Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Imperial College's Danny Altmann (pictured) said the UK should be 'terribly concerned' about the India variant

A Covid patient in Lok Nayak Jai Prakash in India. The country, of more than 1.3billion people, had 176,000 new cases on Thursday - a rate of 127 cases per million people, compared to 23 per million in the UK

In this aerial picture taken on April 16, relatives and friends gather to bury the dead bodies of Covid-19 coronavirus victims at a graveyard in New Delhi

That's despite experts believing that the Indian variant not only speeds up transmission, but also features an 'escape mutation' which could possibly impact on the effectiveness of vaccines.

It was earlier revealed that 77 cases of the variant had been discovered in the UK.

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE INDIA VARIANT? Real name: B.1.617 When and where was it discovered? The variant was first reported as being of concern by the Indian government in late March. The first cases appear to date back to October 2020. What mutations does it have? The two main mutations are named E484Q and L452R, which scientists suspect can help it to transmit faster and to get past immune cells made in response to older variants. Those mutations are routinely not found on other variants monitored by Public Health England. How many people in the UK have been infected with it? 77 people so far, according to a report published on April 15. Their locations are unknown. Advertisement

Public Health England said the strain - known as B.1.617 - was under investigation 'due to sustained international transmission'.

Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, said the variant featured two 'escape mutations'  E484Q and L452R.

These essentially make its easier for the virus to slip past antibodies - which a person can get through vaccinations or previous infection.

Professor Hunter told ITV: 'There's laboratory evidence that both of these are escape mutations.

'Basically, applying what we know about other human coronaviruses would suggest that this is going to be even less controlled by vaccine.

'But we don't know that for certain at the moment.'

Despite the concern, India is not currently on the Government's 'red list' for travel.

The red list sees people who have been in those countries in the previous 10 days refused entry to the UK.

British or Irish nationals, or people with UK residency rights, are able to return from red list countries but must isolate in a quarantine hotel for 10 days.

Boris Johnson is due to visit India later this month - in his first international since the Brexit deal with the EU was reached.

The UK is hoping to secure a 50billion trade deal with the south-Asian country.

Downing Street has defended leaving India off the hotel quarantine list and said the register is 'under constant review'.

Neighbouring Bangladesh and Pakistan, however, are included on the list despite their outbreaks being only a third of the size.

So far, seventy-three of the 77 cases have been in England and four in Scotland.

The first of them date back to February, The Guardian reports, although no announcement was made until yesterday.

Public Health England generally only makes the announcement when it becomes clear that the variant could be dangerous.

India's not on the UK's red list but Pakistan and Bangladesh are, despite currently having smaller outbreaks

Variations of the virus crop up all the time and when cases first appear it is difficult to tell if they are significant or not, or whether there is any trend.

A similar delay happened before testing started to pick up the South Africa variant. PHE officials knew that variant was spreading in Britain in December but didn't start testing communities to weed it out until February.

The Indian variant was first spotted by scientists in March when it was described by the government in New Delhi as a 'double mutant'.

They suggested that the variant had formed as a hybrid of two other strains and that it showed signs of being more infectious and less easily targeted by the immune system.

Two key mutations set it apart from others  named E484Q and L452R  with both of them found on the 'spike' that the virus uses to latch onto human cells.

These are not thought to be key mutations of any of the other variants on Public Health England's list, but have appeared in virus samples before.

Surge testing is being done in London to weed out cases of the South Africa variant, which experts describe as 'the most worrying' strain

WHICH COUNTRIES ARE ON THE RED LIST? Angola

Argentina

Bangladesh

Bolivia

Botswana

Brazil

Burundi

Cape Verde

Chile

Colombia

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Ecuador

Eswatini

Ethiopia

French Guiana

Guyana

Kenya

Lesotho

Malawi

Mozambique

Namibia

Oman

Pakistan

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Qatar

Rwanda

Seychelles

Somalia

South Africa

Suriname

Tanzania

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Uruguay

Venezuela

Zambia

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Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist at Reading University, said at the time: 'As for the L452R mutation, we're still waiting for a proper definition of what it does.'

The arrival of the India variant in the UK, and the fact that the country is seeing a massive resurgence in Covid-19 cases, do not seem to have set off alarm bells in the Foreign Office.

India is still not on the red list, which means travellers would have to go into hotel quarantine in case they have coronavirus, despite its close neighbours being on the list even though they have smaller outbreaks.

A No 10 spokesman said today: 'We add and remove countries based on the latest scientific data and public health advice from a range of world-leading experts.

'We keep it under constant review and we won't hesitate to introduce tougher restrictions and add countries if we think it is necessary.'

India is going through a rough second wave of the virus, with higher infection rates than during the first explosion in cases last summer.

A staggering 175,910 new cases were diagnosed yesterday, almost treble the 65,000 cases on April 1.

Boris Johnson will visit India on April 26 and his team insist 'all elements of the trip will be Covid-secure'.

It comes as Britain's daily Covid cases fell again yesterday as officials recorded just 2,596 positive tests  down 20 per cent in a week.

Department of Health bosses also posted 34 daily deaths  down 43 per cent on last Friday's figures.

And the most up-to-date hospital admission figures show the number of infected coronavirus patients needing NHS care plunged to 204 on April 12, compared to 235 the previous week.

Daily admissions were above 4,000 at the peak in January.

Another 129,782 first doses were also dished out on Thursday, taking the UK's total number of vaccinated adults to 32.5million.

Some 417,683 were also given second dose, with the number fully vaccinated now at 8.9million.

It comes as official estimates yesterday suggested England's coronavirus R rate could now be as low as 0.7 and infections are continuing to fall.

No10's scientific advisers predict the reproduction rate  the average number of people infected patients pass the virus on to  is no higher than 1.0. Last week SAGE said the figure was likely between 0.8 and 1.0.

Office for National Statistics surveillance data also suggested only one in 500 people in England had the virus at any point in the week ending April 10, a 34 per cent drop from the previous week.

For comparison, the rate during the darkest days of the nation's second wave in January was around one in 50 - or 2 per cent of the population.

Pubs and restaurants had not reopened for outdoor service for the time period covered by the ONS data, although schools had been welcoming back pupils for more than a month.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 04:14:39|Editor: huaxia

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RABAT, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Moroccan King Mohammed VI on Friday ordered to dispatch food aid to Lebanon, official news agency MAP said.

Military planes will depart from Morocco to Beirut, to deliver this "personal royal donation to the Lebanese military and Lebanese people," the agency added.

This aid "comes in response to a request formulated by the Lebanese side," it said, adding that it will allow to help alleviate the economic challenges and the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Morocco has deployed a military field hospital in Lebanese capital Beirut following the deadly blasts that hit Beirut's port in August 2020.

It has also dispatched to Beirut humanitarian aid consisting of 295 tons of foodstuffs, 10 tons of medical equipment, and 11 tons of special equipment for the COVID-19 response. Enditem
NATO considers Russia's actions to restrict access through the Kerch Strait and ban on navigation in the Sea of Azov a part of the country's broader pattern of destabilising behaviour in the region and calls on Russia to stop provocations immediately.

Russias plans to restrict access to parts of Black Sea and Kerch Strait would be unjustified move, part of a broader pattern of destabilising behaviour. We call on Russia to allow freedom of navigation. NATO Allies do not and will not recognise the illegal annexation of Crimea, NATO Spokesperson Oana Lungescu posted on Twitter.

Lungescu also cited the Alliances statement on Russias actions in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

"We are concerned by reports that Russia plans to restrict access to parts of the Black Sea and the Kerch Strait. This would be an unjustified move, and part of a broader pattern of destabilising behaviour by Russia. We call on Russia to ensure free access to Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov, and allow freedom of navigation," the statement reads.

As noted, Russia has substantially increased its military presence on and around the peninsula since its illegal annexation of Crimea. Russia's ongoing militarisation of Crimea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov are further threats to Ukraine's independence and undermine the stability of the broader region.

"We call on Russia to de-escalate immediately, stop its pattern of provocations, and respect its international commitments. NATO Allies do not and will not recognise Russia's illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea. We fully support Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders," the statement underscores.

As reported, on April 15, the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine expressed its resolute protest against Russia's restrictions on freedom of navigation in the Black Sea. Russia announced the closure from next week to October 2021 of part of the Black Sea in the direction of the Kerch Strait for warships and state vessels of other countries under the pretext of military exercises. This step is a gross violation of the right to freedom of navigation guaranteed by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. According to the Convention, Russia must not obstruct or impede transit through an international strait to ports in the Sea of Azov.

As the Ministry stated, such actions by the Russian Federation are another attempt to violate the norms and principles of international law to usurp the sovereign rights of Ukraine as a coastal state, as Ukraine has the right to regulate navigation in these areas of the Black Sea.

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A man told police he had stayed at a friend's house and left his phone charger and wallet. He had been trying to get in touch with his friend all day, but she was not replying. The officer and man went to the residence on St. Elmo Avenue. The woman was not happy they were there, but the man was happy to get his wallet back. She made it clear that she did not want him back at her apartment.

* * *

Police were called to Access Pharmacy at 4062 Hixson Pike where the manager had asked a man to leave. The man was trying to pick up a prescription for his grandfather.

* * *

Police were called to 2220 Hamilton Place Blvd. where a woman told police two females were concealing items. Once these women saw police enter the store they placed all concealed items back on the shelves. The woman did not want to press any charges, but just wanted them to leave. Police identified the suspects and told them they were banned from the property and could be arrested for criminal trespassing if they came back.

* * *

A Motel 6 security guard at 5505 Brainerd Road was trying to get a person to leave. When police arrived the man fled on foot. The security guard said the man was evicted and that he was last seen running towards Brainerd Road wearing boots and underwear. He was not found.

* * *

A construction site manager at 3710 Youngstown Road said overnight there was damage to a skid steer and excavator. The suspects also managed to drive the excavator and rammed the digger into a storage container. The unknown suspects did not steal anything but vandalized the equipment. Due to the humid and rainy weather, police were unable to pull any prints.

* * *

A man on Knoll Creek Circle told police someone broke into his 2008 Ford F150 pickup and stole his Glock 17, his Swiss Gear backpack and its contents. He said his truck was locked but found no damage. The man told police he believes the thief used a slim jim to gain entry. He said that he will have to search for the serial number for his Glock and call back once he locates it. He later found the number and called police back with it.

* * *

A woman on Kippy Drive told police she received a phone call from a man who said his name was "Craig Brown" and said he was with the "Social Security Admin". Then he said, "Our records show you owe back taxes" and he wanted some information from her. She hung up since she knew this was possibly going to be a scam attempt. She said this happened just now and she hasnt talked to him since. She said she has had these types of calls before. There is no way to know if the name the suspect gave is real or not.

* * *

The property owner of the Spaces on Main at 1307 E Main St. told police a woman had been loitering on the property for a number of days and tenants were complaining about it. She asked police to remove the woman. Police told the woman she had one hour to leave, and she agreed. The woman believed she owned the property. She left without incident.

* * *

An anonymous caller told police there was a woman talking to a dumpster behind the business at 4749 Highway 58. When police arrived they found a woman looking at the dumpster. She appeared to be coming down from an unknown intoxication and said that she was waiting for the bus. She denied needing medical attention and said that she was not going through a crisis and was not suicidal. The officer escorted her to the bus stop without incident.

* * *

A woman said she parked her vehicle at 300 High St. two days ago. When she got home she noticed damage to her front bumper and is unsure what happened to her vehicle.

* * *



A man at 1920 Northpoint Blvd. told police that his 1998 Toyota Tacoma pickup was parked behind the building at Owen Cyclery and that someone cut out the catalytic converter. He said there was other damage to the truck near the catalytic converter and the total repair estimate is $2,411.

* * *

A woman told police that someone stole her purse out of her office at a building at 5600 Brainerd Road. She said only staff has access to the office area and she suspects a co-worker could have committed the theft. She said the purse had in it $700, her gold wedding ring, her debit card, numerous licenses, along with other miscellaneous items. She said the debit card was used at a Murphy USA. She is going to try to have security at Eastgate Mall review camera footage for possible suspects.

* * *

A man at Renezet Drive told police that he got home from work after midnight and went to bed. At 1 p.m. he went back to his vehicle and realized that the key fob was not fitting into the ignition. He said the car also does not start and the key fob does not work any more. He told police his vehicle was locked. The officer observed that the driver side window was damaged, as well as the ignition.

* * *

A woman at 200 Browns Ferry Road told police a young looking man came into the gas station asking to buy cigarettes. After she refused the sale, due to him not having an ID, the man started to leave. She told the man he looked too young. He then cursed her out and, after being told to leave the store multiple times, the man yelled, "Do you want a bullet in the face?" Police got a picture of the man and sent it to all Chattanooga officers in an attempt to identify him.

* * *.

A woman on N. Orchard Knob Avenue told police she and her daughter are having an ongoing personal issue with the daughter's neighbor. The officer spoke with the neighbor who confirmed the same thing. After speaking with all parties involved, everyone agreed to cease the personal issue and stop having any communications with each other.

* * *

Officers responded to a warrant service at a house on Hughes Avenue, during the course of which a stolen Kel-Tec rifle was recovered inside the residence.

* * *

A woman staying at the Super 8 Motel at 8934 Lee Hwy. told police someone carved a cuss word on the right side rear fender of her 2016 Chevy Camero. She said that she suspects her ex-boyfriend of doing this but did not see him do it. She said she is having the manager of the motel check the security videos to see if the security cameras picked up this incident.

* * *

An anonymous caller told police they found a gun in a ditch at a residence on Rocky Trail. Police found that it was a BB gun/air gun.

* * *

A woman at a residence on Gunbarrel Road told police that while her vehicle was parked it was damaged. The officer observed the damage on the front passenger side of her vehicle. There were no witnesses.
There is a certain kind of investor who prefers to hold shares rather than funds, despite the extra jeopardy and what others see as drudge work.

Putting money in funds run by professional managers, who choose the stocks and monitor them for you, seems dull to them.

Some will be content to dabble in shares on the side, while still holding a perfectly sensible well-diversified fund portfolio, while others stick mainly or even wholly to stocks.

We explore what motivates them and what extra work is entailed if you're interested in becoming more of an active hobbyist investor.

Fun factor: What motivates the kind of investor drawn to shares - and are you one of them?

Why are some investors more attracted to shares?

Excitement: The possibility you could buy a stock which is going to do incredibly well attracts some investors, according to Rowan Dartington investment director Tim Cockerill.

You might just find a firm that is going to be very successful, particularly if you are looking for opportunities among small and medium-sized companies, he says.

Cockerill adds that new technology, like that being developed in the battery and hydrogen sectors right now for example, inspires people to buy shares in firms that might make a breakthrough and therefore a lot of money.

Enthusiasm: Buying shares allows you to truly tailor your portfolio to the companies and themes you are most interested in, says Rob Morgan, investment analyst at Charles Stanley Direct.

This can be a far more engaging activity than buying funds, ETFs and investment trusts, even when they are a convenient shortcut and require far less research and monitoring than a shares portfolio, he says.

It can be exceptionally rewarding, both intellectually and financially, for people who have the necessary time, aptitude, enthusiasm and psychological make up, explains Morgan.

Cost: Investing in shares brings cost benefits, points out James Rowbury, investment research coordinator at Redmayne Bentley.

Tim Cockerill: New technology inspires people to buy shares in firms that might make a breakthrough and therefore a lot of money

'Where funds carry an annual fee and, in some cases, a multitude of additional charges, shares are only subject to stamp duty taxation on entry and  potentially  capital gains on exit.

'We feel investors should be mindful of this. If they feel their expertise and conviction is sufficient, applying a blend of direct shares into a portfolio is a sensible approach to boosting returns (net of costs).'

Social activity: 'There is a burgeoning online community of empowered investors discussing their opinions and research with one another,' says Morgan.

He adds that many investors hold a central portfolio of funds, plus some shares on the side for social involvement and fun.

Beginner's luck: This is a potentially dangerous aspect of buying shares that draws in people new to investing, according to Morgan.

'You can sometimes make money even if you barely understand what you are doing,' he says.

'Blind luck or simply buying into a fashionable "story" that attracts crowds of investors chasing upwards momentum can lead to short-term gains and overconfidence.'

Morgan warns fashions change and momentum can suddenly reverse, which leaves an uninformed investor with nowhere to turn.

'Should losses be cut, or should they hang on? Without a grasp of the fundamental facts about a business and the anchor of proper research and knowledge, buying individual shares can go wrong. Especially if hope is abandoned at the worst possible moment.'

What extra work do you need to do as a share investor?

You certainly need to do some homework before buying shares, says Cockerill.

The most basic questions you need to ask yourself include whether a firm is profitable, how much debt it has got, what is its size and who else is invested in it, he explains.

How to invest in shares From where to buy, to finding ideas and valuing companies, read a guide to successful stock-picking here. How to check a company is financially sound before you invest in its shares: Find out the basics of reading a balance sheet here. How can you tell if a share is good value? Find five sums to work out if a company's stock is a winner or a dud here.

On the last point, if the big investment houses have put in money you might infer that is a positive, adds Cockerill.

He also advises probing who are the big holders of a stock and their relationship to the company, as the current management might have invested their own money and therefore have a direct stake in making it a success.

'If you are looking at a small or medium-sized company in which the management doesn't have a stake, you would ask the question why is that,' he says.

Rowbury says investing in shares directly carries an additional risk, as it concentrates a portfolio into a fewer number of holdings, so investors must ensure they diversify.

'If one of these shares fails to meet return expectations it has a much bigger impact on the portfolio performance than it would if it were part of a larger basket of shares in a fund.'

Morgan cautions: 'Liking a companys product or service might get you interested in it, but it is not a reason on its own to own a stock.

'Successful individual share investing will likely involve much more. Research on earnings, the state of the balance sheet, competitive position, expansion plans and so on is necessary for a full analysis.

'But be under no illusion it will be hard work if you want to do it properly  and not everyone wants to spend their spare time scouring company accounts, following industry developments and assessing key metrics.

'Thats why funds tend to be good solution for most  its easier to monitor one shepherd than a flock of sheep!'

What to consider before buying a stock James Rowbury of Redmayne Bentley offers the following checklist. Liquidity: Are the shares easily tradeable? If not, you may struggle to sell later, or be hit with an undesirable price when trying to exit, he writes. Understanding: Do you understand the business and the sector it operates in? This is a common pitfall for investors when they dont take the time to research a company properly  the stock market is full of surprises. Overpaying: Look at the companys valuation and decide if you think it has enough growth to justify its price. Strategy: Often investors look at the businesses past performance and buy a stock based on this alone. It is always good to understand where the company is going from here and whether it will continue in this way. Management: Do you trust the management? Look at their track record in other positions, check if they stay very long at companies and most importantly, do they own any shares themselves. Diversification: If you are still comfortable investing in a direct company, ensure you have a portfolio of ideas that will diversify your risk. Make sure they are not all in the same sector.

Thrills: Why do some investors prefer buying shares to funds - is it just more exciting?

What if you are attracted to share investing, but daunted by the work?

'Not all funds are boring. There are some out there doing some interesting things,' says Cockerill.

He suggests investors who want to branch out consider 'thematic' funds, which attempt to take advantage of future trends, or investment trusts and specialist ETFs (exchange-traded funds).

Cockerill suggests that investors limit their share holdings to no more than 5 per cent of their portfolio, as that is safe territory in case you make losses.

James Rowbury: A blended approach to shares and funds offers additional value

'I have always thought if it's not a big amount of your portfolio then I see no reason against having some fun.'

Rowbury says there are merits to investing in both shares and funds, but a blended approach offers additional value.

'For us, a key benefit is applying our expertise in regions and sectors we are most adept in analysing.

'Those companies that are listing in our domestic UK markets are well covered by research and better understood than some of their overseas counterparts and thus, we maintain some clear convictions in these businesses.

'The fund market gives us the opportunity to outsource this expertise to management teams with a deeper understanding of the particular market they invest in.'

Rowbury offers Asia as an example, pointing out it is difficult to fully understand the market opportunity of businesses that operate in a cultural and economic landscape so widely different from our own.

'Therefore, we will ensure the custodian of our clients money is "on the ground" and able to identify the best prospective investment ideas,' he says.
London: It was, to the people who knew him best and those only ever from a distance, a farewell of many meanings.

For the public, Prince Philips funeral at Windsor Castle on Saturday was one last goodbye to a towering figure emblematic of a generation never to be seen again. For the Duke of Edinburghs family, it was the departure of a husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

But for the Queen the service was a reminder that, for the first time since ascending to the throne nearly seven decades ago, she now carries the weight of the monarchy alone. The longest royal partnership in British history is over after 73 years.

The Queen takes her seat ahead of the funeral service for Prince Philip. Credit:AP

The 94-year-old viewed Philips coffin for a private moment of reflection before the casket  draped in the dukes personal standard and topped by his naval cap and sword  was lifted onto the back of a specially modified Land Rover and driven to St Georges Chapel.
Alden, a New York-based hedge fund and Tribune Publishings largest shareholder with a 31.6% stake, reached an agreement in February to buy the rest of the company at $17.25 per share and take it private. The deal, which values Tribune Publishing at about $633 million, requires approval from two-thirds of the other shareholders in a proxy vote to be scheduled, as well as regulatory approval.
There is something strange about the behavior of Biden and the Democrats that can be best explained by a combination of Progressive mania and panic that their power might well slip away from them unless they lock it down by changing the rules in their favor and whipping up paranoia within key minority groups who are showing signs of slipping away. Hence the relentless charges of racism.

Some items:

Democrats Are Anxious About 2022  and 2024, Thomas Edsall wrote in the New York Times last month:

In the wake of the 2020 election, Democratic strategists are worried  very worried  about the future of the Hispanic vote. One in 10 Latinos who supported Hillary Clinton in 2016 switched to Donald Trump in 2020. . . The 2020 expansion of Republican voting among Hispanics and Asian-Americans  and to a lesser extent among African-Americans  deeply concerns the politicians and strategists seeking to maintain Democratic control of the House and Senate in 2022, not the mention the White House in 2024.

It was initially thought that Hispanic men were attracted to the macho Trump, but as the data has come in, it appears that Trump improved his performance more with Hispanic women than men, which will add to Democratic paranoia. Another Times story:

Trumps Latino Support Was More Widespread Than Thought, Report Finds Conducted by the Democratically aligned research firm Equis Labs, the report found that certain demographics within the Latino electorate had proved increasingly willing to embrace Mr. Trump as the 2020 campaign went on, including conservative Latinas and those with a relatively low level of political engagement. Ultimately, Mr. Trump outperformed his 2016 showing among Latino voters, earning the support of about one in three nationwide. . . Driving up turnout among low-propensity voters  something that Senator Bernie Sanders had sought to do during his campaign for the Democratic nomination  did not necessarily translate into gains for Democrats in the general election, the study found. People who were likely to vote generally grew more negative on Mr. Trumps job performance over the course of 2020, but among those who reported being less likely to participate in the election, his job approval rose.

Translation: The Democratic push to expand voting participation might not be the slam dunk for their side that they think. Are minorities defecting from Democrats because Democrats arent reminding them of racism enough? Lets go back to Edsall: The increased level of support for the Republican Party among minority voters has raised the possibility that the cultural agenda pressed by another expanding and influential Democratic constituency  well-educated, young activists with strongly progressive views  is at loggerheads with the socially conservative beliefs of many older minority voters  although liberal economic policies remain popular with both cohorts. This social and cultural mismatch, according to some observers, is driving a number of minority voters into the opposition party. . . Robby Soave writes in Reason: While the Democratic Party pulled off a complete (albeit narrow) victory over Donald Trump and the Republican Party in 2020, they lost ground with nonwhite votersdespite significantly raising the salience of racial justice issues during the campaign. According to progressive pollster David Shor, its time to face the facts: The cultural views of very highly-educated, very left-leaning white people are toxic for many nonwhite voters who would otherwise support the Democratic Party. I dont think a lot of people expected Donald Trumps GOP to have a much more diverse support base than Mitt Romneys did in 2012, Shor told New York magazine in a recent interview. But thats what happened. Shor pointed to two specific associationssocialism and the defund the police movementthat appear to have tarnished the Democratic Party in the eyes of minority voters.

Some thoughts going forward: Right now, it seems likely that the economy will enjoy a boommaybe a considerable boomover the next year as we come out of the pandemic and the huge sugar high of Bidens reckless spending rolls out. But this doesnt necessarily mean that Democrats will benefit in next years midterm. Look back at 1966, when the economy was booming under LBJ, but voters didnt like the excesses of the Great Society. Republicans had one of their best midterm elections, picking up over 40 House seats.

If Biden governed from the center, and, for example, struck a deal with the 10 Republican Senators who offered a compromise on the third pandemic relief bill, as well as the proposed infrastructure bill, he might blunt some of the likely backlash against his high-octane Progressivism, as well as dividing his Republican opposition.

In this regard a report in Politicos Playbook earlier this week is notable:

Its a fing nightmare. That was the lament of a staffer working for one of the members of the so-called G-10, the group of 10 Republican senators who insist theyre itching to negotiate deals with the White House. . . They see a White House constantly rubbing dirt in the face of Republicans over the partys lack of interest in bipartisanship while passing as many partisan bills as they possibly can through reconciliation before they lose the House in 2022.

With a 50/50 Senate and nearly even House, this does seem like really bad politics on Bidens part.

The early line: Republicans are going to sweep both houses of Congress next year.

More fine grained detail on whats going on with minority voters from Seth Kalkala in the American Spectator here.
Midland residents can stay up-to-date on the Midland City Modern Master Plan process via a new website launched earlier this week.

At www.midlandcitymodern.com, residents will find a variety of information and resources related to the citys master planning process, including public input opportunities, community survey results, and status updates as the plan moves forward. The site also offers resources about key topics related to the Master Plan update, specifically neighborhoods and livability, transportation and mobility, and sustainability and resiliency.
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I thought that this information could be useful to you personally and also in our mission to have others who we interact understand how the various vaccines that were developed to counter the coronavirus work. Check out the short summary below:Ahead of World Immunization Week, Paul Thomas of St. Jude discusses how the vaccine works in our immune systems.MEMPHIS, TENN.  Ahead of World Immunization Week, Paul G. Thomas, Ph.D., member of the Immunology Department at St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital, released five things people should know about how the COVID-19 vaccine works as they consider a COVID-19 vaccination.As people consider getting the COVID-19 vaccine, its not only important to understand the vaccine is safe with minimal side effects, but its reassuring to understand how the vaccine works, Thomas said. Getting vaccinated is a very important step forward in achieving the necessary herd immunity needed to control the virus and beat back the variants quickly developing throughout the globe. The more populations demonstrated in the research as able to receive the vaccine in a safe and effective manner, the better we will be at pushing down infections.Ahead of World Immunization Week, Thomas released five things to know about the COVID-19 vaccines on the St. Jude Progress Blog:1. How does the vaccine work with your immune system to fight the virus?Our adaptive immune system works to clear all types of pathogens and other bad actors from our bodies. This part of the immune system also remembers the proteins (antigens) and is better prepared to rapidly destroy the invader if it returns. For viruses like flu and coronavirus, there are two main methods of viral clearance.AntibodiesAntibodies are made in the lymph nodes by white blood cells called B cells. B cells are designed to recognize and react to the proteins (antigens) on the surface of invaders such as viruses.Once a pathogen is identified, B cells work with a subset of white blood cells called T cells to launch antibody production. The resulting antibodies are like tiny missiles the B cells release, and they circulate throughout the body, ready to recognize, destroy and rally the immune response against the invader.Cytolytic eventIf our cells are infected, the immune system takes a different approach and summons specialized white blood cells called killer T cells. Killer T cells recognize and kill virus-infected cells using a variety of mechanisms. T cells also serve as guardians to recognize and destroy returning viruses or other pathogens.2. The spike protein: What is its role in viral infection?Flu and coronavirus infect cells by attaching to the cell membrane, getting into the cell, dumping their contents and starting to replicate. Coronaviruses have a large protein on their surface  the spike protein  that binds to a specific protein, ACE2, on the surface of human cells. From there, the virus accesses the cell and takes over the cellular machinery to produce more virus.If we are lucky, we have circulating antibodies that recognize the virus and block its ability to bind to the ACE2 protein. This process is called neutralizing protection.3. Vaccines: Why is nonspecific inflammation important?In addition to adaptive immunity, our innate immunity also responds to viral infections. The symptoms include swelling, sweating, fever and more.Nonspecific inflammation triggers adaptive immune cells to go to lymph nodes and start making antibodies and other immune responses. Its a sense the cells have that something is wrong by recognizing patterns in viruses that wouldnt normally be in a healthy body. In contrast, because vaccines dont have a virus in them, they need something to kickstart that response. Called an adjuvant, its telling the immune system that this is something to respond to.There are three types of COVID-19 vaccines in use or in clinical trials.Recombinant protein vaccines: This classic vaccine formulation creates a synthetic version of a viral protein. The coronavirus vaccine includes the spike protein, but not genetic material from the virus.Viral vector vaccines: This newer class of vaccines uses a different virus and replaces part of its genome with part of the coronavirus. In this case, the vaccine uses a common cold virus, removes most of its genome and replaces it with the part of the genome containing the spike protein. The resulting vaccine is not an active virus because it doesnt have a complete genome. But the immune system recognizes and mounts a protective reaction to the spike protein.RNA vaccines: [Note these are the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines] This is also a newer class of vaccines where an RNA molecule is packaged inside lipid droplets. The droplets mimic cellular or viral membranes and fuse with the cells near the vaccination site. The RNA and the lipid membrane serve as an adjuvant. The RNA enters the cells and begins making spike protein. The immune system then recognizes and mounts a protective response to the spike protein.4. Reactogenicity: How do you know the vaccine is working?The vaccine side effects are a sign the vaccine is working. Injection site pain, headache, fatigue and mild infection symptoms are part of the immune system building that response. Weve become accustomed to the relatively mild side effects of flu vaccines, which are relatively weak vaccines. All of the COVID-19 vaccines are very effective, particularly against severe and life-threatening infections.5. Variants: What are they and does the vaccine protect you from them?Coronaviruses are relatively stable and less likely than flu viruses to generate new versions of themselves. But they do still change over time. Currently, there are at least three COVID-19 variants of concern: B.1.1.7, B.1.351 and P.1. The variations involve the binding protein site  the spike  as well as other parts of the virus. We are most worried about changes in the spike, though, because they might allow the virus to avoid being recognized by antibodies weve made after infection or vaccination. B.1.1.7, the variant first found in Britain, is a slightly more infectious variant, but there is no strong evidence that it causes more severe disease. B.1.351, the variant first detected in South Africa, is more infectious but there isnt strong evidence that it causes more severe disease. P.1, the variant first discovered in Brazil, is similar to the South African variant in terms of infectivity and disease severity.While some vaccine effectiveness is reduced against these variants, the vaccines appear to be highly effective at preventing severe disease. In other words, you may get sick, but you wont get as sick. As more people receive vaccinations, COVID-19 will have fewer opportunities to mutate.
A raft of out-of-town vendors who had set up booths were booted from a large pop-up market in Winnipeg after it became known that they failed to isolate for 14 days upon arriving in Manitoba.

A raft of out-of-town vendors who had set up booths were booted from a large pop-up market in Winnipeg after it became known that they failed to isolate for 14 days upon arriving in Manitoba.

But the province is allowing the market to proceed throughout the weekend despite Manitoba being in the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cynthia Carr, a Winnipeg epidemiologist, fears the virus may have already spread at the site of the Third + Bird market at Red River Exhibition Place because the vendors had already interacted with people.

"It's indoors, so yes, I'm definitely worried," she said.

Out-of-town members invited to the market came from Saskatchewan, Alberta, Ontario, British Columbia, and at least one vendor from Georgia.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Third+Bird spring market is being held at the Red River Exhibition grounds in Winnipeg.

Under current orders, Third + Bird can host up to 500 shoppers, plus those working at the market, or just under 50 per cent capacity at Exhibition Place because they are considered a retailer.

"This wasn't considered an event. This was a market," under Manitoba's public-health orders, said acting deputy chief provincial public health officer Dr. Jazz Atwal on Friday.

"When we look at these markets that are set up, they are set up as retail markets, so they do have capacity limits... but they are not events with, say, a concert  obviously those things can't happen," said Atwal at a media availability.

"This wasn't considered an event. This was a market."  Dr. Jazz Atwal

However, in a statement to the Free Press, a provincial spokeswoman referred to the market as an "event."

"We can confirm that the event had worked with public-health officials before proceeding, with the clearly communicated expectation that public-health orders and measures must be followed and enforced by all participants at all times, including the travel order," the spokeswoman stated.

Atwal acknowledged this might come across as a loophole under Manitoba's pandemic protocols.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Vendors set up for the Third+Bird spring market on Friday. Some vendors at the market came from Saskatchewan, Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia. At least one vendor came from Georgia.

"We obviously look at the orders on a regular basis and it sounds like there might be some confusion here with some individuals, so we will look to see if we can provide some clarity in the future," he said.

Third + Bird issued a late-day statement in which the organization's founder, Chandra Kremski, announced out-of-province vendors would no longer proceed with the event. She would not disclose how many vendors will now be attending.

"Third + Bird has taken extended measures to be in compliance with the local health regulations, which includes reduced capacity, enhanced sanitation, pre-screening protocols, attendee contact tracing, and continued communication of expectations to all participants, including local health regulations," Kremski said.

"With the support of Manitoba Public Health... (we) will continue with the remaining Manitoba businesses who have proven to be in compliance with all local regulations and market expectations."

"It's embarrassing, concerning and deeply idiotic that they're going ahead with this, knowing full well how many people came from outside the province, and acting as if they didn't know those people wouldn't quarantine for 14 days for a two-and-a-half-day event."  Lisa Pointon-Reico

But many Manitoba vendors  at least 12 that the Free Press has confirmed  have pulled out of the market, citing deep anger and frustration with Third + Bird.

"It's embarrassing, concerning and deeply idiotic that they're going ahead with this, knowing full well how many people came from outside the province, and acting as if they didn't know those people wouldn't quarantine for 14 days for a two-and-a-half-day event," said Lisa Pointon-Reico, who runs dconstruct jewelry at The Forks.

"I don't think it's safe for anyone to attend... it's a COVID outbreak waiting to happen."

"I sympathize with the makers who feel they have to do the show to continue their businesses," said Lennard Taylor, a Winnipeg fashion designer. "I just felt we didn't want to take the chance at putting anybody at risk by attending."

On Friday afternoon, as vendors and organizers were setting up the market, about 100 cars and a dozen U-Haul trailers were being unloaded outside Exhibition Place. Near the entrance, six food trucks had set up.

Five organizers confirmed Friday night's market would operate at a 30 per cent capacity (roughly 300 people), while Saturday and Sunday would be at 42 per cent capacity (just over 400 people).

No one without a ticket was allowed inside the sold-out event. Hand-sanitization stations had been set up and masks were for sale, organizers said.

A provincial spokeswoman said public-health officials might be in attendance at the market to ensure compliance with public-health orders.

"At this time, people are advised to stay home as much as possible to reduce the spread of variants of concern," she said. "(But) things like farmers markets, craft shows and other alternative types of retail are allowed under the current orders, with capacity limits and public health safety measures in place."

Temur.Durrani@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @temurdur
Los Angeles, April 17 : Hollywood actor Alfred Molina has confirmed that he will return to the "Spider-Man" franchise after 17 years. Molina will be seen in the upcoming "Spider-Man: No Way Home", reprising his iconic role of Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus.

"When we were shooting it, we were all under orders not to talk about it, because it was supposed to be some great big secret. But, you know, it's all over the internet. I actually described myself as the worst kept secret in Hollywood!" said Molina told Variety.

Talking about his role, he said: "It was wonderful. It was very interesting going back after 17 years to play the same role, given that in the intervening years, I now have two chins, a wattle, crow's feet and a slightly a slightly dodgy lower back." Molina played Otto Octavius is Sam Raimi's 2004 global blockbuster "Spider-Man 2", starring Tobey Maguire as the webbed superhero. In the film, Octavius becomes the diabolical Doctor Octopus, or Doc Oc, after a failed experiment that takes his wife's life and spawns neurologically-fused tentacles in his body.

"Spider-Man: No Way Home" follows "Spider-Man: Far From Home" (2019). The film is directed by Jon Watts and stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker and his superhero alter ego Spider-Man, alongside Zendaya as Parker's girlfriend MJ, Marisa Tomei as his Aunt May, Jamie Foxx as Electro and Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr Strange. The film is slated to release on December 17 this year.
Helmut Marko was not happy with Sergio Perez on Friday. The Red Bull Racing advisor hopes Checo can recover in qualifying and start in the top five on Sunday. Max Verstappen should go for pole position.

Perez had a disappointing qualifying session in Bahrain after crashing out in Q2. Things should be a lot better in Imola and Marko hopes Perez can start in the top five on Sunday. "We hope Max will fight for pole with Mercedes. Perez has to step up to the front hopefully he manages to qualify in the top five", Marko told Austria's ORF.

Verstappen heading for pole

Verstappen lost a lot of time on Friday, as he had to stop early in the second free practice session due to problems with his drive shaft. Marko is confident that Verstappen can drive a strong qualifying session.

"We have a superstar like Verstappen, he now has to show that he can deliver an optimal performance even under difficult conditions", Marko revealed. Verstappen secured pole position in Bahrain and looks set to be the favourite in Italy too.

Problems Red Bull solved

After Verstappen's car came to a stop yesterday, the RB16B's onboard camera remained on. "We even thought for a moment that they would take the car to Maranello," jokes Marko. Incidentally, Marko does not expect the problems Verstappen had on Friday to return on Saturday. "Absolutely, that's out of the question."
A five-member Indian mobile training team with Malagasy special forces in Madagascar.

Antananarivo [Madagascar], March 30 (ANI): A five-member Indian mobile training team on Tuesday completed imparting a 14-day special training to 50 Malagasy Special Forces in the port city of Antsiranana.

The Malagasy special forces consisted of both the navy and army forces of Madagascar, according to a press statement.

"A 5 member @indiannavy mobile training team completed imparting 2 weeks training to 50 Malagasy Special Forces in port city Antsiranana. It reflects growing defence ties between the two Indian Ocean neighbours India & Madagascar under PM @narendramodi's vision of SAGAR," tweeted India in Madagascar and Comoros.

The Indian Navy mobile training team was deployed in Madagascar for capacity building and training of the Malagasy Special Forces for two weeks from March 14 to 28, 2021.

According to the release, Madagascar's Minister of National Defence Major General Leon Jean Richard Rakotonirina, thanked the Indian government, especially Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and India's Ambassador to Madagascar Abhay Kumar in a video message, for making this training possible, which will help Madagascar in protecting its coasts.

"It is unprecedented in the history of our nation that land and marine forces did joint training. The focus of this training is to reform Malagasy forces and to build their capacity to protect the island and its natural resources and biodiversity," he said.

The five-member mobile training team left Madagascar today onboard the Indian Navy Ship (INS) Jalashwa which had brought humanitarian aid for Madagascar.

Ambassador Abhay Kumar had handed over 1,000 tonnes of rice and 100,000 HCQ tablets on behalf of the Indian government last week to Madagascar Prime Minister Christian Ntsay, brought onboard INS Jalashwa to deal with the drought situation in south Madagascar. (ANI)
Seeking better COVID-19 management, the Delhi government has deputed bureaucrats in private hospitals too in view of the raging pandemic in the city, officials said on Saturday.

A total of 10 IAS officers have already been appointed nodal officers at various COVID hospitals of the Delhi government.

"About 15 DANICS officers have been posted in private hospitals across Delhi to handhold the management and oversee adherence of all COVID measures," the health department said in a statement.

Also, 24 DANICS (Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Civil Service) probationers have been deployed in state government hospitals to assist the nodal IAS officers in overall general superintendence, it said.

Delhi recorded 16,699 fresh COVID-19 cases on Thursday, and 112 fatalities from the infection, while the positivity rate mounted to 20.22 per cent, according to data shared by the health department.

The national capital has left financial capital Mumbai far behind in the daily tally of COVID-19 cases, with an exponential rise in numbers.

"To ensure better patient management and quick decision making, 10 IAS officers have been appointed as nodal officers for Delhi govt Covid Hospitals. Each officer shall be stationed at their respective hospital and ensure robust and effective public grievances system also," Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia tweeted on Friday.

The government hospitals include, LNJP Hospital, GTB Hospital, DDH Hospital, BSA Hospital, and SGM Hospital, according to the order.

(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.)
has picked Elon Musk's to develop the first commercial lander and take the next two US astronauts to the moon, the US space agency said on Friday.

The contract is worth $2.9 billion and is part of NASA's Artemis programme, which aims to return astronauts to the moon by 2024 as a stepping stone to the first human mission to Mars, DPA news agency reported.

had been competing against Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' private space company Blue Origin and defence contractor Dynetics.

Musk tweeted " Rules!!" in response to the decision.

The Starship, which is designed to land on the moon, will include a spacious cabin and two airlocks for moonwalks, said.

The goal is to eventually develop a fully reusable launch and landing system that can be used for space travel to destinations including the moon and Mars.

The mission will see four astronauts launched on NASA's Orion spacecraft into lunar orbit, where two of them will transfer to the SpaceX human landing system for their final journey to the moon.

The two astronauts will explore the lunar surface for around a week before returning to Earth. They will be the first people to walk on the moon for more than 50 years.

At least one of the two will be a woman. NASA also aims to bring the first person of colour to the moon's surface as part of the Artemis programme.

The US brought 12 astronauts to the moon between 1969 and 1972.

--IANS

int/pgh

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi, April 17 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday said that it has filed a charge sheet against seven narco-smugglers associated with the banned terror outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) in connection with its probe into the Jammu narco-terrorism case.

An NIA spokesperson here said that the agency has named seven narco-smugglers associated with BKI -- Gurpartap Singh, a resident of Tarn Taran in Punjab, Sham Lal, Ajeet Kumar aka Kala, Bishan Das aka Raju, Jasraj Singh, Subhash Chander and Gurbaksh Singh -- all residents of Jammu in Jammu and Kashmir under several sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the NIA Special Court, Jammu.

The case arose out of Arnia police station on September 20 last year wherein during a search in the late hours at International Border, near RS Pura in Jammu heroin weighing 61 kgs, opium weighing 1.2 kgs along with two pistols, three magazines and 100 live rounds were recovered.

The NIA had taken over the probe on November 26 last year.

The official said that during probe it was revealed that the seven charge-sheeted accused in this case were part of a narco-terrorism module of BKI.

The official said that the prime objective of this module was to raise funds for BKI through proceeds of narcotics.

"Each member of this module had unique role and responsibility in execution of this conspiracy. The modus operandi involved smuggling of narcotics and arms or ammunition across the International Border in Jammu region and further supply and sale of the same in the state of Punjab," the official said.

The official pointed out that the proceeds of narcotics so generated were to be used for funding BKI's terrorist activities.

"The arms so smuggled were to be used by members of BKI for violent terrorist acts," the official said.

The official said that after the arrest of the seven accused, further searches were conducted which had led to recovery of drug proceeds of Rs 9.06 lakh, more arms and ammunitions and other incriminating materials.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
When I was young, Americans prided themselves in being part of the "great melting pot"  good times. People from diverse cultures throughout the world could come here and become full-fledged Americans. Our constitution provided a framework for anyone to become successful. All that was required was determination and hard work. In achieving the American dream, our forefathers shed their ancestral heritages and became enthusiastic Americans  and that was something to be proud of. But we don't melt anymore. Now we categorize. I blame it on the diversity movement.

The diversity movement was initiated by a number of universities in the 1960s. It was initially conceived as a way to address genuine equal opportunity issues. It was viewed by many organizations as a way to avoid lawsuits based on discrimination. In the 1980s, Lewis Griggs coined the term "valuing diversity"  and that's when it really took off. The ideology of "valuing diversity" has infiltrated the human resources (H.R.) departments of most major corporations and spawned an industry. A network of consultants and trainers now provide diversity training throughout government and the private sector. It's big money. Unfortunately, its ideology runs counter to that of a "great melting pot."

I have an example to illustrate its corrosive nature. At the behest of our H.R. department, the company I used to work for created a diversity council. It comprised representatives from numerous racial, ethnic, sex, disability, and religious groups. Its mission was to create a company environment that was welcoming to all of the above groups. The council wanted a high-level executive to be a member, to give them some "juice." They asked the company president to assign my boss to the council. Bob was a retired admiral and 100% proud American. He was also descended from Latino ancestors. As a person "of color," he'd be an automatic supporter of this initiative. All minorities think alike  don't they?

Bob had me tag along for his first Diversity Council meeting, because every admiral needs at least one aide in tow. The council set about their mission with a brainstorming session. "We should have a Kwanzaa day in the factory." "There should be a gay pride day as well." "Maybe we could have an ethnic food day in the cafeteria." This went on for hours.

Bob listened to everyone's ideas quietly. At the end of the meeting, he provided his own input. "The key is to help people from different cultures assimilate into our culture." That single sentence ended Bob's involvement in the Diversity Council. He was asked to leave and never come back. That's when I had an epiphany.

You see, "melting pot" is a metaphor for "assimilation," and assimilation wasn't the goal of the Diversity Council. That line of thinking was just a little too diverse for the Diversity Council. They wanted diversity  as in maintenance of our differences. They did not want assimilation  creation of a shared culture. The very words "valuing diversity" call for elevating the importance of our differences over our similarities. If our inherent humanity is of lesser value than our racial identity, we shouldn't be surprised that saying, "All lives matter" is now considered racially insensitive. Who could've seen that this was the end result of "valuing diversity"?

Whether intentional or not, diversity ideology has become another framework to keep us all separated. By valuing and encouraging our differences, we're reinforcing (strengthening) the things that separate us. We're raising, not lowering, the walls. After fifty-plus years of attempting to desegregate, now even the civil rights movement is telling us to segregate again. A number of colleges are even having separate graduation ceremonies for different minority groups  and it's reported as though it were a good thing. What's next  separate dining rooms? There's a word for a system of separate treatment  apartheid. I thought that was supposed to be a bad thing. I guess it becomes good when the right people ask for it.

So what have we achieved after generations of trying to rid our society of racism? Hyphenated citizenship:

African-Americans

Chinese-Americans

Mexican-Americans

Irish-Americans (otherwise known as white-privileged-Americans)

Native-Americans (those would be the American-Americans)

The very groups that demanded desegregation in the '60s are now self-segregating. Does anybody think this is good? Before you answer, remember that we just suffered through a summer of watching our cities burn to the ground  and we're bracing for an encore again this year. All because we no longer trust those outside our assigned group.

I have a question for proponents of the "valuing diversity" ideology. If your ideology leads us to the same end state as that desired by the KKK or the Black Panthers, could there be something wrong with your ideology? I'm sure we all want to live in harmony, but the path we've taken isn't getting us there.

Perhaps it's time to try something different. Why don't we try focusing on (valuing) what brings us together rather than what separates us? We can all be proud unhyphenated Americans and love the individual liberties granted us by God. We all want healthy and prosperous families. We can share a commitment to the principles of capitalism that have given us unlimited opportunities and the highest standard of living in the world. The only limit to our full integration is our acceptance of the wisdom of our founding.

Meritocracy is the solution to diversity. Let people be the best that they can be on their own merits, and ignore the rest. Isn't that what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. meant when he said, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character"? Isn't it odd that we celebrate this man's life every year, but we still haven't heard his message?

Note: For obvious reasons, I have obscured the identity of the executive assigned to my company's Diversity Council.

John Green is a political refugee from Minnesota, now residing in Star, Idaho. He is a retired engineer with over 40 years of experience in the areas of product development, quality assurance, organizational development, and corporate strategic planning. He can be reached at greenjeg@gmail.com.

Image via Pxhere.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
There are a dozen Connecticut communities where 65 percent or more of their population have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, the latest state data shows.

In Middlesex County, more than 72 percent of Old Saybrooks 10,000 residents have received at least the first shot, state data shows. In Lyme, just north and across the Connecticut River, 75 percent of the 2,300 residents have received at least one dose, according to the data.

Gov. Ned Lamont on Thursday highlighted Lyme as the states champion for vaccinations.

Theyre really close to herd immunity there, he said.

The data suggests a few mostly affluent communities are nearing the threshold of 80 percent vaccine coverage most often cited as the gateway to herd immunity against COVID-19.

Josh Geballe, the states chief operating officer, praised the efforts of local health officials.

Its also communities that skew a little older, so theyve had a bit of a head start here, he said.

Geballe also credited strong partnerships between the various vaccine providers, and said demand is still high for shots in communities with lower vaccination rates. The state expects those rates to increase in the coming weeks.

Statewide, about 55 percent of residents 16 and older have received at least a first shot of vaccine, according to the governors office.

But many of Connecticuts largest cities, including Hartford and Bridgeport, still report vaccine coverage percentages well below the state average.

Hartford still ranks last with just under 28 percent of its 122,000 residents having received at least one dose of a vaccine, the data shows. The numbers show Hartfords rate increased about 6 percent since last week.

Bridgeport, with a population of more than 144,000, hasnt fared much better. A little more than 30 percent of residents have received at least one shot, up about 5 percent from the previous week, according to the data.

Waterbury, which Lamont flagged as a hot spot for cases, also ranks low with roughly 31 percent of its 108,000 residents vaccinated.

But its not just cities with low vaccine coverage.

The town of North Canaan, nestled against the Massachusetts border in far northern Litchfield County, sits second-to-last with 28 percent of its 3,200 residents receiving at least the first dose, the data shows.

North Canaans population is similar to nearby Kent, but there is a stark difference in vaccination rates. Kent ranks third in the state with 69 percent of its residents who have received at least the first dose, state data shows.

Often its in the cities where we have a little more hesitancy and real access problems, we gotta continue to do a really good job there, Lamont said. But you can also see in some of our rural areas you can have a town very vaccinated next to one thats less so.

Lamont said that could be attributed to cultural things that will need to be addressed by local health departments.

Weve got to emphasize that its in the interest of the entire state, the entire community, that nobody gets left behind, he said.

Like previous weeks, the data shows communities marked as having a significantly vulnerable population  many of which are located in cities  rank lower. Going down the list of the top communities by vaccine coverage, No. 17 West Hartford is the first municipality to be flagged with a vulnerable population. About 63 percent of the towns roughly 63,000 residents have received at least one shot, the data shows.

The state is also facing the challenge of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine being suspended this week as federal agencies investigate a rare blood clotting issue in six people who received the vaccine.

As a result, Lamont said the National Guard helped swap out doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine from the states mobile vaccination vans. And because the vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna each require two doses, the vans will need to follow up in several weeks to deliver the second shots.

Its a little more complicated than it was a week ago, were still getting it done with a special emphasis upon equity, the governor said.
People in Japan are questioning the social norm of married couples adopting the same surname.

The mandatory system was introduced 120 years ago, but the willingness to comply is far from universal any more. Many women want to choose, rather than be forced into a change that can be associated with a loss of identity.

Article 750 of Japans Civil Code states that a husband and wife must have the same family name upon marriage. That means one spouse is legally required to change theirs  and its almost always the woman. Different surnames are only allowed for international marriages.

A 2016 Ministry of Health, Labour & Welfare survey found that among more than 600,000 marriages, just 4 percent of men took their wifes surname. The overwhelming expectation is for women to abandon their birthnames.

The current law stems from a tradition established during the Meiji Era (1868-1912). But a growing number of people say the legislation is outdated, and out of step with the social changes that have occurred since then.

Some people are happy to change their surname because they see it as marking a new stage in life. But there is also a large portion of people who feel it is unequal. I feel that it amounts to social death, says Ida Naho, the director of an organization pushing for the option of dual surnames.

Naho is standing up against the long-standing law after going through the complicated and exasperating process of changing her surname for two marriages. Since 2018, she has been lobbying lawmakers.

I went through more than 100 bureaucratic processes with various institutions, including bank accounts, passport and credit cards to change my family name. I felt like I was losing my dignity and sense of identity, she explains. I think its unfair that we have to choose one surname for a family. Its a personal right to be able to keep or change our birthname.

Naho says many women are disadvantaged and inconvenienced under the current system. She also claims that it can be the source of privacy violations, with name changes reflecting personal events such as divorce or re-marriage.

Many people in Japan believe its time for a rethink. An online survey conducted last year by Nahos lobby group and Waseda University Professor Tanamura Masayuki found 70.6 percent of 7,000 respondents said they didnt mind if married couples used different surnames. Just 14.4 percent supported the status quo.

While the issue is often regarded as a matter for women, Tanamura maintains it impacts men as well. He says 2.4 percent of male respondents in their 20s had given up on marriage because they could not have a different surname to their partner.
NASHVILLE  A woman in Aurora, Illinois is charged with TennCare fraud for allegedly claiming to live in Tennessee to obtain benefits through the states healthcare insurance program.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) in a joint effort with sheriffs officers in Montgomery County, Tennessee and Kane County, IL, today announced the arrest of 46-year old Michelle Weinert. Shes charged with TennCare fraud, which is a class D felony and theft of services, a class C felony.

Investigators say Weinert was residing in Illinois and falsely reporting a Tennessee residence to remain on TennCare. As a result, TennCare paid more than $14,000.00 in fees and claims on behalf of Weinert and her son. Sheriffs officers in Illinois were persistent in pursuing Weinert, who had been placed on the OIGs Most Wanted list because of the difficulty in locating her.

We truly value our partners in local law enforcement not only in Tennessee but in areas outside our state where partnering with us is crucial to our mission, Inspector General Kim Harmon said. The OIG works to strengthen these relationships inside our borders and beyond to ensure that those who choose to abuse TennCare are brought to justice.

The case is being prosecuted by District Attorney General John W. Carney, Jr. of Montgomery County.

The OIG, which is separate from TennCare, began full operation in February 2005 and has investigated more than 5,760 criminal cases leading to more than $10.8 million being repaid to TennCare, with a total estimated cost avoidance of more than $163.6 million for TennCare, according to latest figures. To date, 3,107 people have been charged with TennCare fraud.

The OIGs most wanted for TennCare fraud are posted online at https://www.tn.gov/finance/fa-oig/fa-oig-most-wanted.html. Anyone with information about their whereabouts is urged to use the contact information on the page.

Through the OIG Cash for Tips Program established by the Legislature, Tennesseans can get cash rewards for TennCare fraud tips that lead to convictions. Anyone can report suspected TennCare fraud by calling 1-800-433-3982, toll-free or by logging on to www.tn.gov/oig/ and following the prompts that read Report TennCare fraud.
The two men found dead inside the capsized Seacor Power lift boat were identified Saturday by the Lafourche Parish coroner as Anthony Hartford, 53, of New Orleans and James Wallingsford, 55, of the northeastern Louisiana village of Gilbert.

The cause of death for Hartford and Wallingsford remained under investigation Saturday, said the coroner, Dr. John King.

Hartford and Wallingsford are among four Seacor Power workers whose bodies have been recovered since disaster befell the jackup barge with 19 aboard on Tuesday. The bodies of David Ledet, a 63-year-old captain from Thibodaux, and Ernest Williams, 69, of Arnaudville, were found earlier in the week. Nine crew members remain missing, and six were rescued within hours of the capsizing eight miles south of Port Fourchon.

The Coast Guard said Hartford and Wallingsford were in the port-side engine room of the mostly sunken vessel, which flipped onto its starboard side in high seas driven by a storm blowing hurricane-force winds.

One of the Seacor Powers extended family members had expressed hope Thursday that Hartford and Wallingsford would be pulled out alive because they had made it to a part of the ship that wasnt completely submerged. But those hopes were dashed with the discovery of their bodies, made by commercial divers who were contracted by the Seacor Powers owners and work for New Jersey-based Donjon Marine Co.

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The Seacor Power had departed from Port Fourchon and was en route to deliver equipment to an oil platform near the mouth of the Mississippi River when it capsized. The vessel left Port Fourchon on Tuesday at about 1:30 p.m. even though the National Weather Service had warned of tropical storm-force winds  39 mph or greater  accompanied by "suddenly higher waves" in the Gulf.

However, those winds soon reached hurricane force because of a rare weather event known as a "wake low." The Seacor Power took on water and turned over about three hours into its journey, setting the stage for an increasingly dire search effort in its fifth day Saturday.

About five hours after it capsized, Coast Guard rescue members spotted five crew members on the Seacor Power's hull. Two were saved after they jumped off the hull. A third who fell in the water vanished from the scene.

Two others who received life jackets and radios dropped to them by a Coast Guard helicopter crew went back inside the vessel as inclement weather conditions complicated rescue efforts.

Coast Guard crews recovered Ledet on Wednesday, though officials haven't specified where. The Coast Guard recovered Williams's body in waters near Cocodrie about 30 miles west of the Seacor Powers wreckage, according to officials and relatives of others aboard the ill-fated lift boat.
The OSM-EXP medals were presented to the crew by Commodore Rich Feltham, Commander Canadian Fleet Atlantic at a socially distanced ceremony on board the m/v Asterix in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Of the 52 recipients, 15 were from FFS's long-term catering partner, Compass Services.

Typically, the OSM-EXP is awarded to CAF members. To be eligible for the OSP-EXP, service and direct support must be performed under exceptional circumstances and the person must have been deployed on a full-time basis for 21 days or more. The only civilians eligible to be awarded the OSM-EXP medal are members of the Public Service or Canadian civilians under contract with the Government of Canada (GoC), such as the 52 Asterix crew members.

In Canada, m/v Asterix is unique in being operated by both civilian and RCN personnel. Asterix is the product of Project Resolve, a GoC mandate to Davie Shipbuilding for the conversion of a commercial container ship into the RCN's first Resolve-Class Combat Support Ship. Converted cost effectively in just 18 months to a military specified vessel, Asterix has been a resounding success since deployment in 2018 supporting countless operations as well as providing humanitarian and disaster relief worldwide.

Quotes

Gilles Couturier, President & CEO, Federal Fleet Services

"We are proud that 52 Canadian seafarers from Federal Fleet Services and our partner Compass Group are being awarded the Operational Service Medal for their exemplary support to the Royal Canadian Navy during Operation PROJECTION in 2019. Working shoulder to shoulder with their RCN shipmates, they were deployed for a record 502 days during m/v Asterix's first 18 months of operation. Our seafarers will wear this medal with pride. They have truly deserved it!"

Tim Allard, Captain, m/v Asterix

"On behalf of all the crew, we are very honoured to be recognized for this award. Personally, as the son of a World War II veteran, I have fond memories of seeing my father put his medals on every Remembrance Day and I will be thinking of him on this occasion."

Commodore Rich Feltham, Commander Canadian Fleet Atlantic

"It is my honour to present the civilian members of m/v Asterix with the Operational Service Medal on behalf of the Royal Canadian Navy. This honour recognizes their service while deployed with our sailors overseas and I would like to personally thank the civilian members for their hard work and dedication in supporting HMCS REGINA during this operation."

For more information on m/v Asterix and Federal Fleet Services go to federalfleet.ca

For more information on the OSM-EXP medal go here

NOTE TO EDITORS:

About Federal Fleet Services

Federal Fleet Services supports military, government and humanitarian operations through the construction, ownership, servicing and management of complex, mission-critical ships. Federal Fleet Services is the Canadian At-Sea Support Services Provider, providing a fully operated Naval Support Ship for the Royal Canadian Navy from 2017. Federal Fleet Services is part of the Inocea Group of Companies which also owns Davie Shipbuilding Canada's largest and highest capacity shipbuilder.

SOURCE Federal Fleet Services

For further information: Gilles Couturier, President & CEO, Federal Fleet Services, Cell phone: +1-343-961-1781, [email protected]
The new Carbon Footprint Study for Portlaoise was carried out as part of the Ireland 2040 Plan which identifies the town of Portlaoise as a national demonstration project for implementing sustainable and community-driven urban renewal.

As part of this Portlaoise has been allocated funding to advance towards the status of Low Carbon Town as part of the Ireland 2040 demonstration project.

Laois County Council went out to tender in November 2019, to prepare the baseline carbon footprint of the town and understand the potential opportunities to reduce the overall carbon footprint. Siemens was awarded the contract for this project in August 2020.

The resulting report says it covers the four key topics identified in the tender document:

- The town's carbon footprint

- Provide an estimate of the renewable energy potential for the Study Area

- Establish a register of opportunities for the reduction of energy demand and the transition to renewable energy supply.

- Identify organisations (including State companies) that can support Portlaoise during the transition

The report provides a primary carbon footprint study. The scope of this study is limited to emissions from direct energy consumption and does not include secondary emissions from the consumption of products.

The standout findings in a very technical report relate to how much greenhouses gases in Portlaoise are polluting and what means can be used to cut these emissions.

A carbon footprint exercise was conducted. This focused on three categories  the impact from electricity demand, heating needs, and prevalent transportation modes to Portlaoise's boundaries.

Siemens found that 99,159 tonnes of greenhouse gases are produced annually in Portlaoise.

Residential produces 36,567 tonnes, non-residential yields 32,652 tonnes, passenger transport produces 19,569 tonnes and freight transport emits 10,371 in a year.

Siemens make the case that a decreased carbon footprint for Portlaoise can be achieved by deploying wind generation assets or solar 'modules' in and around the urban area.

To reduce the carbon footprint for Portlaoise the study provided a detailed assessment of renewable power potential in the region. Both wind and solar potential were assessed by using weather report from 2012, 2015, 2017.

The report says Renewables Use Case comprised of different options.

It estimated that wind power produced locally, but supplied indirectly via National Grid, would reduce carbon by 3%.

Wind-generated locally and supplied directly to the town could cut emissions by 34%.

A rooftop solar energy project would reduce carbon by 18%.

Upgrading older houses through deep retrofits would save 16%. Finally, replacing 5% of conventional vehicles with electric vehicles would cut 1% of carbon production.

The report costs the possible investment needed in wind.

It said wind power produced within a 10km zone around Portlaoise could require between 832 and 778 million of investment. This translates into 165 - 177 turbines of Type 101.

If the area around the electricity grid lines is used, the investment requirement reduces to 100 - 112 million depending on the distance rule. This translates to the installation of 21 - 24 Type 101 turbines.

Soalr power analysis results reveal a potential investment range of between 39 and 197 million for solar farms.

However, other options for wind and solar options power generation under which an investment of 55 million would be needed for solar rooftop panels and 23.5 million for the wind turbines.

The study also looks at market solutions in the form of a power purchase agreement between the town of Portlaoise and the wind farms which, it says, results in a more rigorous decarbonization strategy.

It proposes five standard size wind turbines with a 140-hub height, 115m rotors and a 3MW capacity being installed for electricity generation, using local Irish wind condition. If contracted, those 5 turbines impact the town decarbonisation directly.

Solar power would be generated from 7,500 residential homes in the town and use of many other types of commercial, public and community buildings. If all the space for panels cannot be source in the town it proposes that 23 hectares of this consisting of closed cells could be used for a solar farm at Kyletalesha Landfill.

The study also examines cutting carbon through housing upgrades for 3,984 households which requires 72 million for insulation or retrofitting in general.

Upgrade of insulations for buildings was found to lead to a 16% emission reduction within Portlaoise. The report says an envisaged target of 30% emission reduction within the heating scenario would thus require additional effort, besides better insulation.

It said such efforts should target a rethinking of local energy usage that policymakers may actively address.

Another option explored as part of the study was District Energy. It says District Energy refers to both District Heating (DH) and district cooling systems. The fundamental idea of District Heating is to use local fuel or heat resources that would otherwise be wasted to satisfy local customer heat demands by using a heat distribution network of pipes as a local marketplace.

The passenger transportation use case ranks lowest in terms of the overall emission reduction effect given its overall 1% CO2 potential contribution. However, the report says that since new mobility concepts are on the rise, policymakers and county councils may find this use case attractive. Particularly, as it indirectly helps to drive attitude and behavioural change, which has a positive effect on areas of the carbonisation efforts.

The report says that all decarbonisation efforts need careful consideration and more stakeholder involvement when transitioning to a commercial phase. At the same time, it says acceptance may be achieved if politicians engage in stakeholder dialogue by building on the shown use cases. It says the shown use cases illustrate pathways to decarbonise the town at the local level.

Ultimately it says making use of favourable local renewable energy locations seems to present a great opportunity for supplying the town with carbon-free generation assets.
Chester Whiteman, a Southern Cheyenne, left, and Fred Mosqueda, a Southern Arapaho, attend a ceremony at the Sand Creek site near Eads on the 156th anniversary of the massacre, Nov. 29, 2020.
Vaccination of employees of the Interior Ministry against COVID-19 began on Saturday, April 17, in total about 800,000 people are planned to be vaccinated, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov has said.

"Today we've started vaccinating employees of the Interior Ministry against COVID-19. We are, first of all, to vaccinate employees who are most in contact with the population: garrisons of the airports of Boryspil and Zhuliany, the units of the National Guard in the JFO zone, public security workers, patrol police units. Next, we will vaccinate all employees of the Interior Ministry system: the National Police, the State Emergency Service, the National Guard, the Border Guard Service, service centers, higher education institutions, the expert service, Interior Ministry employees," Avakov said.

He noted that then Interior Ministry doctors will vaccinate the families of employees of the department. In total, it is planned to cover about 800,000 people with families.

"This is an exclusively voluntary matter. But I am sure that this is a necessary measure for those who are at risk, fulfilling their professional duties," the minister stressed.

The employees of the Interior Ministry will be vaccinated with CoronaVac, developed by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech, and Comirnaty, manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech.

"I will definitely get vaccinated. Therefore, I urge all employees of the Interior Ministry to be vaccinated against COVID-19, because this is the only way to overcome the pandemic!" Avakov summed up.
A church in Maine officially cuts ties with the United Methodist Church over deemed discrimination of the LGBTQ.

Reported by WGME-TV Channel 13, Members of HopeGateWay in Portland voted on March 28 to depart from the United Methodist Church. The group followed in the step of three other congregations who reportedly left last year.

Their reason is that they see the denomination's policies as too rigid in restricting LGBTQ people from participating in Christian rites like weddings and ministry ordination. Methodist pastors are forbidden to officiate same-sex weddings while gay people within the church could not be ordained as ministers.

The first to leave was the New Brackett Church, formerly called Brackett Memorial United Methodist Church followed by Chebeague Island UMC and the Tuttle Road UMC. The split, according to the report, was anticipated to be more accommodating to other people groups.

Ophelia Hu Kinney, a worship coordinator at HopeGateWay, said that she felt the United Methodist Church had "adopted policies that were discriminatory toward LGBTQ community members." These policies, she continued, were the reason why her church chose to renounce their affiliation with the Methodist denomination.

The dis-affiliation process requires the Maine church to explore and contemplate for eight months the impact of their decision as well as to assess their intent for leaving. Once they reached an agreement to officially disassociate from the United Methodist Church, the next step is to pay the denomination a reportedly "hundreds of thousands of dollar."

Rev. Sara Ewing-Merrill, the pastor of HopeGateWay, told the Portland news outlet that their church was required to pay $350,000 to the United Methodist Church as settlement. Still, she considered the price as worth it than remaining in a church that gate keeps the LGBTQ community.

While waiting for the final vote of their group's disaffiliation from UMC in June, HopeGateWay is reportedly working to rebuild their foundation as an independent faith group in Maine.

The "non-conformity" resolution

In 2016, the New England Conference passed a "non-conformity" resolution which was basically a pledge among its conference members to not practice policies that are non-inclusive of the LGBTQ community.

Come 2019, the denomination's church leaders from around the world convened at St. Louis to vote in another proposal called "traditional plan." The proposed plan was basically a redundancy of the denomination's stance on prohibiting same-sex unions and other provisions that will 'discriminate' against "self-avowed practicing homosexuals." The traditional plan got major support from the members.

HopeGateWay's member Hu Kinney commented that "the overwhelming sense in St. Louis was one of despair." She believes the move will only drive LGBTQ members away from practicing the Christian faith. That, according to her, was the breaking point for their church and other faith groups who are into 'affirming' and 'inclusivity.'

"It was refreshing and life-giving to be part of a church that focused on so much more," Hu Kinney told The Press Herald.

Rev. Will Green, the pastor of the New Brackett Church, also told the Herald that the United Methodist Church has been on" a trajectory to being more conservative" since the early 1970s.

"We find it's an offense to what we believe about God, about the community and about the world," he said. "The world is noticing the United Methodist Church is so anti-gay. We can put out our pride flags and try to create change, but at the end of the day we didn't belong in the United Methodist Church."

Stronger adherence to the Bible

The Maine congregation's decision to split and cut ties with the United Methodist Church is the complete opposite of what other Methodists did earlier this year. Whereas the above mentioned congregations decided to leave the denomination over its "rigid" views and stance on homosexuality and the LGBT, those who left earlier say they wanted a more traditional, Biblical view of the matter.

As per earlier reports, the group that left earlier, composed of conservative Methodists, are looking to form a new denomination seeking to adhere to Biblical views on the sexes. The new denomination, called Global Methodist Church, will not recognize same-sex marriage and unions and will have stronger bans on the ordination of LGBT people into ministry.

While the Global Methodist Church promises to the "ethnically and racially diverse," it will stick to a "traditional understanding of Christian marriage as God intended it to be," which means "a covenant between a man and a woman for human sexual expression."
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 18:36:15|Editor: huaxia

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LAGOS, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has launched a school radio clubs program in Nigeria to support campaigns for the development of education in three northeast states of the country.

The program was being implemented in three northeast states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, said Elizabeth Onitolo, UNICEF specialist of communication for development, at the official inauguration of the program Friday in the city of Yola, Adamawa state.

An estimated 1 million children are being targeted by the Fund, Onitolo said, noting that the program was designed for behavioral and social change toward realizing the goal of resilience and integrated education program in the region.

"Specifically it is aimed at educating communities including 250,000 youths and children through radio communication," she said. "It is for development support and as enrollment drive campaigns to reach over 1 million children."

Joel Jutum, an education specialist for UNICEF in Adamawa, said presently there are 60 school radio clubs in three pilot local government areas in the state, adding that the radios had already been distributed to benefiting schools being supervised by coordinators.

Jutum said some of the challenges so far recorded included poor radio signal, network problem, and insecurity, and that the safety of pupils could not be guaranteed especially in the evening.

Nigeria's northeast region has been a stronghold of the extremist group Boko Haram. Over the past years, the Nigerian government has launched several military operations to counter the terrorist threat. Enditem
Thousands of children across the country yesterday failed to secure their first-choice primary school.

Up to a third of pupils in some parts of London missed out on a place at their selected school.

Kensington and Chelsea saw 33.6 per cent left disappointed, 22.2 per cent in Camden and 20.2 per cent in Hammersmith and Fulham.

Thousands of children across the country yesterday failed to secure their first-choice primary school

While in Kent it was 10.8 per cent  with 400 children not offered a place at any of their selected schools  4.5 per cent in York, 8 per cent in Birmingham, 14.6 per cent in Southend in Essex and 12.7 per cent in Hertfordshire.

More than 600,000 four-year-olds received their school allocation for this September amid a fierce battle for places due in part to a rise in the school-age population.

The number of those who do not get their top choice increased to 9.8 per cent last year. The figure for 2021 is likely to be similar.
Next Game: North Carolina 4/23/2021 | 5:00 PM ACCNX

The eighth-ranked Duke women's lacrosse team captured a 13-7 victory over Virginia Tech Saturday afternoon in Koskinen Stadium.With the victory, the Blue Devils elevate to 9-5 and 4-5 in conference play as the Hokies dip to 4-9 and 0-7 in the ACC.Four Blue Devils captured hat tricks asled the way with four points off of two goals and two assists.(3),(3),(2),(1),(1) and(1) scored goals for Duke alongside Rosenzweig as Barry (1), Landry (1) and(1) also dished assists in the victory.Once again, Duke dominated at the draw circle (17-5) as Jenner collected 12 of Duke's 17 draw controls. Jenner tallied eight of Duke's nine draws in the first half before Duke won each draw in the second half except for one. The Annapolis, Md., native now owns 321 draws for her career.Duke outscored Virginia Tech 8-4 in the opening stanza. All tied up at 1-1 after four minutes of action, the Blue Devils went on a 5-0 unanswered run to lead 6-1 halfway through the first half. The Hokies responded with two goals in three minutes (6-3) before Rosenzweig assisted on a DeBellis goal just before notching one of her own with 1:16 remaining in the half. The Hokies added one more score, but Duke held a four-goal lead at intermission (8-4).Virginia Tech scored on three of four goals early in the second half to cut Duke's lead to two (9-7) before the Blue Devils would go on a 4-0 run to claim the victory.Cronin collected her 30th goal this season on a free-position attempt at 8:15, her 14th free-position goal this spring. She leads the team in goals and has scored at least one in 13 of Duke's 14 games. DeBellis, Carner and Rosenzweig tacked on three more goals to help Duke capture its ninth victory.In the cage for Duke was, who registered six saves on 13 shots on goal for a .462 save percentage.Defensively, Carner led the way with three caused turnovers while Barry had two. Carner andeach brought in two ground balls. Duke was flawless on clears, going 19-of-19.The Hokies were led by Sarah Lubnow with two goals and an assist.Duke will close out the regular season Friday, April 23 against No. 1 North Carolina at 5 p.m. Friday also marks senior day for several Blue Devils.For more information on Duke women's lacrosse, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter Facebook and Instagram by searching "DukeWLAX.
What if you knew a way to make it impossible for people to commit crimes? A way that costs next to nothing and doesnt restrict anyones rights. Youd jump on it, right?

Well, 34 states have jumped on the crime-prevention tool known as the ignition interlock device, which makes it impossible to start a car until a driver who hasnt been drinking alcohol blows into a device. They dont make everyone install the devices  just anyone who has a DUI conviction, and then only for a limited amount of time.

Across the United States, in 2019 alone, ignition-interlock devices prevented about 360,000 people who were legally drunk from starting their engines  and nearly 10 times that many people who had enough alcohol in their bodies to be legally prohibited from driving under the terms of their sentences. Just imagine how many accidents and deaths that prevented.

Only 1,879  about half of 1%  were in South Carolina.

South Carolina had the 10th most drunk driving deaths that year even though 22 states have more people than we do, so theres no reason to think thats because we have fewer drunks trying to drive in our state. Its because Emma's Law, passed in 2014, requires the interlock device only in extreme cases: for people who have been convicted of driving with a blood-alcohol content of 0.15% (nearly double the legal threshold for drunkenness) or convicted multiple times.

The limitation of that law becomes apparent when you realize that the average drunk driver drives drunk 80 times before he or she is caught. And too many times, those drivers arent caught until they kill someone. So prevention is a lifesaver.

This month, the S.C. Senate again voted to require everyone convicted of driving under the influence to have an ignition-interlock device installed. The vote, by the way, was 41-1; a nearly identical bill passed 40-1 in 2019.

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S.28 also would close a significant loophole: S.C. law has a smart provision that says if you refuse to submit to a blood-alcohol test, you lose your license for six months, on the spot, even before a trial. But this smart law has an insane provision that allows people to go down to the DMV the next day and get a temporary license that allows them to drive ... while their permanent license is suspended. Yes, you read that right.

Its such an attractive alternative to a DUI conviction that more than 40% of people stopped for drunk driving refuse to submit to the test.

So S.28 requires people with suspended licenses to have an ignition-interlock device installed before they can get a temporary license. Its hard to see how anyone could argue with either provision. Hence, the 41-1 vote in the Senate.

Steven Burritt, executive director of S.C. Mothers Against Drunk Driving, tells us that he can count on two hands the number of legislators who have told him they oppose the legislation. The problem is that the people who oppose it are very vigorous in their opposition.

And those opponents  most if not all of whom are lawyers who defend DUI clients for a living  are disproportionately members of the House Judiciary Committee, which has to approve the bill before the House will have a chance to vote on it. And for decades, the House Judiciary Committee has been a graveyard for bills aimed at closing the many massive loopholes in our DUI laws.

Its time for that to change. House Speaker Jay Lucas needs to make this a priority. House Judiciary Chairman Chris Murphy needs to schedule a hearing and a vote on it, and we need a vote in the full House. Weve allowed drink drivers to kill and injure innocent victims for far too long, as other states pass laws that discourage drunk driving, and even make it impossible for the most likely offenders.
Last week, on a phone call with Tom Cox, a former representative in the Kansas state Legislature who now works in government relations, I told him I was soon to get my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

Welcome to the ruling class, he replied. Cox had also gotten the Pfizer shot, and with it, he has lately developedfacetiously, he swearsa sense of Pfizer superiority.

It started after he, his closest friends, and his immediate family all happened to get the Pfizer vaccine. We started calling ourselves double-dosed Pfizer elites,  Cox said. I will refer to anyone whos had one dose as a one-doser. Like, Oh, youre a one-doser? OK, well, youll reach this enlightened plane soon enough. 

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One of my cousins got Moderna, and I was like, Thats OK. We need a strong middle class. We cant all be CEOs. 

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Cox is likely not the first Pfizerphile youve heard sing his vaccine brands praises. Pro-Pfizer sentiment is all over TikTok, where you can find skits of bros bonding over their shared Pfizer status, or one creator declaring that the name itself Sounds rich. Decadent. Luxury!

Olajide Bamishigbin, a psychology professor in California, was on a similar wavelength recently when he tweeted a GIF of SpongeBob SquarePants dressed in a top hat and monocle alongside the words, Me when somebody says they got any vaccine other than Pfizer.

Me when somebody says they got any vaccine other than Pfizer https://t.co/OneWkowcj0 pic.twitter.com/QgAB91d0AW  Prof. Jide Bamishigbin (@jidebam) April 5, 2021

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The Pfizer superiority complex is at once a joke and a real phenomenon. But is it affecting the vaccine rollout? Even though I think that we have this instinct thats out therethe belief that Pfizer is the elite shotit still feels more playful than really driving outcomes, said Manuel Hermosilla, a professor of marketing at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School who studies the pharmaceutical industry. He said he thinks people understand that getting whatever vaccine you can should trump any brand preferencethough its unclear how this weeks news about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine could change that equation. On Tuesday, U.S. health agencies recommended a pause in administration of the J&J vaccine, after six women developed a rare blood clot disorder within weeks of receiving the shot. In all likelihood, this pause will be temporary. (Hermosilla, like most of this articles sources, spoke to Slate before the J&J pause took effect.)

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As the vaccines have rolled out, many experts have strenuously rejected the idea that theres any best vaccine.

With the blood clot scare in the news, it may seem an uncouth time to be a Pfizer snob. Objectively, the Pfizer vaccine may have the best numbers, with an efficacy rate originally reported as 95 percent. But with a 94 percent efficacy rate, the Moderna vaccine was right behind it, and J&Js efficacy rate of 66 percent was actually quite good, if you understand what the numbers mean. And the J&J shot has one big advantage on the other two, which is that it can be administered in one dose instead of two. Once youre able to get it again.

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As the vaccines have rolled out, many experts have strenuously rejected the idea that theres any best vaccine. The best vaccine is the one that goes in your arm, said Mary Hayney, a professor at the University of WisconsinMadison School of Pharmacy who researches vaccination. I truly believe that there is not a big difference among the vaccines, or a discernable difference. Whatever one is offered to you, take it. (Again, Hayney spoke to Slate before the latest J&J news.)

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But Lindsey Leininger, a public health scientist at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, took a less hard-line approach. Brand preference is very real, and its very prevalent, she said. I think its important to really highlight that these feelings are strong and theyre real, and we in public health need to make some time to actually listen to them as opposed to brushing them off.

This is not to say people dont make vaccination decisions for silly reasons, too. I, for example, ended up having a choice between the Pfizer and J&J vaccines. By the time I was booking my shot, I had formed an idea of what the Real Vaccine Experience, as the guy who runs the vaccine-finding bot TurboVax (aka Vax Daddy) put it, should entail. Vax Daddys Real Vaccine Experience meant getting it at New Yorks Javits Center; mine did too. When I was making the split-second decision between Pfizer and J&J, because Javits happened to have both when I was booking, two shots instead of one also felt like the Real Vaccine Experience to me. (I dont know what brand Vax Daddy got.) I cant say I know what I would have done if Moderna had been an option. After all this, when I found out that a trusted colleague got the J&J vaccine, I briefly regretted my choice. Yes, it occurs to me that I should probably not base my health decisions so much on what my peers are doing.

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I think thats very typical, Leininger said after I shared my appointment reasoning with her. People are emotion-driven in the moment. Thats how we make decisions.

But where might myor anyonespreference for Pfizer have originated?

For Hermosilla, Pfizers first-to-market advantage was significant. Remembering last fall, he said, Our expectations were very low and we had a lot of time and a lot of interest in a vaccine solution to come up. Then all of the sudden in November, we get Pfizer news. At least in my reading, this was a little bit of a magical moment, when [Pfizer CEO] Albert Bourla had this press conference and said, Hey, we have 95 percent efficacy. Remember, the FDA had said, Well take it if it is more than 50 or 60 percent. I think that that was a very special moment in our collective imagination in that there was a real solution to a real problem that was delivered by science much more quickly than we could have ever imagined or hoped for based on experience. This sequence of events left a very clear mark in our minds on this Pfizer vaccine being something special.

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Leininger had a similar perspective: I remember exactly where I was when I was reading the news on my phone and I saw the Pfizer headline about the 95 percent efficacy, she said. I started crying. I am not a crier. That sticks in our brains. The psychology of this is very important. I dont remember where I was when I read the Moderna results, and I really dont remember where I was when I read the J&J results.

A British publication called Marketing Week that declared Pfizer the winner of the Covid vaccine brand battle also cited this moment: For the first time in my adult life I listened to the World Service news with a mug of coffee and a tear rolling down my cheek, wrote columnist Mark Ritson.

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Pfizer, that hard-to-reach celebrity, didnt respond to my questions about how it may have kindled this perception itself.

Matthew McLean, a Londoner who works in branded content, told me that part of what he liked about the Pfizer vaccine was its origin story. There were stories about British people not going to appointments for the Pfizer vaccine when they were made available because they wanted to have the Oxford vaccine, because the AstraZeneca vaccine was partly devised by scientists at Oxford, he said. The Washington Post reported in February that some Brits were deriding the Pfizer vaccine as the posh one as opposed to the English one. Its the worst case of British jingoistic nonsense, McLean said.

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The reverse are people like me who like Pfizer precisely because its European, he went on. Pfizer is an American company, but BioNTech, the smaller firm the company partnered with on its COVID-19 vaccine, was founded by Turkish immigrants in Germany. It was a real happy, Sesame Street, pan-European multicultural success story.

Its a bit like, which sounds so silly, but its a bit like, you know, the best leather goods come out of Italy, and the best steel comes from Sweden, McLean said. It feels, in that way, kind of elite and higher quality. The fact that its not from the U.K.which, a lot of right-minded people are feeling more and more embarrassed about this country with Brexit and racism and everythingits like, Oh right, we didnt make this one; the one that comes from Europe is probably better is the general perception. Literally the first person who expressed this to me was my friends life partner. In his French accent, he was like, Of course ze Pfizer is best.  For what its worth, the U.K. is currently ahead of the rest of Europe in vaccination stats.

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Hermosilla, of Johns Hopkins, said another factor helping Pfizer might be an edge in manufacturing and distribution. Pfizer has retained the headlines in the news because they have better manufacturing capabilities abilities, and so they are making more vaccines. The New York Times reported that more than 180 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna have been administered so far in the rollout, as opposed to just 7 million of J&J. These numbers dont make me personally feel very elite, and they arguably make J&J look like the rare, limited-edition option.

He also noted that while developing the vaccine, Pfizer was already in the midst of a brand overhaul. It recently debuted a new logo that positions it as less consumer-orientedno more pill shapeand more focused on scientific breakthroughs. He said he is interested to see what Pfizer does with the brand boost its gained through its vaccine successbut is surprised it hasnt really done anything for the companys stock yet. Most people would agree that the reputational impact that has been thrust upon Pfizer over the last year has been very positive, brand-wise, he said, but there hasnt been the stock market reaction that you would expect.

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Its a lot of Pfizer elitism on there.  Kimberly Vo

Can the idea of a Pfizer preference be substantiated with, I dont know, data? Peter Loewen, a professor at the University of Torontos Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, conducted a study of Canadians vaccine brand preferences and found that Pfizer and Moderna were tied at the top of the list, with AstraZeneca, after a run of its own negative blood-clotting news, at the bottom, despite its still being quite effective. Loewens study was of Canadians, who have a different health system and different norms than Americans. But still, if they like Moderna just as much, how real can the preference for Pfizer be?

It was real enough for McLean, the Londoner, that he went out of his way to secure the shot. Its not like I would have been like, I refuse anything but Pfizer! but I went the extra mile to get Pfizer, he said. I actually got two invitations from two separate bits of the health care network. One was from a sort of local community walk-in center, and one was in a hospital, which was actually much farther away from where I live, so it was more of a big deal to go there. But one of the reasons I went with the hospital option was because I had a hunch that they were gonna give out Pfizer, and the local place would give the other one.

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For Kimberly Vo, a software engineer in the Bay Area who wasnt yet eligible to make a vaccine appointment when we spoke, its mostly just an online joke: Its this funny, lighthearted thing that has sprung up over social media, she said. My personal perception came mostly from going on TikTok. Its a lot of Pfizer elitism on there.

Everyones just been bored, and weve been locked in our houses, she said of the way the vaccines have become personified. We finally have something that is unifying all of us. Theres been criticism that all this amounts to stanning for pharmaceutical companies, players in an industry that is widely acknowledged to be, if not flat-out evil, at least worthy of skepticism. I would give a little more credit to the memers, many of whom I think are playing on that very irony for laughs.

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But jokes can shape peoples perceptions, as Cox, the former state representative, discovered. One of our friends was supposed to get the Pfizer shot, but he messed up his order, and ended up getting Johnson & Johnson, he said. After so much exposure to Coxs Pfizer boosterism, the friend had a case of PFOMO. He has not been following a lot of this, and so he was like, OK, but is this one actually worse?  Cox said he reassured his pal that the J&J shot would protect him.

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Leininger, too, came up against the issue not of Pfizer snobbery but J&J sneering, recalling one meme in particular. Theres one that I find disappointingunderstandable, but disappointing. I saw one that said House J&J: Good enough, and I was like, Oh man! As a public health professional, I wish that werent in the zeitgeist. And if it wasnt in the zeitgeist widely beforewe spoke before the J&J pauseit sure is now.

As much as he knows its all nonsense, McLean said it could be slightly awkward to compare notes with friends whod gotten different shots. He recalled trying to comfort a friend who was downhearted after getting the AstraZeneca. Its a little bit like if youre comparing exam grades, he told me. He felt like hed gotten an A with Pfizer, while his friend had gotten a B or a Cand he didnt want to make it worse by rubbing it in.
A man associated with the pharma industry was taken into custody for allegedly selling fake Remdesivir injections in Indore, police said as per PTI. After receiving a tip, the police arrested Vinay Trivedi for alleged black marketing of injections labelled as remdesivir, deputy inspector general (DIG) Manish Kapooria told reporters.

PTI

What happened?

During interrogation, the accused claimed that he had procured the injections from a company in Himachal Pradesh, but failed to produce any documents to support his claim, Kapooria said. The accused also claimed that the injections that he had brought were part of a drug trial and were not tested so far on patients, the DIG said.

We will get these injections tested in a laboratory, but a drug inspector, prima facie, doubted their authenticity, he said. A criminal case has been registered and a detailed probe will be conducted to trace the source of the drug and ascertain if the accused had sold the injections locally, the official said.

PTI

Meanwhile, the crime branch's additional superintendent of police (ASP) Guruprasad Parashar said the police had received information that Trivedi is associated with the pharma industry and also owns a pharma unit in the neighbouring Pithampur industrial town. These facts are being verified. The seizure and arrest have come at a time when the state is grappling with a shortage of Remdesivir and reports of black marketing of the anti-viral drug are doing rounds.


As a worker, employer, and provider of technical education in Northeast Pennsylvania, it has been difficult to watch how Gov. Tom Wolfs COVID responseincluding his closure of non-life-sustaining businesseshurt communities and livelihoods in our region. Throughout the crisis, Wolfs policies, enabled by his emergency powers declaration, put countless Pennsylvanians out of work, shuttered 30% of the states businesses, and, more important, stifled our freedoms.

Pennsylvanians are still suffering from Wolfs poor decision-making and nearly unlimited authority. But this May, we can take action and send a loud and clear message: never again.

Constitutional amendments on the primary election ballot would make sure no governor indefinitely can lock down the economy without consulting the peoples representatives. Wolfs actions over the past year illustrate why voters should approve these amendments and enshrine proper checks and balances in the state constitution.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2020 Business Response Survey, Pennsylvania had the second-highest state business closure rate in the nation. Amid his abrupt lockdowns, Wolf effectively encouraged Pennsylvanians making more on unemployment and welfare programs to stay at home even after their jobs were made available. This is incredibly damaging to workers and our fragile economic recovery.

Indeed, Wolfs COVID policies devastated the small business community. His positions, including on unemployment benefits, were a slap in the face to business owners, who desperately tried to navigate Wolfs disaster declarations. His anti-capitalist positions led me to resign from the Pennsylvania Workforce Development Board, a group which was well-positioned to help the governor avoid these policy errors, if only he had sought our counsel.

At my own company, i2M, we have worked to respond to lockdown policies. For example, we established classrooms at our Mountain Top plant for employees whose children are schooling remotely. We even hired a teacher to assist these students so parents can feel confident leaving their children at school while they work. But not all employers have the facilities to make such accommodations for childrens education.

In fact, for months, Pennsylvanians have suffered as Wolf has acted unilaterally, without consultation from the business community, or even the state Legislature, to keep employers closed and employees from returning to work. When lawmakers passed bipartisan bills to safely reopen certain business sectors, Wolf vetoed them. Wolf even threatened to veto unanimously passed legislation compelling him to increase transparency about business closure policies. In other words, he wouldnt even listen to members of his own party who were attempting to hold him accountable to the people.

Pennsylvanians can respond in the May 18 primary. Two ballot initiatives would rein in the governors emergency powers, which fueled this economic dysfunction. If passed, future governor-declared emergencies would require legislative extensions after 21 days. The General Assembly, moreover, could end emergency declarations by majority vote. These are common-sense solutions to more than a year without checks and balances on the governors power.

As history shows, Wolfs attitude toward Pennsylvanians ability to earn a living or keep a business running has been disheartening. We need state leaders to encourage and promote independence, and to be supportive of our economic recovery, which benefits everyone. Im confident that Northeast Pennsylvania can recover, but we must prevent this disaster from happening again under any administration.

This May, I urge anyone who values our local communities and small businesses  whether Republican, Democrat, or independent  to vote Yes on the ballot questions that will restore a proper balance of power to state government.
- By GF Value





The stock of China Water Affairs Group (OTCPK:CWAFF, 30-year Financials) gives every indication of being modestly undervalued, 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 $0.815 per share and the market cap of $1.3 billion, China Water Affairs Group stock is estimated to be modestly undervalued. GF Value for China Water Affairs Group is shown in the chart below.





China Water Affairs Group Stock Appears To Be Modestly Undervalued

Because China Water Affairs Group is relatively undervalued, the long-term return of its stock is likely to be higher than its business growth, which averaged 13.5% over the past three years and is estimated to grow 9.12% annually over the next three to five years.

Link: These companies may deliever higher future returns at reduced risk.

It is always important to check the financial strength of a company before buying its stock. Investing in companies with poor financial strength have a higher risk of permanent loss. Looking at the cash-to-debt ratio and interest coverage is a great way to understand the financial strength of a company. China Water Affairs Group has a cash-to-debt ratio of 0.29, which is in the middle range of the companies in the industry of Utilities - Regulated. The overall financial strength of China Water Affairs Group is 4 out of 10, which indicates that the financial strength of China Water Affairs Group is poor. This is the debt and cash of China Water Affairs Group over the past years:

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China Water Affairs Group Stock Appears To Be Modestly Undervalued

Companies that have been consistently profitable over the long term offer less risk for investors who may want to purchase shares. Higher profit margins usually dictate a better investment compared to a company with lower profit margins. China Water Affairs Group has been profitable 10 over the past 10 years. Over the past twelve months, the company had a revenue of $1.2 billion and earnings of $0.126 a share. Its operating margin is 34.14%, which ranks better than 89% of the companies in the industry of Utilities - Regulated. Overall, the profitability of China Water Affairs Group is ranked 9 out of 10, which indicates strong profitability. This is the revenue and net income of China Water Affairs Group over the past years:

China Water Affairs Group Stock Appears To Be Modestly Undervalued

Growth is probably one of the most important factors in the valuation of a company. GuruFocus' research has found that growth is closely correlated with the long-term performance of a company's stock. If a company's business is growing, the company usually creates value for its shareholders, especially if the growth is profitable. Likewise, if a company's revenue and earnings are declining, the value of the company will decrease. China Water Affairs Group's 3-year average revenue growth rate is better than 81% of the companies in the industry of Utilities - Regulated. China Water Affairs Group's 3-year average EBITDA growth rate is 16.7%, which ranks better than 78% of the companies in the industry of Utilities - Regulated.

Another method of determining the profitability of a company is to compare its return on invested capital to the weighted average cost of capital. 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. When the ROIC is higher than the WACC, it implies the company is creating value for shareholders. For the past 12 months, China Water Affairs Group's return on invested capital is 7.04, and its cost of capital is 3.47. The historical ROIC vs WACC comparison of China Water Affairs Group is shown below:

China Water Affairs Group Stock Appears To Be Modestly Undervalued

Overall, the stock of China Water Affairs Group (OTCPK:CWAFF, 30-year Financials) is believed to be modestly undervalued. The company's financial condition is poor and its profitability is strong. Its growth ranks better than 78% of the companies in the industry of Utilities - Regulated. To learn more about China Water Affairs Group 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.


Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 16)  Since virgin coconut oil has been found to alleviate symptoms of mild and suspect COVID-19 cases, researchers should now be given the opportunity to study its effects on patients with severe coronavirus disease and those with pre-existing medical conditions, said a chemistry professor who has been studying VCO.

Dr. Fabian Dayrit, Ateneo chemistry professor and president of the Integrated Chemists of the Philippines, led the research that showed compounds from VCO decrease coronavirus count by 60-90% when there is low viral load. The Department of Science and Technology's Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, which funded this research, announced the "very promising" results in October last year, and highlighted VCO's capability to boost the body's immune response against COVID-19.

It was followed by a community-based study by the DOST's Food and Nutrition Research Institute. It showed that VCO helped reduce the severity of symptoms of patients with mild COVID-19 and those suspected of infection.

READ: VCO can ease symptoms of suspected COVID-19 patients, study finds

"There is evidence that VCO does provide both symptomatic as well as relief from inflammatory conditions," Dayrit told CNN Philippines' News Night on Friday, recalling the results of the tests done on 57 people at a community hospital and quarantine facility in Laguna.

"This was on mild and suspect cases. We hope to bring this up to more serious COVID patients in the hospital... that needs to be done eventually," Dayrit said.

The study also did not include individuals with a history of heart ailment, those taking medications for heart diseases, those with high cholesterol levels, those who were pregnant, and those who were asymptomatic.

"There are many comorbidities so you really cannot generalize," Dayrit said. "Individually, you really have to go through it to actually recommend it for clinical use."

"I think the request now is to really push more clinical trials and to recruit more patients. Funding is needed do that. What we're asking for is really more opportunity to study VCO," the chemist and professor added.

READ: DOST recruiting volunteers for VCO study in Valenzuela City

For now, Dayrit is recommending those with mild COVID-19 symptoms to take two tablespoons of VCO thrice a day, after breakfast, lunch, and dinner. "That is the recommendation but you still need the clinical trials with more strict measurements," he said.

DOST Secretary Fortunato dela Pena also confirmed earlier that VCO can be used as adjunct supplement, which means it should be taken in combination with other COVID-19 treatments.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles has been distributing bottles of VCO to level 1 hospitals in Metro Manila, the epicenter of the local coronavirus outbreak. Nograles, who co-chairs the inter-agency task force against COVID-19, said it's a personal initiative he made "after consulting the DOST, doctors, and experts who said VCO could have possible benefits for COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms."

On Friday, the country logged a record-high 193,476 active cases, or those patients currently battling COVID-19. At least 96% of them are experiencing mild symptoms, 2.9% have no symptoms, 0.5% are in a severe state, 0.4% are in critical condition, and 0.30% have moderate infections, according to the Department of Health.
There will be no immediate change to further limit the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Australia despite confirmation the death of a 48-year-old woman was most likely linked to the jab.

NSW woman Genene Norris received her vaccination just hours before the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation changed its advice on the vaccine last Thursday, preferencing the Pfizer vaccine for those aged under 50.

Health Minister Greg Hunt and the TGAs Professor John Skerritt in Mount Martha on Saturday. Credit:Wayne Taylor

Very sadly and agonisingly for the family, this woman passed in hospital, so we extend our deepest and most profound condolences and sympathy to the family, federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Saturday.

Relatives of Ms Norris paid tribute to her fun-loving, happy character and her sense of service to those around her.
This story is part of the Protecting and Promoting Local Journalism Initiative, a project supported by the Yakima Valley Community Foundation with financial, training and technological assistance from Microsoft Corp. In Yakima County, the initiative is a collaboration between the Yakima Herald-Republic, El Sol de Yakima and Radio KDNA, whose journalists maintain independent editorial control of the project.

To make a charitable contribution to the Yakima Valley Community Foundations Community Journalism Fund , visit the foundations website and select the Give Today button. On the sidebar, click on Find Opportunities. Enter journalism in the word search and the fund will pop up. Donors can also send checks and stocks directly to the Yakima Valley Community Foundation.
Thiruvananthapuram, April 17 : Two days after the Supreme Court ordered a fresh probe to find out if there was a conspiracy in the 27-year-old ISRO spy case, one of the then 'falsely' implicated Maldivian lady on Saturday revealed that the Kerala police brutally tortured her to say the name of ISRO scientist S. Nambi Narayanan.

The ISRO spy case surfaced in 1994 when Narayanan was arrested on charges of espionage along with another senior official of ISRO, two Maldivian women and a businessman.

Of the two women, Fousia Hassan presently settled in Sri Lanka told a TV channel here that she had never even heard the name of Narayanan.

"I was brutally tortured by the police and when I refused to name him, they said they will arrest my daughter who was a student and rape her. It was after that did I say the name of Narayanan," said Hassan.

She said she was forced to say that Narayanan and another person took dollars from her for sharing the secrets of ISRO.

She also said that just like Narayanan who was given a compensation, she also has to be paid the compensation as she has health issues because of because of the brutalities she suffered during the interrogation.

The ISRO spy case has now surfaced through the new directive, which came after the apex court appointed a three member committee headed by retired SC judge D.K. Jain to probe if there was a conspiracy among then police officials to falsely implicate Narayanan and on Thursday the apex court which went through the report ordered the CBI to conduct the new probe and it can treat this report as the preliminary document. The court also asked the CBI to submit its report in three months.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Floridas Department of Health on Saturday announced 6,323 new confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Other things to know:

 The state on Saturday announced 74 new resident deaths but no new non-resident deaths.

 Florida reported the results of 92,206 residents tested on Friday. The states percent positivity increased from 6.83% to 6.88%. The 14-day positivity rate was 7.14%.

 The state has recorded a known total of 2,162,067 coronavirus cases and 35,074 deaths. Among those who died, 34,404 were residents and 670 were nonresidents.

 More than 5 million Floridians have completed the two-dose series of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna or have completed Johnson & Johnsons single-dose vaccine, according to Saturdays vaccine report.

COVID-19 in Florida

 Miami-Dade County reported 1,444 new cases. The county added 14 deaths, putting its pandemic totals at 468,908 cases and 6,043 deaths.

In Miami-Dade, 388,967 people have received the first dose of Pfizer or Moderna and 668,502 people have either received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine or have completed the two-dose series of Pfizer or Moderna.

Percent positivity increased from 6.71% to 7%. The 14-day average was 7.28% on Saturdays Miami-Dade New Normal report.

 Broward County reported 748 new cases and seven new deaths  putting its pandemic totals at 227,738 cases and 2,769 deaths.

In Broward, 278,004 people have received the first dose of Pfizer or Moderna and 446,964 people have either received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine or have completed the two-dose series of Pfizer or Moderna.

Percent positivity decreased from 7.12% to 6.97%.

 Palm Beach County reported 413 new cases and two new deaths, bringing its cumulative count to 138,476 cases and 2,717 deaths.

In Palm Beach, 211,400 people have received the first dose of Pfizer or Moderna and 370,744 people have either received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine or have completed the two-dose series of Pfizer or Moderna.

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Percent positivity decreased from 6.12% to 5.98%.

 Monroe County added 20 new cases and no deaths. Pandemic totals in the Keys are at 6,731 cases and 50 deaths.

In Monroe, 11,630 people have received the first dose of Pfizer or Moderna and 19,260 people have either received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine or have completed the two-dose series of Pfizer or Moderna.

Percent positivity increased from 5.1% to 6.54%

Does COVID test positivity still matter? Vaccines are upending trusted virus metrics

FLORIDA COVID-19 HOSPITALIZATIONS

The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration reports the number of patients hospitalized statewide with a primary diagnosis of COVID. The data, which is updated at least every hour, does not distinguish between the number of COVID-19 patients in hospital intensive care units and those in acute-care beds, which require less attention from nurses.

Government officials use current hospitalizations to decide the next steps in fighting the pandemic.

As of 2:30 p.m. Saturday, the agency said there were 3,253 people hospitalized. Of these, Miami-Dade had 583; Broward, 495; Palm Beach, 203; and Monroe, five, the agency said.

According to Miami-Dades New Normal Dashboard, county hospitals have reported 596 COVID-19 patients, down from 616 on Thursday. There were 73 new patients and 101 were discharged.

State hospitalization data doesnt always match Miami-Dades New Normal Dashboard data for various reasons, including the frequency of daily updates.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny 'is dying' and could suffer a cardiac arrest at 'any minute', his doctor warned today as medics are barred from the penal colony.

Vladimir Putin's most prominent rival, 44, was imprisoned in February and is serving two-and-a-half years on old embezzlement charges in the town of Pokrov, around 60 miles east of Moscow.

Six months earlier, he barely survived a poisoning with the Novichok nerve agent, which he has blamed on the Kremlin.

Then at the end of last month, he went on a hunger strike to demand proper medical treatment for back pain and numbness in his legs and hands.

This may have exacerbated his condition, doctors said, as they asked prison officials to grant them immediate access.

'Our patient can die any minute,' cardiologist Yaroslav Ashikhmin said on Facebook today, pointing to Navalny's high potassium levels and saying he should be moved to intensive care.

'Fatal arrhythmia can develop any minute.'

US President Joe Biden also waded in, telling reporters his treatment was 'totally inappropriate' as he described it as a 'totally, totally unfair' situation.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny 'is dying' and could suffer a cardiac arrest at 'any minute', his doctor warned today

A Russian police handler wearing a face mask patrols the entrance to the penal colony N2, where Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been transferred

Having blood potassium levels higher than 6.0 mmol (millimole) per litre usually requires immediate treatment. Navalny's were at 7.1, the doctors said.

'This means both impaired renal function and that serious heart rhythm problems can happen any minute,' said a statement on the Twitter account of Anastasia Vasilyeva, his personal doctor.

The medics said he had to be examined immediately 'taking into account the blood tests and his recent poisoning'.

Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh, who accompanied him when he collapsed on a plane after the poisoning in August, said the situation was critical again.

'Alexei is dying,' she said on Facebook. 'With his condition it's a matter of days.'

She said she felt like she was 'on that plane again, only this time it's landing in slow motion', pointing out that access to Navalny was restricted and few Russians were aware of what was actually going on with him in prison.

More than 70 prominent international writers, artists and academics, including Jude Law, Vanessa Redgrave and Benedict Cumberbatch, have called on Putin to ensure that Navalny receives proper treatment immediately.

Their appeal was published late Friday by France's Le Monde newspaper.

Navalny's team has earlier announced plans to stage what they said would be 'modern Russia's biggest protest'.

Navalny's allies said they would set a date for the protest once 500,000 supporters had registered with a website. As of Saturday, more than 440,000 people had signed up.

Navalny, pictured with his wife and children, was previously in hospital in Germany where he was receiving treatment for a poisoning attack before returning to Russia in January

Navalny is serving a two-and-a-half year sentence on old embezzlement charges after he was jailed in February

Navalny was arrested on his return to Russia in January and sentenced to two-and-a-half years behind bars on old embezzlement charges, sparking a massive wave of nationwide protests

Yarmysh today urged more Russians to sign up, saying that a big rally could help save Navalny's life.

'Putin only reacts to mass street protests,' she added.

Earlier this week, Navalny's wife Yulia, who visited him in the penal colony, said her husband now weighed 168 pounds - down nearly 20 pounds since starting his hunger strike.

On Friday, Russian prosecutors asked a court to label Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation and the network of his regional offices 'extremist' organisations in a move that would outlaw them in Russia and could result in jail time for their members.

'The darkest times are beginning for free-thinking people, for civil society in Russia,' said Leonid Volkov, the head of Navalny's regional offices.
At the beginning of 2020, a plague on a scale that had not been witnessed in decades descended on the Horn of Africa: billions of desert locusts crossed the borders from the Arabian Peninsula, ravaging farmland and fields of crops and placing the food security of 32 million people in danger, according to the initial warnings of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). After a series of droughts and seasonal floods, the climatic extremes that the region witnessed over the course of last year created the perfect conditions for these insects to reproduce in Biblical proportions.

Six months after the first wave arrived, by August 2020, 650,000 hectares had been fumigated with biopesticides, eradicating 440 million locusts. The plague was being beaten back but it was still too early to declare complete victory. Today, the battle is still being waged. One of the most active fronts is located in the north of Kenya. There, the FAO joined forces with the private sector, tribal leaders and the Kenyan government to combat the swarms. In densely populated areas, efforts to control the infestation have to be carried out on the ground, with trackers who spray insecticide from specially modified backpacks or from machines mounted on the backs of trucks.

However, this method is unworkable in the vast plains and extensive forest land in the north of the country. As such, the authorities have opted for a system whereby helicopters are sent from local aerodromes to scout the area on surveillance missions and record information on the location and dimension of individual swarms. This data is then relayed to the joint operations control center, where a team of experts in various fields decides where to deploy the so-called locust air force, airplanes equipped with delivery systems capable of dropping insecticide in huge amounts on specific targets.

Last year we didnt have any data, says Casper Sitemba of the FAO. When we started, people would phone in to report sightings of locusts but we have now deployed various technical means to cover the data gap. We have created several applications and with their help we have been able to collate enormous quantities of data. Right now, the success rate of our control operations is almost 86%. Now we are able to see the results. Last year we didnt even know how many swarms there were, or where they were when the plague first arrived.

According to the FAO, the operation in the north of Kenya has been a great success. Sitemba calculates that as things stand there are only a few swarms remaining and these are not that considerable. They are what we call mini-swarms: groups of locusts that have split off from other larger swarms. These can cover an area of between 20 to 30 hectares, whereas last year some were extended over an area of 3,000 hectares. We are scaling back the size of the operation now that the situation has greatly improved, but we are remaining on alert given the rainy season is around the corner, Sitemba explains.

To get an idea of how a plague of locusts is tackled from the air, we rode along on a surveillance flight in one of the data-gathering helicopters to see how the fight to save Kenyas agricultural lands is being taken to the invaders.

1. Taking to the air!

Joost Bastmeijer

Helicopters and airplanes used by the FAO at the Nanyuki aerodrome. The airplanes are fitted with fumigation-delivery mechanisms to spray insecticide over large locust swarms.

2. The locust hunter

Joost Bastmeijer

Before the Covid-19 pandemic and the arrival of the locusts, Kenyan pilot Chris Stewart used to ferry celebrities, royalty and other people to luxury hotels in exclusive conservation areas. Now he hunts locusts. Its easy to confuse smoke or dust clouds with a swarm, and if the insects are resting in trees they look like acacia flowers, he says.

3. In Samburu and Isiolo

Joost Bastmeijer

In areas of northern Kenya like the counties of Samburu and Isiolo, semi-nomadic shepherds live with their flocks. From the air it is easy to distinguish their homes, inside compounds known as bomas, which are made from acacia roots to prevent predators from attacking the livestock at night. As the area is not very heavily populated, it is possible to use aircraft to spray locust swarms with pesticides.

4. A possible sighting?

Joost Bastmeijer

I think I see something, says Stewart as he swings the helicopter around on a sharp turn to check out a possible swarm. On his iPhone he receives information from the operations center in Lewa, where a team of experts compiles data about sightings and possible locations.

5. Data dive

Joost Bastmeijer

Stewart was spot on: at the top of a mountain in Isiolo a swarm of locusts is resting on the ground. The pilot swoops over the area and punches GPS coordinates into his phone to measure the size of the swarm in hectares. He also takes note of wind direction, in case the swarm takes to the skies again. With this information in hand, the analysts can predict which way the insects may head next.

6. Cold-blooded creatures

Joost Bastmeijer

After daybreak, desert locusts tend to remain in the same place they settled for the previous night. They are cold-blooded nomads who rarely spend two nights in the same spot. When morning comes, they wait for the ground to warm up and the air to heat their bodies before setting off in search of more greenery to devour.

7. The operations room

Joost Bastmeijer

Yussuf Kurtuma, Christine Kebaba  both employees of tech company 51 Degrees, which helps track the locusts  and Casper Sitemba are looking at a data-filled screen. In the operations room information from Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya is compiled and analyzed. We gather together all the information people in the villages give us, says Kurtuma. The elders and the trackers employed by various different companies collect it. We compile all of this information in one platform and then we share it with all of the people working on the ground to stop the desert locusts.

8. Final goal: to prevent hunger

Joost Bastmeijer

The data collected by the helicopter crews is sent to the joint operations control center at Lewa, where 51 Degrees employee Christine Kebaba helps to monitor the movement of the swarms. Its exciting knowing that Im working to help guarantee food security in the Horn of Africa by exterminating desert locusts, she says. If we werent on top of the situation a lot of people would go hungry because food would be scarce; the locusts would have eaten it.

9. A coordinated effort

Joost Bastmeijer

Technical analyst Heath McRae presents data about the desert locusts to Martin Gichuru, who works for a British government consultancy. In the control center, private sector employees work together with government officials and experts as well as the Kenyan Army. The FAO campaign is funded by various institutions, among them the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

10. Memories of a Samburu elder

Joost Bastmeijer

Once the coordinates have been sent to the control center in Lewa, a fumigation aircraft is dispatched. Meanwhile, the surveillance chopper awaits its arrival on a mountainside nearby. Its presence draws the attention of some Samburu tribesmen. An elder, or mzee, recounts his memories of a plague of locusts that descended in the area in 1950.

11. A photo op

Joost Bastmeijer

Several Samburu Warriors and elders gather around the helicopter to see whats happening. While the crew waits for the arrival of the aircraft, the Samburu men take the opportunity to snap a few photos.

12. The fumigation aircraft arrives

Joost Bastmeijer

The aircraft is spotted in the air. Although it has the FAOs blue logo on its wings, these aircraft are owned by a private company. Some of the airplanes equipped for the distribution of pesticides arrive in Africa from as far away as Canada.

13. A dangerous operation

Joost Bastmeijer

While the aircraft sprays the locust-infested brushland with pesticides, the helicopter crew keep a safe distance before examining the area. Fumigation is a dangerous operation: a few weeks ago, an aircraft went down in Ethiopia, killing its pilot.

14. The damage the locusts cause

Joost Bastmeijer

A little over a year ago, billions of locusts blanketed the area, says Sitemba of the FAO, holding a locust knocked unconscious by the fumigation. This has been one of the worst plagues in over 70 years. It has put the food security and subsistence of some of the most vulnerable people in northern Kenya at risk.

15. Insatiable

Joost Bastmeijer

A male locust can reach up to six centimeters in length and a female, nine centimeters. They are always hungry and can consume the equivalent of their own body weight in a single day. They feed on rice, millet, corn and sugar cane and devour practically every part of the plant.

16. From swarms to mini-swarms

Joost Bastmeijer

Although the fumigation aircraft has covered most of the locust swarm, it is practically impossible to get every single one of the insects. There are always smaller groups that manage to split away from the main swarm. When this happens, the mini-swarms that emerge can cover areas of between 20 and 30 hectares.

17. Working alongside animals

Joost Bastmeijer

The operations center in Lewa is located in a national park in the north of Kenya. The airplanes land and take off from a narrow runway surrounded by wildlife including giraffes, elephants and rhinos.

18. Checking the impact

Joost Bastmeijer

The fumigation aircraft can only operate in zones where there are no nearby water sources, livestock or villages. The insecticide used has been certified safe by the United Nations, but to make sure the areas sprayed are periodically checked.

19. Swarms of up to 80 million insects

Joost Bastmeijer

On the return trip to Lewa, a cloud of locusts appears on the horizon. A swarm can contain millions of hungry insects, with between 40 and 80 million locusts on average. Although desert locusts are happy to live individually, when they find themselves in large groups they become sociable. A year ago, we didnt have the systems or the capacity for managing data to take on a plague, says Sitemba. But little by little we have developed them and, if an invasion comes, we will be ready for it.

English version by Rob Train.
Sanjeev Gupta's Liberty Steel received Government grants worth 276,245 even after its lender Greensill Capital came under investigation for taxpayer-backed loans handed to the steel group.

Documents seen by The Mail on Sunday show Innovate UK, a Government agency, and the Welsh Government gave the money after the Treasury launched an investigation into Greensill on October 9.

The Treasury's British Business Bank is investigating Greensill for supplying tens of millions in Government-backed loans to Gupta entities.

The grants were approved on October 20 as part of Wales's 500m Economic Resilience Fund

The taxpayer is on the hook for 80 per cent of the loans, but the guarantee can be withdrawn if a lender breaks the scheme's rules.

The Welsh Government gave Liberty's Newport plant a 132,000 grant to save 132 jobs, while the Tredegar plant was given 49,000 to save 49 jobs.

The grants were approved on October 20 as part of Wales's 500million Economic Resilience Fund. Innovate UK approved a grant of 95,245 to Liberty Powder Metals on December 1.

Innovate UK said its grants were checked by independent experts, and that the award was made when the agency was certain Liberty was solvent. The Welsh Government said its funding schemes had provided 'essential support' for firms.

Liberty owner GFG said it applied to relevant authorities for loans and support to secure jobs. It said Liberty 'regularly' responded to public funding calls for research.
Dear Amy: I am a 50-year-old woman who was adopted as an infant.

Ive been reading letters from readers of yours who, when they find their birth family, are extremely disappointed with the experience.

It seems as if they expect their birth family to welcome them into the fold as if they were always there.

I had a family for 25 years and although my parents were far from perfect, they were mine.

When I was 25 years old my birth mother found me and although I adamantly did NOT want this experience, it was forced upon me by a group that touts reuniting family.

Unfortunately, it turns out my birth mother had deep-seated mental problems.

I was sucked into her drama and through no fault of my own was then blamed by her (and her other children) when she would constantly threaten suicide.

My birth father committed suicide after I found out (through my birth mother) who he was.

My point is that there are usually reasons why we are placed for adoption. Sometimes, years later, those reasons are still good ones, and we should appreciate the families that we have and the lives that weve built.

It is helpful to be able to get a medical history, and it is quite refreshing to see people that actually look like you, but sometimes that is not worth the disappointment and dashed expectations.

We need to remember that sharing DNA doesnt automatically make us family. In my experience, family are the people that are there for you, whether you share DNA or not.

 Adopted in Ohio

Dear Adopted: DNA discovery stories and biological family reunification stories are becoming a regular presence in this column.

Any time secrets are revealed, extreme adjustments are required, and although some of these stories do indeed have surprising and happy endings, I thank you for pointing out that no particular ending is guaranteed for any of us.

A moving essay by writer Steve Inskeep outlined his own complicated story. As an adoptee (and now an adoptive parent) from the state of Indiana, he wrestled with the frustration of that states closed adoption records, which meant that he had no access to information about his own beginnings.

As he notes in his essay, (published in the New York Times), Should adoptees and biological families contact each other, after the law forbade it for so long? Not without mutual consent: Its an intensely personal decision. But information alone is powerful. When Indiana finally made its records more accessible in 2018, so many people requested documents that state employees were overwhelmed. A 20-week backlog of requests built up and has persisted  a testament to how many human lives were affected.

More than a dozen states are currently considering legislation to open adoption records (to varying degrees).

As more states open their adoption files, more families will wrestle with the challenges of discovered relationships, and more people will be inspired to define family in new ways.

Thank you for sharing your own story.

Amy Dickinson, author of the 'Ask Amy' column.TNS

Dear Amy: I recognize that the use of substitute names in the letters you publish is a necessity.

In a recent letter concerning four longtime friends, you used John, Paul, George, and Ringo as clever stand-ins. But I feel its unfortunate the name Yoko was used to identify the sullen and angry woman mentioned as Johns wife.

Many readers may recall the torrent of criticism, if not hatred, directed at Yoko Ono in the late 1960s, which, 50 years on, may be viewed today as misogynistic and anti-Asian vilification.

She was blamed for breaking up The Beatles, an unfair and mostly untrue accusation. (The Beatles broke up The Beatles.)

The real Yoko Ono is now 88. Her pioneering avant-garde art and boundary-bending music, not to mention her tireless dedication to peace causes, have brought on a reassessment of her brave impact on the creative community.

Forgive me if I am over-analyzing this unintentional slip, but to new generations of feminist rockers, Yoko Ono is their favorite Beatle!

 Tom in New Orleans

Dear Tom: I supplied those substitute names in the letter about four friends, and I take responsibility for replaying a very tired trope about Yoko Ono. As you rightly point out, The Beatles broke up The Beatles.

I apologize to Ms. Ono, who I recognize as an important artist, creator, and inspiration to many, including, of course, John Lennon, who did such important work in collaboration with her.

I also apologize to Beatles fans and other readers, who I know deserve better.

(You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.)

2021 Amy Dickinson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Read more advice:

Ask Amy: Separated soulmates are eager to connect

Dear Annie: Looking to hop off the hamster wheel

Dear Abby: Children cut off stepmother with dads power of attorney
Over a quarter of college and high school students 'never' attend church, new poll finds

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A new poll suggests that nearly 30% of high school and college students never attended religious services even before the coronavirus pandemic caused many churches to cease in-person services.

Young Americas Foundation, a conservative youth advocacy organization, released a poll Wednesday asking young Americans for their views on various issues, including taxes, the economy, student debt, the coronavirus, education and the countrys most prominent political figures.

The poll, released in partnership with Townhall, was conducted by Echelon Insights. A total of 801 high school students and 819 post-secondary students between the ages of 13 and 24 were surveyed online from March 30 to April 7.

The survey asked respondents, Before the COVID-19 pandemic, how often did you typically attend a religious service?

Overall, 27% of respondents said that they never attend a religious service. Among high school students, 26% said they never attended a religious service, while that number rose to 28% among those out of high school.

Nearly one-quarter (24%) of young Americans said they attend church services at least once per week, including 28% of high school students. However, weekly religious attendance was significantly lower among post-high school students (19%).

About 14% of respondents claimed to attend church once or twice a month: 12% of high school students and 16% of post-high school students.

Meanwhile, 15% reported that they attend religious services a few times a year, while 12% said that they only participate in religious services on religious holidays.

Eight percent of respondents preferred not to disclose their frequency of religious attendance.

Among high school students, 15% said that they attend religious services a few times a year, 10% reported that they attend religious services only on religious holidays and 9% preferred not to say. Fifteen percent of post-high school students claimed to attend religious services a few times a year, while 14% said they only attend on religious holidays and 9% preferred not to say.

Additionally, nearly half of respondents (48%) declined to identify with a particular religion. About 16% responded that they prefer not to say when asked to describe their religion, 15% listed their religion as something else, 10% identified as atheists and 7% described themselves as agnostic.

A plurality of young Americans surveyed identified as Catholic (23%), followed by 14% who described themselves as Evangelical Protestant/Born-Again Christians and 6% who said they belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Just 4% identified as Jewish. Small minorities of respondents described themselves as Mainline Protestants (3%) or Muslim (2%).

In an interview with The Christian Post, YAF spokesperson Kara Zupkus attributed the low religious attendance rates among young Americans to a trend in our culture where a lot of younger people nowadays are  idolizing pop culture  [and] politicians.

So, they dont really need to find, in their view, a place where they can worship a God, Zupkus stated.

Describing the trend as concerning, Zupkus warned that it can lead to younger people depending more on their government to take care of them instead of their churches and local communities.

When asked how to reverse the trend of young Americans never attending church, Zupkus suggested that a lot of it has to start in the family.

I think its important for parents to teach their children the importance of religion, to  have that community building. I think its important for kids to be exposed to that at a young age. And I think that that is a good way that we can ... turn that around, she said.

Its a lot harder if children are growing up in a household where maybe religion isnt as valued, and they dont attend (church) regularly. Obviously, theyre probably not going to  once they go to high school, go off to college, theyre not going to continue or start. Or maybe its going to be a lot harder for them to start something new, a new tradition of going to church, she added. I think expanding different youth groups specifically in these different churches is going to be really important.

Zupkus recalled her own experience in a youth group, noting that it really inspired me and motivated me knowing that I had peers my age that were willing to learn more about religion and learn more about the faith.

In light of the fact that pop culture criticizes and demonizes religious people, she emphasized the importance of having peers to look up to, which she said can be an incentive and  help boost the confidence of those young people.

Additionally, Zupkus advised churches to use social media to reach out to young Americans.

I think if maybe churches engaged more with young people on social media and did more outreach that way, that could be a good way for them to help identify a local church in their area that they want to get involved with, she said. I know it probably can be pretty overwhelming for a brand new person to move to a brand new state, city, wherever theyre going for college and try and find a church and  feel welcomed.

Zupkus contended that the low church attendance rates among young Americans have negative implications for political discourse in the U.S.

The current climate in America with all the divisiveness and the hatred, it seems like, for other Americans, really does stem from this lack of religion, she argued. So, I think hopefully this poll kind of serves as a  warning light for Americans that we do need to  return to our roots and restore  faith in our young people. Hopefully, that will, in turn, lead to more healing and respect for other peoples opinions in politics.
An employee counts U.S. banknotes at a bank in Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy.

The U.S. has removed Vietnam from the list of economies it considers currency manipulators, reversing a decision made by the Trump administration in December.

Its Treasury Department said Friday that no economy currently meets the U.S.s criteria to be labeled manipulators, but warned that Vietnam, Switzerland and Taiwan would be under enhanced monitoring, according to newswire AP.

There is insufficient evidence to conclude they are manipulating their exchange rates, Reuters quoted it as saying.

A country is labeled a currency manipulator if it sells its currency and buys U.S. dollars to depreciate the former to benefit its exports.

"For calendar year 2020, we have not made a finding regarding the manipulation designation," a department official told reporters.

Vietnam had last December rejected the U.S.s currency manipulator allegations, reiterating that its monetary policies do not target unfair trade advantages, and that it would continue to work with the U.S. to ensure a "harmonious and fair" trade relationship.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) said Saturday that Vietnams monetary policies in recent years have only sought to control inflation and ensure economic stability, and not derive unfair trade advantages.

It said it has been working to increase exchange rate flexibility, resulting in improvements in the foreign currency market, and these efforts have been acknowledged by the U.S. Treasury Department.

Vietnam would continue to work with the U.S. to ensure a harmonious and fair trade relationship, it said.

Truong Van Phuoc, former chairman of the National Financial Supervisory Commission, told VnExpress that the U.S. Treasurys lifting of the label could make Vietnam more confident in its trade and monetary policies.
EUGENE, Ore.  The Eugene City Club hosted a virtual forum Friday that addressed issues surrounding the homeless crisis and police reform.

When addressing the homeless, Vinis touched on some of the projects they are working on right now, like converting the former Veterans Affairs clinic on River Avenue into a 75-bed shelter. The mayor also discussed the citys response to the COVID-19 pandemic and all the state and federal funds they used to help them find alternative housing and resources.

However, she said there is still a lot to do, but it will take time.

We are behind and it takes time, she said. What say about this is that we really holding in our parks and open spaces and streets the legacy and decades of neglect."

Vinis said shes also looking toward the future. She said she hopes to continue to connect with the homeless population to get a better sense of what is needed, as well as continuing to advocate to the county about expanding outreach programs.

"Please recognize the structure and the budget of the city government that you have, she said. We have police and public works to address this issue. We do not have this level of social services in our city structure."

As for police reform, Vinis said the city is trying to consider community input as much as possible.

She said the city has always been committed to improving public safety, based on all the reform policies they have passed over the last 15 years.

However, she said she understands things have changed since the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests last summer.

The whole public safety systems, the reform, they're urgent, they're important, but it takes time to get it right, said Vinis.

She said they are working with groups like the Ad Hock Committee on Police Policy to draft recommendations for the city council.

Vinis said they expect to see those recommendations sometime this spring.
Facing high costs and other pressures, Massachusetts farmers have increasingly looked to hemp growth as an opportunity. Bills filed by state Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield, and state Rep. William Smitty Pignatelli, D-Lenox, would expand farmers access to growing hemp.
Cancel Culture Is Part of Plot to Transform the Culture of AmericaInterview With Gene DAgostino

There are groups in the United States trying to remake the education system. As part of this, theyre targeting race and gender narratives and targeting even childrens books and cartoon characters to be canceled. To learn more about this and where this trend is heading, we sat down for an interview with Gene DAgostino, producer of the Charleston Meeting and chair of the South Carolina Charter School Alliance.

These stories and more in this episode of Crossroads.

Crossroads is an Epoch Times show available on Facebook and YouTube.

Support Crossroads: https://donorbox.org/crossroads

Join Patreon to Support Crossroads: https://www.patreon.com/Crossroads_Josh
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

The Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments have closed four mosques and a community centre in the Capital, Muharraq and Southern governorates for one week for failing to comply with the precautionary measures and the established health protocols, putting worshippers health at risk.

The decision was taken in view of the laxity of those in charge of the mosques in implementing the required precautionary measures, especially those related to examining the worshippers' vaccination certificates and keeping a safe distance between those performing the prayers, the Ministry said.

The ministry added that it had consulted with the National Medical Taskforce to Combat the Coronavirus before announcing the closure of the mosques.

The time will be used to enable the dedicated teams to carry out the contact tracing and the sanitisation process. A team will also make sure that the precautionary measures are properly followed in the mosques, it added.
Broadway producer Scott Rudin has stepped down amid accusations of bullying staff that include claims he threw a baked potato at one assistant's head and mashed a computer over another's hand.

Rudin told The Washington Post on Saturday: 'Much has been written about my history of troubling interactions with colleagues, and I am profoundly sorry for the pain my behavior caused to individuals, directly and indirectly.

'After a period of reflection, Ive made the decision to step back from active participation on our Broadway productions, effective immediately. My roles will be filled by others from the Broadway community and in a number of cases, from the roster of participants already in place on those shows.

'My passionate hope and expectation is that Broadway will reopen successfully very soon, and that the many talented artists associated with it will once again begin to thrive and share their artistry with the world. I do not want any controversy associated with me to interrupt Broadways well deserved return, or specifically, the return of the 1500 people working on these shows.'

Several of Rudin's former staffers who worked for him at his Scott Rudin Productions spoke out about his alleged abusive and bullying behavior in a series of interviews with The Hollywood Reporter published on earlier this month.

The allegations leveled against the 62-year-old super-producer, which date back decades, range from physical and emotional abuse to bullying and mistreatment.

Many of the former staffers were entry-level employees who worked as assistants fresh out of college.

Broadway producer Scott Ruddin said on Saturday that he was stepping aside from his productions

In one alleged incident in 2012, Rudin was accused of sending a bleeding male assistant to the hospital after smashing an Apple computer monitor on the employee's hand because he couldn't get a seat on a sold-out flight.

Staffers also detailed witnessing him throw laptops at walls, a stapler at a theater assistant and a glass bowl at another employee that smashed after hitting a wall.

In 2018, he threw a baked potato at his then-assistant for not telling him earlier that he had a meeting scheduled with someone from the New York based A24 media company.

'I went into the kitchen, and I was like, 'Hey, Scott, A24 is on the way up. I'm not sure what it's concerning,'' the unnamed employee said.

'And he flipped out, like, 'Nobody told me A24 was on my schedule.' He threw it at me, and I dodged a big potato. He was like, 'Well, find out, and get me a new potato'.'

Others described Rudin screaming at them from such a close distance that his spit landed on their faces.

'When you feel his spit on your face as he's screaming at you, saying, 'You're worth nothing,' it obviously makes an impact, and we're young,' one of his former assistants said.

'Over his long career, there are hundreds and hundreds of people who have suffered. And some have given up their dreams because he made them feel and believe that they can't do whatever it is they're trying to do.'

Of the films Rudin has produced, 23 have won Oscars and 151 have been nominated. He is pictured above with Meryl Streep on the set of The Hours in 2002

Rudin is among the most decorated in the industry and is among the few to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards - otherwise known as EGOT status. He is pictured with Carole Shorenstein Hays, Viola Davis and Denzel Washington at the 2010 Tony Awards

Rudin is pictured second from left on the set of the 2002 film Changing Lanes with Ben Affleck (right) and director Roger Michell (left)

One former employee, Caroline Rugo, who worked as an executive coordinator for six months, said she could have sued Rudin but feared being blacklisted in the industry.

'Everyone just knows he's an absolute monster,' Rugo said.

Sources told THR that lawsuits or complaints against Rudin's bullying from employees were often quietly settled.

Some employees said he was also vindictive and would go as far as changing credits on IMDb that they had obtained working for him when they quit.

Rudin is among the most decorated in the industry and is among the few to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards - otherwise known as EGOT status.

Of the films he has produced, 23 have won Oscars and 151 have been nominated. Rudin has also won 17 Tony Awards for his work on Broadway.

His film producing credits include: No Country for Old Men, Lady Bird, The Social Network and The Truman Show.

While many in the industry have faced a reckoning in the wake of Harvey Weinstein and the #MeToo movement, Rudin's ex-employees say the super-producer has managed to continue on with his alleged abusive behavior.

No one who spoke to THR alleged sexual abuse of misconduct by Rudin.

Rudin is pictured on the New York set of Finally Famous with Chris Rock in 2014

His film producing credits include: No Country for Old Men, Lady Bird, The Social Network and The Truman Show. He is pictured above with The Social Network star Jesse Eisenberg (left) and True Grit star Jeff Bridges (right)

Separately from the allegations made by his staffers, Rudin's outbursts made headlines back in 2014 when emails he had written about stars, including Angelina Jolie, were leaked when Sony was the victim of hacking.

The most damning batch of emails that were leaked included one in which Rudin and Sony Pictures Chair Amy Pascal exchanged racist comments about President Barack Obama.

They spoke about what Pascal could speak to Obama about at a 2013 event and started listing off films about slavery and naming black actors.

Pascal stepped down as head of Sony in the wake of the hacking saga.

In a separate email, Rudin had called Angelina Jolie 'a minimally talented spoiled brat' while discussing who would direct her upcoming remake of Cleopatra.

Rudin issued an apology in the Sony hacking instance, saying the emails had been 'written in haste'.

'Private emails between friends and colleagues written in haste and without much thought or sensitivity, even when the content of them is meant to be in jest, can result in offense where none was intended,' Rudin said at the time.

'I made a series of remarks that were meant only to be funny, but in the cold light of day, they are in fact thoughtless and insensitive - and not funny at all. To anybody I've offended, I'm profoundly and deeply sorry, and I regret and apologize for any injury they might have caused.'
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 00:19:07|Editor: huaxia

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JERUSALEM, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Seven cases of a new "double mutant" variant of COVID-19 were detected in Israel, the country's Ministry of Health said on Friday.

This is the B.1.617 variant that was recently identified in India, and now it has been detected for the first time in Israel.

The seven cases were diagnosed by genetic sequencing tests in unvaccinated Israelis that returned from abroad, the ministry noted.

"There is still no clear information regarding the variant and its implications for the vaccinated and the recovered," the ministry added.

Earlier on Friday, an official of the World Health Organization (WHO) said at a press conference in Geneva that the B.1.617 variant could bring about "increased transmissibility."

The Indian Health Ministry recently issued an official statement, saying that the variant could increase rates of infection and bypass immune defenses. Enditem
Government pats itself on the back for ordering local governments to give out extra food they dont have.

The Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea hosts a banquet in honor of the participants in the 5th National Conference of War Veterans, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang July 30, 2018.

North Korea commemorated a major national holiday Thursday by providing extra corn to select groups of veterans, but the people are complaining that the government is trying to force their loyalty through strict control of the food supply, sources in the country told RFA.

The April 15 birth anniversary of national founder Kim Il Sung (1912-1994), grandfather of North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un is known as the Day of the Sun, and it is the countrys the most important holiday.

The day is marked with festivals and celebrations honoring the architect of North Korean society. The government hands out candy to the nations children to express the Eternal Presidents love for his people.

The central government ordered local authorities to provide bonus food to veterans who were injured in the line of duty, or who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War, during which about 406,000 North Korean military personnel and 600,000 North Korean civilians were killed.

In the impoverished country where life expectancy for men is about 68 years, few veterans of that conflict are still alive, meaning most receiving this years food bonus are so-called honored veteransformer soldiers of any age who became disabled in the line of duty.

As North Korea reveres Korean War veterans, the authorities ordered that they be given slightly more food than the injured veterans, a point of contention for the latter group.

Even so, local governments this year could not afford to provide everyone with what they were due, and the gifted food was of poor quality.

On the occasion of the Day of the Sun, one months worth of food was supplied to Korean War veterans in Sinuiju, a source from the northwestern city on the Chinese border told RFAs Korean Service Tuesday.

The food was supplied with Kim Jong Uns special consideration. It is 15 kilograms [33 pounds] of corn, but with the cobs included, said the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons.

The source said that the central authorities did not directly supply the food to the veterans. Instead, they delegated the task and the cost to local authorities, who distributed the gift through a food sales office. The central authorities ordered that the honored veterans receive half the amount of corn as the Korean War veterans.

The food sales office was only able to give two weeks worth of corn to the honored soldiers, probably because they did not have sufficient stocks for both the war veterans and the honored veterans, said the source.

Even though the corn is supplied by local offices, the Central Committee [of the ruling Korean Workers Party] is promoting the gift as if it is their own and insisting that the veterans must not forget the Partys grace, the source said.

Another source, a resident of South Pyongan province, north of Pyongyang, confirmed that authorities there were also distributing food to veterans.

For the Day of the Sun, they distributed 10 kilograms [22 pounds] of corn to every war veteran, but among the honored soldiers, only those who were married and have a family got their food bonus, said the second source.

The honored soldiers excluded from the food distribution are complaining that they are not able to do business because they became disabled while serving in the military to protect the country, and now they are being discriminated against even over small things like corn rations. They blame the authorities, saying that the propaganda telling them they should trust the party doesnt make sense because the party discriminates against them, said the second source.

Residents condemned the government for brushing aside the concerns of the injured veterans, according to the second source.

They think the behavior of the authorities is pathetic. They are forcing loyalty by suppling food only little by little. The authorities save meat, like rabbits, only for Korean War veterans on special holidays. The residents criticize the government for taking credit for holiday food distribution, when these honored soldiers cannot make ends meet.

The amount of the food gift differs from region to region because the central government only tells the local authorities to supply the food, but the actual amounts are left to their own discretion, according to the second source, who also said that in 2020, two weeks worth was considered standard for every holiday.

Chronically food-short North Korea suffered a famine in the mid-1990s as a result of economic mismanagement and the sudden collapse of North Korea's patron, the Soviet Union. As much as 10 percent of the North Korean population lost their lives, according to some estimates, millions of children suffered stunted growth, and hundreds of thousands of people fled to China.

Reported by Hyemin Son for RFAs Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
New York, April 17 : NASA has picked Elon Musk's SpaceX to develop the first commercial lander and take the next two US astronauts to the moon, the US space agency said on Friday.

The contract is worth $2.9 billion and is part of NASA's Artemis programme, which aims to return astronauts to the moon by 2024 as a stepping stone to the first human mission to Mars, DPA news agency reported.

SpaceX had been competing against Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' private space company Blue Origin and defence contractor Dynetics.

Musk tweeted "NASA Rules!!" in response to the decision.

The SpaceX Starship, which is designed to land on the moon, will include a spacious cabin and two airlocks for moonwalks, NASA said.

The goal is to eventually develop a fully reusable launch and landing system that can be used for space travel to destinations including the moon and Mars.

The mission will see four astronauts launched on NASA's Orion spacecraft into lunar orbit, where two of them will transfer to the SpaceX human landing system for their final journey to the moon.

The two astronauts will explore the lunar surface for around a week before returning to Earth. They will be the first people to walk on the moon for more than 50 years.

At least one of the two will be a woman. NASA also aims to bring the first person of colour to the moon's surface as part of the Artemis programme.

The US brought 12 astronauts to the moon between 1969 and 1972.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of Three Soldiers, the first celebrated novel by the prolific American novelist John Dos Passos (1896-1970). The writer is probably best known for his epic U.S.A., a trilogy of novels experimental in form and highly critical of American capitalism and culture. Three Soldiers can be held up to U.S.A. and seen as the work of a younger Dos Passos, one who is still finding his novelists voice, but the earlier novel is itself an accomplished work worthy of a readers attention in 2021.

John Dos Passos

John Dos Passos was born in Chicago, one of the class of 96, as F. Scott Fitzgerald referred to himself and his friends Dos Passos and Ernest Hemingway (actually born in 1899). Dos Passos spent much of his childhood abroad and developed a restless taste for travel that he never lost. His father, a well-to-do lawyer and respected legal theorist, put Dos Passos through Harvard, where he wrote stories and articles for The Monthly .

A prolific writer, Dos Passos wrote novels, plays and nonfiction and was besides a serious visual artist whose paintings, like his fiction, were influenced by modernist experiments. More than any successful American writer of his time, Dos Passos trained his attention on the experience of the working class, particularly itinerant workers forced by circumstances and a resistance to authority to stay on the move.

Three Soldiers

It has been said of Three Soldiers that it provided the first honest literary portrayal of World War I to the American public. As such, it was both enthusiastically welcomed and reviled. The cantankerous critic and political writer H. L. Mencken wrote memorably about the novels impact in its time:

Until Three Soldiers is forgotten and fancy achieves its inevitable victory over fact, no war story can be written in the United States without challenging comparison with itand no story that is less meticulously true will stand up to it. At one blast it disposed of oceans of romance and blather. It changed the whole tone of American opinion about the war; it even changed the recollections of actual veterans of the war. They saw, no doubt, substantially what Dos Passos saw, but it took his bold realism to disentangle their recollections from the prevailing buncombe and sentimentality.

Mencken claims a great deal for the novel here, and certainly the whole tone of official American opinion was not transformed by Three Soldiers, since one reviewer for the New York Times noted that the dust jacket of the book was yellow, and another said he would have guessed it had been written by a slacker (someone who avoided registration for the draft). Jingoistic propaganda proliferated in the years immediately following the war, particularly in the wake of the Russian Revolution, pouring from the government and the media, with accusations of pro-German sentiment blurring into accusations of pro-Bolshevik sentiment.

Three Soldiers

Nevertheless, the phenomenon of Three Soldiers initiated an unmistakable acceptance of, and ultimately a tradition of, anti-war, anti-militarist literature in the US. Dos Passos Three Soldiers would soon be followed by Willa Cathers Pulitzer-winning novel One of Ours (1923) and Hemingways celebrated group of short stories In Our Time (1925), both books depicting the ravages of World War I on body and soul.

Notably, for all its gritty realism, and unlike that most famed First World War novel, German author Erich Maria Remarques All Quiet on the Western Front (1929), Three Soldiers spends almost no timeperhaps two pagesin the trenches. Rather, the action takes place in boot camp, in French villages near the front, in wine shops and brothels, on grueling marches, in a hospital, and in Paris after the war. For Dos Passos descriptions of trench warfare, one can turn to his first novel, One Mans Initiation1917 (1920), which he wrote while working as an ambulance driver at the front.

In Three Soldiers, Dos Passos follows the war experiences of an unlikely trio of army privates who nonetheless become friends of sorts by virtue of suffering under a common thumb, the military. Chrisfield hails from Indiana farm country and, while he can be gregarious, he carries a violent temper and is a vicious racist. Dan Fuselli, a second-generation American, is a store clerk from San Francisco. He views the military as a means of advancement in the world, and conducts himself according to one principle, the determination not to get in bad with his superiors.

John Andrews, from Virginia gentility by way of New York, is a piano student and composer who has joined up to escape his own inclinations and the feeling he must create music. He is sick of revolt, of thought, of carrying his individuality like a banner above the turmoil and seeks to bury himself in the undifferentiated, uniformed mass of the army. Dos Passos uses this plot device to set up within the character two poles, undirected freedom and surrender of will. Andrews soon realizes his mistake:

This was much better, to let everything go, to stamp out his maddening desire for music, to humble himself into the mud of common slavery. He was still tingling with sudden anger from the officers voice that morning: Sergeant, who is this man? The officer had stared in his face, as a man might stare at a piece of furniture.

Fuselli and Chrisfield allow Dos Passos to carry out his withering critique of the military and the war, though the two are not as closely drawn as Andrews and do not figure much in the second half of the novel, which is given over to Andrews misadventures.

The latter develops, and hardens, over the course of the novel, though he retains a character flaw, his impetuousness, that determines his fate time and again. Dos Passos portrays Andrews with compassion but without sentimentality. In fact, the utter lack of sentimentality, whether about home, sexual and romantic relationships, or casualties of war distinguishes the novel as a work of art.

Sentimentality itself is held up to ridicule through the characters called Y men, representatives of the Young Mens Christian Association (YMCA), who hover about the soldiers in camps and villages away from the front and show anti-German movies. They are government propaganda agents. After a swim, Andrews remarks that putting his uniform back on is like voluntarily taking up filth and slavery again. He is overheard by a Y man who upbraids him, saying among other things, Remember that your women folks, your sisters and sweethearts and mothers are praying for you at this instant.

Another quality that sets Three Soldiers apart as a mature work of fiction is the absence of a mouthpiece character, one who stands in for the author and provides his or her perspective on events. Andrews is an artist, and like Dos Passos he hails from the American upper middle class, but his recklessness as well as his undeveloped political orientation guide his actions and thoughts in directions Dos Passos did not pursue. Still more alien to the author is Andrews ambivalence toward the war itself. However, by forgoing any author-surrogate, Dos Passos more objectively chronicles the world he sees, and the reader is left to draw his or her own conclusions from the whole.

Three Soldiers is a raw look at the lives of men in war and is a book that deserves to be read today. It will surprise the modern reader with its freshness and, more importantly, will provoke a genuine emotional response even from readers already opposed to war and militarism. Finally, it serves as a wonderful introduction for reader new to Dos Passos, presenting as it does his characteristic contempt for authority and for the various forms of machinery under capitalism that trap and dehumanize the individual, his revulsion at violence and injustices great and small, and his exceptional artistry as a writer.

U.S.A.

The quality of objective observation at work in Three Soldiers characterizes the three novels of U.S.A. as well. In these novels, The 42nd Parallel (1930), 1919 (1932) and The Big Money (1936), Dos Passos refines the technique to potent effect. Though the narrative remains in the third-person, when we follow a character in these novels we are immersed in his or her world, language and consciousness, and that consciousness is never so unique and idiosyncratic that it represents only the solitary character, but instead stands as part of the consciousness of a class.

U.S.A. trilogy

Here is a line about the part-time Wobbly (radical Industrial Workers of the WorldIWWmember) Mac from The 42 nd Parallel: They were kind to him, and had a pretty daughter named Mona that he kinder fell in love with. And about Joe Williams from 1919: Back in town they didnt know just what to do. They wanted some drinks and a couple of frails but they were afraid of getting tanked up and spending all their money. Contrast these with the more lyrical voice that narrates the middle class Eveline Hutchins, also from 1919 :

The house smelt of dry dusty coldness. No matter how much she cuddled against him she couldnt get to feel really warm. The same creaky carousel of faces, plans, scraps of talk kept going round and round in her head, keeping her from thinking consecutively, keeping her from going to sleep.

To read Dos Passos is almost always to read to the background noise of his restrained anger, but he was not without a sense of humor. The itinerant Doc Bingham, who travels the backwaters peddling pornographic books in The 42nd Parallel, is a classic American snake oil salesman, and his scenes are hilarious. There are also countless quieter moments of satire, as when J. Ward Moorehouse, an up-and-coming bounder, begins his day the morning after writing to his unfaithful, socialite wife Annabelle that he wants a divorce, and money:

Ward shaved, cleaned his teeth, washed his face and neck as best he could, parted his hair. His jaw and cheekbones were getting a square look that he admired. Cleancut young executive, he said to himself as he fastened his collar and tied his necktie. It was Annabelle had taught him the trick of wearing a necktie the same color as his eyes. As he thought of her name a faint tactile memory of her lips troubled him, of the musky perfume she used. He brushed the thought aside, started to whistle, stopped for fear the other men dressing might think it peculiar and went and stood on the platform.

Dos Passos does all this without narrative intrusion, without explanation or apology. Nor are these characters simply bits of cultural commentary hung on a human frame. Dos Passos fully invests himself in his main characters, has compassion for them and imbues them with psychological and social complexity. While Dos Passos did not invent this immersion techniqueoften called free indirect discourseit is possible that he was the first American author to apply it to such a socially diverse cast of characters. The cumulative effect of this narrative style, over the course of the trilogy, is panoramic and powerful.

Dos Passos developed other techniques for U.S.A. As he had in his excellent 1925 novel Manhattan Transfer, the author inserts fragments from newspapers, snatches of song lyrics and descriptions of film scenes in the novels, an acknowledgment of mass medias role in modern American life. In U.S.A., he establishes formal sections, called Newsreel, where these media elements provide context and thematic commentary for the main narrative sections, but can also stand independently, juxtaposing as they do the dead-serious news storye.g., U.S. AT WARwith the inane, the lighthearted and the sentimental, replicating the media effect that social critic Neil Postman would later label as schizophrenic.

Manhattan Transfer

Dos Passos also intersperses the central narratives with sections called The Camera Eye. In these autobiographical fragments, he provides vivid images and brief narratives, giving yet another perspective on modern American life. Finally, many narrative sections in U.S.A. are preceded by a brief impressionistic biography, almost prose poetry in style. These sections include treatments of labor leaders, politicians and artists, including Big Bill Haywood, John Reed, Theodore Roosevelt, Isadora Duncan, the Unknown Soldier and the one true villain of U.S.A., President Woodrow Wilson.

Big Bill Haywood of the IWW

In these biographies we are able to see Dos Passos the man most clearly, through his admiration and his censure. Reed was the last of the great race of war-correspondents and the best American writer of his time. Of Roosevelt, The Happy Warrior, Dos Passos writes, The American public was not kept in ignorance of the Colonels bravery. When the bullets sang, how he charged without his men up San Juan Hill ... how he shot a running Spaniard in the tail.

Col. Theodore Roosevelt

Overall, U.S.A. covers approximately forty years of American history, from the end of the 19th century and the heady days of the formation of the IWW in 1905 through the years of Progressivism and pitched labor battles in The 42nd Parallel, up through the manipulated jingoism and state repression of the war years and their aftermath in 1919.

The 1920s of The Big Money are drawn with savage satire and are seen by Dos Passos as a decade of social climbing and labor defeats. Shortly after the executions of anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti in 1927, in whose defense he had campaigned vigorously, Dos Passos gave a withering account of the US of the time, closing with a sort of funeral oration for the contemporary American labor movement:

The last rags of the old puritan standards in which good was white and bad was black went under in the war. In the ten years that have followed the American mind has settled back into a marsh of cheap cosmopolitanism and wisecracking, into a slow odorless putrescence. The protest that expressed itself in such movements as the I.W.W. and the Non-Partisan League has pretty well petered out.

The depth of U.S.A. lies in its complex conception of what the novelist-historian can and should record. In his political biography, Dos Passos Path to U.S.A. (1972), Melvin Landsberg makes this important observation about the 12 main characters of the trilogy and their author:

The careers of most, to some extent all, of them help to explain the signal apathy of the middle class toward social reform and toward such seeming outrages as the executions of Sacco and Vanzetti. None of the twelve characters is shown suffering real economic privation. American society was thriving enough before the depression to allow them all to become reasonably comfortable, and Dos Passos was not concerned primarily with describing a physical class struggle; he was attempting to describe the process by which Americans develop a point of view toward events.

Though one could argue that Landsberg sets the bar pretty high for economic privation, as a number of the characters must often scramble for food or go without, nevertheless his observation about the theme of the fabrication of public opinion in U.S.A. is a valuable one. Consciousness, like speech, in Dos Passos is always as much a matter of social and political construction as it is individual expression. Characters think, converse, curse, fear and aspire according to their talents, which are almost always quite average, and according to the mental material they are afforded by their social class and by the culture at large.

Anarchist defendants Bartolomeo Vanzetti and Nicola Sacco

Perhaps the most apt description of the U.S.A. trilogy was penned by Dos Passos himself, in a brief preface to the single-volume publication of the novels:

U.S.A. is the slice of a continent. U.S.A. is a group of holding companies, some aggregations of trade unions, a set of laws bound in calf, a radio network, a chain of moving picture theatres, a column of stock quotations rubbed out and written in by a Western Union boy on a blackboard, a public-library full of old newspapers and dogeared history books with protests scrawled on the margins in pencil. U.S.A. is the worlds greatest river valley fringed with mountains and hills, U.S.A. is a set of bigmouthed officials with too many bank accounts. U.S.A. is a lot of men buried in their uniforms in Arlington Cemetery. U.S.A. is the letters at the end of an address when you are away from home. But mostly U.S.A. is the speech of the people.

Something of the current assessment of Dos Passos can be gleaned from a mostly positive 2019 New Yorker article penned by writer Matt Hanson, What John Dos Passoss 1919 Got Right About 2019. Hanson finds similarity between Dos Passos 1919 and contemporary America in that they both harbor revolutionary sentiments. Taking Hansons article as a whole, however, it becomes apparent that the sort of revolution he sees developing in 2019 is of the mildly reformist, pro-capitalist Bernie Sanders sort, a far cry from the programs of the Wobblies and the Bolsheviks who appear in 1919. And a far cry from the actual, simmering working class mood of the present.

Revealing more than he intends, Hanson gives voice to some of the problems of contemporary American fiction and culture when he claims to spot the limitations of Dos Passos work:

Dos Passoss Balzacian ambition was to paint in detail on a wide social canvas. He succeeded only to a point. His hardboiled tone is one limitation: many readers will only be so interested in the fates of grungy, inarticulate men named Mac. And there are few people of color in the novelsa serious flaw in their grand design.

It cedes no ground to contemporary identity politics to acknowledge that Dos Passos could have included African Americans among his main characters, though had he done so, however successfully, contemporary identity politicians would then grouse that as a white man he was out of his depth and out of his lane. One cannot bow to such critics. More to the point is that African Americans do appear, and speak, in U.S.A. in realistic ways, as do Jewish Americans, Italian immigrants, Mexicans and others.

As for the readers, perhaps like Hanson, who have limited patience for the grungy and inarticulate in fiction, their tastes can hardly decide the success of a wide social canvas. And while it is not inappropriate to compare the ambitious U.S.A. with the realist works of French novelist Honore de Balzac, it is certain that Balzac would not have hesitated for a moment to follow the life of a character like Mac. In fact, in reading Dos Passos another French novelist comes readily to mindEmile Zola. One wonders whether Hanson would fault Zolas novel Germinal (1885) for spending too much time among coal miners or his L  Assom m oir (1877) for consorting with impoverished alcoholics.

The last half of Dos Passos life, sadly, was dominated by his turn to the political right. The starting point for that humiliating and ignoble descent came in 1937, while the novelist was in Spain with Hemingway to report on the civil war. Dos Passos was rightly revolted and incensed at the Stalinist murder of his friend and Spanish translator Jose Robles. However, not every writer drew right-wing conclusions from the events, including George Orwell, whose Homage to Catalonia (1938) is an indictment of Stalinist crimes in Spain from the left.

One of Dos Passos last important acts as a left-wing intellectual, in 1936, was to participate in the work of the American Committee for the Defense of Leon Trotsky. This committee spawned the Dewey Commission, headed by philosopher John Dewey, which in 1937 investigated the charges that had been made against Trotsky at the notorious Moscow Trials and which, after conducting seven days of hearings, found Trotsky to be innocent of all charges and the Moscow Trials to have been frame-ups.

John Dewey

Dos Passos was hardly the only American intellectual to trudge a rightward path in the late 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, he was merely one of the first. The Stalinist betrayals proved indispensable ideologically for democratic imperialism. Lumping Marxism with Stalinism, Dos Passos became a virulent anticommunist, to the point that by 1964 he supported the presidential candidacy of right-wing Republican Barry Goldwater. Along the way, of course, the writers turn in the direction of the worst enemies of humanity meant the utter drying up of his artistic inspiration. No one reads anything he wrote after U.S.A .

Despite his ultimate political trajectory, Dos Passos must be remembered, and read. In brief, we desperately need writers like (early) Dos Passos today, and like Balzac and Zola, writers who unflinchingly depict and object to real human suffering and its actual social and political sources, and who depict the full palette of human experience throughout the social strata.
An Operational Headquarters to organize the return of Russians from Turkey to be created, Rosavia informs.

It is reported that the Operational Headquarters of the Federal Air Transport Agency will regularly inform the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation about the number of flights from Turkey to Russia, the number of citizens transported, as well as the number of Russian citizens who have tickets for flights and are waiting to return to Russia.

It is also clarified that all Russian airlines have formed a schedule of flights from Turkey.
Ukraine's Charge d'Affaires a.i. in Russia Vasyl Pokotylo was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on Saturday in light of the unlawful activities of a consul of the Ukrainian Consulate General in St. Petersburg.

"The Russian side pointed out to the inadmissibility of such activities, which are incompatible with the status of a consular employee and harmful to the interests of the Russian Federation. It was announced that his stay in the territory of Russia is undesirable and it was recommended [that he] leave its borders within 72 hours starting from April 19, 2021," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement released on Saturday.

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) reported Ukrainian consul Oleksandr Sosoniuk's detention in flagrante delicto while he was trying "to obtain classified information from the databases of the Russian law enforcement agencies and the FSB" in St. Petersburg earlier on Saturday.

"These activities are incompatible with the status of a diplomatic worker and are clearly hostile towards the Russian Federation. Measures in accordance with international law will be taken against the foreign diplomat," the FSB said.
The worlds Covid-19 death toll is approaching yet another once unthinkable number  nearly three million people have died from the virus since the first cases surfaced more than 14 months ago and upended life for people across the globe.

The global death toll stands at 2,990,993, while the number of confirmed coronavirus cases has surged to nearly 140 million, according to a New York Times database, as countries race to provide enough vaccines to slow the relentless pace of infections.

The pace of deaths has been accelerating. The world did not record one million deaths until Sept. 28, but had recorded two million less than four months later, by Jan. 15 (not Feb. 21, as an earlier version of this report said). And the latest million took just three months.

The United States, Brazil and Mexico lead the world in Covid-19 deaths.

In the United States, more than 564,800 virus-related deaths have been confirmed, about one in 567 people  the most of any other country.
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko announced that a group was arrested in the republic, plotting the murder of him and his children.

According to the Belarusian leader, the detainees are connected with the US special services.
There is no doubt that they meant well, coming out in their thousands to sincerely express their grief over the deeply tragic kidnap-murder of 23-year-old Andrea Bharatt.

But the organisers of those candlelight vigils held all over Trinidad between February 4 and April 1 did not seem in the least bit concerned that what they were assembling could turn out to be Covid super spreaders.
1. Roads. The citys roads are a mess. Significant resources are needed to fix them.

2. Public safety. The crime rate is too high. Police pay and resources come first.

3. More city programs. The city must invest more in city programs and services.

4. Comprehensive plan. The city needs to focus on rebuilding and rebranding.

5. Cut city spending. City officials must get serious about trimming the budget.

Vote

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There will be parliamentary elections in Armenia in the near future, and you can judge, by your vote, whom we [the incumbent authorities] have not judged. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday stated this in Rind village of Armenias Vayots Dzor Province.

"That is also a trial. On June 20, 2021, each of you can judge whom you think we should have judged and could not judge. You can judge us, too, the others, too, and I am convinced that the Armenian people will judge fairly.

We are going to the [snap] parliamentary elections for two reasons, as the situation has been very difficult since November, they were telling us, 'You are clinging to power.' But we were maintaining the power that belongs to the people, and we have no right to give power to the first one. We are holding snap parliamentary elections fore one purpose: to hand over to you the power [we] received from you. You will decide who you will delegate to that power later," the PM said.

Pashinyan added that he will step down as PM at the end of April, after that the parliament will not elect a premier twice, then the parliament will be considered dissolved, and then snap parliamentary elections will take place.

He stressed that during this period the other political forces will not nominate a PM candidate. "Now there is a lot of talk that they will change the power during that time; they cannot. If such an attempt is made, the parliamentary majority will elect me prime minister, and the topic will be closed," Nikol Pashinyan stressed.
'Will you come to the opticians with me at lunchtime?' my friend Anna texted on Friday. 'I'm thinking of splashing out 220 on a pair of sunglasses and want your opinion.'

In normal times, I would have wondered if Anna had totally lost the plot. After all, she's extremely financially prudent and I've never known her to be this extravagant.

But these are not normal times.

Shopping spree: 'I've seen plenty of signs this week that spending will be considerably higher than has been forecast,' says Rachel Rickard Straus

Over the past year, stuck at home with little to spend their money on, UK households have managed to pile up an extra 180billion in savings. Not everyone has been so lucky, but people like Anna, who have kept their incomes, have seen their savings grow.

The question is, what happens next? Will we save that money for the next rainy day  or will we hit the shops?

The Bank of England predicted in February that we will part with just 5p in every pound we've saved.

However, forecasting in this environment is a fool's game. There is no precedent that we can draw on. Any forecasting model requires so many assumptions and guesses that the end result is bound to be flawed.

But you can look around you to take the temperature of the economy. And I've seen plenty of signs this week that it is going to boom, and that spending will be considerably higher than has been forecast.

If we decide a boom is on its way, a boom is what we'll get

I did accompany Anna to view the Sixties-style, large-rimmed shades. There, the optician told us they had been rushed off their feet.

'People haven't been able to spend for a year and want to treat themselves,' she said. Throughout the pandemic my commute home on the London Underground has been eerily quiet. However, last week, when the Tube doors opened at Oxford Circus, the carriages filled up with shoppers jostling with huge shopping bags.

Over the past week, I've spoken to various friends, who are planning to buy a bigger home, plotting an extension, or booking the holiday of a lifetime.

Restaurants and pubs across the country are booked up for weeks. The price of holiday lets is soaring.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said last year: 'Our greatest currency as an economy is confidence.'

Investors share the optimism and exuberance. On Friday the value of some of the UK's best-loved companies hit a record high. The FTSE 250 Index now has a higher value than before the pandemic, as Rosie Murray-West explains in our Wealth section on pages 94-95.

But there is one more reason why relying on Bank of England models to tell us what will happen to the economy is flawed.

What happens next is in our own hands. If we decide a boom is on its way, a boom is what we'll get. Households will spend more, companies will invest more and so jobs and wealth will be created.

And if we're all convinced that a terrible crash is around the corner, we're more likely to get one. As Chancellor Rishi Sunak said last year: 'Our greatest currency as an economy is confidence.'

I advised Anna to buy the glasses. She looked fabulous in them. Of course, topping up pensions and savings is a wise and essential move.

However, if you can afford to both save and splurge, there's nothing wrong with splashing out on the odd thing that you need or on experiences that you know you'll enjoy as well.

So won't you join me in my optimism? Our bounce back is going to be brilliant, right?
Washington: At least eight people, including four Sikhs, were killed and five others were left injured in a mass shooting at a FedEx facility in the US state of Indiana, according to community leaders.

The gunman, identified as 19-year-old Brandon Scott Hole of Indiana, died by suicide after the shooting on early Friday morning, taking the toll to nine.

About 90 per cent of the workers at this delivery service facility are said to be Indian-Americans, mostly from the local Sikh community.

"This is very heart breaking. The Sikh community is devastated by this tragic incident," community leader Gurinder Singh Khalsa told PTI over the phone after meeting family members of the employees of the FedEx facility.

Maninder Singh Walia, community activist, said the four Sikhs who have died are Amarjt Kaur Sekhon (female), 48, Jaswinder Kaur (female), Amarjit Kaur Johal (female) and Jaswinder Singh (male). The age of the last three deceased was not immediately available.

Harpreet Singh Gill (male), 45, has received an injury near his and is hospitalised. The Indianapolis Police is yet to release the names of those killed in the mass shooting.

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris expressed condolences over the tragic killings.

Vice President Harris and I have been briefed by our homeland security team on the mass shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, Indiana, where a lone gunman murdered eight people and wounded several more in the dark of night, Biden said in a statement.

Visiting Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, at the start of his bilateral meeting at the White House expressed his condolences to the victims and his sympathies to the families.

Innocent citizens must not be exposed to any such violence. Freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law are the universal values that link and are prevalent in the Indo-Pacific, he said.

Biden issued a proclamation in honour of the deceased. He ordered that the national flag be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all federal buildings.

Khalsa said community members are in touch with officials. "Post 9/11, the Sikh community has suffered a lot. It is high time that strong measures be taken to bring an end to such mass shootings. Enough is enough," he said. Indiana has about 10,000 members of the Sikh community.

Community leaders, like Khalsa, are engaged in philanthropic and charitable activities. The FedEx facility has a large number of Sikhs working in various shifts.

?We have families in our country that are grieving the loss of their family members because of gun violence. There is no question that this violence must end. And we are thinking of the families that lost their loved ones,? Vice President Kamala Harris told reporters.

This is the worst Sikh massacre in the US after the Oak Creek Gurdwara mass shooting in Wisconsin on August 5, 2012, where six members of the community were killed.

This should be a wake up call for the entire country, in particular the Sikhs and Asian Americans, against whom there has been a sudden spurt in hate crimes, Khalsa said.

Not ruling out the possibility of a hate crime, Khalsa said community leaders are meeting on Saturday to discuss the tragic incident and the way forward.

We request the president of the United States that he needs to come forward and be serious about hate crimes, especially against the Sikh community because they are very vulnerable due their appearance and look, he said.

The president should take it seriously -- gun controls, automatic semi-automatic guns -- they are very lethal, he said.

America is the most powerful country in the history of mankind. But it is shameful that we cannot address this growing problem of shooting innocent people all over the US. It is insane, Khalsa said.

We are deeply saddened by this latest killing in Indianapolis. It is very troubling to hear random mass shootings taking place in America almost every week. This kind of senseless killing and gun violence needs to stop, Rajwant Singh, chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, told PTI.

The latest rise of violence and hate against Asian Americans is also unsettling for many minority communities. It is so sad to see so many innocent Sikhs become the victim of this violence. We are praying for the victims and their families, he said.

He urged the Biden administration to offer every help to the victims in Indiana. "The Sikh community is ready to do it's part to assist. We also support common sense gun laws to curb this epidemic in America," Singh said.
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Shopping on Amazon saves you over 75 hours a year: Jeff Bezos

Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos in his latest letter to shareholders spoke extensively about wealth creation and how that money has helped people in "college, for emergencies, for houses, for vacations, to start their own business, for charity". He said not only money, but Amazon also helps people save a lot of time too. He said that using Amazon delivery services saves people more than 75 hours a year. This letter to shareholders is Bezos' last as he is slated to step down later this year.

UK govt clears Nirav Modi's extradition to India

The United Kingdom government has cleared Nirav Modi's extradition to India. UK home secretary Priti Patel gave the nod for the extradition in connection with the diamond merchant's involvement in the Rs 14,000-crore Punjab National Bank fraud. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are probing the diamantaire for money laundering in the PNB scam case. This decision comes after a UK court on February 25 said that there is prima facie evidence against the diamond merchant.

'Lift embargo on COVID-19 vaccine raw materials': Adar Poonawalla urges US President Joe Biden

Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla, on Friday, urged US President Joe Biden to lift the embargo on vaccine raw materials exported out of the country so that vaccine production can be ramped up. This request comes amid reports of vaccine shortage in the country. The CEO had earlier stated in multiple interviews about the pain point of raw materials. He said that the US has implemented the Defence Act that bans export of raw materials leading to difficulties to several vaccine manufacturers. He called the restriction "as good as banning vaccines". Poonawalla, whose company is also manufacturing the Novavax coronavirus vaccine, said that the production of the same has been stalled because of the issue with raw materials.

Ensure free movement of vehicles carrying medical oxygen: Centre to states

The Centre on Friday asked states to ensure uninterrupted movement of medical oxygen-carrying vehicles along their borders and to not impose any curbs on production and supply of the essential public health commodity. In a letter to chief secretaries of states and union territories (UTs), Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla said there is no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods as announced in the guidelines on March 23, 2021. Medical oxygen is an essential public health commodity and any impediment in its supply in the country may critically impact the management of patients suffering from COVID-19 disease in other parts of the country, Bhalla added.

Businesses owned by women entrepreneurs likely to grow up to 90% in next 5 years in India: Study

Businesses owned by women entrepreneurs in India are likely to grow up to 90 per cent in the next five years, according to a new study which also notes that the uptake of government schemes supporting such entrepreneurs is quite low. The study by prominent philanthropic organisation, EdelGive Foundation, was conducted across 13 states and Union territories (UTs). The mapping of these areas listed almost 3,300 women entrepreneurs who were classified into three categories--those engaged in manufacturing, retail and service delivery enterprises. Out of these, 1,235 women entrepreneurs were sampled and interviewed for the study.
NEW HAVEN  The road  South Frontage Road literally will rise soon, as Downtown Crossing enters its next phase of transforming Route 34 from a highway to a cityscape of safe streets, bicycle and walking paths and space for economic development.

The road, however, will have to be closed between College and Church streets for five months, beginning in June, in order for it to be elevated 8 feet. Congress Avenue from Lafayette Street to South Frontage also will close, according to those involved in planning the project.

The $14 million Phase 3 work is in preparation for a bridge that will connect Temple Street to Congress Avenue, another major step in bringing the Hill and the medical district within walking distance of downtown and eliminating the 1950s-era highway that eliminated the Oak Street neighborhood and split the city.

What I think is really important is weve got all these residential units coming in on the north side of Route 34, said Donna Hall, senior project planner in the City Plan Department. They include more than 500 apartments in four buildings open or under construction by Randy Salvatores RMS Cos. of Stamford. The development company has dubbed the area City Crossing.

Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media

Itll be nice. I think this is going to become a main pedestrian path connection to the central business district, Hall said.

Were rebuilding the neighborhood in a way that has the look and feel of a traditional city neighborhood, said Economic Development Administrator Michael Piscitelli.

Contributed

The bridge is now Phase 4 of the project, split off from Phase 3 and planned for construction beginning in 2023. The decision was made so funds could be found in more reasonable chunks and  to reduce traffic impacts because 101 College will be in construction at the same time as Phase 3, said Anna Mariotti of HTNB Corp., the citys consultant on Downtown Crossing.

Winstanley Enterprises, which also built 100 College St., plans to complete 101 College St., a 12-story, 500,000-square-foot bioscience research building, in November 2022. Mariotti said the company will break ground in June. There will be one more parcel free for development in the future between Temple and Church streets, she said.

Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media

Drivers on South Frontage Road now can see how much higher the road will be. A packed-earth support of grade wall rising just to the left will hold in the fill as the roadbed is raised.

The grade of the road has to be raised approximately 8 feet to meet the future bridge conditions, Mariotti said.

Hall said the road and nearby buildings and parking lots no longer will dip but all be on the same plane. It will improve how the architecture relates to the street, she said.

We have to have a 16-foot clearance for every roadway, said Doug Hausladen, city director of transportation, traffic and parking. The service drives between South Frontage Road and Martin Luther King Boulevard cant be lowered because the water table is too high in that area, he said.

When South Frontage is closed at College Street, drivers coming down the road will turn right on College Street, double back on Congress Avenue to Lafayette Street, which will be made one way temporarily, turn left on Church Street South and use the reconnected Orange Street entrance to the connector, Hausladen said.

York Street also will be made a two-way street between Howard Avenue and South Frontage Road so drivers can leave South Frontage before getting to College Street.

Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media file

Also, on May 15, Columbus Avenue will be reopened permanently between Church Street South and South Orange Street, where the Church Street South housing project was razed. Its been closed since the 1980s, Mariotti said. Drivers will be able to continue on Columbus Avenue to Orange Street and then to the connector entrance or on to Union Station. It should relieve some of the traffic in this area, Hall said.

Were doing a lot of little things like this to help congestion, Mariotti said.

In addition to detours, the city is recommending people start using alternate routes to get out of the city, such as using Elm and Orange streets to get to the Trumbull Street entrance to northbound Interstate 91 or State and West Water streets to get onto Interstate 95 south.

During much of the time South Frontage Road is closed, colleges and universities are on summer break, Mariotti said. We dont anticipate it will be 100 percent pre-COVID traffic levels even in October, based on conversations with large employers, such as Gateway Community College, Alexion and the Knights of Columbus.

Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media /

The reconnection of Orange Street, Phase 2 of Downtown Crossing, will be complete in June, Hausladen said.

Another change involves the service drives that go under the Alexion building and the Air Rights Garage, Mariotti said. There are two lanes in each roadway. During the construction, the north service road will become two-way while the south road is closed. Then in February, they will switch.

All of Downtown Crossing also has been designed to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists, with protected intersections on Orange Street, bike paths and public plazas, one of which will be part of the 101 College St. project. Because of the size of the intersections, there will be no left turns throughout the area, in order to avoid cars backing up and clogging the road, Mariotti said.

From a pedestrian standpoint, when you get to Union Station, you can walk to Amistad Park, to 101 [College St.] plaza to the New Haven Green, Hausladen said. Its the right distance to walk and sit down and take a rest.

People can sign up for weekly email updates at downtowncrossingnewhaven.com, and follow the project on social media. Hall said closing the road for five months will mean less disruption over the long run; closing one lane at a time would take much longer because each could only be raised partway and the lane closures would alternate.

Were asking for the publics patience through this, Hall said. At the end of the day, we think this will be worth it.

edward.stannard@hearstmediact.com; 203-680-9382
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Fifth-generation farmers Doug and Nic Robertson are out mustering some of the 300 breeder cattle on their property near Scone on a crisp mid-autumn morning, wondering how long their rural idyll can last. Plans by Japanese trading giant Idemitsu to develop its Gateway project north-west of Muswellbrook in the Upper Hunter would bring an open-cut coal pit right next door. Nic Robertson joins her husband Doug, with their horse Hamish, as they muster cattle on their property near Scone. Credit:Janie Barrett They will literally be out the back from us, Robertson says after dismounting Hamish his horse and joining Nic for a coffee inside their elegant home Turanville. Thats of concern for us and our kids. The issue of the regions coal mines and their expansion has been thrust onto centre stage by the byelection triggered after the resignation last month of disgraced Nationals MP Michael Johnsen. The MP quit after the leak of lewd texts he sent during parliamentary debates just days after being accused of raping a sex worker. There is much at stake in the May 22 byelection. A loss of the long-held Nationals seat would throw the Berejiklian government into minority rule. As the Upper Hunter electorate is also home to some of Australias biggest coal mines, the jockeying by the major parties on energy and climate policies could also serve as a template for both the next federal and state elections.

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So far, the Liberal-National Coalition and Labor campaigns have prioritised coal, with NSW National Party leader John Barilaro promoting it as a forever industry and Labor leader Jodi McKay dubbing it the powerhouse of the economy of the state and one that shouldnt be demonised. But the election also gives a chance for local issues to be aired including the loss of prime farmland to mines, the regions ongoing air-pollution and related health issues, and the climate risks of extracting fossil fuels. For instance, Robertson, who chairs the Friends of the Upper Hunter group, got to raise his concerns about the rapid expansion of coal mines to Deputy Premier Barilaro at a pub event in Muswellbrook on Wednesday night. Deputy Premier John Barilaro discusses coal mining with Doug Robertson (right), a farmer and president of the Friends of the Upper Hunter group. Credit:Janie Barrett Robertson tells the Sun-Herald he was surprised at how receptive Barilaro was: His language was very different to what we hear from him on the media stage. Kirsty OConnell, also a member of the Friends of the Upper Hunter, credits former prime minister Malcolm Turnbulls call for a moratorium on new coal mines in NSW for stirring interest in the issue even though it cost him his week-old appointment as chief climate advisor to the Berejiklian government. Its thanks to Malcolm Turnbull that this subjects being discussed. The equivalent of six Adani-sized coal mines are planned for within a few kilometres of Muswellbrook, OConnell says, although the debate has had nothing like the attention given to the Indian miners plan for the controversial Carmichael mine in Queensland.

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Kirsty OConnell, a member of the Friends of the Upper Hunter, says the issue of new coal mines in the region needs more scrutiny. Credit:Janie Barrett Georgina Woods, the co-ordinator of Lock the Gate  a group that campaigns for a transition out of coal  predicts some voters will tire of the pantomime of politics especially if the show fails to address the hard questions the valley faces. The theatre of coal plays for a Sydney audience and a national audience, but its effectively squeezing out discussions about the serious strategic, environmental and economic issues facing the Upper Hunter, Woods says. We do need the government to be planning for the sudden closure of mines and making clear it will support workers, communities and the region through that. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Labor supporters, too, say politicians blithely insisting on the ongoing dominance of coal does not correlate with the conversations around workers dinner tables and within their unions. The rhetoric in New Zealand is very different, says Stuart Johnstone, a former miner who spent 15 years across the Tasman in a maritime union before returning to the Hunter two years ago. Here it seems to be set up very combatively.

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The polarisation, he says, is like one person taking an extreme position on one side of a boat and forcing another to balance it out on the opposite side to avoid it sinking. Weve actually got to come to the centre of the boat, and actually be mature, and have that discussion rather than demonise one over the other, he says. Labors candidate for the Upper Hunter, Jeff Drayton, centre, talks with Sarah Johnstone and her brother Stuart in Singleton. Credit:Janie Barrett Stuarts sister Sarah is a Labor branch secretary for Singleton and attended Tuesdays launch party for Labors candidate Jeff Drayton  a coal miner and former deputy mayor of Muswellbrook  in a local park. She says the community recognises the changes cutting coals domination are inevitable: The problem is we dont know how long it is going to take to get here. Loading Until people can see the practical changes and see the jobs in front of them, when they are given fear tactics by politicians or the media, or business they believe [them], she says. At least two candidates will make a case to voters against coal. Upper Hunter councillor Sue Abbott is the Greens candidate and former Dungog mayor Tracy Norman is running as an Independent. Abbott says most of her rivals are not telling the truth about the future of coal mining in the region.

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Its so dishonest of the other candidates and the Coalition to pretend well have coal for decades and decades, she says. I feel like Cordelia to King Lear [in Shakespeare], telling him how it is and he cant cope with it. The Mount Pleasant mine, far left, and Bengalla mine, right, with the town of Muswellbrook in the distance. Credit:Janie Barrett Norman says those seeking to win the seat need to be talking about transitioning to a new low-carbon economy. Pure economics is going to drive this and the rest of the world is certainly trending away from coal, the heiress of the Normans share of Harvey Norman, says. We have a moral responsibility to make sure these coal miners can transition because one day the market will collapse, leaving them in a dreadful situation. BHPs Mount Arthur coal mine near Muswellbrook in the Upper Hunter. Credit:Janie Barrett For its part, the Minerals Council declines to provide forecasts for coal. The industry lobby group also tends to downplay the 2023 scheduled closure of AGLs Liddell power plant, one of the Upper Hunters two coal-fired power stations. Neighbouring Bayswater, owned by the same company, is slated to shut by 2035. Instead, it touts the ongoing success of the coal export industry with shipments hovering near record levels of about 160 million tonnes annually since 2014.

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New Delhi:

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has alleged that the move to increase metro fares is a conspiracy to benefit private cab aggregators.

Sisodia on Monday speaking at the Delhi Assembly in support of the resolution moved by the transport minister Kailash Gahlot said, the fare hike is an attempt to turn Delhi Metro into a premium public transport system.

He added, A conspiracy is being hatched to make the Delhi Metro so expensive that people are forced to give up using metro services and start using Ola and Uber.

Its a conspiracy to benefit the private taxi aggregators, added the deputy chief minister.

Also read: Delhi Metro fares hiked, commuters to pay Rs 10 more for travel beyond 5 km



Sisodia at the state assembly also asked, If the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was a soap-selling company, since it is focussing on giving profit on priority.

On Tuesday the members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a student organisation affiliated to RSS, held protest outside the Metro Bhawan over hike metro fares.

Earlier on Monday, NSUI members protested the fare hike, stopped train at Vishwavidyalaya.

Also read: Delhi Metro fare hike: Kejriwal says Delhi Metro fare hike unacceptable, writes to Centre



The Delhi Metros revised fare structure is: up to 2 km  Rs 10, 2 to 5 km  Rs 20, 5 to 12 km  Rs 30, 12 to 21 km  Rs 40, 21 to 32 km  Rs 50 and for journeys beyond 32 km  Rs 60.

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The global market for hospital acquired infections are expected to surpass a valuation of USD 36.16billion by 2022 with a CAGR of 7.3% during the forecast period of 2017 to 2022. Market Research Future (MRFR) discussed several factors in the report that would provide ample scope to the market to register strong growth in the coming years.

The growing demand for safety against various attacks from bacteria, virus, and others, susceptible patients in the hospital with weak immunity, better inclusion of drugs. Hike in technological support, and others are expected to boost the market prospect of the hospital acquired infections. Lack of patient handling awareness can also prevent growth for the market.

However, the global market can suffer from the growing microbial resistance and increase use of glass and ceramic in hospitals.

Hospital Acquired Infections Market Segmentation:

The stud on the global hospital acquired infections market includes pathogen types and treatment method, nd infection type. These segments have data that is helpful in getting insights. These insights are reliable as they have been backed by several figures and factors. It would help in the development of strategies.

By pathogen types, the study on the global market for hospital acquired infections market has been segmented into viral, bacterial and fungal. The viral segment is getting tailwinds due to the impact of several contagious viral diseases.

By treatment method, the study on the Hospital-Acquired Infections Market Overview has been segmented into chemical, sterilization, and radiation. The sterilization segment is getting good thrust due to its use for the surgical equipment.

By infection type, the global market study on the hospital acquired infections has been segmented into blood stream infections, urinary tract infections, gastrointestinal infections, surgical site infections, and respiratory infections. The respiratory infections segment is getting ample traction from the market.

Hospital Acquired Infections Market Regional Analysis:

The Americas would be leading the global market as the structural superiority of the region is expected to boost the revenues. Also, hike in investment to ensure better treatment facilities can influence the regional market. The US and Canada would contribute the most to take the regional market forward.

Hospital Acquired Infections Market Competitive Landscape:

The global market for hospital acquired infections is expecting boost from companies like 3M Company, Becton Dickinson and company, Belimed AG, Advanced Sterilization Products, Getinge AB, Cantel Medical Corp., STERIS Corporation, and others. These companies will launch their strategic moves including various mergers, acquisitions, collaborations, and others. These strategies often create better scope for the market to expand and the companies benefit from that by making more profits. Other tactical measures like launching strategy, innovations, and a hike in research and development sector is all set to boost the global market outcome. MRFR's recording of these latest changes can inspire better strategies in the coming years.

Hospital Acquired Infections Industry News:

In May 2020, studies published on the effective application of Vibativ have been published and it shows positive results for the medicine. Vibativ is a FDA approved anti-infective drug that is used for the treatment of certain serious bacterial infections that includes bacterial pneumonia both hospital-acquired and ventilator-associated. The medicine also finds substantial application in the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections.

The global hospital acquired infections market is getting amply boosted by the recent COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. This is primarily due to the contagious nature of the disease that spreads almost in no time. Countries are trying to contain it owing to which the market for hospital acquired infections is growing.

Obtain Premium Research Report Details, Considering the impact of COVID-19 @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/hospital-acquired-infections-market-2576

About Market Research Future:

At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR) ), and Market Research & Consulting Services.
Peloton is fighting a federal safety recall and has allegedly delayed an investigation into potential safety problems after it was revealed that a child died and others were injured in accidents on its treadmills last month.

Federal regulators told the Washington Post that the Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued an administrative subpoena requiring Peloton to name the child with family contact information within 24 hours so the agency could continue investigating.

Jessica Kleiman, a spokesperson for Peloton, said that the company did not provide personal information about the child to the agency because it 'respects its customers' privacy,' the outlet reported.

The child's family 'asked us not to provide the information to the CPSC,' she said. However, officials claimed that the company complied.

Peloton is fighting a federal safety recall and has allegedly delayed an investigation into potential safety problems it was revealed that a child died

Federal regulators said the Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued an administrative subpoena this week

The subpoena required Peloton to name the child with family contact information within 24 hours so the agency could continue investigating

Peloton, which is worth $34 billion, has been negotiating with regulators on the wording and timing an alert to consumers regarding possible dangers posed by the $4,300 Peloton Tread+, officials told the Washington Post.

The safety warning from the agency regarding the expensive treadmill is expected to come as early as Saturday.

An official familiar with the case told the outlet: 'This doesn't happen with other treadmills.'

The official said regulators were concerned that the Peloton treadmill seemingly has a 'different hazard pattern than is typically seen.'

Regulators were 'alarmed' that people allegedly had injuries including broken bones and head trauma after they were pulled under the exercise equipment, the Washington Post reported.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Peloton for more information and additional comment.

Peloton 'does not believe a recall is necessary,' Kleiman told the Washington Post.

The company said its treadmills are 'safe for use when the warnings and safety instructions we provide are followed.'

Kleiman also noted that the company has issued 'repeated safety warnings' to its customers since reports of incidents regarding the treadmills.

'Peloton is still seeking to jointly work with CPSC to urge [its customers] to follow all warnings and safety instructions,' Kleiman said in the statement.

Peloton co-founded and CEO John Foley shared news of the fatality in a letter addressed to owners of Tread+

Foley speaks on stage during 'Peloton Gears Up' at Vanity Fair's 6th Annual New Establishment Summit in Beverly Hills in October 2019

Peloton CEO John Foley revealed that the company was raising safety concerns regarding its treadmill in an email to consumers last month.

'While we are aware of only a small handful of incidents involving the Tread+ where children have been hurt, each one is devastating to all of us at Peloton, and our hearts go out to the families involved,' Foley wrote.

Foley, who is also a co-founder of Peloton, went on to share the company's standard safety warnings, among them keeping children and pets away from exercise equipment at all times, and removing the safety key from the treadmill at the end of a workout.

'We design and build all of our products with safety in mind,' Foley stated.

'But in order to help ensure that you and your family members stay safe with Peloton products in your home, we need your help. This is especially true during what I hope is the final stretch of the pandemic where everyone is still at home.'

Last October, Peloton issued a voluntary recall on pedals for 27,000 of its bikes after consumers reported pedals breaking off and causing more than a dozen injuries, including some that required stitches.

Peloton bikes range in price from $1,895 to $2,495, and the treadmills cost from $2,495 for the basic model to $4,295 for Tread+.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 17)  A suspected foreign terrorist and two alleged members of the Abu Sayyaf Group were killed in an encounter with soldiers Friday evening, the Armed Forces reported.

The AFP Western Mindanao Command on Saturday identified the alleged foreign terrorist as a certain Yusop  the stepson of an Egyptian national who was also killed by the military in November 2019. He's also the son of another Egyptian national who was reportedly behind a suicide bombing in September 2019.

The two suspected ASG members were identified as a certain Akram and Abu Khattab Jundullah or Saddam. Saddam was a bomb-maker and brother of a late ASG member, the WesMinCom said. He was also reportedly trained along with Mundi Sawadjaan  the alleged mastermind of the twin suicide bombings in Jolo in August 2019.

The WesMinCom reported that troops from the 4th Light Reaction Company were in the middle of operations when they met a group of suspected ASG members in Patikul town at 10:45 p.m. on Friday. A ten-minute firefight ensued, after which security forces found three dead bodies, as well as high-powered weapons.

The AFP said pursuit operations are ongoing for the remaining ASG members in the area.
China to keep supporting Vietnam in taking socialist path for better future: Chinese FM

Xinhua) 12:17, April 17, 2021

BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese side, as a comrade and brother, will continue to firmly support Vietnam in taking the socialist road for a better future, said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday.

In a telephone conversation with Bui Thanh Son, Vietnam's new foreign minister, Wang said China and Vietnam are friendly neighbors and important partners for each other, and both countries have stick to the leadership of the communist parties as well as their respective socialist cause, adding that the two sides belong to a community with a shared future of strategic significance.

Facing the transformations rarely seen in a century, Wang said, both sides should keep in mind their initial mission, enhance mutual trust and unity, strengthen strategic cooperation and safeguard common interests, which will not only help preserve the political security of the two countries and inject strong impetus into the world's socialist cause, but also fully conform to the trend of progress and development of the times.

Wang stressed that not long ago, the top leaders of the two parties and the two countries spoke again, drawing a blueprint and pointing out the way forward for the development of bilateral relations at present and in the future.

Noting that this year is extraordinary for both parties and countries, Wang said the Communist Party of China will celebrate its 100th anniversary and embark on a new journey of building a modern socialist country in an all-round way, adding that Vietnam, under the new party and government, is marching forward towards its two centennial goals of the establishment of the Party and the country.

Wang said that China is willing to strengthen friendly exchanges between the two parties and the two countries at all levels with Vietnam, accelerate cooperation in anti-epidemic, trade and investment, infrastructure and other fields, speed up the synergy of the Belt and Road Initiative and "Two Corridors and One Economic Circle," deepen people-to-people friendship and youth exchanges, properly handle maritime issues, and promote the continuous development of the China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership for the new era.

The Chinese side is willing to work with the ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries including Vietnam to mark the 30th anniversary of dialogue relations between the two sides, promote the early entry into force and implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, speed up the connection between the Lancang-Mekong cooperation and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, and realize the upgrading of China-ASEAN relations so as to better benefit the people in the region.

Bui Thanh Son, for his part, said maintaining and developing the traditional friendship and the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Vietnam and China is Vietnam's firm choice and diplomatic priority.

Son said that Vietnam congratulates the CPC on its 100th anniversary, and speaks highly of the great leap made by the Chinese people who, under the leadership of the CPC, have stood up, grown rich, and are becoming stronger, while striding towards the realization of the second centenary goal.

As a comrade and brother, Vietnam supports China's development, as well as its important role in maintaining peace and development in the region and the wider world, and the greater contributions it is to make to the world's socialist cause, he said.

At present, Son said, as both Vietnam and China are at critical stages of realizing their respective strategic development goals, promoting stable development of relations between the two parties and the two countries is of great significance to both sides.

The Vietnamese side is ready to strengthen cooperation with China in various fields and exchanges at all levels, vigorously push forward economic, trade, and investment cooperation in a post-pandemic period, step up connectivity in transportation and infrastructure, enhance maritime cooperation, and jointly safeguard maritime peace and stability, he said.

Vietnam supports raising the strategic position of ASEAN-China relations, and holding a special foreign ministers' meeting on the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue relations, and is ready to work with China to drive forward the Lancang-Mekong cooperation, Son added.

He also said that it is hoped that the two sides enhance coordination and cooperation in such multilateral institutions as the United Nations.

During the phone talk, the two sides agree to hold as early as possible a new session of the China-Vietnam Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation so as to coordinate their efforts in promoting bilateral exchanges and cooperation in various fields.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Bianji)
Foreign Ministry calls detention of Ukrainian consul in St. Petersburg provocation, to respond to it in near future

Kyiv will soon make a decision on retaliatory measures following the detention of an employee of the Ukrainian Consulate General in St. Petersburg, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko said.

"The Russian law enforcers detained the employee of the Consulate General of Ukraine in St. Petersburg for a few hours. He is now at the Ukrainian diplomatic facility. The circumstances of the detention are being clarified. The Ukrainian side will soon decide on the form of its response to the aforementioned provocation in accordance with the existing practice," Nikolenko said.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-18 05:58:36|Editor: huaxia

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SAN FRANCISCO, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of people on Friday night marched through downtown Oakland, U.S. state of California, to demonstrate against fatal police shootings in Minneapolis and Chicago, according to a police statement released early Saturday morning.

"The City of Oakland experienced disruptive protests in the Downtown area," the city's police department said in a tweet.

Some protestors assaulted a community member and police officer, broke windows, spray-painted buildings, set a car on fire along with multiple debris fires, the police reported.

The police put the number of demonstrators at between 250 and 300 participants. Despite the damage, police issued no citations and made no arrests. Enditem
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Charleston among 24 least affordable US housing regions

Housing costs throughout the Charleston area are through the roof, and a new report punctuates the problem of being able to buy a home in what's quickly becoming one of the most desirable places to live in the U.S.

The Charleston area is one of 24 least affordable regions in the nation among 113 metro areas studied by the Urban Land Institute after using several variables in its 2021 Home Attainability Index.

The report looked at areas by regions, which means some metro areas such as San Diego and Carlsbad in California were lumped together. The index did not rank regions individually because of all the different factors.

But in a breakdown of individual metro areas by median home price within the report, Charleston comes in as the 28th most expensive at $262,000.

That's higher than No. 41 Charlotte at $230,000, No. 47 Atlanta at $218,000, No. 62 Greenville-Spartanburg at $194,000, and No. 80 Columbia at $160,000.

The only Carolina city to rank higher than Charleston is Raleigh. It's No. 25 with a median home price of $285,000.

Among the 28 most affordable regions in the nation are three in or bordering South Carolina. They include Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, Augusta-Richmond County, and Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia.

And while home prices are high in the Charleston area, they are a bargain compared to some parts of the country.

The median home price in the San Francisco area is $1.26 million. Around Los Angeles it's $589,000. In the New York City metro area it's $425,000, and around Washington, D.C., the median price comes in at $360,000.

Of course, the price to buy a home in Charleston hasn't slowed down sales in the region. See the story below for details on the hot housing market.

It should be noted the report uses figures from 2018 for median home prices because they are tied to occupations and earnings for that year. The actual median home price in the Charleston area last year was $300,000.

While home prices have increased practically everywhere over the past three years, the ULI report gives a glimpse of where cities stand on pricing.

The extensive ULI report delved into several factors besides median home price. They include overall affordability, homeownership attainability, rental attainability, neighborhood opportunity and access and housing production.

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Residential transactions throughout Charleston soared 28 percent in March with more than 2,100 homes changing hands. For the year, sales are up 26 percent over the first three months of last year to more than 5,200 homes.

By the numbers

5: Number of new food-and-beverage venues arriving in the Charleston area, including a restaurant that has been restored and rebranded after a fire heavily damaged it in 2020.

8,800: Square footage of a new retail/office development slated on Maybank Highway near River Road on Johns Island.

865,000: Square feet of available sublease office space in the Charleston market during the first quarter of 2021, four times more than were available at the end of 2019 before the pandemic sent office workers home to work remotely last year and new construction added more inventory in the interim.

This week in real estate

+ Paying the rent: SC has $346 million to help with overdue rent and utility bills. Here's how to get it.

+ Under fire: SC cities sue Airbnb, other short-term rental companies for not paying taxes.

+ Short-term bookings: SC's Airbnb listings grew during the pandemic, especially in one destination.

The owner of the building at 304 King St. (outlined in blue) in downtown Charleston is asking the city for a variance to add a rooftop bar on the 123-year-old building that has sat vacant for the past five years before being sold recently.

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The Department for Promotion of and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has notified the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for white goods -- and LED lights, with a budgetary outlay of Rs 6,238 crore.

With this, the new scheme has become operational and all eligible manufacturers can now take the benefit of financial incentives provided under it to boost capacity.

The for White Goods (PLIWG) proposes a financial incentive to boost domestic manufacturing and attract large investments in the White Goods manufacturing value chain. Its prime objectives include removing sectoral disabilities, creating economies of scale, enhancing exports, creating a robust component ecosystem and employment generation.

As per the notification, the for white goods will extend an incentive of 4-6 per cent on incremental sales of goods manufactured in India for a period of five years to companies engaged in manufacturing of and LED lights. The period of five years will be calculated subsequent to the base year and one year of gestation period.

The applicant will have to fulfill both criteria of cumulative incremental investment in plant and machinery as well as incremental sales over the base year in that respective year to be eligible for PLI. The first year of investment will be FY 2021-22 and the first year of incremental sale will be FY 2022-23. Actual disbursement of PLI for a respective year will be subsequent to that year.

One entity may apply for one target segment only. However, separate Group companies may apply for different target segments. Further, sales by entities to their group companies should be at an arm's length price as those to outside group companies.

Different segments have been earmarked for different types of components separately to specifically target global investments into desired areas.

Selection of companies for the scheme shall be done so as to incentivise manufacturing of components or sub-assemblies which are not manufactured in India presently with sufficient capacity, said the notification, adding that mere assembly of finished goods shall not be incentivised.

Companies investing in basic/core components shall have a higher priority. Also, within a target segment, 'Large Investment' shall have a higher priority over 'Normal Investment'. The actual number of beneficiaries within a target segment shall be decided on the basis of the response of the

Companies meeting the pre-qualification criteria for different target segments will be eligible to participate in the Scheme. Incentives shall be open to companies making brown field or green field Investments.

Thresholds of cumulative incremental investment and incremental sales of manufactured goods over the base year would have to be met for claiming incentives.

An entity availing benefits under any other of the Centre will not be eligible under this scheme for the same products but the entity may take benefits under other applicable schemes of the union government or schemes of state governments.

An Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS) chaired by Cabinet Secretary will monitor the PLI scheme, undertake periodic review of the outgo under the scheme, ensure uniformity of all PLIs and take appropriate action to ensure that the expenditure is within the prescribed outlay. In addition, EGoS will be empowered to make any changes in the modalities of the scheme within the overall financial outlay of Rs 6,238 crore.

As per the government, it is estimated that over the period of five years, the PLI scheme will lead to incremental investment of Rs 7,920 crore, incremental production worth Rs 1.68 lakh crore, exports worth Rs 64,400 crore, earn direct and indirect revenues of Rs 49,300 crore and create additional four lakh direct and indirect employment opportunities.

--IANS

sn/rs

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At the end of March, Andrei Ilnitsky, an advisor to the Russian minister of defense, gave a detailed interview to military magazine Arsenal Otechestva (Arsenal of the Fatherland) (Arsenal Otechestva, March 31). The article came out amidst growing international alarm about the quickly burgeoning concentration of Russian troops and heavy forces near the borders of Ukraine. In the piece, Ilnitsky accused the United States and the West in general of waging a mental war against Russia. Few missed the parallels from seven years ago, when, during the Russian annexation of Crimea and invasion of eastern Ukraine, the Kremlin also attributed aggressive actions to the West, while denying any malevolent intentions in its own behavior.

A particularly telling point made by the Russian military advisor was that, If in classical wars the goal is to destroy the enemys manpower [and] in modern cyber wars [it is] to destroy the enemys infrastructure, then the goal of the new war is to destroy self-consciousness, to change the civilizational basis of the enemys society. I would call this type of war mental. Moreover, while manpower and infrastructure can be restored, the evolution of consciousness cannot be reversed, especially since the consequences of this mental war do not appear immediately but only after at least a generation, when it will be impossible to fix something (Arsenal Otechestva, March 31).

Ilnitsky called for getting ready for a geo-strategic revanche. But his reference to revanche is in actuality less geo-strategic and more mental. Namely, the current Kremlin rulers and propagandists opposition to the West is based on their rejection of the fundamental basis of modern democracythe regular replacement of authorities in free elections. From this point of view, the United States, with its regular presidential elections, and Ukraine, which has already had six presidents since acquiring independence from the Soviet Union, stand in sharp contrast to Russia, where Putin has not only ruled de facto uninterrupted for 21 years but recently signed a law permitting him to run for another two 6-year terms.

Ilnitsky specifically argued the West is waging a mental war against Russia in order to change the civilizational basis of our society. This abstract formulation implies the civilizational basis in Russia is something historically continuous and ignores the fact that it changed at least twice in the 20th century: in 1917, when the Russian Empire collapsed and the Communists seized power, and in 1991, when, in turn, the Soviet Empire fell apart.

During the periods of Mikhail Gorbachevs Perestroika and Boris Yeltsins reforms in the 1990s, Russian citizens wanted to see the civilizational basis of their country come to resemble that of the developed modern world as well as to integrate with it. Of course, they reserved the right to national cultural specificity, but without the opposition to the West that was imposed in the Soviet era. This precise confrontation was revived during Putins rule, but the Kremlin today seeks to portray its ideological foundations as eternal (see EDM, May 8, 2017, August 12, 2020, January 6, 2021)

These spiritual bonds (dukhovniye skrepy, as Putin put itKremlin.ru, December 12, 2012), also vaguely labeled as Russian traditional values, are a syncretic mixture of three rather dissimilar elements. First is Orthodox clericalism of the medieval type, with its mission to save the world from sin. Although, after 70 years of enforced Soviet atheism, this claim looks rather presumptuous. Second is the cult of the Soviet Unions Great Victory of 1945, which, under Putin, began to be celebrated with even more pomp and spectacle than under Leonid Brezhnev. But former allies in World War II are today portrayed as enemies. The third spiritual bond is painful nostalgia for lost global imperial greatness. All these traditional values are being formed into a single narrative, the task of which is to oppose the West.

Yet in reality, the Kremlins mental war against the West targets its own citizens whose preference is to live in a modern societyan inclination that the authorities interpret as pro-Western, even when limited to calls for the observance of civil rights codified in the Russian constitution. For example, by law, governors of the Russian regions must be freely elected, but in fact they are appointed by the Kremlin. Direct elections of mayors in most Russian cities have also been eliminated (see EDM, November 17, 20, 2017).

In this interview, Andrei Ilnitsky, explicitly praised the imperial order and declared the need to ensure regional connectivity in Russia. But those two notions are in direct contradiction to one another. Nearly every empire, starting from the Roman one, has been built on the principle of absolute centralism. And just as in ancient times all roads led to Rome, all quality roads in todays Russia also lead to Moscow, and there are practically no direct trans-regional highways. A similar situation can be seen in domestic passenger air traveloften, flying from one Russian region to another requires a transfer in Moscow (see EDM, October 6, 2015 and April 2, 2020).

Connectivity between regions requires both mutual interests as well as equal and contractual federative structures. But while the name Russian Federation continues to appear on official government documents, the country has de facto been transformed into a hyper-centralized statist entity (see EDM, October 19, 2017). Russias regions have little interest in developing direct ties with one another because each depends, most of all, on financial largesse (i.e., subsidies) from Moscow.

The defense ministers advisor notably calls Russia a great power; but in reality, that label only rings true when it comes to the countrys geographical size (and possibly its nuclear arsenal), not in reference to its internal development. The Kremlin is trying to compensate for the lack of a modern economy with threats to neighboring countries and to the West as a whole, but it will almost inevitably lose this mental war due to its archaism. The modern-day Russian empire, like its historical predecessors, combines the desire for external aggression and conservative isolationism. Ilnitskys calls to organize a sovereign internet and to block foreign social networks certainly speak to those impulses. It seems that, in line with centuries-old tradition, real change can only begin after the death of the tsar.

Vadim Shtepa is an Estonian-based freelance journalist, whose main research interests include Russian federalism and regionalism. He is a regular author for web-journals and newspapers, including Forbes.ru (Russia), New Region (Ukraine), Intersection (Poland), Spektr (Latvia), Ru.Delfi (Lithuania), Venajan Kauppatie Lehti (Finland), and others. He is the author of two books, Rutopia (Moscow, 2004) and Interregnum (Petrozavodsk, 2012). Mr. Shtepa graduated from the Journalism faculty of the Moscow State University, 1992, and graduated from the Moscow School of Political Studies, in 2012.

This article appeared originally at The Jamestown Foundation's Eurasia Daily Monitor.
Mumbai, April 17 : Actor Sonu Sood has tested Covid positive. He took to social media to share the news with fans on Saturday, asking them not to worry.

He posted a picture that read: "Hi Everyone, this is to inform you that I have tested positive this morning for COVID-19. As a part of precautions, I have already quarantined myself & taking utmost care. But don't worry this gives me ample time to solve your problems. Remember I'm always there for you all. -- Sonu Sood." He captioned the post as: "Stay safe Stay positive." The actor was recently appointed brand ambassador of Punjab's Covid vaccination programme by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

Sonu has been actively helping people cope with the Covid crises. Last year, he helped thousands of migrants reach houses during lockdown and also provided e-rickshaws to the unemployed.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Over the last few months, the demand for international content has grown exponentially and it surely doesnt come as surprise to find intriguing stories from around the globe easily accessible at our fingertips.

After all, if we are being honest, there is only so many heartland dramas and mad-capper comedies that one can watch day in and day out.

So while we browsed through the internet to sample some international content, we discovered our perfect VDesi companion - MX Player. To add some sugar and spice to our binge-sessions, the platform recently launched a whole new category called MX VDesi featuring Korean, Australian, French, Turkish, and Spanish shows.

If you hate watching shows with subtitles, fret not, these come dubbed in regional Indian languages  a truly VDesi vibe.

Every Wednesday, MX VDesi drops two new shows for the week, and to say that our weekend is hooked & booked wont be wrong! This weeks list of new shows is out and heres what you can get started with:

Detective McLean





This Australian cop drama is the perfect blend of murder mysteries, relationship issues, and a thriving plotline. The show revolves around tough cop Allison McLean (Kelli Williams) and her struggle to keep her professional and personal lives apart. However, things get complicated when her brother (Luke Perry) is arrested and convicted for aggravated assault. As he finishes his time in prison, Allison takes in his two teenage kids and raises them with her kids.

Juggling between 4 teenagers in the house and a demanding job, is not the life Allison envisioned, but thats exactly why this drama gets you hooked. The show is dubbed in Hindi and is available for free on MX Player.

Coffee And Vanilla





Exhausted your list of Korean shows? Try this Japanese show instead. Coffee And Vanilla is a love story between twenty-year-old Risa Shiroki and the thirty-year-old businessman HirotoFukami.

Pretty and popular among the male students, Risa has never had a boyfriend. Her dream of a sweet love story comes true when she arrives in Tokyo to attend university. Blown away by the charismatic and gentle looks of Hiroto, Risa discovers what it is like to fall in love for the very first time.

Looking for more VDesi recommendations? Head to MX Player to check out their vast library of international shows dubbed in a variety of regional languages.
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WTVA) - A business in the Golden Triangle struck gold, and is right now expanding during a time when many businesses are closing their doors.

Hagan Walker is not only the CEO, but is also the co-founder of the global business Glo Cubes, which started from very humble beginnings.

Glo Pals co-founders cut the ribbon to move into its new building on April 14, 2021. Courtesy: Hunter Hart Glo Pals co-founders cut the ribbon to move into its new building on April 14, 2021. Courtesy: Hunter Hart

We just kinda saw the opportunity and ran with it," he said.

It all started as a class project.

Walker's partner was given a teacup to create something exciting for others to look at. She felt if it lit up, people would enjoy it, earning her a good grade.

The glowing teacup turned into a global business for two students.

Neither Walker, nor his partner had any business experience, but that didn't stop them.

The glowing object sparked the idea to create glowing cubes resembling ice cubes.

The product was picked up at the bars having the technology to turn off when the drink is empty. This shows bartenders when a customer needs a refill.

Their work didn't stop there.

The product continued to grow after a letter the company received.

We actually had a parent, unrelated to us, out in California that found the light-up drink cubes, took one home, realized they were liquid activated, and put it in the tub for her son that had Autism," said Walker. "She emailed us and told us it was the first time in months that her son had gotten in the tub without crying.

From there, the concept of Glo Pals was born.

A pack of four Glo Pals costs $10 and can be found in stores as big as Nordstroms, Target, and Macy's.

Since 2015, the company has already sold nearly 4 million cubes and is in 38 different countries.

Hagan said his biggest concern isn't about the money, but helping those who need a little brightness in their lives.

We just want to make a product thats impactful and is fun but also can help people," he said. "Thats really the ultimate goal.

Hagan mentioned Glo Pals recently signed a deal with Sesame Street, allowing the company to create Glo Pals of some of your favorite childhood characters.
Robert De Niro has claimed that his bitter divorce with Grace Hightower has wrung him dry and he is fast running out of cash.

A judge has ruled that his ex-wife should receive $1 million annually and that the couple will split the proceeds after selling their $20 million home.

The couple have been locked in a divorce battle since December 2018.

Initially the pair fought over custody of their nine-year-old child but now the arguments are over money and property.

Robert De Niro and Grace Hightower were married in 1997, split in 1999, then got back together, renewed their vows in 2004 before he filed for divorce in 2018. Pictured in June 2018

Hightower's average monthly spend was $215,000 a month on credit cards and $160,000 in cash. De Niro's attorney, Caroline Krauss, claims the financial strain means the actor is running out of money.

She said the coronavirus pandemic led to a drying up of work projects for the Hollywood star.

Months earlier, De Niro earned $5 million for acting in Martin Scorsese's hit gangster flick, The Irishman. He also received 'tens of millions of dollars' through a federal coronavirus relief program.

Hightower claims that De Niro is worth $500 million, but his attorney Caroline Krauss says that his estranged wife's extravagant lifestyle is making things worse.

De Niro claims that he is running out of money because of his ex-wife's spending and having not worked because of the coronarvirus pandemic which shut down Hollywood productions

'Mr. De Niro is 77 years old. And while he loves his craft, he should not be forced to work at this prodigious pace because he has to,' Krauss said.

'When does that stop? When does he get the opportunity to not maybe take every project that comes along? Or not work six-day weeks, 12-hour days, simply to keep up with Ms. Hightower's thirst for Stella McCartney?'

De Niro has been spending his time between his home in Tribeca, an estate in New Paltz and an apartment he is renting in Manhattan.

When the martial home is finally sold off, he will have to buy Hightower a new home.

De Niro earned $5 million for acting in Martin Scorsese's hit gangster flick, The Irishman, pictured left with co-star Al Pacino

The money earned from De Niro's next two films are also going towards paying De Niro's $18.25 million income tax bill reports the New York Daily News.

'There's nothing ordinary about these expenses for 99.99999% of the world. These are extraordinary to an almost unimaginable degree,' Justice Matthew Cooper said at Manhattan Supreme Court ruled.

'I want to get these parties divorced. I want to get Mr. De Niro and Ms. Hightower to go their separate ways. They're both going to come out of this richer than most human beings who walk this earth. There's no question about it.'

De Niro is also accused of spending freely including chartering $50,000 jets for weekends in Florida and $1 million on his children in 2019 and 2020

Kevin McDonough, Hightower's attorney, dismissed De Niro's claims of poverty noting he spent $450,000 on a summer rental in Amagansett in 2019, $150,000 on a Thanksgiving vacation and $1 million on his adult children in 2019 and 2020.

'When Mr. De Niro goes to brunch on Sunday in Connecticut, he charters a helicopter and flies up there. When he flies down to see a friend in Florida or wherever else, it's a private jet. Even if you flew first class at $1,500, that's not good enough for Mr. De Niro  he spends $50,000 for a private jet for the weekend.'

De Niro's lawyer countered that his ex 'dramatically' increased her spending in the final years of the marriage.

'She spent $1.2 million at high-end boutiques: Dolce and Gabbana, Stella McCartney, the Madison Etro store. Manolo Blahnik. The list goes on and on,' Krauss said.

The purchases include $700,000 and a further $1.2 million on a diamond.

'He told her it was ridiculously over the top and she absolutely did not have permission to spend that kind of money,' Krauss said.
Democrats narrow majorities are in peril in next years midterms, and their most vulnerable members are seeing a major cash infusion early in the fight to keep Congress in their control.

The four swing-state Senate Democrats likeliest to face the toughest reelection fights  Raphael Warnock of Georgia, Mark Kelly of Arizona, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada  each raised more than $2 million, posting higher totals than any incumbent senator two years ago. All four had over $4 million in the bank, a total only two senators had at this point in 2019.

Meanwhile, House Democrats quickly assuaged any fears that they would struggle to keep up fundraising with their main antagonist, Donald Trump, out of office. Over two dozen of the 45 House Democrats that Republicans plan to target in 2022 raised over $500,000. Four of them, including California Reps. Katie Porter and Josh Harder, raised over $1 million  an impressive amount for the first quarter of an off-year.

But this isnt the 2020 cycle. Armed with WinRed and an energized small-dollar donor base, House Republicans have narrowed their financial gap. Of their roughly three dozen most vulnerable incumbents, 15 raised over $500,000, a much stronger showing than in the first months of the 2019. Thats not a good sign for House Democrats, who had a huge money edge last cycle and still lost over a dozen seats.

Heres our breakdown of the most important takeaways from the first-quarter financial reports on the fallout from the second Trump impeachment trial, the Jan. 6 riots and, most importantly, the 2022 battle for control of the House and Senate.

Senate Dems Start Strong

Warnock and Kelly, who became some of the best small-dollar fundraisers in the country during special elections last cycle, both raised more than $4.4 million, showing the benefit of fundraising networks that never went inactive.

Some Democratic challengers also had good quarters. Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman raised $4 million, cementing his frontrunner status in the Senate race there. But he also spent heavily, shelling out $2.1 million in the quarter. The vast majority of that was for his digital fundraising: more than $880,000 for email acquisitions and more than $577,000 for digital advertising, a bet on spending big early to build a small-dollar program that could pay off throughout the race. State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (the only other candidate in the race during the quarter), raised $374,000, a decent showing for a first-time statewide candidate.

Story continues

Several other Democratic challengers posted strong early showings. Rep. Tim Ryan, who has not yet announced but is expected to run for Senate in Ohio, raised $1.2 million; in Wisconsin, Alex Lasry raised $1.1 million, while Tom Nelson raised $264,000; and in North Carolina, state Sen. Jeff Jackson pulled in nearly $1.3 million. The early fundraising suggests Democratic challengers will be well-funded  although both of those races are expected to get more crowded, creating expensive primary fights.

House Republicans narrow the money gap

Vulnerable House Democrats kicked off the official start of the post-Trump era by continuing to raise large sums of money. Of the 45 incumbents on the National Republican Congressional Committees target list, 25 raised over $500,000.

And some 21 are starting the redistricting cycle with over $1 million in the bank. Porter ($11.5 million) and Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey ($9.2 million) have especially staggering high war chests.

But this cycle, Republicans arent too far behind. The quarterly totals of their endangered incumbents are almost as formidable. Of the 33 GOP members who are either targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee or deemed vulnerable by the NRCC, 14 of them raised over $500,000, including Reps. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.), Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), Young Kim (R-Calif.), Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) and Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.). Only a handful of vulnerable Republicans cleared that margin in the first three months of the 2019 cycle.

The Jan. 6 cash cow

Jan. 6 proved to be a financial lightning rod for both the Republicans who emerged as outspoken Trump defenders, like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who raised $3.2 million; Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who raised $2.1 million; Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who raised $1.8 million; Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who raised $1.1 million and Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), who raised $1 million.

A couple of the Republicans who most sharply condemned his behavior were also rewarded. Five of the 10 GOP members who voted to impeach Trump for his role in the insurrection that day raised over $500,000. The leaders were Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) with $1.5 million; Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) with $1.1 million; Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) with $745,000; and Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio) with $616,000.

Trump has promised to recruit and fund primary challengers against those 10 members who defied him, but so far only one of those challengers looks formidable. Max Miller, the Trump-backed challenger against Gonzalez, raised $508,000  he self-funded over $50,000 of that, and it still wasnt enough to best the incumbent. Cheneys challenger, Anthony Bouchard, had the next highest total with $335,000.

The FEC reports of these members provide insight on the alignment of some prominent Republicans in the ongoing civil war. Some notable Cheney donors: Former Bush-era Labor Secretary Linda Chavez; former GOP Reps. Barbara Comstock (Va.), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Fla.) and Heather Wilson (N.M.); Wal-Mart heiress Christy Walton, political strategist Mary Matalin and the congresswomans parents, Lynne and Dick Cheney.

Meanwhile, former Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Ohio Senate candidates Jane Timken, Mike Gibbons and Bernie Moreno donated to Miller.

Republicans stockpile cash for red-state primaries

Alabama is the first open-seat race where former President Donald Trump endorsed a candidate, backing hardline conservative Rep. Mo Brooks. Brooks fundraising doesnt reflect his clear frontrunner status: He raised just $274,000, though he has $1.3 million on hand. But hes got an expensive competitor in Lynda Blanchard, the former ambassador who loaned herself $5.1 million and has nearly $5.3 million in the bank. Blanchard has already started airing TV ads. Brooks could be an early test both for the fundraising effect of Trumps endorsement  which came after the quarter ended  and for how the endorsement fares against a well-funded opponent.

Meanwhile, the picture in Ohio is murky since two self-funders entered the GOP primary after the quarter ended. But the earliest candidates both got a bit of a head start. Jane Timken, the former state party chair, raised $1.1 million and gave her campaign another $1 million, demonstrating some real fundraising ability for a first-time candidate and some willingness to self-fund. Meanwhile, Josh Mandel, the former state treasurer, raised $1.4 million into a joint fundraising committee that includes his campaign account and leadership PAC. Combined, he has roughly $5 million in the bank for a fight that is getting pricier by the day.

Other GOP retirements coming?

Alabama and Ohio are among five states where incumbent Republicans have already announced their retirements. But one of the biggest looming questions on the Senate map is whether others will join. And the senators who havent officially declared theyre running again had among the smallest quarters of any incumbents.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who will be the most vulnerable Republican incumbent if he runs, raised $545,000 and had just $1 million in the bank. Republicans dont necessarily see Johnsons fundraising as a sign hes decided against running. Johnson can self-fund to a degree, which would make up the difference if he chooses to invest his own money.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) raised just $381,000, and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) raised just $256,000. Its notable to compare those figures to the first quarter in 2015, the last time both faced reelection. Murkowski this year raised roughly half her total from 2015; Grassley raised roughly one-third. But both senators had close to the same cash on hand as six years ago, so its not a clear sign of their intentions yet.

Other Republican incumbents who could face tough races had much better quarters, by comparison. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) raised $1.6 million and has $3.9 million on hand.

Redistricting tea leaves

Several states are beginning to feel the redistricting squeeze. By the end of this month, a few of the smaller delegations might be playing musical chairs as one of their seats disappears.

Nowhere is this predicament more acute than in Rhode Island, which has two Democratic incumbents and is set to condense into one at-large seat. Rep. David Cicilline raised $655,000, to Rep. Jim Langevins $118,000. While Langevin has nearly $780,000 in the bank, his meager first-quarter number doesnt suggest hes readying for a member-on-member battle. Cicillines war chest is $1.1 million.

Keep an eye on West Virginia. The state is shedding its third district, and most Republicans in the state expect GOP Reps. David McKinley and Alex Mooney to get drawn in together, while Republican Rep. Carol Miller is untouched in the south. McKinley has just $400,000 banked, compared to Mooneys $2.4 million.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 19:13:24|Editor: huaxia

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Researcher Gu Haiyan treats a contaminated seedling of holcoglossum omeiense at a laboratory in Leshan, southwest China's Sichuan Province, April 14, 2021. As an endemic species in Mount Emei area, holcoglossum omeiense is categorized as endangered and plant species with extremely small populations (PSESP). It is listed in China Species Red List, China Biodiversity Red List and Rare and Endangered Plants in China, and hence called "panda of the plant kingdom." Researchers such as Li Cehong and Gu Haiyan have been dedicated to the protection of the species for years. From the growth cycle to each individual's position, researchers conduct field study and scientific research in the mountainous area every year. With tears of experience, researcher Li Cehong has been experienced in identifying rare plants and recalling plants' locations. According to researchers, there are only about 300 wild holcoglossum omeiense in the area. In order to rescue the endangered species, researcher Gu Haiyan started from scratch, trying to achieve artificial breeding in laboratory. "We have to deal with some challenges such as the species' long growth cycle and contamination, and I regard each seedling as my child," Gu said. Currently, thousands of holcoglossum omeiense seedlings have been bred successfully via artificial breeding. Just like releasing captive breeding pandas to the wild, the seedlings will be transplanted out of laboratory one day. As researches wish, the once endangered species can be easily found on Mount Emei. (Xinhua/Tang Wenhao)
About six years ago, Joe Gomez got his guns back.

Police had seized the firearms  a shotgun, three handguns and two assault rifles  after the military veteran with a criminal history was arrested in 2014 on suspicion of felony possession of marijuana. About a year later, a judge signed an order for police to release the weapons, including a .45-caliber handgun, to Gomezs attorney, according to court records.

On Thursday afternoon, a man armed with a .45-caliber handgun who was identified by a police source as 46-year-old Gomez nearly unleashed a mass shooting at San Antonio International Airport. Police say quick action by San Antonio Park Police Officer John Maines, who was working a post at the airport, stopped a potential massacre.

The Bexar County Medical Examiners Office has not positively identified the shooter.

Armed with the gun and a box full of ammunition, the man drove the wrong way on a road serving the airports passenger terminals, got out of his car and began firing at bystanders, vehicles and Maines, police said.

Police believe the shooter was the same man who was seen firing a gun from the overpass of the Loop 1604-U.S. 281 interchange earlier that morning.

At the airport, the man opened fire as travelers flooded the facility in some of the largest volumes since the pandemic began. After Transportation Security Administration agents reportedly shouted, Active shooter! crowds of people stampeded through the terminals, some ducking to hide behind restaurant counters while others took cover under seats. TSA agents guided some people to a secure area in the lower level of the airport.

Alerted by another officer to a wrong-way driver, Maines was walking toward the mans vehicle when he saw him stop in front of Terminal B, get out and start shooting. The officer returned fire, striking the man twice. The man then fatally shot himself, police said.

Two people were injured in the chaos, police said. Shrapnel struck one of them. The other person injured an ankle while running through the airport.

Police Chief William McManus said the officer saved many lives by preventing a potential mass shooting.

What we had there was the start of an active shooter situation, McManus said Thursday. We are very lucky today.

On ExpressNews.com: Officer kills gunman outside San Antonio International Airport, averting a bloodbath, police say

Maines risked his own safety without hesitation in order to protect the citizens and visitors to the city of San Antonio, Henry Bassuk, president of the San Antonio Park Police Officers Association, said Friday in a text message to the San Antonio Express-News. I am dismayed when any officer is put in a situation such as this, but I am grateful that he was able to protect so many innocent people.

Maines, 41, is an 11-year veteran of the police force.

Maines father declined to share any details of his sons police career when reached by phone. But he expressed his pride.

My son is a very modest person who lets his actions dictate who he is, said John Maines, 65.

The officers Facebook page shows that he graduated from Taft High School in 1998 and that he studied at St. Philips College.

Mass killings dropped amid the pandemic, but in the last month alone, the U.S. has recorded at least six, according to the Washington Post, which tracks shootings in which four or more people are killed.

Just hours after San Antonio avoided a mass tragedy, a 19-year-old gunman shot and killed eight people in a FedEx warehouse near Indianapolis International Airport before shooting himself. Authorities said he appeared to randomly start shooting, beginning in the parking lot and moving inside the building.

The motivations of the San Antonio airport shooter remain murky.

Reached at Gomezs North Side home, a relative requested privacy.

Gomezs Facebook page said he served in the 187th Infantry Regiment as an M249 Squad Automatic Weapon gunner, often referred to as a SAW.

Officials at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, the Army in the Pentagon and the National Personnel Records Center did not respond to emails asking where Gomez had served.

A vehicle found at the airport and believed to be owned by Gomez had a disabled veteran license plate bearing the image of an Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.

Gomezs trouble with the law stretches back decades, much of it involving apparent substance abuse, according to court records.

In 1999, he was arrested on a charge of attempting to elude police. The charge was later dismissed.

In 2007, Gomez was arrested on a charge of possession of marijuana and sentenced to 20 days in jail.

In 2010, he was arrested on a DWI charge. That charge also was dismissed, because of a missing witness. About six months later, Gomez was arrested again on a DWI charge, and he later was placed on probation for a year.

In 2011, Gomez was indicted on a felony charge of possessing between 4 and 400 grams of amphetamine. That charge was later dismissed because of insufficient evidence.

In 2014, Gomez was indicted on another felony drug charge, suspicion of possessing between 5 and 50 pounds of marijuana. A year later, he pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of possessing 4 ounces to 5 pounds of marijuana and sentenced to two years of community supervision.

Three days later, a judge ordered police to release the firearms. Police spokesman Jesse Salame said Friday that such an order was not unusual.

Just being arrested for drugs wouldnt necessarily exclude you from owning a gun, Salame said.

As part of the conditions of his community supervision, Gomez agreed to attend an outpatient drug and alcohol program with the Veterans Administration, according to court records.

After showing progress and adherence to the conditions, he was discharged early from community supervision in May 2016, the records show.
HOLLAND TWP, MI  A Holland Township outdoor stores security measures recently prevented burglars from breaking in, police said.

Ottawa County Sheriffs Office deputies responded to an alarm at Long Range Archery and Firearms, 2530 Van Ommen Dr., at about 1:40 a.m. Saturday, April, 17. Upon their arrival, deputies found evidence of an attempted entry into the business.

The suspects were unable to enter the building due to the security measures the business has in place, deputies said.

Deputies recovered the suspects vehicle, though the suspects themselves were no longer in it.

The case remains under investigation by the Ottawa County Sheriffs Office. Anyone with information related to the matter is asked to call Ottawa County Central Dispatch at 1-800-249-0911 or Ottawa County Silent Observer at 1-877-88-SILENT or 1-877-887-4536.

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A waitress was shot multiple times Friday morning inside this Bob Evans restaurant and police are searching for the gunman.

CANTON  Richard J. Nelson is accused of walking into the Bob Evans at 9:30 a.m., going behind a counter and opening fire, shooting waitress Rebecca Jean Rogers, 38, multiple times in a back hallway.

Authorities say it was a domestic-related shooting. Nelson and Rogers had been in a relationship, but recently separated, Police Chief Jack Angelo said Friday.

Nelson previously had been charged with felonious assault and domestic violence several times, but grand juries opted not to indict him in those cases.

Rogers was taken to Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital where she later died from her injuries.

Rebecca Jean Rogers

Nelson, 54, fled the scene but was arrested around 8:30 p.m., southeast of East Canton. Angelo said a police dog nabbed Nelson following a foot chase. The U.S. Marshals Service, Stark County Sheriff's Office and an air unit from the Ohio State Highway Patrol assisted in his capture.

What happened at the Bob Evans in Canton?

A Bob Evans employee who dialed 911 can be heard telling people to "get down, tell them to get down."

When the dispatcher asks whether anyone has been shot, she says she doesn't know. She and the others are hiding under tables.

"We can't get out. We're scared."

She says she's worried about another employee who ran into the back. She thinks the gunman is that employee's boyfriend.

"Just stay calm and stay quiet," the dispatcher says.

About a half dozen customers and six to eight employees were inside the restaurant when the shooting occurred.

In one of the 911 calls, a customer reported hearing four or five shots. "All of us just went running out. There were some older people and my husband just made sure they got out."

Canton police gather outside a Bob Evans restaurant in Canton where a waitress was shot Friday morning.

And in yet another call, a woman tells another dispatcher that she is with another waitress, who can be heard in the background. The waitress tells her that the gunman "aimed for" Rogers.

Police were called to a report of multiple shots fired with multiple victims, Angelo said at the scene.

Story continues

"As tragic as this is, it could've been far worse," he said.

GLORIA STEINEM: People still don't understand that violence against women is connected to mass shootings

Domestic violence often turns deadly

Rogers had filed a police report against Nelson in March 2017 after he entered her home. Nelson was charged with stalking by menacing and burglary and taken to the Stark County Jail, according to court records.

But later, Rogers was found guilty of filing a false police report in the case.

Angelo described Nelson as "clearly a dangerous person" before he was located.

Domestic violence has soared during the COVID-19 pandemic across the United States and around the world as survivors are more often trapped at home with their abusers.

SAFETY PLAN: How a safety plan can help you survive domestic abuse

NON-PROFITS: Paying for hotel rooms for women seeking shelter

DV: Intimate partner violence needs its own #MeToo

If you are a victim of domestic violence, The National Domestic Violence Hotline allows you to speak confidentially with trained advocates online or by the phone, which they recommend for those who think their online activity is being monitored by their abuser (800-799-7233). They can help survivors develop a plan to achieve safety for themselves and their children.

Safe Horizon's hotline offers crisis counseling, safety planning, and assistance finding shelters 1(800) 621-HOPE (4673). It also has a chat feature where you can reach out for help from a computer or phone confidentially.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Ohio Bob Evans shooting: Suspect had history of domestic violence
In Chittoor district too, villagers of Uranduru, Kandriga, Narayana Puram, Dommara Palem and Panekaladu under Srikalahasti constituency and other segments also decided not to participate in polling opposing the state government's move to merge their villages with municipalities.  (Representational Image/AP)

TIRUPATI: Voters of B. Kothapalem in Chittamur mandal of Gudur assembly segment in Nellore district boycotted polling in the Tirupati Lok Sabha by-election in their area protesting against lack of proper road facility to their village.

According to villagers, they have been demanding that authorities lay a proper road to their village. Despite several representations to officials concerned, the issue has remained pending. Hence the villagers decided to boycott the by-poll.

Though officials made all arrangements for polling and appealed to voters that they exercise their franchise, none came forward. Following this, higher officials from Gudur revenue division held discussions with the villagers but to no avail.

In Chittoor district too, villagers of Uranduru, Kandriga, Narayana Puram, Dommara Palem and Panekaladu under Srikalahasti constituency and other segments also decided not to participate in polling. Speaking to media, they said they are boycotting polling against the state governments decision to merge their villages with nearby municipalities.

We all depend on farming and dairy animals. We are not in a position to pay taxes to municipalities. Despite several appeals, officials did not resolve our issues, villagers said. They questioned why Renigunta, which is a town, has not been merged in Srikalahasti municipality.

Though officials and leaders of various political parties tried to convince villagers into voting, they did not budge.

Meanwhile, there have been reports of electronic voting machines (EVMs) malfunctioning at a few polling stations, which resulted in a brief delay in starting the polling process.
A real-world study of millions of Chileans who had received the Chinese-developed CoronaVac vaccine has found it 67% effective against symptoms, and 80% effective against death from COVID-19, the South American country's Health Ministry said Friday.

Ministry adviser Rafael Araos said the study covered 10.5 million people, including 2.5 million who had received both doses of the vaccine, and 1.5 million who had received a single dose between Feb. 2 and April 1.

The study looked at cases starting 14 days after second dose of the vaccine was given, which in Chile was given 28 days after the first.

The vaccine has been widely used across the world, but has not been part of rollouts in the United States or Europe.

Araos said it had reduced hospitalizations by 85%, intensive care visits by 89% and deaths by 80%.

It is one of the broadest studies so far published of any of the vaccines used against coronavirus. Most previous studies were based on clinical studies of limited groups of thousands of people given the vaccines to test efficacy and safety prior to general use.

Chile has led the region with a vaccination campaign that has reached 40% of its 19 million people overall, with 27% of those having received both doses.

It began in large part with the elderly and health workers, but has expanded to include essential workers and recently people as young as 48.

The country has a three year contract for 60 million doses of the CoronaVac vaccine produced by Sinovac, and also has been using vaccines produced by Pfizer.

About 90% of vaccines used so far in Chile have been CoronaVac.

Authorities reported Thursday that Chile had had a sharp reduction in hospitalization of people 70 or older, a figure credited to the vaccination campaign among the elderly.

But it has also seen "a sustained rise" in hospitalizations of people 59 and younger.

The country has reported 1.1 million confirmed infections of the new virus and nearly 25,000 deaths.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Trent Ashby is the state representative for District 57 that includes Angelina, Houston, Leon, Madison, San Augustine and Trinity counties. His email address is trent.ashby@house.state.tx.us.
Arizona Senate to Start Major Audit of 2.1 Million 2020 Presidential Election Ballots

The Arizona Senate, which is controlled by Republicans, is ready to start a major audit of 2.1 million ballots for the 2020 presidential election. The recount will be done by hand this time.

The state Senate said in March that they would be conducting a broad and detailed audit, adding that theyll test voting machines, scan ballots, look for IT breaches, and perform a hand count.

The state-issued subpoenas needed in order to execute the audit have been pending since mid-December and were ruled as valid (pdf) on Feb. 25.

Since then, lawmakers have been working on the specifics for the audit. Karen Fann, the Arizona Senate president, told Just the News that the audit process will commence this week.

Fann said the states Republicans have faced sabotage by Maricopa Countys Board of Supervisors and that the process has been hindered.

The Maricopa BOS has refused to allow us to perform the audit at their facilities, Fann said, and has gone so far as to refusing to even answer simple questions such as how are the ballots sequestered?

Its taken the Senate two and a half months to win in court to uphold our right to issue subpoenas for election materials and another 6 weeks of researching to select the audit team to perform the full forensic audit.

She said previously that their intention was never about overturning the election, it was about the integrity of the Arizona election system.

Fann signed a contract earlier this week to rent the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix for about a month starting April 19, according to azcentral. She previously said she wanted to use spaces in the county but that they declined.

She said there will be physical and livestreaming security in the more than 20,000-square-foot facility.

The audit teams are assembling and transporting the equipment and personnel to Arizona with an expected start date of April 22, she said.

Fann noted that the Arizona State Senate and auditors dont have a particular expectation of the findings.

We are performing the full forensic audit to either dispel our voters concerns, or if a problem is uncovered, we must fix the problems before the next election, she said.

We have never accused anyone of fraud or misconduct, whether it be the hardware, software, or actions of personnel.

We hope there is no intentional illegal tampering but, if found, we will turn the information over to the state and federal attorney generals for their further legal action, and we will proceed to make the appropriate corrections.

A report is expected to be released in about two months, according to a statement from the state Senate.

The independent audit will be conducted by four out-of-state companiesWake Technology Services, CyFIR, Digital Discovery, and Cyber Ninjas. Florida-based cybersecurity company Cyber Ninjas will be leading the audit, the Senate said, adding that they focus on computer application security for financial services and government clients.

Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jack Sellers told Fann in an email obtained by the Epoch Times that the upcoming audit is not a joint effort between the County and the Senate Republican Caucus.

In a response to an April 2 email from Fann, Sellers wrote: Maricopa County performed the audits of the election required and permitted by law. As required by law they were bipartisan and transparent. There has been no suggestion that those audits were in any way deficient. The County then properly authorized two further forensic examinations of its machines that it was permitted to perform as possessor of the machines.

He also said that because of the unsettled legal ramifications of the documents, Maricopa County cannot be involved in supporting your audit as to do so may expose it to liability for which it has no similar legal protection.
TROPHIES

A major rehab of the Hill-to-Hill Bridge in Bethlehem is long overdue, and it now looks like the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has a solid plan to finally move forward with the project. This is welcoming news to the tens of thousands who travel the span that carries Route 378 over the Lehigh River each day. The bridge at rush hour often looks more like a parking lot than a major throughway. The plan would in part address the gridlock through the construction of a new bridge running parallel to the old one. Even more pressing are the safety issues. The bridge, which is approaching 100 years old, hasnt had any major repair work since 1990. Its an ambitious plan with a hefty price tag of $74.4 million. It needs to get done and PennDOT should do everything in its power to stick to the timeline that targets a completion date in 2027.

Colonial Regional Police Chief Roy Seiple is retiring at a time when public scrutiny of law enforcement is at perhaps its highest level ever, and for good reason. But if you want to scrutinize Seiples 40-year career in law enforcement, you wont find much worth criticizing. Seiple retired this week. He served with integrity as Colonia Regionals chief for nearly 20 years and showed the kind of ambition thats not often seen in leadership at departments the size of Colonial Regional. Under Seiple, Colonial Regional in 2006 became the first regional department in Pennsylvania to attain state accreditation, an achievement that helped the department maintain a level of professionalism that many other departments are now chasing after for the first time in 2021.

TURKEYS

The U.S. Postal Service has has a rough go of it lately but given the size of the bureaucracy its no easy task pinpointing exactly what has caused service to drop so substantially. Delayed mail seems to have become the expectation instead of the exception. Its been particularly bad at the Postal Services Lehigh Valley Processing and Distribution Center. We now have some clarity on why thanks to an Office of the Inspector General audit. The findings were released this month. They showed that incoming mail from other facilities regularly arrived late, but local management also did an inadequate job making sure processing procedures were followed. As a result, theres no way to account for the exact amount of delayed mail at the facility in Hanover Township, Lehigh County. Management acknowledged the issues flagged by the audit, which recommends more training. Lets hope that happens. Technology has largely reduced how much most of us rely on the Postal Service, but its still critical in delivering essential documents and parcels. It needs to function effectively.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.
Yakima, WA (98901)

Today

Mostly clear and windy this evening then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 44F. W winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

Tonight

Mostly clear and windy this evening then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 44F. W winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.
Prince Philip Laid To Rest At Windsor Castle

By The Associated Press

WINDSOR, ENGLAND - As military bands played and a procession of royals escorted his coffin to the church, Prince Philip was laid to rest Saturday in a funeral ceremony that honored his lifetime of service to the U.K., the crown and his wife of 73 years, Queen Elizabeth II.The widowed British monarch, setting an example amid the coronavirus pandemic, sat alone at the ceremony, dressed in black and with her head bowed in prayer.Philip, who died April 9, two months shy of his 100th birthday, was honored at Windsor Castle in a service that was steeped in military and royal tradition but also pared down and infused with his own personality. The entire royal procession and funeral took place out of public view within the grounds of the castle, a 950-year-old royal residence 20 miles (30 kilometers) west of London, but was shown live on television.Coronavirus restrictions meant that instead of the 800 mourners expected in the longstanding plans for Philips funeral, only 30 people were allowed inside the castles St. Georges Chapel, including the queen, her four children and her eight grandchildren.Following strict social distancing rules during the pandemic, the queen set an example even in grief, sitting apart from family members who were arrayed around the church.Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, sat opposite the monarch alongside his wife, Camilla. Prince Andrew was two seats to the queens left. Prince William and his wife, Kate, sat directly opposite from his brother, Prince Harry, who had traveled back from California without his pregnant wife, Meghan.People across Britain observed one minute of silence in honor of Philip just before the funeral got underway. Under soft spring sunshine, some locals earlier stopped outside the castle to leave flowers, but people largely heeded requests by police and the palace not to gather because of the pandemic.Philips coffin traveled to the chapel on a specially adapted Land Rover designed by the prince himself. The coffin was draped in his personal standard and topped with his Royal Navy cap, sword and a wreath of flowers.For the procession, senior military commanders lined up in front of the vehicle. The children of Philip and the queen  Charles, Princess Anne, Andrew and Prince Edward  walked behind the hearse, while the 94-year-old queen traveled to the chapel in a Bentley car.Grandsons Prince William and Prince Harry also walked behind the coffin, although not side by side. The brothers, whose relationship has been strained amid Harrys decision to quit royal duties and move to California, flanked their cousin Peter Phillips, the son of Anne.For many viewers, the moment stirred memories of William and Harry at 15 and 12, walking behind the coffin of their mother, Princess Diana, in 1997, accompanied by their grandfather Philip, in a London ceremony televised around the world.Later Saturday, the two brothers were seen walking together and chatting as the mourners left the chapel after the service.The funeral reflected Philips military ties, both as a ceremonial commander of many units and as a veteran of war. More than 700 military personnel took part, including army bands, Royal Marine buglers and an honor guard drawn from across the armed forces.Inside the Gothic chapel, the setting for centuries of royal weddings and funerals, the service was simple and somber.The ceremony began with Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby entering the chapel ahead of the coffin, followed by Philips children and three of his eight grandchildren, as a four-member, socially distanced choir sang I am the resurrection and the life.There was no sermon, at Philips request, and no family eulogies or readings, in keeping with royal tradition. But Dean of Windsor David Conner said the country had been enriched by Philips unwavering loyalty to our queen, by his service to the nation and the Commonwealth, by his courage, fortitude and faith.Philip spent almost 14 years in the Royal Navy and saw action in the Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific during World War II. Several elements of his funeral had a maritime theme, including the hymn Eternal Father, Strong to Save, which is associated with seafarers and asks God: O hear us when we cry to thee/For those in peril on the sea.Leading a prayer, Conner said: Grant unto him the assurance of thine ancient promise that thou wilt ever be with those who go down to the sea in ships and occupy their business in great waters.As Philips coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault, Royal Marine buglers sounded Action Stations, an alarm that alerts sailors to prepare for battle. Its inclusion, after the traditional bugle call of The Last Post, was a personal request from Philip.Philip was placed in the vault alongside the remains of 24 other royals, including three kings of England. But it will likely not be his permanent resting place. After the queens death, she and Philip are expected to be buried in the Royal Burial Ground on the Frogmore Estate close to Windsor Castle.Along with Philips children and grandchildren, the 30 funeral guests included other senior royals and several of his German relatives. Philip was born a prince of Greece and Denmark and, like the queen, is related to a thicket of European royal families.For decades, Philip was a fixture of British life, renowned for his founding of the Duke of Edinburghs Awards program that encouraged youths to challenge themselves and for a blunt-spoken manner that at times included downright offensive remarks. He lived in his wifes shadow, but his death has sparked a reflection about his role, and new appreciation from many in Britain.He was a character, an absolute character, said Jenny Jeeves as she looked at the floral tributes in Windsor. He was fun, he was funny. Yes, he made quite a few gaffes, but it depends which way you took it, really. Just a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather, and a good example to all of us.
SCHENECTADY  This region, I am sorry to say, often fails to properly honor its homegrown heroes, the great sons and daughters nurtured by our fertile soil.

The neglected natives are many, from Seth Wheeler to Pat Riley, but lets focus on the fellow who keeps us on track after every mass shooting, refusing to cave to simple safety measures favored by vast majorities of Americans. Im talking, of course, about Wayne Robert LaPierre, Jr.

You know, the gun guy.

LaPierre, the son of a General Electric accountant, was born in Schenectady and graduated from Siena College. He is rightly celebrated for turning a modest sportsmens group, the National Rifle Association, into, among other things, a gushing fountain of riches for, well, Wayne LaPierre.

And by making the NRA into what he calls the largest civil rights organization in the country and others call the lobbying group politicians fear most, LaPierre has helped keep us awash in powerful weaponry. Certainly, were all grateful for that!

LaPierre, 71, has been in the news recently for testimony in an ongoing federal bankruptcy hearing. You see, the NRA claims to be a bit short on cash, not that our Wayne can be blamed.

Oh sure, he racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in charges at a Beverly Hills boutique where a simple pair of jeans sells for $500, including two separate days when LaPierre expensed more than $39,000 in purchases.

Thats a lot of flip flops. But doesnt every great leader deserve to look good? Whats wrong with dressing for success?

LaPierre also used money from the NRAs network of donors for over-the-top vacations, lavish meals and private jets, according to a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Tish James, who says executives at the non-profit "instituted a culture of self-dealing, mismanagement, and negligent oversight" that was "illegal, oppressive and fraudulent."

Well, if you want to nitpick.

In his bankruptcy testimony, LaPierre patiently explained why his seemingly lavish lifestyle is necessary. For example, after the school shootings at Newtown and Parkland, which together resulted in the loss of 37 unique and irreplaceable souls, he was forced to go sailing in the Bahamas on a luxurious yacht owned by a Hollywood producer.

The boat, LaPierre explained, "was the one place I could feel safe  I remember getting there going, thank God I'm safe, nobody can get me here."

Of course, LaPierres critics  every great man has them  revealed their petty jealousy by suggesting the getaways were not just cowardly but ironic, given our heros oft-repeated claim that it takes "a good guy with a gun" to stop a mass killing.

"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good friend with a yacht?" asked Shannon Watts, founder of the gun-control group Moms Demand Action.

Sigh. To listen to Watts, youd think LaPierre was enjoying the good life as a shocked nation mourned unthinkable tragedies. Listen folks, it isnt as easy as everyone assumes to sail on a yacht with a pair of Sea-Doo personal watercraft and a swimming pool at your disposal, not to mention a full-time cook and other ready staffers.

Plus, since the Bahamas has relatively strict gun laws, LaPierre undoubtedly devoted some of his precious sunbathing time to telling the locals how they could have heartbreaking tragedies of their own, if they only theyd scrap those silly restrictions on their freedoms. The yacht outings were work, you see.

OK, since we completely and totally agree on LaPierres greatness, heres the looming question: How should we give him the tribute he so truly deserves?

Thinking, thinking. Hey, given his Schenectady roots, maybe we rename Jay Street in his honor? LaPierre Lane, perhaps.

Or maybe, and Im just spit-balling here, the city could honor its favorite son with a Wayne LaPierre Day of parades, fanfare and jubilant gunfire. Schoolchildren could practice mass shooter drills. State Street could be turned into a rifle range.

If Schenectady isnt interested, perhaps Siena could take up the cause. The Loudonville school, after all, has never properly acknowledged one of its most famous alumni.

As a Franciscan institution, Sienas campus features a statue of St. Francis of Assisi, the great lover of Gods creation who abhorred material things.

"Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace," St. Francis said. "Where there is hatred, let me sow love."

What better to complement the St. Francis statue than one of LaPierre gripping his own instrument of peace: an AR-15! While St. Francis is depicted in simple threads, LaPierre could be wearing his fanciest suit and alligator shoes. Or his yachting garb, perhaps.

This is exciting. Wayne deserves this. But before we start fundraising, theres one question to answer: Who says an April Fools column needs to be published on the first?

cchurchill@timesunion.com  518-454-5442  @chris_churchill
After years of study, scientists have now given a name to a shark that lived over 300 million years ago.

Godzilla Shark

When it was first discovered in 2013 by fossils found in the Manzano Mountains of New Mexico, the shark was assigned the moniker "Godzilla Shark."

The name is the discovery's original nickname, inspired by the look its dragon-like jawline and fin spines resembling those of the kaiju Godzilla.

The teeth of the 300-million-year-old shark were the first indication that it could be a separate species.

The ancient set of chompers resembled spear-like rows of teeth seen in related specimens fewer. They were squat and short, about 2 centimeters long and less than an inch long.

"Good for catching and crushing rather than piercing prey," said discoverer John-Paul Hodnett, who was a doctoral student when the first fossils of the shark were discovered in a dig east of Albuquerque in 2013.

Hodnett and a group of other researchers reported their observations in the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science's bulletin this week, establishing the shark as a distinct genus.

Related Article: FACT-CHECK: Were the Megalodon's Infamous Razor Teeth Just for Show?



Hoffman's Dragon

In honor of the New Mexico family who owns the property in the Manzano Mountains where the fossils were discovered, he named the beast Dracopristis hoffmanorum or Hoffman's Dragon Shark. According to Hodnett, the field is rich with fossils and is easily accessible due to a quarry and other industrial digging operations.

Scientists believe the shark was 6.7 feet long, with 12 rows of teeth in solid jaws and two thick fin spines on its tail measuring 2.5 feet long based on these fossil records. Scientists gave the shark its monstrous name because of these characteristics.

Years of Study and Excavation

Following seven years of excavation, preservation, and study, the formal naming was announced.

During excavation, layers of sand covered the 12 rows of teeth on the shark's lower jaw. Only an angled light technique that illuminates objects below allowed Hodnett to see them.

Hodnett currently works at the Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission's Dinosaur Park in Laurel, Maryland, as a paleontologist and program organizer. His colleagues come from the New Mexico museum, as well as Pennsylvania's St. Joseph's University, Northern Arizona University, and Idaho State University.

The discovered fossil skeleton is the most complete of the ctenacanth evolutionary branch, separated from modern sharks and rays about 390 million years ago and went extinct 60 million years later.

Fossil Mining Grounds

Eastern New Mexico was once surrounded by a seaway that stretched all the way through North America. According to Hodnett and his associates, Hoffman's dragon shark most likely hunted crustaceans, squid, and other sharks in the shallows along the coast.

Many dinosaur bones have been discovered in New Mexico's high desert plateaus, including some species of tyrannosaurus that roamed the land millions of years ago when it was a tropical rain forest.

Also Read: On Point: Research Shows How Animals Develop the Pointy Parts of Their Body

For more prehistoric news, don't forget to follow Nature World News!
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 22:51:18|Editor: huaxia

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RAMALLAH, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli police on Saturday arrested three Palestinian electoral candidates attempting to hold a news briefing in East Jerusalem, Palestinian sources said.

Two of the candidates are on the list of the Fatah party led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and the third is on the list of the Palestinian Democratic Union, according to the sources.

The three candidates planned to hold a news conference to call on the international community to pressure Israel to allow the elections to be held in East Jerusalem which was occupied by Israel in 1967, the sources said.

Wassel Abu Yousef, a member of the executive committee of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), told reporters that Abbas will chair a meeting for the committee in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sunday to discuss the possibility of enabling the Palestinians in East Jerusalem to participate in the elections.

"The PLO and the Palestinian leadership will never accept that the elections are only held in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip without East Jerusalem," he said.

In January, Palestinian President Abbas announced the 2021 general elections will include the legislative elections on May 22, the presidential elections on July 31, and the elections of the Palestinian National Council, the highest decision-making body of the PLO, on Aug. 31.

The Palestinians insist that they want to hold the general elections to elect a new parliament and a new president in all Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The Palestinians in East Jerusalem participated in the last presidential and legislative elections held in 2005 and 2006. Enditem
Police in Kalamazoo, Michigan are investigating a local bar after a local college student alleged that she and more than a dozen other women were drugged with opioids at the venue on a single night.

Western Michigan University student Grace Van Overberghe raised the alarm on TikTok this week, posting a viral video in which she claimed that she and at least 13 of her friends tested positive for opioids following a night out at Y-Bar and Bistro.

Grace said that the group nearly died from the drugging, and claimed that a single staff member has served all of their drinks  after allegedly following them on their spring break trip to Florida.

Allegations: Police in Kalamazoo, Michigan are investigating a local bar after allegations that more than a dozen women were drugged there on a single night

Speaking out: Western Michigan University student Grace Van Overberghe claimed on TikTok that she and at least 13 friends tested positive for opioids after a night out at Y-Bar and Bistro

Grace's TikTok video has earned over a million views since Thursday, and has also spurred a public police response.

'On Monday night, a group of friends and I all went to Y-Bar and Bistro on Howard Street,' she said, 'and in the morning, none of us had any recollection of our evening.'

'For us to just to not have any recollection of the night and knowing that we did not drink enough to have that...there were no memories,' she said, according to Fox17.

'It was a complete blank slate. Then the way our bodies felt, you know, we didnt feel like nauseous or anything from drinking too much. Our bodies felt wrong.'

She went on: 'We all then tested positive for opioids in our system and that was a group of 14+ girls.

'We all only received drinks from one person the entire night, and if you're from this area, you probably know who I'm talking about,' she added.

'That same person offered to give us a ride home, made sexual comments to us, literally followed us to Fort Lauderdale on spring break to hang out with all of us.'

Grace went on to ask any viewers who have 'ever felt personally victimized, felt you've been drugged, if anything bad has ever happened to you at Y-Bar' to report it to authorities.

Scary: Grace said they all received their drinks from the same employee and all tested positive for opioids the next day

'That same person offered to give us a ride home, made sexual comments to us, literally followed us to Fort Lauderdale on Spring Break to hang out with all of us,' she said

Police: Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief Vernon Coakley Jr. said several detectives have been assigned to investigate

'We visited the police multiple times and they're not making a big enough deal about this,' she said.

'Our doctor literally told us that we should have died last night,' she added.

Grace also pointed to negative Yelp reviews for the bar in which customers made similar claims.

Though the business' Yelp page has been flooded with negative reviews in the wake of Grace's TikTok video being posted, at least two of the comments that she referenced date back to well before the clip was shared.

One reviewer who wrote about the bar on Yelp in 2020 accused staff members at the bar of 'preying on young women', while another urged women to 'stay away'.

According to Michigan Live, Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief Vernon Coakley Jr. said several detectives have been assigned to investigate the establishment and the allegations against it.

The police department has also reportedly received multiple tips since Grace's video hit TikTok.

'We are working with our partners at Western Michigan University to thoroughly investigate the situation, and we will share more details once they're available,' he added.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Y-Bar and Bistro for comment
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One of Prince Philip's closest confidantes mourned the loss of her carriage-driving companion today, as Penny Brabourne attended the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh.

Penelope, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, 67, looked demure in a black pillbox hat, round-neck dress and delicate pearl earrings as she attended Prince Philip's funeral at Windsor Castle on Saturday afternoon.

Also known as Lady Romsey and Lady Brabourne, Penny was a regular visitor at Wood Farm, the cottage on the edge of the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk where the Prince spent much of his time after retiring from public life in August 2017.

Despite their 32 years age difference, the pair were firm friends for decades and shared a love for the equestrian sport of carriage-driving.

Penelope, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, 67, looked demure in a black pillbox hat, round-neck dress and delicate pearl earrings as she attended Prince Philip's funeral at Windsor Castle on Saturday afternoon

Penelope Knatchbull, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, is seen leaving the funeral at St George's Chapel today

Penelope Knatchbull, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, 67, looked emotional as she travelled to the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral, which took place on Saturday afternoon

Penny wore a coat dress with a fern brooch, chunky necklace, pillbox hat and a delicate pair of earrings for the funeral

Buckingham Palace said the Queen faced 'some very difficult' decisions as she selected the 30 guests permitted under Covid-19 rules, from the original 800-strong congregation, and had tried to ensure all branches of the duke's family were there.

But Penny was a clear choice, due to her close companionship with the duke.

For years, no private royal event was complete without an invitation to Penny, who today kept her blond hair curled under her hat.

She wore an elegant coat dress with a sophisticated fern brooch, teamed with her chunky necklace and a delicate pair of earrings for the service, which took place at St George's Chapel on Saturday afternoon.

Around Buckingham Palace she is known simply as 'and also' because of the automatic way her name is added to the guest list.

Penny's inclusion in the small group of 30 is an indication as to how close she and Prince Philip remained following his retirement from public life.

Also known as Lady Romsey and Lady Brabourne, Penny was a regular visitor at Wood Farm, the cottage on the edge of the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk where the Prince spent much of his time after retiring from public life in August 2017

Duke of Edinburgh took it upon himself in 1994 to teach Penny carriage driving and the pair (pictured together) travelled the country together

The guests who will be involved in Prince Philip's funeral procession (left) and those who will be St George's Chapel (right). Penny will be in St George's Chapel

Penny joined the Queen and Philip's four children and eight grandchildren and their respective spouses at the service in St George's Chapel today.

These included Jack Brooksbank, the husband of Eugenie, daughter of the Duchess and the Duke of York, and Beatrice's husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.

Three German relatives - whose ancestors were denied a place at Princess Elizabeth and Philip's wedding because of anti-German feeling after the Second World War - were also included.

Others on the guest list included the Queen's first cousins Princess Alexandra, the Duke of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent, who loyally supported the monarch and Philip by carrying out royal duties over the decades.

But the most prominent name who was missing from the list is Prince Harry's wife Meghan, who stayed at home in Los Angeles as she is unable to fly as she is expecting her second child. Also missing was the Queen's cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, 78, who is not a working royal.

There was also not room for the spouses of the Queen's cousins - the Duchess of Gloucester and the Duchess of Kent, nor Prince Michael's often controversial wife, Princess Michael of Kent.

Prince Philip's closest confidante: Penny Brabourne who shared his love of carriage driving and was a regular visitor to Sandringham in his retirement

Penny Romsey, 67, who is 32 years younger than Prince Philip, remained close to the Duke of Edinburgh for years after he took it upon himself in 1994 to teach her carriage driving.

Formerly Penelope Meredith Eastwood, 'Penny' Knatchbull, previously known as Lady Romsey and later Lady Brabourne, is the daughter of a retired army major.

Penny's father left school at 15 and became a butcher, like his father and grandfather before him. He founded the Angus Steakhouse chain of restaurants which he sold for several millions, giving Penny a privileged childhood. She grew up and was educated in Switzerland before attending the London School of Economics.

She first met the Duke  who is 30 years her senior  at a polo match when she was 20 and in a relationship with Lord Romsey, Earl Mountbatten's grandson Norton Knatchbull.

The Duke of Edinburgh's carriage-driving companion - one of his closest confidantes - Countess Mountbatten of Burma joined mourners at Philip's funeral (pictured together in 1975)

She first met the Duke  who is 30 years her senior  at a polo match when she was 20 and in a relationship with Lord Romsey, Earl Mountbatten's grandson Norton Knatchbull (pictured the trio together in 2009)

Norton, 73, is the grandson of Lord Mountbatten - who was famously close to his nephew Prince Philip. Philip was Norton's godson, while Norton is the godfather of Prince William.

Penny's father, Reg Eastwood, had sold his steakhouse chain to the Golden Egg company and was living with his wife in Majorca when his daughter married Norton.

The wedding had been delayed for eight weeks because five months earlier, on August 25, IRA bombers blew up a small boat in the sea off Mullaghmore, Co. Sligo, where Lord Mountbatten had a holiday home.

It killed Mountbatten, Norton's 14-year-old younger brother Nicholas (after whom he was to name his own son), his paternal grandmother the Dowager Lady Brabourne and Paul Maxwell, a 15-year-old local.

Prince Philip with his confidante Lady Brabourne (Penny Romsey) at The Royal Windsor Horse Show in 2007 in Berkshire

Prince Philip and Lady Penny Romsey riding an 'Easy Rider' Monkey bike at Windsor Horse show in 2005 (pictured left) and in 2009, pictured right

Mountbatten's murder meant that Broadlands became the newlyweds' first and only home. Brought up in his parents' comfortable 18th century country house in Kent, Norton dreaded it. He never wanted the burden of Broadlands and knew he could hardly live up to his illustrious grandfather as the local 'lord of the manor'.

A family friend previously revealed: 'On the other hand, Penny was always comfortable there because she knew it was their duty.'

But Norton fell out with the locals when, in the Eighties, he tried to get planning permission for Tesco to build a superstore on the estate.

Feelings ran so high that opponents of the development carried a burning effigy of their High Steward through the streets of Romsey. The supermarket was never built.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh attended Penny's wedding to her husband Norton at Romsey Abbey in Hampshire

Royal expert Ingrid Seward previously said Prince Philip supported Penny when her husband Norton left her in 2010

Meanwhile, the family's original closeness to those in The Firm came through Norton's friendship with Prince Charles. This went back to when they were schoolboys together at Gordonstoun and Norton, a year older, was asked to show Charles the ropes.

In 1981, Penny and Norton welcomed their first child Nicholas Louis Charles Norton Knatchbull and a daughter Lady Alexandra a year later. In 1986, Penny gave birth to another daughter, who had kidney cancer and died aged five in 1991.

Just like his father and Charles, Nicholas was a year older than Prince William and was given the responsibility of showing him the ropes at Eton. In 2010, Norton moved to the Bahamas to embark on a new life with Lady Nuttall, 60. However, their affair fizzled out and he returned in 2014 to Broadlands estate in Hampshire.

Meanwhile, Prince Charles is also a close friend of the family, giving away Penny's daughter Alexandra at her 2018 wedding

Royal expert Ingrid Seward previously said Prince Philip supported Penny when Norton left her.

One of her oldest family friends previously revealed: 'I often wonder how their mother, Penny, copes with all the tragedy she has suffered.

'But she's a strong character - much stronger than Norton. I think Penny gets it from her father. He was a man who always seemed to know where he was going.'

She has always been close to the royal family, as one friend who has known her since those early days previously recalled: 'She was one of the most natural young women I have ever met, outgoing but not brash or flirty.'
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 01:44:10|Editor: huaxia

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ABUJA, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Six people were confirmed killed after a group of unidentified gunmen invaded a bar in Nigeria's central region, said local police on Friday.

The gunmen on Thursday night stormed the local bar in Wereng community of Riyom local government area in the north-central state of Plateau, shooting at the customers, Ubah Ogaba, a state police spokesman, told Xinhua on the phone on Friday.

Ogaba said the motive of the attack was unknown, but the police had immediately launched an investigation into the incident.

According to the spokesperson, more police personnel were immediately deployed to ensure that normalcy is restored, and to "avert further breakdown of law and order in the area."

No suspect has so far been arrested in connection to the attack, he added. Enditem
The extra jail time comes on top of what already handed out yesterday in another case. Along with eight other pro-democracy figures, the two activists were convicted of taking part in anti-government demonstrations in 2019. For China, Lai, Benny Tai, and Joshua Wong are enemies of China.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews)  Media mogul Jimmy Lai and former lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan have been sentenced to two additional months in prison. Previously, they were convicted of organising and taking part in a massive anti-government protest of August 2019 along with eight other pro-democracy leaders,

Yesterday West Kowloon District Court sentenced Lai to 14 months in prison: one year for his participation in the march of 18 August 2019  when 1.7 million people defied a ban to demand the withdrawal of an extradition bill and denounce police brutality  and two months for taking part in a Christian prayer of protest on 31 August.

Lai is in already prison and waiting trial charged with threatening national security; yesterday prosecutors added two new charges related to this type of offence.

Judge Amanda Woodcock reduced the sentence in relation to the events of 31 August because of a guilty plea and poor health in the case of media magnate.

The court also imposed 14 months on Lee Cheuk-yan, the former president of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China and a veteran organiser of the memorial vigil for the victims of the Tiananmen massacre of 4 June 1989.

For the prayer of 31 August 2019, Judge Woodcock also penalised Yeung Sum with a suspended prison.

The other defendants were handed down sentences ranging between eight and 18 months; they include the father of Hong Kong democracy Martin Lee, a staunch Catholic like Lai and one of the founders of the Democratic Party; barrister Margaret Ng, a former lawmaker; former lawmakers Albert Ho, Cyd Ho and long hair Leung Kwok-hung (who received the longest sentence); trade unionist Leung Yiu-chung and former Democratic Party member Au Nok-hin. West Kowloon Court suspend the sentences for Lee, Ng, Albert Ho and Leung Yiu-chung.

According to legal analysts, the sentences imposed on the 10 pro-democracy activists are disproportionate.

The most serious issue is that Judge Woodcock ignored an earlier judgment by Hong Kongs Court of Final Appeal which recognised the right of citizens to demonstrate peacefully, as they did in the two aforementioned instances.

For most observers, the harshness of the sentencing stems from Beijing's desire to crush the main voices of dissent.

As Apple Daily reported today, the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council and the Communist Party of China (CPC) asked the authorities of the former British colony to take legal action to have Lai and other pro-democracy leaders like Benny Tai and Joshua Wong pay for their anti-Chinese behaviour and for bringing chaos to the city.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Elevated blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes increase the risk of heart disease. But a large study today reveals that in people with these conditions, increasing activity levels is associated with a reduced likelihood of heart events and mortality. The research is presented at ESC Preventive Cardiology 2021, an online scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

Study author Dr. Esmee Bakker of Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands said: "Previous research showed that improvements in physical activity are beneficial to health. However, those studies were performed in the general population. In our study, we were interested to see if there were similar effects in individuals with cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes."

The study included 88,320 individuals from the LifeLines Cohort Study. Participants underwent a physical examination and completed questionnaires about their medical history and lifestyle including exercise. The questionnaires were repeated after approximately four years.

Study participants were divided into five groups according to activity levels at baseline and four years: large reduction, moderate reduction, no change, moderate improvement, and large improvement. Participants were followed-up for a median of seven years after the first assessment for the occurrence of cardiovascular disease or death.

A total of 18,502 (21%) individuals had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and/or diabetes at the start of the study. The average age of this group was 55 years. After adjusting for age, sex, and baseline physical activity, the researchers found that those with a moderate to large improvement in physical activity were around 30% less likely to develop cardiovascular disease or die during follow-up compared to those who did not change their activity level.

The remaining 69,808 (79%) participants did not have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes at the start of the study. The average age of this group was 43 years. After adjusting for age, sex, and baseline physical activity, the researchers found that those with large reductions in physical activity had a 40% higher risk of cardiovascular disease or death compared to those who did not change their activity level.

Dr. Bakker said: "Our study suggests that to prevent heart attacks and strokes and boost longevity, healthy individuals should maintain their physical activity levels, while those with risk factors need to become more active. The associations we found were even more pronounced in people who were relatively sedentary at the start of the study, indicating that inactive people have the most to gain."

To prevent heart disease, European guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes a week of moderateintensity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous intensity aerobic physical activity or an equivalent combination.

Dr. Bakker said: "If you are currently sedentary, walking is a good activity to start with. If you are already hitting the recommended amount, try doing 10 minutes more each day or increasing the intensity."

Explore further Instant death from heart attack more common in people who do not exercise

More information: Abstract title: Impact of cardiovascular health status on the association between changes in physical activity and major cardiovascular events and mortality among 88,320 adults: outcomes of the Lifelines Cohort Study.
Road users rate Burwood, Waverley and Canterbury Bankstown council areas as having the worst roads in Sydney, with some councils fixing up to 1000 potholes a month.

The NRMAs Rate Your Road report found roads in Ku-ring-gai, Mosman and North Sydney councils were considered to be in the best condition. The road insurer receives tens of thousands of call outs a year to deal with damage to wheels caused by poorly-maintained roads.

The Inner West Council fixes about 9000 potholes each year, while Blacktown City Council workers fixed 4240 potholes between November 2020 and February 2021.

Potholes are one of the major causes of tyre and wheel damage and this matter becomes demonstrably worse after heavy rain, an NRMA spokesman said. Credit:Edwina Pickles

An NRMA spokesman said potholes were one of the major causes of tyre and wheel damage and this matter becomes demonstrably worse after heavy rain.
India on Saturday reported a net increase of 109,997 in active cases, the most ever in a day, to take its count to 1,679,740. Indias share of global active cases now stands at 9.29 per cent (one in 11). The country is second among the most affected countries by active cases. On Saturday, it added 234,692 cases, the most in a day yet, to take its total caseload to 14,526,609. And, with 1,341 new fatalities, its Covid-19 reached 175,649, or 1.21 per cent of total confirmed infections.

With 3,004,544 more people getting Covid-19 vaccine shots on Friday, Indias total count of those inoculated reached 119,937,641. The count of recovered cases across India, meanwhile, reached 12,671,220  or 87.23 per cent of total caseload  with 123,354 new cured cases being reported on Saturday.
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An Irish healthcare initiative to plant a tree for every nurse in Ireland was launched today in the Midlands.

Nurse A Tree are raising 200,000 to plant a tree for all 80,000 nurses across Ireland as a living legacy to honour, give thanks and recognition to all nurses in Ireland who have been frontline during the Pandemic.

Trees were planted at the Midlands Hospitals in Tullamore and Portlaoise today by Pippa Hackett, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, to mark the start of the campaign.

My Department has a number of schemes to encourage tree-planting, so Im delighted to see this initiative coming from the healthcare and private sector, said Minister Hackett. I wish them well in their efforts, she said.

Nurse A Tree plans to work with public and private landowners, as well as local councils, under schemes promoted by the Department of Agriculture.

The NAT project was established in early 2021, inspired by the CleanMed conference and the Filipino nurses working in Finland. Nurse A Tree is partnering with Green Belt who will provide professional forestry expertise. Green Belt, established in 1982, is Irelands largest and oldest private forestry group.

Sandra McCarthy, Director of Nursing at the Midland Regional Hospital at Portlaoise and Louisea Burke, Director of Nursing at the Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore said.

We are delighted to see the support for our nurses on the frontline and would like to thank Nurse a Tree for this kind gesture of an Oak Tree and Minister Pippa Hackett for her support. Covid-19 has been a relentless battle for all our staff across the health services.

The Oak tree is one of the most loved trees in the world, it is a symbol of strength, morale, resistance and knowledge, which very much represents the efforts of all Health Care Professionals during the Covid19 pandemic. It is encouraging to see the support of our community and this tree for our Hospitals symbolises all our efforts and hope for the future. Thank you, she said.

Nurse A Tree - Our Forests, Our Future - will plant 80,000 trees for nurses in Ireland this year on municipal and public lands. Our woodlands will be located throughout Ireland, in and close to communities where nurses and their families live and work. These trees will, in time, nurse the planet. Members of the public can donate via the website https://www.nurseatree.ie/donate

The European Nurse Climate Challenge has also been recently launched and NAT is collaborating with Healthcare Without Harm Europe (HCWH) to raise awareness of Climate Action in Healthcare in Ireland. This initiative will create native woodlands that will help clean the air by capturing and storing carbon. Respiratory and cardiovascular diseases can be adversely affected by our environment and the solution is in our hands. By planting these woodlands, healthcare in the future will be greatly influenced by the actions we take now.

These nurse forests will also help with stress and enhance wellbeing. Greenways between health centres, community centres and hospitals are envisaged. Raising awareness of positive climate action is an important part of the mission. Nurse A Tree will be providing information points throughout the forest walks.

Communities getting involved. For further information and to register your interest visit our website www.nurseatree.ie or on our social media channels.

For more information and corporate support, please contact Clodagh Connaughton at Clodagh@nurseatree.ie 086 152 2769 or Maurice Ryan at maurice@nurseatree.ie or on 087 675 3097

In the picture at Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise are Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Green Party Senator Pippa Hackett, Sandra McCarthy, Director of Nursing, Geraldine Britton CNM2 Medical ward and Michelle Murphy Staff Nurse CCU will be attending to represent Nursing in MRHP, Maureen Revilles, Director of Midwifery, Ita Kinsella, Assistant Director of Nursing and Michael Knowles, General Manager.
San Franciscos crime rates looked very different in 2020 than they did in previous years  largely because of the pandemic.

Most types of violent crime plummeted, and while homicides increased slightly, they remained lower than almost any year since the 1960s. Property crimes were all over the map: Burglaries and motor vehicle thefts soared, while larceny thefts decreased.

A closer look at the data shows that crime fluctuations San Franciscans experienced last year strongly depended on where they lived in the city. On the whole, wealthier neighborhoods saw sharper spikes in crimes that rose citywide and shallower downturns in the crimes that fell.

The Chronicle analyzed a data set of incident reports filed with the San Francisco Police Department since 2018. The data set does not contain crimes involving juveniles and many crimes involving the special victims unit.

We then mapped the reports to see how crime rates changed in every S.F. neighborhood from 2019 to 2020. The analysis examined five types of crime: assaults, burglaries, larceny thefts, motor vehicle thefts and robberies. Certain serious crimes, such as homicides and rapes, were not common enough to analyze by neighborhood.

Overall, we found that most neighborhoods saw decreased rates of assaults, robberies and larceny thefts.

On the other hand, every neighborhood saw an uptick in motor vehicle theft last year except for the Financial District. This decrease is probably explained by the fact that the Financial District lost most of its bustle last year: The neighborhood saw 10 times more households move out from March to November 2020 than over the same period in 2019, and had far fewer workers commuting in.

Burglaries also spiked in most neighborhoods in the pandemics first year. The increase in residential burglaries in San Francisco is unique in the state, according to Magnus Lofstrom, a policy director and senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California. Concerns (about) burglaries are supported by the data, Lofstrom said.

The data shows the burglary spike is concentrated in wealthier neighborhoods. The Marina, Pacific Heights and Haight-Ashbury  all neighborhoods with median household incomes over $150,000  saw burglaries increase by 83%, 93% and 150%, respectively.

Meanwhile, neighborhoods with lower incomes tended to see burglaries increase less sharply. And in the Bayview, Visitacion Valley and Lakeshore, all of which have median household incomes of $70,000 or below, burglaries actually decreased. The strong relationship we observed between increases in the burglary rate and household incomes from 2019 to 2020 didnt occur from 2018 to 2019, so appears to be a new trend.

The connection between wealth and increased burglaries last year makes sense given the pandemics economic repercussions, according to Lofstrom.

Research does not find any relationship between unemployment and violent crime, he said. But it does find that at a time of, say, an increase in unemployment that property crimes go up.

Take pre-pandemic San Francisco, which had the highest income inequality of any city in California. Add the recession of 2020  which has had a dramatic impact on lower-income people while largely sparing (or even benefiting) wealthier ones  and it makes sense that property crimes spiked in wealthy neighborhoods, Lofstrom said.

If theres going to be increases in property crime, where might they take place? Theyll be taking place in areas where it actually pays off to commit these property crimes, Lofstrom said. When we have these increases in disparity, (these neighborhoods) become increasingly good targets.

Most burglaries in San Francisco never get solved: What police call the clearance rate  the percentage of arrests per reported crime  was 11.5% for burglaries last year, and is under 10% so far this year.

There was also a strong pandemic-era relationship between a neighborhoods affluence and the change in the number of larceny thefts  lower-income areas had the sharpest decreases, while higher-income areas had lesser declines, though most still saw decreases. Neighborhood incomes had a weaker relationship to robbery and assault rates: Those mostly decreased across the board, but lower-income neighborhoods were slightly more likely to see larger decreases.

On the other hand, motor vehicle thefts actually increased slightly more in lower-income neighborhoods, though the relationship was not pronounced.

Lenore Anderson, chief executive and president of the criminal justice reform organization Californians for Safety and Justice, previously told The Chronicle that crime rates are largely determined by environmental factors like mental health, substance abuse and economic declines.

Criminologists and researchers will point to a variety of factors when we think about crime trends, Anderson said. Aside from policing initiatives, none of the factors they typically point to have anything to do with criminal justice policy.

That includes the election of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, whom some San Franciscans have blamed for the spike in burglaries. Boudins tenure as D.A. probably has little to do with the surge, according to Anderson.

I think that theres a way in which the debate on crime policy gets so politicized so quick around individual elected officials or individual cases, when the truth is, theres a much bigger gap that exists, which is the lack of attention paid to real crime prevention in the first place, she previously told The Chronicle.

Methodology: The FBI currently aggregates crime counts from law enforcement agencies nationwide using the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) standard. The UCR standard counts crimes according to the hierarchy rule, where if an incident occurs with multiple charges only the most serious is counted. Our analysis counts crimes individually to better align with the FBIs new National Incident-Based Reporting System, or NIBRS, which will soon replace the UCR standard nationwide. This means that the same incident could be counted multiple times if there are multiple crimes associated with it. For example, an incident involving an assault and a larceny theft would count as both. Over 90% of incidents do not involve multiple crimes. We also counted both simple and aggravated assaults, while the SFPD counts only the latter on its data dashboard. The FBI defines simple assaults as assaults that do not involve the use of a firearm, knife or cutting instrument, or other dangerous weapon, and in which the victim did not sustain serious or aggravated injuries.

Susie Neilson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer, and Nami Sumida is a Chronicle data visualization developer. Email: susan.neilson@sfchronicle.com, nami.sumida@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @susieneilson, @namisumida
Georgias controversial new voting restrictions caused director Antoine Fuqua and actor Will Smith to move production on their $100 million thriller, set to begin production soon, from that state to Louisiana, according to the mayor's office in New Orleans.

The script is based loosely on the story of Whipped Pete, the Louisiana slave whose scarred back is one of the most famous images of the Civil War.

The Republican-majority Georgia General Assembly and GOP Gov. Brian Kemp approved new laws on the heels of Donald Trumps loss and two Democratic U.S. senators wins in that once ruby red state. The new laws shortened the duration of absentee voting, added more identification requirements, limited the use of drop boxes, and criminalized handing out food or water to voters standing in line.

"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," Fuqua, the movie's director, and Smith said in a joint statement to Variety, a trade publication. "We cannot in good conscience provide economic support to a government that enacts regressive voting laws that are designed to restrict voter access. 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."

"They made the decision to [move] based on the voter laws that were passed in Georgia recently, City of New Orleans spokesman Beau Tidwell told WWL after Louisiana became the place the production headed.

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"Emancipation," which was scheduled to begin filming on June 21 near Savannah, stars Smith as Peter, a fugitive from slavery who is fleeing Louisiana in the hopes of traveling north to freedom. Fuqua will direct from a script by William N. Collage.

The story is based on Whipped Pete, whose real name was Gordon. He ran away in March 1863 from the Lyons plantation on the Atchafalaya River near what is now Krotz Springs. Rubbing onions on his body to throw off his pursuers dogs, Gordon walked barefoot through swamps  now traversed by elevated U.S. 190  before running into Union troops who ferried him to Baton Rouge. It took about 10 days.

While getting a medical examination, Yankee doctors were shocked by the sight of his back, though one wrote that he had seen dozens that just like it. The famous photograph was taken in the doctors tent about where Florida Street now crosses Interstate 110 at the edge of downtown Baton Rouge.

The photograph was widely published at the time and helped make ending slavery a goal for the Civil War. Gordon later joined the Union Army.

Right-wing bloggers and emailers are calling on moviegoers to boycott the film when it is made and released.
'Captured alive on May 8, killed on May 17 in alleged clash with Sabah police' FIVE ABU Sayyaf terrorists were killed following an a...
Seo Ye Ji receives another devastating news after being embroiled in a controversy surrounding her previous relationship with actor Kim Jung Hyun.

The "It's Okay to Not Be Okay" actress has been facing major blows following Dispatch's revelation, painting her as the mastermind behind the actor's rude behavior towards his "The Time" co-star, Seohyun.

To recall, the South Korea-based outlet released a series of text messages between the actress and the "Crash Landing on You" star, showing that she manipulated Kim Jung Hyun.

She reportedly instructed him to refrain from having physical contact with the Girl's Generation member, who at the time was his on-screen partner, as well as asking the scriptwriter to lessen "skinship" parts which refer to romantic and non-sexual scenes.

Seo Ye Ji's Controversy Might Cause her Millions Due to Advertising Penalties

Following the ongoing scandal, the "Recalled" star's number of endorsements was also affected as advertisers have begun to drop the 31-year-old actress from their deals.

It came after brands have reportedly cut ties with Seo Ye Jin and removed her from their campaigns and PR lists. This includes companies such as New Origin's Inner Flora, K Beauty's LUNA, and face mask brand AER, who have deleted traces of the actress from their site.

Now, a new report cited that the "Lawless Lawyer" star might face penalties that would cause her millions of dollars.

Attorney Ju-Yeon Heo, who appeared in KBS2TV's "All Year Live," explained that she might end up settling fines due to breach of contract and even cited an example concerning her situation.

"A former top star actor was asked for 3 billion won in damages from an advertiser when he was dismissed. We fiercely argued whether the dismissal of a top star violated our duty to maintain dignity and went to the Supreme Court," the lawyer mentioned, as obtained by a Korean outlet.

Moreover, Attorney Ju-Yeon Heo also added that if advertisers continue to boycott the actress, "there may be cases where the damages are very largely responsible."

READ MORE: Seo Ye Ji to Reportedly Step Down from Upcoming OCN Drama 'Island' + Statement from Gold Medalist Agency

Seo Ye Ji's Top 3 Controversies

Aside from being embroiled in Kim Jung Hyun and SNSD Seohyun's controversy, Seo Ye Jin's past issues have come to light and faced countless criticism from the public.

Seo Ye Ji's Bullying Issue

An online post dated March 2014 resurfaced, stating that the actress was a school bully back in middle school.

It came after a netizen, who reportedly was her former classmate, claimed that Seo Ye Ji harassed and extorted money from the alleged victim.

Alleged Staff Abuse

Aside from school bullying, the "Save Me" actress was also painted in a bad light after an anonymous staff member claimed that Seo Ye Ji regularly mistreated her staff at her Gold Medalist agency.

In an online portal, a user revealed that the staff member suffered from verbal abuse, and even her health was compromised due to the actress's smoking behavior.

Lying About her Educational Background

As the issue continued to rise, Seo Ye Ji's educational background was also dug up and criticized her for faking her education.

To recall, the "It's Okay to Not be Okay" actress previously shared in "Knowing Bros" back in 2017 that she studied at Complutense University of Madrid; unfortunately, an individual who claims to be the A-listers church mate said that she "was not even accepted into the university."

IN CASE YOU MISSED: Get to Know More the 'It's Okay To Not Be Okay' Star Seo Ye Ji as she Turns 31

KDramastars owns this article.

Written by Geca Wills
Bill Maher started off Fridays episode of Real Time in a state of anticipation  both for the looming 4/20 and for the recently-announced withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. Twenty years? Maher quipped. Matt Gaetzs girlfriends werent even born when this war started. The mention of Gaetz prompted Maher to expound on a theory of Republican orgies, which included a couple of digs at Republicans claiming ballot fraud. Also in the mix in his opening monologue? Hunter Biden, Lindsey Graham and deadly shootings.



It was par for the course for Maher  a lot of irreverence, some barbs that cut deeply and a few places where the severity of the issue at hand (i.e. police killing people) called for a little more engagement. Though in this last case, Maher would return to the issue later in the episode with a more in-depth conversation.

The episodes first guest was Sharon Osbourne, who recently left The Talk. See? They still love you, Maher said to Osbourne as she entered to sustained applause. Maher summarized the events that led to Osbournes departure from The Talk, and offered his own summary of the questions it raised: Unless you agree with every person of color, then youre a racist? That seems insane. A pair of white people discussing what is or is not racist made for a strange moment, but its not the first time this has happened this season.

Maher did offer a relatively sympathetic take on Meghan Markles issues with the royal family, agreeing that racism likely played a part, but also arguing that the family is infamous for being emotionally remote. The rest of their conversation covered the history of The Talk, Osbournes friendship with Piers Morgan and her thoughts on the book White Fragility. (For the record, she agrees with parts of it and disagrees with others.)

The evenings panel was comprised of guests with expertise in issues that are currently in the forefront of American political debate: political scientist and television host Ian Bremmer and Rosa Brooks, author of Tangled Up in Blue: Policing the American City.



Brookss book chronicles her decision, in 2015, to become a reserve police officer  and explores what she learned about policing from the experience. Heres a dirty little secret about cops  they dont really get much training in how to use their weapons, she said. She then expounded upon that, leading to a chilling conclusion. Weve got a lot of people walking around with lethal weapons who dont really know what theyre doing, she said. Here, the stunned silence of what had until that point been a vocal audience was eminently noticeable.



Brooks pulled few punches when criticizing the system of policing, noting that even well-intentioned police are working in a system that, even if youre a good cop, youre going to screw peoples lives up.

Maher criticized the tendency among police to overthink the danger of their jobs  which, he argues, has led many to respond to any perceived problem by emptying their clips  and Brooks agreed. She noted that police hear stories of cops being killed constantly, giving them a sense that their job is more dangerous than it is.



If all you hear, over and over, is that theres no such thing as a routine call and any situation can turn lethal in a millisecond, then you go into all of your interactions primed to think that everyones a threat, Brooks said.

Bremmer took a global view, pointing out that in other countries around the world with police forces, the kinds of police shootings seen in the United States arent present. Blue Lives Matter has become a political litmus test for which country in the United States youre a part of, he said.



From there, the conversation took a more international turn, including a discussion of the planned American withdrawal from Afghanistan and the United States relationship with China. Bremmer and Maher clashed on a few points, including economic data from China and questions of American infrastructure.

For this weeks New Rules segment, Maher speculated about Dominos announcing delivery drones, and the issues that might arise from them. To stoners, thats not a robot  its a mechanical bull that comes with snacks, he said. Also discussed? Billboards about distracted driving that are themselves distracting; also, sex robots. The bulk of the segment took on COVID-19  specifically, the ways elements of medical, political and media institutions overstated certain dangers from the pandemic. It concluded with Maher returning to a recurring topic  criticizing the overweight. It was a familiar refrain in an episode that bridged old and new areas of interest for Maher. Well see what next week has in store.

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Queensland cop killer Ricky Maddison was depressed, alone, broke, prone to wild mood swings and consumed by a loathing of authorities and his former partner in his final hours.

Multiple examples of communication breakdowns within the Queensland Police Service in the lead-up to Senior Constable Brett Fortes death were also uncovered and highlighted this week.

Ricky Maddison was wanted for domestic violence offences when he killed Senior Constable Brett Forte. Credit:Seven News

The coronial inquest into the deaths of Maddison and Senior Constable Forte will continue next week at the Toowoomba Magistrates Court, after the first three days of hearings this week.

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.
Ukraine, as a European country, has the right to become a member of the EU, but must first fulfill the Association Agreement and the reform program, a high-ranking European official has said.

"We are linked with Ukraine by the Association Agreement signed in 2014, including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) Agreement, and now we must do everything possible to make it a success story," he said, announcing the participation of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in a videoconference of EU foreign ministers.

He noted that this agreement has a huge potential in terms of the economy and social development of Ukraine, while Brussels and Kyiv should focus their efforts on its implementation.

"Ukraine is a European country and in this capacity it can become a member of the EU," he told journalists.

"But this is not what is on the agenda right now. Today we are talking about the implementation of the Association Agreement, about holding reforms, about things that usually precede the process of joining the union," the official said.

He said that on Monday Kuleba will join the video meeting of the foreign ministers of the EU countries and will talk with them for about an hour.

"The Ukrainian army has been constantly on alert for seven years, Ukraine spends 6% of its GDP on defense, which it more needs on other budget items," the official stressed.

In his opinion, Ukraine will be able to move forward, overcoming the conflict in the east of the country and actively pursuing reforms. At the same time, the EU is ready to provide financial and economic support to Kyiv.

"We will continue to do this, because we see this as the only possible way to ensure that Ukraine is a truly independent, sovereign country," the EU official said.
Roadside Romeos have apparently been mimicking the Prime Minister, using the same catcall, when they see women on the streets of Kolkata

Prime Minister Narendra Modis war cry Didiii O Didiii, Arrey Didiii (referring to Mamata Banerjee) at all public rallies in poll-bound West Bengal has predictably angered the Trinamul Congress, more so as it has become a source of inspiration for eve-teasers. Roadside Romeos have apparently been mimicking the Prime Minister, using the same catcall, when they see women on the streets of Kolkata. Many of them have even been arrested by the police on charges of harassment. Five women have filed an FIR at the Amherst Street police station while the Bengal Citizens Forum has lodged a strong protest, saying the catcalls were a penal offence. The Forum also took out a protest march and submitted a complaint to the Election Commission, which is still pending. Women leaders belonging to the TMC have also slammed the Prime Minister, saying this was not just an insult to an elected chief minister but to all women.

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was personally reluctant to impose a lockdown but he was literally pushed into doing so by his bureaucrats who did some plain speaking to him about the need for drastic measures given the alarming spike in Covid-19 cases in the state. Though Mr Chouhan did go by the advice of his officers, informal instructions were conveyed to the lower rung bureaucracy that the lockdown need not be implemented strictly and that people moving out should not be penalised. And the Damoh constituency where a bypoll was held last week, was deliberately exempted from adhering to the lockdown to allow political parties to organise their election rallies. They were helped in this effort by the local election commission officials who went to town with the slogan, Corona se nahi darenge, matdan hum zaroor karenge, urging voters to come out in large numbers on polling day. Incidentally, while Mr Chouhan was battling the alarming rise in infections, his health minister Narottam Mishra was busy overseeing the Assembly poll in West Bengal. Mr Mishra reached his home state a few days before the bye-election in Damoh which happens to be his stronghold.

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal has a lot in common with AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi. Either it is deliberate or inadvertent, but the leaders end up helping the Bharatiya Janata Party by entering an electoral fray resulting in the weakening of the Congress. Mr Owaisi did so in Bihar and Mr Kejriwal in the Gujarat local elections. In fact, there is talk that the two parties even receive covert funding from the BJP.

Currently, AAP is focusing on expanding its footprint in Uttarakhand. To that extent, it has initiated a vigorous recruitment drive and is positioning itself as a credible alternative in the hill state. Interestingly, Mr Kejriwal is concentrating on the Kumaon region, which is where the Congress has strong roots, and not on Garhwal which is known to be the BJPs fiefdom. Given the anti-incumbency against the BJP in Uttarakhand, the Congress has a chance of coming back to power here. But Mr Kejriwal could well end up playing spoilsport, much to the BJPs delight.

There appears to be no end to the raging battle in the upper echelons of the prestigious India International Centre even four years after eminent jurist Soli Sorabjee was forced to step down as the Centres president though he retains his position as life trustee on the IIC board. Mr Sorabjees tenure was cut short in 2017 following a spate of allegations of financial impropriety and bungling in the admission of members. A fresh attempt was made recently at the IIC annual general meeting to debar Mr Sorabjee and Justice Srikrishna from holding any office. It is not clear why this matter was raised after four years. The resolution was, however, not approved as several members pointed out that such a drastic action could not be taken in the absence of the two trustees and without giving them an opportunity to have their say. It must be mentioned that an enquiry committee was set up to probe the charges against Mr Sorabjee but little is known about its report.

The surprise victory notched up by the Tripura scion Pradyot Kishore Deb Barmans fledgling party in the recent election to the Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council, proved to be a major embarrassment for the Congress. Not only did the party finish fourth but Mr Barman who had been the Tripura Congress president left following differences with the partys Northeast in-charge Luizinho Faleiro. Apparently, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had got in touch with Mr Barman last year when he was in the US and asked him to rejoin the Congress. Mr Barman was willing to do so but was unable to get in touch with Rahul Gandhi as he had changed his phone number on his return from America and his staff was not very helpful in organising a meeting with the Nehru-Gandhi scion. Mr Barman then decided to float his own party.
Havana, April 17 : The Eighth Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) kicked off at Havana's Convention Center, chaired by Raul Castro, first secretary of the PCC's Central Committee, and President Miguel Diaz-Canel.

During the presentation of the Central Report to the Eighth Congress of the PCC, Castro on Friday said that Cuba has preserved important social achievements in education, healthcare and social security, despite the intensification of the US embargo against the island nation, reports Xinhua news agency.

Castro, 89, expressed his "will to develop a respectful dialogue and build a new type of relationship with the US" saying, "Cuba will not give up on the principles of the Revolution and socialism".

He also called for improving the performance of the local economy and consolidating relations with governments and parties from different nations.

"As far as I am concerned, my work as the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba has come to an end, with the satisfaction of having accomplished my duty and with confidence in the future of the homeland," he added.

The Congress takes place as the island marks the 60th anniversary of the victory against the US-backed Bay of Pigs invasion and the declaration of Cuban socialism.

With senior party leaders and delegates from all over the island in attendance, the meeting is scheduled to conclude on Monday.

Addressing the audience during the opening speech, Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, second secretary of the Central Committee of PCC, said that the political organisation "guarantees national unity and represents the ideals of dignity, justice and social independence" for which generations of Cuban patriots have fought.

Wearing face masks and abiding by social distancing guidelines, delegates discussed ideology, updating of the Cuban model, internal functioning of the PCC as well as the economic transformations implemented over the past five years since the last party congress.

Iroel Sanchez, a political commentator, told Xinhua that the Cuban Revolution will not only continue to stand on its own feet but actually has a lot to offer to a world that needs the Caribbean nation's example.

"We have many challenges ahead, but the Cuban people have shown evidence of huge reservoirs of intelligence and humanism instilled in it by socialism," he said.
Vietnam has enjoyed high export growth but experts are concerned that the main contributor is foreign direct investment (FDI).

The local export turnover is estimated at $77.34 billion, an increase of 22 per cent.  VNA/VNS File photo

In the first quarter of the year, the country saw an estimated import and export value of US$152.65 billion, up 24.1 per cent over the same period last year. Of which, export turnover was estimated at $77.34 billion, an increase of 22 per cent from Q1 of 2020.

Of the total export turnover, the domestic sector only contributed $18.3 billion, an increase of 4.9 per cent and accounting for 23.7 per cent, while the rest was from the FDI sector with $59.04 billion, up 28.5 per cent and accounting for 76.3 per cent.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment (MPI) Tran Quoc Phuong told local media: The export share of the FDI sector is growing, reaching more than 76.3 per cent, while in the past, it was just between 60 and 70 per cent.

"This shows that Vietnam's export growth is increasingly dependent on FDI and this is noteworthy, he said, adding that in recent years, the proportion of FDI contribution in total export turnover has been increasing.

According to the ministry, in 2020 the FDI sector contributed $202.89 billion of the total export turnover of the country, accounting for 71.7 per cent.

Local statistics show that for key export products, the FDI sector is dominant. For example, in mobile phones and spare parts, the FDI sector accounts for 99.1 per cent of exports, while in electronic products, computers and components, it accounts for 98 per cent and 93.1 per cent, respectively.

While in footwear and textiles, the majority of exports also belong to FDI with 81.9 per cent and 62.5 per cent, respectively.

In the export surplus of more than $2 billion of the first quarter, the bigger contributor was from FDI enterprises. In the first quarter, FDI firms, including crude oil, saw a trade surplus of $8.78 billion.

The heavy dependence on FDI has been discussed for a long time, but with the export portion of more than 76 per cent, it was a bigger concern, said experts.

Vu Thanh Tu Anh, from Fulbright University Vietnam, said: The growing dependence of the economy on the FDI sector is very difficult to accept. If Vietnam wants to create internal resources, we cannot depend on FDI as at present."

According to the 2020 Enterprise White Book, by the end of 2019, Vietnam had 758,610 operating enterprises, of which 16,878 were FDI enterprises. Despite accounting for a much smaller group, they have a huge contribution to the country's export turnover.

To deal with the issue, economists have said the country must build an autonomous economy on the basis of mastering technology and integrating and diversifying markets.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung previously said: Vietnam must form a new national production capacity, have autonomy, participate effectively, improve its position in the global value chain and be effectively resilient to major and unusual external impacts."

The minister called for better connections between the FDI and the domestic sectors, suggesting a programme to encourage experts and managers who are working in foreign businesses to establish Vietnamese enterprises.

He told local media: These are people who have the knowledge, know the technology, the production process, the operating process and the business administration, have relationships and experience so when separating to establish a business, those enterprises will see the fastest success.

Other experts agreed that attracting talents from FDI to local enterprises was a way for Vietnamese enterprises to gradually grow and become partners with FDI enterprises and join their global value chains and more contribute to Vietnam's export growth, avoiding being too heavily dependent on foreign investment as at present.

VNS

Vietnam to attract more foreign investment in high-tech industry Vietnam will lure more foreign investment in the high-tech industry by offering more incentives and amending requirements for high-tech businesses.
The thing about Michelle is you just need to give her a little push in that direction  an affirmation  and suddenly shes just flying, said Daniel Torday, a novelist and the director of the creative writing program at Bryn Mawr, who has been a mentor to Zauner.

For her the artistic process, whether it is in her music or her writing, often feels all-consuming and anxiety-producing, something she handles by working through it. If Im going to take the time to go in on something, Zauner said, I want to be terrified of it.

And there are terrifying parts she confronts when retracing the last few months of her mothers life. It is not exactly the cancer  in the book, she describes the disease with polish, crushing Vicodin for her mother with a spoon and scattering its blue crumbs over scoops of ice cream like narcotic sprinkles. It is that Chongmi was dying just as their relationship was at its best, a sort of renaissance period, where we were really getting to enjoy each others company and know each other as adults, Zauner said.

In 2014, she moved back home to help care for her. Chongmi died that October, two weeks after Michelle Zauner married Peter Bradley, a fellow musician. By Christmas, he joined her and her father in Eugene, navigating the first heavy moment of their new life together  like a baptism of adulthood, Bradley said.

Image Crying in H Mart is out on April 20.

She and her father havent been in contact for more than a year, save for an attempt at therapy over Zoom. After her mother died, our grief couldnt come together in this way where we could experience it together, Zauner said. He started wearing this big ruby in his ear and then got a big tattoo, lost 40 pounds, started dating this young woman, and it felt like kind of a second death.

In an essay for Harpers Bazaar published earlier this month, she wrote about the pain of that experience, then searching for a way to make peace with him and his new relationship, which has since ended.
Indian pharmaceutical exports have registered a record growth in the pandemic year (2020-21), bucking the global trend of 1-2 per cent negative growth in 2020.

As per the quick estimates of the Department of Commerce, drugs and pharmaceutical exports for the FY-21 (Apr 2020 - Mar 2021) touched $24.44 billion, a record growth of 18.07 per cent. Exports during FY 2020 was $20.58 billion with growth rate of 7.57 per cent.

North America is the largest exporting region for India with more than 34 per cent share. Country wise exports to USA, Canada and Mexico recorded growth of 12.6 per cent, 30 per cent and 21.4 per cent respectively.

South Africa, the second largest exporting country, recorded a jump of 28 per cent in exports. Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania are the other major destinations in Africa. Overall, pharma exports to Africa went up 13.4 per cent as against last year's growth of 2.24 per cent.

The third largest exporting region, Europe recorded 11 per cent growth.

The Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) said the exports in the month of March 2021, at $2.3billion (provisional figures) is the highest among exports of all the months of 2020-21.

"The growth rate for this month is 48.5 per cent against the exports in March 2020 ($1.54 billion). Growth rate seems relatively big as the exports of March 2020 was crunched due to lockdown across the world and supply chain disruption. However, Indian pharma exports are substantially growing all these years and we have observed the highest export figures and growth rate in this financial year compared to the last 8 financial years. We are expecting the same trend to continue further owing to increased demand of Indian made generics and vaccines," Udaya Bhaskar, director general, Pharmexcil says.

Pharmexcil has been organising virtual business meetings with the support of Commerce ministry and India's foreign embassies throughout the pandemic period to penetrate newer markets. "Our efforts in penetrating the markets of around 40 countries other than North America and Europe during the pandemic have yielded positive results in the growth of exports," Bhaskar says.

Non-traditional markets like Latin American countries (14.5 per cent growth), CIS countries (23.5 per cent growth) and Middle East (17.5 per cent growth) remained impressive. The growth rates observed in exports to unexplored countries like Australia (21 per cent) UAE (43 per cent), Uzbekistan (125 per cent) and Ukraine (40.6 per cent).

Also read: This Indian pharma firm is developing oral COVID-19 vaccine in capsule form

Also read: COVID-19 vaccine: South Korean consortium to produce 100 million Sputnik V doses
Click here to read the full article.

Picking up takeout, taking care of the family dog, making Cheesecake Factory reservations, helping write a medical school recommendation for a friend and sending out Christmas cards are just some of the personal, non-work related tasks former secretary of state Mike Pompeo and his wife, Susan Pompeo, asked State Department employees to do for them while he was in office.

A State Department independent watchdog investigation, published on Friday, found that Pompeo and his wife misused agency resources and violated federal ethics rules by making more than 100 such requests to political appointees and other employees at the State Department.

Susan Pompeo made many of the unethical requests cited in the investigation. She assigned employees numerous tasks, and the employees told the investigators that they considered these instructions from her to be at the direction of Secretary Pompeo and she would often use language such as, The Secretary would like you to  and I have spoken with the Secretary.

In one request, Susan Pompeo asked a career staff member to accompany her to pick up take-out food for a social event with Michelle Brechbuhl, the wife of State Department Counselor Ulrich Brechbuhl. Michelle and I think Farmers, Fishers, Bakers is a good place for us to carry out dinner tonight. Michelle is willing to drive if one of you would just run in (that way she wont have to park!), Susan Pompeo wrote in an email.

In another request, Susan Pompeo emailed a senior advisor and asked, Im wondering if we are sending the last of our personal [Christmas] cards out, who will be there to help me? The employee then sent in a Senior Foreign Service Officer, who came in on the weekend to envelope, address, and mail personal Christmas cards for the Pompeos.

Pompeo denied the findings of the investigation, saying in a statement, At no time did I, or my wife Susan, misuse taxpayer money or violate rules or ethical norms. Our actions were constantly reviewed by dozens of lawyers, and we made massive efforts, and did, comply with every requirement.

But these chores and others appear to have had no connection to official Department business, the watchdog report said. These tasks were performed during duty and non-duty hours, the report said, but the Pompeos did not reimburse the subordinate employees for their non-duty time when performing these tasks. One employee told the investigators that she believed she had to carry out the tasks as part of her official duties and not merely friendly favors, which is how Pompeo tried to explain the requests when interviewed by investigators late last year.

The investigator general concluded that the Pompeos requests were inconsistent with department ethics rules and the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch. According to the report, most of the fieldwork for this investigation was completed by August 2020, but Pompeo dodged requests for an interview for three months, which delayed the release of the report.
A body is taken from the scene where multiple people were shot at a FedEx Ground facility in Indianapolis, Ind., on April 16, 2021. (Michael Conroy/AP Photo)

Indianapolis Shooting Victims Identified as FBI Reveals Suspect Was Detained for Mental Illness

The eight victims of a massacre at a FedEx facility in Indiana were named by authorities, hours after law enforcement officials revealed the FBI had been alerted to the man about a year before the mass shooting.

The victims were identified as Matthew Alexander, 32, Samaria Blackwell, 19, Amarjeet Johal, 66, Jaswinder Kaur, 64, Jaswinder Singh, 68, Amarjit Sekhon, 48, Karli Smith, 19, and John Weisert, 74, by the Marion County Coroners Office and FedEx.

The deceased all worked at the FedEx Ground facility where the shooting took place, near the Indianapolis Airport. Five others were shot and taken to hospitals.

Nothing appears to tie the victims together except for that fact, Craig McCartt, the Indianapolis deputy police chief, told reporters on Friday.

An undated photograph shows Brandon Hole, the suspect in a mass shooting in Indianapolis, Ind., on April 15, 2021. (Indiana Bureau Of Motor Vehicles via Reuters)

At least four of the victims were Sikhs, according to the Sikh Coalition. The group urged authorities to examine the possibility of bias as a factor in the shooting.

While we dont yet know the motive of the shooter, he targeted a facility known to be heavily populated by Sikh employees, and the attack is traumatic for our community as we continue to face senseless violence, Satjeet Kaur, the coalitions executive director, said in a statement.

Law enforcement believe the shooter was Brandon Scott Hole, 19, who used to be employed at the workplace he allegedly shot up.

Hole exited his vehicle and began shooting with no confrontation or disturbance triggering the gunshots, officials have said. After several minutes of firing on employees in the parking lot and, once inside, a screening area, Hole killed himself. Officers had not yet entered the building.

There were at least 100 people in the facility at the time, with some changing shifts and others on their dinner break.

Levi Miller, an employee there, said on NBCs Today show that he saw a man shooting on Thursday night. The man started shouting, and then he started firing in random directions, Miller said, adding that he could not hear what the man was talking about and that he soon took cover.

FBI agents were alerted to Hole last year by his mother. The woman told law enforcement that he might try to commit suicide by cop, or force police officers to shoot him, FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Paul Keenan said in a statement.

Suspecting mental problems, the suspect was placed on an immediate detention mental health temporary hold by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. Officers seized a shotgun at Holes home, but found no criminal violation, and no racially motivated violent extremism evidence, Keenan said.

Indianapolis police have several reports on Hole, including one from 2013 and one from 2020, McCartt told reporters.

The home of 19-year-old Brandon Scott Hole, the suspected shooter who opened fire with a rifle at a FedEx facility, is seen in Indianapolis, Ind., on April 16, 2021. (Michael Conroy/AP Photo)

The report from last year lists Hole as being arrested. Immediately, the departments Behavioral Health Unit initiated detention because Hole was reported to have voiced suicidal ideation, the Indianapolis Star reported.

Hole had bought his gun within 24 hours of being taken into custody.

Hole was taken to a nearby hospital but was later released. It is not clear how long he was detained.

I honestly dont have a lot of information on that report. I know a gun was seized in the one from last year. But thats all the information that I have on those right now, McCartt said.

Hole used a rifle in the shooting, but the make and model has not been made public. Officials did not know if it was legally or illegally obtained, but President Joe Biden and other Democrats have called for gun control bills to be passed after the shooting.

Hole worked for FedEx from August to October 2020, the company said. Law enforcement officials do not know why he left the job, McCartt said.

This is a devastating day, and words are hard to describe the emotions we all feel, FedEx CEO Frederick Smith in a statement. I want to express my deepest sympathies to the families, friends, and co-workers of those team members.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti passed recently, at the amazing age of 101. I have to abashedly admit to an ignorance about his work, although I knew he was a poet and the founder of City Lights bookstore. Joan, of course, had several of his earlier publications for me to absorb, and I did, because sometimes the best way to appreciate poetry is to let it wash over you and see what sticks.

One of the lines that stuck was in his poem HE (which I am guessing is about Allen Ginsburg) where he states:

and he is an old man perpetually writing a poem

about an old man

whose every third thought is Death.

That last line rang a bell. I thought I had heard it in a Woody Allen movie, but it turns out it is, of course, from Shakespeares The Tempest, a line written for Prosperos character (hey, Ted Lochwyn!) where he states he will retire to Milan where every third thought shall be my grave. Having married off his daughter and exacted his revenge, he can now retire peacefully and await his end. The Bards meditation on mortality.

Which got me to thinking: When is it too late to discover something?

I only read my first James Baldwin book two years ago. Caught up with Gatsby five years ago. Constantly hear and enjoy new music from new artists. Constantly revisit the older ones and come away with a different perspective.

Although some may see the innumerable reissues of recording artists work (especially as that refers to all of the Beatles) as a cash grab, each time I invest in the newest reissue, I experience totally different things. I eagerly await Peter Jacksons Get Back sometime this year.

I was 14 when the Beatles invaded America, probably, as Tom Petty once stated, the perfect age for that invasion. Always interested in music, the only child of parents who had sung semi-professionally, I picked up a guitar and started strumming. That was the last time my fingers didnt have calluses. I was there for all the madness and the hysteria and the music and I wonder sometimes how later generations experience them. On those occasions when I went to the Festival For Beatle Fans, when either A Hard Days Night or HELP! were screened, young girls would sit in the front row and scream and swoon, just like they did in the 1960s. I always thought This will go on forever. And trust me...it will.

Is it ever too late to discover the Beatles? Or Monet? Or Pat Conroy?

Or Paris? Or knitting?

I think not. True, I believe that learning is a life-long pursuit and that you should only stop three days after youre dead. And, as a teacher, I truly value the ability to learn new things and add them onto existing knowledge.

Marc Maron has joked that he cant watch ALL the Netflix documentaries his friends suggest for him because hes not sure how much time he has left. Sometimes, I agree.

But, what better use of your time than to learn something new, especially since weve all been penned up for the last year, learning how to cook, knit, play guitar and binging Netflix till our eyes rolled onto the floor?

We learned something from this horrible yearwe learned how strong, resilient, wise and creative we are. And many of us wondered why we hadnt investigated all these areas before. And the answer is: we had bills to pay, mouths to feed, chores to do, children and spouses and parents to take care of. Now, in the eerie silences of the day, we stop and reflect and think What can I do now?

When we thought this thing would be over in a few months, we all pledged to get together with the work we had done during the lockdown and sell it at a pop up and celebrate the fact that we got through this. As the months dragged on, the thought of selling anything related to this crisis seemed to pale. Now, were all just looking forward to when we can visit our families, have dinner out, see a movie in a real theater, travel somewhere.

The vaccine has become the new benchmark. Once youve had it, you feel a sense of security. The light at the end of the tunnel shines a bit brighter.

But, that light has always been there. Our sadness dimmed it. We never discover anything in this world that we dont already possess inside of us. And, as we do emerge from this nightmare, will we leave those skills weve learned behind? Will we return to the lives we lived that were fulfilling, but missing a certain something? I hope not. I hope we drag those new skills into the future with us and use them to make the world a better place for ourselves and those we love.

Its never too late to learn something. You CAN teach an old pet new tricks. because, sometimes, theyre not the ones calling themselves old!

Hold those grey heads up high!

Comments to this and all columns may be submitted to Talk To The Old Guy on Facebook. Stay safe! Be well!
New Delhi:

At least 13 inmates died in a prison riot in northern Mexico that authorities ended with lethal force, a state security official said late Tuesday.

Spokesman Aldo Fasci says the riot occurred at the state prison in Cadereyta, adding that the death toll could climb because eight people are in critical condition. Desperate families battled with authorities outside the prison gates, demanding information about their relatives inside.

Several hours of attempted negotiations failed and police using non-lethal force were unable to quell the riot.Authorities thus decided at around 5 pm local time to use lethal force to protect the lives of the guards and the prisoners, Fasci told a news conference.

With PTI inputs

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New Delhi, April 17: With the second wave of Covid-19 or Corona virus hitting the country, States and Union Territories have geared up their response in tune with local conditions.

Here are some of the measures which some of States with a high-case load have adopted to combat the second fierce assault by virus.

Maharashtra Among the regions, Maharashtra continued to reel under the Covid-19. As on April 16, it had a total of 6,21,646 active Covid-19 cases.

Restrictions on the movement of people in the state under the prohibitory orders under Section 144 were imposed from April 14 which will remain until May 1. Essential services are exempted from this. All the establishments, public places, activities and services are to remain closed.

Essential categories that will be allowed are hospitals, diagnostics centres, clinics, vaccination, medical insurance offices, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies and other medical and healthcare services. Also included are veterinary services/animal care shelters and pet food shops.

To ease life for the public, groceries, vegetable shops, fruit vendors, dairies, bakeries and all types of food shops have been exempted. Likewise public transport, including airlines, trains, buses and autos will be allowed during the curfew.

Others who are exempted are telecom services, water supply services, accredited media, IT services, petrol pumps security agencies, ATMs, etc.

Leading the vaccination drive Maharashtra as on April 15 had administered 1.11 crore doses.

Chhattisgarh The State created from Madhya Pradesh is facing a deteriorating situation and now accounts for second highest active caseload in India at 1,21,769.

The State Government issued orders to impose complete lockdown in 17 districts by the respective administrations. These include Koriya, Jashpur, Dhamtari, Baloda Bazar, Bilaspur, Raigarh, Mahasamund, Raipur, Durg, Korba, Rajnandgaon, Balod, Bemetara and Bijapur among others, Rules regarding lockdown are the same in all the districts. The milk booths and newspaper delivery will be allowed from 6 am-8 am, and 6 pm-7.30 pm.

While medical shops and petrol pumps will be operational, strict Covid protocol has to be followed. The petrol pumps have been instructed to service only ambulances, ATM vans, mediapersons and government officers.

No one will be allowed on the streets except those involved in essential services.

Markets, shops, offices, vegetable vends, provision stores, liquor shops, commercial and departmental zones, temples and tourism sites will be shut.

To keep track and check on the pandemic, the State Government will start RTPCR testing facilities at airports and railway stations. For those flying it is mandatory to have a negative RT-PCR report not older than 72 hours and those not having it, will be tested at the airport itself.

Uttar Pradesh The state of Uttar Pradesh is third in the list with 1,29,848 active cases.

To counter the growing cases, the UP Government has extended the night curfew timings in Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Allahabad, Varanasi, Kanpur, Meerut and Gorakhpur and seven other districts having over 2,000 active Covid-19 cases. In these districts night curfew starts from 8 p.m. and continues till 7 a.m. Further it was decided to impose lockdown in all the districts on Sunday.

In order to ensure that masks are worn, the State has doubled the fine to Rs 1,000 for those caught without masks for the first time. Repeat of the offence by the same individual will make the fine 10 times more.

With a view to break the chain of the second surge of Covid-19, the UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's Government launched 'Focussed Vaccination Drive' from April 8.

In this drive, Covid-19 vaccines would be administered to those high-risk groups above the age of 45 years who move around often in the public and are vulnerable to catch and spread coronavirus.

For example, on April 8 and 9, the State government vaccines were administered to media persons, traders and shopkeepers, while on April 10, it for the bank, insurance and related organizations' employees.

The three-day drive on April 12, 13 and 14 covered teachers of schools, colleges and universities while 15 and 16 was for auto, bus drivers, rickshaw pullers and roadside stall owners.

April 17 and 19 is for those frontline workers who were unable to take vaccines due to some reason and April 20 and 21 has been fixed for lawyers and employees of state Judicial services. Employees of the private sector will be given vaccines on April 22 and 23.

Karnataka The State on Friday recorded 14,859 new Covid-19 cases and as on April16 it has 96,580 active cases.

With the aim to contain the pandemic the State Government on Friday announced fresh curbs on various social events and tightening of its borders.

It is being hinted that the Government will extend the night curfew currently in force in eight cities, beyond April 20.

Further, in an order, the Government has put a cap on marriage guests not to exceed 100 in an indoor venue and 200 outdoors. For political events capping has been done at 200 people, while religious gatherings have been prohibited.

The State has decided to further intensify Covid-19 rules in airports, bus stands and railway stations. At these places, thermal screening, rapid antigen and RT-PCR tests will be made mandatory.

Keeping an open mind, the authorities are also thinking of other districts where the night curfew should be imposed. This will be decided on April 20.

(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative/

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
It started with a pain in her ribs.

On the morning of Monday, Dec. 7, Katie, 33, got up, worked out and went to work. But later in the day, when she sat down to do some sewing, she felt the pain on her right side, just beneath her sternum. After she went to bed, the pain got progressively worse.

She thought she might have dislocated a rib. She did not think she had COVID-19.

"I didnt have any other symptoms; I could still taste and smell," Katie, who asked to be identified just by her first name, said via Zoom in early April. "I didnt have a fever, I wasnt coughing. But what I did still have was that rib pain. And because the pain was so severe by this point, it actually made it difficult for me to take a deep breath. So based on that lone symptom, I decided that I should go get tested."

I remember going to say goodbye to my dogs, because, literally, the thoughts that run through your mind are like, Am I going to die? Am I going to go into the hospital and am I never going to come out?  Katie

Katie thought she was acting out of an abundance of caution, and planned to get an X-ray for the rib. But when she checked online for her COVID-19 results on the morning of Dec. 10, there it was: a big red plus-sign. She had tested positive for the virus.

"It was a shock," she says. "I still felt that rib pain, but I truly did not think it was COVID. I still had no fever, I still had zero other symptoms."

That said, it was becoming more difficult to breathe. "When I spoke to the various people who you have to speak with when you test positive, one of them said, Based on your symptoms, you need to go to an emergency room that has an ICU," she says. "I remember going to say goodbye to my dogs, because, literally, the thoughts that run through your mind are like, Am I going to die? Am I going to go into the hospital and am I never going to come out?"

Katie says her care at the hospital that day was exceptional, despite it being the crest of a deadly second wave in Manitoba. She ultimately didnt need to be admitted, but she says things got worse when she got home. She couldnt stand for more than 30 seconds. It felt like she was trying to breathe through a straw.

She was "listed as recovered" by Dec. 18, which meant she was no longer contagious. But she also wasnt better. COVID-19 was not through with her.

Now, four months on, Katie is one of many Canadians living with a condition called long COVID. Long haulers such as Katie continue to experience symptoms for weeks or months beyond the expected two- to six-week recovery time (as indicated by the World Health Organization), and after they no longer test positive for the virus. Long COVID can develop in anyone who has had COVID-19, even mild or asymptomatic cases.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Lisa Tarkos symptoms of long COVID, including a rash, insomnia and brain fog, have persisted for months after her release from hospital.

Its a fast-moving, emerging area of study, with more research required to better understand why long COVID is happening, who it is affecting and what the long-term effects will be  not just for individuals grappling with an array of often-debilitating symptoms, but on a societal level as well.

To understand why long COVID is an increasingly pressing public-health priority, all one needs to do is some math. Early research suggests 10 per cent of COVID-19 patients go on to develop long COVID. As of April 15, there were 35,688 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba and 1.9 million in Canada. That means roughly 3,500 Manitobans, and 190,000 Canadians, could become long haulers, which would have a tremendous effect on everything from school and workplace policies to the economy. ,

As of Thursday, according to a provincial spokesperson, 9,462 (or 26.5 per cent) of Manitobas COVID-19 cases were long COVID cases, patients who were not recovered four or more weeks after being infected with the virus.

TWITTER Dr. Angela Cheung

Torontos Dr. Angela Cheung is the co-lead investigator, along with Dr. Margaret Herridge, for the Canadian COVID-19 Prospective Cohort Study (CANCOV), which is examining early to one-year outcomes in 2,000 COVID-19 patients  1,000 non-hospitalized and 1,000 hospitalized and 5,000 family caregivers. Originally, the study was recruiting from the hardest-hit provinces  Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia  but Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia have also been included.

"We found that there are patients who still have symptoms  three months out, six months and 12 months out," Cheung says over the phone from Toronto.

"Theres been a lot of discussion about what long-haul COVID is, and we think of it as more than three months of symptoms. And yes, there are many different symptoms. Some have shortness of breath, especially when they exert themselves. Some have a fast heart rate. Some have brain fog, some have headaches, some have problems with sleeping, especially waking up in the middle of the night. So it is a very diverse set of symptoms  and Im just telling you about the common ones."

The studys preliminary findings have been interesting. "One thing we learned is that its often not the sickest people who complain of these long-term symptoms," Cheung says. "What is surprising to us  although it may not be that surprising, per se  is that even those who are not hospitalized, they can have residual symptoms for months."

Of course, the pandemic is still active and health-care professionals are still operating in "putting-out-fire mode," as Cheung calls it. Where she is, in Ontario, the third wave is crashing down heavily.

However, I think as the pandemic counts down, we may find ourselves in a situation where there are a lot of patients with long COVID," she says. "And so its important that we start now to study them systematically, and also try to find solutions, right? We dont do studies just for the sake of doing studies. We are doing studies so that we can be part of the solution to figure out what works best for these patients. How can we get them recovered faster? What we can do to minimize their residual symptoms?"

Katie cant exercise  the few times shes attempted, shes had to take days of recovery. She cant talk for extended periods of time, relying on a headset so she doesnt have to project her voice. Prior to having COVID19, Katie was the picture of health, exercising three to five times a week, sleeping well, eating well.

The goal, Cheung says, is to understand not only the short- and long-term outcomes, but also the predictors of those outcomes. "Because, right now, I cant tell you who will develop long COVID and who will not," Cheung says. "I think if we can figure that piece out, we may be able to understand who needs further therapy."

Katie is still experiencing symptoms. "I continue to have chest pain all the way across my chest. I wake up with it; I have it the whole day until I go to sleep."

She cant exercise  the few times shes attempted, shes had to take days of recovery. She cant talk for extended periods of time, relying on a headset so she doesnt have to project her voice.

Prior to having COVID-19, Katie was the picture of health, exercising three to five times a week, sleeping well, eating well. "One of the doctors that Ive seen asked me to rate my pre-COVID health out of 10, and I rated myself a 10."

She believes that early pandemic narratives that focused on negative (and deadly) outcomes for elderly folks and/or those with pre-existing conditions may have "led to people thinking that this virus will not affect you if youre young and if youre healthy. And Im living proof that this virus does not discriminate."

Lisa Tarko at her home. (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press)

On Dec. 19, the day after Katie was listed as recovered, another Winnipegger, Lisa Tarko, was taken by ambulance to hospital, where she remained for nearly a month.

Tarko, 63, is a severe asthmatic who is on oxygen. When she got sick in December, she initially thought she had pneumonia. While she was in observation at the hospital, Tarko had a COVID-19 test that came back positive. On New Years Eve, she tested positive again. She then moved hospitals, and was at Seven Oaks until the middle of January.

"My oxygen levels were good," she said over the phone in March. "I was very weak and fatigued, slept a lot. I had headaches, excruciating headaches, but it did not hit my lungs like everybody expected it to. They figured that I would go in and Id probably end up on a respirator.

"I came home on the 15th of January. I thought I would be back to normal. And thats not the case at all."

Now, Tarko has a rash that moves around her body. She could barely walk at first. She has tingling in her hands and feet. Shes dealing with insomnia. "And the brain fog is very bad," she says. Sometimes, she forgets how to spell certain words.

Tarkos husband is also recovering from COVID-19 and is her primary caregiver, so the past few months have been hard on both of them.

"When I came home, I was very frustrated and upset, because I thought I was going to just bounce back and be normal and everything would be OK. Then when I realized it wasnt, I put dates  like, goals to meet. Timelines. And the timelines, I wasnt meeting them. So, I dropped all that and just thought, Im just gonna take it day by day. And thats the only way I can do it is day by day. Because every day is different."

Celebrating small daily wins  such as walking to the kitchen and unloading the dishwasher  has helped keep Tarko focused on her recovery. In April, she was still experiencing symptoms. Tarko, too, has joined the ranks of long hauler.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Lisa Tarko says her slow recovery from COVID-19 has been frustrating; shed like to see workplaces recognize it as a chronic illness.

Being a long hauler means tests on tests on tests, and co-ordinating appointments.

"Theres a part of you that hopes that therell be a glaring abnormality in your tests, because theres a part of you that thinks if they find something wrong, they can fix it," Katie says. "Whereas if everything is abnormal, but this might be normal for you, then it really becomes much more difficult to treat."

Katie has other fears, too. "A big part of my concern is that eventually the concerns I have will be dismissed, that theyll be minimized as Oh, well, this is just how things are, or Have you tried mindfulness? Or, you know, that the tests will run out, that there wont be anything more to assess, yet I will still be so much different and so affected by this virus."

Tarko and Katie have both received their first vaccinations; Tarko in March, Katie this past week. Tarko says her walking has improved since getting her vaccine. Katie, too, is hopeful she will feel a bit better post-jab; a small U.K. study showed that long haulers showed improvement after vaccination.

Tarko would like to see workplaces acknowledge long COVID as a chronic illness and make accommodations accordingly. Dr. Cheung wants to see a more co-ordinated response to long COVID.

"Right now, COVID patients or long COVID patients go to different people (doctors and specialists), and each person may only see one or two," Cheung says. "And I think its important to have perhaps more specialized clinics that are co-ordinated, so that we can share with each other whats new and what we have learned, so that it can have a more rapid knowledge-to-action cycle in terms of helping these patients."

And Katie wants people to remain vigilant, especially as we face a third wave. She also wants the public to remember that those whose lives have been altered by COVID-19 are not just numbers on a public-health dashboard.

"Im listed as recovered, but I am not better," she says. "Im not recovered by any stretch of the imagination. And those numbers, when theyre not attached to real people, are, I think, very misleading.

"Its not through any fault of the public health system. Thats the data they keep, and I can understand why its kept. But it doesnt tell the full human story of someone whos recovered."

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @JenZoratti
(CNN)  Prince Philip, the late husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, will be laid to rest Saturday in an intimate service attended by 30 people including members of the royal family.

Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, died at the age of 99 on April 9 in Windsor Castle. He was the nation's longest-serving consort -- the name used to describe the spouse of a reigning monarch -- and had been married to the Queen for 73 years.

His death has left a "huge void" in the "stoic" Queen's life, her son, Prince Andrew has said.

The funeral service will be a muted affair, by royal standards, and will take place at St. George's Chapel, which lies within the grounds of Windsor Castle, at 3 p.m. local time (10 a.m. ET).

Those in attendance will include senior members of the royal family as well as relatives and close friends of the duke, among them Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Baden, Penny Brabourne, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, and Prince Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse.

But while the ceremony will be limited to 30 people inside, in line with England's current coronavirus restrictions, more than 700 military personnel will provide ceremonial support outside in honor of Prince Philip's own decorated military career. Members of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, British Army and Royal Air Force will all be in attendance.

Philip maintained close ties with the military community throughout his life after completing his naval service in 1953, including holding the position of Captain-General of the Royal Marines.

The funeral ceremony

Ahead of the ceremony, the duke's coffin -- which will be draped with his personal flag, and will have his sword, naval cap and a wreath of flowers laid on top -- will be taken to the chapel from Windsor Castle in a procession led by the Band of the Grenadier Guards.

In keeping with the duke's wishes, the coffin will be carried by a modified Land Rover, which he helped design.

The vehicle will be followed in a procession on foot by senior members of the family, including Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, Prince William and Prince Harry. They will all be dressed in civilian clothes.

Some of the duke's closest aides, including his private secretary and personal protection officer, will also walk in the procession.

Meanwhile, the rest of the congregation, including Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall; Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge; Princess Beatrice; Princess Eugenie, and other family members will arrive at the chapel by car.

Prince Harry's wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, who is pregnant with the couple's second child, will not be in attendance after her doctor advised against international travel.

The Queen will arrive at the chapel separately, attended by a lady in waiting.

A life of service

Guns will be fired at one-minute intervals and the curfew tower bell will toll ahead of the funeral service, while a national minute's silence will mark its beginning.

Inside the chapel, all members of the congregation will wear a face covering, as dictated by public health rules.

The duke was intimately involved in planning his own funeral service, selecting the music and making sure the ceremony reflects his military affiliations and personal interests.

The service will be conducted by the Dean of Windsor, the Right Reverend David Conner, and the archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and is expected to last for 50 minutes. Among the readings will be Ecclesiasticus 43 and John 11.

A four-person choir accompanied by the organ will sing pieces selected by the duke, including Benjamin Britten's "Jubilate in C," a piece he commissioned for the St George's Chapel Choir. In line with the coronavirus restrictions, the congregation will not sing along with the choir.

The choir will also sing an adaptation of Psalm 104, which the duke requested to be set to music by William Lovelady. The piece was sung at a concert celebrating Prince Philip's 75th birthday.

The Dean will then give the commendation and the duke's coffin will be lowered into the Royal Vault, where many members of the royal family have been laid to rest. The vault, set beneath the chapel, was built by George III, who is one of several kings buried within.

The vault will not be Philip's final resting place. When the Queen dies, he will be transferred to the King George VI memorial chapel to lie next to her.

At the duke's request, the end of the funeral service will be marked by the Buglers of the Royal Marines sounding "Action Stations," an announcement that would traditionally be made on a naval warship to signify that all hands should go to battle stations.

The archbishop of Canterbury will then pronounce the Blessing. The ceremony will then conclude with the national anthem.

Tributes to Prince Philip have poured in from well-wishers around the world, many of whom have remarked on the duke's extraordinary life and his service to the Queen.

Born in 1921 in Greece as Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, his family was forced into exile when the Greek monarchy was overthrown by a military revolt when he was still a baby.

He joined the Royal Navy in 1939, the same year he first met Elizabeth, and served during World War II. They married in 1947 and, following the Queen's accession to the throne in 1952, he gave up his rank of lieutenant commander to support her in her royal duties.

He played an active role in the royal family before he retired from public engagements in 2017.

The royal family entered a two-week period of mourning following his death, and many broadcasters in the UK postponed key programs as a mark of respect.

Speaking of his grandfather after returning to the UK last week, Prince Harry said he was "a man of service, honor and great humor ... with a seriously sharp wit."

Harry's brother William, the Duke of Cambridge, said Prince Philip was an "extraordinary man and part of an extraordinary generation" with an "infectious sense of adventure."

This story was first published on CNN.com, "UK prepares for funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, longtime consort of Queen Elizabeth II."
A Colorado man accused of killing his friend and burying him in a basement tomb has been found guilty, officials say.

Russell Montoya Jr., 39, was convicted Thursday of first-degree murder and tampering with a body in the death of his childhood friend Shane Nelson at a home in Adams County, which is northeast of Denver.

In November 2019, Nelson visited Montoya at his home and an argument began. Montoya fired four shots within about 12 seconds, hitting Nelson in the chest and head and he fell to the kitchen floor, officials say.

Then Montoya devised a plan to hide the body, officials say. He purchased materials at a hardware store to build a makeshift tomb under the stairs to his unfinished basement, officials say, and eventually encased Nelsons body in concrete to cover up the smell.

Five days later, Montoya told his daughter what he had done after she became suspicious of his behavior and the conditions inside his home, officials say. She told the Adams County Sheriffs Office, and a SWAT team executed a search warrant the next day.

Montoya was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on the murder charge and a 12-year sentence on the tampering charge.
"Eating out is fun. You go out, see people, and eat food that you usually do not cook at home. Eating out is a symbol of status. ... Sometimes, people want to save time, and instead of going to the grocery or supermarket, buy food, cook it, and then wash the dishes, they prefer to go to a restaurant."

" You're hungry  You want decent food, fast during travel, the work day, while visiting a museum or attraction, or when you're otherwise busy  To try different food that you don't cook."

"1. A Moment's Notice. Home cooking needs a lot of preparation.  2. Convenience. You cook, eat and wash ..." too much work. 3. to socialize, to celebrate, to try something new. 4. . To break the routine  5. No time to cook  6. As a source of inspiration  Customer service is the cornerstone of a great restaurant experience, but what does that mean ... Plus, there's science to back up the notion that when people hear their first ..."

what's getting people in the door and what's keeping them out?

Can you get rich owning a restaurant?

You Will Be Rich



Restaurants can earn a lot of money, however, most revenue will need to be put back into the business to keep it running. Expenses include items such as payroll, sales tax, insurance, rent, mortgage, food and supplies, liquor, utilities, and repairs.

How much profit does a small restaurant make?

They also estimate that the national average is around $65,000 a year. Chron.com estimates a similar range, between $29,000 and $153,000 per year. Finally, simplyhired.com gives a smaller range, with an average of $44,000, with the low end being around $24,000 per year and the top 10% making around $81,000 per year.

What is the biggest chain restaurant in America?

McDonald's Top 250: The Ranking Rank Chain 1 McDonald's 2 Starbucks 3 Chick-fil-A 4 Taco Bell 46 more rows

How much profit does the average restaurant make? On average, restaurant owners make between $30,000 and $155,000 a year.

How many restaurants are in the USA?

660,755 The number of restaurants in the United States reached a total of 660,755 in Spring 2018. This figure increased from the previous period by a little over two percent. The two main categories of restaurants that make up the restaurant count are quick service restaurants (QSR's) and full service restaurants (FSR'S). Nov 4, 2020

How many restaurants open each year?

How many new restaurants open each year? In 2018, there were 13,251 new restaurants in the US, according to Statista. With a 2% increase in comparison with the previous year, the restaurant industry reached 660,755 businesses. Mar 23, 2021

What percentage of US economy is restaurants?

4 percent Restaurant industry sales are projected to total $863 billion in 2019 and equal 4 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product. The restaurant industry is projected to employ 15.3 million people in 2019  about one in 10 working Americans.

Why do restaurants exist?

Restaurants exist because it's a place where we can eat, chill with our family , or get together with friends. Nowadays people don't feel to cook, so that's the main reason that you find lots of restaurants .

"Why are restaurants so important?

Beyond the basic purpose of restaurants to provide food and drink, restaurants have, historically, fulfilled a human need for connection and shaped social relations. In 21st century American life restaurants occupy an increasingly important place in shaping our overall economy and the nature and makeup of our cities. Jan 18, 2015"

What is a good profit margin for restaurant?

between 2% and 6% While there is no one-size-fits-all answer to that question, Restaurant Resource Group claims that, on average, restaurant profit margins are between 2% and 6%, with full-service restaurants at the lower end of the spectrum and limited-service (or quick service) restaurants at the higher end.

==ref.:

Jul 14, 2020  London restaurateurs Chris Corbin and Jeremy King explain what drives us to dine out | 1843 magazine.

https://www.economist.com/1843/2020/07/14/why-do-people-go-to-restaurants-its-not-about-the-food?fsrc=scn%2Ftw%2Fte%2Fbl%2Fed%2Frestaurantsthepleasureprinciplewhyrestaurantsmatter1843

FOOD

Why do people go to restaurants? Its not about the food London restaurateurs Chris Corbin and Jeremy King explain what drives us to dine out
Dust in the Wind

The Lean On Me Live Fest at Blue Tree Phuket last month raised an outstanding total of more than B260,000 for those hardest hit by the ongoing COVID economic crisis, left out of work and unable to buy even basic food items. Here is a report from the organisers now that the dust has settled, but efforts continue to help people in Phuket still suffering financial distress.

CommunityCOVID-19economicscharity

By The Phuket News

Saturday 17 April 2021, 12:13PM

As the dust settles on one of the first major events to be hosted in Phuket in many months, we take stock of an awesome, albeit hot day of music, and find out what is on the horizon in terms of the next fundraising event for the ongoing food relief programs.



The Lean On Me Live Fest brought a large part of our expat community back together under the auspices of enjoying a full range of music from the many talented musicians that Phuket has on offer. Understanding the plight that they were all there to serve and whilst enjoying the music, the many patrons that attended the festival dug deep, and contributed immensely in a collection-box effort run by some very dedicated members of One Phuket.



Combined with the B92,000 raised in VIP Ticket and Table sales, the additional B172,361 raised on the day, pushed the events fundraising effort to an impressive B264,361. This total was further added to last week by Blue Tree Phukets friends and employees in a brief statement after donating an additional B50,000, where they explained that We are all in this together  ONE amazing Phuket!. This brought the total Lean On Me Live Fest fundraising effort to a close on a whopping B314,361  a truly great effort by the entire Phuket community, and that has already translated into many, many families receiving food aid in and around Phuket.



Whilst the success of the event was wholly about a community uniting behind an urgent cause, the day would not have been possible without a full spectrum of musicians, young and old, that donated their time and talent for free to ensure that there was in fact an event at all. Many of these musicians are of the hardest hit by the pandemic, but never wavered when called upon to contribute when they were needed. The 12 bands that played on the day were all spectacular in their own right, delivering a great blend of both original and cover music in genres that spanned Blues, Rock, Soul, Reggae, Modern and Traditional Pop, and even Disco. Phuket is indeed a diverse island with a diverse array of very talented musicians.



Never resting on their laurels, the organizers of the Lean On Me Live Fest are already hard at work assembling the cast and planning the next musical fundraising event for One Phuket to be staged in the coming months. Details are scarce right now, other than that we have been told that it will be decedent, indulgent and a LOT of fun. We cannot wait to see what comes next!
Tirupati, April 17 : M. Gurumoorthy and Panabaka Lakshmi, the candidates from YSRCP and TDP respectively, who are in fray in the Tirupati Lok Sabha bypoll, voted on Saturday.

"I have done my duty by voting. I urge you all to come out in large numbers and vote to save our Tirupati," said Lakshmi.

Likewise, ruling YSRCP candidate Gurumoorthy exercised his franchise in his native village of Mannasamudram. He voted along with his wife and parents in Srikalahasti constituency.

Meanwhile, BJP and Janasena joint candidate Ratna Prabha claimed that a bogus voter has been arrested at 26/A SPJNM School polling station.

She claimed more bogus voters were driven out.

"Police assured action. Our karyakartas have gone to the police station," said Prabha.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Actor Sonu Sood on Saturday said he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently under quarantine, nearly ten days after receiving the vaccine.

The actor was recently made the brand ambassador for Punjab's anti- vaccination programme.

Sood had also met Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, on April 10.

The 47-year-old actor, who catapulted to the national spotlight for helping migrants reach their home states during the nationwide lockdown last year, said he will continue his work for those in need.

"This is to inform you that I have tested positive this morning for COVID-19. As a part of precautions, I have already quarantined myself and taking utmost care.

"But don't worry, this gives me ample time to solve your problems. Remember, I'm always there for you all," Sood tweeted.

The actor had received the first dose of the vaccine on April 7.

According to the health ministry on Saturday, a record single-day rise of 2,34,692 cases and 1,341 fatalities pushed India's COVID-19 tally to 1,45,26,609 and the death toll due to the viral disease to 1,75,649.

Registering a steady increase for the 38th day in a row, the tally of active COVID-19 cases in the country rose to 16,79,740.

(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.)
Eiza Gonzalez wrapped shooting the upcoming action-thriller Ambulance with director Michael Bay less than four weeks ago.

In keeping with her hectic work schedule over the course of more than two years, the Mexican actress looked to be all business when she exited a high-rise building in New York City after making an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Friday.

Eiza has been out en force in recent weeks promoting her latest project Godzilla vs. Kong, which premiered in late March.

Taking care of business: Eiza Gonzalez, 31, appeared to be all business when she left a high-rise building after appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in NYC on Friday

The actress opened up about her new movie, Godzilla vs. Kong, and revealed that she got severe motion sickness while shooting a scene.

'They had strapped me into the heave and I had four words to say,' she explained to the host before realizing she had the motion sickness going on.

However, after finally getting through the scene, she was informed the director was cutting it out of the movie!

Fans and photographers, who had waited outside, began snapping photos of the actress, who looked classy and stylish in a light pink-patterned ensemble from St. John

After leaving the studio with a protective mask over her mouth and nose, The I Care A Lot star still turned plenty of heads with a man, possibly a security guard, at her side.

Fans and photographers, who had waited outside, began snapping photos of the actress, who looked classy and stylish in a light pink-patterned ensemble from St. John.

The pants hugged her derriere and hips, while flaring out along each leg.

The matching sleeveless jacket was worn over a simple white top, and fell just inches from the ground.

On this day, she had her brown locks styled long with some soft waves, a center part, and a few strands of blonde highlights along the front.

Covergirl: The leading lady wore a red one-piece for the cover of Shape magazine's May issue

This past Monday, Shape magazine dropped its May issue with Gonzalez on the cover.

In it, she opens up about her career, a silver lining to COVID-19 lockdowns, and some of the freedoms that come with being a confident woman in her 30s.

'So happy to share the May issue for @shape we spoke about how the fat on my hip is my favorite part of my body and why I feel sexier than ever when I see my thighs and butt jiggle. Something I never felt in my 20s. A self love journey to womanhood,' Gonzalez captioned a photo of the Shape cover on Instagram.

Glow of confidence: The Baby Driver star talks about her 'self love journey to womanhood' in an interview with Shape magazine

Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II star as two bank robbers who steal an ambulance occupied by a paramedic (Eiza Gonzalez), and a patient in critical condition in Ambulance.

The movie, a remake of the 2005 Danish film of the same name, has been in post-production for about three-and-a-half weeks.

Ambulance is slated to hit theaters in the U.S. on February 18, 2022.

Also on the horizon: Gonzalez voices the role of Milagro Navarro in the animated adventure film Spirit Untamed, which is set to debut on June 4. It also features the voices of Isabela Merced, Marsai Martin, Mckenna Grace, Julianne Moore, Jake Gyllenhaal and Walton Goggins.
A good number of students and their parents raised concern over the holding of exams, saying that they may fall victim to the Coronavirus. (DC file photo)

Vijayawada: Despite the daily surge in Coronavirus infections, and several boards deferring the exams, JNTU-Kakinada is going ahead with its first semester engineering exams in the beginning of May.

Nearly 50,000 students from eight districts  Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur and Prakasam  are to attend the exams at 241 affiliated colleges. The exams are to be held from 10 am to 1 pm.

The students are also to attend first-semester mid-exams from April 26.

University officials said they would be complying with all standard operating procedures (SOPs) recommended by the Centre and the AP government against the Coronavirus. Only 12 students would be seated in a class room and six-feet distance would be maintained between them.

In addition, all students would have to wear face masks and would be allowed to carry a bottle of sanitiser and a water bottle into the exam centre. Students showing Covid-19 symptoms or those infected with the virus will be seated separately.

The authorities said that as per UGC norms a student has to appear for the final exam of every year to be permitted to go to the next. The Supreme Court has upheld the norms, they said.

Asked if the first semester exams could not be held with those for the second semster at a later date, the officials said that they were facing opposition from students to the plan. However, the university authorities made the students write exams for both the semesters.

The authorities say that as they had conducted all scheduled exams for engineering, business management, pharma and other courses for both UG and PG successfully during the first wave of Covid-19. Another round of exams was held recently with the exception of first year exams. There were no reports of any student getting infected with the virus.

JNTU-K controller of exams Dr K. Venkata Reddy said, We are making all arrangements for conduct of mid-exams and the first semester exams for the first year engineering, pharma and architecture students to save the academic year. As it is mandatory to conduct the final exams before promoting the students to the next level, we have no option except to do so.

A good number of students and their parents raised concern over the holding of exams, saying that they may fall victim to the Coronavirus.
Last year at the start of the pandemic, my hevruta partners and I studied a text from the Piaceczyner (the rabbi of the Warsaw Ghetto) about this week's Torah portion, Tazria-Metzora. His jumping-off point is a verse about houses contracting tzara'at -- some kind of contagion -- and the need to quarantine such a house for a period of time.

The commentator Rashi explains that there's treasure hidden in the walls of the afflicted house, and when we knock down the walls, we'll find the treasure. But the Piaceczyner is puzzled: if there's treasure, then why does Torah tell us to wait for seven days before we can knock down the walls and find the treasures hidden therein?

His first answer makes me laugh: well, we can't exactly know why Torah says what it says!

But then he says, if we look deeply we can recognize that in everything that happens to us, there's a spark of God's intention for goodness. Even if the situation we're in is a difficult one, God intends goodness for us in it somehow.

"There may be times when we can't access schooling for our children, or praying together in community, or going to the mikvah," he writes. A year ago, my first thought was: that's us, right now! Our kids are home from school. The shul building is closed. Everything is closed: to protect us from each other, from the virus we might not know we're carrying.

The Piaceczyner said there would be treasures to be found in quarantine. I couldn't yet imagine what they would be.

This year, these lines land entirely differently with me.

It's still true that we still don't have access to our former infrastructure for Jewish life. Synagogues aren't meeting in person, Hebrew school isn't meeting in person... And yet -- look at everything we've learned over the last year.

Our synagogues are open, even though our buildings are not -- because the synagogue isn't the building, it's the people and the connections among and between us, and our traditions, and our Source. We've learned how to pray together over Zoom, and how to make our home spaces into sacred spaces. We've learned how to build community and connectivity online when we can't safely be in person.

We've learned how to educate our children online. Hebrew school is happening: online. Services are happening: online. We've learned how to share funerals, b-mitzvah celebrations, shiva minyanim, even batei din (conversions) online.

We've learned to find sweetness in glimpsing each others' households -- our dogs and our cats, the children and elders who share our homes -- when we gather for learning or prayer. As a member of our Board said to me after Rosh Hashanah services, "Seeing people at their tables and on their couches and with their coffee cups made it feel like we were all in each others' homes -- I felt like I was getting to know people in a different way because I got to see them where they live." Who could have imagined that, before the pandemic?

We've learned how to embrace video, and how to enliven our davenen with art and images. This doesn't make up for the fact that we can't embrace, and we can't sing together in harmony, but it brings a different kind of hiddur mitzvah (beautifying the mitzvah) to our spiritual lives.

And we've learned how digital offerings can more easily include those who are immunocompromised, or hospitalized, or disabled, or homebound. We've learned how having our digital doors open makes our synagogues more accessible than they ever were before.

The Piaceczyner insists that even when something appears to us to be a plague, God intends goodness in it. We might just need a while to find the hidden treasure in whatever's unfolding. As we prepare, in time, to return to our former Jewish infrastructure, I want to ensure that we do so in a way that doesn't lose the new treasure we've found. Here are some of the big questions my colleagues and I are asking:

How can we create hybrid offerings so that as some of us feel safely able to gather in person, others can be full participants digitally?

How can we continue to embrace the gifts of multimedia and visual art once we're back in the building again?

How can we welcome and include people joining us digitally, without creating a future in which no one bothers to "come to shul" because it's easier to just stay home?

How can we use what we've learned this year to help us become more accessible, more equitable, and more inclusive?

How can we use what we've learned this year to help us build and sustain community across distance, whether it's the distance between the shul and a hospital bed, or the distance between here and someplace further away?

How might our sense of community expand and adapt if people keep participating in services and learning and festival observances online -- if you don't have to be in Northern Berkshire to become a part of CBI?

And how can we honor the treasures of this pandemic learning while also honoring the very real losses of this incredibly difficult year?

We don't know the answers yet: we're figuring them out as we go. The crisis of COVID-19 offers us an opportunity to dream big and think creatively about what it means to do Jewish together now.I hope you'll grapple with these questions too, and let me know your answers.

This is the d'varling I offered at Kabbalat Shabbat services (cross-posted to my From the Rabbi blog.)
Ruth Madoff is still holed up inside the $3.8million Connecticut home where she has been staying since her husband Bernie's death earlier this week.

The 79-year-old is staying at a home owned by her late son Mark's first wife, Susan Elkin.

A visitor was seen dropping off a package at the family home on Saturday, but Ruth was nowhere to be seen.

She has not been seen since her husband, the disgraced financier Bernie Madoff, died in federal prison in North Carolina on Wednesday after a year-long battle with kidney disease.

Prison sources said his death was from natural causes.

Now, it remains unclear who will claim his body or what kind of funeral he will be given.

Ruth Madoff is still holed up inside the $3.8million Connecticut home where she has been staying since her husband Bernie's death earlier this week

It's unclear who the woman who dropped off a package was

A woman dropping off a package at the family home where Ruth Madoff has been staying since Bernie's death

One of the people inside the home retrieved the package. It's unclear if this is one of Ruth's grandchildren, who she moved Connecticut to be close to

After robbing tens of thousands of people of $65billion to fund his extraordinarily extravagant life with Ruth, Bernie was arrested in 2008. His adult sons Mark and Andrew turned him into the feds after he confessed to them that the investment firm he was running was a Ponzi scheme and 'one big lie'.

Mark stopped speaking to him and hanged himself in 2010, on the second anniversary of Bernie's arrest.

He was so ashamed of his father that he couldn't live with the guilt of his crimes anymore.

Andrew died from lymphoma in 2014. He'd beaten cancer once but it returned in 2011, after Bernie's arrest. He blamed his father for his deteriorating health.

Ruth claimed to have cut Bernie off but journalist Jim Campbell, who had unfettered access to her for years, revealed to DailyMail.com last week that Bernie was still writing to her from prison when he died.

The back of the waterfront home in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. Ruth has not been seen

The home is owned by Richard and Susan Elkin. Richard is pictured. Susan was previously married to Ruth's oldest son Mark

He also said he did not believe she would ever 'completely uncouple' from him.

Before he was jailed, she made a deal with prosecutors to that she'd be allowed $2.5million to pay for his legal fees.

She has since reached a settlement with a small group of some of his tens of thousands of victims to pay them $600,000.

Bernie and Ruth Madoff in Palm Beach, Florida, before his 2008 arrest. Madoff died aged 82 in prison on Wednesday

It's a tiny fraction of what he stole - $65billion.

Bernie also told Campbell how he convinced clients they were making money when they weren't.

He had a file he referred to as 'schtup', a Yiddish word which means 'sex' or 'push up', where he'd calculate how much each client needed to think they were making every year, then he'd give them that number at year-end.

He insisted to Campbell that he could have made all of the trades he thought about but never did.

'Jim I do realize none of these trades actually happened,' he said.

The trades Bernie claimed to be making were larger than the entire market but somehow, the SEC failed to detect it.

They didn't even know he had a hedge fund, Campbell writes.

'Over 40 years, the SEC missed what could have been uncovered in a well-placed 5-minute phone call to a Wall Street trade validating entity to see such returns werent even possible,' he said.

Bernie's coziness with the regulators was a crucial component of the case.
GREENSBORO, N.C., April 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

"We are surprised and disappointed that the UAW decided to strike," said NRV Vice President and General Manager Franky Marchand. "Progress was being made, and we had offered substantial increases in our employees' compensation. We don't understand why the UAW won't allow our employees to continue building trucks while we continue negotiations. We are committed to the collective bargaining process, and look forward to getting back to the table. We are confident that we will be able to arrive at an agreement that provides a competitive wage and benefit package for our employees and families, and helps to ensure the plant's competitiveness, long-term growth and sustainability."

The Volvo Group is the only heavy-duty truck manufacturing group that assembles all of its trucks and engines for the North American market in the United States. The NRV plant employs more than 3,300 people, about 2,900 of whom are UAW members. The plant is in the midst of a $400 million investment for advanced technology upgrades, site expansion and preparation for future products, including the innovative Volvo VNR Electric truck, slated for the serial production launch this spring. The plant has added 1,100 jobs since the current union agreement was implemented in 2016 and is on track to have a net increase of approximately 600 positions in 2021.

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 John Mies, Volvo Trucks, phone 336-543-9094, email [email protected]

www.volvotrucks.us www.volvotrucks.ca www.volvotrucks.mx

SOURCE Volvo Trucks North America
Lightfoot has since come to her senses  as I see it  and changed camps, evidently realizing that subjecting the administration of public schools to the grubby shake-and-howdy of big-city politics is not the best way to go. Though it allows a mayor to wash her hands of bad student outcomes and toxic labor negotiations, it opens the door to ideological proxy battles waged by high-dollar donors from all over the country.
What is a horse doing in that coffee shop? one Twitter user asked last weekend, referencing the rise of the horsebox turned coffee box - an initiative that has escalated since the sun began peeking out this season.

Cleaned out horse boxes, newly equipped vans, and transformed trailers: If it can fit a coffee machine, it can mean big business.

Now that were free to enjoy an outdoor coffee anywhere in the county, we rounded up the best tiny coffee spots to visit this weekend.

Bean & Berry

Bean & Berry is located on Garretstown beach.

Olan Crowley started his coffee journey at the start of the year, investing in an old horsebox in early January. He spent every spare moment working on it for the next three months, with some help from friends and family.

Thankfully, it's been a great start. The locals really got behind it and you'd see the same faces every day which is great. It's got to a stage now when you see people coming and you know exactly what theyre going to order, Olan says.

Bean & Berrys main offering, apart from serving up cups of locally-produced Red Strand coffee, is its refreshing acai smoothie bowls, which were inspired by the Ballinadee native's previous travels.

Bean & Berry's seaside smoothie bowls.

It also sells a delicious rocky road, made from a secret recipe created by Olan's mother, and treats from Petras Kitchen, which is located nearby.

The acai smoothie bowls came from having them abroad in places like Thailand, Bali, and the west coast of America. I thought I'm living right next to Garrettstown, one of the busiest beaches around, and there is nothing like that there, Olan says.

Were also really trying to promote local produce, with most of our suppliers in our parish and the surrounding area. Its exciting now to see what will happen as lockdown eases. Last night, for example, we opened just for sunset. Were trying to mix things up to keep it interesting and exciting for people who call.

Open at Garretstown beach from 10am to 4pm Saturdays and Sundays.

Guji Coffee Bar

Guji is fast becoming one of Cork's top coffee spots.

Its all about the coffee over at Guji in Cork Citys Marina Market, with four different single-origin roasts available, including a decaf option.

Run by Dubliner Alan Andrews and The Old Barracks Coffee Roasters from Birdhill in Co Tipperary, the renovated shipping container has been hopping since opening up last year, when the Marina Market was first brought to life.

Guji has vegan and gluten-free options available.

Guji sells a range of delicious cakes and snacks, with vegan and gluten-free options available, as well as ice-cold coffees for those looking for a summer treat.

Open from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, Saturdays from 9am to 8pm, and 9am to 7pm on Sundays.

Red Strand Coffee

There's always a queue for Red Strand at Kinsale market.

With a fitting name, Red Strand Coffee has been steadily growing in popularity around the rebel county since its inception ten years ago.

Shane Kellihers love affair with coffee started nearly two decades ago in Melbourne. Long before the tiny shop trend, he set up the Red Strand coffee van after moving home in 2011 and has been spinning around West Corks farmers' markets since.

Now run out of its own roastery in Clonakilty, Red Strand is sold in stores and used in coffee shops all around Cork, while Shane still serves perfectly strong cups, made using creamy Gloun Cross milk, from the back of his red van.

Find Red Strand in Bantry and Clonakilty markets from 8:30am to 2:30 pm on Fridays, Skibbereen market from 8:30am to 2pm on Saturdays, in Schull on Sundays from 9am to 2pm and on Wednesdays in Kinsale from 9am to 2:30pm.

Steaming Mugs

Emma (left) and Abbey opened just over two weeks ago and business is already brisk.

Steaming Mugs is one of the newest horsebox coffee carts to pop up around the area. Opening just over two weeks ago, the initiative is run by two friends living locally in Cork.

Located 500 meters from the Halfway roundabout, towards Innishannon, Steaming Mugs is the perfect roadside stop for those still commuting, or anyone heading on a day out to West Cork or the city.

During lockdown, I came up with the idea of transforming a horse trailer into a coffee truck and the business idea started from there. It didn't take much convincing from my business partner Abbey to come on board, co-founder Emma Jordan says.

It was originally my nans property, Shiela Jordans Flower Shop, and it was somewhere I always aspired to start a business of some sort and bring back some life to the site.

Because of its location, Steaming Mugs was kept busy even before the 5km was lifted this week, but the founders are looking forward to welcoming some new faces now that Corkonians are free to travel within county borders.

Our recommendation is the hot chocolate, made with O Conaills chocolate.

Open 7am to 3pm Tuesday to Friday and 10am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday.

The River Cafe

The vintage truck used by The River Cafe is truly one of a kind.

This Glanmire-based vintage truck is situated at the foot of Rocky Road and has been serving up hot coffees and other treats to locals in an idyllic setting all year.

Now that restrictions have eased, it's gearing up to welcome those from further afar with delicious hot chocolates and cakes, which are perfect for after a riverside walk. There's even a doggie bowl onsite for thirsty pups.

Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm.

Truly Scrumptious

Truly Scrumptious has the perfect promenade spot in Cobh.

Truly Scrumptious is what it says on the tin, an amazingly indulgent coffee and food spot. It's located on the Cobh promenade and serves up homemade cakes and flavoured iced coffees as well as the usual suspects.

The family business is run by Michael and Tania Burke, who have over 25 years of experience in catering. They opened their own catering business a decade ago, basing their kitchen in their country home in East Cork.

After their cart at Cobh Farmer's Market proved popular, they decided to go full-time, now offering visitors moreish treats by the sea seven days a week.

Open every day from 10am to 4:30pm.

Coffee Trails

Cian and Cliodhna O'Regan being served by Saoirse O'Regan last weekend.

Midleton's latest offering also comes in a redesigned trailer, which was recently voted as Cork's best coffee spot by Redfm listeners.

Coffee Trails opened last month in the car park of Bailick Road walkway and is serving the renowned West Cork Coffee to its customers.

A truly family-run business, the cart was set up by cousins Tiernan Condon and Daniel O'Regan, with Tiernan's mother Marion manning the bar on weekdays and his girlfriend Rachel taking over on weekends along with Daniel's sister Saoirse.

Open Monday to Saturday 9:30am to 6pm and Sunday 10am to 6pm.

Mahers Coffee

Grab a Mahers Coffee in Blackrock.

The widely popular Mahers Coffee has also gotten in on the horsebox action, setting up their first wheelie hatch in Blackrock last month.

You can find Mahers, who are known for their extensive range of beans, in the Cork Boat Club from 9:30am on Saturdays and Sundays.

Ozzy's Coffee Dock

Trevor Dickens and Emma Butler with Ozzy.

This new spot, located at the entrance to Garryduff woods in Rochestown, has had an exciting start since owners Emma Butler and Trevor Dickens first thought of setting up a business in the area, inspired by the amount of people taking to the woods for walks.

Ozzy's, named after the pair's friendly Cavachon dog, has a generous selection of coffees and snacks available, with one of the main attractions enticing visitors being the chance to meet Ozzy himself.
Reporter

Debra Pressey is a reporter covering health care at The News-Gazette. Her email is dpressey@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@DLPressey).
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 03:18:27|Editor: huaxia

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GENEVA, April 16 (Xinhua) -- A shipwreck off the coast of southeast Tunisia killed at least 41 people Thursday evening, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a joint press release on Friday.

According to the UN agencies, three survivors have been rescued and the search effort is still underway on Friday.

Based on initial information, the UN agencies said that all those who perished were from Sub-Saharan Africa.

"This tragic loss of life underscores once again the need to enhance and expand state-led search and rescue operations across the Central Mediterranean, where some 290 people have lost their lives so far this year," said the press release. Enditem
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 17)  Authorities have arrested four suspects in Palawan for selling 200 tons of fossilized giant clams shells, also known as taklobo, worth 1.2 billion.

In a statement Saturday, Commodore Genito Basilio, district Palawan commander of the Philippine Coast Guard, said the suspects were nabbed at Sitio Green Island in Barangay Tumarbong, Roxas on Friday. The incident is considered to be the biggest giant clam shell haul in the province, he added.

The operation was conducted by the Coast Guard Intelligence Group Palawan, Coast Guard District Palawan, PCSD, Philippine National Police Maritime Group Palawan, Armed Forces of the Philippines Intelligence Operatives, and Bantay Dagat Roxas.

This led to the arrest of Rey Cuyos, Rodolfo Rabesa, Julius Molejoa, and Erwin Miagao. They were brought to the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development for inquest proceedings and filing of appropriate cases for violating Republic Act No. 9147 or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act.

Giant clams play a major role in maintaining marine life. According to studies, they serve as nurseries or shelter for marine animals, as well as prevent excessive algal growth and contribute to the topographic relief of reefs.
Rome, N.Y. - Work on Phase 2 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at the Griffiss Business and Technology Park in Rome has resumed.

The big centerpiece of Phase 2 is the restoration of a UH-1 Huey Helicopter, a chopper known to have played a big role during the Vietnam War.

Right now the New York State Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund in Rome is refurbishing the helicopter, which it purchased last August, to ultimately place in its Vietnam Veterans Memorial this summer as part of the Phase 2 unveiling.

On Saturday, Shane Ramnarine, the owner of CNY Precision Welding & Custom Fabrication in Rome who is donating the labor and equipment used to strip the old paint off of the chopper, was on hand helping the cause himself. He says it's truly an honor to part of this effort, "Ill tell you what, its an honor, its an honor to work on a project like this."

Mark Jennings, Vice President of the New York State Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund in Rome, says this entire Memorial project was a vision here in the Rome area more than two decades ago, and he says that vision wouldn't have come this far if it wasn't for the continued generosity of businesses and people like Ramnarine.

Jennings says the paint to paint the chopper, the 10 foot pole and the welding of that pole that the chopper will sit on, are all also being donated, "We took possession of the helicopter back on August 1st of 2020 but with all the setbacks of COVID and the delays and shut downs and everything that we had absolutely no control over, we had a few snags but we got through them, we got the wrinkles ironed out and now were seeing some light at the end of the tunnel."

Jennings is hoping for a July 10th Phase 2 unveiling of which the UH-1 Huey Helicopter will be the center of attention, "This type of helicopter is one of the most widely, if not the most important piece of military equipment used during Vietnam. The best sound that a wounded soldier could hear was the sound of this helicopter coming in because 9 out of 10 times anyone who was wounded in action survived because of these helicopters, so are a very, very important piece of military history."

Jennings says putting the UH-1 Huey on a 10 foot pole will be eye-catching, "Its going to give a very good reference to those folks who dont know where our memorial is because its a little difficult to see, its up on a little hill. But coming from any direction around, youll see the helicopter up there, youll know where the memorial is located."

Besides the helicopter, Jennings says there will also be a number of other additions as part of the Phase 2 unveiling, including five flag poles, one for each branch of the service, two slant stones, one for Agent Orange and another for women who served in Vietnam. Also, a plaque made for Gold Star families, granite benches and landscaping additions.

If you would like to make a donation to help with Phase 2 of the Memorial project, you can mail a check to :

New York State Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund

210 Elm St.

Rome, N.Y. 13440
A Florida kidnapping suspect was killed in a crash while fleeing St. George police this week, authorities said.

Dorchester County Coroner Paul Brouthers identified the man as 56-year-old Boynton Beach, Fla., resident Stephen B. Swears, who died April 15 after his vehicle crossed the centerline of U.S. Highway 15 and struck another vehicle head-on.

According to S.C. Highway Patrol Sgt. Sonny Collins, the crash happened at 11:35 a.m. on Highway 15 near Fox Run Road.

A 2013 Ford Mustang driven by Swears was headed south on the highway and trying to elude law enforcement when the driver ran off the road, lost control and went over into the northbound lane, where it struck a 2012 Ford Fusion headed north.

The Fusion's driver survived the crash, but was hospitalized, Collins said.

St. George Police Chief Brett Camp said the chase began after federal marshals informed his agency Swears was in their area and was wanted for kidnapping and aggravated assault in the West Palm Beach, Fla., area.

Upon searching for him in a national crime database, they saw he was to be considered armed and dangerous, Camp said.

Officers knew he was traveling north on Interstate 95 and were able to catch up to him, beginning the chase, the chief said.

The pursuit lasted about 22 minutes before ending in the crash, Camp said.

The Fusion's driver remains hospitalized, but the person's condition was not available Friday.

The drivers were the sole occupants of their respective vehicles and they were both wearing seat belts, Collins said.
The music industry lost a number of rappers in 2020  from OGs like MF Doom and Ecstasy of Whodini to up-and-coming artists such as Pop Smoke and King Von. Moving into 2021, fans were hoping for less loss of life, but there have unfortunately been several deaths this year as well. Here, find all the rappers who died in 2021.

DMX at a show | John Lamparski/FilmMagic

Baby CEO

Born Jonathan Brown, Baby CEO was an artist from Memphis who found fame at 13 for controversial songs focused on guns and money. He gained greater attention under the tutelage of Chicago drill rapper Fredo Santana, who died of cardiovascular disease at age 27 in 2018 (via The Chicago Tribune). But just three years later, in January 2021, he lost his life. Distractify reports he was 20.

18veno

18veno, a 19-year-old rapper from South Carolina, had just started to see success thanks to his 2020 R4z EP and debut project Pablo, when he was shot and killed on Jan. 23. Pitchfork was one of the first outlets to break the news, but the details of the shooting have not yet been publicized.

Prince Markie Dee

Prince Markie Dee of The Fat Boys died in February of unknown causes. He was 52. Group manager, Louis Gregory, confirmed the news on Twitter, writing (via Rolling Stone): Forever in my Heart. Prince Markie Dee was more than a rapper; he was one of my very best and closest friends. My heart breaks today because I lost a brother. Ill always love you Mark and Ill cherish everything you taught me. Tomorrow is your birthday, swing my way big bro.

RELATED: The 10 Greatest Rappers of All Time

Chucky Trill

Hailing from Houston, Chucky Trill (born Corey Detiege) was a rapper best known songs such as 2018s Streets Dont Love A Soul, as well as collaborations with artists including Texas legend Lil Keke and Dallas rapper Trapboy Freddy.

NME reports he had been in Atlanta on March 5 for All-Star Weekend when he was shot and killed on a local highway. Police have yet to make an arrest in the 33-year-olds murder, at the time of this writing.

DMX

DMX  real name Earl Simmons  was one of raps most beloved figures. Known for his gravel-voice and fiery rap anthems, he ruled the late 90s and early 2000s with hits such as Party Up and Get at Me Dog and later made history as the first act to have their first five albums hit No. 1.

Though his music career later slowed, fans still held him in high regard until his death on April 9, which was the result of a heart attack. He was 50.

RELATED: 7 Rappers For People Who Dont Like Rap Music

Black Rob

As Vulture notes, Black Rob, who is best recognized for his 2000 hit Whoa, had admitted to several health struggles over the years. But his comments were often overlooked by the media and the general public. It wasnt until Black Robs video tribute to DMX, which he recorded from a hospital bed, that most people realized he was ill. A GoFundMe page was quickly set up to help support the rapper, who was born Robert Ross. But sadly, he died just days later on April 19. He was 52.

Shock G

Born in New York as Gregory Jacobs, Shock G would become famous for the Digital Underground earworm The Humpty Dance and Tupac collaborations such as I Get Around. His death came on April 22 at age 57 (via TMZ), but the cause of death is still unknown at the time of this writing.

Lil Loaded

A rising star from Dallas, Lil Loaded (real name Dashawn Robertson) first came on the scene with his 2019 song 6locc 6a6y, which has over 25 million plays on YouTube. Sometime in late May, he died by suicide, his attorney told NBC News. This kid was on a great path, businessman Stanley Gabart added to The Dallas Morning News of the 20-year-old rapper. He was struggling with some things we wish we wouldve known about, wish we couldve intervened.

Though these artists are no longer here, each of them left behind music and loved ones to carry on their legacies. We at Showbiz Cheat Sheet send our condolences to their families, friends, and fans.

How to get help: In the U.S. and Canada, text the Crisis Text Line at 741741 to reach a crisis counselor for support.
UPDATE: The article was updated to include comments from Barton Deiters wife, Lorena, about his death.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI  Barton Deiters, who became a WOOD TV 8 reporter after 16 years at The Grand Rapids Press/MLive, died Friday, April 16, the station said.

Deiters, 56, and his wife, Lorena, have two children, Harrison and Sophie.

In a Facebook post late Friday, his wife said he promised months ago to fight to get his life back.

Today, I told him he didnt have to fight anymore, Lorena Deiters wrote.

So the love of my life, my soulmate and best friend and the wonderful father to my two amazing children peacefully passed on a few hours ago.  I only know that I was fortunate that he chose me to share his life. His love is and always will be my most cherished gift.

He had battled West Nile Virus since being diagnosed in September. He was hospitalized throughout the ordeal but returned home last month to cheers from his colleagues. Everyone was hopeful, with co-workers putting in new flooring to help him get around inside, TV 8 reporter Ken Kolker said.

In March, WOOD TV updated viewers on Deiters public battle with the illness after six months. In 2012, he underwent a liver transplant.

Deiters was a graduate of East Kentwood High School and James Madison College at Michigan State University where he worked for the State News and WKAR public radio.

Early on, he wrote for The Detroit Free Press, Lansing State Journal and Holland Sentinel. He started with WOOD TV 8 in January 2016, after working the crime and court beat for many years for MLive.

He also once owned a comic-book store. He had a dry, sometimes biting, sense of humor. He wore mismatched suits with old-style Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers topped off with a fedora.

He wasnt like, Made for TV, but you know, it worked well. He ended up having a cult following on TV, Kolker, also a former Press reporter, said.

He described Deiters as quirky. The last time he saw him, Deiters was in bed, watching Monty Pythons Life of Brian.

Everybody loved the guy. He was a newspaper guy who was thrown on TV and it worked well for him.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for his family, who reside in Wyoming.

Read more:

Apple closes all Michigan stores temporarily due to COVID-19 surge

Forest Hills Public Schools scales back in-person classes for grades 7-12 due to COVID-19 surge

Michigan expands mask requirement to children ages 2 to 4, extends gathering limits
New Delhi: Amid a spike in coronavirus cases, the District Magistrate of Unnao has imposed a night curfew in the city from 9 am to 6 am until April 30 with immediate effect. The number of infected cases has crossed 600 in Unnao, according to data released by Health department. Warning strict action against non-compliance of the order, the Unnao police instructed all shopkeepers and citizens to enter their house before 9 pm. Apart from this, DM Chitrakoot Shubhrant Kumar Shukla has also issued night curfew orders for an indefinite period informing that all essential services will remain exempt from any restrictions.

According to reports, Unnao reported 132 positive cases on Friday (April 16) whereas the total number of active cases of coronavirus in the city reached 623. DM Unnao Ravindra Kumar imposed a night curfew starting from April 16 to April 30 after taking stock of the current situation of COVID-19 in the city. On strict instructions from the DM, City Magistrate Chandan Patel announced the decision of imposing night curfew at all major streets and markets in the city. Teams of police personnel also carried out patrolling in the city and asked everyone to reach back their homes before 9 pm.

It is to be noted that all roadways, bus services and trains will remain operational during the curfew period. However, passengers who have already planned their travel on buses and trains, will be required to show e-passes and tickets. Emergency services will not be affected during the night curfew.

Live TV
A four-month-old baby girl has been rushed to hospital with an 'invasive' case of meningococcal disease.

The infant, from Adelaide, is being treated for the extremely dangerous condition that is frequently fatal, depending on the strain.

Eight people in close contact with the child were directed to receive urgent clearance antibiotics amid fears of possible exposure.

The exact meningococcal strain has yet to be identified by medical experts.

Meningococcal disease can be fatal for infants, young children and adults (stock image)

'Multiple people who had close contact with the patient have been identified, and eight people have been directed to receive clearance antibiotics,' South Australia Health said.

The strain is the third in SA so far this year. Of the three cases, one is serogroup B, with the other one serogroup W.

An Adelaide man, 29, died after being diagnosed with the W strain of the disease earlier this year, and a woman, 21, is still fighting for her life.

The four-month-old baby with a confirmed case in South Australia was rushed to hospital and is said to be in a stable condition (stock image)

Five cases were reported last year - three in serogroup B, and two were serogroup Y.

The symptoms of meningococcal disease vary depending on age.

In young children, symptoms can include fever, red or purple spots, abnormal skin colour, leg pain and cold hands or feet.

In adults, common symptoms are headache, fever, vomiting, neck stiffness and joint pains.


Bengal CM Mamta Banerjee On the day of the fifth phase of Assembly elections in West Bengal, a purported audio clip of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee released by the IT cell of the BJP triggered a major war of words with both the Trinamool Congress and the saffron party appealing to the Election Commission to take action against the other. While the BJP claimed that Mamata Banerjee is trying to polarise the voters, the ruling Trinamool accused the saffron brigade of intruding into people's right to privacy by tapping the phone of the Chief Minister. The alleged audio tape released by BJP's national IT cell in-charge Amit Malviya had a conversation between the Chief Minister and the Trinamool candidate from Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar, Partha Pratim Ray, where a female voice, purportedly that of Banerjee, could be heard asking "Partha" to "keep the bodies so that the party could hold a rally with the dead". The voice is then heard asking "the Trinamool candidate" "to tell the families "not to take the bodies home". The tape also has the female voice asking the second person to "consult a lawyer and draw up an FIR" so that the "Commandant, IC, SP... could be transferred". "Who were killed in the firing?" the female voice could also be heard saying. The voice on the other end responds: "Didi, they are our men." The next question was: "Did the CRPF open fire?" It then goes on to add: "I will ensure they are all arrested. Keep your cool. They are trying to divert your attention. Tell people that they are doing all these to prevent them from voting. They will conduct NPR, set up detention camps." The Trinamool did not deny the veracity of the tape and, instead, played it out during a press conference (after the BJP media briefing releasing the tape). "Does the BJP acknowledge that even the Chief Minister of a state is under telephone surveillance," Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy asked. Meanwhile, Banerjee said at an election rally on Saturday that "she will find out about everyone involved in tapping her phone" and order a CBI probe. BJP leader Swapan Dasgupta, who led a delegation to state Chief Electoral Officer Ariz Aftab against the Chief Minister's purported conversation, said, "We didn't tap the Chief Minister's tape. A telephonic conversation is between two people and anyone can understand what can happen." "The conversation is a burning example that Trinamool Congress is trying to polarise the elections and we have cautioned the Election Commission and asked them to take strong steps against this," Dasgupta added. Trinamool delegation comprising Yashwant Singha, Derak O' Brien and Purnendu Basu also met the Chief Electoral Officer and complained of phone tapping of Chief Minister Banerjee. Speaking to the media, Trinamool's national spokesperson Derek O' Brien said, "First we need to think from where the tap was released. It was released from the BJP office and so there is no doubt that the BJP is behind this conspiracy. Getting access to a private conversation by tapping the phone is a direct assault on the legal rights, including right to privacy, of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee."




Sharon Osbourne sat down for her first interview following her forced exit from The Talk after defending Piers Morgan over his Meghan Markle comments and called Prince Harry the 'poster boy' of 'white privilege.'

The furious talk show star appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday where she hit out at claims she was 'racist' and slammed 'woke culture' for cancelling anyone who couldn't keep up with changing 'acceptable' language.

'I'm angry. I'm hurt,' Osbourne said when asked about the scandal that saw her leave her show on March 26, after 11 years.

'I've been called so many things in my life. I am so used to be called names. But a racist is one I will not take,' she said.

The scandal began in the wake of Prince Harry and Meghan's explosive interview with Oprah, where they both claimed Meghan experienced racism as a royal and even felt suicidal.

Morgan had said after the interview: 'I'm sorry, I don't believe a word she said, Meghan Markle. I wouldn't believe it if she read me a weather report.'

DailyMail.com's editor-at-large left his role as host of ITV's Good Morning Britain on March 9, after refusing to back down on his comments.

Osbourne, 68, leapt to Morgan's defense on The Talk the next day, saying she supports her friend 'for his freedom of speech'. The comment lead to a tense exchange with co-host Sheryl Underwood and eventually lead to the ousting of Osbourne and a flurry of claims from her former colleagues about alleged racism.

Sharon Osbourne has broken her silence since her forced exit from her show The Talk after defending Piers Morgan amid his own forced exit

During the interview, Maher confronted Osbourne about accusations that she used derogatory language about some former The Talk co-hosts.

'We don't condone any bad language anywhere but I'm just saying, first of all, we're talking about four ladies,' said Maher. 'I know that men are dogs.'

'And we're b-es,' shot back Osbourne. 'And that's the way it goes, that's the way it goes. We'll go, "Jesus, did you see what she was just wearing?" And then you go, "Oh hi, you look great." You know, we're b*****s and that's the way it is. And this has brought it all out.'

Osbourne, 68, appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday where she repeatedly told the host that she is 'fine' and a fighter'

Osbourne then told Maher she had 'never' used language alleged by former co-host Leah Remini, who claimed Osbourne said Julie Chen was a 'wonton' and 'slanty eyes' and called Sara Gilbert a 'p***y licker' and 'fish eater.'

Osbourne said those kinds of offensive slurs were 'not in my vocabulary.'

'It's disgruntled ladies,' she said.

Maher prompted Osbourne to respond to criticism she has received branding her a racist for defending Morgan

Osbourne said she has 'been called so many things' in her life but that 'racist is one I will not take'

Osbourne then appeared to defend the royal family from Markle's accusations but noting that the Queen is 'from a different generation'

On Friday, Osbourne, wife of legendary rocker Ozzy Osbourne, sat down with Maher to address the scandal.

Maher asked if the racial allegations being thrown around meant that 'you have to agree with everything Meghan Markle says or you're a racist? Is this the standard now?'

'Okay, I'm trying to go back and think of the words that somebody who is meant to be an expert in 'woke' language,' Osbourne responded, 'as is acceptable today, saying that it took away her feelings and that she's entitled to her feelings and that she was stripped of those by Piers.'

Osbourne added that Meghan is 'entitled to her opinion and Piers is entitled to his and that's what it's all about and then you are entitled to a disagreement.'

She argued that Meghan's claims about the royal family were baseless and her allegedly cold welcome would have been offered to anyone coming into the family.

'[The Queen] is from a different generation,' Osbourne said. 'They are notoriously non-huggy. I get it, because of her age. She's from a different generation.'

She also criticized Harry for his own perceived problems with racism and his family when she claimed he was a classic example of 'white privilege.'

'You know when they say white privilege? You know, right there with Harry. Right there. He is the poster boy. So you know, he sits there and says 'daddy cut him off and he's not on the wages anymore' and he was boohooing about it,' Osbourne said.

'You can't feel empathy for that. Because you're a healthy, bright, educated young man. You can do whatever you want to do. Your life is your own.'

She added: 'But disagreeing with somebody does not make you a racist in my book.'

Markle, 39, claimed she had suicidal thoughts while a member of the royal family in a bombshell interview with Prince Harry and Oprah Winfrey last month

Morgan had said after the interview that he didn't 'believe a word she said, Meghan Markle'

Morgan left ITV's Good Morning Britain on March 9, prompting Osbourne to defend her friend the next day on her show

Osbourne called her former co-hosts on The Talk 'disgruntled ladies' after allegations she made racist comments

The Talk hosts react to Meghan and Harry's revealing interview with Oprah Winfrey in March

Osbourne later said: 'This word that they throw out about the cancel culture and it is, what are you doing? I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm a fighter and I'm doing just fine.'

'It's about maybe not knowing what is correct and woke for your language that day because it changes from day to day what is correct and what isn't,' she said.

'You cannot blanket every race. There is good and bad in every race.'

During the interview, Maher also prompted Osbourne about her relationship with Morgan.

'Oh he's just a friend of mine, we've worked together over the years,' Osbourne said.

Maher then asked her to recall a story about Morgan once seeing her breasts.

Osbourne largely side-stepped the question, but admitted that Morgan saw 'just one.'

'Behave,' Osbourne warned Maher.

Underwood and Osbourne are pictured at the 41st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards in 2014

Osbourne's first message to Underwood dated 7.28pm on March 12 is shown above

Osbourne later sent two more messages to Underwood that went unanswered

Osbourne also addressed claims from former co-hosts which accused her of using racist slurs against people of Asian descent and lesbians. Former co-host Holly Robinson Peete had accused Osbourne of calling her 'too ghetto' while Leah Remini said she called Julie Chen 'wonton.'

'I never ever said that Leah Remini was a whatever she said. I don't even use those words. They are not in my vocabulary. And for Holly, you know I think I said it all when I printed the text she sent me,' Osbourne said.

She added: 'It's disgruntled ladies.'

During the explosive exchange with Osbourne, Underwood - who is black - pushed back hard and accused Osbourne of downplaying Morgan's comments.

'Educate me, tell me when you have heard him say racist things,' Osbourne said.

'I very much feel like I'm about to be put in the electric chair because I have a friend, who many people think is a racist, so that makes me a racist?'

Underwood later claimed Osbourne never apologized to her in a three-part series on her podcast titled 'Sharon Walks Away.'

Osbourne refuted her claim that she never apologized after their on-air row by revealing exclusive screenshots of her text messages to DailyMail.com.

'I not only sent these messages to Sheryl but I apologized to her in person in her dressing room,' Osbourne told DailyMail.com.

'Why are you saying I never apologized Sheryl? What are you trying to do to me?

'Why are you trying to destroy my reputation? Just be honest. Tell me.'
Tammy Hembrow first launched her fashion line, Saski Collection, in 2017.

And on Saturday, the 26-year-old revealed the brand's new line of tracksuits in a series of photos on Instagram.

She modelled the lemon yellow sweat shirt with black font along the sleeve.

Her own best advertisement! Tammy Hembrow reveals her new line of tracksuits that features her brand's name printed across the derriere

Her outfit also featured baggy tracksuit pants that featured Saski written in a cursive font, which she accentuated as she flaunted her famous backside.

The blonde bombshell wore her hair up in a high ponytail and opted for a glamorous makeup look.

She styled her cosy look with a trendy Air Jordan sneakers and yellow Prada re-edition purse.

Trendy! The blonde bombshell wore her hair up in a high ponytail and opted for a glamorous makeup look

The Instagram influencer kept her caption simple, writing: 'Soon', along with a lemon emoji.

Tammy's trendy look comes after she showed off her incredible gym-honed figure in a skimpy white bikini.

Over the top, the mother-of-two wore a sheer cover-up, which was knotted at her waist below the high-cut straps of her swimwear bottoms.

White hot! Tammy's trendy look comes after she showed off her incredible gym-honed figure in a skimpy white bikini

The off-the-shoulder top was knotted at the bust, and flaunted the blonde beauty's assets.

Earlier in the week, Tammy and boyfriend Matt Poole proved they are still clearly still in the honeymoon phase of their fledgling relationship, with the couple unable to keep their hands off each other in a new Instagram post.

Their Thursday social media appearance showcased the genetically-blessed duo in matching outfits.

Pretty pair: Earlier in the week, Tammy and boyfriend Matt Poole proved they are still clearly still in the honeymoon phase of their fledgling relationship, with the couple unable to keep their hands off each other in a new Instagram post

Tammy debuted her new relationship with surf lifesaver Matt Poole in September during a trip to the Whitsundays.

That same month, Matt also made his debut in a video on Tammy's YouTube channel, in which he confessed to saying 'I love you' first.

The pair met at an event in Bali in 2019.
Bennington, VT (05201)

Today

Clear to partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 62F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 62F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph.
Tamara Ecclestone celebrated daughter Serena turning seven-months-old by sharing a sweet throwback snap from when she was pregnant with her.

The socialite, 36, looked radiant in the photo she shared on Saturday, which saw her cradle her then baby bump while posing in lingerie.

The mother-of-two gushed about her youngest daughter, saying Serena 'completed' her family with husband Jay Rutland and daughter Sophia, seven.

'You completed us': Tamara Ecclestone celebrated daughter Serena reaching her seven month milestone by sharing a sweet throwback snap from when she was pregnant on Saturday

Tamara also wore a white satin dressing gown that had a lace trim along the cuffs of the garment for her stylish photo.

Her brunette locks were pulled up into a ponytail with her hair falling in waves over her shoulders to perfectly frame her face.

In the caption, Tamara lovingly wrote: 'Seven months today. You completed us Riri'.

Tamara managed to keep her second pregnancy quiet on social media, with her father Bernie revealing to MailOnline in September that she had given birth to Serena earlier in the year.

Sweet: In the caption, Tamara lovingly wrote: 'Seven months today. You completed us Riri'

Private: Tamara managed to keep her second pregnancy quiet on social media, with her father Bernie revealing to MailOnline in September that she had given birth to Serena earlier

The post comes after Tamara and husband Jay celebrated eldest daughter Sophia's seventh birthday in style by visiting a cooking school and a dessert parlour in Dubai.

In a series of Instagram updates the birthday girl looked delighted as she licked chocolate off of a spatula at Mamalu Kitchen, before tucking into a tasty milkshake at Black Tap.

Sophia's doting mother paid tribute to her mini-me as she wrote in an accompanying caption: 'The most amazing few days celebrating our 7 year old.

Happy family: Tamara also shares daughter Sophia, seven, with husband Jay Rutland

'Couldnt be more proud of the little lady your becoming. Courageous, kind, loyal, clever and hilarious. Love you so much. Birthday eve was spent @mamalukitchen one of our favourites.'

Jay added: 'Happy 7th birthday to my baby girl Fifi and a happy 6 months bday to my little Fifi mark II, Riri. The months and years are just flying by in a blink.

'Words cant describe how lucky I feel to have two such happy and healthy girls. May every father be blessed with daughters.'

Special day: The post comes after Tamara and husband Jay celebrated eldest daughter Sophia's seventh birthday in style by visiting a cooking school and a dessert parlour

Alongside images of Sophia looking animated with her baby sister, he added: 'Family dinner to celebrate Fifis 7th birthday, at @blacktapdubai.

'Probably should have been in the [photo] but Im better the other side of the camera anyway. Riris face in the last photo. Lovely day, Godbless X' (sic)

The family have barely been back to their UK home since last June, with businessman Jay admitting concerns over their protection was one reason they had not been back more.

The father-of-two revealed to MailOnline that they have no plans to return to London following the dramatic security lapse that led to a multi-million pound jewel heist at her West London home in December 2019.
Headlines

- Half of US adults (more than 128 million) have received at least one vaccine shot, with nearly a third fully vaccinated - CDC

- J&J scientists refute idea that covid-19 vaccine's design linked to clots

- Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson covid-19 vaccines: how are they different?

- President Biden has arranged for 300 million doses to be available to US citizens by the end of June

- Estimations are that 500 million Americans will be fully vaccinated by the end of August/early September

- Fauci says J&J vaccine rollout pause is a matter of "days to weeks, not weeks to months"

- CDC and FDA will continue to investigate J&J vaccine safety after six reported cases of rare clotting - cerebral venous sinus thrombosis - emerge

- US will draw on stocks of Moderna and Pfizer after J&J rollout halted

State specific news:

- New York: All New Yorkers 16 years of age and older are now eligible to be vaccinated. Use the City's Vaccine Finder to search for a location near you

- California: Every Californian aged 16 and up is now eligible for vaccination. Book an appointment using My Turn

- Florida: All Florida residents are now eligible to receive any covid-19 vaccine. Find a vaccine location using the state's vaccine location finder

- Texas: Everyone aged 16 and older is now eligible to receive a covid-19 vaccine in Texas. Sign up and register online at GetTheVaccine.dshs.texas.gov

- Alaska: vaccines to be made available at key airports starting 1 June

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Point of Care Technology Market - Overview

Point of care technology is termed as a time when clinicians deliver healthcare products and services to patients. Point of care technology includes diagnostics, devices for documentation, and others. The factors such as increasing prevalence of the chronic diseases, rising research and development facilities, and rising healthcare expenditure are anticipated to drive the growth of the market during the forecast period. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2015, around USD 3.2 trillion were spend on healthcare expenditure in the US. Additionally, growing awareness among the people regarding the point of care diagnostics products is expected to contribute to the market growth. Furthermore, the growing adoption of automated lab systems and advancements in diagnostics is likely to boost the growth of the market.

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The global point of care technology market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 9.5% during the forecast period 2017 to 2023.

Regional Analysis for Global Point of Care Technology Market

On regional basis, the point of care technology market is segmented into the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa. North America is anticipated to dominate the global market during the forecast period.

The market growth in this region is attributed to the huge investment in the healthcare sector coupled with strong economic conditions in the region which favor the research and development activities in the healthcare sector. Moreover, rising demand for point of care technology products is expected to contribute to the market growth. Europe is the second largest market due to the increasing investment in research and development activities and presence of well-developed healthcare sector.

Additionally, Asia-Pacific is estimated to be the fastest growing market owing to the increasing demand for rapid diagnostics and rising prevalence of chronic diseases. The Middle East & Africa is expected to hold the lowest market share in the global point of care technology market due to lack of technical knowledge and poor medical facilities, especially in the African region.

Key Players for Global Point of Care Technology Market

Abbott (US), Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc.(US), Techno Medica Co., Ltd. (Japan), F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. (Switzerland), Siemens AG (Germany), Alere Inc. (US), Instrumentation Laboratory (US), PTS Diagnostics (US), Nova Biomedical (US), Beckman Coulter, Inc. (US) BD (US), Quidel Corporation (US), Meridian Bioscience, Inc. (US) are some prominent players in the global point of care technology market.

Point of Care Technology Market  Competitive Analysis

The Global Point of Care Technology Market is currently dominated by several players. The well-established market players are engaged in strategic acquisitions, collaborations, partnerships, global expansion, and product launches to gain the competitive advantage in this market and to maintain their market position.

In July 2017, Siemens Healthineers entered into an agreement to acquire Epocal Inc., a subsidiary of Alere Inc. Epocal Inc. offers point-of-care blood diagnostic systems for healthcare enterprises, which includes the epoc Blood Analysis System, wireless testing solution. With this acquisition, Siemens Healthineers increased its existing offerings in point of care diagnostics.

In June 2017, Nova Biomedical announced the grant of CE mark to Allergo analyzer, a point-of-care testing blood analyzer. Allegro analyzer along its StatStrip A companion meter provides 14 tests to monitor glucose in the blood, assessment of cardiac risk with a full lipids panel, and assessment of kidney function.

In January 2017, Werfen and its subsidiary Instrumental Laboratory (IL) acquired Acccriva Diagnostics, a leading company in in-vitro diagnostics blood testing at the Point-of-Care (POC). With this acquisition, Instrumental Laboratory established a leading position in hospital-based POC hemostasis testing and expanded its market position in Point-of-Care (POC) Critical Care testing.

In May 2016, Quidel Corporation announced the acquisition of the InflammaDry and AdenoPlus diagnostic businesses from RPs Diagnostics, a developer and manufacturer of rapid, point-of-care diagnostic tests for the eye health and primary care markets.

In December 2016, LifeScan, Inc., a unit of Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Care, received approval from US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the integration of its OneTouch Verio Flex blood glucose monitoring system with WellDoc's BlueStar Diabetes Management Platform.

In April 2016, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. launched cobas infinity Point-of-Care mobile app that was designed to enable point-of-care coordinators (POCCs) to manage all the tasks on a smartphone or tablet and thus increasing their productivity.

READ MORE @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/point-of-care-technology-market-1164

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At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Statistical Report, Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.a
MASON CITY, Iowa  A Clear Lake man accused of bashing vehicles with a ball and chain is pleading not guilty.

Alejandro Ramirez, 33, is now scheduled to stand trial for second-degree criminal mischief, stalking, and tampering with a witness.

Authorities say Ramirez became upset with someone not answering their door in the 1900 block of 1st Avenue N. in Clear Lake on January 31. He allegedly took a ball and chain and did a total of $2,234.24 damage to two vehicles.

Ramirez trial is set to begin on June 22.
The Autoworker Rank-and-File Safety Committee Network will be holding an emergency meeting on Monday, April 19, at 7:00 p.m. Eastern/6:00 p.m. Central to discuss this call to action. Sign up to attend here.

With record numbers of COVID-19 cases in Michigan and infections spreading rapidly in auto plants, the Autoworker Rank-and-File Safety Committee Network is calling for an emergency four-week shutdown of auto plants to halt the further spread of sickness and death. We demand that all workers who are laid off continue to receive full pay until the pandemic is contained.

Autoworkers at Warren Truck plant in Warren, Michigan, on May 18, 2020 [Credit: AP photo/Paul Sancya]

The situation in the Detroit area is particularly dire. Large numbers of cases are being reported at the Stellantis plants, including Jefferson North Assembly Plant (JNAP), Sterling Heights Assembly (SHAP) and Sterling Stamping. But while massive auto plants continue to operate, Detroit school officials have voted to delay the start of in-person instruction until May 11 due to the high COVID-19 case rate.

This is unfolding as Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer has rejected the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and health experts for lockdowns to contain the massive surge under way in the state, which is threatening to overwhelm hospital capacity. Whitmer has tried to justify this criminal policy, dictated by the auto companies and wealthy corporate interests, by insisting that workers take personal responsibility for keeping themselves and their families safe!

According to workers who spoke with the World Socialist Web Site, JNAP workers in the trim department staged a protest Friday during the day shift, halting production after a worker was sent home after testing positive for COVID-19. The job action also halted assembly lines, and the entire first shift was sent home early. So many workers are either sick or quarantined that management personnel have been brought on the line to run production.

Reports from the plant indicated that protests were continuing into Friday evening. Many workers are also reportedly using sick days and vacation days rather than coming to work to face possible infection, further stretching manpower.

Management has long abandoned the piecemeal safety protocols implemented last spring in the wake of wildcat work stoppages at the auto plants. Earlier in the week, workers in the plant protested after management failed to issue masks at the start of their shift.

A Jefferson worker told us, We want different changes to happen now. Later on might be too late for some of us. So whatever we have to do, I am prepared. They have us in this position where your hands are tied behind your back, and its like getting slapped in the face and you cant do anything about it because you need your job. I think we need to shut it down.

Meanwhile, coronavirus is spreading out of control in Michigan auto plants. According to Bloomberg News, nearly 10 percent of the workforce at SHAP, or 630 workers, were out for COVID-19-related reasons on Tuesday. With the workforce at the plant stretched to the limit after months of forced overtime, workers report not being allowed to quarantine even after direct exposure to infected individuals.

A SHAP worker said, I would [guess] that about 10 percent of the workers here have COVID. One of my coworkers told me that he went through the scanning process at work, which said he was negative, but he wasnt feeling well. So he went to medical and was told he had no problem, and the company would not send him home. He felt so ill that he stopped at the hospital on the way home from work and was admittedCOVID positive.

No protocols are being followed here by Stellantis. Someone tests positive, but no one who works near that person is tested or quarantined. No one is told to go home, no one in the general vicinity of those workers who test positive for COVID are even given the opportunity to protect themselves and their families.

Theres not much difference in how the pandemic is being handled by Biden compared to Trump. Where are the mandates? People are dying all around us; the stock market is rising. The whole situation is baffling to me.

Workers report that the UAW is using threats and intimidation to prevent workers from reporting illnesses so as not to create panic. Meanwhile, workers who test positive for COVID-19 or quarantine, must jump through bureaucratic hoops to get paid, encouraging workers to come to work sick.

The Jefferson worker said, Nobodys following any of the recommendations to keep everyone safe. The company wants to be open, but at whose expense? Wheres my six feet? I dont care if people got the shot or not. Everyone needs to stay away from each other. We dont even have time to wash up our areas.

The UAW is telling us not to tell anyone if were sick! What kind of crap is that? I care about my coworkers! Some of these guys Ive known for 20 years. I want my coworkers to know if I come down sick! We have to get tested!

Another Jefferson worker described how the plants become a vector of transmission. Were in Detroit, the hotspot of COVID right now. So were in contact with a lot of people if we have to go to the gas station or get food, or see our family members. So were all in contact with a lot of people.

We need to shut it down. Take some time to try to figure out the right safety protocols. Michigan has the most casesthat right there, in and of itself, is reason enough. But then on top of that to be in a plant with other people, kids back in school, you dont know where everyone is and what theyre doingits so easy to catch it.

The rapid spread of the deadly and more contagious B.1.1.7 variant of the coronavirus in Michigan prefigures a new stage of the pandemic, which will be replicated in other areas of the country unless emergency measures are taken now. The Biden administration and the ruling class have demonstrated they will not take the necessary health measures to control the pandemic because they are beholden to the corporations.

Last March, autoworkers rebelled against management-union attempts to maintain production during the first wave of the pandemic and carried out a series of wildcat strikes at plants throughout the country. This forced a two-month shutdown of the auto industry across North America, saving countless lives both in and outside of the plants.

Today, as was the case a year ago, only the independent action of workers can save lives.

The Autoworker Rank-and-File Safety Committee Network demands:

Given the dangerous conditions with the unchecked spread of COVID-19, all auto plants must be shut down for four weeks until vaccinations become available and the pandemic is under control as determined by independent health experts.





All workers on layoff must receive full income while shutdowns continue without red tape and delays.





We call for the expansion of independent rank-and-file safety committees, independent of the pro-company UAW to organize the fight to save lives.





Unite autoworkers with teachers, Amazon workers, logistics and health care workers to demand a science-based approach to fight the pandemic, including the shutdown of nonessential production. Organize a collective struggle to prioritize human life over corporate profit.
Apr. 17TROY  As spring progresses, Three Rivers Land Trust is watching their newest native hardwood planting in Montgomery County.

This planting of 2,000 chestnut and white oaks took place at TRLT's Low Water Bridge property and was made possible by a generous donation and support from the Troy Rotary Club.

Thirty volunteers and staff members met on a February morning and after some instruction from TRLT staff, groups of volunteers ventured out into the recently timbered area where the newly planted hardwoods would grow.

"This particular site was once a large productive stand of native hardwoods. Over time, it was harvested and replaced with loblolly pine that could produce profitable timber faster," said Cody Fulk, TRLT Conservation Lands manager. "These newly planted hardwoods will provide valuable habitat for many of our native species."

Both species of oaks will be present for future generations to enjoy, and once they mature they will be visible from Low Water Bridge Road.

"In 2020, Supporting the Environment became Rotary International's seventh area of focus, making the Low Water Native Hardwood Planting project a terrific opportunity for collaboration between the Troy Rotary Club and Three Rivers Land Trust," said Deborah S. Musika, Rotary treasurer. "As Rotarians in District 7690, we are committed to supporting activities that strengthen the conservation and protection of natural resources, advance ecological sustainability, and foster harmony between communities and the environment."

"We are thankful for the outstanding support from the Troy Rotary for not only Three Rivers Land Trust, but for conserving and restoring our vital natural areas," Executive Director Travis Morehead said. "They are true conservationists."

To become a member and support TRLT in their conservation mission, contact Associate Director Michael Fulk at 704-647-0302 or [email protected]
The teacher aide accused of causing a lockdown at Clark Middle School in January has resigned, according to a United Independent School District official.

UISD officials said Irma Yvette Granger, 29, resigned on Wednesday. A day prior to her resignation, Granger was served with arrest warrants charging her with five counts of terroristic threat impair public service, a third-degree felony that carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison and a possible $10,000 fine. She was later released on bond, according to custody records.

In January, Granger allegedly sent five threatening messages that caused the lockdown of Clark Middle. The affidavit further states that the threats included messages of shooting and killing people on campus. In these alleged threatening messages, the sender mentioned he or she wanted to be treated better by the teachers.

A UISD spokesperson said Clark Middle was placed on modified lockdown each time a threat was received.

An investigation into the source and location of the threats began immediately when the first threat was received. Any decision to open and conduct classes was based on assessments by UISD and LPD investigators who concluded that the campus could open and operate safely with additional police presence and intensified monitoring of the campus internal and external perimeters, UISD said in a statement.

Police said the investigation led them to identify Granger as the suspect. On March 25, police spoke to Granger who stated that she was possibly being hacked, according to court documents.

Rene Cantu, the attorney representing Granger, said his client has cooperated with the investigation. Cantu pointed out that the detective in the case rushed to judgment when arresting Granger. Allegations against her client are false and without merit, Cantu said.

Ms. Granger was working when these messages were sent, and was not using her phone during this time. We are in the process of retaining an expert who will be thoroughly investigating this matter, Cantu previously stated. While the detective seems to have rushed to judgment, we respectfully request that the public not pass judgment on Ms. Granger as she is presumed innocent and has always been a law-abiding citizen and exceptional employee at UISD. We look forward to clearing her name of any wrongdoing.
Manitoba is opening up the COVID-19 vaccine to police officers and firefighters, a move welcomed by the unions representing officers.

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Manitoba is opening up the COVID-19 vaccine to police officers and firefighters, a move welcomed by the unions representing officers.

On Friday, the province announced first responders and people with "front-line, public-facing roles" will soon eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

While exact details were scarce, Bobby Baker, the National Police Federation director for the Prairies, said the union was thankful for the move. The union represents approximately 1,000 RCMP officers in the province.

"Were very thankful for (Justice) Minister (Cameron) Friesen making that decision and that announcement," he said. "We look forward to getting the shots in our members arms and keeping the community safe."

During Fridays vaccine update Joss Reimer, medical lead for Manitobas vaccine task force, said the guidance for giving firefighters and police officers priority comes from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization.

She said the exact details of the plan to vaccinate first responders will come in the following week.

The RCMP union had been asking for vaccine priority since March because police officers travel around the province and direct contact with the public is unavoidable. Baker said the news means both police officers and the communities they serve will be safer.

"From hospitals to jails, to peoples houses to schools, you name it, whatever we do during the course of our duties and the dozens of contacts we have every day this makes sure we can do that safely," he said.

The news was also welcomed by Brandon Police Association president Darren Creighton, who said there have been issues over the course of the pandemic with officers needing to self-isolate after coming into contact with COVID-positive people.

"Just like all frontline personnel, weve had to step up and be right on the front line of these and deal with people who arent following the rules very well. Obviously, we welcome it," he said.

The Brandon Police Association also worked with the Winnipeg police union and Manitoba Police Association to call for vaccine priority.

Both Baker and Creighton said officers are eager to be vaccinated and vaccine hesitancy isnt a problem among police officers. Creighton said many officers are "extremely eager" to get the shot.

"Its another safety measure, along with glasses and masks and everything else to keep everybody safe  our members and the public," he said.

The Manitoba Association of Chiefs of Police also previously called for the move, saying in late March police officers dont have the option to socially distance when carrying out their duties.

 dmay@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @DrewMay_
A motorcyclist has suffered 'life-changing injuries' after driving away from a road rage row and colliding with three vehicles.

The incident happened over a 30-minute period in Aldershot, Hampshire, on Friday and police are now trying to discover what led to the chain of events.

The motorcyclist, a man aged in his 20s, was taken to St George's Hospital, London, for treatment.

A 40-year-old Audi driver, from Farnborough, had been arrested but was later released pending further inquiries.

Police now want residents to check their CCTV and dash cams for any relevant footage.

The incident happened over a 30-minute period at a junction (pictured) Aldershot, Hampshire, on Friday and police are now trying to discover what led to the chain of events

A spokesman for Hampshire Constabulary said: 'We are investigating a series of incidents including a serious collision which took place in Aldershot yesterday. These incidents took place between 1.45pm and 2.15pm.

'It was reported that an altercation took place between a motorcyclist and the driver of an Audi on Queen's Avenue.

'The altercation continued on Hospital Road and during this it's alleged that the motorcyclist was assaulted.

'Following this incident, the motorcyclist rode off and became involved in a collision with three vehicles at the junction of Queen's Avenue and Alisons Road.

'The motorcyclist, a man aged in his 20s, sustained serious life-changing injuries and was taken to St George's Hospital in London for treatment.

The motorcyclist, a man aged in his 20s, was taken to St George's Hospital, London, (pictured) for treatment

'We are appealing for anyone who witnessed any of these incidents, whether this be the initial incident between the Audi and the motorbike on Queen's Avenue, the incident on Hospital Road, the moments after this, or the moments leading up to the serious collision at the junction with Alisons Road.

'If you live in this area and have any CCTV, a doorbell camera or a dash cam, please take the time to look and provide any information to police.

'As part of this investigation, a 40-year-old man, from Farnborough, has been arrested on suspicion of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, dangerous driving, and driving whilst unfit through drugs.

'He has been released from custody but remains under investigation while enquiries continue.'
The hotly-anticipated James Bond film No Time To Die is reportedly set to have the world's biggest premiere when it is released in September.

According to reports from The Mirror on Saturday, MGM and the film's producers are said to have set aside 10 million for the grand event in the UK.

It was claimed that those behind-the-scenes are keen to have the premiere take place in a large London stadium like Wembley Arena.

Wow! James Bond film No Time To Die 'is set to have the world's biggest premiere with a 10 MILLION budget', it was reported on Saturday (pictured: Daniel Craig)

A source speaking to the publication claimed: 'They think they can pull off the biggest in-person premiere of the post-pandemic era, and have already put aside a whopping 10million for an event in England that will signal the return of these kinds of flashy movie launches that everybodys been missing for the last year.

'They are looking at the biggest venues in London, starting with Wembley and going down from there, and have enquired about the Staples Center in Los Angeles for a US premiere.

'MGM and the Bond team have never liked the idea of launching this movie without a red carpet event, which is one of the many reasons theyve rolled with all the delays.'

MailOnline has contacted representatives of the James Bond franchise for further comment.

Big event: It was claimed that those behind-the-scenes are keen to have the premiere take place in a large London stadium like Wembley Arena (pictured: Ana de Armas)

The much anticipated blockbuster has seen its planned premiere pushed back multiple times due to the Covid pandemic, after originally being slated to come out in April 2020.

But following Prime Minister Boris Johnson's announcement that the government hope to end all lockdown restrictions on June 21, it was reported in February that No Time To Die's release has been brought forward to 30 September.

Reports surfaced about the release date change after Tom Linay, who is marketing company Digital Cinema Medias Content Business Director, tweeted the news.

Exciting: The blockbuster has seen its planned premiere pushed back multiple times due to the Covid pandemic, and is now slated for release on September 30

The final entry in the franchise to star Daniel Craig will still be released in the United States on October 8 as planned.

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Eon for comment at the time.

Since the Covid pandemic began, No Time To Die has opted to push back its release date rather than be released at a time when cinemas are either closed, or forced to open with limited capacity.

Boris recently confirmed that cinemas in England will re-open on May 17 with social distancing measures in place, adding it's hoped that all legal restrictions will be lifted on June 21 if the vaccination programme continues.

Worth the wait: The final entry in the franchise to star Daniel Craig will still be released in the United States on October 8 as planned (pictured: Rami Malek)

It comes just a month after No Time To Die changed its release date to early October from April 2, after already being hit by several delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The film, directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, was originally scheduled for release in April 2020, but was pushed back to November before the release was changed once again to April 2021 in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

No Time To Die is the 25th film in the franchise, and finds Bond after he has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica when his old friend Felix Leiter, played by Jeffrey Wright, from the CIA turns up asking for help.

At last! No Time To Die was set to come out on April 2 after originally being slated for April 2020, but has faced multiple delays due to the Covid pandemic

Leaving his seemingly happy life with Madeleine (Lea Seydoux), Bond returns to the field to face Safin (Rami Malek) who is armed with a new dangerous technology that could impact the world.

Producer Barbara Broccoli has already teased what fans can expect and said that the movie will deliver a satisfying ending for Daniel's Bond.

Speaking on the official James Bond podcast, she said: 'It's a culmination of everything that his portrayal of the character has been through and it ties up all the storylines. It's a pretty epic film, I have to say.'

Ending: The new release will be Daniel Craig's final outing as the spy after landing the role for 2006's Casino Royale. He has also starred in Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre

After pushing the film's release back to April 2021 in October, MGM quashed rumours about whether it was thinking of offering the film to streaming services for a $600 million one-year licensing deal.

'We do not comment on rumours. The film is not for sale. The film's release has been postponed until April 2021 in order to preserve the theatrical experience for moviegoers,' an MGM spokesperson told Variety.

Bloomberg had reported that Netflix, Amazon and Apple had all been approached about the possibility of the movie being offered up for Premium VOD.

Denial: After pushing the film back to April 2021 in October, MGM quashed rumours that it was thinking of offering the film to streaming services for a $600 million one-year licensing deal

However, according to Deadline.com, none of the streaming services were willing to put up more than half the amount the studio was seeking.

Lead actor Craig did defend James Bond producers' decision to delay the premiere of the new film in October last year.

Speaking on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Craig said: 'This thing is just bigger than all of us. We want to release the movie at the same time all around the world and this isn't the right time. So fingers cross April 2 is going to be our date.'

The new release will be Craig's final outing as the spy after landing the role for 2006's Casino Royale. He has also starred in Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre.
Berlin, April 17 : Rafael Nadal was dumped out of the Monte Carlo Masters as Andrey Rublev completed a superb 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 victory in their quarter-final clash.

Nadal went into the meeting with a 73-5 record at the event but Russian Rublev was in inspired form and stunned his Spanish opponent, DPA reported.

The 11-time champion looked set to complete a trademark comeback after taking the second set in 74 minutes. But Rublev held firm in the decider to claim a memorable victory after two hours and 33 minutes.

"I cannot imagine being in the situation of Rafa, knowing that you are the best player on clay and you have that pressure every time," Rublev said.

"I think, for him it must be incredibly tough every time. I am in shock (with) the way he is playing under this pressure and that is why he is a legend." Rublev will face Casper Ruud in the semi-final after he overcame defending champion Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-3.

Dan Evans followed up his superb victory over Novak Djokovic on Thursday with a slender win over David Goffin to reach his first Masters 1000 semi-final. World number 33 Evans, who had come into the tournament having lost his previous 10 matches on clay, overcame Goffin 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 42 minutes.

"I am proud of how I came back today, especially with what happened in the first set," he said after the match.

"I felt my concentration wasn't great and I am really happy with coming through. Yesterday would not have been worth it with a bad performance today." Evans will face Stefanos Tsitsipas, who progressed when opponent Alejandro Davidovich Fokina retired injured in their quarter-final.

Spaniard Fokina did not return for the second set after receiving treatment during the first, which Tsitsipas won 7-5.
You can go to jail for having a small bag of cocaine in New Orleans -- but you wont stay there.

Thats the strange state of affairs now that District Attorney Jason Williams has confirmed he will refuse most low-level drug possession charges, but Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said he will continue making arrests.

I do not have the authority to run the District Attorney's Office. I run the New Orleans Police Department, Ferguson said Thursday. We will continue to make arrests, but decisions that are made after those arrests are made, it is up to their due process that each individual is entitled to. We as a department will continue to make arrests as necessary.

The dueling policies leave drug users subject to arrest, but not to some of the long-term consequences.

Under Williams policy, prosecutors are to refuse low-level drug possession charges for amounts intended for personal use, with the exception of heroin and fentanyl. The policy goes well beyond dropping marijuana cases. Williams is also rejecting charges for cocaine, methamphetamine and pills.

Prosecutors said they are treating heroin and fentanyl differently from other drugs because they are closely linked to the increase in overdose deaths in New Orleans.

The DAs office is sensitive to the issue of addiction and bears that in mind in prosecutorial decision-making, First Assistant District Attorney Bob White said in a statement. The rising number of overdoses have absolutely created a public health crisis and this office has to use everything within our means to mitigate the damage from the drug on our community. These cases deserve serious intervention.

Prosecutors will also go ahead with drug possession charges when they're linked to other, more serious offenses, White said.

The new policy means that many drug users wont be pushed into treatment programs by the threat of conviction, wont have to trudge back to court for hearings on their cases and wont pay fines or fees.

But that doesnt mean they are out of the woods. According to Ferguson, the Police Department is still conducting business as usual, which means people can be arrested and booked into jail for low-level drug offenses.

+3 Case dismissed: New Orleans DA Jason Williams starts trimming court docket Courts in New Orleans built up a huge case backlog during the coronavirus pandemic -- and Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams star

Critics of such arrests have argued that police disproportionately arrest people of color, and even one days stay in jail can lead to the loss of a job. They say that substance abuse problems are better handled outside the criminal justice system.

Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

The DAs policy is really a step in the right direction, but its only going to work if police stop making arrests for low-level drug charges, said Sarah Omojola, associate director of the Vera Institute in New Orleans. People are going to be inserted into the criminal legal system, which has a lot of related consequences.

One spokesman for rank-and-file officers agreed that criminal justice agencies should take a more uniform approach. Eric Hessler, an attorney for the Police Association of New Orleans, said the disconnect sends mixed signals to the average cop.

I think its confusing to them, its somewhat demoralizing, Hessler said. I would like to see at some point in the future, for the officers sake, that the department and the District Attorneys Office become unified.

Proponents say that drug arrests and convictions can push people to alter their behavior, either through jail time or court-ordered treatment programs. Thats long been the policy in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, where users are sometimes placed in special drug courts and monitored for participation in treatment and counseling programs.

Meanwhile, Hessler said that in his experience, officers often use drug arrests as a response to disruptions that users are causing to family members and neighbors.

One expert said that given the disconnect between the District Attorneys Office and Police Department, he expects little change in the behavior of people with substance abuse problems.

+12 New Orleans cops try help instead of handcuffs for downtown's 'frequent flyers' New Orleans police Officer Shontrell Johnson surveyed the boisterous party along Bourbon Street shortly before midnight on a crisp fall night.

If addicted people are still getting arrested and booked into jail, the added penalty of prosecution would not make any difference to them, Keith Humphreys, a professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, said in an email. In that sense you could say it's a sensible policy because it's refusing to spend taxpayer dollars on something with no deterrent value  anyone who can be deterred will already be so from the arrest, booking, and jailing of the police.

Williams office has tied the new policy to its larger effort to reduce its case backlog while focusing on crimes of violence. In a March 25 email to the chief of the offices screening division, First Assistant District Attorney Bob White said the policy will be in place for now, which means it may be only a temporary measure. In a statement Friday, White said it will be up to Williams to decide whether it becomes permanent.

The exception for heroin and fentanyl charges divided some observers who otherwise support Williams policy. Omojola said the district attorney could go further to decouple drug treatment and the criminal justice system.

However, a psychiatrist who treats substance abuse in New Orleans and served on Williams' transition team, Dr. Arwen Podesta, said those drugs do warrant a special approach.

The level of risk with those drugs does, in my opinion, merit a carveout, and it allows in my opinion a more serious ability to divert or move into the very advantageous drug court, Podesta said.
TEL AVIV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th April, 2021) The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they had launched strikes against Hamas in retaliation for a rocket fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip.

The attack was reported by the Israeli military late on Friday. Warning sirens were heard in two settlements in the southern part of the country.

"In response to the rocket fired from Gaza at Israel earlier tonight, our forces just struck Hamas terror targets including a training facility, an anti-aircraft missile launcher post, a concrete production plant & terror tunnel infrastructure," the IDF tweeted.

Israel has been a target of constant rocket attacks from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
Chandigarh: Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged him to resume talks with the farmers protesting the Centre's three farm laws.

Chautala further said a team of three to four cabinet ministers may restart discussion with the farmers who have been camping at the Delhi borders for over 100 days.

"I would like to bring to your kind attention that our 'Annadattas' are on roads at Delhi border agitating in respect of newly enacted three farm laws of the Central government. It is a matter of concern that such agitation is going on for more than hundred days," Chautala wrote in the letter.

Chautala said he believes every problem has a solution by way of mutual discussions.

"The earlier discussion between the central government and farmers' union brought a few solutions to the concerns raised by Samyukt Morcha.

"In this regard, a team consisting of three to four senior cabinet ministers may lead the delegation for resuming talks with farmers so as to bring an amicable conclusion in this issue," he wrote in his letter dated April 15.

The deputy chief minister wrote the letter days after state's home minister Anil Vij's missive to Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, saying talks with peasants should be resumed to resolve the issue.

Vij had said he was concerned as a large number of farmers were sitting on Haryana's borders amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in the state.

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at three border points of Delhi -- Singhu, Tikri (along Haryana), and Ghazipur -- demanding a repeal of the three farm laws enacted by the Centre in September last year.

The Centre says the new farm laws will free farmers from middlemen, giving them more options to sell their crops.

The protesting farmers, however, say the laws will weaken the minimum support price (MSP) system and leave them at the mercy of big corporates.

Live TV
Millions of Britons have been turning to the internet and phone apps to take part in religious worship during lockdown, new figures reveal.

Research by the Church of England shows that clips and content from its online services have notched up more than 40 million views since Covid restrictions on public gatherings were introduced.

More than 20,000 regular services and other virtual events are now listed on the 'A Church Near You' page on its website, compared with none a year ago.

Meanwhile, 54 national ceremonies have been viewed on 3.4 million occasions and the Church's Daily Prayer app was accessed 4.4 million times  a rise of 55 per cent on the previous year.

The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell (pictured), said: 'I think there has been a digital coming of age. 'Of course, we long to meet in person, but online services can be very beautiful'

The number of hits on its Lectionary app, which features details of the Church calendar and readings, increased by 21 per cent to 1.7 million.

Religious leaders say the pandemic has provided the Church with a 'digital coming of age', and online services are expected to remain a regular feature even as worshippers return to the pews.

Charlie Allen, the Canon Chancellor at Durham Cathedral, said: 'The pandemic, especially during lockdown, has made people think about what they are missing in their lives  and where is God in their lives  in trying to find explanations. People were also looking for a community to belong to during lockdown.'

Churches across the UK hurriedly introduced online worship via Facebook, YouTube and Zoom as a response to the first lockdown last spring, when all places of worship were forced to shut by the Government.

The figures, from a report by the Church of England, show that more than 4,200 vicars and church leaders have taken part in online training courses in the past year so they can use digital technology to broadcast services.

The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, said: 'I think there has been a digital coming of age.

Religious leaders say the pandemic has provided the Church with a 'digital coming of age', and online services are expected to remain a regular feature even as worshippers return to the pews. Pictured: Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby delivering the Church of England's first virtual Sunday service on March 18, 2020

'Of course, we long to meet in person, but online services can be very beautiful. People of different ages, from different parts of the country or even the world, families sitting together, people watching while having a cup of coffee, are all coming together to worship online in ways that we just couldn't have imagined a year ago.

'I hope these new online worshippers will join us in person one day. But even if they don't, we must carry on nurturing these online communities and seeing it as a way of reaching out to new people and building new communities of faith.' Church attendance in the UK has steadily declined since the 1850s.

By 2019, the total average weekly figure for the Church of England was about 850,000.

But providing services online has opened up churches to a global congregation, with many worshippers drawn by the nation's historic venues. The spectacular 928-year-old Durham Cathedral now has 2,000 regular online worshippers for its Sunday service, compared with 200 attending in person before the pandemic.

More than 20,000 regular services and other virtual events are now listed on the 'A Church Near You' page on its website, compared with none a year ago

Canon Allen said a third were local, with the rest split between those elsewhere in the UK and across the globe. 'We are now getting people wishing to come on pilgrimage to the cathedral from Mongolia,' she said.

'We have also seen an increase in the number of students attending online services as it suits their nomadic lives, because they can tune in from anywhere.'

As well as services, the Church of England's Daily Prayer app, which offers morning and evening prayers, has been accessed eight million times  up 50 per cent on the previous year.

Churches are now open for worship again, but the number of congregants is limited to ensure social distancing. Choristers must stand apart to sing, and worshippers cannot join in with the hymns.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 03:11:22|Editor: huaxia

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HELSINKI, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The Finnish government decided on Friday that restaurants throughout the country will open next week after most have been closed for six weeks. Besides, the country is set to emphasize COVID-19 vaccinations for the worst affected areas temporarily.

Restaurants may open their doors across the country on Monday, said the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.

Finland closed public dining places in most parts of the country for three weeks in early March, in response to the worsening COVID-19 situation, and then extended the ban to another three weeks.

The reopening of restaurants will be subject to certain restrictions, including opening hours, the movement of customers in the restaurant, and the number of seats. Restrictions will vary from province to province depending on the local epidemic situation.

Medical experts have said that the decision to close most of the restaurants was a key factor in turning the tide of infections in Finland. But the Finnish Hospitality Association worried that the cut-down of hours and capacity will further impact the industry.

Also on Friday, in a policy change on vaccinations, the government allowed a concentration of vaccines to high infection areas. The change is valid until the end of May.

According to a government decree, vaccines from Moderna and AstraZeneca will be used. However, the initial vaccination of people over 70 and risk groups must have been completed first.

According to the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), some 23 percent of the country's population had been vaccinated with the first COVID-19 vaccine dose by Friday, and two percent had completed the vaccination.

Finland recorded 380 news cases on Friday, while the death toll increased by two to 887, according to the THL. During the last two weeks, the number of new infections is 3,167 less than the previous 2-week cycle.

Eeva Ruotsalainen, Deputy Chief Physician of Helsinki-Uusimaa Hospital District (HUS), which covers 24 municipalities in southern Finland, including the capital area, told national radio Yle that there is "no time of sighs of relief yet."

"There are still some 1,500 new infections per week in the HUS area when the aim should be around 50 per week as it was last June," she said.

As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, vaccination is underway in an increasing number of countries with already-authorized coronavirus vaccines.

Meanwhile, 272 candidate vaccines are still being developed globally -- 88 of them in clinical trials -- in countries including Germany, China, Russia, Britain, and the United States, according to information released by the World Health Organization on April 16. Enditem
Palmdale, CA (93550)

Today

Windy with mainly clear skies. Low around 65F. SW winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 10 to 20 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Windy with mainly clear skies. Low around 65F. SW winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 10 to 20 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
On Thursday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) assessed a $15 million civil penalty against Boyce Hydro Power LLC.

In a news statement, FERC attributed the penalty to "numerous dam safety violations" on three of the company's former properties  the dams on Secord, Smallwood and Sanford lakes. The violations followed the mid-Michigan dam failures of May 2020.

Todays decision sends a clear message to all licensees of FERC-jurisdictional hydroelectric projects: It is imperative that they comply with the safety requirements of their licenses, FERC Chairman Rich Glick said in a statement. Public safety is a top priority at these facilities, and we will do whatever we can to protect communities.

According to a statement, while FERC is assessing the $15 million penalty, it "does not intend payment of the penalty to imperil the recovery of damages by victims of the dam breaches," and notices Boyce Hydros liquidation plan ensures the victims recovery will be before any recovery of the penalty.

Boyce Hydro filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August. Ownership of the dam properties have since been transferred to the Four Lakes Task Force (FTLF).

"Boyce Hydro Power is now insolvent and no longer in operation," said Dave Kepler, FLTF board chair. "The only recourse for moving forward and restoring the lakes is for the Boyce licenses to be terminated by FERC. A $15 million penalty is significantly less than the recovery costs to restore the environment and lakes. We believe FERCs action to seek penalties against Boyce may be too late.

"In any event, it is good that FERC put its claims behind those of the victims."

Larry Kogan, attorney of Boyce Hydro owner Lee Mueller, told MLive his client has "zero ability to pay" due to the transferred ownership.

Congressman John Moolenaar, R-Midland, and congresswoman Debbie Dingell, D-Detroit, issued a joint statement Friday.

Dam failures like this can never happen again, the statement read. "While FERCs action today makes it clear to future potential violators they will face serious consequences, a fine that comes after the fact does very little for the people who had their homes and businesses washed away. Its clear that FERC needs enhanced tools to address this problem, protect our communities, and hold reckless dam operators like Boyce Hydro truly accountable."

Last week, Congress reintroduced the National Dam and Hydropower Safety Act to enhance safety operation requirements nationwide, modernize existing infrastructure and improve communications between FERC and the states.

Thursday's FERC order follows a December 2020 Order to Show Cause to Boyce Hydro regarding its apparent violation of numerous FERC orders and license provisions addressing safety at the Secord, Smallwood, and Sanford projects, according to FERC. In the show cause order, FERC directed Boyce Hydro to provide an answer within 30 days as to why the commission should not assess a $15 million civil penalty.
ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) is still holding and selling captive Iraqi Yazidi women as slaves, and now some of these slave sales are being carried out on the dark web. These are internet sites that are deliberately kept from being found and listed by Internet search engines, like Google. All manner of secretive business takes place on the dark web, much of it of a criminal nature. Access to dark web sites is difficult to obtain, but once the web ID is known the owners and users can sometimes be tracked down. At the very least the server (hard drive holding the web site data and connected to the web) can be seized or forced to disconnect because it is now known. Dark web sites are used by smugglers, especially people smugglers who are moving or literally selling captive women. In one early 2021 incident Turkish police were notified that a seven-year-old Yazidi girl was being offered for sale. Families often continue searching for enslaved children and have found that dark web auction sites will often offer women or girls. The slavers dont care if kin of their captive made the highest bid just to get a child or young girl back. In this case the relatives contacted Turkish police to assist, fearing that they might robbed by the kidnappers when they went to deliver the money and get the girl. Police staked out the pickup location and arrested the Iraqi men who had captured the girl and brought her to Turkey to sell her for a higher price via a dark web auction.

Slave auctions have been going on in the Middle East and Africa for thousands of years. Despite energetic anti-slavery campaigns by European nations in the 19th and 20th centuries, slavery persists in parts of the Middle East and Africa. Most of the slavers are Moslems who invoke their scripture (the Koran) as justification for continued enslavement of non-Moslems, particularly women and girls. Islamic conservatives are responsible for most of the surviving slavery and they are now assisted by criminal gangs that specialize in moving illegal migrants to Western countries. Some of these migrants are enslaved women being sold into prostitution.

It took the British colonial government over a century to suppress slavery in Nigeria, their largest colony in Adrica, and when the British left in the 1960s, there were still areas in the Moslem north where slavery was quietly accepted. After 2014 Islamic terror group Boko Haram revived enslaving Christians in a big way by capturing and enslaving thousands of Nigerian Christians.

Saudi Arabia did not officially outlaw slavery until the 1960s and some forms of slavery persist in the Arabian Peninsula. It also persists across the Red Sea in Sudan, where Arabized African tribes continued, into the 21st Century, to raid Christian Africans in southern Sudan and take slaves.

Some Moslem groups resist slaving violently. In northern Iraq ISIL attacks Kurds, and enslaves captives considered heretics, especially Yazidi, a Kurdish sect that practice a religion many Moslems consider offensive to Islam. The Kurds and Yazidi tend to live apart but when there is a threat to Kurds, the Yazidi fight alongside Moslem and Christian Kurds.

For Kurds, extreme emergencies mean a lot of armed women join the armed men. In response to ISIL over 10,000 Kurdish women joined militias and trained for combat. Most of these women are not Yazidi but in late 2015 Yazidi women who had been captured and raped by ISIL succeeded in getting support for a battalion of just Yazidi women who had been sex slaves of ISIL and, obviously, escaped. By then over 2,000 Yazidi slaves, most of them women, had escaped from ISIL But the Yazidi women could not escape the experience because of ancient social customs.

The ISIL use of slavery is particularly painful because the Middle East is one of those regions where female virginity is a big deal, sometimes a matter of life and death for women who lose it before marriage and then sometimes get murdered to salvage family honor. Getting captured and raped during war is usually not fatal but it does still stigmatize the victims. One way honor can be restored is via revenge. Taking up weapons and killing the culprit makes the woman less of a victim and more admirable, and likely to marry. The Yazidis, who usually live among Kurds, are largely regarded as Kurds but ones who have developed very different religious and social customs. Most Moslems consider the Yazidis heretics or pagans. The Kurds came to the aid of the Yazidi in 2014 when ISIL sought to kill or enslave all Yazidi in northern Iraq. The Kurds also helped arm and train Yazidi men to form more militias. By late 2015 this led to the appearance of the Sun Ladies, who were former Yazidi sex slaves now armed, trained and seeking revenge. Soon there were enough of them to form a separate battalion. After 2016 the number of Yazidis held captive declined from to a few hundred, at most, in 2020. One objective of all these Yazidi militias (and Kurds in general) was to free the slaves. Most were eventually freed but after 2016 there continued to be reports of Yazidi women and girls still held as slaves and sometimes sold at auction. Kurds, and some non-Kurds continued to search for those still held in bondage.
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Photos via Getty

Last week Christine White, a 25-year-old motion designer who lives in Brooklyn, tried her luck with the walk-in vaccine line at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center.

When the coronavirus ravaged the city last year, the hospital was an early epicenter of the pandemic. (One of its veteran nurses, Amy OSullivan, was picked as one of Times persons of year for 2020). But as access to the shot grows, Wyckoff Heights bustles with a brighter kind of energy.

It was around 6:30 in the morning. While White waited her turn, she noticed a man who she calls Cute Beanie Boy queued up behind her. He had dark curly hair and glassesa little nerdy, White says.

Prepare for Sex and Dating to Get Even More Complicated Once the Lockdown Lifts

Once they both got their shots, White and Cute Beanie Boy sat down next to each other for their 15-minute waiting periods. We chatted about being nervous about the Johnson & Johnson side effects, White told The Daily Beast. He mentioned that he had to work in a few hours, so I asked what he did. He mentioned he had a 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. video shoot. We were both just cracking jokes together. It was refreshing to meet someone I found fun and attractive after so long in my little social bubble.

And there was something about the vaccine waiting line, no matter how sterile or clinical, that screamed romance. For so long Ive stood in lines waiting to get COVID tests, and in this case it felt like the first sign of freedom or hope that weve had in over a year, White explained. The bonding nature of the experience was so easy.

It was the perfect meet cute: as they walked out of the hospital together, Cute Beanie Boy got stuck in a revolving door. All very charming, Nora Ephron-esque stuff. Once they finally got out on the street, he threw his hands up and said: We did it!

But when it came time to suggest exchanging numbers, White says she chickened out. She acknowledges that the past year has made her feel more shy. One year of social distancing and no bars or parties will do that to you.

Story continues

Still, White says, I was just so happy to flirt and chat. The sense of relief made me giddy and excited about meeting people again, and not just through apps.

White posted a Missed Connection on Craigslist appealing to the cute boy in the Wyckoff vaccine line Friday, but has so far received no response.

Christine Whites vaccine selfie. Courtesy Christine White

She will be on the lookout in her neighborhood: He seemed so fun and quirky, and Id like to actually get to know him. Also its nice that hes geographically convenient to my apartment.

Shes not alone. At injection sites across the country from Wake Forest, North Carolina, to Madison, Wisconsin, people are crushing on their fellow vaxxershard.

We waited in line beside each other for covid vaccine Tuesday, reads one Craiglist Missed Connections post from Charlotte, North Carolina. Dude you are so handsome! I admit my mouth was watering as I stood behind you in line. Then once we checked in I got back in line in front of you so I could turn around and see the front. I bet you are so hot naked I wanted to talk to you but just got too nervous to say anything. Doubt youll see this but I would absolutely do whatever to hang out with you.

Another one, from the Rockaway Mall Vaccination Center in New Jersey: I noticed you of course, everyone was wearing masks, couldnt see your faceyou could be in your 20s or 30sand I could NOT take my eyes off of you!! Every time I walked [or] passed youI wanted to say hi, this your first vaccine, etc..?? However, NOBODY was really speaking with one other...

Last month, the New York Post reported that Singles are asking people on dates in the COVID vaccine line. The story cited a few tweets from different writers and online personalities who treated their vaccination dates as a schmoozing opportunity with other almost-inoculated folks. Some shared that theyd been checked out by vaccine staff or volunteers.

One listener called into an Albany-based country radio station dating advice segment to ask, Is it weird that the vaccination line is where I got a date?

The woman, named Tori, met a man while waiting for her shot at the capitols Times Union Center. The radio shows hostaka theLove Cowboygave Tori the go-ahead: He could be your COVID cutie and you could be his vaccine vixen.

A spokesperson for New York Citys Department of Health wrote in an email, Everyone deserves a shot at love and the good news is that our guidance recommends that fully vaccinated people can get together without masks. We know that vaccines will help bring people together and were glad our sites do too.

The spox added that theyve heard about one budding couple that decided to spend their first date getting the vaccine together.

According to NPR, 76.6 million people23.1 percent of the total U.S. populationhave fully completed their doses. Kaiser Health News reported this week that more women have received the vaccine then men. There is no data, however, on how many of them are single.

Helen Fisher, PhD, is a senior research fellow at Indiana Universitys Kinsey Institute. As she put it to The Daily Beast, I wouldnt be surprised if a lot of people fell in love in that line.

Blame it on the brains dopamine system, which is responsible for delivering the hormone responsible for feelings of both happiness and romantic love. If youre feeling excitement, focus, motivation, energy, and interested in whoevers in line, thats because that surge of dopamine makes you more susceptible to romance, Fisher added.

Plus, people in line getting a vaccine share an immediate commonalitytheyre all taking the first step toward ending a brutalizing pandemic.

Weve all experienced the same thing, so psychologically you feel like you know something about this person already. You can get to much faster intimacy with them, Fisher said.

Jacque, a 26-year-old artist who currently works as a traveling robot dinosaur installer, for a touring show got her shot at New Yorks Javits Center. When Jacque sat down to get her shot, she noticed another person at the other side of the table.

They had nice tats on their arm, a partial buzz cut, basically my gaydar was screaming, Jacque said. We locked eyes and immediately knew. Theres almost an unspoken language, with a nod of the head and an appreciative look in the eyes for being there getting the vaccine. But just as silently and as quickly as sparks flew, we both knew we were tops. Alas.

Jacques vaccine selfie. Courtesy Jacque

Jess, a 34-year-old IT worker who uses they/them pronouns and asked The Daily Beast use a pseudonym, lives in Madison, Wisconsin. On a recent Thursday evening, they nabbed the last dose of the day from a center run by the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corp. (Thats the 6,300-person national reserve of medical professionals deployed to support the fight against the coronavirus.)

Mr. USPHS Official caught my eye immediately because he was in uniform, Jess said. I have a thing for uniforms, and he was in a branch of the military Id never heard of before. He was tall, jolly, fit, and seemed like a good listener. They chatted while other workers filled out Jess paperwork.

Mr. USPHS Official said hed come from San Diego to help out. Jess joked that it was fitting Wisconsinites were getting their jabs at the drive-up site, which in normal times hosts the cows that compete during the annual County Fair.

Then he turned around and went, Oh jeez, your vaccine is ready! Sorry, Im just talking your ear off, which seemed so cute to me, Jess said. Wed only been talking for less than five minutes, but it was so much fun.

Jess put up a Missed Connections post. Though Mr. USPHS Official hasnt responded, two other men didand Jess hopes to meet up with them once our vaccines kick in.

I think Ill always remember the guy who gave me my vaccine, just because it is a nice memory and he was also memorable, Jess added. Ill always wonder if he went back to San Diego or went on to another city to continue his important work. I wish him well, wherever he is.

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A 27-year-old man tied to the Hoover street gang is accused of using the social media site Snapchat to sell guns and fentanyl disguised as oxycodone pills, according to federal prosecutors.

Aumontae Wayne Smith, of Portland, bought 16 firearms that investigators have linked to 17 separate shootings in the Portland area from April through December of last year, according to court documents and testimony.

Authorities suspect Smith bought the guns and then distributed them to others since 2019.

The fake oxycodone pills were sold in and around Portland, according to prosecutors. Smith is accused of conspiring with an unnamed accomplice to distribute the fentanyl.

Smith made his first appearance in U.S. District Court in Portland Friday afternoon.

He pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

He has not been charged in any of the shootings at this time.

Portland police have been working with the FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on the case. They seized six firearms from Smith and his alleged accomplice, according to prosecutors.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Youlee Yim You scheduled a tentative trial date for June 15.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian
Iran on Friday started enriching uranium to 60% purity after the resumption of negotiations between the nation and other world powers in Vienna to restore the 2015 nuclear deal, Al Jazeera reports citing Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi.

Why it matters: The production news comes days after an apparent Israeli attack on Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment facility. It also pushes the country one step closer to producing weapons-grade uranium and is a severe violation of the nuclear deal.

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Yes, but: While 60% is higher than any level at which Iran has previously enriched uranium, it still leaves the nation short of the 90% enrichment necessary to produce a nuclear weapon.

Context: The Trump administration withdrew the U.S. from the nuclear deal in 2018, accusing Iran of failing to adhere to the agreement.

Iran, in response, announced in January it would start 20% uranium enrichment at its underground Fordow nuclear facility.

The nation last weekend said Iran announced it was testing a new nuclear centrifuge to more effectively enrich uranium.

What to watch: The U.S. and Israel are expected to hold a third round of strategic talks on Iran at the end of April.

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 15:52:00|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The United States saw around 600,000 more deaths than usual during a 13-month span from Jan. 26, 2020 to Feb. 27, 2021, and COVID-19 was blamed for most of those deaths, U.S. media reported recently citing data from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

At least 75 percent of the deaths were directly tied to COVID-19, the AP said in a report on Thursday, noting that the biggest spikes in the deaths occurred in early April, late July, and the very end of December.

According to data from the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, the United States has reported more than 31.57 million COVID-19 infections and over 566,000 deaths, leading the world in both categories. Enditem
A delegation from the South Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City led by the Consul General Kang Myong-il visited Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Thursday to discuss future cooperation between both sides.

During a discussion with the editor-in-chief of Tuoi Tre, Le The Chu, the Consul General shared he had done several meetings with agencies in Ho Chi Minh City to establish connections with the local media.

About 100,000 South Koreans are currently living in the southern city, creating a small but diverse community, said Consul General Kang.

The delegation of South Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City visits and works with Tuoi Tre newspaper April 15, 2021. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Acknowledging the diversity of this community, he hoped to deliver the merits of South Korean culture and people.

After taking office in Vietnam, I have met a lot of representatives of Ho Chi Minh City. They mostly care about trade and the economic ties between the two countries. However, I believe, based on that foundation, we should learn and understand each other's cultures and societies, in order to enhance our collaboration, said Consul General Kang.

Vietnam ranks fourth in top trading partners of South Korea, and the East Asia country is also the second biggest foreign investor in Vietnam.

This fact indicates the deep Vietnam-South Korea economic ties after 30 years of diplomatic relations.

Moreover, according to statistics from South Korea, Vietnam witnessed 4.3 million visits from South Koreans before the COVID-19 pandemic, which also means one in every 11 South Koreans has visited Vietnam.

Consul General Kang acknowledged the potentials of the city are not only attractive to South Korea, but also the United States and European countries, especially in eco-smart city development.

With comprehensive experiences collected from the renovation program of Seoul, South Korea is expected to be a strong partner for Ho Chi Minh City in the field.

In particular, during last month, the city authorities held a conference with South Korean businesses to discuss prospects for cooperation in new future projects.

Regarding Tuoi Tre, the Korean Consul General shared his expectation for the two sides to join hands in upcoming projects.

Le The Chu, editor-in-chief of Tuoi Tre newspaper, introduces Tuoi Tres publications to the South Korean Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, Kang Myong-il on April 15, 2021. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

He also hoped that the two agencies would coordinate to share information about the lives of the Korean people and the activities of Korean businesses in Ho Chi Minh City in particular and Vietnam in general.

Agreeing with the views of the Korean Consul General, Tuoi Tres editor-in-chief insisted that human connection is the foundation for economic cooperation between Vietnam and South Korea.

"South Korean corporates not only contribute greatly to our economy, but also share with us their governance styles and technology, furthering the development of Vietnam", Chu emphasized.

The editor-in-chief affirmed that the newspaper and the South Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City have always maintained a good relationship up to now, and expressed the expectation that the mutual relationship would be even stronger in the future.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
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Multiple law enforcement agencies combined efforts to dismantle a south Laredo stash house with more than 80 immigrants who had crossed the border illegally.

U.S. Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, Laredo police and Webb County Precinct 2 Constables Office participated in the enforcement action.


Ruth DeFries in March 2020 completed a manuscript over five years in the making. It resulted to be both prophetic and prescient. In this document, the Columbia University professor disputed that global crises are now unavoidable due to the interconnectedness and difficulty of our modern civilization.

Ruth DeFries Concluded Her Project

Just as she concluded the project, as she puts it, "all hell broke loose with COVID." That manuscript would turn into a book, published at the end of 2020. "These were precisely the kinds of shocks that I was attempting to be persuasive [about], in the book, [when I let the readers know] they could truly happen," DeFries says.

But her tome is less screed and more guide. It reveals that there is positive news - and hope - to be discovered in a model that is around all of us each day and that has lived for billions of years: nature. DeFries threw light on the hand sanitizer and insufficiency of personal protective equipment when the pandemic began as an instance of what she means.

Instead of relying on single sources for crucial goods, she writes, we can take a look at coral skeletons and the little veins of the wings of dragonfly and leaves. They curve into one another, making what is known as a redundant network.

Also Read: Coronavirus Casualties: Plastic Waste Amid Pandemic is Killing Animals All Over the World

Building Our Modern World

That way, for example, if a bug bites a leaf, it can still transport sugar and water all over the plant. In the face of doubt, one of the best ways we can safeguard ourselves is to invest in our flexibility - like maintaining a different set of partners in trade, coming to both medical supplies food. The notion that we should observe nature when building our modern world has primitive roots in native cultures.

But the scientific term common for this method is just a few decades old: According to Lex Amore, who directs partnerships and advocacy at the nonprofit Biomimicry Institute 'biomimicry' "is the mirroring of nature's genius consciously."Copying strategies of nature can have real-world usefulness when we're placed in a tight corner.

COPAN

For instance, northern Italy-based manufacturer COPAN in March 2020 was impacted by COVID-19, which brought about a nationwide insufficiency of diagnostic nasal swabs in the U.S. In response, a network of industry partners and experts in Boston organize to source and produce new designs.

As part of this effort, the Wyss Institute for Biologically motivated Engineering at Harvard University got motivation from an unlikely source: the tongue of cats. The lead engineer of the team, Richard Novak finally designed injection-molded nasal-testing swabs which were modeled on an oral multitool of feline.This type of nature-inspired reasoning is required now than ever because "the solutions we search around for are right outside," Amore says.

Her organization encourages innovations that not only serve humans in the short term but that, in its words, also " provide sustainably conditions favourable to life" - for every species.

Related Article: Scientists: Dogs May Detect the Coronavirus in Humans

For more news, updates about the pandemics and similar topics, don't forget to follow Nature World News!
New Delhi :

Umang Bedi, the India Managing Director of social networking giant Facebook, has resigned from the role, just over a year after he joined the company. Facebook India, in a statement, confirmed the development, saying, "Umang Bedi will be leaving his role atFacebook at the end of this year".

"He has built a really strong team and business during his time with us, and we wish him all the best," it added. Facebook has named Sandeep Bhushan - who currently serves as Director - Consumer and Media (South Asia) as the interimmanaging director.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Bhushan joined Facebook in April 2015 from Samsung Electronics. He has alsobeen associated with HT Media and Hindustan Unilever. Bedi had joined Facebook in July last year, taking over the India business from Kirthiga Reddy who moved to thecompany's headquarters in Menlo Park, the US.

He was mandated to lead strategic relationships with top clients and regional agencies in the country. Prior to joiningFacebook, Bedi served as the managing director of the South Asia region at Adobe. After the US, India accounts for the second largest base of users for Facebook with well over 200 million users.Globally, it had over 2 billion monthly active users at the end of June, 2017.





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Mounted police ride along the Long Walk as they patrol round Window castle in Windsor, England, Friday, April 16, 2021. Prince Philip husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II died April 9, aged 99, his funeral will take place Saturday at Windsor Castle in St George's Chapel. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara were visions of spring as they arrived to the set of America's Got Talent in Los Angeles.

The 47-year-old German supermodel and the Modern Family darling, 48, shined in bright pastel colors and florals respectively as they geared up for another day as panelists on the hit NBC show.

Production on Season 16 has been underway for a few weeks now and additional judges include Howie Mandel and Simon Cowell.

Playing with color: Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara were visions of spring as they arrived to the set of America's Got Talent in Los Angeles on Saturday

Heidi played with pastels as she strutted to set in bright teal jeans and a lilac tank top.

She continued to lean into color with her accessories, sporting turquoise pumps and a bright blue Chanel bag.

To ease up on the cyan shades, she accented her tank top with a pair of oversized aviators with purple lenses.

However, the eye-catching outfit did not distract from the veteran judge's statuesque frame and she kept her blonde locks down.

Pastel moment: She continued to lean into color with her accessories, sporting turquoise pumps and a bright blue Chanel bag

Sofia looked fresh as a daisy in a jade floral dress with ruffled detailing.

Her large green handbag played off the frock's color scheme, and she opted for a simple pair of brown wedges to go with her earth-toned look.

The charismatic Colombian actress sported a full face of makeup and her caramel locks were blown out straight.

And later she took to Instagram to show off her 'new outfit' for the show  a sparkly one shoulder dress designed by Pamela Roland.

Earth tones: Her large green handbag played off the frock's color scheme, and she opted for a simple pair of brown wedges to go with her earth-toned look

Show time! And later she took to Instagram to show off her 'new outfit' for the show  a sparkly one shoulder dress designed by Pamela Roland

Vergara was all about the bling while on set for a second season, showing off diamond bangles and rings with a pair of chandelier earrings.

The glorified talent show is set to premiere on June 1 and will mark longtime host Cowell's return, after tapping out last season due to an electric bike accident.

The executive producer endured a five hour surgery after breaking his back and Kelly Clarkson and Kenan Thompson took his place in the interim.

The show was one of the first to resume filming safely amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and it continues to be hosted by Terry Crews.
Over the first few months of 2021, the migrant crisis at the US-Mexico border has exploded. Due to the policies of the Obama, Trump and now Biden administrations, many of those migrants, particularly unaccompanied minors, remain housed in increasingly controversial overflow facilities.

Despite promises to reverse the policy, the Biden administration instead has taken the unprecedented step of now housing thousands of these unaccompanied minors on US military bases, a jolting move that hardly generated any attention from either the mainstream or independent media. This is true even for left-leaning outlets that spent much of the Trump era railing against and calling for the closure of these detention facilities as well as the increasing militarization of the US-Mexico border. The only exceptions have been those few outlets that covered the dangerous environmental contamination present at some of the bases now involved.

Currently, unaccompanied minors are being housed at two military bases in Texas and one in California. While there was media coverage of the decision to house children and teens at these bases, there was little journalistic interest in looking deeper into the issues of these particular bases, some of which are known for extremely unsanitary conditions or for allowing serial rapists to serve on base for years despite numerous reports about their crimes to base leadership. One of these bases has the highest rate of sexual assaults out of any joint base in the entire Department of Defense.

Not only that, but the US militarys computer network has consistently ranked among the top internet service providers for the trafficking of child pornography, further underscoring why military bases, particularly these military bases, are unsuitable for children.

Also concerning is the fact that US officials refuse to say how many children are being sent to these bases. HHS currently has more than 13,000 kids in their custody. That number is only projected to grow, with Customs and Border Protection now projecting that 184,000 unaccompanied minors could end up in government custody by this time next year.

In addition, these bases have not yet released photos of where the minors are kept and have even banned soldiers on these bases from photographing the areas where the children are being held. The tents they are housed in are said to be able to house 1,000 people each, implying that each base has received thousands of migrant children in recent weeks.

In recent years, prior to the current spike in the severity of the border crisis, thousands of migrant children that were placed into this system of overflow facilities and detention centers have been lost by the government and some have reported acts of physical and sexual abuse inside these facilities. These childrens reunification with their families can take months or years and, for many, it doesnt happen at all. Now, with the opening up of these specific military bases to these unaccompanied children, it seems clear that these new, military-run enclosures are likely to be even more unsafe and are hardly a solution to the current situation on the US Southern border.

The Texas Bases: Fort Bliss and Joint Base San Antonio

Army Staff Sgt. Randall Hughes was allowed to serve at Fort Bliss for over a decade despite being known as a serial rapist to Base leadership. Source: US Army Photo

Texas Fort Bliss and Joint Base Sant Antonio have both become notorious for their disturbing and frequent sexual abuse claims, overshadowed only by another Texas military base  Fort Hood. In 2017, a Pentagon study found that Joint Base San Antonio had the highest rate of sexual assault reports out of all the other joint base installations in the entire Department of Defense, registering 881 cases from 2013 to 2017. Before that period, Lackland Air Force Base, part of Joint Base San Antonio, saw 62 cadets allege that more than 30 training instructors on the base had sexually abused them in some way. The figures at the base are likely much higher given that most sexual abuse cases go unreported in the Armed Forces, with media reporting in 2014 that only 3,300 reports were filed out of a total of 26,000 reported instances of unwanted sexual contact or sexual abuse that year.

In the case of Fort Bliss, the base has counted among its ranks particularly egregious sexual criminals who were known to base leadership for years and were allowed to continue to prey on other soldiers, their spouses and even their own children. In just the first few months of 2021, there have been two deeply disturbing cases surrounding Fort Bliss that were recently prosecuted. The first was made public with the January arrest of Pfc. Christian Alvarado on three allegations of sexual assault as well as charges of aggravated assault and making false statements to military investigators. One of Alvarados alleged victims was Pfc. Asia Graham, who was found dead in her barracks room nearly a year to the day that Alvarado had raped her. Her manner of death has not been disclosed by Fort Bliss.

The second is even more disturbing and provides a clear example of how Fort Bliss leadership have turned a blind eye to sexual abuse of both adults and children for decades. Just last week, Army Staff Sgt. Randall Hughes was sentenced for multiple rapes and sexual assaults, including the rape of his own daughter last year. Troublingly, it wasnt until Hughes daughter, who was 16 at the time, reported her father for drugging and then raping her that Army leadership began to scrutinize the lengthy record of rape accusations against him that date back to 2006.

One of the claims involved the wife of a soldier under Hughes charge, who was raped by Hughes in her own house after he got her husband so drunk that he passed out. That particular accusation against Hughes was investigated, but Hughes was not prosecuted and instead had a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand added to his personnel file. The victim later told the Army Times that I was told CID [the Armys Criminal Investigative Division] had enough evidence to believe it happened, and Fort Bliss still didnt do anything. They just told me the command said this is what it was  this is how it is.

After violently raping his then-girlfriend and cutting her with a broken bottle, Hughes moved to a different base in New Jersey after gaining custody of his teen daughter while at Fort Bliss. Thus, Fort Bliss leadership had shockingly allowed Hughes to bring a minor on base to live with him despite his history of violent sexual assaults. In March 2020, he would drug and rape his daughter, Lesley Madsen, later pleading guilty to the sexual abuse and assault of a child. The leadership at New Jerseys Fort Dix took action against Hughes and prevented him from preying on others, unlike the leadership of Fort Bliss, whose inaction led to the horrific assault of Hughes young teen daughter.

In addition to their disturbing track record with both high rates of abuse claims and a cover-up culture, both of these bases are also known to be contaminated with dangerous pollutants and chemicals that put the lives of soldiers, and now minors, at risk. In the case of Fort Bliss, the bases history of contamination with cancer-causing compounds is well-documented and has been home to at least 80 toxic sites over the course of its operation. Even the sites at the base that have now been deemed safe by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continue to be dangerous, with one cleaned site found to contain more than 19 times the legal limit of arsenic in its soil.

At Joint Base San Antonio, the water is heavily contaminated due to chemicals from toxic firefighting foam that has been used on base for decades. In addition, as some journalists and environmental watchdogs have noted, Joint Base San Antonio has some of the worst air pollution in the entire United States.

Camp Roberts

One of the hundreds of condemned buildings at Camp Roberts, many of which contain lead, asbestos and other contaminants. Source: Wikimedia

After migrant children began to be sent to the bases in Texas, the Pentagon announced on April 3 that Californias Camp Roberts had been approved to house unaccompanied migrant children. While not known for high rates of sex crimes like the Texas bases, Camp Roberts has long had major sanitary and environmental issues much like Fort Bliss and Joint Base San Antonio.

According to reports from Camp Roberts itself, raw sewage can be seen routinely bubbling up from different buildings at the base, with others lacking any sort of heat or air conditioning on a regular basis. In 2011, conditions were so bad on base that Sgt. Dustin Shepard, the noncommissioned officer in charge of camp operations, told his superiors in an email that he was completely disgusted with the lack of soldier care that had stemmed from decades of deferred maintenance and neglect according to an investigation published that same year by the Sacramento Bee.

Despite efforts to renovate the camp, rodent infestations are commonly reported and the electrical wiring present in several buildings has been called unreliable and, in some cases, unsafe by the camps commander. Camp leadership have since worked to dismiss allegations that the base is overrun by mice and saturated by raw sewage. In addition, hundreds of long-condemned structures are located throughout Camp Roberts, with signs warning of their contamination with lead, asbestos and hantavirus, an airborne and often deadly disease carried by rodents. In 2018, the government of California accused the camp of improperly disposing of hazardous waste.

Currently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lists the entirety of Camp Roberts among its active Superfund sites that are deemed by the government to be the most contaminated in the country and in need of urgent, and often expensive, cleanup efforts. Camp Roberts is an active Superfund site, but is no longer on the National Priority List of Superfund sites. The EPA website offers little information about the reasons for the base being listed as a Superfund site, declining to provide relevant reports or lists of contaminants known to be present on its grounds.

Why Are We Trusting these Bases with Vulnerable Children?

It goes without saying that these three military bases are even more unsuitable to house children and teens than the detention facilities that have been used to house them under the last three presidential administrations. With the minors living outside these bases in tents, the environmental contamination and sanitary crises present on these bases pose a direct hazard to their health, especially in the case of Camp Roberts. In the case of the Texas bases, a culture that turns a blind eye to violent rapists for over a decade and a reputation for extremely high rates of sex crimes make it abundantly clear that vulnerable minors separated from their parents or guardians should not be housed there.

Particularly concerning is the assertion made by Fort Bliss leadership when they dismissed Randall Hughes horrific sex crimes because this is how it is. If Hughes ghastly behavior, which later included the rape of a minor, was deemed as such by Fort Bliss leadership, how can those same authorities be trusted with the safety and well-being of thousands of unaccompanied and vulnerable children?
Tokyo, Japan - Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University and Hosei University have discovered a new species of large, tropical centipede of genus Scolopendra in Okinawa and Taiwan. It is only the third amphibious centipede identified in the world, and is the largest in the region, 20 cm long and nearly 2 cm thick. It is also the first new centipede to be identified in Japan in 143 years, testament to the incredible biodiversity of the Ryukyu Archipelago.

Scolopendra is a genus of large, tropical centipede, one of the original genera named by the father of modern taxonomy himself, Carl Linnaeus. They are strong predators in any soil ecosystems they inhabit, with around 100 different species found in tropical regions around the world. Of these, only five have been identified in Japan and Taiwan.

Scientists were excited when news came in of an unknown centipede species sighted around the Ryukyu Archipelago, reportedly attacking giant freshwater prawns. A team led by Sho Tsukamoto, his supervisor Associate Professor Katsuyuki Eguchi of Tokyo Metropolitan University, and Professor Satoshi Shimano of Hosei University set out to look for and identify this mystery creature.

It turned out that they had discovered an entirely new species. Genetic analysis confirmed that it was distinct from any of the other Scolopendra inhabiting the region. Approximately 20 cm in length and 2 cm in width, it is the largest centipede species to be found in Japan and Taiwan. Sporting a beautiful jade-colored shell, it has been named Scolopendra alcyona Tsukamoto & Shimano after the Greek mythological figure Alcyone, who was transformed into a kingfisher by Zeus. Its new Japanese name, ryujin-omukade, also has a mythological origin, in homage to the region where it was found. Local myths have it that a dragon god, or ryujin, was in agony because a centipede had entered his ear. On seeing a chicken quickly devour a centipede, it was said that the god came to fear both centipedes and chickens. In the days of the kingdom of Ryukyu, people painted chickens on their boats and hoisted a centipede flag to strike fear into the dragon gods and cross the sea safely.

Notably, the scientists found that the centipedes preferred streamside environments, and exhibited amphibious characteristics, making it only the third amphibious Scolopendra in the world. This is the first discovery of a new centipede in Japan in 143 years; the fact that such a large invertebrate could go undiscovered until now is a reflection of the unexplored biodiversity of the Ryukyu Archipelago, and a strong case for its preservation. The species is most likely endangered, and currently inhabits forest streams where people do not go. The team hopes to continue to monitor and study them from a safe distance, to preserve their habitat.

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This work was supported by the Asahi Glass Foundation (Leader: Katsuyuki Eguchi; FY2017-FY2020; Leader: Satoshi Shimano, FY2020-FY2023), a JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (18K06392), the Tokyo Metropolitan University Fund for TMU Strategic Research (Leader: Prof. Noriaki Murakami; FY2020-FY2022) and the Nippon Life Insurance Foundation.
Nigerias Oluwaseyi Akinyemi, 34, aka Paddy Linkin is facing 60 years imprisonment if convicted of $474,000 mail fraud in the United Sta...

Nigerias Oluwaseyi Akinyemi, 34, aka Paddy Linkin is facing 60 years imprisonment if convicted of $474,000 mail fraud in the United States.

A criminal complaint was filed against Akinyemi in U.S. District Court in Maryland on Friday charging Akinyemi of Hyattsville, Maryland, for the federal charges of mail fraud, attempted mail fraud, and mail and wire fraud conspiracy, in connections with an advanced fee fraud scheme using social media to target elderly victims and causing losses of $474,145.07.

According to the United States Department of Justice, the criminal complaint was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Special Agent in Charge James R. Mancuso of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; and Interim Chief Hector Velez of the Prince Georges County Police Department.

According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, from July 10, 2018 to April 29, 2019, Akinyemi was a member of the a fraud group (the AFG), a group of Nigerian nationals who engaged in a social media-based advanced fee fraud schemes targeting elderly individuals.

Allegedly, AFG members perpetrated a financial scheme in which they created fictitious social media accounts to encourage elderly victims to send cash to cover taxes or fees in order to receive substantial financial awards.

The affidavit alleges that, in some instances, the AFG created fraudulent social media accounts of friends of the victims, making the victims believe they were communicating with individuals they knew and trusted.

Once the victims displayed a level of interest, the AFG allegedly opened a new account or persona (the Closers) to carry out the fraud scheme. At times, the Closers fraudulently posed as real or fictitious government agencies offering the victims financial awards in exchange for associated taxes and fees.

The affidavit further alleges that once victims sent funds to individuals in Maryland and elsewhere, AFG members forwarded the victims funds to co-conspirators in Nigeria. The affidavit alleges that Akinyemi is one of the individuals that received victims cash or gift card payments through mail services.

As detailed in the affidavit, on April 16, 2019, the Prince Georges County Police Department intercepted a package sent to Paddy Linkin at Akinyemis address. The package was found to contain $30,000 in cash wrapped in money bands and concealed inside two stuffed animal bears.

The money was seized by law enforcement. As detailed in the criminal complaint, Victim 1 was identified as the sender and was subsequently interviewed by law enforcement. According to the affidavit, Victim 1 received an application for a purported federal government program from an individual that the victim believed was a friend on a social media platform, because the senders profile picture matched that of an individual with whom Victim 1 was friends.

The friend vouched for the program. Victim 1 was allegedly contacted by a Closer, who advised that Victim 1 was approved for $100,000 in grant funds but needed to pay taxes to receive the grant funds. Once Victim 1 sent funds for the taxes, she received a Certificate of Completion with the Internal Revenue Service seal and another certificate bearing her full name and the text: Federal Government Grants for the sum of $5,000,000.

Victim 1 was then notified that the Central Intelligence Agency was going to confiscate the grant funds if he/she did not send more money to cover the taxes on the awarded grant.

Following the Closers specific instructions, Victim 1 allegedly sent a total of approximately $70,000 to $80,000 in cash to Paddy Linkin in six packages addressed to Akinyemis residence as well as to an address in Midland, Texas, including the $30,000 seized by the Prince Georges County Police officers. According to the affidavit, Victim 1 withdrew funds from a retirement account and obtained a bank loan in order to pay the taxes believing that he/she would receive federal grants.

At least 13 victims have allegedly been defrauded of a total of $474,145.07 through the AFG scheme.

If convicted, Akinyemi faces a maximum sentence of 20 years for each count of mail fraud, attempted mail fraud and mail fraud conspiracy. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. At todays initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Sullivan ordered that Akinyemi be detained.

A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner commended the HSI and the Prince Georges County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Lenzner thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rajeev R. Raghavan and Erin B. Pulice, who is prosecuting this case.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department in Washington on April 5, 2021. (Alexander Drago/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

US Condemns Sentencing of HK Pro-Democracy Activists, Calls Charges Politically Motivated

The U.S. Department of State and the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) on Friday condemned the recent sentencing and jailing of multiple Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, calling the charges politically motivated and a reflection of declining rights and freedoms in the city.

A total of nine Hong Kong pro-democracy activists were handed sentences and suspended sentences on Friday for their participation in two unauthorized protests in Hong Kong in August 2019. The protests were part of a larger series of mass protests throughout 2019 over a proposed bill that would have let the Chinese regime extradite people from Hong Kong, which is supposed to have autonomy. The bill was withdrawn in September 2019.

Nine defendants were charged with organizing and joining an unauthorized mass protest on Aug. 18, 2019, that saw an estimated 1.7 million people taking part in a peaceful march, defying police orders to keep the protest at a stationery gathering near the city center. Two defendantsLeung Yiu-chung and Au Nok-hinpleaded guilty, while the other sevenMartin Lee, Jimmy Lai, Albert Ho, Margaret Ng, Cyd Ho, Lee Cheuk-yan, and Leung Kwok-hungpleaded not guilty.

In a separate protest on Aug. 31, 2019, hundreds of thousands of people defied a total protest ban by the police, and ignored that organizers had cancelled the event. Lai and Lee Cheuk-yan, as well as Yeung Sum, were sentenced for joining the event. All three pleaded guilty but maintained they didnt do anything wrong.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the United States condemns the sentencing of seven pro-democracy leaders on politically-motivated charges. In his statement, Blinken named the seven who had pleaded not guilty in the case regarding the Aug. 18, 2019, protest, and said that their sentences were incompatible with the non-violent nature of their actions.

Beijing and Hong Kong authorities are targeting Hong Kongers for doing nothing more than exercising protected rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of speech, he said. Todays sentences are yet another example of how the PRC and Hong Kong authorities undermine protected rights and fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Declaration in an effort to eliminate all forms of dissent.

Hong Kong was handed back from British colonial rule to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 with the express guarantee under the Sino-British Joint Declaration that the citys high degree of autonomy and essential freedoms would be preserved under the principle of one country, two systems until 2047.

Blinken said that the declaration is binding and should guarantee the Hong Kong people rights and freedoms.

We will continue to stand with Hong Kongers as they respond to Beijings assault on these freedoms and autonomy, and we will not stop calling for the release of those detained or imprisoned for exercising their fundamental freedoms, Blinken said.

CECC Chair and Co-chair, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Rep. James P. McGovern (D-Mass.), condemned the convictions of all 10 Hong Kong pro-democracy activists.

The convictions should be condemned by all those committed to restoring Hong Kongs autonomy and human rights, they said in a statement on Friday. These are clearly political prosecutions.

They said the pro-democracy activists were singled out and targeted by the Hong Kong law enforcement for participating in a peaceful march.

Few predicted that there would one day be political prisoners in Hong Kong, and that is now sadly the case, with more to come under the draconian National Security Law. Hong Kongs democratic freedoms, guaranteed by international treaty, continue to be under assault, they said.

The signal sent today should have serious implications for relations between the U.S. and the Peoples Republic of China. We stand ready to legislate for the people of Hong Kong and urge the Biden Administration and the international community to hold accountable those responsible for political prosecutions in Hong Kong, they wrote.

Lawmakers, including Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), as well as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), also condemned the situation.

On Twitter, Cruz called the sentencing a grave injustice. He signaled support for Laithe founder of pro-democracy newspaper Apple Dailyand all who support freedom and democracy in Hong Kong. I am determined to ensure that they are freed and that those who are wrongfully imprisoning [Lai] are held accountable, he said.

Rubio on Twitter called the sentencing of the pro-democracy activists a further assault on freedom & democracy everywhere.

The free world has to come together to condemn & hold #Beijing accountable for this travesty of justice, he wrote.

Pelosi expressed that she was saddened and disturbed to see sentences dealt for those who sought free and peaceful protests, calling the event another sign of Beijings assault on the rule of law.

Congress remains laser-focused on legislation and diplomatic efforts including with our allies to hold China accountable & support Hong Kongs efforts to maintain & grow the rule of law and freedom of speech in their city, Pelosi wrote.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi said that despite a year to prepare, India has been caught off guard. The Congress leader blamed the Modi government of 'gross unpreparedness' and 'adhocism' in dealing with the coronavirus crisis. She also suggested ways to handle the aggravating situation, including immunising people from 25 years of age and providing income support to people.

"We have extended our hands of cooperation right from February-March, 2020. We cannot, however, lose sight of the fact that the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the country with fury. Despite a year to prepare, we have, regrettably, been caught off guard again," Gandhi said.

Gandhi was chairing the meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) when she made the remarks. She also accused the Centre of giving preferential treatment to some states while maintaining 'thundering silence' on requests by states helmed by the Congress or the Opposition parties. She said that Congress believes that fighting the pandemic is a national challenge and is beyond politics.

The Congress veteran said that Union ministers are attacking leaders of opposition instead of listening to their constructive suggestions. "This convoluted 'me versus you' debate is childish and totally unnecessary," Gandhi said.

Sonia Gandhi made a range of suggestions including decreasing the immunisation age to 25 years, and to include all younger persons with at-risk health disorders like asthma, angina, diabetes, kidney and liver diseases and other similar ailments.

"In the course of my talks with our chief ministers, the question of GST (Goods and Services Tax) came up. They felt that as a preliminary measure, all equipment, instruments, medicines and support required to prevent and treat COVID-19 should be made free from GST," Gandhi said. She also said that 12 per cent GST is levied on drugs such as Remdesivir and medical oxygen, which is a matter of grave concern.

"As the central and state governments move ahead to control the situation by resorting to partial curfews, travel restrictions, closure and lock downs; we will again be restricting economic activity that will hit the already beleaguered people, especially the poor and the daily wagers," she said.

It is, therefore, imperative to provide monthly income support and transfer an amount of Rs 6,000 in every eligible citizen's account, Gandhi said.

Also read: Centre issues guidelines for foreign-made coronavirus vaccines

Also read: Coronavirus patients with sedentary lifestyle more vulnerable, claims study
Dr. Mary Mercer was just coming off her emergency room shift at San Francisco General Hospital on Thursday night when the call came in: Humboldt County had a pizza box of Pfizer vaccine that it couldnt use. Did San Francisco want it?

A pizza box is public health slang for a flat of Pfizer vials  which is about the size of a pizza box, and contains more than a thousand doses.

Mercer, who is the citys vaccine coordinator on top of being an ER physician, said she didnt hesitate. Yes, we definitely want that, Mercer said she told the caller. Any drop we can get, we want.

But Pfizer is a sensitive vaccine with particular storage needs, and this box had already been moved from cold storage to a refrigerator. The clock had started: The doses would be unsafe to use after five days, and they needed to go into arms by Sunday.

That meant transporting 1,002 doses, stored in 167 thimble-size glass vials, 300 miles from Eureka to San Francisco, ideally in less than a day, keeping them safe and cool along the way.

The trip would ultimately involve a generous San Francisco International Airport employee and private pilot, two Muni operators turned vaccine couriers, and a team of nurses and doctors ready to inject arms at a San Francisco General clinic first thing Saturday morning.

The effort was really energizing, Mercer said late Friday, after the vials were nestled in their new refrigerated home at San Francisco General and had been checked by a pharmacist to ensure they were safe to use. We were cheering the vaccine the whole way.

Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

The sudden gift arrived just when the city needed it most, Mercer and other public health officials said. Vaccine eligibility opened to everyone 16 and older Thursday, but San Franciscos supply is lower now than it was a month ago  about 10,000 doses a week compared with 16,000. The thousand doses from Humboldt County represent a tenth of the citys total supply for the week.

All of them went to a drop-in clinic at San Francisco General for people who live in neighborhoods hardest hit in the pandemic. The clinic is typically open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is capable of delivering 2,000 shots, but its been closing early lately because of lack of supply. With the added doses, it ran at full capacity Saturday.

Supply is so constrained, and there are so many people who need and want vaccine, Mercer said. Weve really been scouring for any opportunities across the region to get more.

That scouring is what turned up the Humboldt County vaccines. The San Francisco Public Health Department had assigned workers from the start of the pandemic to hunt for extra supplies the city could grab from counties that were overstocked. First it was personal protective equipment like masks and face shields. Now its vaccines.

Emergency operations staffs across the state are a close-knit community, and they have email lists and other channels for sharing information and requesting help. It was in one of those emails that a San Francisco public health staffer put out an urgent request for spare vaccine. The city needed help finding enough vaccine to cover first-dose appointments that had already been scheduled.

Meanwhile, up in Humboldt County, public health officials had scheduled a mass vaccination clinic every day of the week, expecting to administer about 1,000 shots a day, based on previous interest. But suddenly appointments dropped off, for reasons they dont yet understand, and the county found itself with a flat of thawed-out vaccine it couldnt use.

The Pfizer vaccine must be stored in an ultracold freezer at temperatures between minus 112 and minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit. A couple of weeks before use, it can be moved into a freezer that is somewhat less cold, and then to a refrigerator, kept at 36 to 46 degrees, for up to five days.

A lot of careful management goes into planning when flats will be thawed. Throughout the pandemic, there have been many examples of counties and other vaccine providers suddenly needing to offload batches of vaccine before they expired. Sometimes freezers fail, or not as many people show up at a clinic as expected.

This vaccine is the most logistically challenging vaccine of all time, Dr. Ian Hoffman, the Humboldt County health officer, said Saturday. But we were determined to get them out one way or the other. The bottom line is were super happy to help out another county. Our team was elated to see the way this went down.

When Mercer got word of the thousand doses Thursday, her first thought was transportation. A 12-hour round trip seemed too big of an ask for the citys couriers. Someone suggested looking for a pilot to fly the vaccine down. They eventually found a volunteer whos an employee at San Francisco International Airport and a longtime private pilot. He asked to remain anonymous.

He flew Friday morning to tiny Kneeland Airport, an airstrip 14 miles out of Eureka. A Humboldt County public health worker drove the vials in a refrigerated container. The pilot flew them back down to San Carlos Airport.

San Francisco public health sent two couriers to pick up the cargo and make the 45-minute drive to San Francisco General in a white city van.

We got the word Friday morning, texting that somebody had to go up to Humboldt to pick up vaccine. And we were like Humboldt? You should have called us early this morning, said one of the couriers, Marvin Stowe, with a laugh. He hadnt realized at first that a pilot would be making the main trip. Stowe is a cable car operator whos been transporting vaccine since February.

At San Francisco General on Saturday, the vaccine clinic where the Humboldt County shots ended up was bustling as usual, though the lines were shorter than the week before, staff said.

Cory Li, 31, and roommate Haitao Mao, 30, came there Saturday afternoon for their first shots of Pfizer. They hadnt been told where the shots came from or about their urgent journey down the state. They were just happy to finally get their turn, after trying and failing all week to make appointments.

At least the first shot is down now, Li said, standing outside the clinic. Behind him a line was finally forming. And upstairs in Building 5, a pharmacist was opening tiny purple-lidded vials and preparing the next round of shots.

Erin Allday is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: eallday@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @erinallday
He's rumoured to be starring in Netflix's upcoming Byron Bay-based reality show, Byron Baes.

And on Wednesday, Elias Chigros was spotted flaunting his flawless physique in the star-studded coastal town in New South Wales.

The former Love Island Australia alum, 30, sizzled as he stepped out shirtless after spending time at the beach.

Spotted! Elias Chigros (pictured), 30, was spotted in Byron Bay on Wednesday amid rumours he's set to film the new Netflix reality show based on the lives of influencers in the town

His washboard abs, broad shoulders and bulging biceps were on show as he walked around in a wetsuit rolled down to his waist.

The Melbourne model and personal trainer appeared to have just gone for a surf when he was spotted.

Elias was then seen washing his feet and surfboard with water before removing the drenched article of clothing.

He covered himself with a tiger print towel, which left little to the imagination and put his toned legs on display.

Tall glass of water: The former Love Island alum sizzled as he stepped out shirtless after spending time at the beach

Breath of fresh air: His washboard abs, broad shoulders and bulging biceps were on show as he walked around in a wetsuit rolled down to his waist

Cleaning his equipment: The Melbourne model and personal trainer appeared to have just gone for a surf when he was spotted

What was he doing? Elias was then seen washing his feet and surfboard with water before removing the drenched article of clothing

Elias is rumoured to be starring in Byron Baes, which is being produced by Eureka Productions and has caused a lot of upset in the community.

A petition to boycott the docu-soap series is gaining traction after Netflix announced the town in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales would be the 'perfect setting for our next Australian Netflix Original'.

The campaign to force authorities to cancel filming permits reached 4,000 signatures in three days, and some businesses have refused producers permission to film at their venues.

Hiding the goods: He covered himself with a tiger print towel, which left little to the imagination and put his toned pins on show

Details: Elias' short brunette tresses appeared to still be damp as he re-packed his car with his cleaning equipment after washing off his feet and body

Byron bae! Elias is rumoured to be starring in Byron Baes, which is being produced by Eureka Productions and has caused a lot of upset in the community

However, a growing chorus of residents claim Byron Bay was ruined long before TV producers came knocking thanks to its growing popularity among celebrities, influencers and sky-high real estate prices.

Elias is rumoured to star on the series alongside plus-size model Jessica Vander Leahy.

Model Elyse Knowles shut down rumours she might be appearing on the show by recently sharing a video to her Instagram.

'Just putting it out there, I am not on Byron Baes, no, no, no... I'm not,' Elyse said in a video of herself while at the beach with her newborn.

'I've given birth to a baby, got leaky b**bs, screaming at every hour during the night, I think I've got enough going on don't you?'
LOS ANGELES, April 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Annenberg Foundation is greatly saddened by the passing of Vartan Gregorian, the long-time president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Mr. Gregorian was both a close personal friend of our founder Walter Annenberg and a trusted advisor and confidant. As a champion for educational opportunity, Mr. Gregorian was one of the primary architects of Ambassador Annenberg's large-scale, national effort to improve access to and equity in public education.

Ambassador Annenberg was a champion of Mr. Gregorian's, supporting his work as provost of the University of Pennsylvania, as president at Brown University, and as president at the New York Public Library. The personal and professional relationship with Mr. Gregorian continued through to Wallis Annenberg, the current Chairman, President and CEO of the Annenberg Foundation, particularly around their shared commitment to access and equity in public education.

"Vartan was a dear friend and colleague of the Annenbergs and a champion for so many critical issues of our time  especially education, immigration, and international peace," said Cinny Kennard, Executive Director of the Annenberg Foundation. "He often said that Walter Annenberg was his mentor and that he had great respect and admiration for Wallis Annenberg. His friendship, leadership, and compassion will be greatly missed."

SOURCE The Annenberg Foundation

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http://www.annenbergfoundation.org


Moscow, April 17 : Amid renewed tension in eastern Ukraine, Russia has sent 15 warships to the Black Sea for a manoeuvre, which passed through the Kerch Strait on the Crimean Peninsula on Saturday, the Navy said.

It was not initially said how long the exercises would last, dpa news agency reported.

The US had previously cancelled the deployment of two warships to the Black Sea following complaints from Russia.

On Friday, the Russian Defence Ministry declared that certain sea areas in Crimea would be closed off for months because of the manoeuvres.

However, shipping in the strait was not affected, it said.

The European Union, NATO and Ukraine criticised Russia's actions.

In response, a senior EU official said it was an "extremely worrying development".

International concern is growing about an escalation of the conflict in eastern Ukraine because of Russian troop deployments not far from the Ukrainian border.

Meanwhile, the head of Ukraine's military operation, Sergei Nayev, indicated that he does not expect a new war.

"We don't see any attack preparations there," he told Ukrainian television on Friday night.

"In fact, field hospitals have been set up." All units are in camps, on firing ranges, he said.

"In military language, we are talking about a show of force." Meanwhile, a Ukrainian diplomat has been arrested in the Russian city of St Petersburg.

He had obtained classified documents, the domestic intelligence service FSB announced, which is not compatible with the status of a diplomat.
On his final day in office, Donald Trump discussed some of his most significant accomplishments, placing a particular emphasis on his lack of military aggression. I am especially proud to be the first President in decades who has started no new wars, he noted, a sentiment that has been echoed by supporters within the GOP and even some of his critics. Indeed, the Trump-led transformation of GOP foreign policy is truly remarkable: just over a decade ago, the Republican party was dominated by the neoconservative wing, culminating in the 2008 nomination of Sen. John McCain. McCain succinctly summarized the prevailing GOP policy stance: bomb, bomb, bomb Iran. The lone noninterventionist candidate in the primary, Rep. Ron Paul, was roundly mocked during the 2008 campaign and faced similar scorn during his 2012 run. Incredibly, just a few years later, the neoconservative movement seemed like an afterthought: the 2016 Republican National Convention was devoid of notable neocon leaders including Mitt Romney, John McCain, and the Bush family. The shift away from interventionist foreign policy was even more pronounced at the 2020 nominating convention, as Trump peppered his acceptance speech with multiple references to ending ongoing wars and not starting new ones. Similar policy prescriptions have been echoed by some of the most prominent figures in the GOP, including Sens. Rand Paul, Josh Hawley, Mike Lee, and Ted Cruz, and in popular conservative media outlets, such as The American Conservative, The Federalist, The American Spectator, and even occasionally on Fox News.

This paradigm shift in the prevailing GOP foreign policy view has important electoral implications. Even in 2016, when Trumps policies on military intervention were relatively ill-defined, his supporters during the primary tended to be more wary of U.S. involvement on the global stage compared to the rest of the party. There is anecdotal evidence that his noninterventionist foreign policy has helped expand the GOP base. For the first time in decades, it seemed that voters no longer had to choose the lesser of two evils, when both major parties strongly supported foreign intervention. Unfortunately, it is unclear whether this trend will continue. While many in the GOP rejoiced when Republicans significantly outperformed expectations in the 2020 election despite losing the presidency, there are reasons for skepticism. With Trump out of office, would the GOP continue along a noninterventionist path, or would they revert back to neoconservatism? Had GOP foreign policy truly changed? Several events in the aftermath of the 2020 election suggest that the neoconservative wing of the party may be stronger than anticipated.

In late November, a meeting of the House Armed Services Committee met to discuss Trumps proposal to withdraw troops in Afghanistan. Out of the 57 members present, only Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida recommended a full withdrawal from the country, stating that ...the corruption in Afghanistan is unsolvable, the war in unwinnable, and the strategy is undecipherable. A Joe Biden-authorized air-strike in Syria this February drew widespread praise from multiple GOP officials, including Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. Lindsey Graham, Sen. Jim Inhofe, and Rep. Mike McCaul. Meanwhile, critics of the strike included Sen. Rand Paul, Rep. Thomas Massie, Rep. Nancy Mace, and Donald Trump, Jr. who quipped at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC): Who would have thought that within 33 days, wed be bombing the Middle East again? CPAC 2021 was, incidentally, also devoid of neocons, highlighting the foreign policy divide within the GOP.

The true foreign policy litmus test, however, is Bidens announcement that all U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan by September 2021. Blowback from establishment Republicans was immediate, led by the usual suspects, Sens. Mitch McConnell, Graham, and Inhofe, along with Rep. Liz Cheney. Suggestive headlines lambasting the decision were also peppered across multiple conservative websites, including The Daily Wire, Fox News, and Daily Caller. These pro-interventionist responses emphasize that, while the anti-war wing of the conservative movement has gained significant ground over the past decade, a wide schism remains regarding foreign policy within the Republican party.

The rapidly approaching 2022 midterm elections will provide the next opportunity for the noninterventionist conservative movement to continue its momentum, and candidates are already throwing their hats into the ring. A number of announced or rumored candidates for Senate in 2022 have already indicated support for a drawdown of troops in Afghanistan: Retired Gen. Don Bolduc in New Hampshire, combat veteran Sean Parnell in Pennsylvania, and Mo Brooks in Alabama are a few examples. Similar considerations must be made when choosing party leaders in 2024. Considering the Afghan war has cost an estimated $2 trillion and nearly 3/4ths of the public support troop withdrawal, this would seem to be a sound electoral strategy, both for promoting fiscal responsibility and expanding the GOP base. The noninterventionist wing will wait with bated breath to see which GOP emerges over the next election cycles.

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London, April 18 : Another 2,206 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,385,938, according to official figures released on Saturday.

The country also reported another 35 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 127,260. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test, Xinhua news agency reported.

More than 32.6 million people have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.

Earlier Saturday, a leading scientist warned that a coronavirus variant which first emerged in India could "scupper" Britain's roadmap to exit the current lockdown, the third of its kind since the start of the pandemic in the country.

Danny Altmann, a professor of immunology from Imperial College London, said the country should be on its guard against a third wave of coronavirus after 77 cases of the B.1.617 variant were found in Britain.

"I think we should be terribly concerned about it," Altmann told BBC News.

"They (variants of concern) are things that can most scupper our escape plan at the moment and give us a third wave," the professor said. "They are a worry." It is undertood that the coronavirus variant, which has a "double mutation", may be more infectious and the current vaccines may be less effective against it.

Currently, British officials have designated it as "a variant under investigation," rather than "a variant of concern".

As England further eases its lockdown, all shops reopened from Monday along with hairdressers, beauty salons and other close-contact services.

Restaurants and pubs were allowed to serve food and alcohol to customers sitting outdoors. Meanwhile, gyms, spas, zoos, theme parks, libraries and community centers can all open.

Experts have warned that despite progress in vaccine rollout, Britain is "still not out of the woods" amid concerns over new variants and the third wave of pandemic on the European continent.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Chennai: Popular Tamil actor Vivekh, who was put on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support at a hospital here after he suffered a cardiac arrest, passed away on Saturday.

The 59-year-old comedian died in the early hours, SIMS Hospital vice president Dr Raju Sivasamy said in a statement.

Vivekh

Vivekh was admitted to the hospital on Friday and a cent per cent "blockage" in a heart vessel was detected and he was put on ECMO support since his condition turned critical.

The actor was administered the Covid-19 vaccine on Thursday. Authorities had said the cardiac arrest he suffered was not due to the vaccination.
Several dozen protesters marched, honked car horns, and rallied in Sarajevo on April 17, calling on the countrys parliament to remove the government, which they accuse of poor management of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Organizers of the protest -- called Fight For Life -- accuse the cabinet of being responsible for delays in the procurement of vaccines. Activists also called for mandatory PCR tests upon entry into the country.
The Australian governments program to help stranded Australians in financial distress has provided $29 million worth of funds to 3900 people, despite nearly 5000 people being assessed as vulnerable.

The Financial Assistance Hardship Program was announced by Foreign Minister Marise Payne in early September as a last resort for Australians stranded overseas who had exhausted their own funds. It offers both grants and loans of up to $2000 for emergency living costs for a single person and $5000 for a family of four, as well as grants and loans to pay for airfares back to Australia.

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said on Saturday the department had paid out $29 million to 3900 people so far.

The Howard Springs quarantine facility in Darwin. Credit:Louise Radcliffe-Smith

The news comes as the United Nations Human Rights Committee made an interim ruling that the Australian government must facilitate and ensure the prompt return of two Australians who are arguing that caps on travel are a breach of international law.
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re: New intercooler damaged & leaking on a Toyota Corolla Altis Quote: sameerpatel90 Originally Posted by In this scenario all I can suggest are two viable options,

1. A thorough check of the damage on inter-cooler it can be repaired.

a. If there is a damage on the fin a normal soldering will workout without any fuss and the bottom mount can be repaired by an experienced technician.

b. If the bottom plastic section has broken, sourcing from a second hand market where scrap vehicle spares are sold off.

2. Another way to procure a new part is from importers (usually well known FNG's have sources as they regularly procure parts from such dealers).



Just to bring into your notice, I contacted one of my ex-colleague who works at Toyota dealership, inquired regarding your model inter-cooler price it is around Rs.35K (I may be wrong too as I had no VIN details).



This was a real relief as I was looking at a high value replacement for reasons that I am still not sure of. Also, yes, the intercooler itself comes at around 31000, but it also needs some additional pipes, etc that brings its cost to around 38000 (including labour).



Quote: stallmaster Originally Posted by Can you claim insurance on this part?



If insurance isn't an option, I suggest you check with local FNGs for a secondhand part. They have contacts with scrap dealer networks and are usually able to source spares within a week or two. Will cost much much lesser than 40k.



Quote: Sheel Originally Posted by From March 2020, there was lockdown, lifted just few months ago.



Any figure on number of kilometers your Altis would be driven post this incidence? If it is not much, probability of a hurried job maybe higher.



Quote: gkveda Originally Posted by 1. A hit from the bottom which has gone unnoticed by you when the car is Fully loaded with people crossing humps or pebble thrown by tires



2. A spill of the liquid but not exactly leak.



3. Intercooler connecting pipe may have got cracked due to which liquid leaks



I think all three have equal possibility.



When you check with Toyota ASC, please verify if it is just a one time spill due to overfilled fluid when installed.

Secondly, please check the connecting pipes thoroughly. This costs significantly lower compared to intercooler



As for the car being overloaded, She usually has just two passengers including me, and I don't remember there ever being more than 3 people in the car during the last one year. Though I must admit, I take the car over some extremely bad roads.



The service center people suggested that a pebble could have hit it from below, but I don't see how it could have gotten there past the engine guard.



Anyway, they say all's well that ends well, and my car is now ready for a long awaited road trip to Rajasthan that I have planned for the end of this month.



I want to thank everyone here who have helped me to make sense of something that was so puzzling to me.



Thank you everyone. You are right, I asked them to recheck the intercooler thoroughly and they reported that the vacuum pipe on the intercooler was damaged. They replaced it for free as a goodwill gesture.This was a real relief as I was looking at a high value replacement for reasons that I am still not sure of. Also, yes, the intercooler itself comes at around 31000, but it also needs some additional pipes, etc that brings its cost to around 38000 (including labour).I did check the local FNG and they quoted me Rs. 13000.00 for the intercooler, though I am not sure about the quality. Thankfully, the problem was fixed without me needing to risk it.I work at a Bank, which comes under essential services, so technically there was no lockdown for me. The car has done about 16000 kilometres since January 2020, so I doubt it was a hurried job. Something damaged the intercooler in the past few days, and I am still not sure what it was.Point 3 made by you is what the service center people told me after they were done with the car. Although, how that could have happened is beyond me. I don't think intercoolers break in a Toyota all of a sudden, so its still a puzzle for me.As for the car being overloaded, She usually has just two passengers including me, and I don't remember there ever being more than 3 people in the car during the last one year. Though I must admit, I take the car over some extremely bad roads.The service center people suggested that a pebble could have hit it from below, but I don't see how it could have gotten there past the engine guard.Anyway, they say all's well that ends well, and my car is now ready for a long awaited road trip to Rajasthan that I have planned for the end of this month.I want to thank everyone here who have helped me to make sense of something that was so puzzling to me.Thank you everyone.
We all want to look and feel good and have the budget to afford luxury clothes.

But the fact is, some of us just can't afford to dress like the Beyonce's of the world. Of course, that doesn't mean we can't still try to achieve celebrity looks.

If you're looking for ways to dress luxuriously, yet affordably, here are several tips to help attain that goal.

1. Create a Polished Look

Ever notice that people who give off the impression that they're financially well-off have a more polished look than everyday people? If you're looking to acquire a more sophisticated look, think suits, dresses, skirts and fancy gloves. Okay, you don't have to go that far, but creating a polished look means neat hair and makeup, polished accessories and clean lines. Go for slicked-back hairstyles and bold colored lipstick that contrasts (yet complements) the rest of your attire.

2. Invest in the Basics

Dressing luxuriously on a budget means investing in the basics, like a new bag and shoes. You can't fake it till you make it without the right bag and shoes, as people will see right through your act. Get yourself a good pair of designer shoes, preferably something in-season, if possible. But only do this a few times a year.

Now, your entire shoe wardrobe doesn't have to include designer shoes exclusively, but as long as you slip a few into the mix, you can still give off the appearance of being well-healed. Not sure where to start to invest in the basics? Know that Yandy offers a variety of inventory, great customer service, convenient online ordering, and affordable prices for all types of clothing, including intimates.

3. Embrace Cardigans

Nothing screams posh like a cardigan draped over your shoulders. Embrace the cardigan if you want to dress like you're wealthy without actually having the bank account of an A-list celebrity. Get yourself a few cardigans that could pass as expensive and start wearing them in the spring and fall when the weather's a little nippy. You'll fit right in at the country club.

4. Drape Yourself in (Affordable) Jewelry

Diamonds don't have to be expensive. Remember, you're going for the millionaire look. Don't go broke trying to buy the things millionaires have no problem affording. Instead, get yourself a cute pair of diamond studs or a diamond tennis bracelet. You don't have to spend more than you're comfortable with, but get yourself some nice things that make you look and feel as fabulous on the outside as you do on the inside.

5. Get a Good, Quality Blazer

A good, quality blazer (coupled with a turtleneck) is a great way to achieve a look of luxury. Get a snug-fitting blazer, perhaps a black one that goes with everything and that you can wear in multiple ways. You'll also look pretty great whenever you walk into any room, so get yourself a top-of-the-line blazer to help set the tone for your new look.

6. Shop for Sales

Whenever you have the opportunity, shop for sales to snap up your favorite designer clothes, shoe and handbags for a steal. You can even shop at designer consignment shops like ThredUp, Poshmark or The Real Real. Get what you need at a discount by shopping the sales or visiting consignment shops. You should have no problem finding what you're looking for.

Make High Fashion All Your Own

Dressing luxuriously, yet affordably, is completely doable no matter your budget. Create a new look for yourself that can help you emulate any celebrity. So, start dressing luxuriously and affordably by using the above tips as a guide.

See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles
When San Francisco public schools Superintendent Vincent Matthews agreed to stay on the job for another year just a month after announcing his retirement, he didnt ask for more money. He demanded that the school board follow its own rules, including treating everyone with civility and respect.

The seven-member board is expected to vote on an amendment to Matthews contract Tuesday, which would make it a contractual obligation for the school board to be prepared for public meetings and refrain from creating new programs or mandates unrelated to reopening schools until they are fully back to in-person learning.

The new contract would also shift the balance of power to the superintendent, giving him nearly full discretion over hiring and firing.

Matthews announced in March that he would retire at the end of this school year, but rescinded that this month. The terms related to his remaining on the job were unknown  until now.

Matthews conditions for staying with the San Francisco Unified School District offer insight into the behind-the-scenes battle between the superintendent and the board over actions that strayed from a focus on reopening schools. The superintendents new contract would essentially tie the hands of a board whose decisions resulted in several lawsuits, as well as a recent vote to reverse the renaming of 44 schools after a legal challenge.

The board is also fractured: Member Alison Collins is suing the district and five of her colleagues for $87 million after they stripped her of the vice presidency and committee assignments for tweets she made about Asian Americans in 2016.

Matthews declined comment until after the vote Tuesday.

If approved, the contract would require board members to follow specific rules outlined in two policies, including one to govern in a dignified and professional manner, treating everyone with civility and respect.

The contractual agreement would also prevent the board from creating new programs or mandates until schools are fully reopened and demands that they come to meetings fully informed. Recent board meetings have lasted eight or more hours, with board members asking detailed questions often tangential to the topic on the agenda, requiring staff and the superintendent to sometimes participate past midnight after a full day of work.

Board President Gabriela Lopez did not return requests for comment.

The contract represents a big shift of power to the superintendent, who would have near full authority over hiring and firing of his staff, with board votes on senior staff contracts conducted in public rather than behind closed doors. In the past, the board has denied new contracts to top administrators despite Matthews support. That includes Brent Stephens, who became the Berkeley superintendent after the board forced him out in 2019.

The contract would also require the board to refrain from performing management functions that are the responsibility of the Superintendent and staff.

Former school board member Rachel Norton said the proposed contract language was unbelievable, given that it specifically requires the board to follow its own rules.

It shouldnt be needed, said Norton, who served 12 years before leaving the board in January. The fact that he had to put in his contract that the board had to follow the rules they wrote themselves and adopt every year is kind of crazy.

When Matthews announced his retirement in early March, he alluded to discord, saying there are many new commissioners on the S.F. Board of Education and I want them to have the opportunity to select a new superintendent who is aligned with their approach.

The superintendent has been on the job since 2017, but over the past two years has faced board opposition on several occasions.

In June, Matthews urged the board to approve a grant-funded contract with a consultant who would help the district navigate the pandemic and the reopening of schools. Board members questioned the request and ultimately denied it because the candidate had previously done work with a charter school. Matthews told the board the rejection was a body blow.

Norton said Matthews repeatedly tried to focus on the board, providing trainings in governance and holding retreats.

I know for a fact that there were a lot of times in the last two years where he tried to get the board together, she said. Nothing worked.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker
BOISE  Critics say an amendment to a bill passed this week by the House of Representatives would make it more difficult to certify a citizen initiative for city elections.

SB 1111 is a consensus bill adjusting rules for by-district elections in Idahos largest cities that lawmakers enacted last year. On April 9, SB 1111 was transformed into a bill to move all non-partisan city elections in Idaho from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years, along with all partisan elections, from the Legislature to president. This week, the House voted 53-16 to approve the amended version of the bill.

By law, petitions for city ballot initiatives are required to have signatures from 20% of total voters from the previous city election. Boise Working Together, a nonprofit that successfully gained ballot status for two city initiatives in 2019, last week sent a letter to lawmakers urging them to oppose the amendment, proposed by Rep. Gayann DeMordaunt, R-Eagle. Boise Working Together argued, by switching to even-numbered election years, which typically see higher voter turnout, without decreasing the required 20% petitioners, an initiative effort would be a virtual impossibility in Idaho cities and towns.

This change vastly raises the bar by which any initiative could ever gain ballot certification, the letter said. While still maintaining the 20 percent elector requirement, it shifts the base to years in which voter participation is far heavier, effectively skewing the calculus and making initiative certification far more difficult, if not impossible.

SB 1111, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder, R-Boise, would clean up last years law requiring Idaho cities of more than 100,000 population to elect their city council members from geographic districts, rather than citywide.

Under the bill, those cities  currently just Boise and Meridian, but likely soon to include Nampa  would elect their councils by district in 2023. The bill provides that those who run for city council in those cities in November 2021 will run for just two-year terms, and will run under the current system. Then, in 2023, all council members would be up for election, half for two-year terms and half for four-year terms. That would create a staggered term system moving forward.

After SB 1111 passed the Senate almost unanimously (one senator was absent), DeMordaunt proposed a series of changes in the lengths of city council members elected terms in each of the next several years to transition them all to even-year elections.

Of the changes, DeMordaunt said, Theyre very straightforward, they have been crafted with the sponsor of 1111. This would be seen very much as a friendly amendment. She said backers have worked tirelessly with the supporters of last years city-district election bill and their attorneys on the amendments.

Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, disagreed, telling the Idaho Press the 20% requirement is onerous. Gannon said about 25,000 voters cast ballots in the 2017 Boise election, which meant Boise Working Together needed about 5,000 signatures to qualify ballot initiatives for the 2019 ballot  the successful initiatives were related to controversial stadium and library projects. In 2019, a mayoral election year, about 45,000 Boiseans voted, requiring 9,000 signatures for a 2021 ballot initiative.

General elections in even-numbered years can draw nearly double the turnout. A 2022 ballot initiative would require about 16,000 signatures, based on last years voter turnout.

That really devastates the initiative process at the city level, Gannon said. It will deter people from participating in their local government.

Gannon and Boise Working Together both suggested reducing the city initiative requirement to 6% of voters, the same standard for statewide initiatives. Earlier this month, the Legislature passed a bill increasing the standards for statewide ballot initiatives, requiring 6% of signatures from all 35 legislative districts; the previous requirement was 6% of voters from 18 districts. As of Friday afternoon, Gov. Brad Little had yet to sign or veto the bill.

If the Legislature decides that 6% for the state in all the legislative districts is appropriate, then why wouldnt 6% of a city or 6% of every district in the city also be appropriate? Gannon said.

The bill cant be further amended. SB 1111 heads back to the Senate, which can either approve the bill as amended or vote it down.
Jailed Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny's health has rapidly deteriorated and he could suffer cardiac arrest "any minute," according to doctors demanding immediate access to the prominent Kremlin critic.

The plea came from Navalny's personal doctor, Anastasia Vasilyeva, and three other doctors, including a cardiologist, in a letter to Russia's Federal Prison Service officials that was posted to Vasilyeva's Twitter account on April 17.

Navalny, 44, announced a hunger strike at the end of last month in protest at what he said was the refusal of prison authorities to allow him to receive proper medical care for acute back and leg pain.

The opposition leader said on April 16 that prison authorities were threatening to put him in a straightjacket to force-feed him.

The doctors' statement said that blood tests showed that Navalny's potassium count had reached a "critical level."

"This means both impaired renal function and that serious heart rhythm problems can happen any minute," the letter said.

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 last year. He has accused President Vladimir Putin of ordering the poisoning, which Kremlin has denied.

A Moscow court sentenced the opposition leader in February to 2 1/2 years in prison on charges he says were politically motivated.

Kira Yarmysh, Navalny's spokeswoman, wrote on Facebook on April 17 that the situation reminded her of the helplessness she felt after his poisoning.

"Now Aleksei is dying. In his condition, it is a matter of days. And over the weekend, lawyers just can't get to him, and no one knows what will happen on Monday," she wrote.

Yarmysh wrote that she did not want mass protests expected to take place in the coming weeks to demand Navalny's release to attract large crowds only because he had died, and called on supporters to sign on to an online petition indicating they will attend in advance.

Saying that Putin only reacts to street protests, Yarmysh wrote, "This rally is no longer Navalny's chance for freedom, it is a condition for his life."

With reporting by AFP
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Forms America First Caucus

A group of House Republicans is forming a new caucus that focuses on nationwide election reform, limiting the power of Big Tech, and cutting down on illegal immigration.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is leading the creation of the America First Caucus (AFC), reported Punchbowl News, which published a seven-page document (pdf) that outlines the caucuss platform.

The document says the caucus exists to promote congressional policies that are to the long-term benefit of the American nation and that it will follow in the footsteps of former President Donald Trump.

It is the firm belief of this caucus that American policy-making needs to get back to first principles, restore a long-term time horizon amongst our nations leaders, and instill a greatly internalized sense of service to the American people on part of our elected leaders, the document states. As long as these principles are put and kept in practice, the interests of the American people will be safeguarded.

An aide to Greene did not respond to a request for comment. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), who is also reportedly involved with the new caucus, declined to comment through a spokesperson.

Greenes spokesperson confirmed to CNN that Greene is helping form the new caucus, which he said will be announced to the public very soon.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) told reporters on Capitol Hill that the caucus is real and Greene and Gosar are involved in its creation.

A key focus is ensuring America is strong so it can help other countries, he said.

As I understand it, its following up a bit likewere taught when we get on an airliner, and that is before you help somebody else, you put your own mask on first so that you are capable of helping somebody else, Gohmert explained.

And if we let our country go without taking care of America, making sure were viable for the future, then were not going to be in a position to help the other countries, and that will be a tragedy for the world so its not selfish. Its just trying to get our own country in order so its sustainable, and is sustained.

Gohmert said he was mulling joining the caucus. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said he is joining it.

We will end wars, stop illegal immigration & promote trade that is fair to American workers. This is just a hit piece from the America Last crowd in Big Media, Big Tech & Big Government, he wrote in a tweet.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Feb. 6, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

A spokesperson for Rep. Barry Moore (R-Ala.), who was linked to the new caucus, told The Epoch Times via email: Congressman Moore wholeheartedly supports President Trumps America First agenda and policies that prioritize hardworking Americans. He will not agree to join any caucus until hes had an opportunity to research their platform, which he has not had the chance to do so with the America First Caucus and therefore has not joined.

Critics took aim at how the caucus trumpeted Americas uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions, accusing it of being racist.

The hatefulness of this statement is only surpassed by its ignorance of American history and values, Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) wrote in a tweet.

Buck is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, along with Greene and Gosar.

House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), perhaps the most prominent Trump critic in the lower chamber, did not directly address the caucus but tweeted that GOP members believe in equal opportunity, freedom, and justice for all.

We teach our children the values of tolerance, decency, and moral courage. Racism, nativism, and anti-Semitism are evil. History teaches we all have an obligation to confront and reject such malicious hate, she added.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) added that the Republican Party is the party of Lincoln and the party of more opportunity for all Americansnot nativist dog whistles.

Democrats also piled on.

As a Congressman of Anglo-Saxon heritage, let me be the first to decline to join this White Nationalism Caucus, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) wrote on Twitter.

Gohmert responded to critics by saying, Its not supposed to be about race at all.

Were stronger [when were] diversified, he added. But theres some things that help make us strong.
Gunman who killed 8 workers at Indianapolis FedEx site had been detained for mental illness
Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and U.S. President Joe Biden hold a joint news conference in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, on April 16, 2021. (Tom Brenner/Reuters)

CCPs Jealousy Over Japanese Prime Minister Meeting US President First

Commentary

On April 14, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)s Xinhua News Agency reported that Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga would visit the United States from April 1518, becoming the first foreign head of state to meet face-to-face with President Biden since he took office in January; the words were full of jealousy.

In early January, before Biden took office, the CCP began to make frequent moves to contact the United States, hoping to be the first among all countries to meet the new U.S. administration. However, Biden finished communicating with all the world leaders before he spoke with Xi Jinping on the phone. Not only did Xi fail to be the first to speak with the Biden administration, but he was deliberately left out, which likely annoyed the CCP.

However, the treatment the CCP had received was self-inflicted. Cui Tiankai, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, had been invited to the Biden inauguration ceremony, but it seems that Cui missed the opportunity to communicate with the new U.S. administration face-to-face on the first day, as he seemed absent from the ceremony.

Maybe it was because Taiwans representatives were also invited.

The high-level talks in Alaska in March with the United States were a hard-earned opportunity for the CCP, but its diplomats turned themselves into wolf warriors at the meeting. At the same time, the CCP has continuously challenged the United States with its military, while domestically, it has escalated its anti-U.S. propaganda and incited nationalist sentiment among the Chinese. It has even publicly drawn at least three red lines for the United States not to cross over. In addition, it has imposed retaliatory sanctions on the United States and Europe.

Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi speaks at a dinner hosted by the U.S.-China Business Council and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations in Washington, on July 11, 2013. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

The CCP has been very aggressive and tried to force the new U.S. government to make concessions.

The Quadan alliance of the United States, Japan, India, and Australiamet in March to discuss India-Pacific affairs, completely excluding the Chinese Communist regime. After that, the U.S.-Japan ministerial level 2+2 talks directly targeting the CCP.

The new U.S. administration has been forced to adopt a tough stance against the CCP.

With the tension between the United States and China, the CCP had to pretend to soften again and seek opportunities for high-level dialogue. So far there has been no result. Then, the Japanese Prime Minister was invited to visit the United States.

How could the CCP not be jealous?

This report of Xinhua News Agency quotes an analyst as saying that the Japanese Prime Minister has two purposes in his visit. Externally, he hopes to consolidate the Japan-U.S. alliance for benefits in the regional game, while internally he hopes to save his approval ratings in the cabinet through his diplomatic performance, winning himself extra support for the House of Representatives election and retaining his position as Prime Minister.

However, Xinhua says, this wishful thinking may not really ring true.

The jealousy expressed by the CCP mouthpiece shows that the CCP doesnt have anything to say. However, Xinhua at least made a true statement that Japan has always regarded the Japan-U.S. alliance as the baseline of Japanese diplomacy.

Isnt this true for the CCP as well?

The CCP has repeatedly pretended that it runs its own affairs well. In reality, it is always concerned about the United States, or, to put it in another way, the CCP cannot make it without the United States.

Li Keqiang, the CCPs Premier, has said recently that decoupling does no good to either side, and he hoped to safeguard the safety and stability of the industrial and supply chains.

Workers producing LED chips at a factory in Huaian city, in Chinas eastern Jiangsu Province, on June 16, 2020. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

The CCP is likely to lose its access to the U.S. market, which is only one of its headaches. As U.S. science and technology sanctions constrain the CCP in many fields, the CCP is expected to be unable to run its own affairs soon.

Over the past few decades, because the CCP has embraced the United States, it has received U.S. funding, technology, and markets, which is why CCP officials have become extremely wealthy, and now they are hurriedly sending their children and money to the United States. The CCP obviously values the relationship between China and the United States, and apparently cannot do without the United States, but it still wants to put on an air of arrogance and wants to pretend to fight with the United States. Japan, on the contrary, is very pragmatic. With its military and national defense relying on the United States, and its economy clinging to the U.S. market, each of the Japanese prime ministers wants to seize the first opportunity to meet with each new administration of the United States.

After the Biden administration came to power, it has increased its investment of resources in all aspects of the Indo-Pacific region.  Under such circumstances, Japan has strengthened its catering to the U.S. regional strategy, and its diplomatic and security reliance on the U.S. has increased significantly. Moreover, it is increasingly acting as the middleman between the U.S. and countries in the Indo-Pacific region, the Xinhua report said.

The CCP is obviously disappointed to see Japan seize the opportunity, but it is precisely the CCP that has created such a good opportunity for Japan. Since the CCP was bent on confronting the United States in the Pacific, the United States will naturally strengthen its alliance with Japan, which will undoubtedly enhance Japans position in Asia.

So how could Japan pass up such an opportunity?

The Xinhua News Agency report also said that such behavior is actually more likely to undermine the overall situation of regional peace and stability.

In my opinion, the reality is just the opposite. The CCPs insistence on hegemony, military expansion, and an arms race is destroying the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region, forcing the United States and Japan to work more closely together.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping (L) speaks after reviewing the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Navy fleet in the South China Sea on April 12, 2018. (Li Gang/Xinhua via AP)

When the CCP first came to power, it also rejected the olive branch from the United States and turned to the former Soviet Union. As a result, the United States chose Japan as its biggest ally in Asia. It was the CCP that gave up the opportunity to Japan and delayed the establishment of diplomatic relations with the United States.

Now, the CCPs top echelons have once again created tension in the relationship between China and the United States, and have so far refused to make a direct statement to soften the relationship, creating another opportunity for Japan to enjoy the first meeting. If the CCP insists on having its own way, how many Chinese people have to pay for the image and ambition of the CCPs top officials?

In contrast, the Japanese Prime Minister works hard for the safety and welfare of his people. The difference between a democratically elected prime minister and a dictatorial regime is evident.

Not only Japan, but also India, Vietnam, Southeast Asian countries, and even South America, are all actively approaching the United States, receiving the supply chains transferred from China by American and European companies, and hoping to be part of the new economic layout of the United States in the Indo-Pacific region. The CCP has created opportunities for its neighboring countries, but it is losing everything itself. The world factory is collapsing, and the CCP only cares about fomenting nationalism and spreading jealousy. The people of China are having an increasingly difficult time, and the CCP is still dragging China to the brink of war.

Upon seeing the best opportunities ruined by the CCP, if the Chinese people still want to live a good life, they can no longer let the CCP continue to do whatever it wants. This regime is losing its mind and ignoring the interests of the Chinese people.

It is then time to disintegrate this regime as soon as possible. Lets start all over again.

Zhong Yuan is a researcher focused on Chinas political system, the countrys democratization process, human rights situation, and Chinese citizens livelihood. He began writing commentaries for the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times in 2020.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet senior officials from various ministries to take stock of coronavirus situation and status of vaccination programme in the country. The meeting, scheduled at 8 PM on Saturday, is likely to focus on inter-ministerial efforts to streamline the fight against coronavirus pandemic which is undergoing its second wave in the nation.

With the daily number of new cases crossing the 2-lakh mark, the meeting could see decisions on containment and other restrictions to stop the spread of the virus. PM Modi has advocated micro-containment practices to keep the infection in check without harming the economy.

The current surge in COVID-19 cases has been primarily blamed on the recent state legislative elections, which saw massive campaigning and widespread disregard for COVID protocols. The ongoing Kumbh Mela has also stoked fears of creating another super-spreader event. The meeting might see discussions on measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 linked to these events.

ALSO READ: 'Despite a year to prepare India caught off guard': Sonia Gandhi criticises Modi govt

PM Modi has been meeting chief ministers, officials and other stakeholders to assess the COVID-19 situation in the country and devise measures to keep it in check. This latest meeting comes as the country is struggling with mounting cases putting immense pressure on the nation's health infrastructure and the vaccination drive is facing supply-side hurdles.

Several states have asked the Centre for help with medical oxygen supply and stressed hospital facilities. Patients are also facing troubles in procuring anti-COVID medicine Remdesivir amid surge in demand due to the steep rise in number of coronavirus cases.

ALSO READ: 'Kumbh Mela should now only be symbolic,' says PM Modi

Some states have also asked the central government to provide additional vaccine doses. Following this, the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan blamed government in three states - Maharashtra, Punjab and Delhi - for politicising the matter. Notably, vaccination sessions had to be cancelled at several centres in Maharashtra due to lack of doses.

The meeting comes on a day when India reported record single-day rise of 2,34,692 cases and 1,341 fatalities, taking India's COVID-19 tally to 1,45,26,609 and the death toll to 1,75,649, showed data released by the Union Health Ministry.

Registering a steady increase for the 38th day in a row, the tally of active COVID-19 cases has climbed to 16,79,740 in the country, accounting for 11.56 per cent of its total caseload, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has dropped to 87.23 per cent, the ministry further announced.

ALSO READ: COVID-19 vaccine out of stock in Andhra, CM writes to PM Modi for 60 lakh doses

(Edited by Vivek Punj)
OTTAWA - Conservatives have moved to quash a government bill that mandates Ottawa set legally binding targets to hit net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 over a lack of representation from the oil and gas sector on an outside advisory panel.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau adjusts his mask as Minister of Environment and Climate Change Jonathan Wilkinson answers a reporter's question during an announcement on the government's updated climate change plan in the Dominion Arboretum in Ottawa on Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

OTTAWA - Conservatives have moved to quash a government bill that mandates Ottawa set legally binding targets to hit net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 over a lack of representation from the oil and gas sector on an outside advisory panel.

Tory House Leader Gerard Deltell put forward the motion during the fourth debate of Bill C-12.

It asks the House not to give the legislation a second reading, where it could be approved in principle and sent to a committee for further study.

The Conservatives' motion says C-12 fails to implement a plan that addresses climate change while protecting Canadian jobs and economic growth.

It says the Liberal government failed to work with other parties as to who would be part of an outside group advising the environment minister on how to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Environment and Climate Change Minister Jonathan Wilkinson expressed disappointment with the move and questioned the Tories' commitment to fighting climate change.

"This move comes the day after Erin O'Toole released a climate pamphlet that made no commitment to get Canada to net-zero emissions by 2050," Wilkinson said in a statement.

The Conservative motion said Liberals appointed "climate activists" to the outside panel and if the government acts on their advice it would destroy the oil and gas sector, as well as other industries, and weaken national unity.

"What bothers us with regard to this bill is that yet again, the Liberals have a hidden agenda," said Conservative MP Joel Godin in French.

"They're already making appointments  they've identified people who would be on the advisory body. Can we not respect all industries in Canada?"

The government announced in February that 14 people had been appointed to the advisory group.

Among those were the president of the Canadian Labour Congress and executive director of Climate Action Network Canada.

The Yukon regional chief for the Assembly of First Nations and former president of SaskPower also make up the advisory panel.

"Conservatives wanted to work with the Liberals on their plan to reach net-zero, but the Trudeau government has broken their promise to work with representatives from oil and gas companies and their organizations," Tory environment critic Dan Albas said in a statement.

He said the panel doesn't include anyone from oil and gas or associated groups, even though the natural resources minister has said the country can't achieve net-zero emissions without the sector.

"The body is filled with individuals who are actively working to hurt Canada's energy workers and against oil and gas projects."

Some members do have a background in the industry, such as the panel's co-chair, who formerly headed up an alliance focused on improving the environmental performance of Canada's oil sands, before moving to a charity focused on net zero.

As well, the executive director of the Pembina Institute, who sits on the group, used to be the chief sustainability officer for Enbridge.

The Conservative motion comes after Wilkinson sent a letter to opposition leaders urging they end the debate over C-12 and move it onto the next legislative stage.

He asked that if leaders didn't allow the debate to wrap, that they consider supporting the government's use of what he called "the parliamentary tools available" to move the bill forward.

The NDP and the Bloc Quebecois say the bill needs to be strengthened while the Liberals say they are open to making amendments.

NDP environment and climate change critic Laurel Collins said the bill doesn't include any accountability mechanisms for the next 10 years and wants it include a 2025 milestone target.

"The Conservatives have not been treating climate change seriously and it's clear that they're not interested in getting this bill into law. But the Liberals need to stop blaming everyone else for their failure to address climate change."

The push to move C-12 to committee comes a day after O'Toole unveiled his long-promised plan to combat climate change, which Wilkinson has dismissed as convoluted, inconsistent and ineffective.

O'Toole, who campaigned for his party's leadership with a promise to scrap what he calls the Liberals' carbon tax, is now proposing to levy his own price on carbon, the money from which would be put into personalized savings accounts which individuals could tap to make green purchases.

The bill would require the federal environment minister to set rolling, five-year targets for cutting carbon emissions starting in 2030 and ending in 2050, when the Liberal government has promised to achieve net-zero emissions.

It does not specify what those targets would be and would not require an actual number  or a plan to get there  until at least six months after it becomes law. The only penalty for failing to meet the targets would be a public admission of failure.

 With files from Joan Bryden

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2021.
A man accused of dealing heroin and crack in the Easton area was arrested after traveling to Philly in an Uber to pick up drugs, city police said.

Jason Kuehner, of Lower Mount Bethel Township, was arrested Thursday afternoon after his trip, and charged with felony counts of possession of heroin and crack cocaine with the intent to distribute, police said.

The 38-year-old Kuehner was sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of 10% of $50,000 bail, where he remained as of Friday afternoon.

Easton police said they learned Kuehner was dealing drugs in the Easton area, and had a confidential source make a controlled purchase of heroin earlier this month from Kuehner.

Investigators said they learned Kuehner was going to be traveling to Philadelphia to pick up drugs for resale.

On Thursday, officers saw Kuehner leave his house in a black Honda Civic, and several hours later he returned in the same car.

Police stopped Kuehner outside his home, where he reportedly told officers he had heroin and crack he had just picked up in Philadelphia. Police found the drugs and a cellphone they say was used in the earlier controlled drug buy.

Police said Kuehner took an Uber for the trip, but that the Uber driver wasnt involved in the drug dealing business.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com.

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EV Makers Exhibiting at Auto Shanghai Offer Buyers Long Range and Luxury

SHANGHAI April 17, 2021; The AP reported that Chinese automakers showcased electric SUVs and sedans with longer range and luxury features Tuesday at the Shanghai auto show, wooing Chinese buyers as Beijing slashes subsidies that helped to launch the industry.

Two of China's biggest state-owned automakers unveiled models they said can travel 600 kilometers (370 miles) on one charge, or nearly double the range of global competitors. If that can be achieved, it would raise the standard for an industry trying to compete with gasoline models by defusing "range anxiety" or fear of being stranded with a dead battery.

China's communist leaders have spent heavily seeking to make the country a leader in electrics. They're now shifting the burden to automakers by imposing sales targets. That requires brands to create consumer-friendly models at a time when they are struggling with a sales slump.

"Competition will become more fierce," said Ma Fanglie, chairman of BJEV, the electric unit of state-owned BAIC Group.

BJEV, one of the biggest electric producers by sales volume, unveiled the EX3 sedan, which it said can travel up to 630 kilometers (390 miles) on one charge. Ma said it is one of five new electric models under a plan to "transform and upgrade" BJEV into a brand that can compete without subsidies.

General Motors, Nissan, China's Geely Auto and other brands displayed dozens of electric models, from luxury SUVs to compacts priced under $10,000. The auto show, the world's biggest, opens to the public Saturday following a preview for media.

China's leaders have been promoting "new energy vehicles" for 15 years with subsidies for developers and buyers. That, along support including orders to state-owned utilities to blanket China with charging stations, is helping make the technology a mainstream product.

"After an initial push from the government, now customers are really wanting and demanding EVs," said Nissan's director of electric vehicles, Nic Thomas.

Electric vehicles are key for government-led development of Chinese global competitors in technologies from robotics to biotech.

Those ambitions set off Beijing's tariff war with President Donald Trump. Washington, Europe and other trading partners complain Chinese subsidies to technology developers and pressure on foreign companies to share know-how violate its market-opening commitments.

China lags Europe, the United States and Japan in battery and other vehicle technology but is developing fast. It has about half of global production capacity for batteries, an electric car's biggest and most expensive component.

Last year's Chinese sales of pure-electric and hybrid sedans and SUVs soared 60% over 2017 to 1.3 million, or half the global total.

At the same time, industry revenue was squeezed by a 4.1 percent fall in total Chinese auto sales to 23.7 million vehicles.

That skid that worsened this year as first-quarter sales fell 13.7% from a year ago.

Subsidies end next year. Under the new system, automakers must earn credits for sales of electrics equal to at least 10% of purchases this year and 12% in 2020. Longer-range vehicles can earn double credits. That means some brands can fill their quota if electrics make up as little as 5% of sales.

Most automakers still lose money on each electric vehicle. But industry analysts say that as the cost of batteries and other components falls, electrics could become cost-competitive with gasoline models and profitable for their producers within five years.

In Shanghai, the GAC electric car unit GAC New Energy unveiled the Aion LX SUV, which it said can travel 600 kilometers (370 miles) on one charge. The unit's deputy general manager, Xi Zhongmin, said no price or release date have been decided.

Most Chinese brands target the domestic market, but Geely has global ambitions.

Its new electric brand Geometry displayed a sedan with an advertised range of up to 500 kilometers (310 miles) on one charge. Geely says the Geometry A, unveiled last week in Singapore, will be marketed worldwide.

Geely's parent, Geely Holding, also has a joint venture with Mercedes parent Daimler AG to develop an electric version of the German automaker's smart brand.

"Geely wants to become the choice of customers for electric driving," said Geely Group's CEO, Yang Xueliang.

China's BYD Auto, the biggest global electric brand by sales volume, displayed three new pure-electric models that were unveiled last month. All promise more than 400 kilometers (280 miles) on one charge.

On Monday, GM unveiled Buick's first all-electric model for China. GM says the four-door Velite 6 can travel 301 kilometers (185 miles) on one charge.

VW showed off a concept electric SUV, the whimsically named ID. Roomzz, designed to travel 450 kilometers (280 miles) on one charge. Features include seats that rotate 25 degrees to create a lounge-like atmosphere.

China is a top market for global automakers, giving them an incentive to go along with Beijing's electric ambitions.

Also Tuesday, Nissan Motor Co. and its Chinese partner displayed the Sylphy Zero Emission, an all-electric model designed for China. Based on Nissan's Leaf, the lower-priced Sylphy went on sale in August.

Mercedes Benz displayed its first all-electric model in China, the EQC 400 SUV, with a 400-kilometer (280-mile) range. It is one of 10 electrified models the German automaker says it will release worldwide, with most made in China.

Also this week, Mercedes said it will launch a roadside "butler service" in China offering recharging for drivers who run out of power and other services.

"We want to take away every reason a customer might say, umm, is it really time go electric?" said Hubertus Troska, a Daimler AG board member.
NASA Ingenuity Mars Helicopter successfully completed its first rapid spin test at full speed, marking an important milestone on the path to flight around the red planet.

The feat also coincides with the 154th anniversary of the birth of Wilbur Wright, one of the iconic brothers who invented and flew the first powered aircraft.

Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Hurdles Before Test Spin

The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter underwent through a number of engineering challenges before taking its first spin, causing a delay in the original plan to fly on Apr. 11.

According to Engadget's Apr. 10 report, the high-speed spin test done a day before had to be stopped prematurely after "watchdog" timer expiration.

The error occurred while the Ingenuity team was transitioning the flight computer from "Pre-Flight" to "Flight" mode.

NASA assured that the helicopter, which rode to Mars attached to the belly of the Perseverance rover, is safe and was able to communicate appropriately to Earth.

Critical functions of the Ingenuity, such as power and thermal controls, remain stable as well.

Read Also: NASA Announced Delay of Mars' Helicopter Flight, Ingenuity, After Test Was Deemed Unsuccessful

NASA Ingenuity Team's Action Plan

The NASA Ingenuity team had found a software solution that could solve the command sequence issue during the high-speed spin-up test.

After testing multiple potential solutions, the team considered modifying and reinstalling Ingenuity's flight control software as the best path to take.

According to NASA's blog post on Apr. 12, the software update will allow Ingenuity's hardware and software to transition to "Flight" mode safely.

However, it will take time for the Ingenuity team to validate and complete its uplink to the helicopter and follow a certain process with careful and deliberate steps.

The process includes:

Diagnosing the issue and develop potential solutions

Developing/validating and uploading the software

Loading the flight software onto flight controllers

Boot Ingenuity on new flight software

Ultimately, the Ingenuity team decided to add a few commands to the flight sequence, which was tested extensively on both Earth and Mars and was deemed successful without risking the safety of the helicopter.

Ingenuity Mars Helicopter's First Spin

On Apr. 16, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter transmitted information that it completed its first rapid spin test at full speed.

The momentous milestone would allow the Ingenuity team to move to the next phase, a 30-second hover at 10 feet.

If successful, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter will make its first autonomous powered flight on the red planet.

Moreover, the Ingenuity's first test flight would be followed by additional experimental flights to extend the helicopter's distance and altitude farther and higher.

Once all the tests NASA had slated for the Ingenuity have completed, the helicopter will be tapped to perform scientific missions.

Related Article: WATCH! NASA Hyped Up Mars 2020 Mission with Animated Trailer

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Lee Mercado

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
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Prince Philip has joined 24 other members of the Royal Family lying in the vault under St George's Chapel. His body will remain there until transferred by lift upstairs to a side chapel when the Queen dies.

Then the devoted couple can be laid together  in the same final resting place as her father, George VI, her mother and with the ashes of the Queen's sister, Princess Margaret.

A vault with enough room for 44 royals

The Royal Vault is 70ft long and 28ft wide  with space for 32 bodies along two sides and 12 in the middle.

The vault was built in 1810 and George III was the first king to be interred there, in 1820.

Many Royals were placed elsewhere in the chapel before the vault was created, and many have lain to rest here since, before being moved.

Prince Philip has joined 24 other members of the Royal Family lying in the vault under St George's Chapel. His body will remain there until transferred by lift upstairs to a side chapel when the Queen dies

Coffin lowered underground by an electric lift

Massed military bands stood still as the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin past by in a Land Rover that he had built himself

The Foot Guards Band are seen marching ahead of the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle

Members of the military march ahead of the funeral service at Prince Philip's Windsor home

The detachments of service personnel from the military units the duke had a special relationship assembled on the green of the castle's quadrangle - while lining its edge are troops from the Household Cavalry and the Foot Guards

Pall bearers carrying Prince Philip's coffin of the Duke of Edinburgh into St George's Chapel

The Chapel's black and white marble floor tiles have a rectangular section in front of the communion table which opens up to allow an electric lift to lower funeral plinths into the Royal Vault.

Yesterday's procedure was a repeat of what happened at George V's 1936 funeral  attended by the nine-year-old future Queen.

She held her mother's hand during the funeral procession up the Chapel steps, before watching her grandfather's coffin descend 16ft to the vault.

England's only executed monarch

After his execution in 1649, Charles I's remains were hastily placed in a previously built Windsor vault. The hope was to make it more difficult for pilgrims to pay homage at the 'martyred' king's grave.

The duke's coffin could be seen draped with his personal standard, which pays tribute to his birth heritage as a Prince of Greece and Denmark, his family name and his Edinburgh title

Prince Philip's coffin has emerged from Windsor Castle as the Royal Family joined the Queen in mourning her husband at his funeral

The Duke of Edinburgh's casket was covered in his personal standard and carried his sword, naval cap and a wreath of flowers as masked pallbearers carried his coffin onto his extraordinary self-designed Land Rover hearse

Prince Philip's coffin is loaded onto the Land Rover during his funeral service at Windsor Castle this afternoon

Prince Charles looked griefstricken as he followed his father on the final journey to church

Give me a light into the unknown

Engraved on a plaque on the gates of a side chapel are the words of a poem quoted by the Queen's father, George VI, in his 1939 Christmas Day broadcast.

As encouragement to a country at war with Nazi Germany, he read: 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.'

Site Henry VIII chose for his third wife

Jane Seymour, Henry VIII's only wife to give birth to a legitimate male heir, was buried here in 1537, followed by the king himself, ten years later in 1547.

His body had lain in state in Whitehall  embalmed with spices, encased in lead (weighing more than half a ton) and surrounded by burning tapers.

Poignant advice: Live and die well

In the Chapel Library is a 16th Century book titled The Craft To Live Well And To Die Well  a medieval 'how to' on leading a good Christian life and ensuring the fate of your soul after your death.

It could have been written especially for Prince Philip, and says:

A man's life is but a blast of wind

And in a thought departed and gone

Wife, child and goods you must leave behind

Today a man, tomorrow none.

The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin, covered with his Personal Standard, is carried on the purpose built Land Rover Defender followed by the Princess Royal, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, the Earl of Wessex, the Duke of Cambridge, Peter Phillips, the Duke of Sussex, the Earl of Snowdon and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence

The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin, covered with his Personal Standard, is carried into St George's Chapel

Pallbearers of the Royal Marines carry the coffin at the West Steps of St George's Chapel

Members of the Royal Family walk behind the Land Rover hearse carrying Prince Philip's coffin

Prince Philip's coffin carried by pallbearers from the armed forces on an extraordinary day of pomp and ceremony

The coffin is carried up the world famous steps of St George's Chapel on its final journey

St George's Chapel, the scene of Harry and Meghan's wedding and other happier occasions, contained only 30 guests for the Duke's funeral

Philip's coffin had his standard, navy cap and a sword given to him by the Queen's father when they married 73 years ago

Philip's coffin was carried on a custom-built Land Rover Defender hearse designed by the duke and modified over 16 years

Moment Prince Philip's coffin is lowered into 200-year-old vault below St George's Chapel before he is moved to King George VI Memorial Chapel when the Queen dies

Prince Philip's coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault at the end of his televised funeral service today.

The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin was interred by electric motor beneath the floor of the quire at St George's Chapel in Windsor as the Dean of Windsor delivered his commendation.

While the lowering of the coffin normally takes place in private, the poignant moment was broadcast in front of millions of viewers in a historic first for the royal family.

The duke is now the 25th Royal in the 200-year-old vault hidden beneath St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.

The Dean of Windsor delivered the Duke of Edinburgh's commendation as his coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault

Members of the royal family watched as Prince Philip's coffin was interred by electric motor beneath the floor of the quire at St George's Chapel in Windsor

As his coffin was lowered beneath the chapel floor on a catafalque, the duke's styles and titles were read out in full - including His Royal Highness, Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich.

Royal Marine buglers sounded 'Action Stations,' an alarm that alerts sailors to prepare for battle, as Prince Philip's coffin, which was draped in his personal standard and carried his sword and naval cap, was lowered into the Royal Vault.

The inclusion of the naval call to arms, after the traditional bugle call of 'The Last Post,' was a personal request from the duke.

Ahead of Prince Philip's funeral, Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, said the televised moment would be a 'unique in British royal history'.

He said: 'I think it will be unique in British royal history if the public get to see this on television.

'Clearly it's an intimate moment, usually only witnessed by the royal family.

'I think it will be regarded as too private. I think it is the sort of thing you might see at funerals in European countries, but not in Britain.'

The Duke of Edinburgh, who died last Friday aged 99, will join a range of kings and queens behind a set of iron gates around 16ft underground.

Among the notables already there include George III, George IV, George V of Hanover and William IV.

Others who are also buried there are Queen Victoria's father Prince Edward, George III's wife Queen Charlotte and Queen Mary's grandfather Prince Adolphus.

His coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault at around 3pm and will stay there until the Queen dies.

When Her Majesty's time comes, they will join George VI and Queen Elizabeth in the King George VI Memorial Chapel.

The Duke of Edinburgh, who died last Friday aged 99, will join a range of kings and queens behind a set of iron gates around 16ft underground

Others who are also buried there are Queen Victoria's father Prince Edward, George III's wife Queen Charlotte and Queen Mary's grandfather Prince Adolphus

When Her Majesty's time comes, they will join George VI and Queen Elizabeth in the King George VI Memorial Chapel (pictured)

The Duke of Edinburgh (pictured in 2014) was buried on Saturday afternoon at around 3pm

Who are the other 24 buried in the royal vault below St George's Chapel? Princess Amelia, daughter of George III (d.1810) Princess Augusta, Duchess of Brunswick, sister of George III (d.1813) Stillborn son of Princess Charlotte(d. 1817) Princess Charlotte (daughter of George IV) (d.1817) Queen Charlotte, wife of George III (d.1818) Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, father of Queen Victoria (d.1820) King George III (d.1820) Prince Alfred, son of George III (d.1782, placed in vault 1820) Prince Octavius, son of George III (d.1783, placed in vault 1820) Princess Elizabeth, daughter of William IV (d.1821) Prince Frederick, Duke of York (d.1827) King George IV (d.1830) Still-born daughter of Prince Ernest Augustus, son of George III (d.1818) King William IV (d.1837) Princess Sophia, daughter of George III (d.1840) Queen Adelaide, wife of William IV (d.1849) Prince Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein, son of Princess Christian (d.1876) King George V of Hanover (d.1878) Victoria von Pawel Rammingen, daughter of Princess Frederica of Hanover (d.1881) Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck, mother of Queen Mary (d.1897) Prince Francis, Duke of Teck, father of Queen Mary (d.1900) Princess Frederika of Hanover (d.1926) Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, grandfather of Queen Mary (d.1850, placed in vault 1930) Princess Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge, grandmother of Queen Mary (d.1889, placed in vault 1930) Advertisement

This was erected between 1968 and 1969 and is situated next to the north quire aisle in the building.

Near there is a slab of black-and-white diamond-shaped stones which is taken away for funerals to gain access to a lift.

Royals' coffins are taken down the shaft for about 16ft before going down a corridor and set down in the vault behind iron gates.

Earlier monarchs were laid to rest in Westminster Abbey, where they still lie in a royal vault under the Henry VII Chapel.

But it quickly filled up and George III was forced to commission a new one under the Albert Memorial Chapel in Windsor in 1810.

His daughter Princess Amelia, who died aged 27 that year, was placed in a temporary vault until the new one was ready.

She was followed seven years later by Princess Charlotte and her child before George III and his son the Duke of Kent joined them in 1820.

By this time there were 12 low tombs in the vault that were around 18 inches high and a few feet across.

Monarchs and their wives went in the centre and there was more shelving for others on York stone.

Next came George IV in 1830, then William IV in 1937, Queen Adelaide in 1849 and George V of Hanover in 1878.

The latter was Queen Victoria's cousin and ended up in the vault because Hanover did not want him.

Some royals chose to spend time in the vault to reflect on the life of their loved one.

After George III's daughter Princess Augusta Sophia was put there in 1840, it was reported: 'We understand that in the course of yesterday His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge and his son Prince George descended into the royal vault, and stayed there some time contemplating the remains of their deceased relatives.'

This process was eased when a stone staircase was put in behind the altar in about 1837.

Victoria is understood to have frequently gone in after the Duke of Albany died in 1884 - and was followed by others.

He stayed there until he was transferred to the Albert Memorial Chapel in the summer of 1885.

After he brother prince Francis of Teck died in 1911, Queen Mary said: ''The vault looks very nice now, and is well lighted and arranged.

'The King [Edward VII] lies on the stone in the centre for the present.'

But the storage problem reemerged in towards the end of the 1920s, with only about 24 slots left.

Queen Elizabeth's grandfather George V used land next to Victoria's Mausoleum at Frogmore in Windsor to build the Royal Burial Ground in 1928.

This has become the main place to bury royals, with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester among those there.

George V, George VI and Queen Mary went in the royal vault while George VI placed in his special chapel in 1969.

Prince Philip's mother Princess Alice of Battenberg, who was born at Windsor Castle in 1885, also went in when she died in 1969.

The Duke of Edinburgh will join them all on Saturday afternoon before being moved to the King George VI Memorial Chapel when the Queen dies.

The bodies of her parents, George VI and the Queen Mother, as well as the ashes of her sister, Princess Margaret, are interred here.
World Health Organisation (WHO) will assist pharmaceutical companies in low and middle income countries (LMICs) to mass manufacture mRNA COVID-19 vaccines through non-exclusive licences and technology transfer. The COVID-19 vaccines made using mRNA technology by companies like Pfizer and Moderna are not currently available in India. Such vaccines are considered to be the most effective ones to contain the COVID-19 infection.

The global health agency will issue a call for expression of interest from small- and mid-sized pharmaceutical companies, preferably from LMICs to come forward to set up COVID-19 mRNA hubs and in turn transfer know-how and technology to existing or new manufacturers in LMICs to enable them to develop and produce COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. The WHO itself will assist these hubs to access COVID-19 mRNA technology and assemble the technology up to good manufacturing practices-grade pilot lots for clinical trials.

Expressions of interest have already been invited from academic institutions, pharmaceutical companies, non-governmental organisations and other entity that own mRNA technology and/or intellectual property rights to contribute these to such technology transfer hubs, under the auspices of WHO, to enable production of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines in LMICs.

ALSO READ: Indian pharma exports touch record $24.44 bn in pandemic year; see 18.07% growth

On April 16, a WHO statement said the call for interest from manufacturers in LMICs interested in receiving the technology developed by the technology transfer hubs will be issued in the coming weeks.

"Preference will be given to manufacturers of drugs, vaccines or active pharmaceutical substances based in LMICs and capable of producing medical products on a large scale under Good Manufacturing Practices. Another important factor taken into consideration will be prospect for sustainability and experience with WHO Prequalification," it said.

The plan is to facilitate the establishment of one or more technology transfer hubs that will use a hub-and-spoke model to transfer a comprehensive technology package and provide appropriate training to interested manufacturers in LMICs. The initiative will initially prioritise the mRNA-vaccine technology but could expand to other technologies in the future, the statement said.

It explained that the intention is for these hubs to enable the establishment of production process at an industrial or semi-industrial level, permitting training and provision of all necessary standard operating procedures for production and quality control. The technology used will either be free of intellectual property constraints in LMICs, or rights will be made available to the technology hub and the future recipients of the technology through non-exclusive licences to produce, export and distribute the COVID-19 vaccine in LMICs, including through the COVAX facility. The agency will give preference to applicants who have already generated clinical data in humans, as such clinical data will contribute to accelerated approval of the vaccines in LMICs.

ALSO READ: J&J scientists refute link of COVID-19 vaccine design with blood clot cases

The WHO decided to prioritise mRNA vaccines as they have proven extremely efficacious in protecting against COVID-19, and protection is maintained to a large degree against variants. The WHO also states that the technology is very flexible and allows relatively rapid adaptation of the vaccine to variants, if needed and can be produced by manufacturers of medicines and medical active substances in addition to vaccines. The agency also says many technical features of mRNA vaccines are free of intellectual property rights in many countries of the world.

The move is expected to increase global access to these critical tools to bring the pandemic under control. WHO will work with funders and donors to mobilise financial support to establish the hubs and, as they are being established, to support the transfer of technology to selected manufacturers in LMICs, taking into consideration the need to establish permanent vaccine production capacity in regions where this is currently mostly absent. This broader objective will ensure that all WHO regions will be able to produce vaccines as essential preparedness measures against future infectious threats, the statement said.

ALSO READ: UK expert committee recommends Pfizer, Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women
(Newser)  It's a "suicidally dangerous thing to do": cramming your body into the wheel well of a passenger plane. In a lengthy piece for the Guardian, Sirin Kale makes clear that his statement is not hyperbole. Citing FAA data, of the 128 people known to have tried to stowaway on planes in this manner over a 73-year period, more than 75% died from one of the many things that can kill you: falling out during takeoff, being smashed by retracting landing gear, temperatures that can be as low as -30 degrees, and the lack of oxygen. If you survive until it's time to land you'll almost definitely be unconscious, increasing the likelihood that you'll fall out when the landing gear descends. On June 30, 2019, as a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner began its approach into London, that very thing happened: A body fell.

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So began a "befuddling" case into the man's identityand Paul Graves of the Metropolitan Police was put at the helm of it. As Kale recounts, a Brit named Wil happened to see that particular plane in the sky and used it to demonstrate to his roommate an app that can capture any passing plane's route and model info. And then he saw an object tumble out of it. With the details that app had captured it was clear the body came from Kenya Airways flight KQ 100. In the wheel well was a backpack containing no ID but the initials MCA. The man's DNA and fingerprints were dead ends. Graves traveled to the Nairobi airport and reviewed CCTV footage, but it didn't show the stowaway board. Graves disseminated info to Kenyan police, and reporters pounced, leading to an IDwhich ended up being a fake. The man's identity remains unknown. (Read the full piece for much more on the history of stowaways.)
In a response to a reporter's question, Suga said the two leaders had discussed Taiwan and said they reaffirmed the importance of "peace and stability" in the Taiwan Strait. He said he would not give further details on the Taiwan discussion. Suga said that he told Biden that he was committed to moving forward with the summer Olympic Games in Japan despite the coronavirus pandemic. Suga said that Biden offered his support.

The U.S. president called the discussions "very productive" and said the United States and Japan also agreed to work together to support global COVID-19 vaccination efforts as well as to promote new technological developments, including 5G networks, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing.

Biden told reporters after meeting with Suga during the one-day summit Friday that they affirmed their "ironclad support for the U.S.-Japanese alliance" and said they would work together to "take on the challenges from China and on issues like the East China Sea, the South China Sea, as well as North Korea."

U.S. President Joe Biden says he and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga are committed to working together to counter challenges from China and North Korea, following Biden's first White House summit since taking office.

Suga was the first foreign leader to hold face-to-face talks with Biden since the U.S. president assumed office in January. Before the talks began Friday, Biden told reporters at the White House that he was "really pleased to welcome such a close ally, and good partner."

Suga said he was grateful for the meeting and reaffirmed the "new and tight bond" between Japan and the United States.

Since Biden took office, he has focused on reviving the alliance with Japan, as well as U.S. involvement in multilateral institutions, which were often criticized or shunned by former President Donald Trump. The meeting underscored the importance of that alliance, particularly as their common rival, China, grows in strength and aggressiveness.

"We have to shore up American competitiveness to meet the stiff competition we're facing from an increasingly assertive China," Biden said earlier this week as he explained his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

Japan recently joined the U.S. and other democratic nations in calling out Beijing's human rights abuses and incursions into disputed areas of the East and South China seas, seen as a departure from a longstanding trade and economics-centered approach. China is Japan's largest trading partner.

Sheila Smith, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told VOA that the United States and Japan want to present a united front on China, but "both governments understand that this is a delicate moment in the relationship with China. They don't want to incite or provoke activities that they don't desire."

Japan's ambassador to the U.S., Koji Tomita, told VOA this week that Japan is "very encouraged" by Biden's active engagement in the Indo-Pacific region, citing last month's virtual Quad Summit, in which Biden hosted the leaders of Japan, Australia and India. "The international order is being challenged in various ways, so we hope to continue having specific discussions on the ways that Japan and the U.S. can take initiative in realizing our shared vision," he added.

Before Suga's meeting with Biden, China's Foreign Affairs Ministry warned Japan against "being misled by some countries holding biased views against China." Earlier this month, China also sent a naval strike group near Okinawa, where the U.S. has troops, a signal Beijing is prepared to counter the U.S.-Japan alliance.

Japan hosts approximately 55,000 U.S. troops. The two sides routinely describe their alliance as the "cornerstone" of peace and stability in Asia.
New Delhi, April 17 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday said that it has arrested Shehzadi Gill, a Sanitary Supervisor of Jammu Municipal Corporation in connection with a graft case.

A CBI spokesperson here said that the agency arrested Gill for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000 from the complainant.

The official said that the agency registered a case on a complaint in this regard as it has been alleged that Gill had demanded a bribe of Rs 50,000 with an instalment of Rs 5,000 for the last 10 months from complainant for allowing him to join the duties.

The complainant also alleged that a worker of the Jammu Municipal Corporation had not paid the bribe, and thus Gill was not marking his attendance and also did not allow him to work.

The accused allegedly agreed to accept Rs 45,000 after negotiation, he said.

The official said that the agency sleuths laid a trap and caught Gill red-handed while demanding and accepting Rs 5,000 as first instalment of the said bribe.

The official said that the CBI also carried out searches at the office and residential premises of Gill at Jammu.

Gill was produced before the court in Jammu and she was remanded to judicial custody.
New York, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Apr, 2021 ) :The potential electrical problem that prompted airlines to remove some 737 MAX planes from service has been found in more areas of the plane than initially known, a report said Friday.

Boeing said on April 9 that the issue, discovered during the manufacturing process, requires "verification that a sufficient ground path exists for a component of the electrical power system." But The Wall Street Journal, citing Boeing, reported Friday that the manufacturing issue affects "more areas of the flight deck than previously known." Boeing did not directly comment on The Wall Street Journal report, but said it plans to develop guidelines with Federal Aviation Administration oversight.

"Boeing is working with customers on service bulletins that will be submitted to the FAA for approval," a Boeing spokesman said.

"The bulletins focus on ensuring a sufficient ground path in the flight deck of affected airplanes," he added.

Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and American Airlines all said last week that they were removing some of their MAX planes from service following the Boeing announcement. Boeing said it notified 16 carriers in all of the issue.

Shares of Boeing fell 1.2 percent to $248.18, losing ground following reports of the problem.

The electrical issue is a setback after the MAX was cleared in November 2020 to return to service after a 20-month grounding following two fatal crashes.

"Specific details regarding investigators' latest findings are scare at the moment, but it's troubling to learn that the electrical defect is being found in other parts of the plane," said Briefing.com.
New Delhi, April 17 : As India's Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) evolves at a fast pace, a hard nut to crack for the market regulator has come up with regulations in terms of trading in the shares of companies going through resolution under IBC.

Several concerns have been raised in terms of trading in the stocks of insolvent companies as many of them gained substantially amid the bull run in the past one year.

Amid concerns for public shareholders and the need for transperancy, the capital market regulator has also enhanced the disclosure norms for companies under bankruptcy and they now have to inform the exchanges on any approved resolution plan.

Ashish Chhawchharia, Partner and National leader - Restructuring Services, Grant Thornton Bharat, is of the view that trading in shares of insolvent comapanies should be suspended.

"In several markets which have a mature insolvency regime, trading of shares of insolvent companies is immediately suspended upon commencement," he said.

He noted that while there is some merit in continuing trading to allow exit mechanism for small shareholders, the same investors can also be susceptible to high risks due to speculation. Overall, it may be better to suspend trading of such companies, Chhawchharia told IANS.

Despite steps by the regulator, several concerns exist regarding manipulation by the promoters, who might have lost the control of the company but are still are the promoter shareholders of the company.

Manoj Kumar of Corporate Professionals said that although there are such concerns regarding the promoters, most of the times promoter shares are pledged in light of the financial stress of the bankrupt company.

"Existing promoters can also play, obviously, but in most of the cases their shares are pledged so they cannot sell it and obviously they dont want be in light. They might be playing but off the book shareholding, if any," he said.

Kumar noted that earlier there was no mention on the sites of the stock exchanges or the brokerage firms that the company is under insolvency, but now the insolvency status of the company is informed on the sites, which is a move in the right direction as it would inform the shareholders and retail investors and they can take a calculated risk.

Regarding the option of suspending trade on the shares of an insolvent company, he said that such a move would be "very harsh because just before the day who might have bought would not have any opportunity to sell".

"It is a dilemma for SEBI," he said.

Experts are also of the view that disclosure of all applications received for acquisition of insolvent companies may also not turn out fruitful as there might be instances in which the applicants are frivolous or bogus.

Therefore, sector experts feel that it is a very tough situation to handle.

"It is a very dicey situation. Nobody knows what will happen ultimately. In some situation company goes into liquidation, some becomes delisted, and some companies majority of thes shares are extinguished and minor shares are given to the public shareholders. Still people want to take risk, there is a dilemma with the regulator," Kumar told IANS.

Companies which are undergoing insolvency with their shares trading on the stock exchanges include Jet Airways, and Jaypee Infratech.

Shares of Jet Airways on the BSE surged over 350 per cent in the past one year and those of Jaypee Infratech have increased over 100 per cent during the period.

Another matter which the Securities and Exchanges Board of India has taken cognisanse of and come up with strict regulations is that regarding public shareholding of companies which have been resolved under IBC.

Last December, the capital market regulator tweaked the minimum public shareholding norms for listed companies facing bankruptcy under the IBC and which get relisted on the stock market.

Now, such companies are mandated to have at least 5 per cent public shareholding at the time of their admission to dealing on stock exchange, as against no minimum requirement earlier.

Earlier, in case of Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) where the public shareholding falls below 10 per cent, such listed companies are required to bring the public shareholding to at least 10 per cent within a period of 18 months and to 25 per cent within 36 months.

Further, such companies are provided 12 months to achieve public shareholding of 10 per cent from the date such shares of the company are admitted to dealings on stock exchange and 36 months to achieve public shareholding of 25 per cent.

The lock-in on equity shares allotted to the resolution applicant under the resolution plan shall not be applicable to the extent to achieve 10 per cent public shareholding within 12 months.

Concerns were raised after shares of Ruchi Soya a whopping 8,800 per cent during January-June last year.

Shares of Orchid Pharma also have been on a dream run as they have surged a mammoth 9,000 per cent since their relisting on the exchanges last November, after the company's resolution under the IBC.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks to reporters prior to the Senate Republican luncheons at the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on April 13, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images)

Ted Cruz Done With Face Masks After Being Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) will no longer wear a face mask as he walks the U.S. Capitol and goes to the Senate floor after being fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a report.

At this point, Ive been vaccinated. Everybody working in the Senate has been vaccinated, Cruz told CNN on Thursday.

Cruz has followed the footsteps of a fellow senator, Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who also ditched his maskwhich isnt a requirement for members in the Senate, but it is for those in the House.

Paul, 58, unlike Cruz, hasnt been fully vaccinated against the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, but he tested positive for the virus last year and has COVID-19 antibodies. He is one of at least three U.S. senators who have declined to get inoculated, at least for now.

Paul suggested last month that people like himself who have tested positive for COVID-19 and recovered are not immediately required to get a vaccine because they have antibodies.

About 30 million people have gotten the infection naturally like myself, Paul told reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington. The interesting thing is that [there is] no more than a handful of reports of people getting it again, so theres every indication that having been infected with it provides strong natural immunity.

Im going with the science on this one, he added. I have not chosen to be vaccinated because I got it naturally and the science of 30 million people and the statistical validity of a 30-million sample is pretty overwhelming that natural immunity exists and works.

Paul noted that he has spoken in support of getting vaccinated for those who havent been infected with COVID-19.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee nomination hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 25, 2021. (Tom Brenner/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

COVID-19 is caused by the CCP virus, commonly referred to as the novel coronavirus, which originated in China in late 2019.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends those who have been fully vaccinated to keep taking precautions and wear a mask in public and socially distance as health officials continue to learn how vaccines will affect the spread of COVID-19.

Vaccines do not give the recipient 100 percent immunity and health officials said a person who is fully vaccinated doesnt know if they possibly carry an asymptomatic infection that could spread to someone else.

However, CDC guidelines say those who have been fully vaccinated are allowed to gather with other people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancingunless anyone near them has an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

The guidance doesnt mention those who may have gained some level of immunity from being infected, and recovering, from the CCP virus.

From NTD News
Tirupati, April 17 : Polling for the high-octane Scheduled Castes-reserved Tirupati Lok Sabha by-poll started off on a smooth note on Saturday, an official in the Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office confirmed.

"Polling started at 7 a.m. and will last till 7 p.m.," the official told IANS.

As many as 17.1 lakh voters are expected to exercise their franchise in 2,470 polling stations.

Voters above 80 years have been extended the postal ballot facility.

There are 22,743 voters above 80 years age, including 216 third gender voters.

M. Gurumoorthy from the ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), Panabaka Lakshmi (TDP) and Ratna Prabha (BJP) are among the 25 contestants competing for the seat.

Of the seven Assembly constituencies, Tirupati, Srikalahasti and Satyavedu are from Chittoor district and Sarvepalli, Guduru, Sullurupeta and Venkatagiri from Nellore district.

According to the CEO's office, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has exempted village and ward volunteers from poll duties.

Twenty-three companies of central forces will provide security for the smooth conduct of the by-poll.

Authorities have identified 877 polling stations as sensitive, which will be guarded by the Central forces, even as 37 flying squad teams have also been deployed for the election.

Web casting facility has also been arranged in 1,241 centres.

All coronavirus precautions are being followed as part of the by-poll.

The ECI has appointed three observers for the by-poll: Dinesh Patil as ordinary observer, Rajeev Kumar (police observer) and Anand Kumar.

Similarly, 816 micro-observers have been appointed.

Nearly 570 buses have been arranged for the poll staff.

The by-poll has been necessitated due to the demise of Tirupati YSRCP MP Balli Durga Prasad in 2020 due to Covid-19.

All eyes in the state are on the by-poll, which the YSRCP has taken as a referendum, including the BJP, Janasena and TDP pinning high hopes on it.
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It is time to get to work! 18-years-old Jerome Foster tweeted after being included among a group of 26 listed advisers to President Joe Biden who will give recommendations on how to address environmental injustices in the United States under the umbrella of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC).

The teenage climate change activist had developed passion for climate activism since he was five-years-old.

As a high school student of Washington Leadership Academy, he championed a solo 58 weeks climate strike in front of the White House under the Donald Trump administration before the lockdown.

It has been a long journey  from climate striking in front of the White House for 58 weeks  to now working inside of its walls to craft reform. It's time to get to work! w/ @POTUS @WhiteHouse pic.twitter.com/a6Rwd8OWqj  Jerome Foster II (@JeromeFosterII) March 29, 2021

Inspired by equally young Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Mr Foster started organising a protest on Fridays in front of the White House carrying placards with the inscription school strike for climate, an invocation of the global school strike movement started by Ms Thunberg.

School strike for climate also known as Youth Strike for Climate, is an international movement of school students of all ages, races, genders, backgrounds who skip Fridays classes to participate in demonstrations to demand action from political leaders to prevent climate change and for the fossil fuel industry to transition to renewable energy.

Being a self-educated student of climate change, the teenage founder of a youth media outfit, the Climate Reporter, and the executive director of a youth voting advocacy group, OneMillionOfUs, believes he was wrong by thinking adults would be able to solve and put under control the problem of climate change. And for this reason, he said he took action.

I saw the urgency wasnt being met, Mr Foster wrote on his Instagram page to educate his class on climate change and his own virtual reality company in high school to create VR experiences on the effects of the climate emergency.

My school was not supportive of what I was doing, he admitted of his strikes, noting that his grades subsequently suffered from missing class. Teachers would not give make-up work I think that that lack of support really hurt a lot of people.

If I focus on my school and dont think about my future, then our future will be totally at risk. And I think that was a struggle and it still is, he added.

No one wants to be fighting for clean air in 2030, he wrote. When you arent able to plan for your future, you arent able to feel secure. When everything is destabilising and you dont have a fallback plan, thats incredibly devastating.

Young people need to keep marching. We cant be complacent, he adds. Its up to us to save our future.

Incredible honour

The Biden-Harris supporter who counts it as an incredible honour to have been selected to serve as the youngest member of the Biden White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council to compact global climate crisis, however, said: Young people fighting for climate, is not an excuse to stop acting. It is your opportunity to continue on stronger.

My generation was born into this crisis, we cannot be the only ones to clean up a mess that we did not make, he added.

To Adults: Young people fighting for climate, is not an excuse to stop acting. It is your opportunity continue on stronger. My generation was born into this crisis, we cannot be the only ones to clean up a mess that we did not make.  Jerome Foster II (@JeromeFosterII) April 13, 2021

Foster, who is from New York alongside other members of the advisory council from other geographical regions, will work to ensure that the Biden administration is informed by the insights, expertise, and experiences of environmental justice leaders across the nation.
London: Elizabeth and Philip were married the year I was born  1947  when Britains deference toward its royal family had not yet been exposed to the merciless shredding that was to come. Back then, my own family might almost have seen itself reflected, albeit remotely, in their lives.

Like Prince Philip, whose funeral is Saturday, my father had served in World War II, on deployments that were so protracted that, my mother recalled, she went three years without seeing him. In London, Buckingham Palace was bombed. So, too, were the row houses in Barrow-in-Furness in northwestern England where my aunts, uncles and grandparents lived, close to the shipyards targeted by the German air force.

Prince Philip greets guests at the Duke of Edinburghs Award gold award presentations at Buckingham Palace. Credit:Getty Images

When Elizabeth was crowned Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, we clustered around a small black-and-white television at a neighbors home to follow what was billed as the countrys first coronation to be broadcast live. Certainly, it was a moment of pomp that seemed to fete Britains reemergence from postwar deprivation.

But by the time Philip died last week, Britons had long ceased to march quite so closely in step with the royals. The mirror had become distant, supplanted by the oft-voiced questions: When did the sovereign family and its subjects begin to go their separate ways? And what does that bode for the future of the monarchy?
Story by MARYCLAIRE DALE, Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP)  The former dean of Temple Universitys business school has been charged with falsifying data to boost the schools rankings, draw more students and vastly increase the schools revenue.

The federal indictment unsealed Friday charges Moshe Porat, 74, with conspiracy and wire fraud for allegedly submitting phony information about its graduate business programs to U.S. News & World Report.

The information about student test scores, work experience and other data helped the Philadelphia universitys Fox School of Business claim the top-ranked spot on the magazines influential list of online MBA programs for several years and quadruple its enrollment.

The school charged about $60,000 for its online MBA and enrolled more than 330 students by 2017, before the scandal broke and Fox was removed from the rankings. By 2019, enrollment dropped to 106 students.

This was not a victimless crime. The victims are students and graduates and donors to the Fox school, as well as other universities and their students that were cheated out of their legitimate rankings, Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said at a news conference Friday afternoon. When a universitys statistics and metrics are tainted by fraud, the resulting harm extends far and wide and creates a loss of faith in the value of academic institutions.

The indictment follows both a state investigation by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, which led to a settlement with Temple, and an ongoing $25 million defamation lawsuit Porat filed against Temple and its president over his 2018 ouster.

Defense lawyer Michael A. Schwartz said Porat vigorously denies the charges and has been cooperating with federal investigators.

Dr. Porat dedicated forty years of his life to serving Temple University, first as a faculty member, and ultimately as dean of the Fox Business School, and he did so with distinction. He looks forward to defending himself against these charges and to clearing his name, Schwartz said in a statement.

According to the indictment, Porat ordered his staff to send inaccurate information about the program after learning that U.S. News & World Report lacked the resources to audit any of the data submitted by the schools. Two of them have also been charged in the case.

Porat served as dean from 1996 through 2018, eventually earning more than $600,000 a year. He continues to receive more than $300,000 as a tenured professor, although he has not taught since 2018, the indictment said.

He is expected to appear in court next week.
PITTSBURGH

April 16, 2021

Pennsylvania

the United States

Canada

Stephen Bailey

David M. Shahian

Pennsylvania

Western Pennsylvania

Nikki Buccina

/PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Allegheny General Hospital (AGH), the flagship academic medical center of Allegheny Health Network (AHN), has earned the maximum three-star rating from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) for the quality and patient outcomes of its leading cardiovascular surgery program. The hospital is the first in the westernregion to report the highest level of achievement across three categories of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and coronary bypass grafting (CABG) and Aortic Valve Replacement (AVR) with CABG, placing it among the most elite cardiovascular programs withinand"The STS Adult Cardiac Surgery database represents more than 90 percent of the hospitals that perform cardiac surgery across the country and of those who submit for public reporting, only seven to 10 percent receive a three-star rating for a given procedure. AGH received top marks for three different procedures, and that's a testament to the remarkable care delivered by our leading surgeons and the entire multidisciplinary team across the AHN Cardiovascular Institute," said, MD, Department Chair of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery. "We couldn't be more proud of their extraordinary work and unwavering commitment to compassionate care, quality and patient outcomes."The STS National Database was established in 1989 and provides an opportunity for participants to publicly report on certain measures indicating quality of patient care and surgical outcomes. For each of these categories, the STS then compares how a hospital performs in relation to all hospitals in its database and adjusts those scores to take into account that certain hospitals treat older and sicker patients. The database currently houses roughly 6.9 million surgical records and has more than 3,800 participating physicians, including surgeons and anesthesiologists.For heart bypass surgery, the ratings take into account patient survival, the absence of surgical complications, and two factors that reflect an adherence to best-established practices  giving the patient recommended medications and using optimal surgical techniques."The Society of Thoracic Surgeons congratulates STS National Database participants who have received three-star ratings," said, MD, chair of the Task Force on Quality Measurement. "Participation in the Database and public reporting demonstrates a commitment to quality improvement in health care delivery and provides patients and their families with meaningful information to help them make informed decisions about health care."In January, AGH became the first medical center into earn the Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval for Comprehensive Cardiac Center Certification. The hospital was also listed by Healthgrades as one of the country's top hospitals for overall cardiac care and surgery, and has received accolades from the American Heart Association for its robust heart failure program. It is also routinely ranked among the nation's top medical centers for three-year survival rates for adult heart transplant patients.For more information on the AHN Cardiovascular Institute, visit ahn.org.###Allegheny Health Network (http://www.AHN.org), a Highmark Health company, is an integrated healthcare delivery system serving the greaterregion. Among the network's 300 clinical locations are 13 hospitals and five Health + Wellness Pavilions. AHN also is home to a comprehensive research institute; home- and community-based health services; and a group purchasing organization. The network employs more than 20,000 people and has more than 2,400 doctors on its medical staff. Established in 2013, AHN's member hospitals share legacies of charitable care that date back more than 160 years., Allegheny Health Network, 412-596-2679, dominique.buccina@highmarkhealth.orgSOURCE Allegheny Health Network
It was a few months into my new pandemic-forced routine of working from home that I realised I was no longer experiencing the emotional slump I typically fell into on Sundays. Instead of the weekly ritual of organising myself mentally and physically with either a crazed panic or the demeanour of a sad sloth, I was finding myself soaking in an unfamiliar sense of tranquillity.

If you work a traditional Monday-Friday week, theres a high chance youre familiar with the sadness that can gradually rise in you over the course of a Sunday until youre so grumpy that anyone who talks to you in the evening is at high risk of getting their head bitten off.

Working from home on Mondays is a mind trick for beating the Sunday blues. Credit:iStock

There are many names for it  such as the Sunday blues and the Sunday scaries  and its incredibly common, even if you like your job. One 2009 Swedish study concluded that Sunday was indeed the most depressing day of the week. And a US survey of 1000 people found four out of five respondents experienced an elevated sense of anxiety on Sunday in anticipation of the week ahead, mainly in the evening, and almost two-thirds said they got the worst night of sleep on Sunday.

There is even a song attached to the phenomenon, with a bleak history. Gloomy Sunday was originally created in 1933 by a Hungarian composer and became caught up in urban legends linking it to suicides. Later, Billie Holidays best-known version, released in 1941, was banned from being broadcast on BBC radio for being detrimental to wartime morale (the ban was lifted in 2002).
Leftists' agenda are exposed in a collective lawsuit aimed at suppressing religious freedom and expression under the guise of addressing discrimination.

Rabbi Yaakov Menken of the Coalition for Jewish Values reveals facts about the leftists' pursuit for dominance in his commentary published by The Federalist on Wednesday.

Underscoring the class lawsuit reported by The Washington Post on March 30, he posits that it was a coordinated move to further influence deliberations on Equality Act by branding religious groups' resolute stances on sexuality as bigotry. Additionally, he noted that the litigants in the suit "apparently believe that one young student's self-identification should outweigh that of the entire university."

"It is clear that the agenda of this lawsuit is not to address actual discrimination, but to demonize those with different beliefs and to characterize the Bible itself as hateful, unworthy of being referenced or printed," observes the rabbi.

He added that this type of litigation flows from the "strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP)." This, according to the rabbi, is "an abuse of the legal system intended to censor, intimidate, and silence those who dare express opposing views."

In another example, individuals like the professor at Shawnee State University who got dinged by school administrators for refusing to conform to the gender identification status quo are being singled out. Christians are often at the mercy of the First Amendment to protect them from institutional aggressions like job terminations.

Rabbi Menken submitted that the Jewish community also run the risk of being castigated under the Equality Act as part of their Jewish customs require the separation of biological sexes during special holidays and events, many of which are often held in public spaces.

The rabbi also took issue with the rise of tech censorships on dissenting views. Again, he cited one example: Twitter's suspension of a Christian magazine's account for its description of U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine as "a transgender woman, that is, a man who believes he is a woman."

"Even the slightest deviation from leftist doctrine is similarly described as "hateful" in order to drastically narrow the range of opinion Americans are now allowed to express," he commented.

After presenting his case on lawsuits targeting religious beliefs, Rabbi Menken said that there's another way. He proposed "genuine tolerance" as an alternative to the highly divisive contentions on constitutional rights. He acknowledged that options are indeed "mutually incompatible," but it does not mean they can't coexist.

On the class-action lawsuit brouhaha, he pointed out that "authentic practice of tolerance and diversity" entails that the student selects an institution that affirms his own worldview rather than suing.

"Americans can and do annually choose to attend a secular or a faith-based school (or neither, by pursing a different path altogether)," he said. "All these institutions have flourished because no one has tried to force one type of institution to emulate any other."

Tolerance through peaceful co-existence, according to the rabbi, will make "modern democracy possible."

"That involves both a genuine respect for human dignity, and recognition that true diversity requires tolerance for a spectrum of opinion and belief, including the parts with which we disagree," he concluded.
MISTRUST of the motives of public officials, especially politicians, the proliferation of single-issue pressure groups and a fragmented media landscape of traditional news outlets and new social media are among an array of factors that make it increasingly difficult for governments to communicate effectively with citizens and to achieve a consensus on major public-policy issues.

Opinion

MISTRUST of the motives of public officials, especially politicians, the proliferation of single-issue pressure groups and a fragmented media landscape of traditional news outlets and new social media are among an array of factors that make it increasingly difficult for governments to communicate effectively with citizens and to achieve a consensus on major public-policy issues.

Ironically, this is happening at a time when the public in general is better educated than in the past, there is more information potentially available to them and the ongoing communications revolution means there are multiple channels available for sharing, almost instantaneously, information, knowledge and opinions.

Newspapers and broadcasters still continue to be the most important source of communication about government. They help to inform the public, serve the watchdog function of exposing blunders and misdeeds and help to set the agenda of government by highlighting certain issues.

Public trust in the accuracy and objectivity of the media has declined, however. Fewer resources have meant diminished local news coverage and, increasingly, the disappearance of more costly investigative journalism.

A few decades ago, there was much breathless talk about the democratizing potential of various forms of social media. There have been important advances, in terms of information sharing and the mobilization of people with shared interests in certain issues. However, social-media platforms encourage short and shallow commentary, not more in-depth analysis.

This has contributed to such problems as information overload, the spread of misinformation and the existence of "digital bubbles" leading to increased political polarization.

These trends have increased the importance and complexity of the communications functions of government. Recognizing the more complicated, difficult and even hostile external environment they face, governments have made greater use of media-management strategies and tactics to promote their agendas and to deflect criticism. This has led to growing pressures on impartial public servants to help with the "selling" of the governments policies.

To address the democratic deficit of public disillusionment and disengagement, governments have cautiously and incrementally embraced social media as a way to convey their messages, thereby bypassing what they see as the distorting filter of mainstream media. Reliance on social media has been stymied by many obstacles, but most important has been the insistence by politicians on "controversy free" government.

This insistence reinforces the engrained tendencies of public bureaucracies to maintain control and secrecy, leading to defensive strategies to prevent negative news  including controversies that might arise from recently adopted proactive disclosure policies within governments and the operation of freedom-of-information and whistleblower laws.

Governments have made growing use of online consultations to inform, to gauge public sentiments and to promote support for their eventual policy decisions. It is too cynical to dismiss such initiatives as merely manipulation; however, the limits of most online consultations must be recognized.

The government frames the issues and provides supporting information; often, surveys with forced choices are used, with limited space for more extensive responses. Respondents are self-selected, so there is no guarantee that a representative sample of citizens participates. In most online consultations there are no actual two-way exchanges.

I favour a more deliberative approach to citizen engagement that goes beyond information provision to include greater opportunities for more meaningful public input into policy-making. This would be consistent with the norms of a democratic society. Governments tend to underestimate the willingness and capacity of citizens to engage in policy debates. Issues are seen as too complex for non-experts, but this ignores the necessity for value judgments to which we can all contribute.

Participation in policy debates can increase knowledge, build skills in reasoning and bargaining, and contribute to a sense of "ownership" and legitimacy for policy outcomes.

There are numerous mechanisms that could be used to allow for more citizen involvement. For example, some success has been achieved in several jurisdictions with citizen assemblies, in which a representative group of individuals is selected and, after receiving some educational background, those participants engage in a dialogue over several months that ideally leads to consensus recommendations.

Assemblies have been used mainly on constitutional issues. In terms of ordinary legislation, governments could issue discussion papers providing background information and policy options and have all-party task forces hold public hearings. This would allow the public to have their say before the government adopts a fixed position in the form of a bill, and it might lessen the excessive partisanship of the current legislative process.

Neither of these mechanisms would undermine representative democracy, but they would address the democratic deficit.

Paul G. Thomas is professor emeritus of political studies, University of Manitoba.
WHITCHURCH-STOUFFVILLE, ON, April 16, 2021 /CNW/ - Canadians everywhere are feeling the impact of COVID-19, on their families, their livelihoods, and their way of life. Together, the governments of Canada and Ontario are working to reduce the impact of the pandemic, ensure health and safety, rebuild businesses, and promote job creation, growth and investment.

Today, Helena Jaczek, Member of Parliament for Markham-Stouffville, on behalf of the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities; The Honourable Paul Calandra, Member of Provincial Parliament for MarkhamStouffville; and His Worship Iain Lovatt, Mayor of the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, announced joint funding for the construction of a multi-season trail in Whitchurch-Stouffville that will be used for skating during winter.

The Government of Canada is investing over $2.2 million in this project through the Community, Culture and Recreation Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada plan. The Government of Ontario is providing more than $1.8 million while the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville is contributing over $1.4 million.

The work involves constructing a multi-season trail in the Town's primary community park that will be used for skating during winter months. In addition, the project will involve construction of accessible washrooms and changerooms, a shed for the ice resurfacer and a bridge for the resurfacer to access the trail. This investment will support the creation of a fully accessible, inclusive, community hub where residents can enjoy the outdoors, and stay fit and healthy for years to come.

All orders of government continue to work together for the people of Ontario to make strategic infrastructure investments in communities across the province when needed most.

Quotes

"This investment will create a new multi-season trail that will be used for skating during winter. The trail will provide Whitchurch-Stouffville's residents with a fantastic outdoor facility where people can exercise and come together. The project will mean jobs in the coming months, and it will provide the Town's residents with a recreational facility that will be a huge asset for the community for years to come."

Helena Jaczek, Member of Parliament for Markham-Stouffville, on behalf of The Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities

"Ontario is taking action by contributing more than $1.8 million to build a walking and skating trail right here in Whitchurch-Stouffville. This kind of recreational infrastructure is exactly what our growing community needs. I look forward to visiting with my family as soon as it is open."

The Honourable Paul Calandra, Member of Provincial Parliament for MarkhamStouffville, on behalf of The Honourable Laurie Scott, Ontario's Minister of Infrastructure

"On behalf of the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, we are thrilled to receive this generous funding towards the winter skating trail to be constructed in Memorial Park. This new skating trail, which was chosen by the community as the highest priority in the parks expansion, will bring generations together creating stronger, happier, and healthier residents. Thank you to the Federal and Provincial governments for your support."

His Worship Iain Lovatt, Mayor of the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville

Quick facts

Through the Investing in Canada plan, the federal government is investing more than $180 billion over 12 years in public transit projects, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation routes, and Canada's rural and northern communities.

plan, the federal government is investing more than over 12 years in public transit projects, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation routes, and rural and northern communities. Across Ontario , the Government of Canada has invested more than $8.3 billion in over 2,880 infrastructure projects.

, the Government of has invested more than in over 2,880 infrastructure projects. Across the province and over the next ten years, Ontario is investing approximately $320 million and Canada is investing approximately $407 million under the Community, Culture and Recreation Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. This stream supports the construction of new facilities and upgrades to existing facilities that improve community infrastructure (community centres, libraries), recreational venues (arenas, recreational spaces) and cultural spaces (theatres, museums).

is investing approximately and is investing approximately under the Community, Culture and Recreation Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Infrastructure Program. This stream supports the construction of new facilities and upgrades to existing facilities that improve community infrastructure (community centres, libraries), recreational venues (arenas, recreational spaces) and cultural spaces (theatres, museums). Ontario is investing over $10.2 billion under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program to improve public transit; community, culture and recreation; green, and rural and northern community and other priority infrastructure.

Associated links

Federal infrastructure investments in Ontario

https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/prog-proj-on-eng.html

Investing in Canada Plan Project Map

http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/gmap-gcarte/index-eng.html

Ontario Builds Project Map: https://www.ontario.ca/page/building-ontario

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

Web: Infrastructure Canada

SOURCE Infrastructure Canada

For further information: Chantalle Aubertin, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, 613-941-0660, [email protected]; Christine Bujold, Press Secretary, Office of the Honourable Laurie Scott, Ontario's Minister of Infrastructure, 416-454-1782, [email protected]; Sofia Sousa-Dias, Communications Branch, Ontario Ministry of Infrastructure, 437-991-3391, [email protected]; Candace Darbyshire, Corporate Communications Coordinator, Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, 905-640-1910 ext. 2444, [email protected]; Media Relations, Infrastructure Canada, 613-960-9251, Toll free: 1-877-250-7154, Email: [email protected]

Related Links

www.infrastructure.gc.ca


Reforming immigration law is long overdue for our nation with our unique ancestry from all parts of the world. Our most vexing challenge is the plight of refugees at our southern border, where stabilizing that chaos requires a sustainable economy in Central America. The path to stability is education in the long term, but it also requires short-term security, not so much for the integrity of our border but for the lives of the people who go there seeking refuge.

Their plight is the residual stain of our influence in Central America bubbling to the surface, with root causes that include resource extraction, covert military intervention, and cross-border drug enterprises corrupting local governance. Today, the people are struggling through pandemic and natural disasters. We need regional partners, such as Colombia with its own experience in remediation, for a Marshall Plan for Central American economies, to include education and counseling for their people.

Robert G. Uhlenhake,

Hudson
By Swati Pandey

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia on Friday reported its first fatality from blood clots in a recipient of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 shot, and its regulator said there was a likely link between the 48-year-old woman's death and the vaccine.

Hers was the third instance of the rare blood clots appearing in people who have been administered the vaccine in Australia. The other two are recovering well, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) added.

It said it was "carefully reviewing" similar instances in Australia.

The New South Wales woman received the AstraZeneca vaccine on April 8, the day that the government announced that the Pfizer vaccine would be given as a preference to patients under 50, delaying its inoculation timetable.

In the absence of an alternative cause for the clot that she developed, Australia's Vaccine Safety Investigation Group (VSIG) "believed that a causative link to vaccination should be assumed at this time," the TGA said.

The VSIG had held a meeting late on Friday following news of the woman's death.

The TGA said her case had been complicated by underlying medical conditions, including diabetes, "as well as some atypical features."

There had been at least 885,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines administered in Australia so far, equating to a frequency of instance of blood clot in every 295,000 cases, the TGA said.

"The overall number ...so far has been no higher than the expected background rate for the more common type of blood clots," it said.

The UK regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, has concluded from its review of cases reported in the UK that the overall risk of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis - a rare blood clot in the brain - was approximately 1 in 250,000 who receive the vaccine.

Australia has reported over 22,000 COVID-19 cases of community transmission and 909 deaths.
Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, the Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, says Ghanas strive to fully migrate from analogue to digital transmission is on course.



She said the target received yet another major boost with the opening of the Central Digital Transmission Company (CDTC) office.



It is just one more step of our journey to switch over from the analogue to digital transmission, the Minister said at the official handing over of a modern office complex, which will serve as CDTC operation point.



Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said the Digital Migration Policy, approved by Cabinet, demanded that the country established a jointly managed platform and said the CDTC would be wholly owned by the country but managed independently.



She asked radio and television station operators to prepare to pay for their own digital transmission when the process was fully completed.



Mr Oscar Nchor, the General Manager of K-NET, a business specializing in connectivity solutions, commended the Minister for her commitment to implementing Ghana's Digital Agenda.



He said K-NET was happy to innovate and deliver a modern standard office complex for the management body of the national digital terrestrial television platform.

Source: GNA









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By Steve Gorman

(Reuters) - Half of the eight workers shot to death at an Indianapolis FedEx facility by a former employee before he killed himself belonged to the Sikh religious community, leading an advocacy group to urge a probe of possible racial or ethnic hatred as a factor.

Law enforcement officials said Friday they have yet to determine what motivated the gunman, 19-year-old Brandon Hole, who was white, to carry out Thursday night's rampage, at a FedEx operations center near Indianapolis International Airport.

The attack in Indiana's state capital, the third most populous city in the Midwest, was the latest in a spate of at least seven deadly mass shootings in the United States over the past month.

It came a little over a year after Hole was briefly placed under psychiatric detention by police when his mother reported her concerns that he was contemplating "suicide by cop," according to the FBI. A shotgun was seized from his home.

FBI agents who interviewed the teenager last April found no criminal violation at the time and determined he possessed no "racially motivated violent extremism ideology," said Paul Keenan, special agent in charge of the FBI's Indianapolis field office.

But the New York-based Sikh Coalition, a civil rights advocacy group, called for a full investigation into "the possibility of bias as factor" in the FedEx killings.

Four members of the Sikh faith - three women and a man - were among the dead in Thursday night's shooting spree, and at least one Sikh individual was wounded, said Gurinder Singh Khalsa, a businessman and leader of the local Sikh community who said he was briefed by victims' families.

Singh Khalsa also told Reuters the majority of employees at the FedEx site are Sikhs, whose religion originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent.

He said the FedEx center was known for hiring older members of the local Sikh community who did not necessarily speak fluent English.

Story continues

The Sikh Coalition's executive director, Satjeet Kaur, said more than 8,000 Sikh-Americans live in Indiana.

SPATE OF VIOLENCE

The recent surge in U.S. mass gun violence began on March 16 when a gunman shot eight people to death, including six Asian woman, at three Atlanta-area day spas before he was arrested.

That rampage heightened tensions already brewing over a rise in hate crimes and discrimination directed at Asian Americans in recent years, stoked in part by racially inflammatory rhetoric about the coronavirus pandemic's origins in China.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States perpetrated by the Islamist militant group al Qaeda, Sikh men have sometimes been confused publicly with Muslims because they wear turbans with their hair and beards uncut.

The eight people killed in Thursday night's violence ranged in age from 19 to 74. The shooting lasted only a couple of minutes and was over by the time police responded to the scene, Craig McCartt, the Indianapolis police department's deputy chief, said on Friday.

Witnesses described a chaotic attack, as the gunman opened fire with a rifle in the parking lot before entering the facility and continuing to shoot, leaving victims both inside and outside the building. Officers found the suspect dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

McCartt told reporters the suspect was believed to have last worked at the plant in the fall of 2020.

Asked what brought him back to the facility on Thursday night, McCartt replied: "I wish I could answer that."

Neither authorities nor FedEx officials would say what ended Hole's employment at FedEx.

(Reporting by Mark Hosenball in Washington, Alexandra Ulmer in San Francisco, Maria Caspani, Joseph Ax and Barbara Goldberg in New York, and Shubham Kalia and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru, India. Writing and additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
Pro-life groups looked into several vaccine developers which reportedly used cells derived from aborted fetus in their testing and production of coronavirus vaccines.

According to Breitbart, pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute's (CLI) analysis on COVID-19 vaccines supported by Operation Warp Speed found that majority did not use abortion-derived cell lines in their production process.

"Unfortunately," CLI interjected, "some vaccine developers have unnecessarily put American families in a difficult position by choosing to use controversial human fetal cell lines in production or testing, or by a lack of transparency."

In their follow up report in March, CLI provided a quick reference chart detailing their evaluations. Among the vaccine candidates they assessed were reportedly produced by Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Novavax, Sanofi/GSK, Inovio, and Merck. Out of the eight, two vaccines did use fetal cell lines. Those were under the sponsorship of Astrazeneca & Univ. Oxford, and Janssen and Johnson &Johnson

"Many developers already opt to use animal cell lines, non-fetal human cells, yeast, or chicken eggs instead," said the institute. "We urge all developers to avail themselves of these options going forward. Doing so will reduce vaccine hesitancy for those who oppose the use of fetal cell lines, thereby increasing the public health impact of the vaccine."

In light of the report, Pro-Life U.S. Bishop Chairmen issued a statement in December addressing moral and ethical concerns about the use of vaccines. While they gave an allowance for the consideration of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, they found the AstraZeneca vaccine to be "more morally compromised" and that it "should be avoided" given the availability of other alternatives.

The bishops, however, cautioned Catholic devotees to remain "on guard so that the new COVID-19 vaccines do not desensitize us or weaken our determination to oppose the evil of abortion itself and the subsequent use of fetal cells in research."

On the Johnson & Johnson vaccine which had been approved in the U.S for use, Bishop Kevin Rhoades, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Committee on Doctrine, and Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann said in the joint statement that if given the ability to choose, recipients must choose other vaccines.

Following a pause by federal health agencies in the rollout of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, the Archdiocese of New Orleans advised parishioners to choose either Moderna or Pfizer in place of the former.

Breitbart noted Reuters report on Jake Sargent of Johnson & Johnson claim that their vaccines do not have "aborted fetal DNA." The report also provided an explanation on the necessity of using fetal cell lines in "the development, confirmation or production process of making vaccines - including the COVID-19 vaccine."

The report added that the fetal cell lines used by Johnson & Johnson were taken from the "retinal cells of an 18-week-old fetus aborted in 1985" and not from recent abortions.

Speaking on the moral acceptability of receiving such vaccines, the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Pediatricians, the Catholic Medical Association, and the Christian Medical and Dental Associations explained in a joint statement that Americans will not question their use if all approved vaccines were "fully ethical from development to production."

"Respect for life is foundational, and the exploitation of the unborn for vaccine production is a violation of basic human rights," they said.
The southern economic hub is mulling an VND8.2 trillion (US$356 million) investment for the renovation of Tham Luong  Ben Can  Rach Nuoc Len Canal to improve flooding situation in the upcoming rainy season.

Urban Infrastructure Construction Investment Project Management Authority of Ho Chi Minh City has proposed the implementation of the project, which involves infrastructure building and environment quality enhancement for the Tham Luong  Ben Can  Rach Nuoc Len Canal area, a key waterway that connects Ho Chi Minh City to other provinces of southern Vietnam.

The project includes the construction of a concrete dyke of 32.7 kilometer long, dredging of the canal bed, renovation of sewer gates that discharge into the canal, construction of 12 docking areas for boats, as well as construction of roads along the two banks.

The project is expected to improve the outlook of the urban area, plus boosting life quality for over two million people living in an area of 15,000 hectares along the canal.

It will also help mitigate inundation for seven districts of Ho Chi Minh City, including Binh Tan, Tan Phu, Tan Binh, Go Vap, Binh Thanh, Binh Chanh Districts, as well as District 12.

The management authority revealed that a sum of VND6.4 trillion ($277 million) is allocated for the construction, while the remainder will be spent on compensation and other expenses.

The VND8.2 trillion fund will be disbursed over five years from 2021 to 2015, with central budget chipping in VND4 trillion ($174 million), while the rest is covered by the citys public budget.

In their request to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, the urban infrastructure authority asked to be appointed as the lead investor of the project.

They also urged the municipal Peoples Committee and the Standing Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee to support the approval for the project from the Peoples Council in a meeting in late April.

Tham Luong Canal in Ho Chi Minh City is heavily polluted. Photo: Chau Tuan / Tuoi Tre

The renovation of Tham Luong  Ben Can  Rach Nuoc Len Canal is part of the Ho Chi Minh City Flood Risk Management Project, an initiative benefited from financial backing of the World Bank until 2017 and has faced struggles to find alternative funds since.

The first phase of the project, which includes canal bed dredging and land compensation, was completed.

As witnessed by a correspondent of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Thursday, the section of Tham Luong Canal in District 12 was severely polluted, with water turned black, garbage floating and pungent odor exuding.

The pollution continued as the correspondent went down the canal to Ward 13 of Go Vap District.

According to locals, more garbage will emerge during the rainy season, which serves as the breeding ground for mosquitoes.

We are counting days to when the canal is dredged, which will help improve the environment and get us better air quality, said Bui Kim Cuong, a 53-year-old resident of Ward 13 in Go Vap District.

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New Delhi, April 17 : The situation in the national capital is critical as the daily Covid-19 cases reached 24k on Saturday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said.

Kejriwal told mediapersons that shortage of oxygen has started in Delhi's hospitals due to the exponential surge of Covid -19 cases in the last week.

"Delhi is fast running out of beds, oxygen and the life-saving drug Remdesivir as Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours have reached 24,000 on Saturday. Cases have gone up really fast. That is why we are facing shortages even though everything seemed under control until a few days ago. But the speed at which this Corona is growing, no one knows where its peak will be," Kejriwal said in press conference on Saturday.

He asserted that any state's health infrastructure has limitations and Delhi isn't an exception to this. "The AAP Government is trying its best to increase the number of beds. I hope that we will be able to add 6,000 more beds in the next two to four days and all new beds will be added with oxygen sets," Kejriwal added.

He said that any government hospital that denies beds to Covid-19 patients despite having beds in the hospital would face tough punitive action.

"People have complained that they have been denied beds despite having availability of beds in the hospital. Government will take tough action against such acts. All district administrations has been directed to keep this under close observation," Kejriwal added.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
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CNN viewers are going to have to get used to waking up with someone new in the morning.

The WarnerMedia cable-news outlet on Monday launches its New Day a.m. franchise into a new era, with Brianna Keilar, who has gained notice over the past year with a take-no-prisoners demeanor on CNNs afternoon schedule, joining the versatile anchor John Berman. A new executive producer will oversee it all: Eric Hall will guide the action from behind the camera.

We will play to Brianna and Bermans strengths  being blunt, being candid, said Hall in an interview. Calling a spade a spade.

Since launching in 2013 near the start of the Jeff Zucker era at CNN, New Day has played no small role in pushing morning programs toward a tougher, in-your-face stance. The shows previous anchors, Alisyn Camerota and Chris Cuomo, didnt shy from interviews with government executives and analysts that sometimes became contentious  with CNN skipping commercial breaks to keep the unvarnished conversation flowing.

In the past, news producers often treated morning viewers as if they were fragile creatures in need of at least one cup of coffee before they could wade through grittier headlines. After a year of pandemic living, social protests and the 2020 election, however, viewers seem ready for stronger stuff.

Expect more of the same, said Hall. Our threshold for nonsense is really low.

Zucker has in the past described New Day as the program that helps set the tone for the rest of CNNs cycle. More people are watching the program  and CNN  than a few years ago. In the first quarter of 2021, New Day nabbed 796,000 viewers overall, its highest level since it launched. And it ended up in a virtual tie with Fox & Friends among the audience most coveted by advertisers, people between 25 and 54. MSNBCs Morning Joe led in both overall audience and viewers in the demo during the period.

Over the course of its history, however, New Day has faced challenges in outmaneuvering its two main rivals. Both the MSNBC and Fox News programs have kept their on-air teams largely intact over many years, with Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist holding forth for Joe since 2007 and Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade staying on the Friends curvy couch since 1998. CNN, meanwhile, has changed its morning strategy several times over the years.

New Day is driven by the news, said Hall, not the personalities who deliver it. We do a completely different show than the other morning shows, he said. We provide content and perspective on every story, and work to feature a lot more CNN talent, our reporters and people on the ground. We will essentially drive off of what they report. He expects the program, for example, to double down on interviews with prominent newsmakers.

While the Washington-based Keilar will hold forth for the next while with Berman in New York, CNN intends, eventually, to have the anchors host the program from different places. Keilar will eventually return to the nations capital, though there will be times when the hosts work side by side, said Hall. Its a situation CNN has tested with its mid-morning program led by Poppy Harlow and Jim Sciutto. Harlow is based in New York, while Sciutto often anchors from Washington. CNN has in recent months infused a larger part of its daytime schedule with its Washington staff.

Hall comes to mornings after driving new notice for CNN in the afternoons. He has supervised Keilars afternoon program, which has generated attention for fiery essay segments during which the anchor takes on disinformation and people who spread it. And he worked with Brooke Baldwin, the recently-departed afternoon anchor whose time at CNN took her from being parodied on Saturday Night Live to post-midnight stints with Don Lemon on New Years Eve (Hall has also produced some of CNNs coverage on that night.)

New shows are inevitably about the news and the anchors who report it, said Hall. I like to spotlight them. Mondays sunrise will bring new illumination to what the network can do early in the day.

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Scott Distler: Finding a way out of 'the cave'
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  The man accused of going on a shooting rampage at a Southern California business, killing four people, should not have been allowed to buy or own guns because of a California law that prohibits people from purchasing weapons for 10 years after being convicted of a crime.

Aminadab Gaxiola Gonzalez was convicted of battery in 2015, which should have kept him from possessing or buying guns or ammo at stores that conduct background checks. While its unclear how Gaxiola, 44, acquired the weapons used in the March 31 shooting, the tragedy raises concerns over Californias ability to enforce strict gun control laws, the Sacramento Bee reported on Friday,

Police say Gaxiola had targeted Unified Homes, the mobile home brokerage company in Orange, and had personal and business relationships with the victims. His estranged wife had worked in the business for more than 10 years as a broker assistant.

The shooting occurred nearly six years after Gaxiola pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery, which should have put him on the list prohibiting him from owning firearms for the next 10 years. The list is used during the states gun and ammunition background check process.

Two weeks after the mass shooting, police learned Gaxiola was not on the Prohibited Persons List, though he might still have been blocked from buying a gun during a standard background check, Orange Police Lt. Jennifer Amat said.

Detectives were still working on tracing the Glock semi-automatic handgun and ammunition, she said.

Its rare that a background check misses a prohibited person, or that a dealer would decide to still sell to a banned customer, said Steve Lindley, a former California Department of Justice Bureau of Firearms chief who now works as a program manager at the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Even with all the stopgaps in a very, very good system, Lindley said, people still acquire guns illegally.

Unfortunately, where you have strict gun laws, there will always be a market for illegal firearms, Lindley said. Because people want to get them one way or another.

California in 2016 became the first and only state in the nation to establish the Armed and Prohibited Persons System for tracking firearm owners who fall into a prohibited category based on their criminal histories or their risk to themselves or others.

The system is intended to prevent gun violence by blocking those deemed too risky to own a firearm from possessing a gun or buying one. Pulling records from several databases, the system is supposed to alert authorities when someone who once legally purchased a firearm is placed on the prohibited persons list.

Agents with the Department of Justice, which manages the states background check system, will then track a prohibited person to confiscate their weapons and ammunition. The agency says it lacks the staff to clear a backlog in cases  a problem officials noted became more pronounced because of staffing shortages caused by the pandemic.

Without knowing more about how Gaxiola got his handgun and ammunition, there are missing pieces to the story that are critical, to understanding whether he obtained it because of an institutional failure, said Dr. Garen Wintemute, an emergency medicine physician at UC Davis Medical Center, where he is the director of the Violence Prevention Research Program.

Gaxiola, 44, was charged with four murder counts and three attempted murder counts for firing at two officers who shot and wounded him when he fired at them with his handgun, and for critically wounding a woman. She was the mother of a 9-year-old boy who died in her arms.

Gaxiolas arraignment has been repeatedly postponed because he remains hospitalized and unable to communicate with his court-appointed attorneys.

Associated Press
Washington, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Apr, 2021 ) :President Joe Biden is delaying plans for a big expansion in the number of refugees allowed into the United States and will instead maintain the historically low ceiling of 15,000 people, a senior administration official said Friday.

Biden had previously said he wanted to allow up to 60,000 refugees to enter the country, but is keeping the strict limit set by his predecessor Donald Trump due to the need to "rebuild" the program and deal with pandemic-related complications, said the official, who asked not to be identified.
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Overview

The Global Bonded Abrasives Market was valued at around USD 19.8 billion in 2018 and is expected to register a CAGR of approximately 5.8% during the forecast period, 20192025.

Bonded abrasives are abrasives grains and fillers bonded together through bonding materials such as vitreous, resin, rubber, shellac, epoxy, magnesite, and others. Numerous improvements in tools and machinery processes have been made with the help of new abrasive grains and bond advancements to increase the performance of bonded abrasive products. The prime role is played by the bonding agent that holds the structural abrasives in a specific array giving uniqueness to every bonded adhesive. The bond offers high-strength and thermal-resistance for grinding and cutting, or it can be weak and thermal sensitive for polishing. Each product is made to serve a specific purpose, such as giving a precise finish, cutting, rough grinding, stock removal, and others.

Moreover, they have a significant demand in the different hand-held machines like angle grinders, vertical grinders, and petrol saws for cutting and grinding purposes. Additionally, the continuous advancement in technology and using machines in the industries over human labor has increased the demand for these machines in the industrial segment. Hence, propelling the growth of the global bonded abrasives market.

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Key Players

Some of the prominent players in the global bonded abrasives market are Saint-Gobain (US), 3M (US), Buffalo Abrasives Inc (US), Abrasives Manhattan, SA (Spain), Marrose Abrasives (UK), Grinding Techniques (Pty) Ltd (South Africa), SAK Abrasives Limited (India), Sia Abrasives Industries AG (Switzerland), Flexovit (US), Carborundum Universal Limited (India), Robert Bosch GmbH (Germany), NIPPON RESIBON CORPORATION (Japan), DRONCO GmbH (Germany), KWH Mirka (Finland), and Fujimi Incorporated (Japan).

Segmentation

The global bonded adhesive market report has been bifurcated into type, application, end-use industry, and region.

Based on type, the global bonded adhesive market has been divided into depressed center wheels, cup-shaped wheels, recessed or relieved wheels, and tapered body wheel.

Based on application, the global bonded adhesive market has been classified as precision grinding, cutting, rough grinding, fabrication, polishing, and others.

By end-use industry, the global bonded adhesive market has been segregated into automotive, marine, aerospace, construction, general metalworking, and others.

Regional Analysis

North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa are the region analyzed under the scope of the global bonded adhesive market.

Asia-Pacific holds the largest market share for bonded abrasives in 2018 and is expected to be the dominant region during the forecast period. This can be attributed to the rapid industrialization and booming automotive and construction industry there has been a massive demand of machinery for cutting, grinding, and polishing leading to high consumption of bonded adhesive in these industries. Hence, propelling the overall growth of bonded adhesive in the region.

Europe had the second-largest share in the global bonded adhesive market in 2018 and is expected to show positive growth during the forecast period. Europe has the largest automotive sector and needs machinery advancement for faster assembling of their products adding to the need of a significant quantity of bonded abrasives while manufacturing of their products, hence boosting the overall growth of the bonded adhesive in the regional market.

North America has a prominent market share in the global bonded adhesive market, driven by the automotive and aerospace segment. The applications of bonded abrasives in cutting, polishing, fabrication, and others it has a significant impact on the automotive and aerospace industry. According to the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), the aerospace market was estimated at USD 865 million in 2017, which is further expected to propel the growth of bonded abrasives market in the regional market.

The Middle East and Africa are expected to witness a composed growth in the bonded abrasives market which is accounted to the growing industrialization in the region leading to the high demand for bonded abrasives in the construction and general metalworking industry.

The Latin America region is expected to have a steady growth in the bonded abrasives market during the forecast period, owing to the strong growth in the automotive and marine industry.
Gardai have arrested a woman and seized 17,000 worth of including cocaine and cannabis following an operation in Dundalk, Co Louth yesterday, Friday 16th April 2021.

As part of an ongoing operations targeting criminal groups involved in the sale and distribution of illegal drugs, Gardai conducted a number of searches at locations in Dundalk on Friday evening.

In the course of the searches, Gardai seized approximately 17,000 worth of cocaine and cannabis, 1,300 in cash along with other drug related paraphernalia.

All of the drugs seized will be sent to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis.

A 30-year-old woman was arrested at taken to Dundalk Garda station where she is currently detained under the provisions of Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996.

The operation was carried out by Dundalk Drugs Unit assisted by Dundalk Detective Crime Unit and other members attached to Dundalk and Blackrock Garda Stations.

Gardai said the investigations are ongoing.
Image via Getty/Rosdiana Ciaravolo

Jeffree Star says hes staring down a long road to recovery.

The 35-year-old YouTuber took to social media on Friday to confirm he had been hospitalized after a severe car accident.

This morning was one of the scariest moments of our entire lives, Star wrote. Im so grateful to be here still. Im in excruciating pain because part of my back is broken and I have vertebrae fractures on my spine. My doctor said it will take a few months but I should make a full recovery.

According to TMZ, the accident occurred on Hat 6 Road in Wyoming at around 8:30 a.m. local time. Authorities say Star was behind the wheel of a Rolls Royce when it lost control due to the slushy conditions. Star confirmed the report in a series of tweets on Friday night, stating the vehicle had rolled over three times after hitting black ice.

Star and Lucas were reportedly wearing seatbelts at the time of the accidentand the Wyoming Highway Patrol says it doesnt appear that drugs or alcohol contributed to the crash.

My best friend Daniel has internal injuries and because he has survived colon cancer three times, hes having complications with his organs and theyre monitoring him 24/7, Star wrote.

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Star announced he was moving to Wyoming in late 2020 after purchasing a 70-acre ranch outside Casper. Shortly after the move, affair rumors began swirling around the influencer and Kanye West, who also owns a ranch in the Cowboy State. Star denied the reports in a YouTube video titled Addressing the Kanye Situation.

Im single. Im not sleeping with anyone, Star said. I like very tall men. Me and Kanye have never hung out, and this whole thing is really funny  How did we even get to this moment? How would that even be made up? Because we both live in the same state?

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Adam stopped by a wooden planked fence and turned his body sideways to the officer. Adam then whirled around with his hands up, and he was shot once in the chest. Police videos later showed a gun behind the fence. Prosecutors said gunshot residue was found on Toledos hand, and it also was on a pair of gloves found near his 21-year-old companion that night.
In the last few years, our love for International content has increased at a steady speed. While Anime and K-Dramas were always big, stories from around the world are now becoming an everyday day part of our lives.

While these shows and movies are exceptional pieces of art, they also give us a chance to look into a completely different culture from our own or the one we grew up watching in Bollywood and Hollywood.

But as an avid watcher, I always struggle with finding International content that allows me to watch and understand without using subtitles. In my search for a subtitle-free life, I stumbled across MX Players new content category called MX VDesi.

This large catalogue of shows gives viewers a chance to watch dubbed International shows in local languages every Wednesday that range across Korean, Australian, French, Turkish, Russian and Spanish shows. MX VDesi also helps binge-watchers like me have access to new and compelling content every week.

After launching shows like Dr. Romantic, Ad Vitam, Doctor Stranger, Black Out, The Choice and Pinocchio, MX VDesi has added two new shows this week.

Detective McLean

Most cop shows are all about police officers working hard to investigate and put together the pieces of a puzzle that solves some deadly crime. Others offer a little sneak peek into the personal lives of those serving on the force. Rarely, however, are both these angles meaningfully featured but that is about to be changed as MX Player is bringing viewers the best of both worlds with the Hindi dubbed version of the hit Australian show, Detective McLean.





Detective McLean revolves around Allison McLean (Kelli Williams), a tough and experienced police detective, mother and wife in suburban Seattle. When she and her police partner (Dion Johnstone) must arrest her brother (Luke Perry) for aggravated assault, her world drastically changes as hes convicted and sent to prison, leaving his two teenagers teetering on the brink of foster care. Ultimately, she takes them into her home, ending up with four teenagers to raise as well as her demanding job solving local crimes.

Coffee And Vanilla





This Japanese show is a love story between Risa Shiroki and Hiroto Fukami. Twenty-year-old Risa Shiroki comes to Tokyo from her hometown in the countryside to attend university. Pretty and popular with male students, she has never had a boyfriend and dreams of having a sweet love. One day, thirty-year-old Hiroto Fukami appears in front of her. He is a businessman who appears to be gentle and looks perfect. As romance blossoms between them, Risa discovers Hiroto's dark past.

So, this weekend, get hooked to all these amazing International stories without having to concentrate on subtitles only with MX Vdesi, exclusively on MX Player!


NEW YORK, April 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Commercial and military activities in the Arctic Ocean are hazardous to our global health. That's why Parvati Foundation has launched "Arctic Free".



The Arctic Ocean is our world's air conditioner and life support system, regulating the weather patterns that give all of us the food and water we need to survive. But it's melting to record lows, and Arctic Ocean temperatures are rising. According to the National Snow & Ice Data Center, during March, Arctic sea ice extent tracked well below average. In its place, deadly exploitation and militarization are rushing in.



At least 107 Arctic cruise tours are planned for this spring and summer, increasing ocean noise, polluting the air and water, breaking up the ice, and darkening the ice that remains to accelerate the melt. Some Arctic cruise ships are nuclear-powered, which add more heat into the warming waters, and also create the potential for a nuclear accident. Commercial fishing is looking to bottom trawl this vulnerable ecosystem, damaging the seabed and all marine life in its path. Commercial shipping is intensifying, with Arctic shipping on the Northern Sea Route increasing 430 percent in only three years. 80% of ships on this route are carrying oil and gas from huge fields in the Russian Arctic. The region is also being militarized with nuclear weapons to a level not seen since the Cold War. All of these activities threaten an already-vulnerable ecosystemone that must be preserved, not destroyed, so it can continue to support life on Earth.



As droughts and floods strike, crops fail. 25,000 people die of starvation every single day. According to the World Health Organization, every year, water-associated infectious diseases claim up to 3.2 million lives, and air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide. Globally, approximately 8,100 people lost their lives due to natural catastrophe events in 2020, of which at least 3,500 occurred due to prolonged monsoon flooding in Asia. As the Arctic Ocean already struggles to sustain us due to a drastic loss of ice, its exploitation comes at the cost of all life.



The all-volunteer international non-profit Parvati Foundation has launched Arctic Free, a campaign to mobilize public demand for an immediate end to commercial and military activity in the Arctic Ocean.



Arctic Free addresses all the exploitation that threatens the Arctic Ocean and, therefore, our world: oil and gas, commercial shipping and fishing, military activity, tourism, and dumping. It will also include an accreditation and certification process, similar to those for Dolphin Friendly Tuna or Non-GMO Verified, for businesses to show they do not participate in any of these deadly dangers to the world.



Arctic Free is part of Parvati Foundation's work to establish the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary (MAPS), which addresses 15 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. MAPS establishes the Arctic Ocean north of the Arctic Circle as the world's largest permanent marine protected area, free from all exploitation and militarization. At the same time, MAPS catalyzes an immediate global pivot to sustainable energy, and a paradigm shift from short-term greed to long-term good.



To support the swift realization of MAPS, Parvati Foundation took the unprecedented step of creating the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary Treaty as an addendum to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Treaty has been translated into all six official languages of the UN, distributed to all 193 member states, and brought every year since 2015 to the UN Conference of the Parties by volunteers at their own expense. It enters into force with the signatures of 99 states members of the UN or any of the specialized agencies, and has already been endorsed by two world leaders.



"How many more people will we allow to burn, to drown, to starve, or to die of disease before we commit to the action we urgently need to survive?" says Parvati Foundation Founder, CEO and visionary for MAPS, Parvati. "All life everywhere depends on Arctic sea ice. Its loss is already causing a chain reaction of suffering worldwide, affecting the safety and food security of multiple millions. We need MAPS now. Demand action for a healthy world by going Arctic Free."



Parvati Foundation urges everyone to get the Arctic Ocean facts and go Arctic Free at https://parvati.org/arctic-free.



Photos:

https://www.prlog.org/12866232



Press release distributed by PRLog

SOURCE Parvati Foundation
Amid the growing death toll across India due to COVID-19, Maharashtra Minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik on Saturday said that if the vaccination certificates carry Prime Minister Narendra Modi's photo, then the death certificates of the COVID victims should also carry his image.

He further stated that if the Prime Minister wants to take credit for vaccination then he should also take responsibility for COVID fatalities.

BCCL

"The way PM Modi's photo is put on vaccination certificates, we demand that PM's photo should be put on death certificates also. If they are taking credit for COVID19 vaccination, then, they will have to take responsibility for deaths too," the NCP leader told news agency ANI.

"As the number of COVID cases are rising in the country, the number of deaths are also increasing on large scale. The way videos are going viral that funeral sites are running out of space to accommodate the dead, and people are in queues. The Centre is answerable for the present situation arisen due to the circumstances and it cannot run away from answering it," Malik added.

The photo of Prime Minister Modi on the vaccine certificates has been controversial right from the outset.

BCCL

Many opposition parties, especially those states that had gone to the polls recently had protested against the use of PM Modi's image on the vaccine certificate, calling it an attempt to influence voters.

Reuters

On Friday 1,341 COVID-related deaths were reported in the country taking the death toll to 1,75,649. This was the highest single-day death toll in the country so far due to COIVD-19.
Sophia Antipolis - 17 April 2021: Elevated blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes increase the risk of heart disease. But a large study today reveals that in people with these conditions, increasing activity levels is associated with a reduced likelihood of heart events and mortality. The research is presented at ESC Preventive Cardiology 2021, an online scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1

Study author Dr. Esmee Bakker of Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands said: "Previous research showed that improvements in physical activity are beneficial to health. However, those studies were performed in the general population. In our study, we were interested to see if there were similar effects in individuals with cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes."

The study included 88,320 individuals from the LifeLines Cohort Study. Participants underwent a physical examination and completed questionnaires about their medical history and lifestyle including exercise. The questionnaires were repeated after approximately four years.

Study participants were divided into five groups according to activity levels at baseline and four years: large reduction, moderate reduction, no change, moderate improvement, and large improvement.2 Participants were followed-up for a median of seven years after the first assessment for the occurrence of cardiovascular disease or death.

A total of 18,502 (21%) individuals had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and/or diabetes at the start of the study. The average age of this group was 55 years. After adjusting for age, sex, and baseline physical activity, the researchers found that those with a moderate to large improvement in physical activity were around 30% less likely to develop cardiovascular disease or die during follow-up compared to those who did not change their activity level.

The remaining 69,808 (79%) participants did not have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes at the start of the study. The average age of this group was 43 years. After adjusting for age, sex, and baseline physical activity, the researchers found that those with large reductions in physical activity had a 40% higher risk of cardiovascular disease or death compared to those who did not change their activity level.

Dr. Bakker said: "Our study suggests that to prevent heart attacks and strokes and boost longevity, healthy individuals should maintain their physical activity levels, while those with risk factors need to become more active. The associations we found were even more pronounced in people who were relatively sedentary at the start of the study, indicating that inactive people have the most to gain."

To prevent heart disease, European guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous intensity aerobic physical activity or an equivalent combination.3

Dr. Bakker said: "If you are currently sedentary, walking is a good activity to start with. If you are already hitting the recommended amount, try doing 10 minutes more each day or increasing the intensity."

###

Authors: ESC Press Office

Tel: +33 (0)4 89 87 20 85

Mobile: +33 (0)7 8531 2036

Email: press@escardio.org

Follow us on Twitter @ESCardioNews

Notes to editor

Funding: The study was funded by the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, and the University of Groningen, the Netherlands.

Disclosures: None.

References and notes

1Abstract title: Impact of cardiovascular health status on the association between changes in physical activity and major cardiovascular events and mortality among 88,320 adults: outcomes of the Lifelines Cohort Study.

2Change in physical activity was based on weekly metabolic equivalent of task (MET)-minutes. When MET-minutes are translated to minutes of running per week (10 km/hour), the five groups are: large reduction (drop of at least 150 minutes), moderate reduction (25-150 minutes less), no change, moderate improvement (25-150 minutes more), large improvement (at least 150 minutes more).

3Piepoli MF, Hoes AW, Agewall S, et al. 2016 European Guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice. Eur Heart J. 2016:37:2315-2381.

About the European Association of Preventive Cardiology

The European Association of Preventive Cardiology (EAPC) is a branch of the ESC. Its mission is to promote excellence in research, practice, education and policy in cardiovascular health, primary and secondary prevention.

ESC Preventive Cardiology 2021, formerly EuroPrevent, is the leading international congress on preventive cardiology and the online annual congress of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology (EAPC) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

About the European Society of Cardiology

The European Society of Cardiology brings together health care professionals from more than 150 countries, working to advance cardiovascular medicine and help people lead longer, healthier lives.

Information for journalists about registration for ESC Preventive Cardiology 2021

ESC Preventive Cardiology 2021 takes place 15 to 17 April online. Explore the scientific programme.

* Free registration applies only to accredited press.

* Credentials: A valid press card or appropriate letter of assignment with proof of three recent published articles (cardiology or health-related or referring to a previous ESC event). Read the ESC media and embargo policy.

* The ESC Press Office will verify the documents and confirm by email that your press accreditation is valid.

* The ESC Press Office decision is final regarding all press registration requests.
April 17, 2021

Every day, when Ko Win Kyaw goes out to demonstrate against the Myanmar military, he carries his slingshot and a supply of rocks as ammunition. It is little help against the armys overwhelming firepower, but he says it gives him confidence and a way to strike back.

I know I cant defend myself with a slingshot, because Im facing people with guns, he said. When they shoot, I run.

Mr. Win Kyaw, 36, is one of many pro-democracy protesters who have started arming themselves with rudimentary weapons as they defy the military regime in Myanmar. What began as peaceful protests after the Feb. 1 coup rapidly grew into a resistance movement, with citizens defending themselves using slingshots, homemade air guns, old hunting rifles and firebombs.

In a statement this week, the United Nations High Commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, said the militarys brutal crackdown in the Southeast Asian nation had led to some individuals taking up arms, warning that the situation had echoes of Syria in 2011 and was heading toward a full-blown conflict.
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Global Anesthesia Drugs Market

The global anesthesia drugs market stood at USD 3.1 Bn in 2015 and is anticipated to catapult to USD 4.9 Billion by the end of 2022. As per the analysis of market Research Future (MRFR), the global anesthesia drugs market is likely to grow at a CAGR of 3.7% over the forecast period of 2015-2022.

Anesthesia drugs are used during surgeries for loss of sensation to alleviate pain. The rise in global surgical volume across the globe has added to the growth of the global anesthesia market. There has been an increase in the number of surgical procedures to manage diverse health conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, malignancy, infections, injuries, etc. Such operative procedures require anesthesia drugs for pain management and induce high demand for anesthesia drugs. Moreover, post-operative pain management is also likely to contribute to the growth of the global anesthesia drugs market.

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Rise in global geriatric population is another factor contributing to the growth of the global anesthesia drugs market. The elderly populace is at more risk of acquiring cardiovascular, respiratory and other degenerative changes which often requires surgical treatments which boosts the growth of the market.

Competitive Landscape

The global anesthesia drugs market is led by some prominent players such as

AstraZeneca PLC (BritishSwedish)

Baxter International Inc. (US)

Fresenius Se & Co. Kgaa (Germany)

Abbott Laboratories (US)

Hospira Inc. (US)

Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC (UK)

Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. (Switzerland)

and AbbVie Inc. (US).

Expanding healthcare sector in the emerging economies is expected to drive the market for anesthesia drugs. Growth in healthcare facilities would increase the number of surgeries in developing countries which would subsequently generate more demand for anesthetic drugs.

A high incidence rate of emergency medical procedures is also a crucial factor in driving the market for anesthesia drugs. Besides, the rise in the number of cosmetic surgeries, and dental procedures also add fuel to the growth of the market.

Segmentation

Anesthesia Drugs Market has been segmented based on type of anesthesia, type of drugs and route of administration.

By type of anesthesia, the market has been segmented into general anesthesia, regional anesthesia, and others.

By type of drugs, the market has been segmented into general anesthetics, local anesthetics, and others.

By route of administration, the market has been segmented into inhalation, intravenous, and others.

Advancements in anesthesia drugs in terms of improved efficiency, additional and new mode of administration and decreased price has considerably augmented the growth of the market. However, the growth of the market might be hindered by side effects associated with anesthesia drugs such as temporary confusion, hallucination, elevation in heart rate and blood pressure, amnesia and memory loss, which is more prevalent in elderly patients. Other side effects include nausea, vomiting, sore throat, bladder problems, sleepiness, and others. Lack of skilled anesthesiologist is another crucial factor which might restrain the growth of the anesthesia drugs market.

Regional Analysis

The Americas (North America & South America), Europe, Asia Pacific, and the rest of the world (RoW) are the key markets for anesthesia drugs. The Americas is the largest market for anesthesia drugs led by North America. Advanced medical facilities, growing geriatric population, the prevalence of chronic diseases and rise in a number of surgical procedures drive the market in the Americas. Moreover, the presence of key players in the region also contributes to the growth of the market.

Europe is the second largest market led by Germany, Italy, Spain, France, and the UK. Asia Pacific is slated to be the fastest growing market for anesthesia drugs. Expansion of medical facilities in the region coupled with high demand for medical facilities in the region assists the growth of the market in Asia Pacific.

Intended Audience:

Hospitals and Clinics

Anesthesia Drugs manufacturers and suppliers

Government and Independent Regulatory Authorities

Research and Development (R&D) Companies

Market Research and Consulting Service Providers

Medical Research Laboratories

Potential Investors

Browse Complete Premium Research Report enabled with TOC at https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/anesthesia-drugs-market-2508

Study objectives:
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  Two Roswell officers and a Chaves County deputy opened fire on a man Thursday night during a foot chase in Roswell, according to New Mexico State Police.

State Police spokesman Mark Soriano said Victor Barron, 22, was killed in the incident. No deputies or officers were injured.

He said around 11:30 p.m. a Chaves County Sheriffs Office sergeant tried to pull over Barron near Matthews and Main. Barron fled the traffic stop in a pickup truck.

Soriano said Roswell police used spike strips on the truck and Barron got out of the truck and a short foot pursuit began.

He said Barron brandished a gun before two Roswell officers and a CCSO deputy fired at least one round. Barron was struck by gunfire and later died.

This investigation remains active and open and is being led by the New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau. Soriano said. The details of the shooting remain under investigation.

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Liam Scarlett, a British choreographer who won early acclaim both at home and internationally for his ballets, died on Friday at his home in Ipswich, England. He was 35.

His death was confirmed in a statement from his family that did not specify a cause.

Mr. Scarlett, who was a dancer with the Royal Ballet in London before becoming its artist in residence in 2012, was suspended by the company in August 2019 in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct involving students at the Royal Ballet School. An independent seven-month investigation had found no matters to pursue, but Mr. Scarlett left his position in March 2020.

On Friday, the Royal Danish Ballet canceled a production of Mr. Scarletts ballet Frankenstein, due to be performed in spring 2022, following allegations of misconduct on his part toward members of the Royal Danish Ballet staff in 2018 and 2019.

Mr. Scarletts sudden downfall  in early 2020 he also lost a position as artistic associate at the Queensland Ballet in Australia  was as abrupt as his rise to choreographic fame. He created his first work for the Royal Ballet, Asphodel Meadows, in 2010, when he was 24 and still a member of the corps de ballet. It was immediately acclaimed as evidence of a major new talent.
For me I look around my community and I see people who are having to stop and go with their work and businesses on a monthly basis, if not weekly. This causes many costs that the average person does not see, as it costs to both stop and restart each time your job or business faces interruptions. I personally have not seen enough evidence to support the continuation of travel restrictions within Canada, much less making more of them. It seems to me our health authority keeps doubling down on bad bets and at this point they are so committed to their course that they dare not admit errors in their choices or change direction. This has become a political and social reaction to covid 19 and not one based on common sense and what we are seeing on the ground. We have tried a few approaches and that has done little to nothing empirically speaking to change the numbers as they have promised all these concessions would accomplish. We have imposed in my mind a patch work of travel restrictions that have the clarity of mud and the flexibility of a stone in my view. Once they are shown to not work or to be less than effective the response is to dig a deeper hole and keep going.



Exposures are something that we just have to get used too as part of life going forwards, preventing movement hurts areas and people far more than anything so far in my mind from the virus itself. We have kept imposing more and more rules and all I have seen it do the exact opposite of what they want it to accomplish by implementing them. Let people have the individual choice of how they want to handle this and focus practical resources on elderly, care homes, and those that come into hospitals. It really seems to me we are making this into if you don't agree with the restrictions, you are somehow against common sense. I think we forget that as individuals people are pretty bright and make choices that are best for them and that work for them. People as a group are usually pretty panicky and subject to a lot of knee jerk reactions, with very little positive benefit in situations like this. So if travel makes sense for someone whatever their reasons, that is their choice. I think health authorities need to take a step back and if measures are not working, to not continue to use and ratchet them up even further.





Shawn Hathaway
Kohima, April 17 : The Nagaland government in consultation with all the stakeholders would prepare a Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN) to protect the indigenous people and their traditional life and culture, officials said on Saturday.

Addressing a consultative meeting with the Civil Society Organisations (CSO) and Tribal Hohos on RIIN late on Friday, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio said that the state has the legitimate right to formulate its own laws and regulations for the interest and protection of its citizens.

He said that the identification of indigenous people among the Nagas of Nagaland is not a problem due to the involvement of the village councils, but identification of indigenous Nagas in other states is a problem, citing the examples of Sikkim, Tripura and Assam where, he said, the indigenous people have now become a minority in their own states.

The Chief Minister said that each tribe shall have its own village, and regional and tribal councils in order to deal with the issues pertaining to violating customary laws and usages. He added that such councils are legal and mandated by the Constitution by an Act.

Opposition leader T.R. Zeliang in his speech highlighted the progress and current position of the Naga political issue after the recent meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

He said that Shah in his meeting with the Chief Minister, opposition leader, ministers and advisors had said that there cannot be any compromise on the issue of constitution and the flag.

Zeliang had told the Home Minister that "unless the Naga political issue is solved, it is not possible for the Naga society to move ahead for progress and development".

Nagaland Deputy Chief Minister Yanthungo Patton said that the RIIN will aim to strengthen the entire process for issuance of indigenous inhabitant certificates to protect the rights and privileges of the indigenous inhabitants of the state.

To undertake the works of preparing the RIIN, a joint consultative committee headed by the Nagaland Home Commissioner was formed in the consultative meeting.

The meeting also decided to constitute sub-committees at the district level with the Deputy Commissioners as the convenors.

According to officials, the main purpose of RIIN is to identify the citizens who settled in Nagaland prior to December 1, 1963, the day the mountainous region became a full-fledged state. Once the process is completed, persons whose names are included in the RIIN would be issued indigenous inhabitant certificates.

Of Nagaland's two million population, over 86 per cent are tribals from 16 major tribes and several sub-tribes.

All the tribes have their own festivals which they hold sacrosanct and require compulsory participation. Nagas and other tribes celebrate their distinct seasonal festivals with a pageantry of colour and a feast of music.

Each tribe in Nagaland has its own dialect. There are about 60 different spoken dialects which belong to the Tibeto-Burman family of languages and dialects. These dialects have no script of their own.

Tribes speak to each other in Nagamese, an amalgamation of various other dialects.
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, has renounced his past controversial comments on terrorist groups including Tal...





Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, has renounced his past controversial comments on terrorist groups including Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

The minister said he was young when he made the radical comments, adding that he is now mature and now knows better.

He spoke while answering questions during his daily Ramadan lecture at Annor Mosque in Abuja on Saturday.

For 15 years, I have moved round the country while educating people about the dangers of terrorism. I have traveled to Katsina, Gombe, Borno, Kano states and Difa in Niger Republic to preach against terrorism.

I have engaged those with Boko Haram ideologies in different places. I have been writing pamphlets in Hausa, English and Arabic. I have managed to bring back several young persons who have derailed from the right path.

Some of the comments I made some years ago that are generating controversies now were based on my understanding of religious issues at the time, and I have changed several positions taken in the past based on new evidence and maturity.

I was young when I made some of the comments; I was in university, some of the comments were made when I was a teenager. I started preaching when I was 13, many scholars and individuals did not understand some of international events and therefore took some positions based on their understanding, some have come to change their positions later, Daily Trust quoted Pantami as saying.

It was reported that Pantami has come under fire over his alleged link with terrorist groups, with many Nigerians calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the minister.

The Nigerian Twitter community also said the minister could not be trusted with the data of Nigerians, especially with the ongoing National Identification Number and Subscriber Identity Module integration exercise under his watch.

In a viral video recorded many years ago which was later confirmed by his lawyer, Michael Numa, the minister was seen engaging the late Boko Haram leader, Mohammed Yusuf, in a public debate.

Pantami, an Islamic scholar, according to Peoples Gazette, also once declared that he was always happy when infidels were massacred.

Peoples Gazette said Pantamis comments were contained in three audio recordings of his teachings in the 2000s, when he took extreme positions in support of the brutal exploits of Al Qaeda and Taliban elements on a campaign to obliterate the West and conquer other parts of the world.

But the minister in his latest interview said his statements were misconstrued, rejecting affiliations with terror groups.

The hashtag #PantamiResign has since been trending online. The supporters of the minister have also come up with a counter-hashtag  #PantamiWillStay.
Where do you live? For most people, thats an easy question to answer when the census comes around. Its much harder for those locked up in a state or federal prison, often hundreds or even thousands of miles from the place they last called home.

Longstanding Census Bureau policy is to count people as residing wherever they usually eat and sleep, known as the usual residence rule. For prisoners, that means being counted in the legislative districts where they are incarcerated.

But that makes no sense, because virtually everyone who goes to prison comes from somewhere else, and almost all will return there after being released. While they are behind bars, they cant vote, nor do they have any attachment to the local community or its elected officials. They are counted, even though they cant hold their representatives accountable.

The result is one of the more persistent and pernicious distortions in the redistricting process, known as prison gerrymandering. Now that the 2020 census count is over, and the nation begins its decennial struggle over how to draw new congressional and other legislative district lines  and who gains or loses political power as a result  its a good time to talk about how we can get rid of prison gerrymandering at last.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 00:32:58|Editor: huaxia

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DAR ES SALAAM, April 16 (Xinhua) -- At least three people were killed and over 150 houses were submerged by flash floods caused by ongoing heavy rain in Tanzania's southern highlands, a senior official said on Friday.

Albert Chalamila, the Mbeya regional commissioner, appealed to residents in affected wards in Kyela district to move from lower ground to higher ground as the rain continued to hit the district.

Chalamila said most of the affected people had constructed their houses along a stream of water passing through Mwaya, Tenende, Luloje and Mbaka wards.

Chalamila said the government will not be responsible for the victims because they were told many years back that the area was unsuitable for settlement.

"The government will not provide relief supplies to the victims because they were told that they should not construct houses along the stream of water," said the official. Enditem
Fiona H. on Yelp

Over the years, the only thing I ever knew about the Secret Sidewalk  a nickname given to the defunct Sunol Aqueduct in Fremont  was that its a place best known for trespassing. Ive lived near Fremont my whole life, but the Secret Sidewalk had always been somewhat of an enigma. If you look at photos online, youll find a slew of eerie images of a graffiti-covered path that mysteriously emerges through the hillsides off Niles Canyon Road. I knew there was more to the story but never anticipated the dark history it concealed.

The first thing I wanted to know was what was it about the Secret Sidewalk that fascinated locals? I tapped the shoulder of a longtime Newark resident who looked back on her teenage years during the 1970s. She seemed to beam as she shared the stories of carefree nights driving down Fremont Boulevard and sneaking off to the Secret Sidewalk with her friends.
Press Release

April 17, 2021 Pangilinan appeals to Malacanang: Hold dialogue with hog raisers SENATOR Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan appeals to President Duterte to sit down in a dialogue with leaders of hog-raisers groups to better understand their plight and put in place the right solutions to save the local industry. "Sabi ng mga hog raisers sa Senate hearing kahapon, walang nag-consult sa kanila. Baka pag narinig at nalaman ng Presidente ang sitwasyon ng African swine fever mismo sa mga magbababoy, ma-ideklara na niya agad ang state of calamity, at siya na mismo ang mag-rescind ng EO 128," said Pangilinan, referring to the Executive Order temporarily lowering tariff rates on imported pork. "We believe the President is not deaf and blind to the woes of our local hog raisers. If he talks to them, he would see the reality on the ground," said the former food security secretary, noting that local hog-raisers' advocates have written Malacanang at least twice seeking an audience with the President. Battered for years by the African swine fever, local hog raisers are mired in a sorry situation worsened by neglect and wrong government decisions like massive pork importation, Pangilinan said. "Willing silang makipagtulungan, pero kailangan nila na makinig ang gobyerno sa kanilang mga panukala para masolusyunan itong problema ng ASF (Local hog raisers are willing to cooperate, but they need government to listen to their proposed way out of this quandary)," he added. On Thursday, April 15, the Senate Committee of the Whole unanimously approved a resolution calling on the President to withdraw his EO 128. The local industry, as well as lawmakers and various groups, have opposed the order, saying it will spell doom on the Filipino hog raisers and will not necessarily lead to lower prices in the market. Alleged smuggling anomalies of imported pork have also been around for years and remains unsolved. The ASF outbreak that started in September 2019 has already cost the Philippine hog industry at least 58 billion pesos and has limited supply of fresh pork in the market causing a spike in prices, according to the Department of Agriculture. Pangilinan lamented that after over a month since he called for the declaration of a state of calamity to properly address the situation, the government's Economic Cluster has yet to issue its position on the matter. "Matatapos ang pagdurugo ng industriya sa agaran at tamang pagtutok sa problema; at nasagip na sana ang ating mga magbababoy sa kalagayan nila ngayon (What would stop the bleeding of the industry is prompt and correct attention; it would have rescued our local hog raisers from the mire they are in right now)," he said. "Sana'y pakinggan tayo ng Pangulo na magkaroon ng dialogue, nang masolusyunan na ang kanilang hinaing at nang buhayin muli ang agriculture sector para self-sufficient tayo sa pagkain kahit may pandemya (We hope the President will heed this call for a dialogue to once and for all address their woes and help revive the agriculture sector toward food self-sufficiency amid the pandemic)," Pangilinan added.
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The Nigerian military on Friday said the two soldiers who were arrested in Zamfara State for allegedly aiding banditry will be punished if found guilty.

The spokesperson, Defence Headquarters, Muhammad Yerima, told PREMIUM TIMES that the military will not allow the activities of a few bad eggs among its personnel discredit the institution.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported how the Zamfara State Government in March announced the arrest of a soldier and his girlfriend for allegedly supplying ammunitions and military uniforms to bandits in the state.

The state government, however, at the time did not provide details of the alleged incident, saying it was waiting for the military authorities to do so.

Also, in another incident on Friday, the states governor, Bello Matawalle, suspended the district head of Badarawa in Shinkafi Emirate Council, Surajo Namakkah, for conferring a traditional title on a military officer accused of selling ammunition to bandits in the state.

Mr Matawalles media aide, Yusuf Idris, in a statement, said the soldier was found with 20 rounds of 62mm live ammunition at the point of delivery to the criminals.

The suspect was said to be at the point of handing over the ammunition to one Kabiru Bashiru, a resident of Maniya village, Shinkafi Emirate, and had allegedly collected an advance payment of N100,000 from bandits, the official said.

Mr Yerima, a brigadier-general, said the military will not treat the two issues lightly.

Definitely, those arrested with such crime will be discipline, there is no two ways about this, he said.
Police in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City said on Friday that they were investigating a case where a man living in Phu Nhuan District had collapsed to his death after being robbed of his cellphone on a sidewalk on the previous night.

According to preliminary information, H.Q.M., 61, hailing from southern Soc Trang Province, stopped his motorbike by the sidewalk near Buu Dien apartment building on Ly Thuong Kiet Street in District 10 to use his cellphone on Thursday night.

At that time, two young men on another motorbike approached M. from behind and the man on the pillion snatched M.s phone before they accelerated and escaped.

M. then got off his motorbike and walked back and forth for a few minutes.

When he got back on the motorbike to start it, all of a sudden, he and the motorbike both fell down the road.

M. then lied unconscious.

Despite being given emergency treatment, M. died later on the day.

Receiving the report of the case, police officers arrived at the scene to examine the victims body, record witness statements, and collect camera footage.

With professional measures, the competent force managed to arrest two young men suspected of stealing M.s phone that night.

The police are also clarifying information that during the process of stealing the phone, the robbers sprayed tear gas at M. to prevent the victim from chasing after them.

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New Delhi:

Amitabh Bachchan- the star of the millennium, the Shahenshah of Hindi film industry is celebrating his 75th birthday this year.

Amitabh Bachchan turns 75

Indeed it is no less than a festival for the Bachchan fans who have time and again proved their love for the megastar. However, 35 years ago there came a time when the world for these Bachchan fans came to a standstill. A time when a momentary, simple movement of a hand shook the world, and almost brought the entire country to a standstill.

Amitabh Bachchan turns 75

Puneet Issar, the name reverberated and hounded the lovers and fans of the superhero that was battling for his life in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Bombay's Breach Candy Hospital.



Amitabh Bachchan, the invincible, one man army, and one man industry was shooting for the very successful producer/director Manmohan Desai, with whom he had delivered mega hits before Coolie (1983).

Amitabh Bachchan turns 75

It happened on July 26, 1982. The setting was Bangalore University campus. It was during the shooting of a fight sequence of Coolie that Amitabh Bachchan bore the brunt of a mistimed punch that came from the newcomer Puneet Issar which ruptured his intestine.



It was the punch that nearly killed Bachchan.



Each and every single soul that was praying for the speedy recovery of their hero was cursing the villain in the same vein.

Amitabh Bachchan turns 75

Amitabh was rushed to St. Philomena's Hospital and an emergency surgery was performed. Later, he was then flown to Mumbai and admitted to Breach Candy Hospital where he went into a "haze and coma-like situation", and was "clinically dead for a couple of minutes" as told by the man himself.



As he recalls, "I went into almost a haze and a coma-like situation. Within five days of coming into Breach Candy, I had another surgery and didn't come out of that one for a very very long time and I was clinically dead for a couple of minutes. Then Dr Wadia, who looked after me and is an absolute life-saver, just said "I'm going to take a last chance" and he started pumping cortizone injections into me one after another almost, 40 ampules of it, with the hope that something would happen and then I got revived."

Amitabh Bachchan turns 75

Just imagine the aura that Amitabh carried that the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visited him and kissed him on the forehead and his childhood friend, son of the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi canceled a trip to the United States to be with him.



Thousands of common people turned up to offer any part of their body that could save his life and people camped outside Breach Candy Hospital waiting impatiently to hear the latest health bulletins.

Amitabh Bachchan turns 75

Doordarshan and All India Radio had special slots to break the news about his health. This kind of media coverage was witnessed only once before when Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States was shot and wounded by John Hinckley Jr. in Washington, DC on March 30, 1981.



Amitabh Bachchan resumed shooting on 7 January 1983.



He requested director Manmohan Desai to freeze the fight scene during which he got injured and flash a message marking the scene as the one in which he was injured.



Coolies ending was also changed. The original script had his character being killed but after the injury-and-recovery episode, Manmohan Desai decided to change the ending. The modified ending has the hero recover after his operation.

Amitabh Bachchan turns 75

There is an interesting episode to this saga. Amitabh Bachchan received a late night call from Smita Patil, the night he had this accident. "I was in Bangalore shooting for Coolie once. Late into the night at around 2 am I received a call in my hotel room. The receptionist informed me that it was Smita Patil on the line. I was shocked as I had never spoken or talked to her at such a time. Thinking that it would be an important one, I answered.



"Smita asked me if I was alright and in good health. I answered yes and she said that she just had a bad dream about me and that's the reason behind calling up so late in the night. The next day I had my accident," he said.



His friends and well-wishers from the industry stood by him and his family.

Amitabh Bachchan turns 75

Bachchan received 60 bottles of blood from 200 donors, one of whom was carrying the Hepatitis B virus. Even though he recovered from the injury but discovered in 2000 that the virus had resulted in liver cirrhosis, which damaged about 75 percent of his liver.



And yes, talking about Puneet Issar, the poor chap was completely overwhelmed by the whole situation and guilt-ridden. When Amitabh recovered a bit and learned about it he requested Manmohan Desai to bring Puneet to the hospital. There was a deluge of fans and media when Puneet visited Breach Candy.

Amitabh Bachchan turns 75

Amitabh comforted a visibly shaken Puneet and in spite of his own fragile condition walked out of the room with his arm over Puneets shoulder in full view of the press and fans.



That's the mettle that has made him the BIG B!
Mumbai: Sonu Sood on Saturday said he has tested positive for Covid-19 and is currently under quarantine, nearly ten days after receiving the vaccine.

The actor was recently made the brand ambassador for Punjab's anti-coronavirus vaccination programme.

Sonu SoodSood had also met Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, on April 10.

The 47-year-old actor, who catapulted to the national spotlight for helping migrants reach their home states during the nationwide lockdown last year, said he will continue his work for those in need.

"This is to inform you that I have tested positive this morning for Covid-19. As a part of precautions, I have already quarantined myself and taking utmost care.

"But don't worry, this gives me ample time to solve your problems. Remember, I'm always there for you all," Sood tweeted.

The actor had received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine on April 7.
13 Apr 2021

Military.com | By Gina Harkins

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."












Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-16 12:08:30|Editor: huaxia

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An Afghan boy sells water at a graveyard where a number of war victims have been buried in Kabul, Afghanistan, on April 16, 2021. U.S. President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that all U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan before Sept. 11, a decision to end the longest war in American history. Since entering Afghanistan in October 2001, the U.S. troops have caused more than 30,000 civilian deaths, injured more than 60,000 and made about 11 million people become refugees. (Photo by Rahmatullah Alizadah/Xinhua)

by Shi Xiantao, Abdul Haleem

KABUL, April 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that all U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan before Sept. 11, a decision to end the longest war in American history.

Since entering Afghanistan in October 2001, the U.S. troops have caused more than 30,000 civilian deaths, injured more than 60,000 and made about 11 million people become refugees.

As the security situation in Afghanistan remains complicated and terrorism keeps festering, analysts deem the U.S. decision as irresponsible and warn against an intensifying civil conflict and more rampant terrorist acts.

IRRESPONSIBLE DECISION

Worrying about deteriorating domestic situation, some high-ranking officials in Afghanistan publicly expressed their disappointment with the U.S. decision to withdraw troops without establishing a peace process.

"The withdrawal of these forces is a desire of the Afghan people, but at the moment, the conditions have not been made for this to happen. There is a possibility of the return of civil war," said Mir Rahman Rahmani, speaker of the lower house of the Afghan parliament.

The Afghan people generally believed that the United States should help Afghanistan to establish a strong government and reduce armed conflicts, but it failed to deliver on its promises and harmed the interests of the Afghan people.

Kabul resident Mohammad Ayub expressed concern that the pull-out of U.S. forces could lead to factional fighting in Afghanistan, as many armed groups and warlords still exist in the country.

"It risks civil war, ethnic cleansing, partition and terrorist sanctuary -- all just to bring home a few thousand troops, before a peace process is even attempted," Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Michael O'Hanlon told Xinhua.

The United States decided to withdraw its troops without substantial progress in the peace talks, said Zhu Yongbiao, director of the Research Center for Afghanistan at China's Lanzhou University.

Under the current circumstances, a complete withdrawal of U.S. troops will further aggravate the political chaos in Afghanistan and, at the same time, worsen the security situation. The internal conflict in Afghanistan is likely to intensify and eventually turn into civil war, said Zhu.

MORE RAMPANT TERRORISM

Noting that the United States has achieved counterterrorism objectives in the war, Biden said, "It is time for American troops to come home."

However, Afghans believe that the United states, instead of eradicating terrorism, has been cultivating and using various extreme terrorist organizations in Afghanistan to serve its own interests, and after the U.S. troops withdrawal, terrorism will become more rampant.

According to Afghan media reports, al-Qaida is currently operating in 18 provinces across the country.

"The United States invaded Afghanistan to diminish terrorists but the terrorist groups are more powerful than the past," Farakh Shah, a Kabul resident, told Xinhua.

"The United States, as a big power, is not a reliable friend, because over the past 20 years it has failed to win the war on terror," another Afghan resident Mohammad Iqbal said.

Noting the United States has decided to withdraw when militant groups in Afghanistan are active, Afghan expert Shamsul Haq Arianfar said it will complicate the security situation in the country. Enditem

(Matthew Rusling also contributed to the story.)
Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong returned to prison on Thursday after an appendectomy and recuperating in a private hospital for 27 days.

Lee suffered a perforated appendix on March 17 and underwent surgery. He had a high fever two days before the surgery but apparently endured the pain because he did not want "special treatment."

He was diagnosed with appendicitis by a prison doctor and taken to nearby Hallym University Medical Center but then transferred to Samsung Medical Center in Seoul for surgery as an emergency room doctor worried that his appendix could rupture.

Doctors had to remove a portion of his large intestine, which had become infected by the perforated appendix. He was scheduled to be released from hospital last week but had to spend more time recovering because his wound had not healed fully.

Sources say he lost 7 kg due to a persistent fever and inability to eat solid foods after surgery. Some of his doctors advised Lee to stay longer in hospital, but Lee insisted on returning to jail.
Apr. 16A Spokane neonatal physician is facing federal allegations he tried to have his estranged wife kidnapped by a hired criminal, using Bitcoin to pay the bounty.

Dr. Ronald Craig Ilg is charged with attempted kidnapping, a federal offense that carries a potential 20-year prison term. FBI investigators were tipped by the woman, who was herself informed of the kidnapping plot by the crew of an unnamed international news organization investigating the so-called "dark web."

The woman turned over text messages in which she accused Ilg of trying to hire someone by placing bitcoin in an escrow account to carry out a seven-day kidnapping, to coincide with Ilg leaving for a trip to Mexico last weekend. The person, according to a posting made to a "dark web" website found by investigators, was to take the woman and was instructed to meet several "goals" in order to receive bonus payments.

Ilg denied the allegations during an FBI interview, according to court records.

Those goals included making sure the woman did not tell anyone about the kidnapping, and force her to inject heroin twice a day with photographic evidence.

The dark web is an area of the internet that is encrypted and more difficult to search.

In addition, investigators allege Ilg tried to hire someone to break the hands of a different woman, a former employee, whom he didn't like, also using the dark web and agreeing to pay with cryptocurrency.

"The target should be given a significant beating that is obvious. It should injure both hands significantly or break the hands," the posting on the website, tied by investigators to Ilg, reads. The posting also indicates roughly $2,000 in bitcoin would be placed in escrow to pay for the assault.

The postings include instructions for the kidnapping that, if the woman's coworkers or friends raised questions, she "could say she has COVID and is quarantined." The post included an assurance that $40,000 would be made available in bitcoin to pay for the kidnapping, according to court records.

Story continues

The FBI on Sunday discovered evidence at Ilg's home in Otis Orchards of online negotiations to kidnap the woman, inject her with heroin and force her to drop "court proceedings" against him.

That same day, under questioning by FBI agents at the Spokane International Airport as he returned from Mexico, Ilg said he used a disposable phone to contact the would-be kidnapper, but that the phone had been discarded in a pool at a Mexican resort. He was with yet another woman on his Mexico trip.

Ilg also told authorities that he'd tried to hire the person as a way of committing suicide, so that his assets would transfer to the woman who accompanied him to Mexico, not his estranged wife.

The next day, Spokane County Sheriff's deputies responded to Ilg's home on reports of an assault. The deputies found Ilg with a black eye and 46 missing Xanax pills. Nearby was a note addressed to the estranged wife and the woman he went to Mexico with, signed by Ilg.

"I am about to drift off to sleep. I pray that God forgives me," the note read.

Ilg was listed in custody of the Spokane County Jail on Friday evening. An attorney was not listed in court records.

Ilg has been a licensed physician and surgeon in Washington since September 2003, according to state medical records.
New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday (April 17) slammed the central government for its "gross unpreparedness" and "adhocism" in tackling the COVID-19 crisis. Chairing a meet of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), Gandhi said that despite a year to prepare, Centre is caught off guard as the second wave of coronavirus hit.

I held detailed discussion with CMs of States ruled by Congress and where Congress is in alliance government, to take stock of the situation there. What transpired was, gross unpreparedness and avoidable adhocism on part of Modi govt in foreseeing and managing COVID crisis, the Congress supremo was quoted as saying by ANI.

Discussing ways of dealing with the coronavirus crisis, Gandhi demanded that the government should reduce the immunization age to 25 years from the current 45 years.

Gandhi also accused the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Centre of "thundering silence" on requests of states ruled by the Congress and opposition parties, while giving preferential treatment to others.

In the CWC meet attended by former party chief Rahul Gandhi, general secretaries, other permanent invitees and state in-charges of the party, the Congress chief stated that COVID-19 pandemic is a national challenge that should be kept above party politics.

"We have extended our hands of cooperation right from February-March, 2020. We cannot, however, lose sight of the fact that the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the country with fury. Despite a year to prepare, we have, regrettably, been caught off guard again," Gandhi was quoted as saying by PTI.

Hitting back at the Union Ministers, Gandhi said that instead of paying heed to the suggestions by the opposition, the Centre is busy attacking them for giving those suggestions. This convoluted 'me versus you' debate is childish and totally unnecessary," Gandhi stated.

Taking on these challenging times as Indians rather than as political opponents will be true 'Rajadharma', she added.

(With inputs from agencies)

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The Athens exhibit, Lost in the Weeds: Climate Change and Human Nature will launch its opening reception on April 17 from 6-8 p.m. at ATHICA. Following its opening reception, the exhibition will be open to all with free admission through May 22. (Courtesy/ATHICA)
Chennai, April 17 : Tamil movie comedian and Padma Shri recipient Vivekh passed away on Saturday at a private hospital here. He was 59.

He was admitted to SIMS Hospital on Friday morning after showing "acute coronary syndrome with cardiogenic shock".

Vivekh who was in a critical condition was put on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) support, the hospital said.

Vivekh was brought to the emergency ward of the hospital in an unconscious state at about 11 a.m. on Friday by his family members, the hospital said.

The hospital said that he was resuscitated in the emergency room by specialists and later underwent an emergency coronary angiogram followed by an angioplasty.

According to the doctors, Vivek had complained to his family members about chest pain.

Condoling his death, Telangana Governor and Lt.Governor of Puducherry Tamilisai Soundararajan said Vivekh through his comedy dialogues had spread good social messages and earned the sobriquet "Chinna Kalaivanar" or Little Kalaivanar (Late Tamil movie comedian N.S. Krishnan had the sobriquet Kalaivanar) and was also an environmentalist in planting lakhs of tree saplings.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K.Palaniswami in his condolence message said that it was shocking to hear about the Vivekh's death.

With his incomparable service the passing away of Vivekh is a big loss for the movie and the social service sectors, Palaniswami said.

DMK President M.K. Stalin said that Vivekh by his distinctive style offered comedy and social message.

PMK Founder S. Ramadoss said that Vivekh's death is unbelievable. He was socially and environmentally conscious and was instrumental in planting lakhs of tree saplings.

Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) leader M.H. Jawahirullah in his condolence message said that Vivekh had sowed good thoughts and constructive actions in people's minds.

In a tweet Rajinikant said that he was greatly pained at close friend Vivekh's death. He will not forget each and every day during the shooting of the movie Sivaji.

Several movie actors and fans are paying homage to the mortal remains of Vivekh at his residence here.

Vivekh born as Vivekanandan first joined Tamil Nadu government service and later switched over to the movie world.

He made his debut in 1987 in the movie "Manathil Urudhi Vendum" directed by the late K. Balachander.

Soon he was in great demand and has acted with top heroes like Rajinikanth, Vijay, Ajith, Surya and others. He has acted in over 200 movies.

Vivekh was awarded the Padma Shri in 2009 and the Kalaivanar award from the Tamil Nadu government.

Vivekh an admirer of late President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, under the Green Kalam project was instrumental in planting lakhs of tree saplings and also for mass campaigns for tree planting and environment protection.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
(@FahadShabbir)

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Apr, 2021 ) :The Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Saturday congratulated Shoukat Fayyaz Ahmad Tarin for assuming the portfolio of Federal Finance Minister and hoped that he would further facilitate the business community.

SAARC-CCI President Iftikhar Ali Malik, FPCCI Vice Presidents Raja Muhammad Anwar, Muhammad Nawaz, Adeel Siddiqui and Muhammad Asif Jeewa, in a joint media statement here, urged Shoukat Tarin to focus on economic growth with specific direction for pursuing export oriented policies.

They said the business community needed peaceful atmosphere, and business friendly environment coupled with judicious and prudent monetary policies for strengthening the national economy on sound footings.

Pakistan has tremendous potential and to get optimum benefits, consistent government policies and a clear roadmap was eminent, and could be possible through sustained economic policies, they said.

Rehmat Ullah Javed Javed founder Secretary General SAARC Chamber said Finance Minister should attach great importance to SMEs on top priority which always played a key role in the economies of the advanced and developed countries worldwide.

Now the business community across the country pinned high hopes for better package of incentives to accelerate the economic activities and stimulate the growth, they concluded.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP)  In the Republican primary in Pennsylvanias top-of-the-ticket election contest this year, one particular subject keeps coming up on the campaign trail: last years presidential election.

The campaign for an open state Supreme Court seat follows Donald Trumps relentless and baseless claims that Novembers election was stolen from him and a parade of complaints  and distortions  by Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania about the actions of state elections officials and judges.

Paula Patrick, a Republican candidate, said voters primarily ask her about election integrity, and things like whether she believes the election was stolen from Trump or whether she agrees with court decisions in the case.

She doesnt answer, she said, because these are issues that could come before the courts again.

This election is on the heels of a very contentious election in 2020, so regardless of what I think of what happened in our election ... we know the issues surrounding that election were pretty hot, Patrick said in an interview.

What she can do, however, is point voters to her background and experience, she said, as a judge on the Common Pleas Court bench in Philadelphia for 18 years, including a one-year appointment in 2015 to the citys three-person election board.

I let them know, experience matters, Patrick said. Having no experience in elections, or making decisions on elections, you may have difficulty in getting it right.

Patrick is running against two other Republican judges  Kevin Brobson and Patricia McCullough, both sitting on Pennsylvanias appellate-level Commonwealth Court  for the GOP nomination in the May 18 primary election. The lone Democrat seeking her partys nomination is Maria McLaughlin, a judge on the appellate-level Superior Court.

They are aiming to replace the retiring Justice Thomas Saylor, a Republican on a court with a 5-2 Democratic majority.

In a race where election-related credentials are selling points, Brobson and McCullough handled several of the many lawsuits filed by Republicans in last falls election season as partisans slugged it out over gray areas of Pennsylvanias fledgling mail-in balloting law.

McCullough, on Nov. 25, made a splash, ruling for Republicans a day after Gov. Tom Wolf certified Democrat Joe Biden as the winner of Pennsylvanias election.

She ordered state officials to halt any further steps toward certifying election results in a case brought by Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, in an attempt to overturn Bidens victory in Pennsylvania and throw out 2.5 million mail-in ballots, mostly cast by Democrats.

Three days later, the state Supreme Court unanimously threw out her order. McCullough also dissented in a case in which the majority ruled that state law did not require Philadelphia to allow observers into satellite election offices.

Brobson ruled in several narrow election-related lawsuits brought by Republicans. He rejected a couple, including one to keep counties from tabulating provisional ballots cast by voters whose mail-in ballots had been disqualified by a technicality.

But he sided with Republicans on another case critical to the outcome of a state Senate contest.

He ruled that Allegheny County could not count mail-in ballots without a handwritten date on the ballot envelope. The state Supreme Court reversed that decision, and the Democrat won the Senate seat.

He also ruled in one broader case, rejecting the NAACPs requests to order, among other things, counties to send mail-in ballot applications to every registered voter. The NAACP ended its appeal at the state Supreme Court.

In March newsletters, Allegheny Countys Republican Party chair, Sam DeMarco, promoted Brobsons candidacy by criticizing the state Supreme courts election-related decisions and said Brobsons most notable ruling might be his recommendation in 2017 that the court reject a gerrymandering challenge to Pennsylvanias Republican-drawn congressional map.

I know a little bit about that, Brobson joked when the case came up during his appearance last month on a conservative talk show on WWDB-AM in suburban Philadelphia.

The court threw out the map on a party-line ruling, the first in a series of decisions by the courts Democratic majority that angered Republicans.

Saylor often dissented from the Supreme Courts Democratic majority in last falls election-related cases, but not always.

On the campaign trail, Patrick repeatedly criticizes the court, suggesting its rulings have violated the law and constitution.

Asked about it, Patrick wouldnt point to any particular decision, but said the court has been heavily left-leaning and not necessarily following the law.

For his part, Brobson said he will not disparage Supreme Court justices over recent high-profile rulings, including last years election case.

But, he said, I know people are upset and they have every right to be upset and we as judges need to do a better job at how we deliver justice to give confidence to as many people in Pennsylvania as we can.

___

More from PennLive

Call for arms: With COVID-19 vaccine supply strong, Gov. Wolf, Pennsylvania health officials ask everyone to sign up for shots

Pa. voters to weigh in on government pandemic power struggle

First question in Harrisburg mayors race: Hows Eric Papenfuse doing?
A volunteer member of the congregation at Joyful Heart Church poses with her concealed handgun inside the church in Stockdale, Texas, on January 26, 2020. Getty Images/Washington Post

The Texas House this week passed legislation to allow handguns to be carried without a permit.

Calls for gun reform have been reignited after multiple mass shootings in the US this year.

Lawmakers who opposed the bill pointed toward the 2019 deadly mass shooting in El Paso that left 23 dead.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

Texas lawmakers on Friday moved forward on legislation allowing handguns to be carried in the state without a permit.

The Texas House of Representatives of Friday voted to pass House Bill 1927, which was proposed by Rep. Matt Schafer, a Republican, according to KVUE. The bill now heads to the state Senate.

If passed by the Senate and signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, Texans over the age of 21 would be allowed to possess and carry handguns - openly or concealed - without first obtaining a permit. Abbott said earlier in April he wanted to make Texas a "sanctuary state" for gun owners.

Democrats had proposed more than 20 amendments to the bill, but all failed.

According to the report, Texas law currently requires a person to obtain a permit, which requires a training course, a written exam, a shooting test, and being fingerprinted.

The bill also requires business owners to tell customers verbally that guns aren't allowed in their businesses - a sign stating firearms are prohibited no longer will suffice, the report said.

Joe Moody, a Democrat who opposed the bill and proposed one of the failed amendments, spoke out against the legislation and referenced the 2019 mass shooting at a Walmart in the city of El Paso that left 23 people dead.

"Members, I'm so tired of doing nothing," Moody said. "I'm so tired of catering to a very small number of very loud people who's thinking about guns is wrapped up in unfounded fears and bizarre conspiracy theories. I'm so tired of the gun being worshipped like some golden calf and hearing all about rights, but nothing about responsibilities."

Story continues

Supporters said the bill removes the financial burden created by requiring a license.

In addition to opposition from gun-reform advocates, some law enforcement groups also protested the legislation, saying it would make police officers "less safe," KVUE reported.

The bill comes amid a recent spike in mass shooting incidents renewed calls for gun reform in the US

A person holds an image of 13-year-old Adam Toledo, who was shot and killed by police, as protesters and activists attend a vigil for Daunte Wright and others killed during police confrontations in New York city on April 16, 2021. ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images

Calls for gun reform legislation have once again grown in the US following the latest wave of shootings. After a gunman opened fire at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis on Friday, killing eight people, President Joe Biden said gun violence "stains our character and pierces the very soul of our nation."

As Insider previously reported, the number of mass shootings in the US in 2021 is up 73% compared to this time last year. According to the report, there have been 147 mass shootings so far this year compared to 85 by this point in 2020. The 2021 shootings have so far killed 176 people, compared to 92 deaths from mass shootings by this point in 2020.

Experts say the rise in shootings could be the result of a "contagion effect" where more people are likely to commit an act of violence after they've seen violence committed.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, which tracks mass shootings in the US, there have been 16 mass shootings in Texas so far this year. The organization classifies a mass shooting as one where at least four people, excluding the shooter, are killed or injured.

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A new polo event is being launched this summer at Mount Maunganui.

Local organiser, John Guise and his partners were ready to launch the new Polo in the Bay event in 2020 when COVID struck, so it has been a long wait for the kiwi who left for Australia in 2006.

Weve seen the rise of polo variations all over the world in recent years, but especially in Australia, says John. We really like the more understated, relaxed concepts that are proving really popular at coastal destinations like Mount Maunganui.

The inaugural Polo in the Bay event will be held on Saturday November 27 in Mount Maunganui and organisers say they aim to start a new tradition, not just a new annual event.

Local residents and businesses have been quick to register their interest and secure pre-sale tickets before they go live to the public in August.

We announced the event online recently and have been blown away by the response actually  we already have hundreds of registrations for pre-sale ticketswe didnt expect that so soon, says John.

John likens the Polo in the Bay concept to the popular Portsea Polo near Melbourne and Polo by the Sea concept on Sydneys Northern beaches.

These events celebrate their host destinations and are designed as tourism products that will draw visitors to the region, says John.

Polo in the Bay will do the same  its an event brand that is tailored to the Bay of Plenty, its not transferable to another region. Our venue, the outer-fields at Trustpower Baypark, provides us with a blank canvas to create a purpose-built polo arena.

John says that over the past 15 years, his business Global 360 Group has delivered over 100 major events and partnered with some of Australias most well-known destinations, such as Noosa, the Gold Coast and Bondi Beach.

The timing of Polo in the Bay will celebrate the start of summer in the Bay of Plenty and organisers are encouraging local residents to invite some mates to town who will stay and play for a whole weekend.

Eat + Drink + Play is our call to action for this event  its all about celebrating the start of summer and the festive season in the Bay of Plenty, says John.

John now calls Tauranga home and his business aims to develop this event and others that will help drive visitors to the region outside of the busy summer months.

This is the start of a new local business for us, so were really committed to making this event a local production  well be employing local staff, engaging local suppliers and partnering with local businesses.

Tickets to the inaugural event will be limited so local residents or businesses seeking corporate sites are encouraged to register for pre-sale tickets now and get their hands on them before the public launch in August.

The event will be announcing a number of key partners over the coming months, but is especially pleased about supporting local mental health programmes through their official charity, the Movember Foundation.

Movember does amazing work for mental health here in NZ and around the world, so were really excited that we can play a small part through our event here in the Bay  well do what we can to help raise funds and awareness for their campaign, says John.

For more information visit www.polointhebay.co.nz or find them on social media at @PolointheBay
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Two hundred and twenty Boeing workers, part of Teamsters Local 174, voted unanimously on April 11 to authorize a strike in Washington State if a new contract agreement cannot be reached by April 17. These workers are responsible for transporting dangerous equipment such as aircraft engines, fuselages, other aircraft parts, as well as driving tankers across many miles and fueling and de-fueling aircraft.

Boeing logo (Credit: Flickr.com, sota)

One worker told local Seattle station King5 that everyday [the work] varies. Everyday you dont know what youre going to do. He continued, We move everything, referring to the fact that almost every part of a plane has to be transported throughout Western Washington.

Another worker said, [Boeings executives] came in demanding a concessionary contract while at the same time giving themselves bonuses and that just ...Were not going to stand for that kind of inequity. Another worker made it clear that were not going to get pushed around just because were the little guys.

Boeing workers have had to endure backbreaking work schedules for years. The crashes of two Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, resulting in the deaths of 346 people in 2019, was directly tied to what Ed Pierson, the director of the Max 8 project, called a dogmatic focus on schedule. The company had demanded that production of planes jump from 47 to 52 a month despite the product and worker-safety risks. Pierson had emphasized the lack of skilled mechanics, electricians and technicians. The overtime hours also doubled, endangering and fatiguing workers.

The main grievance of the workers is the steady erosion of their living standards by a skyrocketing cost of living. The average salary of a Boeing delivery driver is $50,000, while the median cost of a home in Seattle (where Boeing is headquartered) is $714,400. From 2018-19 housing accounted for 36 percent of the areas household budget, and the average housing expenditure was $29,234. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that, in the US, grocery prices have increased by an average of 3.5 percent compared to last year. This has resulted in an average increase of $500 per year for groceries.

Boeing has also downsized its production capacity in Washington, moving all of its facilities to make the 787 Dreamliner aircraft from Everett Washington to North Carolina, to reduce labor costs.

At the other pole, Boeing executives, none of whom have been held criminally responsible for their role in the Max 8 deaths, have seen their compensation climb. In a year when the company laid off at least 30,000 workers, CEO David Calhoun made more than $20 million in pay and stock options. Boeing received $17 billion through the CARES Act, a multi-trillion dollar corporate bailout during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States.

Meanwhile, the pandemic has had a devastating impact on Washington State workers. There have been more than 380,000 cases in the state and more than 5,400 deaths. Daily new cases are again rising in the state and currently stand at nearly 1,200 a day, with a daily average of seven deaths.

Unemployment claims have risen 128 percent since February 2020, according to the Washington State Employment Security Department. Another 17,281 workers applied for unemployment claims from April 4-10 of this year, and the average minimum wage remains at an unlivable $13.50 per hour. The Employment Security Department said on March 4 that up to 55,000 people may have to pay back a substantial amount of the jobless benefits they had received.

None of these conditions have been addressed by the Teamsters in their call for a strike vote. The union does not make a single concrete demand in their public statement, instead saying only that they are confident our members will give this bargaining committee the tools we need to convince their company to change course.

Such empty phrases are a clear signal that the union will do nothing to fight for increased standards of living for those it claims to represent. Teamsters union locals have rushed through countless sellout deals, including the shutdown of the strike by 1,400 Hunts Point produce workers this January in New York City, worked out in close collaboration with the Democratic Party.

The workers were not able to see the exact terms of the deal until after negotiations with management had concluded. Not one demand of the striking workers was met, including safe conditions during the pandemic, the elimination of the hated two-tier wage structurewhich was pushed through by the Teamsters in 2009and a living wage. Instead, workers were given a paltry 40 cent per hour wage increase and a one-time holiday bonus of $1,300.

This is not because of a lack of resources; the Teamsters union controls over $502 million in assets. The union is not concerned with convincing Boeing to change course, but in ensuring that they are still able to collect dues from the 220 workers who voted to strike after negotiations with Boeing are complete.

The Teamsters are doing everything possible to isolate and contain the strike. Local 174 itself represents workers in 16 industries in the Seattle area, but none of them have been called upon to unite with Boeing workers.

The leadership of the struggle at Boeing must be taken out of the hands of the Teamsters bureaucracy and placed under the control of the rank-and-file themselves. The broadest possible appeal must be made to the rest of Boeings workforce, as well as workers in other industries, to demand living wages, safe working conditions for essential workers, the shutdown of schools and nonessential businesses to contain and eradicate the pandemic, and full compensation for workers and small businesses.
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Oscars producer Steven Soderbergh maintained that masks would play a very important role in the story of the 93rd Academy Awards on April 25, but kept the details under wraps.

If thats cryptic, its meant to be, Soderbergh said during a Saturday press conference. That topic is very central to the narrative.

Joined with co-producers Jesse Collins and Stacey Sher, the trio took questions about the upcoming ceremony from Union Station in Los Angeles. The producers were vague on the details of the upcoming ceremony, which will be broadcast from multiple locations, including the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Little is known beyond that it will look like a movie.

Addressing the no zoom option for the nominees, Soderbergh doubled down, sharing instead that there will be satellite hook-ups. Soderbergh further explained: We can control that image, we can control the sound, we can make it feel more integrated into the overall feeling of the show. Weve created another series of technological hurdles for ourselves to make all of these remote satellites and not zooms. So it was never about exclusion. It was about having it feel like it was all part of the piece. Thats all it was.

In response to a question about how the ceremony will present the film community to viewers, Soderbergh said: Were trying to break down this myth that theres some partition between the actors, who the audience may know by name, and everyone else. This is ultimately a working-class industry, fully unionized. When you look at the credits of a movie, the number of people that are in the cast, compared to everyone else, is minuscule.

Collins, who produced the recent Grammy Awards, shares his excitement about working with the production team, in which seven of its 14 members are African American. It was about everybody being open to pulling in the best possible people. ABC and everybody were open to new faces, Collins said.

He also praised the Academys decision last year to delay the ceremony by two months, saying if it had stayed in its originally scheduled date in February, it would have been impossible.

Sher, who worked with Soderbergh on Contagion and has an impressive Hollywood resume in both film and television, hopes that the ceremony will show the people watching, if you love film, theres a place for you, even if youre not going to be an actor or actress. She also sees this Oscar gig as a reaffirmation of our love and commitment to what we do.

Soderbergh, who took home an Oscar for directing Traffic (2000), reminisced about his shocking win in response to a question about his winning moment. First of all, I was drunk, and thats not a lie, he bluntly shared. At the 2001 ceremony, he was also best picture-nominated for Erin Brockovich, but he believed he wasnt going to win. Suddenly, Tom Cruise is handing me this thing, and Im going, what is happening? Soderbergh said, adding: This year, were encouraging them [the nominees] to tell a story and to say something personal.

This years crop of nominees is the most diverse in Oscar history, with nine of the 20 acting nominees consisting of people of color. There are multiple opportunities for history to be made in several categories, with potential frontrunners such as Yuh-Jung Youn (Minari), Chloe Zhao (Nomadland) and the late Chadwick Boseman (Ma Raineys Black Bottom).

The 93rd Oscars will be held April 25 at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT from Union Station Los Angeles and the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood and international locations via satellite.

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"Taxi Driver" managed to reign the top spot on viewership rating as Lee Je-Hoon's character transformed into a whole new persona.

The latest episode of the SBS drama reached 16 percent, breaking its own highest ratings for three consecutive as cited by Nielsen Korea.

Moreover, "Taxi Driver" episode 3 scored a nationwide average of 13.6 percent and 14.5 percent in the Seoul metropolitan area.

This means that the action thriller series landed first place among dramas for its time slot and said to be tremendous progress since its debut.

To recall, the much anticipated evening drama starring Lee Je-Hoon and Esom started off with a positive response from the viewer after reaching an 8.7 percent nationwide rating and 10.7 percent for its two parts.

Aside from its high viewership ratings, "Taxi Driver" was also lauded over Twitter as fans pointed out the unexpected scenes and impressive visuals.

Deluxe Rainbow Taxi Got a Request from a Victim of School Violence

SBS' latest crime thriller show depicts how the Rainbow Taxi team's deluxe service takes justice into their own hands by punishing the criminals as they seek fairness to individuals that the law failed to protect.

"Taxi Driver" episode 3 tackled social issues like school bullying and its negative impact on the victims.

It came after the team received a request from a high school student named Park Jung-min (Park Jun-Mok.) The student lives together with his deaf mother, who runs a fish stall.

He explained that he experienced constant bullying and assault from his schoolmates due to his way of living.

It even came to a point where the school bullies visited his mother at their house and threatened that they would harm the both of them.

To make things worse, he also told the Rainbow Taxi team that he got no support from his homeroom teacher and even the infamous School Violence Countermeasure Committee.

Kim Do Gi Becomes a Cool High School Teacher

Without second thoughts, the deluxe taxi driver Kim Do Gi (Lee Je-Hoon), a former officer in the special forces, accessed the campus by disguising himself as a high school teacher and became Park Jung-min's temporary homeroom teacher.

During the class roll call, the group of school bullies showed no respect to Kim Do Gi by leaving the class without permission.

While on the class break, the group, led by Park Seung-tae (Choi Hyun-wook), harassed Kim Do Gi by taking his money and threatening him.

In one of the scenes, Kim Do Gi managed to interfere with the group's attack after he witnessed a student being bullied by the group. Unfiortuenly, he ends up being framed and accused of "sexual harassment."

This made him worry that his identity will be revealed and might cause the revenge to fail.

The next episode of "Taxi Driver" will reveal how the Rainbow Taxi team's special service led by Kim Do-Gi avenges Park Jung-Min from the group of high school bullies.

KDramastars owns this article.

Written by Geca Wills
KYODO NEWS - Apr 17, 2021 - 17:50 | World, All

Taiwan on Saturday welcomed a joint statement issued by Japan and the United States affirming the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou said the Taiwan government is happy to see the United States and Japan are concerned about the current state of security in the Indo-Pacific region.

"The Taiwan government would like to express our most sincere welcome and gratitude," Ou said.

"We will continue to work closely with Japan, the United States and other like-minded countries to safeguard democracy, universal values and a rules-based international order to ensure peace, prosperity and stability in the region," she said.

On Friday, in their first in-person meeting at the White House, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and U.S. President Joe Biden said in their joint statement that they "underscore the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait" and "encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues," marking the first time that Taiwan has been mentioned in a U.S.-Japan leaders' statement since 1969.

Ou said because of its strategic position in the first island chain, stretching from the Japanese archipelago through Taiwan, the Philippines and on to Borneo, Taiwan plays a key role in regional stability and prosperity.

Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang said the Taiwan government welcomed the joint statement, commending the move as conducive to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

"We look forward to seeing Beijing authorities act responsibly and make a positive contribution to peace and well-being across the Taiwan Strait and the region," he said.

Chang emphasized that President Tsai Ing-wen's cross-strait policy has been consistent in maintaining that Taiwan will not succumb to pressure exerted by China, nor will it act rashly.

Taiwan and mainland China have been governed separately since they split amid civil war in 1949. Beijing has since regarded Taiwan as a renegade province awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

Related coverage:

Suga, Biden commit to take on China challenges, affirm Taiwan stance
Lucknow, April 17 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has issued several instructions including to keep the industrial units operational during the curfew which would be imposed in the state from 8 p.m. from Saturday in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said that a new Covid hospital equipped with all facilities would be constructed in Lucknow's Awadh Shilpgram with the cooperation of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The health department will coordinate with HAL and immediately start work on this hospital.

After holding a video-conference with 'Team 11' of bureaucrats on Saturday, the CM issued instructions to the officials regarding the lockdown and the 35-hour curfew.

Ten new oxygen plants would be set up at different locations in the state soon with the support of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The marking of the locations for the plants would start from Saturday on a war footing. Uttar Pradesh Health Minister and Additional Chief Secretary, Health, would monitor the work.

The weekend lockdown is being enforced to check the spread of Covid-19. Pre-scheduled examinations would be held during this period. Candidates would be able to reach their exam centres by showing their admit cards. Public transport will operate at half capacity. Industrial units will be exempted from the lockdown.

General OPD operations will be suspended in government hospitals, barring emergency and essential services. Telemedicines will be encouraged, with widespread promotion and publicising of the 'e-Sanjeevani' app. In order to enable more and more people to take advantage of telemedicines, the names of doctors, specialists etc will be duly publicised.

During the lockdown, medical and health-related services and supply of essential goods would continue. A massive campaign of sanitation and sanitisation will be carried out. The work of dispatching of polling parties for panchayat elections would also continue.

The pre-scheduled functions of marriages, weddings etc during weekend lockdown would be completed, ensuring compliance with the Covid-19 protocols. A maximum of 50 people can be present in a closed hall and a maximum of 100 people would be permitted in the social events held in open spaces. This order would be strictly followed.

The UP Chief Minister said that there should be a continuous supply of oxygen cylinders in the Covid hospitals across all districts. The control room established by the Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration department in connection with the smooth supply of medical oxygen would remain active 24/7. The oxygen availability should be reviewed on a daily basis. Adequate availability of medical staff, Covid beds, medicines, medical equipment and oxygen should be maintained throughout in every district, ensuring smooth operation of ambulance services and making the government aware in any kind of need.

He said the Food Safety and Drug Administration department should ensure adequate availability of Remdesivir, a key drug in fight against Covid. Ensure availability of estimated oxygen for the next 36 hours in all hospitals. There is no dearth of Remdesivir and other life-saving drugs. Any laxity would not be tolerated. Minister of State for Health, Atul Garg, would continuously monitor this work, Yogi said.

In private medical colleges where ICU beds are not available due to lack of oxygen cylinders, such institutions would be provided cylinders by the state government. Director General of Medical Education would ensure this happens.

Yogi said 29,50,000 quintal wheat has been purchased so far, ensuring farmer interests even in the middle of Covid crisis. Compliance of the Covid-19 protocols at the purchasing centres must be ensured. The Commissioner of Agricultural production will continuously monitor it and there should be no delay in direct payment to farmers. The Integrated Control and Command Centre at Lucknow is in dire need for improvement in its functioning. The officials concerned should ensure that this centre is useful for the general public, otherwise strict action would be taken.

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said the Covid tests in all the authorised private and government laboratories should be carried on in full capacity. More than 19,000 tests were conducted in private laboratories on Friday. The services of private laboratories should be fully utilised for Covid tests. Samples collected at the government level should be sent to private laboratories. The district administration must ensure quality control.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Jenny Yang, the vice president for advocacy and policy at World Relief, a resettlement agency affiliated with evangelical Christians, said the walk back from Mr. Biden to raise the cap doesnt change the reality that, for now, the historically low cap remains in place.

The president broke his promise once, Ms. Yang said, and at this point, he needs to back up his statements with concrete actions that will actually start to rebuild the refugee program again.

The directive on Friday did include some changes to the Trump-era program, which gave priority to Iraqis who had worked for the United States military and to people, primarily Christians, who are facing religious persecution. It also disqualified most other Muslim and African refugees.

Mr. Biden is changing that by allowing in refugees based on the region they are fleeing. The carved-out slots include room for 7,000 Africans; 1,000 East Asians; 1,500 Europeans and Central Asians; and 3,000 Latin Americans and Caribbeans. It also includes 1,500 openings for those from the Near East and South Asia, and another 1,000 that are not linked to a specific region.

Ms. Psaki said the administration could not raise the cap as quickly as it wanted because of the decimated refugee admissions program we inherited. Administration officials have described a daunting task to resurrect that program.

Refugee officers were reassigned from posts abroad that were shuttered, and their travel has been limited during the pandemic. And resettlement offices in the United States were forced to close because of financial constraints from the cuts to refugee admissions.

America needs to rebuild our refugee resettlement program, said Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, who said the administration would fill all 15,000 slots and work with Congress on increasing admissions and building back numbers to which weve committed.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 13:37:09|Editor: huaxia

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A police officer stands before protesters during a protest in Chicago, the United States, on April 16, 2021. Hundreds of protesters gathered in a park northwest of Chicago Friday evening to protest against police killing of 13-year-old Adam Toledo on March 29. (Photo by Marcus DiPaola/Xinhua)

CHICAGO, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of protesters gathered in a park northwest of Chicago Friday evening to protest against police killing of 13-year-old Adam Toledo on March 29.

One speaker after another spoke to the crowds holding signs demanding justice for Toledo. One speaker shouted "enough is enough."

Some in the crowd said they came out to send a message to the city, Chicago Tribune reported on Friday. This is the first major demonstration against the Chicago Police Department since the city released two videos of Toledo's killing on Thursday.

Bodycam video of the police officer shows the officer chased Toledo down an alley on the West Side of Chicago in the early morning on March 29, shouting for the teen to stop and show his hands. In a frame-by-frame viewing, a pistol-shaped object appears to be visible in Toledo's right hand behind his back as he paused near an opening in a fence and turned toward the officer.

A surveillance footage from a different camera shows Toledo stopped with his right arm behind the fence and made a throwing motion just before he turned back toward the officer and raises his hands.

Toledo was shot in the chest and died.

Hours before the demonstration, the Toledo family's attorneys issued a statement, asking for peaceful protest.

"The Toledo family implores everyone who gathers in Adam's name to remain peaceful, respectful and nonviolent and to continue to work constructively and tirelessly for reform," the statement said. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-16 23:57:39|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday told Japan and the United States to avoid moves that interfere in China's internal affairs and undermine China's interests, and refrain from forming a clique targeting China.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a daily news briefing when asked to comment on media reports that Japanese and U.S. leaders are expected to mention issues including the Taiwan Strait during their talks.

Zhao said China has expressed grave concern to the U.S. and Japan over their negative moves including collusion against China following the Japanese leader's visit to the U.S.

He pointed out that China-U.S. and China-Japan relations both stand at an important juncture, and the world is watching closely what signals the visit will send.

"China has no problem with the development of normal bilateral ties between the U.S. and Japan, but this relationship should be conducive to enhancing mutual understanding and trust among regional countries and peace and stability in the Asia Pacific, and should not target any third party or undermine third party interests," Zhao said.

China's position on Taiwan, Hong Kong, the South China Sea and the Diaoyu Islands is consistent and clear, he said. "Our determination and resolve to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests are rock solid. China will make necessary reactions as the situation evolves."

Answering questions about the Diaoyu Islands situation, Zhao said that recently, Japan has been condoning so-called fishing vessels with dubious background to stir up trouble in waters near the Diaoyu Islands. "This is the root cause of the complex situation in the Diaoyu Islands."

The Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islands are China's inherent territory. China is firmly resolved and determined to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and will resolutely respond to Japan's illegal actions that violate China's sovereignty, he said.

"We once again seriously urge Japan to abide by the four-point principled consensus, strengthen internal discipline and avoid deterioration and escalation of the situation," said Zhao. Enditem
Lecrae, Prison Fellowship urge Christians to remember those in jail: 'We serve a God of second chances'

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The worlds largest evangelical prison ministry, Prison Fellowship, has teamed up with popular artists in Christian music, including Grammy Award-winning rapper Lecrae, in its annual effort to highlight the month of April as Second Chance Month.

Prison Fellowship, an organization that has offered hope, restoration and healing for prisoners, their families, and victims for more than 40 years, seeks to bring light to the restrictions and stigmas associated with incarceration as many ex-prisoners are doing their best to turn their lives around.

Today, there are 44,000 documented social stigmas and legal restrictions limiting ex-prisoners access to education, jobs, housing, and other things they need to reach their full potential, said Prison Fellowship Senior Vice President for Advocacy & Church Mobilization, Heather Rice-Minus, in an interview with The Christian Post. We use Second Chance Month to raise awareness about these barriers and unlock brighter futures for people with a criminal record.

She said the organization seeks to help reduce the number of restrictions and stigmas by supporting those who have paid their debt to society live up to their full potential.

Along with partnering with churches across the nation, Prison Fellowship has teamed up with famous Christian music artists, including Lecrae, who's always had a passion for prison ministry. He's been known to perform and speak at Prison Fellowships Hope Events in prisons and even take extra time to sit with and minister to incarcerated men.

"It's a passion for me," Lecrae told CP of the partnership. "Theres a lot of things that are important to people, some of them, it may be dealing with different needs in society."

I think this one hits home for me, just being that I have a lot of friends, family members who have been incarcerated or currently are incarcerated. I know from personal experience what their life is like and how difficult it is and how stressful it can be. So it's a world that is severely underserved, so this is something important.

According to the Vera Institute of Justice, the number of people incarcerated in state and federal prisons and local jails in the United States was 1.8 million in mid-2020.

Prison Fellowship and Lecrae have committed to assuring all who are incarcerated that there is hope in Christ and prison doesn't have to be the end of their story.

"As a believer, I think we get the biggest second chance of all, in that we've fallen short of God's glory, and He gives us an opportunity to live up to the expectation that we were created for, Lecrae said. That's a big thing for me. I don't feel like there's anything I've ever done that can make God throw me away. So I don't want any person who's committed any crime to feel like they've been thrown away.

Rice-Minus emphasized that Prison Fellowship stands behind the biblical principle of redemption in Christ because we serve a God of second chances.

From Moses to Paul, our Gospel shows us the far-reaching power of redemption. It extends to every person, including those who have committed a crime, she insisted. As a leader at Prison Fellowship, it has been one of my greatest privileges to get a front-row seat to see the power of redemption take hold of those the world considers the most hopeless and undeserving.

Churches are encouraged to celebrate Second Chance Month by hosting a Second Chance Sunday service during April. Prison Fellowship hosted their own on April 11, which featured worship from Hillsong East Coast and a sermon from Pastor Jon Kelly of Chicago West Bible Church.

Prison Fellowship has provided a Second Chance Sunday toolkit available for download to help equip churches that want to join the movement by hosting a Second Chance service.

"I think we just have to remember that those people are you and I, Lecrae said of those who are in prison. It could be any of us. In reality, it should be me. I just didn't get caught. So if you are comfortable dealing with any person, then you should understand these are human beings.

"We listen to a lot of propaganda, a lot of stories and stereotypes, and there are some dangerous people. But at the end of the day, if we believe in a supernatural power, we believe that power is greater than anything else and has the ability to protect us and keep us and transform people, he said of why people should boldly go into prisons and offer the hope of Christ.

For people who want to get involved in prison ministry but don't know where to begin, the artist, who will soon be releasing his Church Clothes 4 album, strongly recommended that people connect with Prison Fellowship.

They've been doing it for years, started by Chuck Colson, who was also in prison, Lecrae explained. They can begin to understand what's going on in there. It's a full-fledged organization that gives a lot of insight.

He also encouraged Christians to learn about the local ministries involved in this specific realm of evangelism, walking alongside people who've been engaged in prison ministry for a while.

One way Christians can help advocate for justice is by visiting our Justice Action Center, Rice-Minus said. We have several active campaigns where Christians can put their faith into action by contacting their lawmakers in a matter of minutes.

We also invite Christians, churches and small groups to devote one day this month to pray for people in prison and their families and to discuss how we can help support second chances for those with a criminal record, she encouraged.

The Prison Fellowship vice president took it a step further and said people should also look for ways to help those released from prison and are struggling to get reacclimated into society.

The prison ministry reported that approximately one in three U.S. adults has a criminal record. For many, having a criminal record limits their access to education, jobs, housing and other essential things needed to advance in life.

Rice-Minus noted that one of the most impactful ways Christians can offer second chances is by opening up their hearts and homes to formerly incarcerated people.

Its as easy as setting an extra place at your table, offering clothes for them to wear to an interview, or maybe even being an employment reference for them, she advised. By doing life alongside someone and offering them a second chance, you not only impact them, but youre impacting future generations.

Since launching the first Second Chance Month in 2017, Prison Fellowship has helped raise awareness about the many barriers that prevent former inmates from flourishing because of their criminal record.

Finding restoration

The organization believes in a restorative approach for prisoners, former prisoners, and all who are affected by crime and incarceration.

"Across the world, you see restorative justice, Lecrae detailed. Restorative justice is where someone has done something wrong and they are spending time to find restorative work done on them for the crime that they have done.

"America is one of the only nations that uses retribution of justice, he maintained. Retribution is almost as if you have to pay for what you've done wrong. [But] the reality is, there's no real way to pay for certain crimes. Obviously, if you stole money, you can give that money back. But there are some crimes that you can't pay back. So the only hope you can have is that they will be restored, transformed, make amends and move forward in society as a different restored human being.

The social activist said he and Prison Fellowship want to see programs that will not be about punishing people, but also bring restoration.

Prison Fellowship mobilizes Christians to advocate for a more restorative approach to justice that advances proportional punishment, constructive corrections culture and second chances for those who have paid their debt, Rice-Minus added.

Right now, our society locks up more of its citizens than any other nation, she stressed. And frankly, our misguided response to crime has pervasive, devastating and long-lasting consequences.

She stressed that Christians should visit the prisoner, as the Bible commands in Matthew 25.

And yes, we should share with incarcerated men and women that all things are possible through Christ, she said. But we cannot be complacent about a system that, upon their release, holds them back.

Ministering to those in prison is a part of God's commission to the world, and the ministry of Prison Fellowship was grounded on that conviction.

Christ was arrested, convicted and imprisoned for us. Most of the New Testament was written by Paul while he was imprisoned. If God touches prison so closely throughout the Bible, how can prison ministry not be part of Gods Great Commission? Rice-Minus posited. In Hebrews 13:3, it says, Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them. We are directly called to visit people in prison.

Lecrae testified of how his visits to prisons have impacted his own life.

The chart-topping hip-hop entertainer recalled visiting Angola  the Louisiana State Penitentiary  where he witnessed inmates interaction with their children during a special father-children event.

He also highlighted Rashaun Thomas, someone who went to prison depressed, angry and frustrated. But after a few years, he said, Thomas decided that since he couldn't change his situation, he would instead be changed in the midst of it. Thomas now writes for major magazines and teaches families financial literacy to help change legacy.

"You can't go in there with a messiah complex, with an 'I'm coming to save somebody [mentality]. It's a mutual encouragement, Lecrae said.

I'm also coming to learn. I'm coming to not just feed but be fed, because there are some individuals in there who are more spiritually mature and wiser than you are. They've been sitting there for the last 24 years, dealing with some of the worst scenarios in existence and taking in truth and wisdom and learning how to apply it. So there's much that you can learn from talking and walking with people in there.

'God-given potential'

Rice-Minus said that many people in prison feel forgotten and hopeless.

Yes, the Bible is full of reminders that God cares deeply about the incarcerated. In fact, imprisonment is referenced over 5,000 times in Scripture, and some of the Bibles greatest leaders, like Paul, were guilty of serious crimes and experienced incarceration, she said. Being able to share that hope with someone that they are more than their worst choice may be a turn in unlocking that persons God-given potential.

Lecrae said its imperative for those in prison to know their identity is in God.

If you know who you are, if you know that God is your Father, the Son is your Savior, and the Spirit is your helper, then no matter where you are in the world, you can walk with a sense of hope, the rapper told CP.

The Reach Records founder revealed that he reminds those he comes in contact with that "other characters in the Bible who we champion were imprisoned or did terrible things.

We champion a Moses, who murdered a man. We champion a David, who murdered thousands of people. You look at some of the patriarchs who participated in prostitution and things of that nature, he maintained. "We're there to remind them that they're not alone and that there's no story where their redemption is not possible. But they are great candidates for God's mercy and restoration.

Part of Prison Fellowships mission is to share biblical truth and care for the vulnerable and call for a justice system that is fair and redemptive for all.

Rice-Minus said Prison Fellowship has long been fighting for redemptive justice.

As Christians, we believe that no one is beyond the reach of Gods grace. Further, the Bible tells us that All people and things  including governments  were made through God and for Him. So were called to bring the hope of the Gospel to the least and the lost. But we are also compelled as Christians to bring that same redeeming power to unjust systems and structures that hold our brothers and sisters back from their God-given potential, she added.

We believe [it is] our mission at Prison Fellowship to restore those impacted by crime and incarceration. [That] includes not only our ministry to people behind bars, but our advocacy for justice reform that advances proportional punishment, constructive corrections culture, and second chances for those who have paid their debt.

Though the criminal justice system still has a long way to go, there has been some change, said Lecrae and Rice-Minus.

"I think we've seen things change year after year  little things here, little things there  and that's all you can do is to push and pray that your ceiling becomes the next generations floor, and then they can start where you [left off]," Lecrae told CP. Ten years ago, we weren't having a lot of the conversations that we're having now about the justice system.

The Texas native explained that just a few short years ago, there weren't organizations around to help those unjustly incarcerated for crimes they didn't commit to get out of prison. He said he will continue to push and pray that more changes will happen.

Rice-Minus added, One of the more recent changes we have seen in our justice system is a different approach to the restoration of rights, like voting rights.

On a national level, we were very involved with advocating for the passage of the bipartisan FIRST STEP Act in 2018.

This bipartisan legislation expanded rehabilitative programming and earned-time credit opportunities so that people can be prepared to come home as productive citizens. It also provided more flexibility in the use of mandatory minimums.

Rice-Minus concluded by saying that she does believe change will come. But the reality is, we need to continue to change culture to do it.

According to a Barna survey commissioned by Prison Fellowship in 2019, only one in five Christians attend a church that raises awareness about criminal justice issues.

We need to not only be talking about these issues from our pulpits but leading in prayer and action in the public square. Every voice matters, and one by one, we can chip away at that list of 44,000 barriers, Rice-Minus ended.

Lecrae concluded by saying that his hope for Second Chance Month is that it will help people walk away with a sense of hope, hope for themselves and hope for others, that lives are transformed because of this reality.

It's something powerful when society has told you that you are forgotten about, that you are no good, but people still remember you, and they come to serve and help you, he said.
By Gloria Bonilla-Santiago

Racial disparities have been accentuated throughout the pandemic. Blacks and Latinos have been stricken, and, in too many cases, died from COVID-19 at higher rates than their white counterparts.

Meanwhile, educational equity, one thing that can narrow the gap between communities of color and their white counterparts, has been hampered considerably by the public health crisis. I see it in my majority-minority community of Camden, at the school I founded, LEAP Academy University Charter School.

Children from schools with mostly Black and Latino backgrounds have lost, on average, two more months of learning than students in white-majority schools this year, according to a study of standardized test scores by McKinsey & Company. Despite schools like ours returning periodically to our buildings and classrooms, our efforts have been undermined by the necessity of hybrid schedules, missing teachers and reduced classroom capacities.

Moreover, the lack of consistent in-person teaching is threatening to deny students from low-income homes from receiving the education they need to build a better future. We will spend years playing catch-up. Still, we adjust as well as we can. Our children need us to creatively work around the roadblocks. We embrace an urgent mindset because, when it comes to our childrens welfare, you need to do whatever it takes.

An urban school is set up for success when it considers the entire family unit and serves as a community hub. At no time was this better illustrated than over the past several months. A great number of our families are struggling with lost jobs and illness. Many low-income families have jobs that require them to physically be at work, leaving children home alone without supervision during the school day.

Thanks to the family support unit at LEAP Academy, our families and children have been supported throughout the pandemic. Team members have been visiting homes to fix computers and work one-on-one with students, their parents and guardians. This approach has made a big difference, providing necessary aid for families and students and keeping the staff attuned to the needs of the community. Teachers are teaching remotely and in-person regardless of the crises to ensure their children are learning and progressing.

Poverty and food insecurity are significant for Black and Latino families. In a Census Bureau study released a few months ago, 20% of Black and 19% of Latino adults said their household often or sometimes did not have enough food during the previous week. So, we have used school buses for home delivery of school meals while students are learning remotely. Being able to depend on food is welcomed and valued by our families.

Scholastically, we have done our best to keep our students challenged, discovering ways to integrate technology into academics in ways we never thought possible. Through necessity, we learned that some elements of virtual learning are effective, and can be incorporated into post-pandemic teaching strategies. Among them:

Closing the digital divide is not an impossible dream  even in poor communities . When we sent kids home last March, each one was issued their own laptop. We sought a partner to help provide Internet access at a low cost and fought mightily to ensure that families with mobile-only access and inconsistent connectivity had more consistent solutions. When you can provide the right technological tools, the gap between poor and middle-class schools narrows significantly.

We learned to pivot successfully . Each day brings different issues  and thats okay. By being flexible, resourceful, innovative, nimble and resilient, we were able to raise solutions without dwelling on negatives.

Some elements of teaching are better executed online . For example, a teacher can institute spot quizzes or polls to gauge which students are understanding concepts and who needs deeper explanations. A polite student cannot simply nod their head and say they understand when they do not. Teachers can see which students need more instruction more clearly.

We saw that technology can make after-school time more effective. If a student is struggling, we realized that Zoom can extend online teaching into tutoring sessions during office hours. A student who learns at a more deliberate pace can now receive extra help  even during exended day, evenings and weekends.

Now that a vaccine is here, many believe each day brings us closer to the end of the pandemic crisis. And while things may get back to normal, the educational experience from 2020 and 2021 will have a ripple effect for years to come.

Gloria Bonilla-Santiago is the founder and board chair of the LEAP Academy University Charter School in Camden. She is also a Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor of Public Policy and the director of the Community Leadership Center at Rutgers University-Camden.

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A man has been arrested by police during the hunt for a missing Melbourne woman who disappeared a week ago.

Maryam Hamka was last seen leaving a Woolworths store in Brunswick at about 5.30pm on Saturday April 10.

The 36-year-old, who was wearing a black dress, told her family she was going to visit a friend in Brighton.

Ms Hamka was reported missing on Thursday April 15 amid fears for her safety.

A man has been arrested by police as they continue to search for missing Melbourne woman, Maryam Hamka (pictured)

On Friday night, police executed a search warrant at a home in Brighton and arrested a 45-year-old man - Ms Hamka's ex-boyfriend.

He is currently assisting police with their enquiries.

Ms Hamka's car is currently surrounded by police tape outside her home and her phone remains switched off.

Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper said serious concerns are held for her safety, and her family is distraught, despite their sometimes problematic relationship.

He has told reporters it was not unusual for her to be out of contact with her family for several days but relatives became more and more concerned as the days passed.

They have been unable to reach her on her phone, and she has not been active on social media.

Ms Hamka was last seen leaving a Woolworths store in Brunswick at about 5.30pm on Saturday April 10

'They have serious concerns, as we do, for her welfare,' Det Insp Stamper told reporters on Saturday.

Police have now released images of Ms Hamka as part of their search.

Detectives trying to piece together her movements have appealed for anyone who saw her to come forward.

Ms Hamka is 165cm tall, with a thin build and long black hair, brown eyes and an olive complexion.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
New Delhi: Bihar politician and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav was granted bail on Saturday (April 17) in the fodder scam case by Jharkhand High Court thus clearing the way for his release from jail.

The bail was granted to the RJD supremo by Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh.

The former Bihar Chief Minister was granted bail on the conditions that he will neither leave the country without permission nor change his address and mobile number during the bail period, as per a PTI report.

Reacting to the bail order, Birendra Bhushan, IG Prisons said that since Yadav has been admitted to AIIMS Delhi, he will be released from there itself.

"We will go through the order copy, once we receive it. Following the procedure, we will inform the RIMS and AIIMS, Delhi that now he is not a prisoner. Till now AIIMS has been sending Lalu's health updates. He may be released from AIIMS directly," ANI quoted Bhushan as saying.

The RJD chief has been imprisoned since December 2017 and was sentenced to seven years of jail in 2018 under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and seven years under the Prevention of Corruption Act in relation to the fodder scam case.

The fodder scam pertains to the withdrawal of Rs 3.5 crore from the Dumka Treasury by the officials of the Animal Husbandry Department between the period of 1991 and 1996 when Yadav was Bihar's Chief Minister.

Yadav served most of his jail sentence at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences hospital in Jharkhand. He was airlifted to AIIMS New Delhi in January in view of deteriorating health.

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(Natural News) A new study suggests that the asteroid that wiped out dinosaurs likely gave rise to the Amazon rainforest in South America. Published April 1 in the journal Science, the study also posits that the same asteroid created all of the Americas tropical rainforests.

Around 66 million years ago, a seven-mile-wide meteor struck what is now the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Named the Chicxulub impactor, the meteor produced clouds of dust and ash and catapulted fragments of rock into the sky, triggering widespread wildfires.

Over time, the devastating impact drove the extinction of around 75 percent of all plant and animal species on the planet, including all terrestrial dinosaurs. The disaster also drastically changed the environment across the globe.

But its effect on tropical forests is less clear compared to temperate ecosystems.

To that end, Monica Carvalho, a fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama and the first author of the study, and her colleagues examined nearly 60,000 fossil records from Columbia to understand how the plant life in Central and South America evolved after the asteroid impact.

How the Chicxulub impactor changed tropical rainforests

Carvalho and her team found that the type of vegetation comprising the continents forests drastically changed. Before the crash, widely spaced conifers and ferns dominated the region and allowed high levels of sunlight to reach the ground. But after the asteroid struck, many species especially seed-bearing plants went extinct. In all, plant diversity declined by about 45 percent and recovered only 10 million years after the collision.

During those years, flowering plants called angiosperms slowly flourished. These plants took the place of the once-dominant species that had gone extinct, leading to the reign of flowers.

The collision also transformed the spatial structure of forests from widely spaced to densely packed. Leaf data from over 6,000 fossils showed that the thick, dense tropical canopy associated with todays rainforests did not develop until after the catastrophe. The data suggested that the spatial change led to the emergence of taller trees and increased plant diversity.

The sparser canopies of the pre-impact forests, with fewer flowering plants, would have moved less soil water into the atmosphere than did those that grew up in the millions of years afterward, a statement from STRI explained.

The trees that revived tropical forests

The first plants to appear after the asteroid impact were legume trees, which are prominent features in todays tropical rainforests. Legume trees played a major role in reviving plant diversity in the tropics. With the help of symbiotic bacteria in their roots, these trees fixed nitrogen into the soil and allowed flowering species to flourish in the process. As flowering plants competed for sunlight, they formed dense canopies of leaves and created the layered rainforests that these ecosystems are known for today.

Carvalho and her colleagues offered three theories for why tropical forests responded to the collision this way. First, dinosaurs might have kept the forest open and sparse by feeding on and trampling plants. Second, falling ash from the asteroid impact enriched soils and likely conferred an advantage on faster-growing flowering plants. Finally, the preferential extinction of conifers probably created the opportunity for flowering plants to take over.

While the researchers are uncertain which theory, or combination of theories, explains the emergence of Earths rainforests, the study imparts an important insight: The lesson learned here is that under rapid disturbances  tropical ecosystems do not just bounce back; they are replaced and the process takes a really long time, Carvalho said.

Overall, the Chicxulub impactor created tropical rainforests by initiating dramatic shifts in forest spacing and makeup. Without these impact-induced shifts, todays tropical forests and climate would have looked different. (Related: Asteroid impact triggered the impact winter that likely killed dinosaurs 66 million years ago  study.)

For more about how events like asteroid impacts shape the environment, visit Research.news.

Sources include:

EcoWatch.com

STRI.si.edu

ScientificAmerican.com
A damning report by an influential City firm has warned the value of loss-making Deliveroo could plummet by another 1.8billion, raising fears over how the company has been governed.

The stock price has already dived by one third since Deliveroo's disastrous stock market launch on March 31  prompting critics to brand the firm 'Flopperoo'.

About 70,000 small investors, tempted by an invitation to buy shares before the float, lost heavily after taking initial stakes of up to 1,000 each.

The Analyst has warned that Deliveroo's dire performance may worsen. (Pictured: Deliveroo workers from the IWGB striking on the first day of trading on the stock exchange)

Major City firms are currently subject to a research blackout preventing investment banks that worked on the float from publishing research for at least a month after the launch.

But independent research firm The Analyst  which raised the alarm on collapsed payment giant Wirecard and is not subject to the reporting restrictions  warned that Deliveroo's dire performance may worsen.

Mark Hiley, who runs The Analyst, told The Mail on Sunday: 'We still think the stock could well fall another 40 per cent before it hits bottom.'

Hiley said: 'We looked at Deliveroo in January when an IPO was first mooted and it was obvious then that the company was operating in a highly competitive market and was facing legal challenges to its labour practices on multiple fronts.'

Fund managers have more recently queued up to voice concerns about the company.

Hiley's verdict comes amid warnings that Deliveroo's advisers may lose millions of pounds after the embarrassing debacle.

His comments are bound to cause jitters among investors who bought shares at the listing price of 3.90 each. On Friday, Deliveroo shares closed at 2.47, down 37 per cent since the share float. The float raised 1.5billion, but it is said to have been dubbed 'the worst IPO in London's history' by its own bankers.

The Analyst is a stock market research firm based in Clapham, South-West London. It has a reputation for publishing bold investment predictions  sometimes challenging prevailing City assumptions.

It is widely recognised as the first whistleblower to have sounded the alarm over Wirecard which was later engulfed in allegations of fraud. The researcher had issued a 'Red Flag Alert' on the German group in 2014. Last year, Wirecard filed for insolvency over debts of 3.5billion (3.16billion).

The Analyst was also one of the first firms to predict shares in Carillion, the construction giant, and department store chain Debenhams were worthless well ahead of their implosion.

Hiley's concerns about Deliveroo purely relate to the way it is structured and run. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing.

Mark Hiley of The Analyst warned that senior executives at Deliveroo had been awarded long-term incentives equivalent to 600% of basic pay  one of the highest for a FTSE 100 company

The Mail on Sunday revealed last month that Deliveroo shares were being offered by brokers at Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan at prices considered to be far too high. One major investor described the mooted valuation before the float as 'ludicrously priced'.

The following week, institutional investors, including Aviva Investors and Legal & General, publicly declared they would not participate in the listing. This was because of concerns about the company's drivers' loose employment contracts, the rising cost of regulation of the gig economy and worries about the firm's dual share structure, which gives a controlling vote to founder Will Shu for three years.

Hiley warned that senior executives at Deliveroo had been awarded long-term incentives equivalent to 600 per cent of basic pay  one of the highest for a FTSE 100 company.

Deliveroo was set up in 2013 by Will Shu, an ex-Morgan Stanley banker.

He also attacked the way Initial Public Offerings are run and he said the process sidelines independent analysts and lacks transparency.

Hiley said: 'Had independent firms like us been given proper access to the process at the time, Deliveroo could still have gone ahead, but at a more realistic price level.

'As it is, what should have been hailed as a success for the London market has turned badly sour. We have been arguing for years that we need to open up the IPO process and allow firms like ours  who have no axe to grind  to provide proper unconnected research. That would do a lot to ensure floats are not overhyped and restore confidence.'

Deliveroo shares fell 3.5 per cent on Friday. Its market capitalisation stands at 4.6billion.

The firm was set up in 2013 by Shu, an ex-Morgan Stanley banker. It lists 45,000 UK restaurants. Last year, turnover grew to 4.1billion from 2.5billion in 2019, but the firm made a loss of 223.7million.

A Deliveroo spokesman said: 'Will Shu will not be taking a bonus and will not be part of a long-term incentive plan for as long as he is CEO.'
Along with human trafficking, there is also more drug trafficking. Katko said fentanyl seizures at the border are up 2,000% compared to the same time last year. Cocaine seizures are up 187%, while weapon seizures are up 131%.

The seizures concerned Katko because he thinks that means more fentanyl and other drugs could be moving to central New York. After drug overdoses increased in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, he worries that the situation at the border could result in more deaths.

"I suspect it's going to be even worse this year," he said.

Katko and the Republican delegation toured the Donna migrant facility, which he said operating at 420% capacity because of the influx of immigrants. Inside the facility, Border Patrol agents initially prevented them from taking photos. But Katko was able to capture some images of the conditions. He thinks Border Patrol agents let him take the photos so the public could see what's happening at the border.

There have been young women who were sexually assaulted and crossed the border, according to Katko. He was told an 11-year-old gave birth to twins after she entered the country.
From the presidential election to the COVID pandemic, experts say there were many reasons why hate crimes nearly doubled  following a national trend  in Connecticut last year.

The Anti-Defamation League tracks a variety of hate crimes, including extremist murders, terrorist plots and attacks, extremist/police shootouts, white supremacist events, white supremacist propaganda and anti-Semitic incidents.

The ADL Center of Extremism compiles the data based on media, police and victim reports, as well as extremist-related sources, investigations and more.

The ADL data shows a nationwide snapshot only of reported hate crimes tracked by the organization and does not show the full scope of the issue, experts said.

Hate crimes are grossly underreported, said Elizabeth Fles, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Bridgeport with expertise in social stigmatization, hate crimes and white supremacist groups.

Last year, the ADL indicated there were 128 reported hate crimes in Connecticut, including 106 instances of white supremacist propaganda, 21 anti-Semitic incidents, one extremist murder and one white supremacist event.

In 2019, the ADL tracked 65 reported hate crime incidents in Connecticut, including 37 anti-Semitic incidents, 27 instances of white supremacist propaganda, one extremist/police shootout and one white supremacist event.

Among the Connecticut incidents classified as a hate crime on the ADLs nationwide map was described as an extremist murder in Hartford on July 26, 2020.

A landlord was attacked and killed by a tenant wielding a samurai sword after a dispute over rent, police said. The tenant, Jerry David Thompson, was charged murder and remains held on $2 million bond as his case remains pending.

The ADL said white supremacist propaganda reached a new high in 2020, with a national average of 14 incidents a day.

Fles said its no comfort that Connecticut is following a nationwide trend.

We want to understand why its happening and try to find ways we can reduce and mitigate these problems, she said.

The data indicated that 5,121 of the 6,478 reported hate crime incidents tracked nationwide last year by the ADL were instances of white supremacist propaganda. The ADL said that was nearly double the 2,724 cases reported in 2019.

In Newtown on Nov. 1, 2020, propaganda stickers were distributed that read better dead than red, our tradition is revolution and America First, the ADL data showed.

White supremacists appear to be more emboldened than ever, and the election year, the pandemic and other factors may have provided these extremists with additional encouragement, ADL CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt said in a statement.

At least 30 white supremacist groups allegedly distributed propaganda, according to the data.

The literature helps to bolster recruitment efforts and spreads fear by targeting specific groups, including the Jewish, Black, Muslim and LGBTQ+ communities, as well as non-white immigrants, said Oren Segal, vice president of the ADLs Center on Extremism.

Fles said there are various reasons for the rise in hate crimes last year.

Between the election and the turmoil caused by the coronavirus, I think a lot of people are experiencing uncertainty, Fles said. Theyre looking for some kind of answer, or something to look to, to guide them.

She said in the case of white supremacy groups and ideologies, their voices are really loud and they are providing answers, even if they are problematic answers.

Fles said the rise in hate crimes toward people of Asian descent also climbed last year because of COVID, as well as the rhetoric used by former President Donald Trump regarding the disease.

Even though hate crimes are on the rise, this is just the tip of the iceberg, Fles said. Theres a lot of turmoil and anxieties, and people are having a harder time hiding implicit biases. ... When you are under stress, you dont have the (cognitive) resources to suppress those urges that you normally do.

There were 21 reported incidents of anti-Semitism in 2020 statewide, including one instance last January when about 30 headstones in two small Jewish cemeteries in Hartford were vandalized and toppled over, the ADL reported.

In New Milford, a synagogue holding Shabbat services on Zoom last March was interrupted by an unknown participant, saying Heil Hitler and Jews should die, the ADL reported.

Also in March 2020, a rabbi was standing in the driveway outside the Chabad House at Yale in New Haven when two teens walked up to him and demanded he hand over all his items, while cursing and referencing his religion. The ADL said when the rabbi resisted, the teens assaulted him and stole his vehicle.

In December, structures at Holy Land USA in Waterbury were vandalized with graffiti, including swastikas. Three people were arrested in connection with this incident.

While the pandemic was likely a contributing factor to the 2020 rise in reported hate crimes, Fles said its hard to say if a return to normalcy post-pandemic could lead to a decline in these incidents.

In my opinion, I dont expect that it will go down significantly until the actual issues that prompted them to begin with are addressed, Fles said.
I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but everyone is painfully aware of the fanatical obsession with racism that's tearing this country apart. Thanks to BLM/Marxist activists (some of whom are anti-capitalists who purchase million-dollar homes), so-called social justice warriors, and power-mad (mostly) Democrat politicians, the scarlet letter R is almost always branded on white people. They are aided and abetted by the propagandists in the mainstream media. But an examination of Department of Justice crime statistics, which anyone can access, paints a very different picture from what you'll hear on CNN. Real-life experience can help as well, especially for those who have spent even a moderate amount of time in urban America.

Brevity compels me to leave the rather easy research to the reader, but the stats are pretty glaring: interracial crime, including murder, shows a much higher per-capita occurrence of black-on-white crime than vice-versa. But when you hear the media drone on about hate crimes, which race is almost always designated the culprit? Whites...and the alleged victim will, in the current climate, normally be black or Asian.

Hard numbers and videos don't lie, and the opposite, though often unreported, is usually true. Even when the media cover a high-profile inter-racial crime where the perpetrator is black, it's almost never referred to as a "hate crime." (They did call the recent assault by a black man  a convicted murderer, no less  on an elderly Asian woman a hate crime. It was too glaring for even the New York Times to ignore.) It seems that blacks are normally immune to that vile charge due to hundreds of years of oppression. "Oh, we don't excuse violent crime," the enlightened progressive will say, "but it's kind of understandable if the perpetrator's great-great-great grandparents were slaves." Tell that to the parents of the five-year-old North Carolina boy who was executed last year by a black career criminal. More recently, in Maryland, a respected doctor, his wife, and their two young grandchildren, all white, were murdered by a black ex-NFL player. Was either killer tagged with the "hate crime" or "racist" moniker? Not a chance. There are many more examples, but you get the point.

But the best news source (more accurately, source of knowledge) is real-life experience. I was born and raised in a major metropolitan area. I lived and worked in other large cities during my many decades on this planet. I've dealt in many ways with "people of color," blacks more often than the other races combined. I've been to job sites, sporting events, night clubs, restaurants, and neighborhoods where I was very much in the minority. I was normally treated pretty well, once the initial surprise at my presence had subsided. But there were times when I was insulted and harassed...and a couple of occasions where mild intimidation was attempted. But I survived...and I learned. One of the things I learned was this: had I treated blacks the way they (occasionally) treated me, I would have been branded an outright racist.

Conversely, during all the years I lived in metropolitan areas, I never once watched a white person insult, threaten, intimidate, or assault a "person of color," especially blacks. Don't misunderstand  I know it happens. But after studying the actual numbers, and from good old real-life experience, I know that systemic racism doesn't exist  not in the current context, anyway. Most whites, especially white liberals from the suburbs, will bend over backwards to show how non-racist they are. (That can be condescending, but it makes them feel good.) Most of them don't know any real racists or white supremacists and probably wonder where in the heck they're all hiding. But MSNBC and the Critical Race Theory class they had at work told them otherwise, so it must be true. Sadly, they've lost touch with reality and have accepted the outright propaganda being pounded into them. Even though they don't think they have a racist bone in their body...well...they must...because...well...they're white! Talk about racism!

Yes, there is a form of systemic racism in this country: an all-out assault on whiteness, mainly perpetrated by the CRT lunatics, the Democrat/Marxists, and the dullards in the media. Racism in America is a one-way street, and we're driving in the wrong direction. We'd better get our figurative vehicle moving in the right direction, or we're bound to have a fatal head-on collision!

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
NEW DELHI: Bihar Governor Phagu Chauhan will on Saturday (April 17) hold an all-party meeting to discuss the suitable measures to be taken to put a brake on the surge of coronavirus across the state. The meeting, to be held in virtual mode, will also be attended by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

A day before the all-party meeting on COVID-19 called by the Governor Chauhan, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar held a high-level meeting to discuss the steps taken so far to check the spread of the disease and availability of oxygen for critically ill patients. He, however, refused to divulge details of the deliberations, saying everything will be discussed at all-party meeting. The chief minister said after talks with political parties, a district level meeting will be held the next day and more suitable measures will be taken to put a brake on the surge of coronavirus in Bihar like other parts of the country in the wake of its second wave.

Friday meeting on coronavirus scenario in Bihar was attended by Deputy Chief Ministers-Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi-besides Health minister Mangal Pandey, his cabinet colleague in Education department Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Principal Secretary Health Pratyaya Amrit among others, according to PTI.

Asked if Bihar was contemplating imposition of lockdown or night curfew in the backdrop of substantial increase in infections, CM Nitish did not give any direct answer and said things would be discussed at Saturday meeting. He said its true that coronavirus cases are rising with every passing day in the state and the government would initiate more steps based on the outcome of all-party meeting and views emerging from districts.

Live TV

(With PTI inputs)
Bhopal: The lockdown imposed in some cities across Madhya Pradesh has been extended, as per a decision taken by the Crisis Management team the lockdown in Bhopal, Indore and Ujjain cities has been extended till April 26.

Only essential services will be exempted from the corona curfew and people arriving in the city or leaving by rail, bus etc will not be inconvenienced.

Earlier, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that devotees returning from Kumbh Mela will be quarantined.

New measures were announced in the wake of night curfew and other restrictions already implemented in order to curb the rising COVID-19 cases in the state.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh on Saturday recorded its highest single-day spike of 11,269 COVID-19 cases taking its tally to 3,95,832, while the day also saw 66 deaths and 6,497 people getting discharged, an official said.

The toll in MP stands at 4,491 and the recovery count is 3,27,452, leaving it with an active caseload of 63,889, he added.
Hold the front page  two members of the Royal Family are trying their hand at journalism.

Sisters Lady Marina and Lady Amelia Windsor  granddaughters of the Duke of Kent  have started writing articles for fashion magazine Vogue.

Press-basher Prince Harry will be unamused to learn that his third cousin Lady Amelia, 25, who is 41st in line to the throne, has written travel features while her sister Lady Marina, 28, penned an article about female artisans in Beirut.

There's always a spare desk at Talk of the Town girls

Sisters Lady Marina (left) and Lady Amelia Windsor (right)  granddaughters of the Duke of Kent  have started writing articles for fashion magazine Vogue

Press-basher Prince Harry (above) will be unamused to learn that his third cousin Lady Amelia, 25, has written travel features

Boomtime for Kate's 'kids'

The fashion industry was on hold for most of last year, yet somehow the Kate Moss modelling agency is still looking good.

Kate's 'not for pretty people' business  which she filled with children of her famous friends  has been booming while others were pushed to the brink, defying the odds by posting profits of nearly 2million, a 29 per cent rise in a year.

Meanwhile, Kate was notable by her absence at a birthday party for former best pal Fran Cutler in Notting Hill last week.

They fell out in 2018 when Kate caught Fran bitching about her behind her back.

The fashion industry was on hold for most of last year, yet somehow the Kate Moss (above in September 2019) modelling agency is still looking good

My lips are sealed, but...

Which celeb mum worked her socks off to get back into shape for a 'post baby body' magazine shoot just a few months after giving birth only to discover she is expecting again!

In the end she had to cover up to hide the bump.
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toyokeizai.net
The two people added that Wyss had come to believe it would be difficult for him to realize his ambition of transforming the Chicago Tribune  the companys flagship paper and the one he was most interested in  into a national publication. The three people with knowledge of the matter spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the deal publicly.
Ghanaian Actress, Rosemond Alade Brown, aka Akuapem Poloo was Friday slapped with 90-day imprisonment for the publication of a nude picture with her seven-year-old son in June 2020.



Brown, was sentenced 90 days each to all three counts of publication of obscene materials, engaging in domestic violence namely a conduct that in any way undermined another persons privacy or integrity, and engaging in domestic violence namely conduct that in any way detracted or was likely to detract from another persons dignity and worth as a human being.



The jail term is to run concurrently which means that she will serve for 90 days.



Courts consideration



In sentencing Poloo, the Accra Circuit court presided over by Ms. Christiana Cann, took into consideration the aggravating facts, intrinsic seriousness of the offence, gravity, prevalence, and premeditation with which she committed the offence leveled against her.



The judge, however, expressed concern about the sudden increase in increase in the abuse of children in the country.



The court also took into consideration the mitigating factors which included pleading guilty simplicity, being a single parent, and the convicts show of remorse.



Specific reasons



The court in giving its reasons to buttress the sentence held the view that the action of the accused did not only infringe on the rights of the child. It morally corrupted those who saw the post. It also caused the pride and dignity of the country as a whole.



The court is bothered with posting nude photos on social media. There is no doubt that apart from the canker of rape, defilement, physical assault, the publication of obscene materials is on the increase.



There is, therefore, the need to uphold our societal values and deal with this canker. The best interest of the child shall be the primary concern of the court, Ms. Cann said.



She further asked, Did she ask for the permission of the child before posting the said picture? Did she respect the childs rights? No she did not,



The judge further noted that Poloo had a basic responsibility for the development of her son but rather infringed on her sons best interest, right to privacy, and dignity.



Ms Cann added that sentencing Poloo must not only be punitive but must serve as a deterrent to society.



A harsh sentence will serve as a deterrent, Ms Cann said.



Counsels reaction



Meanwhile speaking to the media after the court sitting, Counsel for Poloo, Mr. Andy Vortia hinted on plans to file for a review.



He revealed that he had written to the court for the full judgment and a review would be filed on Monday, April 19.







Source: Graphiconline.com









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Offers would normally address the same issues as listed above, i.e. the addition of new sectors; the removal of existing limitations or the binding of modes not currently committed; the undertaking of additional commitments under Article XVIII; and the termination of MFN Exemptions. Participants would take into account all requests received, after careful assessment of the growth, developmental and other relevant policy implications.

While requests are usually presented in the form of a letter, an offer normally consists of a draft schedule of commitments. Therefore, offers do require considerable technical preparation. In the Uruguay Round, in the absence of pre-existing schedules of commitments, participants started the negotiating process with the submission of offers. These were followed by requests, amended offers, and so forth.

In the new round, offers will be submitted against the backdrop of existing schedules. The technical implications are currently being discussed in the Council for Trade in Services and the Committee on Specific Commitments. In these discussions, Members expressed a preference for using, as a starting-point, consolidated schedules that incorporate not only the Uruguay Round outcome, but any later amendments and extensions, including those resulting from the negotiations on basic telecommunications and financial services. The modifications offered in current negotiations would be indicated through strikeouts, bolded insertions, italics or other agreed methods. The draft offer(s) would constitute negotiating document(s) with no legal status and would have no binding effects on the participant concerned.

On that occasion, Members may also wish to introduce technical clarifications to existing commitments.

In the future course of the negotiations, there would be a succession of requests and offers. The initial offers, to be submitted by 31 March 2003, will be subject to revisions in response mainly to new or renewed requests. The offers are traditionally circulated multilaterally. This is not only useful for transparency purposes, but also from a functional point of view. While offers reflect the requests received (and, possibly, autonomous policy choices), they need to be open to consultation and negotiation by all partners.

With the submission of offers, participants enter a decisive stage of the negotiating process. Many governments send delegations to Geneva to conduct a long schedule of bilaterals with other delegations. Less time will be spent in Council or Committee meetings.

As an off-shoot from the bilateral process, substantive issues of common interest might arise and require further multilateral discussion. For example, participants may want to address regulatory issues via Article XVIII, further clarify concepts and disciplines contained in the GATS, or improve existing sector classifications. The Reference Paper in basic telecommunications, inscribed under Article XVIII, may stimulate work in other sectors facing similar problems of network access and market dominance, such as rail transport or electricity distribution. Other regulatory issues, e.g. transparency requirements, may be addressed as well. The development of a reference paper should essentially be open to all participants. Of course, once adopted or agreed upon, the paper only takes legal effect if it is incorporated in a Members schedule.
AUSTIN, Texas, April 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Blockcap Inc. ("Blockcap"), one of the largest bitcoin mining and blockchain technology companies based in the United States, announced today that it mined a total of 544 bitcoin during the first quarter of this year. Coming on the heels of several large-scale acquisitions of mining machinery by Blockcap, the revelation highlights not only the rapid growth experienced by the company but also how its increasing capacity has surpassed that of competitors in North America.

Since its founding last year, Blockcap has mined more than 1,600 bitcoin. With a fleet that now numbers approximately 12,176 fully deployed and operational machines, the company currently mines more than six bitcoin per day. Moreover, the company expects to have 43,000 total mining machines fully deployed and operating next year.

Blockcap's executive chairman and founder, Darin Feinstein, cited the continued growth as a testament to the company's commitment to turning the United States into a major global hub for blockchain and bitcoin-mining technology. During the first three months of 2021, he noted that his Austin-headquartered company mined more bitcoin than several major North American-based companies. This includes Riot Blockchain, a publicly traded company that mined 491 Bitcoin during the first quarter of the year, as well as 165 bitcoin mined in Q3 of last year by Hive Blockchain.

"Blockcap has an aggressive growth strategy that is designed to create more jobs in the blockchain industry not just in the United States but also in our home state of Texas and our hometown of Austin," Feinstein said. "We're proud to be competing in this industry with a number of other high-quality firms, and we believe there is ample room for all of us to expand together and in turn provide broader, sustained economic growth at the local, state and national levels."

In addition to expanding mining capacity, Blockcap is announcing that it has brought onto its advisory board Jarvis Hollingsworth, a prominent attorney who currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, a $150 billion-plus pension trust fund based in Austin. A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and a former U.S. Army captain, Hollingsworth brings unparalleled legal expertise to the company. Moreover, he joins several other notable hires and additions to Blockcap's team, including Saifedean Ammous, a luminary in the blockchain industry and author of the groundbreaking book, The Bitcoin Standard.

In addition to utilizing blockchain technology for creating jobs in the United States, Feinstein expressed excitement about the industry's positive potential impact not only for everyday Americans but also people all around the world. "Currently there are roughly 60 million Americans who don't have access to bank accounts and roughly 1.7 billion people globally who are also unbanked. And we at Blockcap strongly believe that the blockchain industry as a whole will provide these unbanked people with the critical technology necessary for accessing the financial system."

About Blockcap Blockcap, Inc. (the "Company" or "Blockcap") headquartered in Austin, Texas, was founded by blockchain industry veterans that have been in the space for nearly a decade. The Blockcap mining division operates one of the world's largest bitcoin mining operations, accounting for 0.7 percent of all the Bitcoin network transactions. In addition to mining operations, the company operates two other divisions - digital treasury assets and venture investments. Blockcap's mining fleet currently utilizes Core Scientific's best-in-class co-location mining facilities based in the United States.

For more information, visit https://www.blockcap.com/ or contact (833) 901-BLOC toll-free.

Follow Blockcap on LinkedIn.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/blockcap-mines-544-bitcoin-in-q1-2021-301270761.html

SOURCE Blockcap
Malin Andersson stepped out for an alfresco lunch with a female pal on Saturday after dumping her new beau when she found out he had a secret pregnant girlfriend.

The Love Island star, 28, put on a brave face as she enjoyed drinks near her Cambridgeshire home after taking to her Instagram to say she feels 'used' after her short-lived romance with Michael Sadler, 35, came to an end.

Speaking on Friday night on her Story she said: 'I've gone through a lot of s**t in my life, a lot of heartbreak, pain and trauma and when you let your guard down and trust someone it isn't always like that.

Heartache: Malin Andersson stepped out for an alfresco lunch with a female pal on Saturday after dumping her new beau when she found out he had a secret pregnant girlfriend

'In this industry I can feel used a lot, it comes with friends and other people who want a bit of it and it actually bothers me, it upsets me the using part.

'I just want an easy break, all I've ever wanted is just to be happy and find someone and settle down but sometimes when we're looking for it it doesn't happen like that.

'I'm here to tell you to put yourself first and follow your intuition. I feel like a piece of s**t really but I'll be fine I always am and men are trash!'

Difficult: The Love Island star, 28, put on a brave face as she enjoyed her drinks near her Cambridgeshire home after taking to her Instagram to say she feels 'used' after her short-lived romance

Malin dressed in a casual ensemble wearing a long black and white Adidas coat and purple leggings for her outing on Saturday.

Malin revealed she had dumped her tattooed-faced beau after having a heart-to-heart with his secret girlfriend, who revealed she's expecting his fifth child.

The devastated star ended her 18-month romance with Michael after his partner of seven-years Rebecca Barr, 38, contacted her to reveal he has four children and one that's due in August.

Upset: Speaking on Friday night on her Story she said: 'I've gone through a lot of s**t in my life, a lot of heartbreak, pain and trauma and when you let your guard down and trust someone it isn't always like that'

Malin, who was photographed on MailOnline this week holding hands with Michael, was clueless her boyfriend had been hiding a secret life for months.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Rebecca warned Malin to stay away from Michael, who she branded a serial liar.

She said: 'I am just terrified at the level of narcissism, the lies, and everything that's happened.

Sad: She continued: 'In this industry I can feel used a lot, it comes with friends and other people who want a bit of it and it actually bothers me, it upsets me the using part'

'I spoke with Malin last night, it's really quite disturbing. He caught Malin at a vulnerable time.

'To everyone else he's so lovely, but he needs to be exposed. In my soul I cannot let another women go through what I've been through for seven years.

'I really feel like I need to speak my truth in whatever sense that needs to work but I'm just so worried about his motives. I don't think she's the first Love Island star he targeted.'

As well the baby they're expecting in August, Rebecca and Michael share son Luciano, two, and he also has three other children from a previous relationship.

Awkward: Malin revealed she had dumped her tattooed-faced boyfriend on Friday after having a heart-to-heart with his secret girlfriend, who revealed she's expecting his fifth child (pictured on a date on Tuesday together)

It is understood Michael did not tell Malin about any of his offspring during their time together.

It's believed the pair first met when Michael reached out to Malin claiming to be a 'security professional' shortly after her ex Tom Kemp was sentenced to 10 months in prison.

But Rebecca alleges that Michael lied about his job as a bodyguard when in reality he's a guard at a car park.

She claimed: 'She didn't even know he has children  he has five children, I'm pregnant with baby number five, we've got one together and he's got three from a previous relationship.

'I'm just terrified': Rebecca Barr, 38 pictured with Michael Sadler, 35, and their son Luciano, two, last year, warned Malin to stay away from Michael, who she branded a serial liar

'Malin said he initiated contact about 18 months ago when her ex went to prison under the guise of being a concerned security professional and apparently they've been talking for 18 months but I didn't know anything about it.

'He's not a close protection officer and his name is not Michael James, it's Michael Sadler. He told Malin he's Italian and he's not  it's all an absolute lie, everything from start to finish.

'When he says he's a close protection officer, he's a static guard for a car park and a doorman but he's never actually done any level of close protection, ever.

'He's technically qualified; he got his license a couple of years ago but he's never had the opportunity to do it.'

Pals close to Malin say she's heartbroken and can't quite believe Michael never told the truth about being a father and she's looking to draw a line under it and move on.

'He needs to be exposed': Malin ended the 18-month romance on Thursday after Michael came clean about his four other children and the one that's due in August

But Michael is determined to win her back, telling MailOnline: 'I love Malin to bits.'

A source close to Malin confirmed: 'Michael has been living a secret life for months. Malin had absolutely no idea she was being lied to.

'She has fully cut ties with Michael and blocked him on Instagram. She doesn't want anything to do with him.'

Rebecca's conversation with Malin was sparked by MailOnline's pictures of them on a date together this week.

Family: Michael and Rebecca are expecting a daughter together in August, while they also share son Luciano, as well as Michael being a dad to three other children from a previous relationship

According to Rebecca, Michael claimed he was going to work on Tuesday night but it later emerged he had been with Malin at a restaurant in Essex.

Rebecca said: 'He told me he was doing a night shift on Tuesday and obviously that's when he went out with Malin.

'He got back here at 11/12 and we spent the next day together and we were going to have a proper chat about everything but then I saw the article.

'There was not an ounce of remorse or shame.'

Rebecca claims Michael got his face tattooed to strike fear into people, alleging he loves to 'shock and scare.'

Suffered: Malin's ex Tom Kemp was imprisoned last September after he admitted to assaulting the reality star, which left her with a broken her hand (pictured 2019)

She said: 'He got them done while we were together. It's a mask.

'He loves the element of fear it gives people that they don't approach him, it intimidates them, he loves to shock and scare people but it's a persona.

'He didn't have them up until a couple of years ago. He's insecure and a pathetic person. He's constantly in the mirror like 'babe how do I look?' He adopts all of these personas.

'Now he's American army and he really identifies with that but prior to that it was like Peaky Blinders, and really buying into that gangster mentality even though he has no affiliation with anything.'

Malin's ex Tom was imprisoned last September after he admitted to assaulting the reality star, which left her with a broken her hand.

Tom was released in December after three months and will serve the rest of his term on Home Detention Curfew.
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Viewers criticised BBC presenter Huw Edwards for talking over too much of Prince Philip's funeral during his live broadcast today.

The BBC launched it's six hours of funeral coverage at 11am on BBC One with The Duke: In His Own Words - one of Prince Philip's last interviews - before news reader Edwards took over the sombre live broadcast at 12.30pm.

Viewers rushed to social media to say they had 'switched to ITV' to watch the historic event due to Edwards' 'constant inane chatter' over footage of the procession ahead of the official ceremony.

Coverage on ITV was fronted by Tom Bradby and Julie Etchingham and began at 1.15pm. Prince William recently ended his long-standing friendship with Bradby because of his concerns he sided with Prince Harry.

The Queen looked grief-stricken and bowed her head in reverence as she accompanied her beloved Philip's coffin on its final journey.

Prior to Prince Philip's coffin emerging from the State Entrance, Edwards provided background and context in a voice over from a studio in the grounds of Windsor.

Viewers rushed to Twitter to share their frustration at Edwards' interjections, with Ruth Nguyen writing: 'Poor coverage by the beeb.

'Huw Edwards just kept talking throughout. Repetition, same coverage as all the other programmes.

'ITV did a more sensitive and moving programme. Get a grip BBC.'

Meanwhile, Jackie Racher said she 'switched to ITV coverage of the funeral' because 'Huw Edwards' constant inane chatter was driving us crackers'.

Viewers blasted BBC presenter Huw Edwards (pictured) for talking over too much of Prince Philip's funeral during his live broadcast today

ITV's funeral coverage began at 1.15pm fronted by Bradby and Julie Etchingham. Prince William recently ended his long-standing friendship with Bradby because of his concerns he sided with Prince Harry

Viewers rushed to social media to say they had 'switched to ITV' to watch the historic event instead because of Edwards' 'constant inane chatter' over footage of the procession ahead of the official ceremony

Jon Waples said: 'BBC coverage is awful. Huw Edwards sounds just like Uncle Bryn from Gavin and Stacey giving us talk on the Land Rover.

'ITV, quiet, few comments, respectful.'

Another Twitter user added: 'Watching Prince Philip's funeral and have had to turn over to ITV.

'Does Huw Edwards ever shut up? Or even pause for breath?'

Edwards was joined by JJ Chalmers and Sophie Raworth who reported from 'key locations' for the BBC's coverage of the day.

It follows a week which saw the BBC receive nearly 110,000 complaints about the amount of coverage it gave to Philip's death.

Meanwhile, ITV's funeral coverage began at 1.15pm and was presented by Bradby and Etchingham.

Following the funeral - when Harry and William were seen speaking to each other amid rift rumours - Bradby said: 'Funerals are a time of reconciliation and that a sight, let's be honest, that many wanted to see. Not least the family itself.'

Royal commentator Katie Nicholl told Edwards that 'this was the day when the brothers were going to put, and did put, their differences aside' - while the Daily Mail's Robert Hardman said 'today we saw the start of them coming back together.'

Sir David Attenborough - a friend of the duke's - described Philip as 'an extraordinary combination of being formidable and actually being cheerful'

The BBC's and ITV's programming will mean further schedule changes which could again spark complaints. Pictured: Major General Sir William George Cubitt (bottom left), journalist Eve Pollard (bottom right) and royal biographer Hugo Vickers (top)

Following the funeral - when Harry and William were seen speaking to each other amid rift fears - Bradby said: 'Funerals are a time of reconciliation and that a sight, let's be honest, that many wanted to see. Not least the family itself'

All the TV coverage of Duke of Edinburgh's funeral this weekend BBC's Coverage BBC One Friday at 7pm - HRH The Duke of Edinburgh Remembered presented by Huw Edwards Saturday at 11am - The Duke: In His Own Words Saturday at 12.30pm - The Funeral of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh presented by Huw Edwards BBC Two Saturday at 8.10pm - The Funeral of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh - Huw Edwards reflects on the events of the day live from Windsor Castle ITV's Coverage Saturday at 1.15pm - Prince Philip - a Royal Funeral presented by Tom Bradby Sky News Coverage Saturday at 10am - Sky News live from Windsor Castle presented by Sarah Hawson Saturday at 12.30pm - Prince Philip's Funeral presented by Dermot Murnaghan Saturday at 5pm - Sky News live from Windsor Castle presented by Mark Austin Saturday at 7pm - Sky News live from Windsor Castle presented by Anna Botting Saturday at 9pm - Prince Philip's Funeral - Anna Botting reflects on the events of the day live from Windsor Castle Advertisement

The BBC's coverage saw Edwards joined by guests who knew the duke, and Royal experts who share their thoughts on a remarkable life of duty and service.

Sir David Attenborough - a friend of the duke's - described Philip as 'an extraordinary combination of being formidable and actually being cheerful'.

He added: 'You knew he was there in an extraordinary way, he had an amazing presence.'

He said the duke performed a 'balancing act between formality and informality', adding that he 'both put you at your ease but also made you aware that you were actually to some degree on parade'.

Following the ceremony, royal commentator Katie Nicholl told Edwards that 'this was the day when the brothers were going to put and did put their differences aside'.

Commenting on footage of the pair talking while walking back to Windsor Castle, she said: 'Clearly there are things that need to be sorted out.

'If there is one thing we have seen today: this is a family with real emotions and feelings and rifts all being part of it.

'To see them together it for sure brought back many memories for them.'

Meanwhile, Robert Hardman said: 'I think today we saw the start of them coming back together.'

Edwards is leading the coverage from 12.30pm to 4.20pm on BBC One - and a show on BBC Two reflecting on the day's events from 8.10pm.

Other planned programming on BBC One will go ahead from 5pm tonight including the FA Cup semi-final between Chelsea and Manchester City, followed by I Can See Your Voice, Casualty and Keeping Faith.

Sky News will have dedicated live coverage of the funeral from 12.30pm to 5pm from Windsor, with breakfast with Jayne Secker, mid-morning Sarah Hewson, special coverage by Dermot Murnaghan, and Mark Austin from 5pm.

But the BBC's and ITV's programming will mean further schedule changes which could again spark complaints.

Meanwhile the BBC revealed it had received a record 109,741 complaints about the amount of coverage it had given to Philip's death, which is believed to be the record for complaints in British television history.

The BBC cleared its schedules last Friday, the day of the duke's death, to simulcast special programmes on BBC One and BBC Two, with episodes of shows such as MasterChef and EastEnders dropped from that day's TV guide.

Prince Charles and Prince William arrived at Windsor Castle with their wives ahead of the ceremony.

The grieving Prince of Wales, who shed tears for his late father when viewing tributes left at Buckingham Palace this week, looked sombre in a black mask as he was driven into his mother's Berkshire home.

His wife Camilla arrived separately just as the duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who was wearing the Queen's pearls, left Kensington Palace.

Alone in grief, the Queen sat on the opposite side of the church as she says goodbye to her husband at his funeral in extraordinary and poignant circumstances due to the pandemic

Harry and William walked back to the castle in the spring sunshine with Kate, speaking for the first time in a year

The Queen's Bentley followed the coffin from the castle to the church, behind the Land Rover and her family marching together

Prince Philip's cap and sword atop the coffin as it was carried on the Land Rover hearse he helped design

Zara Tindall and her husband Mike arrived at the castle shortly afterwards followed by Philip's other grandchildren including Princess Beatrice and spouse Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.

The Cambridges are set to see Prince Harry for the first time in a year after the brothers fell out over Megxit and the Sussexes extraordinary and damaging Oprah interview.

The Duke of Edinburgh's insignia, Field Marshal's baton, RAF wings and decorations from Denmark and Greece resting on cushions have been placed on the altar of St George's Chapel to mark the passing of the 'grandfather of the nation'.

At 11am his coffin, covered with Philip's personal standard along with his sword, naval cap and a wreath of flowers, was moved from Her Majesty's private chapel to the Inner Hall of Windsor Castle by members of The Queen's Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards.

A tearful Prince Charles watches as his father's body is carried to the altar, as he is supported by his wife Camilla

The Kings Troop and their artillery arrive for the funeral, with the ceremonial event involved 700 members of the armed forces

The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery move along The Long Walk towards the castle ahead of the procession this afternoon as crowds amassed

The first glimpse of the altar inside the chapel shows the Duke's insignia, Field Marshal's baton, RAF wings and decorations from Denmark and Greece resting on cushions

The first mourners have been swept into Windsor Castle as Prince Philip's coffin is moved into position ahead of his funeral this afternoon

Minutes later a convoy of funeral cars swept the first mourners into the main gates as a single Queen's Guard stood to attention, as soldiers on horses trotted into the grounds where 700 armed forces personnel will gather.

The early guests arriving included The Countess Mountbatten of Burma, Lady Penny Brabourne, Philip's close friend and confidante, and Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The castle has a 'ring of steel' protecting it led by armed units from the Metropolitan Police. Tens of millions of people in Britain and around the world will be watching the most important royal funeral since the Queen Mother died in 2002.

The event, pared back because of the pandemic, was overseen by Philip for at least 20 years before his death.

Members of the Household Cavalry march past St George's Chapel where Prince Philip's funeral is taking place

The Household Cavalry would normally be flanked by huge crowds of mourners, but today only a sea of flowers surrounded them

Her Majesty is determined to ensure it reflects his 'unwavering loyalty' to her during their 73-year marriage and her 68-year reign on the throne as well his lifetime of service to the UK and the Commonwealth in his 99-year life.

Philip was the longest serving consort to a monarch in history, a record unlikely to be ever broken.

In pre-pandemic times thousands of mourners would have travelled to the Berkshire town to pay their respects, but the Royal Family, the Government and police are asking the public to stay away. However, it appears hundreds have defied the warnings and gathered to pay their respects in Windsor despite the risk of fines or even arrest.

People who knew Philip best have said he would be pleased about the smaller crowds because he always demanded 'no fuss' in the event of his death.

People staying at home for the funeral decked their homes in Union Flags and pictures of the duke and his wife, with many enjoying traditional full English breakfasts or afternoon teas as they watched on TV.
New Delhi:

SpaceX, a US private spaceflight company, successfully launched 10 next generation global satellite to low-earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4E(SLC-4E) in Californias Vandenberg Air Force Base .

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from the Vadenberg Air Force Base at 5:37 am PDT, carrying 10 satellites for Iriduium Communications.

Iridium Next satellites were deployed about 57 minutes after liftoff.

The launch was streamed live online, showing the SpaceX team at control room applauding and breaking into cheers after the Falcon 9 rockets first stage landing.

The mission also marked the 14th launch of SpaceX in 2017 and the 17th successful landing of a Falcon 9 first stage, according to Xinhua news agency.

Falcon 9 first stages have been reused by SpaceX, which is pursuing fully reusable rockets in an effort to bring down the cost of spaceflight.

This is the third of the eight scheduled launches for Iridiums next generation global satellite constellation, Iridium NEXT. Now the total number of satellites in orbit is up to 30. The first launch took place in January, while the second on June 25.

SpaceX had announced earlier that it has started the live testing of the Iridium Certus service on operational Iridium NEXT satellites.

The satellite communications company has collaborated with Thales Alenia Space for the manufacturing, assembly and testing of 81 Iridium NEXT satellites. SpaceX has launched 75 out of these and they are scheduled to be deployed by mid-2018.

The next-gen global satellite constellation will provide coverage of over 100 per cent of the surface of the Earth, including across oceans, airways and polar regions, Xinhua reported.

The spaceflight companys landed its Falcon 9 on a droneship in the Pacific Ocean. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk posted a photo showing sattelite deploying on Instagram.

Musk wrote, The last of ten Iridium global communication satellites delivered to orbit several hundred miles above Earth, traveling at over 17,000 mph. They will circle the planet every 90 minutes."

Falcon 9s principal integration engineer John Insprucker soon after the deployment in a webcast said, We're 10 for 10. A clean sweep of Iridium Next satellite deployment in the desired final orbit."

The last of ten Iridium global communication satellites delivered to orbit several hundred miles above Earth, traveling at over 17,000 mph. They will circle the planet every 90 minutes. A post shared by Elon Musk (@elonmusk) on Oct 9, 2017 at 8:36am PDT

The launch was streamed live online, showing the SpaceX team at control room applauding and breaking into cheers after the Falcon 9 rockets first stage landing. The mission also marked the 14th launch of SpaceX in 2017 and the 17th successful landing of a Falcon 9 first stage, according to Xinhua news agency. Falcon 9 first stages have been reused by SpaceX, which is pursuing fully reusable rockets in an effort to bring down the cost of spaceflight. This is the third of the eight scheduled launches for Iridiums next generation global satellite constellation, Iridium NEXT. Now the total number of satellites in orbit is up to 30. The first launch took place in January, while the second on June 25. SpaceX had announced earlier that it has started the live testing of the Iridium Certus service on operational Iridium NEXT satellites. The satellite communications company has collaborated with Thales Alenia Space for the manufacturing, assembly and testing of 81 Iridium NEXT satellites. SpaceX has launched 75 out of these and they are scheduled to be deployed by mid-2018. The next-gen global satellite constellation will provide coverage of over 100 per cent of the surface of the Earth, including across oceans, airways and polar regions, Xinhua reported.

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Canyon Lake on Friday, Jan. 15, 2021. Many subdivisions in central Comal County get their water managed by the Canyon Lake Water Corporation. This water is sourced from both the Trinity Aquifer and surface water from the Canyon Lake Reservoir. MIKALA COMPTON | Herald-Zeitung
Tirupati, April 17 : Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday alleged and condemned that police arrested his party leader who tried to block bogus voters in the high octane Tirupati Lok Sabha by-poll.

"Police who should protect democracy are arresting the TDP leaders doing that work," alleged Naidu.

He alleged that police illegally arrested TDP's 47th division President Venkateswarlu and 50th division President Venkata Ratnam in Tirupati and demanded their immediate release.

The TDP chief alleged that thousands of ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) cadres from Nellore, Chittoor and Kadapa districts have descended on the Scheduled Castes-reserved Tirupati Lok Sabha constituency, taking out rallies while the police are allegedly looking as bystanders.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K. Vijayanand ordered Chittoor and Nellore district officials to ensure that no poll violations occur in the high octane Tirupati by-election.

Vijayanand said that he spoke to the district collectors, superintendents of police (SPs) and returning officers as many Telugu news channels are telecasting that allegedly fake votes are being polled.

He said that the election must happen in a peaceful environment and directed officials to take strict action on bogus voters.
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Des coproprietaires se sont plaints des nuisances engendrees par des locataires de meubles touristiques. La justice a ordonne en r ...
KYODO NEWS - Apr 17, 2021 - 13:13 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Friday he will prioritize the government's coronavirus response but will also give consideration to diplomatic and economic issues as he weighs when to dissolve Japan's lower house for an election, due by this fall.

"Measures against the novel coronavirus come first," Suga told reporters in Washington after meeting U.S. President Joe Biden.

"I will think about the timing by taking into account the House of Representatives members' term ending this fall as well as diplomacy, security and the economy," he added.

The lower house members' four-year term expires on Oct. 21 and Suga's term as head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and thus the country's leader ends on Sept. 30, giving him a small window in which to call a general election.

While there has been speculation about the timing of the election, Suga has repeatedly said his focus is on getting life back to normal by taking measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic, maintaining the poll would only come after the public health crisis is under control.

Less than a month after lifting a state of emergency for all of Japan, the country has seen a resurgence of the virus. The government decided Friday to expand tougher COVID-19 restrictions to all three of the country's major metropolitan areas -- Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya -- from next week.

The increase in the number of infections has clouded the outlook of this summer's Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, which were already postponed one year due to the pandemic.

Japan's coronavirus inoculation campaign has progressed very slowly compared with the United States and some parts of Europe.

Japan started vaccinating elderly people against the coronavirus on Monday, the second group to start inoculations following health care workers. The program will expand to the rest of the population later.

Suga also said Japan will set a more ambitious 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target by Thursday, when Biden hosts a two-day virtual summit on climate change.

Asked about the target, he said, "Since the United States will lead climate measures on the 22nd, I want to make it clear by then."

"As I have declared (the goal of) achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, and bear the responsibility as I have made the declaration, I want to take measures to that end," Suga said.

Japan originally set the fiscal 2030 target of slashing emissions by 26 percent compared with fiscal 2013 levels, but how much it will be raised has been under focus after Suga vowed last year to make Japan a net-zero emissions economy by 2050.

Related coverage:

60% dissatisfied with Japan's COVID-19 vaccine rollout: Kyodo poll

Campaigning for vacant upper house seats start in Nagano, Hiroshima

Japan PM Suga says snap election before end of September "a possibility"
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We are devastated at the loss of life caused as a result of Brandons actions; through the love of his family, we tried to get him the help he needed. Our sincerest and most heartfelt apologies go out to the victims of this senseless tragedy, they said in the statement.
Dhaka, Apr 17 (UNI)Bangladesh noted actor Sarah Begum Kabori, who was on life support at the capitals Sheikh Russel National Gastroliver Institute and Hospital, passed away in the early hours of Saturday. She was 70.

The National award-winning eminent actress had recently tested positive for Covid-19.

Bangladesh President M Abdul Hamid expressed profound shock and sorrow at the death of noted film actress and former lawmaker from Narayanganj-4 constituency Sarah Begum Kabori.

In a condolence message, the President recalled the contribution of Kabori in the field of countrys film industry with honour.

Calling her a shining star of Bangla cinema, Mr Hamid said her death is an irreparable loss to the countrys film industry.

People of the country will remember Kaboris role due respect in promoting Bangla film and culture for long, he added.

The head of state prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul and conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved family.

The two-time National Film Award-winning personality lost her battle against the COVID-19 outbreak at the age of 70.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed grief at the demise of eminent Bangla film actress, director.

In a condolence message, Sheikh Hasina said Kabori was one of the brightest stars in the countrys film and her contribution to politics and cultural arena alongside performance will be remembered forever.

UNI MAZ GK 1314
Vietnams peacekeeping force has worked to enhance the countrys position in promoting the implementation of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including maintaining sustainable peace around the world,

Major General Hoang Kim Phung, Director of the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations, has said.

Major General Hoang Kim Phung, Director of the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations (Photo: VNA)

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), Phung highlighted the positive contributions made by Vietnams peacekeeping force in UN missions.

Sending troops to join UN peacekeeping missions in Africa is the Vietnamese armys contribution to maintaining sustainable peace in the world, he emphasised, adding that all countries wish to protect their people from non-traditional challenges and enable them to live in safety.

Vietnams peacekeeping initiatives have been commended by the UN and international friends, contributing to affirming its position and prestige in the region and the world, he added.

Although Vietnam is quite new to peacekeeping missions, the country has made a positive impression on the international community, the UN, and the missions in South Sudan and the Central Africa Republic, Phung said.

It has signed nine cooperative peacekeeping agreements with nine countries and two others with the UN and the EU, he said, describing the deals as helping promote bilateral defence cooperation with foreign countries.

Some 126 doctors and medical staff and 53 officers of Vietnamese level-2 field hospitals have joined UN peacekeeping forces since 2014, and they have successfully fulfilled their tasks. The Under-Secretary General for Peace Operations and the Military Adviser to the UN Secretary General sent a thank you letter to the Vietnamese Government for its medical contributions to the UN.

Besides carrying out its mission, Vietnams peacekeeping force has provided major support to local residents, such as teaching and taking care of kids and instructing people on how to plant vegetables, among other things.

In particular, after the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the world, making it harder to ensure sufficient medical supplies for hospitals, staff who returned home on furlough were assigned to bring back medicines and medical supplies when they returned, to serve COVID-19 prevention efforts in the host nation.

Phung said the participation in defence foreign affairs is one way for the Vietnamese military to protect the country during peacetime.

Peacekeeping is a priority for Vietnam at the UN Security Council as the country serves in different positions this year. It was UNSC Chair for the second time in April, suggesting 15 open meetings and ten closed meetings to discuss international peace and security.

On April 19, State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc will preside over a high-level open debate on enhancing cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organisations in promoting confidence-building and dialogue in conflict prevention and resolution.

Earlier this month, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son presided over a ministerial-level open debate on Mine action and sustaining peace: Stronger partnerships for better delivery./. VNA
The boss of Legal & General has urged pension providers to help tackle the housing crisis as Britain emerges from the pandemic.

Nigel Wilson, chief executive of the FTSE 100 insurance giant, said pension funds are sitting on billions of pounds and should invest in projects to help resolve the housing shortage and to regenerate local communities.

Wilson said: 'People have recognised that housing is a problem in the South-East as well as other parts of the country. We simply haven't built enough. London is a fantastic example of that. We will see in the next financial year that places will get co-investments directly from pension funds to try to get some of this scaled up meaningfully.'

'We simply haven't built enough': L&G boss Nigel Wilson said pension funds are sitting on billions of pounds and should invest in projects to help resolve the housing shortage

His comments come after Chancellor Rishi Sunak revealed in the Budget that the Government will review rules to give pension providers a greater choice of investments to kickstart the economy.

The review could make it easier for them to put money into the redevelopment of affordable homes. It could also ease the way for them to offer financial boosts to technology start-ups.

Wilson pointed out that infrastructure and housing projects offer enticing returns over the long term compared to bonds. The yield on ten-year UK Government bonds is less than 1 per cent.

He said more pension funds and insurers need to get involved if there is to be a real impact on rebuilding local economies.

Andy Briggs, chief executive of Phoenix, the UK's largest retirement business, told The Mail on Sunday earlier this year that he was keen on seeing changes to rules that make it easier for pensions to invest in a broader range of assets, offering better returns to retirees.

L&G, which manages about 1.3trillion for savers, companies and retirees globally, has already backed a number of projects across the country.

It has invested about 1.5billion since the first lockdown in March last year, creating about 30,000 jobs.

L&G has allocated funding to a site in Cardiff with an office for 2,000 of its own staff, 318 'build to rent' homes and a bus station, as part of the company's 450million regeneration of Cardiff Central Square.

Other cities allocated funding from L&G include Glasgow, Birmingham, Bristol, Sheffield and Edinburgh.

Wilson added: 'There's a huge amount of evidence that what we're building will make a difference, but it's still not at the scale that we have ambition for.'
New Delhi, April 17 : With reports of huge number of Covid positive cases from 'Kumbh Mela' area in Haridwar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday appealed to observe the event "symbolic" to strengthen fight against the deadly virus.

The Prime Minister's appeal comes as the annual event has sparked nationwide concern amid alarming second wave of Covid-19 pandemic as tens of thousands of devotees have gathered along the banks of the Ganga in Uttarakhand's Haridwar.

Taking to Twitter, the Prime Minister said that he spoke to top seer-- Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha president Swami Avdheshanand Giri Ji Maharaj-- over phone and made an appeal about the event.

"I spoke to Acharya Mahamandaleshwar Swami Awadheshanand Giri on the phone on Saturday morning and get details about the health of all saints. I have prayed that two royal baths have taken place and that the Kumbh should be kept symbolic due to the crisis in Corona. This will give the fight strength from this crisis," the Prime Minister said.

Modi thanked all the saints for giving all kinds of support to the administration.

Following this, Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha president tweeted: "We respect Prime Minister's appeal. I request the people to not come for snan in large numbers, in the wake of Covid-19 situation, and follow all rules." The Prime Minister's appeal came after a Hindu seer is reportedly lost his life after Covid-19 infection and nearly 100 other holy men have tested positive after attending a vast Indian religious festival where millions of pilgrims have been ignoring Covid-19 advice despite a national surge in infections.

India reported 2,34,692 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the biggest single-day spike ever, taking the overall tally to 14,526,609 cases on Saturday, according to the Health Ministry data.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Peter Stefanovic and his wife Sylvia Jeffreys welcomed their second son, Henry George earlier this month.

And on Friday morning, the Sky News anchor and his firstborn, Oscar, one, stepped out for some one-on-one bonding time as they hit the beach in North Bondi, Sydney.

The 39-year-old held onto Oscar's hands while the two went for a dip in the ocean.

Fun in the sun! Peter Stefanovic welcomed his second son, Henry George earlier this month. On Friday, the Sky News anchor and his firstborn, Oscar, one, stepped out for some one-on-one bonding time as they hit the beach in North Bondi, Sydney. Both pictured

The little tot was all smiles while he splashed his feet in the water.

Peter went shirtless and wore a pair of khaki board shorts for their swimming adventure.

Meanwhile, Oscar dressed the part for his big beach day with dad, donning a fish-printed navy rash shirt and matching shorts.

Sun safe! Oscar dressed the part for his big beach day with dad, donning a fish-printed navy rash shirt and matching shorts. He also accessorised in a sun-safe manner, opting for a cap

Beach boys: During their day out, the enthusiastic dad held his son in his arms before playfully placing his feet in the water

All rugged up! After some fun in the sun, Peter wrapped his son up in a towel and carried him back to the car

He also accessorised in a sun-safe manner, opting for a cap that had neck protection.

During their day out, the enthusiastic dad held his son in his arms before playfully placing his feet in the water.

After some fun in the sun, Peter wrapped his son up in a towel and carried him back to the car.

Family: Peter and his A Current Affair reporter wife Sylvia (right) share their son Oscar

Peter and his A Current Affair reporter wife Sylvia, 34, announced the arrival of their second child, on April 7.

Just hours after the big reveal, the proud dad shared a second glimpse of their gorgeous newborn baby Henry George alongside a touching tribute to his doting wife.

Peter wrote: 'The newest littlest member of our squad of four, led by my hero - @sylviajeffreys.'
DLT suspending most office services due to COVID-19

THAILAND: The Department of Land Transport (DLT) has announced it is suspending driver training and drivers license testing across the country effective yesterday (Apr 16) in an effort to stifle the spread of COVID-19, but will continue extending licenses that dont require testing and will allow expired licenses to be used until June 30th.

transport

By National News Bureau of Thailand

Saturday 17 April 2021, 11:07AM

Photo: NNT

DLT Director-General Jirut Wisanjit stated on Thursday that DLT offices will not be training or testing for personal drivers licenses or public transport licenses except for those who have already completed training at recognised schools.

Those eligible for a license must submit their details within six months from when they are first eligible. Training by the DLT will only be provided via e-learning at the departments website with credentials issued online. Mobile DLT units have also been suspended for all services.

The department has coordinated with the Royal Thai Police Office to provide leniency to citizens driving with suspended licenses until June 30th this year. People who are already pending service after receiving a place via the DLT Smart Queue will still be served until further notice. Other services that do not need an extended presence at an office will still be provided.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Heres a look at the top criminal-justice-related headlines across the borough this week.

YOUTUBE RAPPER CHARGED IN GUN RAID

The NYPD posted a photo of guns they allege were seized from suspect Matthew Cloth. (NYPD via Twitter)

A teenage YouTube rapper pointed what appeared to be a gun at another driver in Princes Bay, which prompted a raid where police seized real and fake firearms from the suspects Annadale home, authorities allege.

Matthew Cloth, 18, is a YouTube rapper who goes by the handle Matty Gz, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.

His video, EveryBody K, has more than 130,000 views, and in it he can be seen displaying what appears to be a firearm.

Click here for more story details

2 SOUGHT FOR QUESTIONING IN ATV THEFT

The NYPD is seeking the publics assistance in locating two men sought for questioning in connection to a Port Richmond grand larceny.

Two unidentified men gained access to a driveway in the vicinity of Post Avenue and Decker Avenue on April 12, 2021, at around 4 a.m. by cutting a chain, according to a written statement from the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

The two men then removed a black 2003 Yamaha Raptor ATV, the statement said, before placing the vehicle in the back of a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck with paint peeling on its hood and roof.

Click here for more story details

HES ACCUSED OF FIRING GUN IN CLIFTON

Yesterday after a shots fired in Parkhill our 120 Patrol Supv,Public Safety,FIOs, and Detectives were able to ID the individual responsible while taking this illegal firearm off our streets. pic.twitter.com/EdVzd3yNgN  NYPD 120th Precinct (@NYPD120Pct) April 14, 2021

A 27-year-old man was arrested in Clifton after firing a gun in his home community, police allege

Ricky Anderson of Vanderbilt Avenue was apprehended in the vicinity of Vanderbilt and Osgood avenues on Tuesday around 4:30 p.m. after discharging a firearm in the area, according to a spokeswoman for the NYPD and a post on the 120th Precinct Twitter feed.

Click here for more story details

COPS: AXE-WIELDING MAN TRIED TO TORCH CAR

A man tried to set a car on fire on South Avenue in Mariners Harbor on Tuesday. The 121st Precinct posted on social media this photo of the suspect's alleged "incendiary device" and axe. (Courtesy of NYPD)

The NYPD posted on social media a photo of an incendiary device and an axe allegedly used by a man in a bizarre incident outside a deli in Mariners Harbor.

Jean Mary St. Amour, 25, of the 300 block of Broad Street, tried to set a parked 2018 Honda Accord on fire, and when that didnt work, he hit it with an axe around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday on the 200 block of South Avenue, police allege.

A witness told officers that a man placed a rag inside a bottle of alcohol and attempted to light the bottle on fire. The suspect proceeded to pour a substance on the vehicle, but when he was unable to start a fire, he took an axe and hit the vehicle multiple times, causing damage, according to the police spokeswoman.

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COPS: FIREWORKS, BULLETS, DRUG STASH IN CAR

The arrest occurred in the confines of the 123rd Precinct. Here, the precinct stationhouse in Tottenville is shown in a file photo. (Staten Island Advance/Shira Stoll)

A 40-year-old man was driving a car that contained fireworks, bullets and drugs in Richmond Valley, authorities allege.

Police spotted Nathaniel Morton of Bement Avenue in West Brighton driving a gray Honda that he parked on the 4800 block of Arthur Kill Road around 2 p.m. on April 2, according to the criminal complaint and police.

Mortons license was suspended or revoked and the car had a cracked windshield and expired registration sticker, the complaint alleges.

Click here for more story details

OFF-DUTY CORRECTION OFFICER ARRESTED

An officer with the city Department of Correction was arrested for assault early on Wednesday morning on Staten Island, according to police.

The arrest stemmed from a domestic incident, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.

Albert Lorusso, 43, was apprehended at 2:36 a.m. in the 121st Precinct, according to a statement from the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

Click here for more story details

HE ALLEGEDLY BEAT 2 HOSPITAL WORKERS

Authorities allege that a 35-year-old man from Grant City beat two employees inside Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze.

Carl Tenteromano of the 2000 block of Hylan Boulevard was arrested after he allegedly assaulted the male workers who were trying to secure him to a bed on Thursday around 1 p.m. inside the medical facility at 475 Seaview Ave., according to police and the criminal complaint.

Tenteromano allegedly grabbed the neck of a 29-year-old registered nurse, then allegedly shoved to the floor a second man who tried to aid his co-worker, according to the criminal complaint and police.

Click here for more story details
(Natural News) (Article republished from TruePundit.com)

Students at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., were asked about specific measures regarding voting integrity. They agreed with the measures  until they learned they were from the new Georgia voting law.

Campus Reform traveled to the university with a camera to read students the component of Georgias new law, finding that Most students were widely supportive of the bill, applauding its voter expansion.- READ MORE

Listen to the insightful Thomas Paine Podcast Below 

Read more at: TruePundit.com and PublicEducation.news.
(Natural News) Listen to the scientists! the left has screamed during the entire pandemic. But not those scientists!

(Article by Kayla Sargent republished from NewsBusters.org)

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) blasted Google and YouTube for censoring a March 18 COVID-19 roundtable discussion with several doctors, and then held another roundtable discussion with those same doctors.

The March 18 video included Dr. Scott Atlas, a former member of the White House coronavirus task force, as well as Dr. Sunetra Gupta, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and Dr. Martin Kulldorff, the authors of the anti-lockdown Great Barrington Declaration.

YouTube quickly removed the video, according to Reclaim the Net, lest anyone contradict its perceived truth about COVID-19. The platform claimed that it removed this video because it included content that contradicts the consensus of local and global health authorities regarding the efficacy of masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the company said in a statement reported by the Associated Press.

DeSantiss office confirmed the videos removal and bashed YouTube in a statement to MRC Free Speech America. YouTubes action is another blatant example of Big Tech attempting to silence those who disagree with their woke corporate agenda. The statement continued: Good public health policy should include a variety of scientific and technical expertise, and YouTubes decision to remove this video suppresses productive dialogue of these complex issues.

DeSantis did not stay silent about the censorship during his April 12 roundtable. Google and YouTube have cited the insights of these experts Ive just discussed as being misinformation. Now, they say its misinformation, even though Google and YouTube routinely host conspiracy theory videos, ranging from the cause of the 9/11 attacks to the role that 5G networks play in causing COVID-19, he said.

DeSantis also bashed Google and YouTube for acting as enforcers of a narrative.

YouTube has acted as the COVID-19 truth czar for months. The platform allegedly censored the channel of famed medical doctor, Dr. Drew. It even censored Senate testimony from doctors about COVID-19. The largest video platform also censored testimony in the Ohio state legislature.

Read more at: NewsBusters.org and Censorship.news.


The new national dress was endorsed by President Mnangagwa who sees it fostering a sense of patriotism, national identity, sovereignty and pride among Zimbabweans.

First Lady Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa officially launched the national fabric in Harare yesterday at the provincial level and the event was embraced by many people. The function was attended by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, ministers, legislators, senior Government officials, chiefs and designers, among others.

Last year, designers were tasked to come up with a national dress whose features are the Zimbabwe Bird, chiffons and elements from the flag that would be appropriate for all occasions and make people feel proudly Zimbabwean.

The dress was to be designed in a way that depicts the identity, usually associated with a geographic area or a period of time in history.

President Mnangagwa said the national dress was an expression of social and cultural identity of the people that should be passed from one generation to the other. National costumes preserved traditional art and crafts, which are an important part of a country, region or culture, heritage and also a way of learning history, living and evolving art form that could give one a glimpse into the culture of a country or group.

Our valuable traditional and cultural heritage must be preserved and developed to foster a sense of national identity, pride and unity. It is necessary to reformulate cultural values and valuing processes to move with current trends by merging culture and its meaning found in material objects.

The national dress will be recognised as one of the many valuable material culture objects essential for signifying and expressing subtle cultural value and social relationships. It details the intimate links that exist between people and their tradition and this lies at the core of our national identity, he said.

The President expressed gratitude to the First Lady for the interest and energy she placed in coming up with the national fabric. Thank you Amai because the dress carries the entire framework of values by which we as individuals or societies identify ourselves with and our status in the world. Having a national dress is therefore of great value to Zimbabwe as a nation, he said.

He applauded designers for their innovations in creating a national dress which will serve as a source of inspiration to drive modern fashion and trends.

The exhibitions display the different pieces carefully crafted for every Zimbabweans comfort and at maximum quality. Please give the national dress a place in your wardrobe and enjoy the treasured memories of your travels every time you put them on, he said.

He said through the fabric, Zimbabweans would be easy to identify. There will be no need definitely for people to ask to which country we belong because our national attire gives us an identity.

In this way we can foster unity with those who have crossed various borders as we all find meaning and wholeness in this national dress. I believe fashion is a form of universal language which allows for the construction and deconstruction of our identities, he said.

He urged the nation to continue promoting the national dress to deepen the countrys cultural values in the minds of the children.

President Mnangagwa applauded chiefs for embracing the national dress. The coming of the chiefs shows that the concept of the national dress has been embraced by our traditional leaders who are owners of the land. No one will stand in its way, he said.

VP Chiwenga said the national dress was another milestone of the Second Republic that strengthens unity and patriotism.

The purpose of the national fabric world over is to deepen peoples identity and highlight their distinct diversity.

The moment we identify ourselves collectively as Zimbabwe, with a culture and heritage reflected through a national dress symbol, it denotes a dedication to our country without having to say anything. Special mention should be extended to the First Lady and all stakeholders for the support. The innovation and creativity is highly commendable, he said. Chief Nechombo said the role of traditional leaders was to position, preserve and promote culture.

We need to go back and rediscover our mighty precious values. The national dress has been our greatest desire and now we desire to move forward with the national fabric, he said. Herald
Al mismo estilo de las dictaduras, este Congreso, que ha perdido toda legitimidad, pretende eliminar a sus enemigos politicos a traves de unos cuantos votos. Esto no ha terminado nos defenderemos en todas las instancias hasta revertir esta ilegal e inconstitucional decision.
Eritrea has acknowledged its troops are participating in the war in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region but has vowed to pull them out amid mounting international pressure.

The first explicit admission of Eritrea's role in the fighting came in a letter posted online Friday night by the country's information minister, written by its UN ambassador and addressed to the Security Council.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops into Tigray in November to disarm and detain leaders of the region's once dominant political party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

For months the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments denied Eritreans were involved, contradicting testimony from residents, rights groups, aid workers, diplomats and even some Ethiopian civilian and military officials.

Abiy finally acknowledged the Eritreans' presence in March while speaking to lawmakers, and vowed soon after that they would leave.

Friday's letter from Eritrea said that with the TPLF "largely thwarted", Asmara and Addis Ababa "have agreed -- at the highest levels -- to embark on the withdrawal of the Eritrean forces and the simultaneous redeployment of Ethiopian contingents along the international boundary."

On Thursday UN aid chief Mark Lowcock told the Security Council that despite Abiy's earlier promise, there had been no evidence of a withdrawal of Eritrean troops from the region.

He also said aid workers "continue to report new atrocities which they say are being committed by Eritrean Defense Forces."

Tigray residents have repeatedly accused Eritreans of mass rape and massacres, including in the towns of Axum and Dengolat.

Both Eritrea and Ethiopia blame the conflict on TPLF-orchestrated attacks on federal army camps in early November and describe it as a campaign to restore law and order.

Eritrean UN ambassador Sophia Tesfamariam reiterated this position in her letter Friday.

"We are indeed appalled by attempts to blame those who were forced to resort to legitimate measures of selfdefense that other countries would have done under similar circumstances," she wrote.

Story continues

"The allegations of rape and other crimes lodged against Eritrean soldiers is not just outrageous, but also a vicious attack on the culture and history of our people."

- Hunger 'crisis' fears -

Abiy declared victory in Tigray in late November after federal forces took the regional capital Mekele, but the TPLF vowed to fight on and fighting has continued.

The conflict arrived in the middle of the harvest in Tigray and for months humanitarian access was greatly restricted, prompting fears of widespread starvation.

In his comments Thursday the UN's Lowcock said he had received a report of 150 people dying of hunger in one area of southern Tigray, calling it "a sign of what lies ahead if more action is not taken".

Ethiopian state media on Friday night aired a report denouncing the claim as "false" and "aimed at tarnishing the image of the country."

"The humanitarian assistance being provided in the Tigray region is going well and so far, no life has been lost due to hunger," Mitiku Kassa, head of Ethiopia's national disaster commission, was quoted as saying.

Yet earlier Friday Abadi Girmay, agriculture chief of Tigray's Abiy-appointed interim administration, warned of a hunger "crisis" if farming activities don't resume.

"If we don't start getting harvest starting from this year, a very tough problem may come about that could last from three to five years," Abadi told state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate.

"If famine also sets in, a tragic history may come about that has never been seen before in this country."

rcb/np/lc
Ankara, April 17 : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg discussed a series of regional issues during a phone conversation, the presidential office here announced.

During the call on Friday, Erdogan and Stoltenberg addressed the developments in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean regions; the latest situations in Libya and Afghanistan; and the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, Xinhua news agency quoted the presidency as saying in a statement.

Erdogan told Stoltenberg that a peaceful environment currently dominates the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean regions "thanks to Turkey's constructive efforts".

The Turkish leader also noted that the new government in Libya should be given support in the fields of security and defence, and the support for Afghanistan should continue with NATO's capacity and capabilities.

He also stressed that the crisis between Russia and Ukraine should be solved through dialogue based on the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the Minsk agreements, according to the statement.
YEREVAN, APRIL 17, ARMENPRESS. The Administration of the President of Armenia issued a statement over the law on making amendments in the Constitutional law of the electoral code of the Republic of Armenia.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Presidents Office, the law was submitted for the Presidents signing on April 2, 2021.

The President discussed it with the heads of a number of parties, political figures, representative of the Central Electoral Commission, listened to their positions and remarks.

The examinations of the law by the Presidents administration have brought to the conclusion that the law is not problematic in terms of constitutionality. But the President has his own observations over the law  it has been passed by the voting of only the political majority of the National Assembly.

President Sarkissian has stated numerous times that early parliamentary elections aimed at the overcoming of the crisis should take place following the procedure of comprehensive amendments of the Constitution and the Electoral Code, which demands reasonable time and according to the democratic principles, should be implemented listening to and considering the opinions shaped as a result of broad public and political debates.

According to the Venice Commission, amendments in the electoral legislation should take place at least one year before the elections. The Venice Commission has also stated its position that the stability of the electoral system is one of the most important principles, and that it is important to have enough time to hold in-depth public discussions on amendments to the Electoral Code with the participation of all stakeholders.

The law replaces one type of proportional electoral system with another.

Given the above-mentioned, the President of the Republic will not sign the law, but will not apply to the Constitutional Court for deciding its compliance with the Constitution.
A San Antonio police officer shot and killed two men during a traffic stop that turned into a shootout Friday on the West Side.

The officer, who is a five-year veteran of the department, was shot in the hand and taken to the hospital, Police Chief William McManus said. The officer was alert and speaking, McManus added.

This is the second officer-involved shooting in as many days. On Thursday, an officer shot and killed a 46-year-old man shooting indiscriminately outside a terminal at San Antonio International Airport.

ON EXPRESSNEWS.COM: Officer kills gunman outside San Antonio International Airport, averting a bloodbath, police say

On Friday, the driver and front passenger, both males in their 20s, of a pickup truck were killed after the former began shooting at the officer, police said. A female rear passenger was hit in the torso and taken to the hospital. Her condition is unknown.

At around 11:30 a.m., McManus said the officer pulled over the pickup with the three individuals in the 2400 block of Pinn Road. The chief did not say why the officer stopped the vehicle.

Body camera footage, which did not have audio, shows the officer walk up to the driver's side and have a casual conversation with the occupants, according to the chief.

It appeared to be casual, there were no excited movements, McManus said.

Two minutes later, the driver pulled out a gun and started firing at the officer, SAPD said. The officer was hit in the hand as he retreated but returned fire. McManus said the officer was able to reload and fire off several rounds despite his injury.

The officer is very lucky to be alive, getting shot at that close range, McManus said.

Police did not say if the male or female passenger were armed.

The area around the intersection of Pinn Road and Westfield will remain closed for several hours as officers investigate the scene.

taylor.pettaway@express-news.net
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 06:33:35|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution to extend the ban on the illicit export of petroleum, including crude oil and refined petroleum products, till July 30, 2022.

Resolution 2571 also extends the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the Libya Sanctions Committee of the Security Council till Aug. 15, 2022.

It decides that the panel shall provide to the Security Council an interim report on its work no later than Dec. 15, 2021, and a final report to the council no later than June 15, 2022, with its findings and recommendations.

The resolution calls for full compliance by all UN member states with the arms embargo, the travel ban and asset freeze, and further calls on all member states not to intervene in the conflict or take measures that exacerbate the conflict. Enditem
Hailey Bieber is known for providing style inspiration to the masses by sharing her favorite outfits, accessories, and beauty products to Instagram.

And on Friday, the 24-year-old model gave her fans a look at her glam process by first appearing on the platform in a white robe and a nourishing facial mask.

Later, Bieber traded in her robe for a yellow bejeweled top that gave her nearly 35million followers a peek at her toned midriff.

Inspiration: Hailey Bieber is known for providing style inspiration to the masses by sharing her favorite outfits, accessories, and beauty products to Instagram

She paired the glitzy top with a pair of high-waisted leather capri pants that hugged her every curve.

Hailey slipped her feet into a pair of black open toed heels and carried her essential belongings in a designer purse with a silver strap that matched the rivets on her trousers.

She wore her golden blonde hair in a voluminous high ponytail and kept her brown eyes concealed behind a pair of chic shades.

The daughter of Stephen Baldwin recently blended some modern fashion with a taste of 1970s as she reprised her beloved $9,450 Bottega Veneta teddy shearling coat for a stylish Instagram snap on Wednesday.

It's a process: And on Friday, the 24-year-old model gave her fans a look at her glam process by first appearing on the platform in a white robe and a nourishing facial mask

Glitz: Later, Bieber traded in her robe for a yellow bejeweled top that gave her nearly 35million followers a peek at her toned midriff

The latest post comes one day after Hailey teased her fans with a similar snap where she flashed her toned and tanned midsection.

In the newest photo, taken inside the Beverly Hills home she shares with her pop superstar husband, Hailey oozed attitude in fitted white cargo pants with a white crop top.

She also donned the longline lambskin coat which she has famously been spotted in late last year, sparking many fans to compare the piece to a mop thanks to its sheared bottom.

Adding to that old school vibe, Hailey wore retro white sunglasses with white and orange sneakers and her blonde tresses styled long, straight, and with a part in the middle.

Working it: Hailey Bieber, 24, the model blended some modern fashion with a taste of 1970s as she reprised her beloved $9,450 Bottega Veneta teddy fur coat for a stylish snap

Four-legged family: Earlier on Wednesday, the model snuggled up with beloved dog Oscar, while she awaits the return of husband Justin Bieber

Earlier on Wednesday, the daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin and niece of Alec Baldwin, shared an adorable photo of herself snuggled up with her beloved dog Oscar.

No doubt, Oscar helped keep her female owner company until Justin returned to the fold.

The Arizona native looked to be laying back on a couch with the pet pooch, presumable a Maltese Yorkie, with their heads leaning against one another.

Hailey's left eye can be seen peeking through her black-rimmed glasses as she flashed a look of contentment alongside her doggie.

Fab figure: The Arizona native flashed her taut midriff while posing up a storm on a driveway

Beauty secrets: The model showed off her 'bedtime glow' in a post Tuesday night

Obviously, Hailey had her mind on her husband when she posted a photo of the couple sharing a passionate hug with the caption: 'pretty much,' along with a tag for photographer @rorykramer.

One day earlier, the 24-year-old model showed off her taut midriff when she struck a goofy pose for the camera in a driveway, using her hands as antlers while exuding a pouty look on her face.

She wrote 'YKTV' along the side of the picture, which is an abbreviation for 'you know the vibe.'

Justin Bieber held his latest virtual concert from the ultra-luxe Hotel De Crillon in Paris on Tuesday, where he performed some songs from his new album, Justice, that dropped last month.

Feelin' European: Justin Bieber held his latest virtual concert from the ultra-luxe Hotel De Crillon in Paris on Tuesday
The ground shook. The city burned. Hundreds died.

San Francisco, however, rose from the ashes, rebuilt and became a greater city, a shining symbol of the West.

The anniversary of the great quake of 1906 provides a time to reflect on the unfathomable devastation and the rebirth of a metropolis. This year, a trip to The Chronicles archive led to the rediscovery of photos taken amid ruins as flames still burned in the city, with many of the images never published and unseen for decades.

At 5:12 a.m. Pacific time 112 years ago, the 7.9-magnitude temblor shook San Francisco for less than a minute, but the rumbling was felt as far north as Oregon, as far south as Los Angeles and as far east as central Nevada.

There remains much uncertainty about the death toll. At least 700 are thought to have perished, with some estimates at more than 3,000. San Francisco had a population of about 450,000 at the time of the quake, and 490 city blocks were leveled, with 28,188 buildings destroyed. More than 200,000 people were left homeless.

Most of the photos pulled from the depths of the archive had little or no caption information. Locations were determined through comparisons to similar photos published in The Chronicle and elsewhere throughout the years, but, in many, the neighborhood is unclear, as the burned carcasses of buildings and piles of ash look the same in North Beach as they do South of Market.

Chronicle scribe Harre Demoro was tasked with writing about the quake for the 80th anniversary, on April 18, 1986: In San Francisco, a loud, pounding roar announced the earthquakes arrival. An astonished Jesse Cook, who later would be a police commissioner, watched the temblor shiver up Washington Street. The whole street was undulating. It was as if the waves of the ocean were coming toward me, and billowing as they came, he recalled years later.

For a few minutes at dawn on April 18, 1906, it seemed that San Francisco had survived the tremor and that the worst was over. But, the fires were beginning, and they became a firestorm that raged for almost four days.

There were dozens of fires throughout the city, but the Ham and Eggs Fire burned more of the city than any other. A Hayes Valley woman started to cook breakfast but didnt realize the chimney was damaged. Within minutes the entire neighborhood was on fire.

Will Irwin, a noted San Francisco writer, composed a famous piece in the New York Sun newspaper amid the disaster. He called it The City That Was, and it began: The old San Francisco is dead.

In 2006, in an article marking the temblors 100th anniversary, Chronicle columnist Carl Nolte stated his case that the city bounced back, better than ever.

More from the Archive The Vault Home of the San Francisco Chronicle's archive and more than 150 years of journalism covering the Bay Area and beyond.

What emerged was a much different San Francisco. The old city was gray, the buildings darkened with coal smoke, a grimy city like turn-of-the-century London. Its cable cars were powered by horses, clattering down Market Street at 9 mph.

The new San Franciscos big buildings were white and sparkling. Modern electric streetcars ran on Market Street, as they still do.

The old city burned coal and dumped raw sewage into the bay. The new San Francisco was lit by electricity and heated by gas. It was as if the Victorian age had been swept away in less than a week.

Visiting President William Howard Taft was so impressed with the rebuilding after the quake that, in 1911 while lunching at the Cliff House, he toasted San Francisco as the City that Knows How.

Bill Van Niekerken is the library director of The San Francisco Chronicle, where he has worked since 1985. In his weekly column, From the Archive, he explores the depths of The Chronicles vast photography archive in search of interesting historical tales related to the city by the bay.
(Newser)  Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who is not on any congressional committees, is forming her own "America First" caucus based on "Anglo-Saxon political traditions." Membership hasn't been announced, but Rep. Barry Moore of Alabama said he's interested, as is Rep. Louie Gohmert. Rep. Matt Gaetz, who faces a House ethics investigation as well as a federal sex trafficking case, tweeted that he's in. Greene's office confirmed the launch Friday, CNN reports. A flier posted by Punchbowl News lays out the caucus platform, including nativist arguments and conspiracy theories, starting with election fraud. "America is a nation with a border, and a culture, strengthened by a common respect for uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions," the seven-page document says.

story continues below

Several Republicans immediately attacked the idea. "The Republican Party is the party of Lincoln & the party of more opportunity for all Americansnot nativist dog whistles," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy tweeted. "Completely disgusted," Rep. Adam Kinzinger posted. Liz Cheney, the No. 3 Republican in the House, posted that Republicans teach tolerance. "Racism, nativism, and anti-Semitism are evil. History teaches we all have an obligation to confront & reject such malicious hate," Cheney wrote. "America First" was used as a slogan not just by former President Trump, but by Americans opposed to involvement in World War II, per NBC, even after Germany's slaughter of Jewish people became known in the US. A Democratic lawmaker, Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips, urged ignoring the caucus and its members. "They are as relevant or irrelevant as WE make them," he wrote. (Greene made a haul in first-quarter fundraising.)
The man and woman arrived at the River Oaks museum the same way they would later leave: By boat.

After approximately 7 minutes of trying to get into the Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens about a month ago, the pair succeeded through an air vent grate into the museums basement, according to court records.

Once inside, the two visited various rooms, opening a closed cabinet and taking an empty, wrapped Christmas present that was used for display before putting it back. But then they were interrupted when the museums alarm started ringing. On a surveillance camera, a security guard saw the two in the museums front foyer, looking through the wooden cabinet.

The pair ran off when the guard announced himself, and headed toward the Buffalo Bayou where they boarded a small metal boat with a motor.

Lewis Yates Robertson, 33, this week was charged with burglary of a building.

The details outlined in the court records offer the clearest picture yet of what occurred March 16 when the pair eluded authorities through a storm drain tunnel, although questions still remain.

A lawyer representing Robertson, Mark Metzger III, told The Chronicle on Friday there appeared to be no motive or ill will, but he could not comment on many specific details about the case. He said there was no damage to the property and nothing was taken and pointed out Robertson had not been charged with evading.

There was no plan to do anything illegal, Metzger said. This wasnt like a mission.

Additionally, Metzger said theres no evidence of a break-in as mentioned in court documents. To the contrary, he said he had evidence there may have been pre-existing damage to the museum building already and whoever broke in didnt damage property.

Everybody likes the whole Hollywood aspect of this case, he said. It very well was not.

Museum officials previously said nothing appeared to be taken and no one was injured. The guard called police after the male suspect yelled and cussed at him, according to the court records. Responding officers said they had seen a boat on the bayou and called Houston polices dive team.

When the dive team spotted a boat matching the description, the officers announced their presence, which prompted the pair to exit their vessel and run to the storm drain tunnel, court records say.

In the boat they left behind, authorities found a black backpack with graffiti supplies and papers with various styles of hand-drawn patterns of TOEFLOP, which has appeared throughout the city, captivating the attention of social media users who post photos of the graffiti and tag the name.

Metzger said he could not comment on the TOEFLOP detail, but added that there was no link between Robertson and the backpack.

The dive team also found a van  registered to Robertson, records show  at the Buffalo Bayou Partnership boat ramp on North York Street. The van was not authorized to be there, according to records, and a lock securing a gate to the ramp had been cut.

Museum surveillance footage shown to authorities captured visible tattoos on the mans arms. The woman appears to cover her face from cameras with a large hat and a paper-like object, according to court records.

Robertson has since posted his $1,000 bond.

Among bond conditions was a request he have no contact with several entities, according to court documents, including 2940 Lazy Lane Blvd., the museums address.

The museums 14-acre property is the former home of late philanthropist Ima Hogg. It contains a collection of decorative art, paintings and furniture. There are more than 2,500 objects displayed onsite throughout 28 rooms and galleries including furniture, paintings, sculpture, prints, ceramics, glass, metals, and textiles.

alejandro.serrano@chron.com
A journalist and author who was raised in Kildare is preparing for the publication of his new novel in June.

Ed OLoughlins This Eden is being described as a smart modern-day adventure reminiscent of both the cyber noir novels of William Gibson and the golden age of espionage fiction.

Mr OLoughlin grew up in Kildare town where he moved from his native Toronto, Canada, aged six.

He later studied at Trinity College Dublin and Dublin City University.

Starting out as a foreign correspondent in the 1990s, Mr OLoughlin reported on Africa and the Middle East for a variety of media organisations, including the Irish Times, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Age of Melbourne, the Christian Science Monitor and The Independent of London.

Mr OLoughlin currently lives in Dublin with his wife and two children.

This Eden follows the main character Michael who is headhunted by sinister tech mogul Campbell Fess, who transplants him to Silicon Valley.

There, a reluctant female spy named lures him into the hands of Towse, an enigmatic war-gamer, who tricks them both into joining his quest to save the world, and reality itself, from the deadliest weapon ever invented.

Hunted by government agents and corporate goons, manipulated at every turn by the philosophising Towse, Michael and the female spy find themselves in an intercontinental chase which will take them from California to New York, from the forests of Uganda to Jerusalem, Gaza, Alexandria, and Paris, and to a final showdown with the truth in the spys native Ireland.

Mr OLoughlins first novel, Not Untrue & Not Unkind was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2009 and shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award.

A second novel, Toploader, a darkly comic vision of the war against terror, was published by Quercus in 2011.

His third novel, Minds of Winter, was published in August 2016.

This Eden is published by Canadian-based House of Anansi Press Incorporated on June 1.
Rohingya walk by housing built for them by Bangladeshs government on Bhashan Char Island in Noakhali district, March 13, 2021.

The United Nations refugee agency is urging Bangladesh to slow down its relocation of Rohingya to a low-lying island because measures to protect residents from storms and flooding are not fully in place, UNHCR in Dhaka told BenarNews on Friday.

Meanwhile, the foreign minister said, international agencies must help foot the cost of housing what could eventually be 100,000 refugees on Bhashan Char, an island in the Bay of Bengal. So far, Bangladeshs government has covered that cost.

A UNHCR team visited the island March 17-20 and recognized that the government had made extensive investments in setting up infrastructure and safeguards on the flood-prone island for the thousands of Rohingya who have moved there, said Charlie Goodlake, a spokesman for the U.N. agency in Dhaka.

At the same time, the U.N. team believes it is critical that the ongoing extension of the embankment is completed as early as possible and to full specification which, when complete, would reduce the risk of storm surges and flooding on the island, Goodlake told BenarNews in a statement.

In addition, it was also essential to put in place an emergency management plan for severe weather events, including building up stocks of essential supplies and goods on the island, UNHCR said.

The U.N. team recommends to the government that any future relocations are undertaken in a gradual and phased manner, which would help to ensure that the governance structure, facilities and services available on Bhashan Char are commensurate to the needs of Rohingya refugees living there, Goodlake said.

Since December, the government has moved a total of 18,304 Rohingya from crowded camps in southeastern Coxs Bazar district. The camps host around 1 million refugees who fled persecution in Rakhine state, next-door in Myanmar.

The government had said it spent about U.S. $280 million to construct housing, a large embankment to protect the islands population from flooding, and other infrastructure in a bid to relieve pressure on the crowded mainland camps.

An official told BenarNews in December 2018 that the embankment would gradually be made 21 feet high, although he did not say how tall the embankment was at the time.

Last December, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had said Bhashan Char was secure from cyclones, as was demonstrated during the deadly Cyclone Amphan in May 2020.

The flood and shore protection measures with the 12.1 km- [7.5 mile-] long and sufficiently higher embankment designed by [British firm] HR Wallingford secures the island from massive tidal waves and cyclones, the ministry said in a statement.

This is supplemented by the installation of modern hydrographic monitoring and warning system that can provide early warning on any natural hazards and enable prior evacuation.

Rohingya children play on a swing set on Bhashan Char Island in Noakhali district, Bangladesh, March 13, 2021. [BenarNews]

Funds for Rohingya on island

Bangladeshs government wants international funds raised through the U.N. Joint Response Plan to be used for the Rohingya on Bhashan Char as well, Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen said on Friday.

If funds are focused only on humanitarian efforts in Coxs Bazar, the government will demand a share of the funds for facilities on the island, he said.

If the humanitarian agencies do not support the Rohingya in Bhashan Char, we will demand 10 percent of those funds, Momen told BenarNews, even as he acknowledged that he did not know how the UNHCR spends the funds it collects for the Rohingya and their host communities.

He said U.N. agencies were obligated to provide services for the Rohingya regardless of where the refugees live. And U.N. member-states, he said, would not provide funds if humanitarian agencies did not provide services to Rohingya in Bhashan Char as well.

In response, Goodlake, the UNHCRs Dhaka spokesman, said that if the U.N. were to operationally engage in the island, any related funding requirements for Bhashan Char would need to be agreed in close consultation with relevant stakeholders, notably with the donor community and the government.

The U.N. team that visited the island last month said it clearly recognized the prevailing humanitarian and protection needs of the Rohingya refugees already relocated to Bhashan Char, he said.

The U.N. has therefore proposed further discussions with the government regarding its future operational engagement on Bhashan Char, including on the policies that govern the life and wellbeing of Rohingya refugees on the island, Goodlake said.

Momens comments about funding for Bhashan Char followed months-long criticism of Bangladeshs plan to move Rohingya to the off-shore site.

International humanitarian organizations have expressed concern about the safety and on-site facilities on the island. Their fears were not mitigated by what was perceived as reluctance by Bangladesh to allow the U.N. to conduct a technical assessment of the island.

But many Rohingya who moved to Bhashan Char have told BenarNews that they were happy to have left the congested Coxs Bazar camps. Living conditions on Bhashan Char were better, they said, and their children had wide open spaces where they could play.

And now that a U.N. team and three other international organizations have visited the island, many Bangladeshi analysts believe that any worries about the islands habitability would be allayed.

The U.N. team which visited Bhashan Char found that many of the Rohingya were engaged in constructive activities and felt optimistic about their lives there, Goodlake acknowledged.

U.S. special envoy John Kerry, who visited Bangladesh last week, heaped praise on Bangladesh for its extraordinary generosity in sheltering the refugees from Myanmar, and mentioned Dhakas decision to relocate thousands of Rohingya to Bhashan Char.

Bangladesh has been one of the greatest helping hands, youve given them an island, Kerry, President Joe Bidens special envoy for the climate, told reporters in Dhaka on April 9.
Mrs Zervos was born on the Greek island of Kythera and moved to Australia with her family when she was 15, while the prince was born on Corfu.

The 84-year-old from Kingsford plans to stay up past midnight to watch the funeral with her daughter, to pay her respects to a great man.

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In 1954, when a newly crowned Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip toured Australia, Mrs Zervos, then 17, was in Katoomba to salute the prince.

On the way between Echo Point and Leura behind our house, I was all by myself on that stretch of road and he was going and I yelled to him in Greek yassou Philip - that means salute Philip - and he turned with his whole body and waved and waved to me until the bend in the road, she said. That was a very special thing.

Mrs Zervos said her family were staunch monarchists and she also believed Prince Philip had done a lot of good for everyone and she hoped that would be the focus of the funeral.

Matt Cleary, 46, from Cremorne, also plans to watch the funeral, while his wife Leah will join him if she is still awake.
Two firefighters died when they were putting out a fire in an energy storage power station in Fengtai District of Beijing on Friday.

The municipal fire and rescue department said on its official website on Saturday morning that it dispatched 235 firefighters with 47 fire engines to put out the fire that broke out at Friday noon time.

The northern part of the station exploded all of a sudden in the course of fire-fighting operation, resulting in the death of two firefighters and the injury of another. One employee of the station remained missing, the department said.

The fire was put out at 11:40 p.m. Friday.
By Takuya Okamoto, KYODO NEWS - Apr 17, 2021 - 14:52 | All, Japan

With a recent buyout offer for Toshiba Corp. from a British private equity firm apparently hitting a snag, a bidding war involving other investors may break out for the Japanese industrial conglomerate, industry experts say.

Investor interest in the growth potential of some of Toshiba's businesses, such as chip-making and infrastructure systems, means the company is likely to face continued pressure to streamline its wide-ranging operations, they say.

Toshiba's management rift widened after CVC Capital Partners made a buyout offer worth over $20 billion, leading its board members to believe the former president and CEO Nobuaki Kurumatani, once a CVC executive, was pulling strings to fend off pressure from activist shareholders.

Toshiba said Wednesday Kurumatani, who has led the company since 2018, offered to resign. He said in a statement he wants to take some time for himself after achieving the company's turnaround without making any reference to the CVC proposal.

Osamu Nagayama, chairman of Toshiba's board, confronted Kurumatani in the boardroom and expressed displeasure with CVC's buyout offer, sources with knowledge of the matter have said.

Nagayama and some other board members are believed to have raised questions about Kurumatani's stance of preventing activist shareholders from wielding influence.

Aiming to block CVC's acquisition plans and keep Toshiba listed on the Tokyo bourse, the conglomerate's executives asked creditor banks not to fund the private equity firm's buyout, according to people close to the matter.

CVC had previously planned to submit a detailed proposal in 10 days after sending its initial plan to Toshiba on April 6, while seeking cooperation from the Development Bank of Japan and Japan Investment Corp., a private-public sector fund, other sources have said.

But CVC did not deliver the formal offer by Friday, as it was seemingly monitoring the situation after Kurumatani's resignation with the possibility of launching a hostile takeover bid.

American global investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Canadian investment giant Brookfield Asset Management Inc. reportedly plan to submit buyout proposals of their own.

"Investors are interested in Toshiba's chip-making affiliate Kioxia Holdings Corp.," possibly outbidding CVC, SBI Securities Co.'s senior analyst Yoshiharu Izumi said.

A global shortage of semiconductors due to robust demand for automobiles, smartphones and other electronic devices has spotlighted chipmakers.

Toshiba owns a 40.64 percent stake in Kioxia, into which the Japanese firm spun off its chip business after selling a majority stake to a consortium led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital in 2018. Toshiba plans to list Kioxia and use a large part of the proceeds to increase shareholder returns.

Tatsuo Ushijima, a professor specializing in corporate strategy at Keio University, said going private makes sense for Toshiba to further reform its group operations.

"Toshiba would need to review its wide-ranging businesses (from nuclear power to home lighting equipment) in an environment with fewer investors holding its shares," Ushijima said.

"Toshiba must at first outline its growth strategy regardless of whether it is going it alone or working with partners."

Related coverage:

Toshiba mulls rejecting CVC's buyout offer: sources

Toshiba CEO steps down as management rift widens over buyout offer

Toshiba CEO to resign over management rift: sources
On World Heritage Day, &TV artists Rajesh (Kamna Pathak) from Happu Ki Ultan Paltan and Devi Paulomi (Sara Khan) from Santoshi Maa Sunaye Vrat Kathayein recall the most beautiful heritage sites in the state of Madhya Pradesh. World Heritage Day, also known as International Day for Monuments and Sites is observed every year on April 18 to create awareness about the importance of the historical monuments and the significance they hold. Going back in time and remembering her Indore days, Kamna Pathak aka Rajesh says, Indore is not only the cleanest city in India but also a home to many heritage sites. From palaces, caves to temples and churches, you name it, Indore has it! My personal favourite will always be Rajwada Palace. It is one of the top places that one should visit while in Indore. Rajwada is a seven-storied palace which has a combination of Maratha, French and Mughal architecture. It is indeed an example of royal splendour. Whenever I go back home, I make sure I visit the famous and deep rooted historic site. These monuments are our countrys treasures and being the citizen of this country, it is our fundamental duty to preserve and safeguard them. Also, World Heritage Day is celebrated to remind us of our duties, so on this day let us all pledge to protect our heritage so that our future can witness the beauty of yesterday. Recalling her trip to Chhatarpur, Sara Khan aka Devi Paulomi says, Madhya Pradesh aaye aur Kahjuraho nahi dekha toh kya dekha? I went to Chhatarpur on a family trip where I got to witness the beauty in the

real- Khajuraho Group of Monuments. They are a group of Hindu and Jain temples which are famous for their Nagara-style architectural symbolism and their erotic sculpture. I cannot express the beauty of the place in mere words. Jo dekhe bas wohi samjhe! But what disturbs me is the fact that many visitors are not aware of the fact that these heritage monuments and sites are our responsibility to save and preserve. On the occasion of World Heritage Day, I would request everyone not to tamper with our rich historical beauties but rather, understand its importance and treat it as our own.
Washington, April 17 : The US Treasury Department said that no major trading partner of Washington meets the criteria as a currency manipulator, but Vietnam, Switzerland and Taiwan will be under enhanced monitoring for their currency practices.

In its semi-annual Report on Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the US, the Department on Friday concluded that Vietnam, Switzerland and Taiwan met all three criteria for enhanced currency analysis under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 during the four quarters through December 2020, reports Xinhua news agency.

However, there is "insufficient evidence" to make a finding that Vietnam, Switzerland, or Taiwan manipulates its exchange rate for either of the purposes referenced in the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, the Department said.

The Treasury believed that "enhanced engagements" with Switzerland, Vietnam and Taiwan will enable it to better determine whether any of these economies intervened in currency markets to "prevent effective balance of payments adjustment or gain an unfair competitive advantage in trade".

No other major US trading partner met the relevant 1988 or 2015 legislative criteria for currency manipulation or enhanced analysis during the review period, according to the Treasury.

But the Treasury put 11 economies, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Ireland, Italy, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Mexico, on its "monitoring list", which means currency practices of these economies will bear close attention of the US government.

The report was the Joe Biden administration's first foreign-exchange policy report to US Congress, reversing a decision made by the former Donald Trump administration in December 2020 that Vietnam and Switzerland were labelled as currency manipulators.
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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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday mourned the untimely sudden demise of ace Tamil actor-comedian Vivekh. PM Modi hailed his craft and performances, extending condolences to his family and friends.

Vivekanandan, known by stage name Vivekh, worked in over 220 films spanning his cinematic career. Mourning his sudden demise due to cardiac arrest, PM Narendra Modi tweeted: The untimely demise of noted actor Vivek has left many saddened. His comic timing and intelligent dialogues entertained people. Both in his films and his life, his concern for the environment and society shone through. Condolences to his family, friends and admirers. Om Shanti.

The untimely demise of noted actor Vivek has left many saddened. His comic timing and intelligent dialogues entertained people. Both in his films and his life, his concern for the environment and society shone through. Condolences to his family, friends and admirers. Om Shanti.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 17, 2021

The Padma Shri actor-comedian was rushed to SIMS hospital Chennai on Friday after suffering a cardiac arrest. On April 17, he breathed his last.

Last night hospital released Vivekh's health bulletin which mentioned that the actor underwent Emergency Coronary Angiogram followed by Angioplasty. He was in a critical condition on ECMO in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

The 59-year-old comedian had taken the COVID vaccine on Thursday following which he complained of chest pain and fainted.

However, the official health bulletin on Vivekh suggested that his medical condition (acute coronary syndrome with cardiogenic shock) may not be due to the COVID vaccination. It read, "This is an acute coronary syndrome with cardiogenic shock. This is a separate Cardiac event. It may not be due to COVID vaccination."

Several of his fans and industry celebrities expressed shock at his demise and mourned his untimely loss.

A Padma Shri recipient, actor Vivekh has worked with the likes of megastar Rajinikanth, Vijay and Ajith Kumar. He has also appeared as the lead artiste in a couple of movies and has been involved in social causes including afforestation.

Vivekh has featured in movies such as Run, Saamy, Perazhagan, Unnaruge Naan Irundhal, Parthiban Kanavu, Anniyan and Sivaji to name a few.

May his soul rest in peace!
Long-Lost Adopted Brother and Sister Reunite After Decades Apart, Discover They Were Living Parallel Lives

Two siblings who were adopted separately as children have been reunited after decades apart. They discovered they were living parallel lives in the same state, New York, but never knew the other sibling existed, until recently.

We would love to get [our] story out so other adoptees dont have to wait as long as we did to be united, Monica Schuss told The Epoch Times.

Monica grew up an only child, and she always wondered if she had a sibling.

My whole life, I wanted to know if I had any brothers or sisters. I grew up as an only child, Monica told NBC. You wonder whats out there.

Her biological brother, John Tomanelli, who is 7 years younger than her, wondered the same thing.

Thats why, in the 1990s, both John and Monica signed up for the New York state adoption registry. They hoped it would lead them to the truth of their birth origins.

But after nearly 3 decades, the pair started to think theyd wondered about the possibility of a long-lost sibling in vain.

You have hope, and then hope kind of just dwindles over the years when nothing happens, said John in an interview with the local news outlet.

But that hope was rekindled when, 27 years after signing up with the adoption registry, they each received a letter in the mail saying they had a sibling. At the time, Monica was living in Queens, and John was living on Long Island. They were shocked and overjoyed to discover they had a biological sibling living right in the same state.

I was like, I have a sibling? Oh my God, this is fantastic, said John.

They decided to meet at a restaurant, and according to Long Island News12s On a Positive Note, they had an instant connection.

We both had smiles, John recounted. We hugged immediately.

It was like we were meant to be, Monica added during the interview with News12. It was like we knew each other, even though we didnt.

They soon discovered that they share the same hobby: making Irish soda bread from scratch.

They have many other astounding things in common, such as a shared birthday. Both siblings got divorced in the same year, and both had lost their adoptive mother.

It was so strange that our lives had paralleled one another, said Monica.

Now, the siblings are busy making up for lost time; they even moved in together during the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic.

You know, we fight, Monica laughed. [We] have to!

They added that they are looking into ways to help other adopted siblings find one another faster, so they dont lose so much time before they can be reunited.

We [hope we] can help those people find what we found, said Monica.

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
US President Joe Biden and visiting Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Friday issued a joint statement which mainly themed on dealing with China. The statement talked a lot about the importance of the US-Japan alliance, an alliance being touted as "US-Japan global partnership for a new era." In the statement, the two countries pledge to work together to resist "challenges to the free and open rules-based international order." The statement outlined the situation in the Indo-Pacific region, accusing China of conducting "economic and other forms of coercion" in the region. It also mentioned the Taiwan question - the first time since 1969 American and Japanese top leaders have done so in their joint statement.

"An ocean separates our countries, but commitments to universal values and common principles, including freedom, democracy, human rights, the rule of law, international law, multilateralism, and a free and fair economic order, unite us," said part of the statement. But this sentimental rhetoric is hypocritical. US-Japan ties are a kind of relationship that a victory country of the WWII dominates a defeated country, Japan. There is a strong "master-servant" feature in this relationship in terms of diplomacy. The joint statement has strengthened the compulsive dominance the US' extreme China policy has on Japan's diplomacy, while Japan has actively and cautiously catered to it.

Japan has become the country in Asia that follows the US policy of containing China most closely. There are two reasons for this: First, as mentioned above, the US has so far maintained its military occupation of Japan and it can be said that Japan's diplomacy is only at "semi-sovereign" level. It's unlikely for Japan to contradict the US.

Second, Japan is the Asian country that most wants to contain China. The biggest "shared value" between the US and Japan is actually the jealousy and hatred they both have against China's strong development momentum. The US' hegemonic thinking can't accept its status being matched by China, while Japan can't accept becoming a "second-class country" compared to China, again.

Has Japan forgotten how many times it inflicted devastation on China? Has China ever truly harmed Japan and can Japan cite an example? The tiny Diaoyu Islands are just a territorial dispute between China and Japan, and in Asia there are many similar disputes. But Japan takes the dispute as a strategic level issue and hypes it up every day. What's the point of it?

The US-Japan alliance could evolve into an axis that can bring fatal disruption to Asia-Pacific peace, just like the Germany-Italy-Japan axis alliance before and during the WWII. The core intention of the US is to maintain its hegemony and contain China's development through violating international laws and rules. The arbitrary act of the US could eventually end the peace in Asia-Pacific. And Japan is positioning itself as the top Asian accomplice of the US' vicious policy.

Washington and Tokyo want to build the Quad mechanism, comprising Japan, the US, India and Australia, into an expanded and upgraded US-Japan alliance, and draw more countries in to jointly confront China. They trumpeted "shared values," but the world is supposed to be diverse. The most dangerous thing is confrontation, group-based confrontation in particular. The US and Japan are tearing the so-called "Indo-Pacific" apart at the cost of eroding and destroying cooperation. They are attempting to make confrontation the main theme of the entire region.

They always emphasized "rules-based," but the rules should refer to those made by the UN., rather than those defined by the US and Japan. The US has willfully wielded the stick of trade war against China, and cracked down on Chinese high-tech enterprises by cutting off the supply of key technology products. Are these actions in line with the rules? The US is enticing Japan to establish supply chains that exclude China. But does this comply with rules? Besides, the US and the West arbitrarily interfere in internal affairs of other countries, is this encouraged by the UN Charter?

Japan once met China halfway in the past few years, which led the China-Japan relations to return on the right track. But now, it has abruptly changed the course and become a part of the US containment strategy against China. This has ruined the momentum of improvement in China-Japan relations. It's not only a result of US' pressure, but it's also caused by Japan's expanding strategic selfishness. Japan is too short-sighted, it formed an alliance with Germany and Italy before WWII and is now singing a chorus with the US' radical line. Japan hasn't learned its lessons. It is, instead, proactively creating and sinking into a vortex of confrontation.

Finally, we advise Japan to stay away from the Taiwan question. It may play diplomatic tricks in other fields, but if it gets involved into the Taiwan question, it will draw the fire upon itself. The deeper it is embroiled in, the bigger the price it will pay.
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Portland cops have arrested four people after declaring a riot Friday night after protesters smashed windows, burglarized businesses and set multiple fires during demonstrations over the fatal police shooting of a white man in the city.

The man, who was aged in his 30s but has not been publicly named, was shot and killed by an officer Friday morning in Lents Park, a leafy, residential neighborhood of the city.

Police named the officer who fired his gun as Zachary Delong. He is on paid administrative leave.

Officers were reportedly called to the scene to respond to reports of a man with a gun.

The police investigation into the shooting was hampered by a crowd of 'fairly aggressive people' who showed up at the park within two hours of the shooting. Those arrested could face charges ranging from assaulting a public safety officer to criminal mischief.

As investigators worked the scene of the shooting and huddled over a covered body, nearly 100 yards away, a crowd of more than 150 people - many dressed in all black and some carrying helmets, goggles and gas masks - gathered behind crime scene tape, chanting and yelling at officers standing in front of them.

The crowd later marched through the park, ripped down police tape and stood face to face with officers dressed in riot gear. Police left the park around 3:30 pm, and the crowd eventually stood in a nearby intersection, blocking traffic and chanting.

Police said they had used pepper spray on protesters in order to keep them away. Some people hit officers with sticks and chased them as they were leaving, police said in a news release. Officers deployed smoke canisters and then used a rubber ball distraction device, police said.

As night fell, protests over that shooting - as well as the police killings of Adam Toledo in Chicago and Daunte Wright in Minneapolis - soon spiraled out of control in the city's downtown.

Portland cops have arrested four people after declaring a riot Friday night after protesters smashed windows, burglarized businesses and set multiple fires during demonstrations over the fatal police shooting of a white man in the city

Protesters lit a portable bathroom on fire in downtown Portland. Police said they dispersed the crowd so firefighting crews could douse fires before they spread in extreme fire hazard conditions. A riot was declared in the area at 9.30pm

A group marches along the Hawthorne Bridge in Portland before protests spiraled out of control. Cops declared a riot at 9.30pm

Arsonists lit a series of fires, including a large one outside the downtown Apple Store, KOIN 6 reported.

Police said they dispersed the crowd so firefighting crews could douse fires before they spread in extreme fire hazard conditions.

A riot was declared in the area at 9.30pm.

Demonstrators then began smashing windows of stores and stealing merchandise from businesses.

'Participants in the riot have been seen attempting to burglarize businesses. Leave the area to the west. Failure to do so may subject you to arrest and/or the use of force, including but not limited to impact munitions and tear gas,' Portland police tweeted just after midnight.

Meanwhile, Nike and Nordstrom stores were both reported to have been vandalized.

Three of the four people arrested have been identified.

Cameron Millar-Griffin, 24, is facing charges of Criminal Mischief I, Resisting Arrest and Disorderly Conduct I.

Theodore Brien, 22 , is facing a charge ofCriminal Mischief I.

Meanewhile, Skye Sodja, 43, is facing charges of Assault of a Public Safety Officer and Disorderly Conduct II

A fourth person was arrested but later released, according to PPB.

Portland has been experiencing significant unrest over the past year.

Hundreds gathered for to protest recent police shootings. A white man was shot dead by a cop in a Portland suburb on Friday afternoon, while a 13-year-old boy was killed in Chicago and a 20-year-old was fatally shot by an officer in Minneapolis last week

Protesters smashed windows in downtown Portland as police declared a riot at 9.30pm

Police arrested several people after declaring a riot Friday night when protesters smashed windows, burglarized businesses and set multiple fires during demonstrations that started after police fatally shot a man while responding to reports of a person with a gun

A Portland Police officer is pictured at the scene of a shooting of a man at Lents Park Police fatally shot a man in the city park Friday morning after responding to reports of a person with a gun

Last summer, there were demonstrations for more than 100 straight days. Earlier this week, a crowd set a fire outside the city's police union headquarters following recent fatal police shootings in Chicago and Minneapolis.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has previously decried what he described as a segment of violent agitators who detract from the message of police accountability.

On Friday evening, Wheeler called for calm and urged peaceful protest - but his plea fell on deaf ears.

Wheeler visited the Friday shooting scene and issued a statement urging Portland residents to 'proceed with empathy and peace' while the investigation unfolds.

These shootings always are traumatic for everyone involved and for our community, regardless of the circumstances,' Wheeler said.

'I want to offer my sympathy to the individual involved and to their family. My thoughts also are with the officers who were involved.'

Law enforcement personnel work at the scene following a police involved shooting of a man at Lents Park, Friday, April 16, 2021, in Portland, Ore. Police fatally shot a man in the city park Friday morning after responding to reports of a person with a gun, authorities said. (Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian/The Oregonian via AP)

There were violent scenes in cities across the country as demonstrators gathered to protest recent police shootings in Chicago and Minneapolis

In Chicago, thousands of people marched for Adam Toledo, the 13-year-old who was killed by the police last month, before video was released on Thursday showing the shooting, sparking outrage.

The protests began before 6pm, with hundreds of people gathering in Logan Square Park, planning on marching to Mayor Lori Lightfoot's residence.

The number of protesters swelled into the thousands as the night went on, with the intersection of Milwaukee, Diversey and Kimball shut down around 7:30pm, according to ABC7.

Two protesters were subsequently arrested in the city.

Chicago Police officers mask up and prepare near Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's home as people protest on Friday

People protest the March 29th shooting and killing of 13 year-old Adam Toledo near Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's home

Meanwhile, in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota - the site of the death of Daunte Wright, last Sunday - protests also quickly descended into chaos.

Just before 10pm, however, the protest outside of the police department was declared an unlawful assembly, according to KSTP.

Police began deploying flash bangs to scatter the crowd, some of whom shielded themselves with umbrellas.

Within ten minutes, the Minnesota State Patrol arrived and stated to form a blockade. State troopers then began making arrests using zipties.

Pepper spray was used against some protesters, with members of the media also being affected by the pepper spray.

The city then issued a curfew from 11pm to 6am Saturday, despite earlier indications that there would be no curfew on Friday night.

100 protesters were reported to have been arrested in the area on Friday night.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 16:05:19|Editor: huaxia

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YANGON, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's State Administration Council remitted sentences of a total of 23,184 prisoners on Saturday, the first day of Myanmar calendar New Year.

According to the council's orders, 23,047 Myanmar national prisoners and 137 foreign prisoners are remitted sentences to mark Myanmar's traditional new year and on humanitarian ground as well as in view of relations between the respective countries and Myanmar.

According to a separate pardon order, the council reduced the death penalty to life imprisonment with no possibility of release, and reduced the life imprisonment with no possibility of release to 40 years, excluding those who have been pardoned from death penalty to life imprisonment in the previous amnesty orders.

Prisoners who have been sentenced to life imprisonment in the previous amnesty orders will be reduced to 50 years of imprisonment, and punishment of more than 40 years of imprisonment will be reduced to 40 years while 40 years and under are cut one-fourth, the order said.

The council also remitted sentences of 23,314 local prisoners and 55 foreign prisoners on Feb. 12 after a one-year state of emergency was declared in Myanmar on Feb. 1 this year.

The state power was handed over to Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, chair of newly formed State Administration Council. Enditem
Patna, April 17 : A majority of political parties in Bihar are in favour of a weekend curfew of 62 hours between Friday evening and Monday morning.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, BJP state president Sanjay Jaiswal, among others, suggested the same during an all-party virtual meeting held in Patna under the chairmanship of governor Phagu Chauhan on Saturday.

CM Nitish Kumar also hinted at the same by saying that the decision will be taken soon.

During the all-party meeting RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav put 30 points including weekend curfew on the table and asked the state government to implement them immediately.

While addressing the governor, Yadav claimed the Constitution of state was under threat. "As you are sitting on constitutional post and you have called the meeting. Hence, I am participating in it.

"The opposition parties have been giving suggestions on Covid management and developing health infrastructure in the state since last one year but unfortunately, the ruling parties have not implemented them. Now that the health infrastructure has completely collapsed in the state, ruling party leaders are trying to blame their failures on opposition parties," said Yadav.

Sanjay Jaiswal, representing the BJP in the meeting, also backed the idea of a weekend curfew.

"We have pointed out five days employment and two days of curfew in Bihar. The 62 hours curfew from Friday evening 6 pm to Monday morning 8 am needs to be implemented in Bihar to break the chain of Corona infection," Jaiswal said.

He also said that the state government must declare a summer vacation in schools from April 18 to June 1.

"If required, the state government should cancel Dussehra and winter vacations in schools and adjust the study loss of students," Jaiswal said.

Mukesh Sahani, president of VIP, suggested that the Bihar government impose a lockdown similar to the Maharashtra government to break the chain of infection.
An Armenian-Georgian inter-governmental commission in charge of coordinating the construction of a new bridge at the two countries border held a remote meeting to approve the paperwork and other technicalities, Armenpress reports.

The 386-meter long bridge called Friendship will be built on the Debed River on the territory of the Sadakhlo-Bagratashen border crossing point.

The commission gave the official launch of the construction during the meeting.

Kristine Ghalechyan, the Armenian Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures and Co-chair of the commission, underscored the need to ensure quality and compliance with international standards in the construction, and highly appreciated the Georgian governments efforts.

The joint Armenian-Georgian project is funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the governments of Armenia and Georgia. The contractor is the Iranian Ariana Tunnel Dam Co. Technical supervision is conducted by the South Korean Soosung Engineering Co., Ltd  Korea Consultants.
A massive sinkhole suddenly appeared on Huynh Tan Phat Street in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday and further deepened on the following days.

The sinkhole, about 0.5 meter deep, opened up in front of the multi-purpose gym center of District 7 at 506 Huynh Tan Phat Street on Thursday.

Although the local residents placed tree branches before the hole for warning of danger, at least two cases of motorcyclists failed to avoid it.

By Friday morning, the sinkhole had expanded to about two meters long and deepened to nearly two meters, with several cracks surrounded, posing high risks of traffic accidents.

A water pipe with a diameter of about 40 centimeters in the hole was also continuously spraying leaked water.

Authorities have fenced the sinking area to ensure safety for pedestrians and commuters while fixing the water leak.

A pump sucks water out of a sinkhole on Huynh Tan Phat Street in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, April 16, 2021. Photo: Chau Tuan / Tuoi Tre

Workers and vehicles work at the site of a sinkhole on Huynh Tan Phat Street in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, April 16, 2021. Photo: Chau Tuan / Tuoi Tre

Workers fix a sinkhole on Huynh Tan Phat Street in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, April 16, 2021. Photo: Chau Tuan / Tuoi Tre

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Google has reportedly filed a patent that signals the tech giants entry into the foldable devices business. According to a report by PatentlyApple, Googles patent is titled Hinge Mechanism by Gear Set with Slider for Foldable Display Device.

The patent suggests that Google might soon launch a foldable smartphone, tablet, or even a netbook. The internet search giant has highlighted issues with the current foldable devices in its patent. The company has also stated that its patent offers a solution to the existing problems with foldable devices.

To start with, Google has pointed out the flaws of the conventional hinge mechanisms that are used by foldable smartphone makers currently. It has then offered a solution in which a device may include a hinge assembly having a slider mechanism and a set of gears. The slider mechanism and the set of gears operate to transfer a rotational movement into a translational movement of one of a first housing or second housing.

In simpler terms, Google claims that its hinge mechanism will allow flexible devices to bend easily without any risk of damage or breakage. The mechanism can transfer a rotational movement of the flexible devices, the company claims.

However, its unlikely that the mechanism is ready because Google has just filed a patent. This means that the companys engineering team might be working on the device, which would be launched after it ticks all the boxes. Therefore, it cant be said that Google will launch a foldable phone for sure.

Anyways, Googles interest in foldable devices has come after several other brands have launched their own foldable smartphones. Recently, Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi joined the likes of Huawei and Samsung in making foldable devices. With Googles entry in sight, will more brands jump on the foldable device bandwagon?




South Korean civic groups held a press conference Saturday to denounce Japan's recent decision to discharge contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.







Eight groups, including Global Econet, lambasted the plan to release the radioactive water as an "irresponsible" act and demanded the reversal of the decision, in a statement from Gwanghwamun Square, central Seoul.







On Tuesday, Japan finalized a decision to start discharging the tritium-laced water into the sea in 2023 in what is expected to be a decades-long process, as all storage tanks at the Fukushima plant are expected to be full as early as the fall of 2022.







"The decision to discharge tainted water into the ocean is an irresponsible decision that did not consider the safety of neighboring countries," the groups said in the joint statement. "We call for the immediate retraction of the decision."







After the press conference, civic group members moved near to the Japanese Embassy in Seoul and read out a statement calling for Tokyo to reverse its decision.







A progressive group of university students also gathered in front of the embassy and said they would not turn a blind eye to Tokyo's move.







Some students scuffled with police as they tried to enter the embassy to deliver a statement urging Japan to stop the water discharge plan.







Some activists staged a protest near the embassy, holding a sign reading "If the Fukushima contaminated water is safe, you drink it." (Yonhap)


Challenge to find Net Zero heroes as Wrexham companies move to reduce carbon emissions

A search has been launched to find Net Zero heroes as companies across Wrexham battle to reduce carbon emissions.

The challenge has been set by the North Wales Mersey Dee Business Council who are organising a major online conference, Net Zero 2021, on Thursday, May 20, in a bid to inspire business and industry to join the race for a net zero carbon future.

The cross-border business conference will focus on how businesses can reduce their carbon footprint while improving performance at the same time.

Organisations registering to attend are invited to apply to be Net Zero Leaders based on their track record in cutting their carbon footprint and environmental impact across their business.





The Leaders will be chosen across three categories, micro business/start-up, small business and medium/large business categories by a distinguished panel of judges.

Speakers at conference will feature major players such as Airbus, Siemens, Iceland and Liverpool John Lennon Airport as well as small and medium sized businesses from across the region.

Also among the line-up of contributors and supporters are Anglesey Sea Zoo, RibRide, Flintshire County Council, the Development Bank of Wales, Construction Industry Training Board, Chamber of Commerce, Clwyd Alyn Housing, Grwp Llandrillo Menai, the Mersey Dee Alliance and railway campaign group Growth Track 360.

Themes include Energy and Transport, Manufacturing, Tourism and Hospitality, Food and Retail and Buildings and Construction.

Ashley Rogers, Commercial Director of the North Wales Mersey Dee Business Council, said: We want to identify the Net Zero Leaders from across the region because this presents a real challenge to how we have done things for so long but also provides real opportunities.

These will be the businesses, large and small, that are pioneering change across an area that is uniquely well-placed to be at the forefront of the UKs drive to be a Net Zero nation.

Here we have the capability to harness wind, solar and tidal power as well as developing major plans around hydrogen and a nuclear skills base but getting to Net Zero is not just about low carbon energy and new green jobs but also decarbonising our existing businesses in Tourism, Manufacturing, Transport, Construction and other sectors.

Now we want to recognise the companies that are already leading the way towards Net Zero and celebrate their role as pathfinders to this goal.

One of the UKs biggest banks, NatWest, has already achieved Net Zero status and aims to be climate positive by 2025 by working with its 35,000 small and medium sized businesses in Wales to reduce their emissions.

They are also key partners in COP 26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November, and at Net Zero 2021 where Kevin Morgan, NatWests Senior Director of Wales Business Banking, is scheduled to speak.

He said: Its essential that we identify the pioneers already championing the regions transition towards a carbon zero economy  the positive role models that can generate a significant impact within their local communities.

The climate change battle needs to be in the hands of the many  and the local business leaders that have already stepped up to the challenge are the top of the pyramid, demonstrating the art of possible to all businesses.

A multi-layered collaborative approach is essential to drive positive change among the businesses and communities we serve in North Wales  engaging and working with those that have already grasped the responsibility for leading this area.

Just like the leaders we are identifying, NatWest is determined to not just play our part, but to lead on the collaboration and cooperation that is so critical to influencing the transition to a low carbon future.

Ashley Rogers added: Our main aim, given the challenge of improving business performance whilst getting to Net Zero Carbon is one every business faces, is to provide inspiration, information and best practice examples and advice for businesses on their journey to Net Zero.

Businesses can learn so much from other businesses, large and small, and from other organisations taking part that have a wider remit such as the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre Cymru in Broughton, Bangor and Wrexham Glyndwr Universities, the Carbon Trust and Innovate UK.

For more details and to book virtual tickets go to https://netzero2021.eventbrite.co.uk
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was an icon. The former First Lady led her life with grace and a celebrity fashion sense that most homemakers of the 60s idolized. It was a time when few women attended college or developed their own careers. Yet Kennedy Onassis, who never wanted to be an ordinary housewife, was able to attend three colleges including her spending one year abroad with the Smith College Junior Year in Paris program. By her early 20s, she was on track for her journalism career when she was introduced to Congressman John F. Kennedy.

Jacqueline Kennedy | Ed Clark/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images

How old was Jackie Kennedy when she married JFK?

#OTDIH 1961: JFK and Jackie leave St. Francis Xavier Church in Hyannis pic.twitter.com/b9no4bqD66  JFK's Jackie (@Jackie_JFK) August 27, 2015

In 1952, Jacqueline Lee Bouvier was invited to a dinner party by fellow Washington Times-Herald journalist Charles Bartlett and his wife, Martha. What the 23-year-old didnt know was that her future husband, the then-congressman for Massachusetts 11th congressional seat, would be in attendance. The two were instantly drawn to one another, but when asked if shed like to follow dinner with a drink, she turned him down citing a previous engagement, according to Best Life.

Before the couple could start dating, she had to call off her previous engagement to John G. W. Husted Jr., a stockbroker who she had agreed to marry only having known him for a month. Within a year, Bouvier accepted a proposal from JFK, and married him when she was 24. But when the now a Massachusetts senator and his wife-to-be made their official announcement, they had no ring to show off. Jack and I have looked at dozens of them, Bouvier explained, according to The Adventurine.

Some I didnt like and others werent the right type. When they did find a ring, she didnt wear it much. The 2.84-carat emerald-cut emerald with a 2.88-carat emerald-cut diamond ring was adorned with baguette-cut diamonds and emeralds along the arms. They found it at Van Cleef & Arpels. Within a couple of months, the Kennedys were married in Newport, Rhode Island. Following the ceremony, she had a gold wedding band to wear on her ring finger.

Jackie Kennedys engagement ring got a makeover

Celebrate #WomensHistoryMonth by discovering more about First Lady Jaqueline Kennedy. Explore gifts and other items inspired by and featuring Mrs. Kennedy in our Museum Store.  JFK Library (@JFKLibrary) March 12, 2021

As JFK continued to climb the political ladder, his wife was by his side, although her engagement ring was hardly ever seen. She often wore gloves and for photos, she covered up her left hand. No one knew why she wouldnt show off her engagement ring. After JFKs election to the presidency in November 1960, the Kennedys moved into the White House the following January.

Kennedy Onassis soon began renovations of the White House and at the same her engagement ring. She took it back to Van Cleef & Arpels wanting it to be fancier. The diamond and emerald baguettes were replaced with marquise-shaped diamonds. They created the shape of a laurel wreath holding the two original main stones. Brilliant-cut diamonds followed down the remaining front of the band.

Jackies fashion sense and jewelry collection

The redesign matched the style of some of Kennedy Onassiss other Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry. She still never wore the ring as an everyday piece, nor even very often. Throughout her lifetime, Kennedy Onassiss acquired some other iconic jewelry pieces. Her Moon earrings were a gift from her second husband, Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis. They were gold and ruby pendants commissioned from Greek jewelry designer Ilias Lalaounis. The earrings were named in honor of Apollo 11 landing on the moon on July 21, 1969, just days before her 40th birthday.

In the 70s, Kennedy Onassis was often seen wearing a Cartier tank watch. The watch was given to her sister Lees husband Prince Stanislas Radziwill. The engraving read, Stas to Jackie 23 Feb. 63 2:05 AM to 9:35 PM. The wording attested to his completing the challenge of a 50-mile hike within 20 hours, given by JFK. The president also challenged the Marine Corps inspired by President Theodore Roosevelt mandating all Marine officers be able to do so in a 1908 executive order.

Today, Mrs. Kennedy Onassiss engagement ring is among her possessions held at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston. It is at times placed on display. Her Moon earrings were auctioned by Sothebys in 1996 as part of her estate. They sold for $112,500.

In 2017, Mrs. Kennedy Onassiss Cartier tank watch was auctioned along with one of her original paintings, according to Town & Country. Estimated to sell for between $60,000-$120,000, the pairing sold to an anonymous bidder for $395,000 by Christies Rare Watches and American Icons. The buyer turned out to be a fashion icon by todays standards, Kim Kardashian West.
British film director Harry Macqueen is garnering plenty of positive reviews for his heartbreakingly beautiful film Supernova.

But the 36-year-old passed on the praise to his leading actors, and real life best friends Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth for the work.

Harry spoke to the Gold Coast Bulletin about working with the acclaimed actors on a film that centres on a couple struggling with the impact of early onset dementia on their relationship.

'It's beautiful of them and brave of them': Supernova director Harry Macqueen reveals what it's really like working with acclaimed actors and real life friends Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth

He explained the publication that script was first shown to Stanley, of The Devil Wears Prada and Spotlight fame, who fell in love with the story.

'I didn't know at the time that he was friends with Colin, and he suggested we speak with Colin for the other role. Colin, it turns out, had already read the script and loved it,' he said.

The director, whose directorial debut was the 2014 film Hinterland, praised the acclaimed stars for choosing to bring his 'comparatively small film' to life.

Heartbreakingly beautiful performances: Harry spoke to the Gold Coast Bulletin about working with the acclaimed actors on a film that centres on a couple struggling with the impact of early onset dementia on their relationship. Tucci (left) and Firth (right) in Supernova

Working with the best: The director, whose directorial debut was the 2014 film Hinterland, praised the acclaimed stars for choosing to bring his 'comparatively small film' to life

'This was the kind of script that maybe Stanley and Colin as actors don't get that often and it's beautiful of them and brave of them to actually have been involved in a film like this because it's a small film comparatively, certainly for the stuff they do,' he said.

'I'm really not a very experienced director or indeed writer, and it's exposing playing these roles and they don't really need to do that at this stage in their careers, let's be honest. Hats off to them for trusting this project,' he added.

Stanley, 60, stars opposite Colin in the drama, in which he plays Tusker, a writer suffering from dementia who travels across England with partner Sam (Firth) to reunite with friends and family.

'Hats off to them for trusting this project': Harry added: 'I'm really not a very experienced director or indeed writer, and it's exposing playing these roles and they don't really need to do that at this stage in their careers, let's be honest '

Emotional story: Stanley, 60, stars opposite Colin in the drama, in which he plays Tusker, a writer suffering from dementia who travels across England with partner Sam (Firth) to reunite with friends and family

He recently told the BBC's Graham Norton show that he believes his own performance was enhanced by working with his long-time friend Colin, 60, as they have shared so many ups and downs together in real-life.

'He and I are both 60 years old and we've known each other for over 20 years.

'And as you go through this stage of your life with children, marriages and ageing parents you have experience a lot  and a lot of that is unhappy stuff.

'We have seen each other through those times, but also through the happiest times, That can't help but infuse our relationship on screen.'
Doctors and nurses are having trouble securing an adequate number of patients keen to receive a Covid jab - after Australian authorities scrambled to get their hands on a sufficient supply of the vaccines.

Thousands of doses are still sitting in fridges across Sydney as Phase 1b candidates think twice about getting the jab.

The AstraZeneca vaccine, which Australia pinned its hopes on for the bulk of its rollout, has been linked to blood clots in rare cases across the world.

Daily Mail Australia on Thursday revealed Genene Norris, a 48-year-old from NSW, was put on dialysis shortly after getting the vaccine and died a few days later.

Earlier this month the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation announced that under 50s should not be given the AstraZeneca dose and are urged to wait for an alternative.

Medical clinics who put on extra staff for the rollout have been unable to fill patient bookings following concerns over the AstraZeneca jab - despite Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt urging Australians not to lose faith in the vaccination program.

Thousands of doses are still sitting in fridges across Sydney as Phase 1b candidates think twice about getting the jab. Pictured: A Townsville nurse in Queensland gets the Covid vaccine jab

The AstraZeneca vaccine, which Australia pinned its hopes on for the bulk of its rollout, has been linked to blood clots in rare cases across the world

In fact, some doctors have even asked the Department of Health to open up the vaccination program to ordinary people outside of the Phase 1b category because nobody is turning up.

Belmore Medical Respiratory Clinic principal Dr Jamal Rifi told the Daily Telegraph he had cut the number of staff on duty from a GP and five nurses to a GP and one nurse.

His practice had planned to vaccinate about 80 people a day, now only 20 are walking through the doors.

'I spent three weeks preparing to be ready. We were busy in the first two weeks, slower in the third week, and fourth week hardly anyone is coming,' Dr Rifi said.

He also pointed out that consultation times for prospective vaccine recipients has doubled from 12 minutes to almost half an hour with patients wanting to know more information about the potential risks.

Dr Rifi said the government's messaging needs to be improved urgently or the rollout could fall into further chaos.

Health care workers leave the vaccination hub at Westmead Hospital on March 1, 2021

The risk of dying from Covid-19 is significantly higher than the rate of blood clots, which have not been definitively linked to the vaccines (based on fatality estimates from Cambridge University and CSVT occurrences in Germany)

At the Northshore Roseville Covid-19 Vaccine Centre it's a similar story.

They prepared for about 1000 vaccinations a day but are currently only administering about '50 to 60'.

'We contacted the department a few days ago, but they said we could instead reduce our hours. We have so many vaccines we don't know what to do with them,' a staffer said.

Ms Norris the third person in Australia to develop blood clots after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Mr Hunt said the risk remained low with only three cases from 885,000 AstraZeneca shots. The other two cases are recovering.

Ms Norris had her shot just hours before authorities announced they were no longer recommending AstraZeneca for Australians under 50.

Medical clinics who put on extra staff have been unable to fill patient bookings (stock image)

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has said that while a 'causative link' between Ms Norris's death and her vaccination on April 8 'should be assumed', questions remain.

It noted the complication of her underlying health conditions and said an antibody common in other AstraZeneca clotting cases wasn't present.

Some test results are still pending. An autopsy is planned on Monday and a coronial inquest is likely.

So far about 1.5 million Australians have been vaccinated against Covid-19, well short of Scott Morrison's target of four million by March.

The prime minister now says he 'would like' all Australians to get at least their first dose by the end of the year, but made no guarantees.

To make up for the shortfall of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the government has ordered Twenty million doses of the Pfizer dose but it's not expected to arrive until the final quarter of this year.
There have already been multiple phone launches in India but it looks like companies arent done yet. In the next week, smartphones from at least four companies are launching in India. The lineup includes Xiaomis flagship Mi 11 Ultra, a new Mi 11X series, Oppo A74 5G, Moto G40 Fusion and Realme 8 5G.

Oppo A74 5G will make its debut in India first with its launch scheduled for April 20. The smartphone is confirmed to launch under 20,000 making it Oppos cheapest 5G offering yet. Oppo A74 5G comes with a full HD+ AMOLED display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 processor and 6GB of RAM. It features a 48-megapixel quad-camera, and a 16-megapixel selfie camera.

Motorola is also launching two phones on the same day. Its the Moto G40 Fusion and Moto G60. The company has been teasing the two phones on Flipkart. Moto G60 and the Moto G40 Fusion are both coming with three cameras on the back. Moto G60 is expected to feature a 108MP Samsung ISOCELL HM2 sensor, and the Moto G40 Fusion, the main camera on the back might be a 64MP sensor. Both the devices are also expected to be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G SoCs.

Realme is also launching a 5G phone in India on April 22. This will be the first smartphone in India with the MediaTek Dimensity 700 processor. Realme 8 5G will also feature a punch-hole display, and a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. The smartphone is also expected to come with 8GB of RAM, a full HD+ display, and run Android 11 out-of-the-box.

Xiaomi is launching its flagship phone in India on April 23. The highlight of Mi 11 Ultra is its secondary screen that works as a viewfinder for the rear camera, and displays notifications, time, battery level and more. The smartphone also comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor, a 5,000mAh battery and a 120Hz display. Xiaomi is also launching a new Mi 11X series at this event.
Prince Philip will be remembered as a man of courage, fortitude and faith at a martial but also personal funeral that will mark the death of a royal patriarch who was a beloved husband and father, and one of a dwindling number of World War II veterans.

Hymns and music during Saturdays funeral at Windsor Castle will reflect Philips military ties and wartime service in the Royal Navy, as well as his more than seven decades of support for his wife, Queen Elizabeth II.

Philip died April 9 at the age of age 99 after 73 years of marriage. Coronavirus restrictions mean that instead of the 800 mourners included in the longstanding plans for his funeral, there will be only 30 inside St. Georges Chapel, including the widowed queen, her four children and eight grandchildren.

Many elements of the funeral are steeped in military and royal protocol, from the armed forces personnel lining the funeral route to the artillery salutes and Philips naval cap and sword atop the coffin. More than 700 military personnel are set to take part, including army bands, Royal Marine buglers and an honor guard drawn from across the armed forces.

To deter crowds from gathering during the pandemic, the entire procession and funeral will take place within the grounds of the castle, a 950-year-old royal residence 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of London. It will be shown live on television.

Philip was deeply involved in the funeral planning, and aspects of it reflect his personality, including his love of the rugged Land Rover. Philip drove several versions of the four-wheel-drive vehicle for decades until he was forced to give up his license at 97 after a crash. His body will be borne to the chapel on a modified Land Rover Defender that he designed himself.

The children of Philip and the queen  Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward -- will walk behind the hearse. So will grandsons Prince William and Prince Harry, but not side by side. The brothers, whose relationship has been strained amid Harrys decision to quit royal duties and move to California, will flank their cousin Peter Phillips, the son of Princess Anne.

ORDER OF SERVICE

All stand. The Coffin is removed from the Land Rover and is carried to the West Steps where it rests at 3pm for the one minute National Silence.

The Coffin is then carried to the Catafalque in the Quire.

Members of the Royal Family who have walked in the Procession are conducted to their places in the Quire.

Meanwhile, the choir sings

THE SENTENCES

I AM the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.

John 11. 25-26

I KNOW that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another.

Job 19. 25-27

WE brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

1 Timothy 6. 7, Job 1. 21

William Croft (1678-1727)

All remain standing. The Dean of Windsor shall say

THE BIDDING

WE are here today in St Georges Chapel to commit into the hands of God the soul of his servant Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. With grateful hearts, we remember the many ways in which his long life has been a blessing to us. We have been inspired by his unwavering loyalty to our Queen, by his service to the Nation and the Commonwealth, by his courage, fortitude and faith. Our lives have been enriched through the challenges that he has set us, the encouragement that he has given us, his kindness, humour and humanity. We therefore pray that God will give us grace to follow his example, and that, with our brother Philip, at the last, we shall know the joys of life eternal.

All sit. The choir sings

ETERNAL Father, strong to save,

Whose arm doth bind the restless wave,

Who biddst the mighty ocean deep

Its own appointed limits keep;

O hear us when we cry to thee

For those in peril on the sea.

O Saviour, whose almighty word

The winds and waves submissive heard,

Who walkedst on the foaming deep,

And calm amid its rage didst sleep:

O hear us when we cry to thee

For those in peril on the sea.

O sacred Spirit, who didst brood

Upon the chaos dark and rude,

Who badst its angry tumult cease,

And gavest light and life and peace:

O hear us when we cry to thee

For those in peril on the sea.

O Trinity of love and power,

Our brethren shield in dangers hour;

From rock and tempest, fire and foe,

Protect them wheresoer they go:

And ever let there rise to thee

Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

Melita by J. B. Dykes (1823-76) William Whiting (1825-78)

Arranged by James Vivian (b. 1974)5

All remain seated.

THE FIRST LESSON

Ecclesiasticus 43. 11-26

read by the Dean of Windsor

LOOK at the rainbow and praise its Maker; it shines with a supreme beauty, rounding the sky with its gleaming arc, a bow bent by the hands of the Most High. His command speeds the snow storm and sends the swift lightning to execute his sentence. To that end the storehouses are opened, and the clouds fly out like birds. By his mighty power the clouds are piled up and the hailstones broken small. The crash of his thunder makes the earth writhe, and, when he appears, an earthquake shakes the hills. At his will the south wind blows, the squall from the north and the hurricane. He scatters the snow-flakes like birds alighting; they settle like a swarm of locusts. The eye is dazzled by their beautiful whiteness, and as they fall the mind is entranced. He spreads frost on the earth like salt, and icicles form like pointed stakes. A cold blast from the north, and ice grows hard on the water, settling on every pool, as though the water were putting on a breastplate. He consumes the hills, scorches the wilderness, and withers the grass like fire. Cloudy weather quickly puts all to rights, and dew brings welcome relief after heat. By the power of his thought he tamed the deep and planted it with islands. Those who sail the sea tell stories of its dangers, which astonish all who hear them; in it are strange and wonderful creatures, all kinds of living things and huge sea-monsters. By his own action he achieves his end, and by his word all things are held together.

All remain seated as the choir sings

THE JUBILATE

O BE joyful in the Lord, all ye lands:

serve the Lord with gladness,

and come before his presence with a song.

Be ye sure that the Lord he is God:

it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;

we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving,

and into his courts with praise:

be thankful unto him, and speak good of his Name.

For the Lord is gracious, his mercy is everlasting:

and his truth endureth from generation to generation.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be:

world without end. Amen.

Benjamin Britten (1913-76), in C

Written for St Georges Chapel, Windsor at the request of The Duke of Edinburgh

All remain seated.

THE SECOND LESSON

John 11. 21-27

read by the Archbishop of Canterbury

MARTHA said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. And even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you. Jesus said to her, Your brother will rise again. Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? She said to him, Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world.

All remain seated as the choir sings

PSALM 104

The Duke of Edinburgh requested that Psalm 104 should be set to music by William Lovelady.

Originally composed as a cantata in three movements, it was first sung in honour of His Royal Highnesss 75th Birthday.

MY SOUL give praise unto the Lord of heaven,

In majesty and honour clothed;

The earth he made will not be moved,

The seas he made to be its robe. Give praise.

The waters rise above the highest mountain,

And flow down to the vales and leas;

At springs, wild asses quench their thirst,

And birds make nest amid the trees.

The trees the Lord has made are full of vigour,

The fir tree is a home for storks;

Wild goats find refuge in the hills,

From foes the conies shelter in the rocks.

My soul give praise unto the Lord of heaven,

In majesty and honour clothed;

The earth he made will not be moved,

The seas he made to be its robe. Give praise.7

O Lord, how manifold is your creation,

All things in wisdom you provide;

You give your riches to the earth,

And to the sea so great and wide.

You take your creatures breath and life is ended,

Your breath goes forth and life begins;

Your hand renews the face of earth,

Your praise my whole life I will sing.

My soul give praise unto the Lord of heaven,

In majesty and honour clothed;

The earth he made will not be moved,

The seas he made to be its robe. Give praise.

William Lovelady (b. 1945) abridged and arranged for choir and organ by James Vivian (b. 1974) with the composers permission

Words from Psalm 104, adapted by Sam Dyer (b. 1945)

The choir sings

THE LESSER LITANY

Let us pray.

All sit or kneel.

LORD, have mercy upon us.

Christ, have mercy upon us.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

THE LORDS PRAYER

OUR Father, which art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy Name;

Thy kingdom come;

Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive them that trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation;

But deliver us from evil. Amen.

THE RESPONSES

ENTER not into judgement with thy servant, O Lord.

For in thy sight shall no man living be justified.

Grant unto him eternal rest.

And let light perpetual shine upon him.

We believe verily to see the goodness of the Lord.

In the land of the living.

O Lord, hear our prayer.

And let our cry come unto thee.

William Smith (1603-45), adapted by Roger Judd, MVO (b. 1944)

The Lords Prayer, Music by Robert Stone (1516-1613) from John Days Certaine Notes 1565

THE COLLECT

The Dean of Windsor shall say

O MERCIFUL God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the resurrection and the life; in whom whosoever believeth shall live, though he die; and whosoever liveth, and believeth in him, shall not die eternally; who also hath taught us by his Holy Apostle Saint Paul, not to be sorry, as men without hope, for them that sleep in him: We meekly beseech thee, O Father that, when we shall depart this life, we may rest in him, as our hope is this our brother doth; and that, at the general resurrection in the last day, we may be found acceptable in thy sight; and receive that blessing, which thy well-beloved Son shall then pronounce to all that love and fear thee, saying, Come ye blessed children of my Father; receive the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. Grant this we beseech thee, O merciful Father through Jesus Christ, our Mediator and Redeemer. Amen.

THE PRAYERS

The Archbishop of Canterbury shall say

O ETERNAL God, before whose face the generations rise and pass away, thyself unchanged, abiding, we bless thy holy name for all who have completed their earthly course in thy faith and following, and are now at rest; we remember before thee this day Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, rendering thanks unto thee-for his resolute faith and loyalty, for his high sense of duty and integrity, for his life of service to the Nation and Commonwealth, and for the courage and inspiration of his leadership. To him, with all the faithful departed, grant thy peace; Let light perpetual shine upon them; and in thy loving wisdom and almighty power work in them the good purpose of thy perfect will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Dean of Windsor, Register of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, shall say

O LORD, who didst give to thy servant Saint George grace to lay aside the fear of man, and to be faithful even unto death: Grant that we, unmindful of worldly honour, may fight the wrong, uphold thy rule, and serve thee to our lives end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

GOD save our gracious Sovereign and all the Companions, living and departed, of the Most Honourable and Noble Order of The Garter. Amen.

O GOD of the spirits of all flesh, we praise thy holy name for thy servant Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who has left us a fair pattern of valiant and true knighthood; grant unto him the assurance of thine ancient promise that thou wilt ever be with those who go down to the sea in ships and occupy their business in great waters. And we beseech thee that, following his good example and strengthened by his fellowship, we may at the last, together with him, be partakers of thy heavenly kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Archbishop of Canterbury shall say

O LORD God, when thou givest to thy servants to endeavour any great matter, grant us also to know that it is not the beginning, but the continuing of the same unto the end, until it be thoroughly finished, which yieldeth the true glory; through him, who for the finishing of thy work laid down his life, our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Amen.

ALMIGHTY God, Father of all mercies and giver of all comfort: Deal graciously, we pray thee, with those who mourn; that casting every care on thee they may know the consolation of thy love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.10

All sit as the choir sings

THE ANTHEM

GIVE rest, O Christ, to thy servant with thy Saints:

where sorrow and pain are no more;

neither sighing, but life everlasting.

Thou only art immortal, the Creator and Maker of man:

And we are mortal, formed of the earth, and unto earth shall we return.

For so thou didst ordain, when thou createdest me, saying,

Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

All we go down to the dust; and, weeping, oer the grave,

we make our song: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.

Russian Kontakion of the Departed

Translated William John Birkbeck (1859-1916)

Kiev Melody, arranged by Sir Walter Parratt, KCVO (1841-1924)

All stand.

As the Coffin is lowered into the Royal Vault, the Dean of Windsor shall say

THE COMMENDATION

GO forth upon thy journey from this world, O Christian soul,

In the name of God the Father Almighty who created thee;

In the name of Jesus Christ who suffered for thee;

In the name of the Holy Spirit who strengtheneth thee;

May thy portion this day be in peace,

and thy dwelling in the heavenly Jerusalem. Amen.

All remain standing. Garter Principal King of Arms proclaims

THE STYLES AND TITLES OF HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE PHILIP DUKE OF EDINBURGH

THUS it hath pleased Almighty God to take out of this transitory life unto his divine mercy the late most Illustrious and most Exalted Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, Member of the Order of Merit, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order upon whom had been conferred the Royal Victorian Chain, Grand Master and Knight Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Lord

High Admiral of the United Kingdom, One of Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council, Admiral of the Fleet, Field Marshal in the Army and Marshal of the Royal Air Force, Husband of Her Most Excellent Majesty Elizabeth the Second by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories, Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, Sovereign of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, whom may God preserve and bless with long life, health and honour and all worldly happiness.

Thereafter, the Pipe Major of The Royal Regiment of Scotland plays

A LAMENT

The Buglers of the Royal Marines sound

THE LAST POST

After a period of silence the State Trumpeters of the Household Cavalry sound

REVEILLE

The Buglers of the Royal Marines sound

ACTION STATIONS

Then the Archbishop of Canterbury pronounces

THE BLESSING

All remain standing as the choir sings

THE NATIONAL ANTHEM

GOD save our gracious Queen,

Long live our noble Queen,

God save The Queen!

Send her victorious,

Happy and glorious,

Long to reign over us,

God save The Queen!

All remain standing in their places as Her Majesty The Queen, Members of the Royal Family and Members of The Duke of Edinburghs Family leave the Chapel via the Galilee Porch escorted by the Dean of Windsor and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Music after the service

Luke Bond, Assistant Director of Music, St Georges Chapel, will play

Prelude and Fugue in C minor BWV 546 Johann Sebastian Bach
Harvey Norman retail heiress Tracy Norman will shake up the Upper Hunter byelection running as an independent on a platform of ditching fossil fuels in the coal-rich region.

Ms Norman, daughter of Harvey Norman co-founder Ian Norman and a former mayor of Dungog, said it was time to level with communities dependent on the coal industry as she launched her campaign last week.

Tracy Norman, former mayor of Dungog and daughter of Harvey Norman co-founder Ian Norman, is among the independents running for the Upper Hunter seat. A transition from coal will be part of her campaign.

The May 22 poll, prompted by the resignation last month of disgraced Nationals MP Michael Johnsen after the leak of lewd texts he sent during parliamentary debate, has largely been dominated by pledges of support for coal mining jobs from the Coalition and Labor.

Ms Norman said it was very disingenuous for candidates to promise the community coal jobs could be sustained or even grow in the future when the world is trending against fossil fuels.
Pittsfield Councilors Say Superintendent Selection Sets City Back

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Several city councilors are crying foul over a superintendent of schools search process that ended with the internal candidate being selected.

The School Committee had failed the city's students, they said, and "would move Pittsfield backward."

Deputy Superintendent Joseph Curtis, who has been leading the 5,000-student district since last fall, was chosen out four finalists on Wednesday with a majority vote of 4-3.

This prompted committee member Dennis Powell to publicly resign from the body, citing a lack of voice among his colleagues and a flawed process.

"It's unfortunate, and I really felt that at the beginning of this whole process, I could have wrote this ending, that's the way this whole process was run," Powell said to the committee on Wednesday before signing off the Zoom meeting.

On Thursday, Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey addressed those who voted for Curtis: Mayor Linda Tyer, Daniel Elias, William Cameron, and Chairwoman Katherine Yon, in a Facebook post stating that they had failed the district with their selection.

He referenced applicants Portia Bonner, who received one vote from Powell, and Marisa Mendonsa, who received a votes from members Alison McGee and Mark Brazeau.

"You had an opportunity to move Pittsfield Public Schools in a direction that would have taken our school system into a new era of diversity, equity and inclusion. An era of forward-thinking, honest, adaptive leadership, that could have solidified our ability to provide a rewarding educational experience for all." Kavey wrote. "Throughout the interview process, Dr. Bonner and Ms. Mendonsa had shown a genuine commitment to their students, their staffs, and their communities.

"Dr. Bonner was by far the most qualified candidate and would have been our first Black female superintendent. Ms. Mendonsa spoke of collaboration, growth, and development within the district and brought forth the big ideas we need, to navigate the challenges we will experience, reintegrating our students post-pandemic.

"Both candidates have proven track records of engaging the communities they've served to provide meaningful, innovative opportunities for success that meet the individual needs of students while understanding the complex evolution of the educational system. You chose the alternative. Your decision will move Pittsfield backward and be the reason we continue to see students and educators leave our district. We left the fate of our city's youth in your hands. You failed us."

Councilor at Large Earl Persip III and Ward 7 Councilor Anthony Maffuccio seconded Kavey's sentiments over email.

"I stand with the views of those members rather than the politically safe position and views of the Mayor and the three members who, in their mind going into this meeting we're going to pick Joe to lead a non-progressive or open-minded stance that we have come accustomed to in this Community, sacrificing our students and educators like we have always done," Maffuccio wrote. "This was the time to think outside the box and not be confined to promoting within."

Persip spoke iBerkshires on Friday about the situation where he made it clear that he wishes Curtis the best in his post but feels blindsided by the final decision. He feels the process was thorough in the beginning and then rushed at the very end.

"I think the process was in-depth until the end, I think the end was sped through, we spent months and months of courting four final candidates and then we spent two days interviewing them and then we made a decision on the third day without getting any input from staff, or parents after watching the interviews, if they got to watch them live," he said.

"I think the process should have been brought down to the final two people, we should have given it another month because we spent so much time what's another month? What's another three weeks? What's another two weeks?"

With the interview process being aired on Pittsfield Community Television (PCTV) Monday and Tuesday and the new superintendent selected on Wednesday, Persip said it was nearly impossible for busy parents to provide feedback before the decision was made.

"We rushed it through in 72 hours, I think it was a mistake, no offense to Mr. Curtis," Persip said. "I'm not saying he can't do the job, or he won't be great at the job, I think I felt shortchanged, I felt we missed an opportunity to go in a different direction."

Because Curtis has been in the district for his whole career, Persip felt there is not much space for innovation because Curtis doesn't have an outside perspective from working in other communities.

"I remember Dr. McCandless at one time, as I was questioning him for something he said, 'the superintendent doesn't belong in the same district all the time, they have to go get a fresh perspective and move on,' and that's why he was eventually going to look for a new job and move on, you become stale in a certain place," he added.

He also spoke to the judgment that Bonner endured from the School Committee because of media publications from her previous positions that the committee found to be "red flags."

"The first thing I started hearing about Dr. Bonner was negativity," Persip explained. "Do we like that agenda there towards a person of color which is what people of color deal with all the time? Because we don't know who's on the other end of that disagreement, we don't know what the disagreement was even about, right? They were already having negative connotations of a Black woman who basically stood up against the school committee. She's the educator. She's the one. So what was she standing up for? What were the disagreements about? We don't know."

Mayor Linda Tyer asserts that the School Committee and Superintendent Search Committee properly addressed the community during the selection process and strongly rejects the notion that it was "rigged" or "a done deal."

"I can say that without question from my perspective and from what I observed by my colleagues on the School Committee that each of us took it very seriously and as I mentioned in my comments during Wednesday night's meeting, there was a really broad cross-section of community engagement and hundreds of people participated in this process. And so I feel as though, you know, it was an open process with lots of opportunity for participation from a broad cross-section of community members," she told iBerkshires on Friday.

"I think we need to collectively as a community, take a deep breath and give everyone a chance to process the experience, and their reactions, and then work towards rebuilding these really important and necessary relationships. Because there isn't a single person among those four candidates or among anyone else who is solely by themselves, going to be able to transform our community culture."

Tyer, along with the rest of the School Committee, hopes that Powell reconsiders his decision to resign from the body and wants to continue collaboration with him.

"I am extremely sorry that Mr. Powell has made a decision to resign," she said. "and I hope that he will reconsider. I understand his frustration and disappointment and I am committed to continuing this work, even when we disagree."
New Zealand has declared laws that will compel large companies to uncover the climate impact of their acts in a move they hope will bring about a global precedent. All Aoteroa/New Zealand companies from 2023 with assets of more than US$700 million (NZ$1billion) will have to give a report on the effects of their actions on climate change.

Greenhouse Gases

This will compel transparency of not just companies that directly discharge greenhouse gases, but the impact of investments and loans made in others. Climate Minister James Shaw said in a statement: "This law will bring about risks of climate and resiliance into the heart of decision making that has to do with finance and business."

Once passed, the law will be applicable not only to the 200 or so largest companies of the nation but, perhaps more remarkably, foreign corporations that have significant holdings in the country. Although the legislation will not compel companies to decrease emissions directly, it will leave no place to hide from the pressure of consumers.

Also Read: An Effective Climate Change Solution May Lie in Rocks Beneath Our Feet

Impacts of Climate Change

Shaw said: "Requiring the financial sector to reveal the impacts of climate change will assist businesses to recognize the high-emitting activities that bring about risks to their future prosperity, and also the opportunities action on climate change presents and new decrease carbon technologies," more familiar government activities accompanied the legislation, like the renewal of gas boilers and coal at public institutions like hospitals and schools.

The government has devoted itself by 2025 to a carbon-neutral public sector, and for the entire country to follow by 2050. New Zealand attained global praise (and some antipathy) with its decisive response to COVID-19. It gained the prizes as one of the few places in the world where there was actually a decrease in mortality rates.

Global Carbon Emissions

Jacinda Ardern, re-elected Prime Minister is determined to tackle even bigger issues. However, a nation of 5 million that gives an account for only 0.12 percent of global carbon emissions cannot change the atmosphere much itself.

Besides, with an electricity system already run most of the time on geothermal and hydropower, the main sources of emissions in New Zealand are in sectors like long-range transport and agriculture where advancement is slower than the production of power. The solution Shaw has suggested is to initiate actions that are world-leading which, while their impact in New Zealand will be little, could make a great difference if larger countries decide to follow suit.

Resource Management Act (RMA)

Minister for Commerce and Consumer Affairs David Clark said: "Becoming the first country in the world to initiate a law like this implies that we have an opportunity to show true leadership and create the way for other countries to make climate-related disclosures compulsory."

The new legislation comes in acknowledgment of a review of the Resource Management Act (RMA), which in 1991 (when it was passed) was the first national legislation in the world motivated by the concept of sustainable management of resources. Other nations have imitated the idea, and aspects of RMA of New Zealand, but enhanced on its many defects, leaving it wanting serious overhauls to reclaim the global lead.

Related Article: Things You Do Everyday That Surprisingly Add to Climate Change-- Without You Knowing!

For more news, updates about climates and similar topics don't forget to follow Nature World News!
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday, April 16, said that the number of new COVID-19 cases per week worldwide has nearly doubled over the past two months. This has contributed to the highest infection rate seen so far during the pandemic. During a media briefing, WHO Chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that some countries that had previously avoided widespread transmission are now seeing steep increases in infections. One of those countries is Papua New Guinea. Until the beginning of this year, had reported less than 900 cases, and just 9 deaths.

Speaking about Papua New Guinea, Tedros said, It has now reported more than 9300 COVID-19 cases, and 82 deaths. While these numbers are still smaller than other countries, the increase is sharp and WHO is very concerned about the potential for a much larger epidemic. He added, There is large-scale community transmission in the capital Port Moresby and the Western Province, and all 22 provinces have now reported COVId-19 cases.

Speaking about vaccine equity

The chief also spoke about vaccine equity and said that it is a major challenge. Vaccine equity is the challenge of our time. And we are failing, said Tedros. As per a WHO statistic, more than 832 million vaccine doses that have been administered globally, over 82 per cent have gone to high or upper middle-income countries. The low-income countries have received just 0.2 per cent. The inequitable distribution of vaccines is not just a moral outrage, it is also economically and epidemiologically self-defeating. The more transmission, the more variants. And the more variants that emerge, the more likely it is that they could evade vaccines, said Tedros.

This comes after Tedros warned that the COVID-19 pandemic was a long way from over. However, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyasus suggested that proven public measures like social distancing and hand hygiene could bring the infection under control. In addendum, he also said that confusion and complacency in the society are only deriving transmission of the virus and costing lives.

The global health expert also cautioned that COVID-19 was disease and not flu adding that healthy people have died from it. He also said that the long term consequence of the disease is still not fully understood. While Ghebreyesus warned that the pandemic is a long way from over, he reckoned that the world had a multitude of reasons to be optimistic.

(Image Credits: AP)
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The confirmed death toll in the Seacor Power liftboat disaster has risen to four, after dive teams recovered two bodies inside the overturned oil exploration vessel in the Gulf of Mexico.

On Saturday, the search continued about eight miles off the Louisiana coast, as frantic family members held out desperate hopes that there could be survivors trapped inside air pockets of the massive capsized vessel.

Nineteen crew members were aboard the Seacor Power when the vessel flipped over in about 50 feet of water during hurricane-force winds and high waves on Tuesday. Six were quickly rescued, nine remain missing, and now four are confirmed dead.

The first two fatalities, recovered by the Coast Guard in the open water on Wednesday and Thursday, have been identified as Captain David Ledet, 63, and Ernest Williams, 69.

On Friday, private dive teams contracted by the boat's owner discovered two more bodies in the port-side engine room of the vessel, which is flipped onto its starboard side. Authorities have not yet released their names.

Crew members of the Coast Guard Cutter Glenn Harris pull a person from the water Tuesday after the Seacor Power flipped. The confirmed death toll in the disaster has risen to four, after dive teams recovered two bodies inside the vessel

Coast Guard members throw a hammer against the hull of the Seacor Power on Thursday as they search for signs of life. No contact has been made with the missing crew since two climbed back inside the capsized vessel on Tuesday

'Capt. Dave was awesome,' Joshua Segura, a mate and crane operator, said of deceased captain David Ledet (above)

Marion Cuyler, fiancee of missing crew member Chaz Morales, shows a worried expression as she talks on her cell phone at a fire station where family members of the missing crew members have gathered

The families and friends of the missing men are seen waiting for any news as crews search the Seacor Power

'Our deepest sympathy goes out to the family, friends and loved ones of everyone involved in this tragic incident,' said Captain Will Watson, commander of Coast Guard Sector New Orleans. 'We are using every asset available to us to continue our search efforts.'

On Friday, rescue divers from Donjon Marine Company, hired by the boat owner Seacor Marine, returned to the scene at 7.50am to begin dive operations, searching the overturned vessel for any sign of survivors.

The divers had to stop diving mid-morning due to dangerous weather conditions, but resumed diving operations again at approximately 1.30pm, and were scheduled to work through the night, the Coast Guard said.

The hope is that the missing men may have found air pockets to survive inside the Seacor Power, but more than 72 hours after the disaster, the chance of finding survivors was dwindling.

Such miracles have occurred, however. In 2013, Harrison Okene survived for nearly three days in a small air pocket inside a sunken tugboat, and was rescued by shocked dive team who only expected to find bodies.

'Right now, we're hoping for a miracle,' said Steven Walcott, brother of missing Seacor Power crew member Gregory Walcott.

Authorities haven't reported any contact with anyone inside the ship since Tuesday, when two survivors clinging to the hull awaiting rescue climbed back inside, unable to hold on any longer. On Thursday, searchers knocked on the ship's hull without response.

The confirmed death toll in the Seacor Power liftboat disaster has risen to four, after dive teams recovered two bodies inside the overturned oil exploration vessel in the Gulf of Mexico

Captain David Ledet, 63, (left) was confirmed dead in the Seacor Power boat disaster and Gregory Walcott, 62, (right) remained among the missing on Saturday as the Coast Guard continued search efforts

The Secor Power (left) is a mobile platform that can work in up to 195 feet of water with three extendible legs. The large housing structure above the deck of the lift boat will likely pose significant challenges for divers

Meanwhile, feelings of shock and worry were turning to frustration and anger for families of the missing.

'It just keeps going on and on,' said Frank Boeckl, whose nephew, Larry Warren, was among the missing workers. 'They need more divers in that water, and every family feels this way. Its not just me.'

Time is of the essence because any air pockets will eventually become depleted of oxygen, said Mauritius Bell, diving safety officer at the California Academy of Sciences: 'At some point, it's not survivable.'

Steven Walcott said the dive teams should have been working around the clock from the start. 'It was more complicated than it should have been,' said Walcott, who like his brother has worked on lift boats for more than 20 years.

But he said he was trying to remain optimistic, knowing his brother would do what he needed to survive, but it was getting harder with each passing day. 'Were just keeping hope,' he said.

A total of six people were rescued shortly after the vessel capsized on Tuesday. The first Coast Guard ship arrived at the scene at 5.10pm, about 40 minutes after the initial distress signal, and spotted five men clinging to the hull, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Carlos Galarza.

A helicopter crew from Bristow, a marine company, lowered life vests and VHF radios to them, he said. Two of the men dropped into the water and were picked up by the Coast Guard.

About the same time, Good Samaritan vessels rescued four other people, he said. The Coast Guard was also able to talk to the three people still on the ship's hull using the radios that had been dropped.

Later Tuesday night the Coast Guard was notified that one person had fallen into the water from the hull and wasn't seen again.

Shortly before 10pm, the two remaining people clinging to the hull told the Coast Guard they were going back inside, and that was the last time the Coast Guard spoke with them, Galarza said.

Missing crew member Quinon Pitre, 31. After the ship flipped over in hurricane-force winds on Tuesday, six crew members were rescued, and multiple were confirmed dead

Missing crew member Jay Guevara is seen left and right with fiancee Krista Vercher. Divers searching for the missing oil industry workers prepared entered the overturned vessel on Friday

Missing crew member Dylan Daspit is seen with wife Hannah Coleman Daspit. Several crew members are confirmed dead and more are missing from the commercial vessel that capsized Tuesday near Port Fourchon with 19 people on board

Missing crew member Dylan Daspit with wife Hannah Coleman Daspit (left) and the couple's children (right)

Scott Daspit, father of missing crew member Dylan Daspit, walks into a fire station where family members have been gathering, after a liftboat capsized in the Gulf of Mexico during a storm on Tuesday

Lafourche Parish Coroner John King identified the second liftboat worker found dead as 69-year-old Ernest Williams of Arnaudville. The other person found dead was David Ledet, a 63-year-old captain from Thibodaux.

'Capt. Dave was awesome,' Joshua Segura, a mate and crane operator, said on Facebook. He said he had worked with Ledet before moving to another offshore company, describing him as one of the nicest and most humble people hes met.

'Captain David has been on that boat over 15 years and is one of the most experienced captains Ive ever worked with,' he wrote.

Relatives of the missing have gathered at Port Fourchon, a sprawling base for much of the offshore oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico.

The port, busy with cranes, cargo and heavy equipment, is where workers from across Louisiana and beyond load up on a fleet of helicopters and ships that take them to the rigs for long stretches of work.

'It's nerve-wracking' for relatives waiting for news, said Chett Chiasson, executive director of the Lafourche Parish port, where families of the workers gathered Friday for a briefing on rescue efforts.

'Obviously theres some frustration there, not knowing about their loved one and not hearing from their loved one,' he said. At the same time, he said: 'Theres still some hope there.'

Relatives of the missing men have gathered at Port Fourchon (above), a sprawling base for much of the offshore oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico

Marion Cuyler, who is engaged to missing crane operator Chaz Morales, demanded to know who had ordered the vessel to go out in bad weather. She said she'd told her husband-to-be that he shouldn't be going out in such weather

Chaz Morales, one of the missing crew members, is seen left with his three children and right with a friend

Darra Ann Morales, right, shows a photo of her son Chaz Morales and his family on her phone, as Chaz Jr. comforts his grandmother at their home in Slidell, Louisiana on Wednesday

Marion Cuyler, who is engaged to missing crane operator Chaz Morales, wavered between optimism and fear after the relatives got closed-door briefings from Seacor executives and the Coast Guard on Friday. She said she believes all the missing men are inside the vessel.

'Hopefully, they are all in one room, and they can just rescue them all in one day,' she said.

The families expressed frustration during the briefing, and want answers to their questions about why the boat ventured out to sea despite warnings of an approaching storm, she said.

'I asked, `Who gave the orders and of course - silence,' she said. Cuyler said she'd told her husband-to-be that he shouldn't be going out in such weather. 'And he knew they shouldnt have been going out.'

The Coast Guard said it had been classified as a 'major marine casualty' with the National Transportation Safety Board joining the investigation.

Crew members of the Coast Guard Cutter Glenn Harris search for survivors Tuesday after a 175-foot commercial liftboat capsized. Six men were pulled alive from the water but many remain missing

The ongoing search has been hampered by foul weather in the Gulf. Above USCG Heartland crew members search for survivors, throwing a hammer against the hull of the Seacor Power and listening for a response

Part of the overturned ship's hull and one of its legs were still visible, leaving most of the bulky vessel underwater, in an area 50 to 55 feet deep, according to the Coast Guard.

The ship has three long legs designed to reach the sea floor and lift the boat out of water as an offshore platform.

The vulnerabilities of liftboats in storms have been known for years, and federal authorities have investigated multiple deaths on them.

Four people on board the Trinity II died in September 2011 in the Gulf of Mexico when large waves struck its hull.

Then in July 1989 a liftboat sank off the coast of Louisiana in storms associated with Hurricane Chantal. Ten of the 14 people on board died.

Coast Guard Capt. Will Watson said winds were 80 to 90 mph and waves rose 7 to 9 feet high when the Seacor Power overturned.
Military personnel and civilians carry a soldier after an improvised bomb exploded next to a military vehicle in the town of Jolo on Sulu island, Aug. 24, 2020.

Philippine troops have killed an Egyptian militant and two Filipino members of the extremist Abu Sayyaf in a clash on the southern island of Jolo, the military said Saturday.

Troops from the 4th Light Reaction Company encountered an undetermined number of Abu Sayyaf Group members in the village of Igasan, Patikul late on Friday, triggering a gun battle that led to casualties in the rebel side, said Lt. Gen. Corleto Vinluan, commander of Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom).

He identified the slain Egyptian only as Yusop, believed to be one of five foreign militants fighting alongside the pro-Islamic State group on Jolo.

He is the stepson of Abduramil, an Egyptian national who was neutralized by the military in (the town of) Indanan in Sulu last November 2019, Vinluan said.

Yusops mother was identified as Reda Mohammad Mahmud, an Egyptian national also known as Siti Aiza, a suicide bomber who blew herself up at a military detachment in 2019. No one was injured in that attack because she set off the bomb prematurely.

He is one of the five remaining foreign terrorists monitored in Sulu, Vinluan said, referring to Yusop.

Slain with Yusop were Abu Khattab Jundullah, a bomb expert of the Abu Sayyaf, and Akram, a trusted lieutenant of Mundi Sawdjaan, Vinluan said.

Mundi Sawadjaan is a nephew of Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, a senior Abu Sayyaf commander who took over as head of Islamic States Philippine affiliate after Isnilon Hapilon was killed in the siege of the southern city of Marawi in 2017.

Philippine authorities have blamed Mundi for planning a suicide bombing that killed 14 people in August 2020 in Jolo, the capital of Sulu province. In January 2019, 23 people were killed when an Indonesian couple blew themselves up in Jolos Catholic cathedral.

Col. Benjamin Batara, Commander of the 1102nd Infantry Brigade, said soldiers had recovered the bodies of the slain militants.

During the clash, reinforcements were immediately deployed to conduct blocking and pursuit operations in the possible enemy withdrawal routes, Batara said, noting that three high-powered weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the site.

We are utilizing all our air, naval, and ground assets to conduct all-out offensives against the remaining foreign terrorists and Abu Sayyaf Group members in our area of operation, the Army official added.

Jeoffrey Maitem contributed to this report from Cotabato City, southern Philippines.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, and President of France Emmanuel Macron discussed the security situation on the Ukrainian-Russian border and expressed concern over Russia's build-up of troops.

"The Chancellor, President Macron, and President Zelensky discussed, first of all, the security situation on the Ukrainian-Russian border, as well as in eastern Ukraine. They share concerns about the build-up of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine and in the annexed Crimea," an Ukrinform correspondent reported with reference to German government spokesperson Steffen Seibert.

The leaders of the three countries, he said, called on Russia to reduce its military presence in order to de-escalate the situation.

The Chancellor of Germany and the President of France also reaffirmed their support for Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, Seibert said.

They pointed out the need for full implementation of the Minsk Agreements by both sides and said that Germany and France would continue their efforts within the Normandy format, the spokesman added.

As reported, Zelensky made a visit to France on April 16 against the background of a sharp escalation of the situation on the Ukrainian-Russian border, where Russia pulled a record number of its soldiers and equipment since 2014.

Merkel joined Zelensky and Macron's talks at the Elysee Palace via video conferencing.

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As per data provided by officials, an average of about 64.29% of polling was recorded in all seven Assembly segments. (Photo:PTI)

TIRUPATI: Barring a few sporadic incidents and opposition parties raising allegations over the bogus voting, the by-election for the Tirupati (SC) parliamentary constituency remained peaceful on Saturday. Polling was spread over seven Assembly constituencies - three in Chittoor and four in Nellore districts - from 7 am to 7 pm.

Despite several messages from the ECI, urging the voters to exercise their franchise, Tirupati city pulled down the voter turnout to an all-time low at 64.29 per cent out of 17.10 lakh voters. In the 2019 general elections, the poll percentage was 78.99. The present polling percentage could be revised slightly upwards by Sunday morning, once the segment-wise figures are available, officials said.

As per data provided by officials, an average of about 64.29% of polling was recorded in all seven Assembly segments. The breakup of polling percentage was Satyavedu (72.68%), Sullurpeta (70.93%), Srikalahasti (67.77%), Sarvepalli (66.19%), Gudur (63.81%), Venkatagiri (61.50%) and Tirupati at 50.58 per cent.

In all, out of the 17,10,699 total voters, 10,99,784 exercised their franchise, whereas in 2019, around 12,87,734 votes out of the 16,50,453 electors were polled and the overall poll percentage was recorded as 78.99 per cent.

About 7.8% polling percentage was registered by 9 am on Saturday, with around 1,33,411 voters exercising their franchise. This was followed by 17.39% (2,97,457) by 11 am, 36.67% (6,27,331) by 1 pm, 47.42% (8,11,210) by 3 pm, 54.99% (9,40,678) by 5 pm and 64.29% (10,99,784) by 7 pm.

Experts say that fear among the public due to the spike in the number of Covid-19 positive cases in recent weeks might be the main reason for the fall in polling percentage. Chittoor district had recently crossed 1,000 positive cases in a single day and Tirupati urban alone has been contributing 300 cases per day on an average for the past three days.

With the district reporting a huge spike in Covid-19 cases, the district administration made elaborate arrangements for polling, ensuring physical distancing at the polling stations and making masks mandatory for all. Health staff also screened the voters and gave them sanitisers before entering the polling booths. Covid-19 infected voters were allowed to cast their voters after 6 pm.

Meanwhile, the Tirupati Urban District police, in a press release, claimed that the by-poll has been conducted peacefully without any untoward incidents, under the supervision of Kranti Rana Tata, DIG, Anantapur Range and Ch. Venkata Appala Naidu, SO, Tirupati.

However, contestants and functionaries from Telugu Desam, BJP, Congress and Left parties staged protests in Tirupati, demanding election authorities to take action against the ruling party for allegedly resorting to bogus voting in the city. They also demanded re-polling in the city.
Jaipur, April 17 : Over 7.45 lakh voters, including Covid infected, will use their right to vote during the bypolls being held in Rajasthan on Saturday for three seats namely Rajsamand, Sahada and Sujangarh. The Covid infected voters are being allowed to vote wearing PPE kits from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., said Chief Election Officer Praveen Gupta.

A separate waiting station shall be made for these voters and they will be provided with PPE kit, he added.

Voting has started in Rajasthan under Covid protocol from 7 a.m. which will continue till 6 p.m.

Overall, fate of 27 candidates will be decided in these bypolls who are contesting from Sahada-8 (Bhilwara), Sujangarh-9 (Churu) and Rajsamand-10.

Gupta said that voting centres have been sanitised before the voting started and temperatures of voters are being checked using Thermal Scanner. Voters are not allowed to enter in centres without masks. Gloves are also being provided to them to ensure that there is no transmission of disease. Well-defined circles have been made outside the poll centres to ensures that social distancing is followed here, he added.

A total of 1,145 voting centres have been setup out of which 100 centres are being provided with web cameras. Wheelchairs have been provided for physically handicapped too, Gupta added.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Actor Tim Kano has returned to Neighbours to film another guest stint as Leo Tanaka.

A show spokesperson told Digital Spy: We can confirm that Tim Kano is back and has been filming since mid-March in a recurring guest role.

Leo was a Neighbours regular from 2016 to 2019 and was introduced to Ramsay Street alongside his twin brother David (Takaya Honda) who is now married to Aaron (Matt Wilson).

In September 2019, Leo left Ramsay Street but returned in December that year, leaving in a New years 2020 episode.

Storyline details are yet to be revealed.

Related
This weeks wanted

The following are being sought on arrest warrants, according to various sheriffs departments. The addresses listed are the last known addresses provided by the warrants and may be outdated.

 Todd C. Cox, 41, of 16415 Illinois Route 111, Brighton, is being sought on a warrant accusing him of failing to appear in court on a charge of possession of methamphetamine.

He is a white male standing 6 foot 2 and weighing 150 pounds. He has blond hair and blue eyes.

 Bryan C. Rhodes, 35, of 544 Brooklyn Ave., Apt. 16, is being sought on a warrant accusing him of failing to appear in court on charges of resisting a peace officer and aggravated domestic battery.

He is a white male standing 5 foot 6 and weighing 175 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes.

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Submit tips anonymously at tipsubmit.com, by calling 217-243-7300 or by text messaging CRIMES (274637) with payout as the first word of the tip.



Jacksonville Police

ACCIDENTS

 Carol A. Cohenour, 49, of Jacksonville was cited on a charge of failing to yield after the car she was driving and one being driven by Merle S. Steward, 71, of Woodson collided at 1:25 p.m. Thursday in the 300 block of East Morton Avenue.

THEFTS, BURGLARIES

 Two bicycles, together valued at $519, were stolen Wednesday from a residence in the 900 block of Allen Avenue, according to a report filed at 6:46 p.m. Thursday.

Compiled by David C.L. Bauer
During a police control in the context of the fight against drug-related crime, officers checked three suspicious individuals in rue de Bonnevoie in Luxembourg City.

Upon seeing the police approach, the suspects tried to escape, but were quickly apprehended.

As it turned out, all three of them had swallowed pellets of illegal drugs.

On the orders of the public prosecutor's office, the three presumed body packers were arrested and presented to an examining magistrate on Saturday.
The man who hosted the notorious Fyre Festival and was later convicted of fraud has been moved out of solitary confinement six months after he was placed there for giving a podcast interview from prison.

Billy McFarland, 29, had been held in solitary confinement in FCI Elkton prison in Lisbon, Ohio after he appeared from prison in a podcast called Dumpster Fyre in October in which he apologized for the April 2017 festival.

In a database managed by the Bureau of Prisons to locate inmates, he is now listed as being held in FTC Oklahoma City after getting transferred, Insider first spotted.

'He's got his freedom back,' McFarland's attorney, Jason Russo, told the outlet.

Fyre Festival host Billy McFarland, 29, has been moved out of solitary confinement six months after he was placed there for giving a podcast interview from prison

A photo posted to an Instagram account run by 'Billy's team' shows him in prison

Russo claims his client was slapped with administrative charges as punishment for participating in the podcast, with prison administrators claiming he violated inmate rules in order to participate in the podcast.

There are many podcasts that feature prison inmates, including Pulitzer Prize nominated podcast Ear Hustle from inmates in San Quentin prison and Sounds From the Slammer - a podcast that lets listeners hear music performed and written by inmates in prisons across the country.

'It was punitive. At first, they said he violated rules by speaking to the media  which there is no such rule,' Russo told Insider.

'Then they accused him of doing three-way calls, which you're not allowed to do  but these were not three-way calls.'

Russo also said that prison administrators punished him for photos of himself that were posted to Instagram. He told the outlet that he doesn't know who is in charge of the account, which claims to be managed by 'Billy's Team.'

However, Russo said that inmates are allowed to take and share photos with disposable cameras sold in the prison commissary, Insider reported.

'Every picture that was sent out was taken with a commissary camera and approved to be distributed,' Russo said.

All of the administrative charges but one were dropped, Russo told Insider. He was put into solitary confinement for 90 days on a rule that prohibits inmates from sharing commissary funds.

Disastrous Fyre Festival in Bahamas is a major fail and canceled as guests who paid $13,000 for a trashy unfinished site and canceled performances

A picture shows a 'sandwich' at the infamous Fyre Festival in the Bahamas in 2017

Created by Billy McFarland and rapper Ja Rule, Fyre was promoted as a luxury music festival on a private island in the Bahamas featuring bikini-clad supermodels. It was not.

People arrived on the island of Great Exuma to find a scene more closely resembling a disaster relief camp than a luxury festival

Billy McFarland is pictured in a Netflix documentary about the disastrous Fyre Festival

McFarland's stay in solitary confinement was then extended before he was ultimately transferred to the Oklahoma prison, according to the outlet. It was not immediately clear why his stay in solitary confinement was extended.

A group of 277 Fyre Festival ticket holders are set to receive a pay-out of around $7,220 each following a class action lawsuit, four years after the disastrous event left guests stranded on an island in the Bahamas.

The settlement comes after a $2 million class-action lawsuit brought against the organizers of the event came to a conclusion on Tuesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York. The final amount is pending approval.

McFarland and rapper Ja Rule obtained millions in investment with the promise of putting on a first-of-its-kind, luxury music festival event in The Bahamas with models, DJs, luxury dwellings and extravagant meals.

They paid models like Kendall Jenner to promote the event on Instagram and blasted seduction promo videos and pictures to lure people into buying tickets that were sold at thousands of dollars each.

But the event was a disaster, with people arriving on the island of Great Exuma to find a scene more closely resembling a disaster relief camp than a luxury festival.

Court filing documents described the scene met by concert goers upon their arrival as 'total disorganization and chaos.' The 'luxury accommodations' were FEMA disaster relief tents, the 'gourmet food' was barely passable cheese sandwiches served in Styrofoam containers and the 'hottest musical acts' nowhere to be seen.

The festival sold a total of around 8,000 tickets for two weekends. With attendees having spent between $1,000 to $12,000 on ticket to the festival, it was cancelled on its opening day, leaving people stuck on the island without many basic amnesties.

Two documentaries, one on Netflix and another on Hulu, were made detailing the event's organization and ensuing chaos.

McFarland was arrested in June 2017 and pleaded guilty to numerous fraud charges relating to both the Fyre Festival and his company NYC CIP Access, which also sold fake tickets to events such as the Met Gala.

McFarland, 29, had been held in solitary confinement in FCI Elkton prison in Lisbon, Ohio

In a database managed by the Bureau of Prisons to locate inmates, he is now listed as being held in FTC Oklahoma City

He was sentenced to six years in prison in October 2018 and ordered to pay $5 million to two North Carolina residents who spent about $13,000 each of VIP packages to the Fyre Festival. Ja Rule was cleared of any wrongdoing a year later.

Numerous lawsuits were also filed against the pair, and McFarland apologized.

'I cannot emphasize enough how sorry I am that we fell short of our goal,' McFarland said in a statement in 2017, but he declined to comment on specific allegations.

'I'm committed to, and working actively to, find a way to make this right, not just for investors but for those who planned to attend.'

The organizers attributed the event's cancellation to a number of factors, including the weather. But some employees of the Fyre company said its bosses has invented features of the event - such as $400,000 accommodation called the 'Artist's Palace ticket package - just to see if people would by them.

While the final amount of compensation given to attendees could be lower pending the outcome of Fyre's bankruptcy case with other creditors, a lawyer representing the ticket holders said he was happy with the outcome.

A vote to approve the final amount will take place on May 13.
April 17 : After a day when Vicky Kaushal and Bhumi Pednekar had announced on social media that they have tested positive for COVID-19, Katrina Kaif also came out and confirmed that she has also contacted the virus. Now, a day after Vicky Kaushal announced that he has tested negative, Katrina also revealed that she has tested negative for COVID-19.

The Tiger 3 actress took to her Instagram handle and shared a stunning picture of herself and revealed that she has tested negative for COVID 19. Ever since the actress had contacted the virus, she was in home quarantine. Sharing a beautiful picture wherein the actress looked gorgeous in a pastel yellow outfit, she wrote, Negative (everyone who checked up on me thank u, it was really sweet felt a lot of love).

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, when Alia Bhatt informed that she has tested negative for COVID-19 and shared a beautiful post on social media, Katrina, who was then still infected with the virus and was in quarantine, dropped a cute comment on Alia's post. While Alia wrote, The only time being negative is a good thing, taking to the comment section, Katrina reacted and wrote, Yey.

On Friday, Katrinas rumoured boyfriend, Vicky Kaushal, informed through social media that he has tested negative for COVID-19. The Raazi actor tested negative for COVID-19 after more than 10 days when he contracted the virus. The 32-year-old actor shared a picture of himself beaming with a bright smile, and wrote, Negative.

On his Instagram stories, the Uri actor shared a note against a grey background that read, Tested negative today. Thank you for your lovely wishes and messages. My prayers for all who are recovering. Stay safe!

Meanwhile, on the work front, Katrina will next be seen alongside Akshay Kumar in Rohit Shettys Sooryavanshi. The film was earlier scheduled to release on April 30, but due to surge in COVID-19 cases in Mumbai, the films release has been postponed. Before the lockdown-like situation in Maharashtra, Katrina was shooting for Tiger 3 with Salman Khan. The actress also has Phone Booth with Ishaan Khatter and Siddhant Chaturvedi, and a superhero film directed by Ali Abbas Zafar in her kitty.

Vicky, on the other hand, has a number of projects in the pipeline including Sam Bahadur, Sardar Udham Singh, The Immortal Ashwatthama, Takht, and an untitled film with Manushi Chhillar.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The University for Development Studies (UDS) community is excited over the appointment of Mr. Nurudeen Issah Abubakar as the new Registrar designate.



Mr. Abubakar's elevation follows the recent enskinment of the incumbent Registrar, Dr. A. B. T Zakariah as the Chief of Buipe Traditional Area (Buipewura) in the Savannah Region.



Reacting to this outcome, most Staff, Lecturers and Students of the University described him as a worthy successor to Dr. A. B. T Zakariah.



This appointment announced by the UDS Governing Council takes effect 1st September 2021.



Mr. Nurudeen Issah Abubakar has been a Deputy Registrar in charge of Academic and Students Affairs.



He joined the UDS administration as Assistant Registrar in 2001 and has held other portfolios including Assitant Registrar and Faculty Officer at the School of Medicine.



He also worked in the Offices of the Vice and Pro Vice-Chancellors and at the Directorate of Academic Planning and Quality Assurance (DAPQA).



Mr. Issah Abubakar holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Arabic and Philosophy, and a Master's Degree in Archival Studies, from the University of Ghana.



He also has a Professional Certificate obtained from the Chartered Institute of Administrators and Management Consultants-Ghana (CIAMC-Ghana).







Source: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/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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For three days, I've had sitting on my virtual spindle a post that Bari Weiss, formerly of the New York Times, posted on her Substack page. It's entitled "I Refuse to Stand by while My Students Are Indoctrinated." The author isn't Weiss but is, instead, Paul Rossi, a math teacher at Grace Church High School in Manhattan (annual tuition: $57,330). On Friday, Weiss added another open letter, this from Andrew Gutmann, a parent who had just pulled his daughter out of Brearley, another expensive private school (annual tuition: $54,000). Both are horrifying exposes of and attacks against the woke culture saturating these institutions.

Both letters are long and don't yield easily to a brief summary. I'll quote a few select paragraphs from each, but you must read them to get the full flavor of the Maoist madness at these institutions.

Paul Rossi, the teacher, writes that Grace Church is focused on "'antiracism' training and pedagogy that I believe is deeply harmful to [my students] and to any person who seeks to nurture the virtues of curiosity, empathy and understanding."

Rossi perfectly describes the self-hatred, mental repression, cognitive dissonance, and pure racism this training inculcates into young minds:

My school, like so many others, induces students via shame and sophistry to identify primarily with their race before their individual identities are fully formed. Students 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. The morally compromised status of "oppressor" is assigned to one group of students based on their immutable characteristics. In the meantime, dependency, resentment and moral superiority are cultivated in students considered "oppressed."

Rossi describes how, during a segregated "whites only" student and faculty Zoom meeting, he spoke out, inspiring the students to speak out, too. This was a bad thing.

I was informed by the head of the high school that my philosophical challenges had caused "harm" to students, given that these topics were "life and death matters, about people's flesh and blood and bone." I was reprimanded for "acting like an independent agent of a set of principles or ideas or beliefs." And I was told that by doing so, I failed to serve the "greater good and the higher truth." He further informed me that I had created "dissonance for vulnerable and unformed thinkers" and "neurological disturbance in students' beings and systems." The school's director of studies added that my remarks could even constitute harassment.

Rossi was then denounced over the school announcement system. There's more. Read it all, because it's important.

The letter that Andrew Gutmann sent to fellow parents after he pulled his daughter out of Brearley is, if anything, even more horrifying:

It cannot be stated strongly enough that Brearley's obsession with race must stop. It should be abundantly clear to any thinking parent that Brearley has completely lost its way. The administration and the Board of Trustees have displayed a cowardly and appalling lack of leadership by appeasing an anti-intellectual, illiberal mob, and then allowing the school to be captured by that same mob.

To give context to his scathing attack on the school, Gutmann describes actual systemic racism as things such as the real Jim Crow, Jewish genocide, and the Democrats' decision in 1942 to lock up all their Japanese-American citizens. And then he's off:

I object to a definition of systemic racism, apparently supported by Brearley, that any educational, professional, or societal outcome where Blacks are underrepresented is prima facie evidence of the aforementioned systemic racism, or of white supremacy and oppression. [snip] I object to the idea that Blacks are unable to succeed in this country without aid from government or from whites. [snip] I object to mandatory anti-racism training for parents, especially when presented by the rent-seeking charlatans of Pollyanna. [snip] I object to Brearley's vacuous, inappropriate, and fanatical use of words such as "equity," "diversity" and "inclusiveness." [snip] l object to Brearley's advocacy for groups and movements such as Black Lives Matter, a Marxist, anti family, heterophobic, anti-Asian and anti-Semitic organization that neither speaks for the majority of the Black community in this country, nor in any way, shape or form, represents their best interests.

As with Rossi's letter, there's more, much more, including all the material I snipped out. And as with Rossi's letter, you must read the whole thing.

A couple of years ago, ensconced in a Senate chamber in which almost half of the senators and all the national media agreed with him, and lying about violating Senate rules, Sen. Cory Booker made the ridiculous claim that he was having his "I am Spartacus moment."

In fact, what we're seeing from Rossi and Gutmann, in the belly of the beast that is true-blue New York, should be the start of a true Spartacus moment. We must join together to defeat the racist Critical Race Theory and other maddened toxins oozing from leftists.

Image: Classroom by Sam Balye on Unsplash.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
Amid the surge in the COVID-19 cases across the nation, the administration is conducting COVID-19 tests for the people entering at the Lakhanpur area in district.

"Lakhanpur is the gateway for Lakhanpur has been declared as the red zone by the UT government," Deputy Commissioner of Rahul Yadav told ANI.

"The test is being conducted for the people entering the UT," Yadav said.

"The passengers who travel from any hotspot area, go through an RT-PCR test, while others go through Rapid Antigen," the DC said.

According to Union Health Minister, there are 10,040 active COVID-19 cases in while the death toll has mounted to 2,046.

(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.)
Govt push to step up Covid-19 vaccine output 10 times by September

After fast-tracking the entry of foreign vaccines, the government is now taking steps to increase the production of indigenously developed Covaxin by almost ten-fold by September. The move comes at a time when Covid-19 cases have surged across the country and several states have raised concern over vaccine shortage. Read More

Govt's draft proposals tie insurance FDI hike to solvency margin

The finance ministry has proposed insurance companies with foreign ownership of more than 49 per cent will have to maintain a solvency margin of 180 per cent if they declare dividend payments in a financial year. If insurance companies repatriate profit in the form of dividend to their shareholders but cannot meet the 180 per cent margin, they will have to set aside 50 per cent of their net profit in a general reserve, according to draft rules proposed by the Department of Financial Services (DFS). Read More

Citi may be spoilt for choice for consumer business suitors: Analysts

An intense pricing war can be expected among potential suitors for Citibank Indias assets as virtually every bank would line up to acquire its retail business, in part or full, analysts say. However, the process to exit the business and find new buyers will not be hurried and will likely take more than a year to complete, they say. As of now, business continues as usual, and one can still open accounts with Citibank and get credit cards, if qualified. Read More

UK Home Ministry clears extradition of fugitive businessman Nirav Modi

UK Home Secretary Priti Patel has signed off on the order to extradite Nirav Modi, wanted in India on fraud and money laundering charges related to the estimated $2-billion Punjab Bank (PNB) scam case, senior Indian diplomatic sources in the UK said on Friday. Read More

Adar Poonawalla urges US Prez to lift ban on export of vaccine raw material

Adar Poonawalla, the head of the world's largest vaccine maker (by doses), on Friday urged the US President Joe Biden to lift embargo on export of vaccine raw materials. The restriction has hit production of vaccines in India. In a tweet posted on social media tagging the US President, Serum Institute of India (SII) chief said Respected @POTUS, if we are to truly unite in beating this virus, on behalf of the vaccine industry outside the US, I humbly request you to lift the embargo of raw material exports out of the U.S. so that vaccine production can ramp up. Your administration has the details. Read More

Monsoon to be 'normal' in 2021; East and Northeast may get less rain: IMD

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday said the 2021 southwest monsoon starting in June is expected to be normal at 98 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA). A good monsoon will mean another year of bumper farm production and cascading positive impact for the economy battling Covid-19 infections. If the forecast comes true, this will be the third consecutive year of normal or above normal monsoon. Read More

Winning Air India bidder may need to furnish Rs 15,000-crore guarantee

As the process to sell Air India hots up and its data room is opened up to prospective bidders, two issues have come to light that could lead to further trouble in the way of the sale of the carrier. According to sources, the winning bidder would be required to replace a bank guarantee for $2 billion (approximately Rs 15,000 crore) for lease payments guaranteed by the government for 12 years on 21 B-787s. Read More

Maruti Suzuki hikes price of selected models, others may follow suit

Maruti Suzuki on Friday said it is increasing the prices of select models owing to a rise in various input costs. The weighted average increase in ex-showroom prices (Delhi) across models is 1.6 per cent, it said in a regulatory filing. The new prices are effective from Friday. It is expected that other automakers will follow suit. Automakers in India have been hiking prices this year, citing rise in various input costs. In January, Maruti had cited a rise in input costs and raised prices for some car models. The price hike will vary across models. Marutis fleet starts from the entry-level Alto and goes up to the premium multi-purpose vehicle XL6. Read More
During the first two months of 2021, the Chinese oil and gas giant Sinopec managed to bring 28 new shale gas wells on stream in the country. The company also announced that the shale gas production from its major Fuling field jumped by 20% compared to last year. And despite the recent collapse in oil and gas prices, as well as the uncertainty brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, Sinopec remains optimistic on the future of shale gas. Its latest achievement was the completion of the first phase of a new shale field in Weirong, adding 1 billion cubic meters per day of shale capacity. This series of breakthroughs reveal a more global trend: a possible revolution in the Chinese shale gas sector. But in a country traditionally relying on conventional gas resources, how realistic is this shale boom?

A coal to shale gas switch?

The share of natural gas in Chinas total energy consumption reached a modest 8% in 2019. However, this figure is expected to climb as a result of Chinas strategy to move away from coal, resulting in rising industrial and residential gas consumption. One of the drivers of the rise in gas production is likely to be shale gas, which represented 6% of total gas production in the country in 2019.

Inspired by the fracking boom of the 2000s in the United States, China is eager to reproduce a similar trend domestically. Its proven geological reserves amount to 31 trillion cubic meters and are the worlds largest shale gas reserves, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Being the second country in the world to achieve shale gas commercialization, China expects its shale gas production to grow in the coming years, and already plans a 34 billion cubic meters output in 2021. To do so, it will rely on its main asset: the Sichuan basin, where it has bet on doubling shale gas production through 2025.

Related: The Most Critical Oil Storage In The United States After releasing a Development Plan for Shale Gas'' in 2013, the Chinese government multiplied incentives to make the shale gas sector take off. Beijing did not hesitate to heavily invest in exploration projects: in total, $3,7 billion was dedicated to shale exploration projects. More recently, Beijing has also simplified regulations in the shale gas sector to attract investment flows and gave tax breaks of 30% to shale gas producers until 2023.

However, for a long time, shale gas in China has been far from a success story. In particular, the production in the Fuling basin did not substantially progress and did not meet expectations. Located in the center of the country, this field was discovered by Sinopec in 2014. It was displaying promising conditions for drilling, and reserves of 2,1 trillion cubic meters.

A geological and technological struggle

International majors such as Chevron, BP, and Shell, involved in joint projects with Chinese oil companies, also decided to take a chance in shale exploration. However, they eventually had to renounce, deceived by poor drilling results. The large-scale development of shale gas never became a reality, even though the countrys production was slowly gaining pace. And since touting a 30 billion cubic meters shale extraction capacity by 2020, Sinopec had to revise its forecasts multiple times.

Related: Iran Threatens To Cut Nuclear Deal Talks Short ''If Not Constructive''

One of the explanations for this string of unsuccessful attempts is Chinas challenging geological environment, with deep reservoirs (on average 3200 meters), located in often difficult-to-access areas. This barrier, coupled with risks of water stress in shale gas extracting regions like Sichuan, raised drilling costs and discouraged investment from oil majors. Concerns about underground water pollution, resulting from the release of toxic elements in the water during the process of hydraulic fracturing, also started to emerge in the decision-making process.

Combining green goals with the shale boom

Beyond a simple increase in shale gas output, China decided to kill two birds with one stone, seizing this opportunity to pursue environmental goals. The country even started pilot projects to produce hydrogen from shale gas, and Sinopec said it intends to combine the shale boom with a 50 % reduction in methane intensity of its gas fields, in line with its pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Furthermore, developing domestic shale gas is an opportunity for China to reduce its hefty natural gas import bill. In particular, China intends to move away from Australian LNG, closing large LNG supply contracts with market-leader Qatar in recent weeks. The recently worsened diplomatic relationship with Canberra is a good reason for Beijing to become more energy-independent.

In parallel, this shale gas development will potentially give China leverage in negotiating lower prices for Russian piped gas and with foreign LNG suppliers. In fact, for the Russian gas flowing through the Power of Siberia pipeline, S&P estimates the demand to grow by 32% compared to 2020, increasing the need to get affordable prices.

By Tatiana Serova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
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Prince Philip and Kylie Minogue in 2017 (Photo by Steve Parsons - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Kylie Minogue has joined the celebrities paying their respects to Prince Philip as his funeral takes place in Windsor.

Although there is no state funeral, in accordance with the Duke of Edinburgh's wishes because of the coronavirus pandemic, and only 30 guests have been allowed at the service, many people have been offering virtual condolences.

Watch: Ceremonial Unit of British Army Rides Toward Windsor Castle Ahead of Prince Philip's Funeral

Read more: Prince Philip's funeral - how the day will unfold

Minogue shared photos of the time she had been invited to receive the Britain-Australia Society Award, which Prince Philip was patron of, in 2017, tweeting: "RIP HRH Prince Philip. What an honour it was to meet at Windsor Castle."

Prince Philip presented Kylie Minogue with the Britain-Australia Society Award (Photo by Steve Parsons - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

One Direction star Liam Payne surprised his fans with his artistic talent as he shared a watercolour painting he had made of Prince Philip in military uniform on his Instagram stories, writing: "Rest in peace HR Prince Philip small tribute to you, thank you for your service."

He later reshared the finished version of his painting, which he said he had added the last touches to during the funeral service.

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Former Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan, who was ousted from the show after his comments about Meghan Markle following her Oprah Winfrey tell-all interview with Prince Harry, also paid his respects.

Read more: Queen, Prince Charles, William and Harry to lead mourners

He tweeted: "Thinking of The Queen today as she says goodbye to the love of her life."

Morgan also added his thoughts to Instagram, writing: "The Queen, who has devoted her life to selfless public service, will be forced to sit all alone during the funeral of her husband of 73 years, due to covid restrictions. How heartbreakingly sad."

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Darcey Bussell shared a photo of herself meeting Prince Philip, adding that she was backing a campaign to encourage more young people to sign up to the Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Story continues

She wrote: "In memory of Prince Philip Im backing the effort to get one million more young people doing their DofE to show the potential todays youth have. They are the leaders of today, tomorrow and the future."

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Fearne Cotton also offered her condolences, sharing that she was heartbroken by images of the Queen mourning.

She wrote: "The shots on the BBC of Her Majesty The Queen alone are breaking my heart in two. A beautiful ceremony. A long, amazing life celebrated so perfectly."

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The poignant images had an effect on many who saw them, with TV rivals Piers Morgan and Dan Walker both sharing similar sentiments about the Queen having to grieve alone.

During the BBC's coverage of the funeral, Sir David Attenborough shared his memories of having worked with the Duke of Edinburgh on conservation projects.

He said: "He spoke with a passion...he cared about it, but he also knew about it a lot.

"If people are aware that there are problems (with wildlife conservation), a great deal of that is due to him."

Prince Philip with Sir David Attenborough in 2019 (Photo by Jonathan Brady - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Alan Titchmarsh also shared a humorous letter Prince Philip had sent him about his hobbies, which included shooting, carriage driving and polo, as part of the programme.

The funeral is taking place at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, where key members of the royal family will mourn the Queen's husband of 73 years who was the longest-serving consort of a British monarch.

Watch: The most watched royal TV moments ever
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Oregons primary election for governor is one year away but already there are signs some of the states top elected Democrats are exploring running for the job.

With Gov. Kate Brown term limited out of office after 2022, Oregon voters could see the first competitive Democratic primary in more than a decade and potentially the closest such race since 2002.

That prospect appears to be fueling fundraising and campaign activity by some top state officials, in what would normally be a downtime after the November 2020 election. State Treasurer Tobias Read, a Beaverton-area Democrat, already raised $100,000 this year and spent $50,000, according to campaign finance records. Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, a Democrat from Portland, has also been spending on political consultants and fundraising this year, after winning reelection last year to a third term.

Oregons new Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, also a Democrat from the Portland area, has continued to send a flurry of campaign emails since she took office in January but she told The Oregonian/Oregonlive that she is not running for governor and said she intends to serve her full four-year term as secretary of state.

Other Democrats that political insiders are speculating could run in 2022 include House Speaker Tina Kotek of Portland, Labor Commissioner Val Hoyle of Eugene, state Sen. Betsy Johnson of Scappoose and Multnomah County Commission Chair Deborah Kafoury. In a text message Thursday, Kafoury did not deny she is interested in running. For the moment, Im concentrating on the job I have now, Kafoury wrote. Everyone on the list has spent years serving in elected government jobs, with one exception: Rukaiyah Adams, a Portlander who is chief investment officer at Meyer Memorial Trust and chair of the Oregon Investment Council, which oversees investments of the states public pension fund assets.

Adams said shes committed to public service in Oregon, and believes that the state needs a leader from outside the entrenched partisan conflict in Salem to provide space for renewed vision and leadership. But to govern effectively and make progress on the big policy issues facing the entire state, she says that person will need to bring more than vision and leadership; they will need established networks, particularly in rural Oregon.

Im not running for governor this time, but I am thinking deeply about public service, she said. When I do run, it will be because I have the vision and relationships to do the work effectively. For everyone.

Rukaiyah Adams, chief investment officer of Meyer Memorial Trust, holds a meeting with the investment team on February 27, 2020. Adams told The Oregonian/OregonLive she is interested in running for governor but does not plan to do so in 2022. Brooke Herbert/The OregonianBrooke Herbert/The Oregonian

The states last seriously contested Democratic primary was in 2010, between former Gov. John Kitzhaber and former Secretary of State Bill Bradbury, in which Kitzhaber ended up trouncing Bradbury 65% to 30%. Kitzhabers resignation in early 2015 established Brown, who rose from secretary of state to governor as a result, as an incumbent and voters elected and reelected her in 2016 and 2018.

John Horvick, an executive at Portland-based DHM Research, said many Oregonians are unfamiliar with statewide elected officials such as the secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer and labor commissioner, even if those people have served in the jobs for years.

Its probably insiders, movers and shakers, to be able to develop a sense of credibility and resources, that probably matters more than name recognition at this point in the election cycle, Horvick said on Thursday.

One key factor in Oregons 2022 Democratic gubernatorial primary is whether any of the people interested in running for governor wind up with an opportunity to run for Congress, Horvick and other observers noted. That could depend on how the Legislature redraws the states congressional district boundaries to add an anticipated sixth seat and whether any current members of the congressional delegation choose to retire.

Kotek, the House speaker, has been rumored to be interested in both running for governor and for Congress if the opportunity arose. She did not respond to a request for comment.

Another factor at play is whether Brown serves the remainder of her term. As second-in-line to the governor, Fagan would assume the office if Brown left early for any reason and that position as an incumbent  combined with her demonstrated ability to pull in hundreds of thousands of dollars from public employee unions  could make a primary win difficult for any other competitors. Oregons powerful unions heavily favored Fagan in the 2020 Democratic race for secretary of state, quickly supplying most of her primary campaign cash and partnering with other key interest groups on get-out-the-vote efforts to help Fagan pull off a narrow primary win in a three-way race.

The last time three Oregon Democrats made credible bids for the job was in 2002, when then former Oregon Supreme Court Justice Ted Kulongoski fended off state Treasurer Jim Hill and Multnomah County Commission Chair Bev Stein.

During fall 2020 debates in the secretary of states race, Fagan was asked repeatedly if she planned to run for governor in 2022. In carefully worded answers, she pointed to the secretary of states role as second-in-line to the governor as a reason she could not rule out that she would seek election to the job. You cant possibly commit because you may have to be called upon, Fagan said during the City Club of Portland debate. But I have no intention of running for governor in two years or beyond.

Fagan also brought up the possibility of the governor resigning in response to a journalists question at a KOIN debate. Barring that, yes, I dont plan to run for governor in 2022, Fagan said.

A political consultant who advises Brown, Thomas Wheatley, told The Oregonian/OregonLive that Brown has no plans to step down before her term ends. Her intention is absolutely to serve the people of Oregon through the rest of her term, Wheatley said. Brown is busy overseeing the states COVID-19 vaccine rollout, economic recovery and policies to address racial injustice, Wheatley said. She is focused on her job, not focused on something else, such as seeking a role in the Biden administration.

Shemia Fagan, now Oregon's secretary of state, is pictured in her yard in September 2020 when she was still a state senator. Beth Nakamura/Staff

Fagans campaign sent out six emails in March alone. But in response to a question from The Oregonian/OregonLive in this week about whether her fundraising signaled she was considering a run, she wrote in an email, As I have said multiple times over the past year, I am not running for governor. Every day, I treasure the fact that Oregonians elected me to be their secretary of state for the next four years and that is exactly what I intend to do.

Rosenblum did not rule out that she would run for governor. As you know, I was just re-elected and Im focused on doing the best job I can as AG, she wrote in an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive, short-handing her title of attorney general. I love Oregon and Im working hard every day to make our state better for every Oregonian.

Three months into her third term, Rosenblum has more than $200,000 sitting in her political action committee after an easy reelection in 2020 when she was unopposed in the Democratic primary and faced a Republican opponent who was not even a lawyer.

The attorney general appears to be using her unspent campaign cash to prepare for another race: She hired the Seattle fundraising firm Blue Wave Political Partners, spent $3,000 with a campaign database company in early April and has continued to pay a Wisconsin political consultant who worked on her reelection last year, campaign finance records show. She hasnt faced a challenging race since the 2012 Democratic primary.

The treasurers campaign manager Jessica LaVigne similarly avoided directly answering if Read plans to run for governor. The treasurer is focused on recovery efforts to spur rebuilding Oregons economy after the fires and the pandemic and thinks they should be the focus as we emerge from COVID, LaVigne wrote in an email.

Hoyle, who as labor commissioner will be up for reelection in 2022, is the only statewide elected official who would have to give up her elected job in order to run for governor. Shes already raised more than $160,000 this year. My plan is to run for labor commissioner, Hoyle said. Thats my current plan.

Reporter Ted Sickinger contributed to this story.

-- Hillary Borrud: hborrud@oregonian.com; @hborrud

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
The reality is that the majority of homicides in the U.S. involve young men who live in Black and Latino communities, lack economic opportunities and a reliable support system, and become ensnared in deadly cycles of retribution. A recent analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention illustrates the heavy toll. It found that while Black men and boys ages 15 to 34 make up just 2% of the nations population, they represent 37% of gun homicides. Thats 20 times higher than white males of the same age.
Russia will expel 10 U.S. diplomats and add eight current and former U.S. officials to its no-entry list in retaliation for sanctions that the Biden administration leveled at Moscow on Friday, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday.

Why it matters: The measures come after the U.S. said it would expel 10 Russian intelligence officers operating under diplomatic cover, as part of a broad package of sanctions retaliating against the SolarWinds hack of federal agencies and Russia's interference in the 2020 election.

Details: The following Americans have been banned from Russia ...

Attorney General Merrick Garland

Bureau of Prisons Director Michael Carvajal

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

White House domestic policy czar Susan Rice

FBI Director Christopher Wray

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines

Former White House national security adviser John Bolton

Former CIA Director Robert James Woolsey Jr.

The big picture: In addition to expelling 10 Russians on Thursday, the U.S. sanctioned dozens of Russian officials and entities and set new restrictions on buying Russian sovereign debt.

"The United States is not looking to kick off a cycle of escalation and conflict with Russia. We want a stable, predictable relationship," Biden said in a speech on Thursday afternoon, warning Russia not to continue interfering U.S. elections.

Biden has proposed meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin for a summit in a European country this summer "to find a stable and predictable way forward," according to a senior administration official. It's unclear whether Putin will accept.

What to watch: Lavrov said at a press conference that the Kremlin is considering imposing "painful" costs on U.S. businesses operating in Russia in retaliation for the sanctions, per Reuters.

Go deeper: Biden's Russia sanctions likely to achieve little
The Prabhas-starrer Radhe Shyam is being billed as a period romantic drama. While it is known that the Baahubali star plays a palm reader, we have now learnt that the leading lady, Pooja Hegde, will play a medico from a University in Italy. The Duvvada Jagannadham actress will be seen as Prerana, who meets Prabhas in a hospital after he is involved in an accident, and then their love story takes off.

A source from the unit says, Pooja looks perfect in the role of a medico and her onscreen chemistry with Prabhas is great, adding that she has pulled off the retro look with elan. Buzz is that she loved her role so much that the actress wanted to to dub her lines in Telugu. Itll be interesting to see whether Pooja gets to dub in Telugu for the first time.
Ones a white, skinny professional chef, a former heroin addict and, sadly, no longer with us. The others a loud, proud Torres Strait Islander man, an actor whos never been near a professional kitchenand is, happily, very much alive. So what do Anthony Bourdain and Aaron Faaoso have in common?

His documentaries were the inspiration for this show, says Faaoso of his new series, Strait to the Plate. Yes, I wanted to talk about food. But it also becomes that lens through which other things come up organically. Not that you want it to become a political show. But the reality is Torres Strait food sources are impacted by climate change. By pollution. And were impacted economically as well.

Strait to the Plate will air on SBS Food. Credit:SBS

Introducing mainstream Australia to the culture of the Torres Strait  both the islands and the Cape York coastal communities  was a driving motivation for Faaoso. We see plenty of food. But we also get plenty of art, history, science, politics, and traditional practices, and all of it is fascinating.

One of the most striking aspects is the long multicultural history of the area  very much reflected in the cuisine. The pearling boom of the late 1800s had a massive impact on our culture, Faaoso says. The Chinese, the Japanese, the Malays, the Polynesian-Melanesian missionaries. Theres a really strong Indonesian influence, a long trading history. Weve embraced all those cultures in our food.
[April 16, 2021] Serial Entrepreneur, Author, and Podcaster Emily Lyons Introduces New Online Course for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

TORONTO, April 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Eminent business leader, founder of Femme Fatale Media Group, podcaster, and author Emily Lyons is pleased to reveal that her new online course for upcoming entrepreneurs, "Building An Empire: The Startup Masterclass" will be available starting from April 17 through her website Msemilylyons.com. This 10 month course takes trainees from ideation to execution, addressing everything needed to not only start and build a business, but the psychological and confidence aspects of the process. For the first time, Emily shares everything she has learned over the years to build multiple 7 and 8 figure business. The course dives deep into public relations, marketing, media strategy, social media, personal branding, confidence building, intentional goal setting and more. "These are all the things I wish I knew back when I was starting and building," said Emily. "I want everyone to know they can be hugely successful." As a high school dropout with no money or experience, Emily's journey as an entrepreneur was no less than a roller coaster ride. Over the last 11 years, she has learned what it takes to succeed, how to overcome adversity, and has replicated it multiple times. In the last 10 years, she has launched and scaled a number of successful businesses. Her inspiring success story has already been featured in publications such as Forbes Magazine, Maxim, NY Times and much more. "I want to change the way people learn," said Emily. "I want everyne to have the ability to go after their dreams, and I want to change the landscape of how we learn. Not going into massive debt, in uncomfortable environments, learning things not applicable to us. To come out with tangible tips that can be utilized immediately."



Emily's current ventures include a nationwide event staffing, modelling and live marketing agency, an award-winning communications and branding agency, a luxury matchmaking agency, a clean beauty e-commerce shop, a contemporary watch and accessory brand, and a nonprofit dedicated to providing funding support to the CF community. She has also carved a niche as a podcast host, sharing her valuable insights on entrepreneurship and different motivational topics. "Everyone has a dream or an idea, and everyone should go after it. Stop building someone else's dream life. If I can do it, I guarantee anyone can," Emily adds.

As part of the launch of her new course "Building An Empire: The Startup Masterclass", Emily is inviting the first 50 members to a private zoom sessions with her for an exclusive Q&A session. Aspiring entrepreneurs can find out more by joining Emily's mailing list. For media inquiries, please contact info@femmefatalemedia.com. About Emily Lyons: Emily Lyons is an award-winning serial entrepreneur, author and podcaster dedicated to helping others emulate her success. Over the last decade, she has launched a number of highly successful businesses. Emily Has just launched an in depth online course to share her knowledge and business insights with aspiring entrepreneurs. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/serial-entrepreneur-author-and-podcaster-emily-lyons-introduces-new-online-course-for-aspiring-entrepreneurs-301270904.html SOURCE Femme Fatale Media Group Inc.

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Some laid-off leisure and hospitality workers may have another chance at getting their old jobs back after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Friday that will create a right to re-employment for those who lose their jobs during the pandemic.

The bill is a somewhat pared-down version of a similar union-backed effort Newsom vetoed late last year. He said it would put too great of a burden on businesses, at the time. But with the coronavirus vaccines increasingly available and counties in California loosening restrictions on businesses, the measure had a better chance at becoming law this time around.

The bill is aimed broadly at the hospitality industry, and would include workers at hotels, event centers, airports and other businesses who worked for a business for a minimum of six months in 2019.

As we progress toward fully reopening our economy, it is important we maintain our focus on equity, said Gov. Newsom in a statement. SB 93 keeps us moving in the right direction by assuring hospitality and other workers displaced by the pandemic are prioritized to return to their workplace.

The legislation is less expansive than the one previously vetoed by the governor. It expires in 2024 and is aimed more squarely at workers who lost their jobs because of the pandemic. Enforcement will also be up to the state through fines instead of workers being able to bring suit in court.

As with the prior legislation, business groups, including the California Chamber of Commerce, opposed the measure, saying it will hamper businesses already on the ropes because of the pandemics economic effects.

The bill places additional onerous burdens on the (hospitality) industry as it struggles to reopen, that will ultimately slow down rehiring and their recovery, the chambers Executive Vice President Jennifer Barrera wrote in a letter to legislators sponsoring the bill, who include State Senator Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, and Assembly Member Phil Ting, D-San Francisco.

San Francisco passed its own right to re-employment ordinance last week covering certain workers after repeatedly extending similar emergency measures during the pandemic.

Californias leisure and hospitality industries, previously a cornerstone of the states economy, have been hit the hardest because of the pandemic. State figures show the industry is recovering, adding back more than 40,000 jobs in March, but is still down more than half a million positions since March 2020.

Unions, including Unite Here, have supported the just-signed bill, but arent sure exactly how it will play out for some of their members.

On the first day of races with fans attending since the pandemic began, about three dozen workers at Golden Gate Fields and members of Unite Here Local 2850 picketed the racetrack, saying they have been left without jobs while management posts jobs seeking a younger and cheaper workforce.

The legislation will likely include the track and its workforce since it would apply to certain event centers that are over 50,000 square feet or have 1,000 seats.

Workers and union reps said they havent received calls to come back to work, even though the track has posted jobs on Craigslist seeking positions like Digital Line Ordering Cook and Digital Ordering Dishwasher.

Some of the protesters said they had been working at Golden Gate Fields for more than three decades. Theyve been out of work since the pandemic began last March.

I say this is cruel, mean-spirited and unnecessary, said Maurice Schwartz, 69, a host at the Turf Club restaurant for more than 20 years. Theyre trying to delegitimize our existence.

Representatives from Golden Gate Fields did not respond to emails seeking comment about that claim. A manager on site declined to comment.

Ive been waiting to be called, said Amparo Mullins, 83, a manager at one of the racetracks pizza stands. What theyre doing to us senior people is not right.

Ty Hudson, an organizer for Unite Here Local 2850, said he is concerned the tech-focused job posting might sideline his members, speaking earlier on Friday before the governor signed the measure.

We learned this week the management is creating new job classifications for the food service operations that have to be modified somewhat due to COVID restrictions, Hudson said.

We just hope the track will not try and say this is a totally different position, he added.

Even if the bill passes, Hudson said businesses may try to circumvent the law.

Im not accusing them of trying to get around the bill, we dont know that yet, he said. We are concerned about it.

Chase DiFeliciantonio and Michael Williams are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: chase.difeliciantonio@sfchronicle.com, michael.williams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ChaseDiFelice, @michaeldamianw
New Delhi: The alarming, grim situation in the country due to a surge in daily coronavirus COVID-19 cases have prompted several state governments and district administrations to impose partial restrictions, weekend lockdowns and night curfews. India reported a record 2,17,353 new cases on Friday, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 1,42,91,917, while active cases surpassed the 15-lakh mark, according to a data from the Union Health Ministry.

Here's a list of states and cities that have imposed a weekend curfew from today:

Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal announced that a weekend curfew will be imposed in Delhi to curb the spread of the COVID-19. The curfew will start from 10 pm on April 16 and will continue till 6 am of April 19. Movement of people has been prohibited during the curfew timings, however, all essential services will continue to operate during the weekend curfew. The Delhi government had also ordered the closure of malls, gyms, spas, auditoriums, swimming pools in the city. E-passes will be required for those involved in exempted activities. For those attending marriages in Delhi during curfew timings, passes will be issued online.

Uttar Pradesh

The Uttar Pradesh government announced a lockdown across the state on Sunday. As per the notification, the curfew will begin at 8 pm on Saturday and will remain enforced until 5 am on Monday. There will be a weekly closure in all rural and urban areas of the state on Sunday. Only sanitation, sanitisation and emergency services will operate during this period. The state government has also doubled the fine to Rs 1000 for those caught without masks for the first time and Rs 10,000 for repeated offenders.

Chandigarh

The Chandigarh administration announced a weekend lockdown in the union territory from 10 pm on Friday to 5 am on Monday. Essential activities, services and home delivery of food are exempt from the purview of the lockdown and residents are urged to stay indoors, the administration said. The administration also announced other restrictions, which will be in place till April 30.

While all gymnasiums and spas in the union territory will remain closed, cinema halls can run at 50 per cent capacity, it said. All government offices will function with 50 per cent staff strength, and general public will be allowed to meet officers with prior appointments," the statement said. The administration also banned on all social, cultural, political and religious events.

Rajasthan

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced a weekend curfew in the state from 6 pm on April 16 to 5 am on April 19, in view of rising COVID-19 cases. The Chief Minister took to Twitter to announce the fresh restrictions and appealed to people to follow COVID-19-appropriate behaviour at all times. Banking, LPG services, and fruit, vegetable and milk vendors are exempted from the weekend curfew. Gehlot warned that if strict steps are not taken in time, the situation may worsen like some other states which are witnessing a massive surge in the infections. Election-related activities in Sahara (Bhilwara), Sujangarh (Churu) and Rajsamand assembly constituencies, where bypolls will be held on Saturday, are also to be exempted.

Maharashtra

Maharashtra had declared a 15-day curfew from Wednesday till 7 am on May 1, entailing stricter curbs on public activities. However, but stopped short of announcing a full-scale lockdown. Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), dealing with gatherings and assembly of people, will be in force till the lockdown-like restrictions are in place. All essential services, including medical stores hospitals, supply of medicines, among others, will remain operational. Local transport will also function for those involved in essential services.

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[April 17, 2021] Transportation Secretary Buttigieg says it's 'time to reckon with issues that are literally physically built into our transportation infrastructure.'

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, in Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's first major talk with Silicon Valley since the public unveiling of the historic infrastructure package, he talked about the broad, bipartisan public support for the American Jobs Plan. Secretary Buttigieg spoke with San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group's Cities Matter Summit in a talk entitled Infrastructure In-Depth. Buttigieg cited the need to expand broadband as fundamental to both competitiveness and American infrastructure needs. Buttigieg says it's 'time to reckon with issues that are literally, physically built into our transportation' "It is just as important to have a connection to the Internet, as it is to have a connection to the interstate highway system if you want to survive and thrive in today's economy," said Secretary Buttigieg. Building on his recent online comments, Buttigieg also talked about the role of 'encoded racism in the form of highways' in the work of famed city planner Robert Moses. Buttigieg pointed out Moses designed highway overpasses too short to accommodate buses 'containing largely black and Puerto Rican New Yorkers.' But he offered that his comments weren't just about the past but the future of infrastructure  and the Biden-Harris plan to address previous issues. "Not only do we need to make sure that our future highway choices and transportation choices are equitable," said Secretary Buttigieg. "we can also reverse some of the harms of the past with dedicated funds to look at communities that were divided often with federal dolars and reconnect them."



In the other federal visit of the summit, Nuria Fernandez, Deputy Federal Transit Administration Commissioner, spoke to the need to build more equitable transit systems as well as money in the American Jobs Plan to help current mass transit maintenance and fixes. She detailed the local 'state of good repair' backlogs including a $4 billion dollar gap at BART and a $600 million 'state of good repair' backlog for priority projects at Caltrain. Fernandez offered that the new infrastructure plan was 'addressing these unmet needs, and while doing so creating jobs.' The virtual visit by Fernandez marked her first return talk with Silicon Valley since leaving the Valley Transportation Authority to take a job with the Biden-Harris administration. Fernandez also spoke in depth about equity in transportation issues in an engaging Q & A with SVLG CEO Ahmad Thomas.

"Hosting leaders like Secretary Buttigieg and Deputy Administrator Fernandez as they drive these important national conversations is criticial for Silicon Valley right now," said Ahmad Thomas, SVLG CEO. "Planning for the next generation of infrastructure will require a level of bold action and innovation  two things Silicon Valley is never in short supply of. We stand ready to engage and be a partner on solutions." The other major content at the Summit was in affordable housing. In her closing keynote speech, California Senate President Pro Tempore, Senator Toni Atkins tied her own story of growing up in Virginia and moving to a land of greater opportunity in California to the 2021 Senate housing package. Bills featured in the keynote included SB9 which gives more homeowners the option to create small scale developments on their property, SB7 which would speed up the time it takes to process and approve environmental mixed use projects. SB6 which eases transformation of office and retail spaces into housing and SB10 which would allow cities to up zone to 10 units in existing urban and job rich areas that are near transit. Alexa Arena, Senior Director of Real Estate Development for Google  the presenting sponsor of the summit  talked with SVLG's Vince Rocha about the community development aspects of Google's new Downtown West project. In a fireside chat, 'Developing a New Way Forward,' Arena talked about the process involved in working with stakeholders as well as the Downtown West project's long-term community benefits initiatives. The summit also hosted a panel, 'Increasing Equity For Stronger Cities' with Terese McMillan - Executive Director, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, State Senator Scott Wiener, Walter Wilson - CA NAACP California State Conference Exec Committee Member and moderated by Teresa Alvarado - Chair of the CA Water Commission. As well as a dual interview with Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez and Republic Urban Properties President Michael Van Every on the post-covid state of housing in Silicon Valley. The full conference will be available for rebroadcast on Monday at Silicon Valley Leadership Group's website, SVLG.org/Watch. Clips for media use are available HERE. About Silicon Valley Leadership Group

The Leadership Group is a business organization of hundreds of Silicon Valley's most dynamic companies working to shape the innovation economy of California and the nation. Founded by David Packard of Hewlett-Packard, for over 40 years the SVLG has worked to address issues that affect the region's economic health and quality of life. Today the SVLG Is focused on economic competitiveness with a special focus on diversity & inclusion, climate change and infrastructure. SVLG members collectively provide nearly one of every three private sector jobs in Silicon Valley and contribute more than $3 trillion to the worldwide economy. For more information, visit svlg.org. Riley Robbins, SVP

Media & Communications

Silicon Valley Leadership Group

408.200.2330

Press@SVLG.org View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/transportation-secretary-buttigieg-says-its-time-to-reckon-with-issues-that-are-literally-physically-built-into-our-transportation-infrastructure-301270929.html SOURCE Silicon Valley Leadership Group

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With military bands and a royal procession, Prince Philip was laid to rest early Sunday, NZ time, in a unique funeral ceremony that honoured his lifetime of service to the country, the crown and his wife, Queen Elizabeth II.

Philip, who died April 9, two months shy of his 100th birthday, was honoured at Windsor Castle in a service that was steeped in military and royal tradition  but was also pared down and infused with his own personality.

The entire procession and funeral took place out of public view within the grounds of the castle, a 950-year-old royal residence about 30km west of London, but was shown live on television.

Coronavirus restrictions meant that instead of the 800 mourners expected in the longstanding plans for Philip's funeral, only 30 people were allowed inside the castle's St Georges Chapel, including the queen, her four children and her eight grandchildren.

Members of the royal family watch on during the funeral of Prince Philip. Photo: Royal Family YouTube.

Following strict social distancing rules during the pandemic, the queen set an example even in grief, sitting apart from family members arrayed around the church. Other royals who are in family bubbles sat together.

People across Britain observed one minute of silence in honour of Philip just before his royal ceremonial funeral got under way.

The service began with Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby entering the chapel ahead of the coffin, followed by Philips children and three of his eight grandchildren, as a four-member choir sang I am the resurrection and the life.

The service followed a funeral procession, in which Philip's coffin travelled to the chapel on a specially adapted Land Rover designed by Philip himself for the eight-minute journey to St Georges Chapel. Philips coffin was draped in his personal standard, and topped with his Royal Navy cap and sword and a wreath of flowers.

Senior military commanders lined up in front of the vehicle. The children of Philip and the queen  heir to the throne Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward  walked behind the hearse, while the 94-year-old queen travelled to the chapel in a Bentley car.

Grandsons Prince William and Prince Harry also walked behind the coffin, although not side by side. The brothers, whose relationship has been strained amid Harrys decision to quit royal duties and move to California, flanked their cousin Peter Phillips, the son of Princess Anne.

For many viewers, the moment stirred memories of the image of William and Harry at 15 and 12, walking behind their mother Princess Dianas coffin in 1997, accompanied by their grandfather Philip, in a London ceremony televised around the world.

Members of the royal family walk behind the hearse in a procession to St George's Chapel. Image: Royal Family YouTube.

Earlier, under soft spring sunshine, some locals stopped outside the castle to leave flowers on Saturday, but people largely heeded requests by police and the palace not to gather because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The funeral reflected Philip's military ties, both as a ceremonial commander of many units and as a veteran of war. More than 700 military personnel took part, including army bands, Royal Marine buglers and an honour guard drawn from across the armed forces.

Inside the Gothic chapel, the setting for centuries of royal weddings and funerals, the service was simple and sombre. There was no sermon, at Philips request, and no family eulogies or readings, in keeping with royal tradition. But Dean of Windsor David Conner said the country has been enriched by Philips unwavering loyalty to our queen, by his service to the nation and the Commonwealth, by his courage, fortitude and faith.

Philip spent almost 14 years in the Royal Navy and saw action in the Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific during World War II. Several elements of his funeral had a maritime theme, including the hymn Eternal Father, Strong to Save, which is associated with seafarers and asks God: O hear us when we cry to thee/For those in peril on the sea.

As Philips coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault, Royal Marine buglers sounded Action Stations, an alarm that alerts sailors to prepare for battle  a personal request from Philip.

Former Bishop of London Richard Chartres, who knew Philip well, said the prince was a man of faith, but liked things kept succinct.

He was at home with broad church, high church and low church, but what he really liked was short church, Chartres told the BBC. I always remember preaching on occasions which he was principal actor that the instruction would always come down: No more than four minutes'.

Along with Philips children and grandchildren, the 30 funeral guests include other senior royals and several of his German relatives. Philip was born a prince of Greece and Denmark and, like the queen, is related to a thicket of European royal families.

Mourners wore masks and observed social distancing inside the chapel and did not join in when a four-person choir sang hymns.

Ahead of the funeral, Buckingham Palace released a photo of the queen and Philip, smiling and relaxing on blankets in the grass in the Scottish Highlands in 2003. The palace said the casual photo was a favourite of the queen.

Buckingham Palace has released a personal photograph of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh at the top of the Coyles of Muick, Scotland. Photo: The Countess of Wessex.

For decades, Philip was a fixture of British life, renowned for his founding of the Duke of Edinburghs Awards youth programme and for a blunt-spoken manner that at times included downright offensive remarks. He lived in his wifes shadow, but his death has sparked a reflection about his role, and new appreciation from many in Britain.

He was a character, an absolute character, said Jenny Jeeves as she looked at the floral tributes in Windsor. He was fun, he was funny. Yes, he made quite a few gaffes, but it depends which way you took it really. Just a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather, and a good example to all of us.

Stuff
Lima, April 17 : Peru's former President Martin Vizcarra has been banned from holding a public office for 10 years because he was vaccinated against coronavirus last year before he was eligible.

Peru's Congress on Friday imposed the ban on Vizcarra, who led the country from 2018-2020, after he received the jab at the end of last year from Chinese manufacturer Sinopharm, reports dpa news agency.

It means the 58-year-old will not be able to take up the seat in Parliament he won in last week's election.

He received the vaccine while he was still President.

Vizcarra is not the only politician affected by the ban.

Former Foreign Minister Elizabeth Astete has been barred for a year and former Health Minister Pilar Mazzetti for eight years.

Almost 500 politicians, officials and civil servants are implicated in the 'Vacuna-Gate' - vaccine-gate - scandal.

They are accused of pushing ahead to get the coronavirus shots, but they say they got inoculated through their voluntarily participation in clinical trials while vaccines were being tested.

In the case of Vizcarra, the responsible university in Lima has explicitly denied this.

Vizcarra was impeached by lawmakers last year for corruption, which he has consistently denied.

He repeatedly clashed with Parliament during his time as President.

He accused lawmakers of trying to thwart his own anti-corruption efforts.

Around half of the country's Parliamentarians are under investigation for various reasons.
The increasing role of technology in farming is evident, according to an annual Farm Report conducted by ifac, Irelands farming, food and agribusiness professional services firm.

Over 70% of farmers say they want online buying and selling in the marts to continue post-pandemic.

With 1,700 farmers across the country participating in the survey, it has revealed the true impact of Covid-19 on the farming community, from the accelerated adoption of technology on the farm to the rise in social isolation and loss of community engagement.

Seven out of eight (86%) farmers say broadband is now essential, making the rollout of rural broadband an urgent requirement across the country for business tasks including banking. One in two (52%) farmers use herd and breeding software on their farms.

When it comes to farmer wellbeing, three in four (75%) say they will take the Covid-19 vaccine (with 19% unsure and 6% not planning to take a vaccine) and almost a third (31%) of farmers risk burnout by not taking a holiday (for at least a week) in the last three years or more.

Also, three in four (75%) say Covid-19 has negatively impacted their social life, and two out of five (42%) say they dont know who to call for support.

The survey also highlights the opportunities for farmers in relation to their preparation for the future. For example, for the third year in a row the survey results indicate that farmers of all ages are continuing to put off succession planning. Less than a quarter (24%) have identified a future successor, with almost one in three (31%) saying their farm business is not viable enough.

Additionally, three out of five (58%) dont complete any budgets or cash flows. Of those who employ non-family farm labour, only 21% have written contracts of employment in place and only 17% have an employee handbook. Less than a quarter (24%) know how much they need to have in their pension to provide a 200 per week income from the age of 65.

Other key takeaways include:

Two out of five (40%) dont have a Will in place

81% say they will still be farming in five years (12% dont know)

As an employer, over 20% say its hard to find people with the right skills

Three in four dairy farmers have a positive outlook for their sector. However, only two out of five farmers have a positive outlook in other farming sectors

Only one in four dairy farmers believe that their farm is not providing sufficient income to support their family

Nine out of 10 beef farmers believe their farm isnt providing sufficient income to support their family

84% will maintain or increase herd numbers over the next three years

Only one in five (21%) say Covid-19 has negatively impacted their farm income

Only 5% of farmers feel that Brexit will have no impact on the farming sector.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue TD said the report is "very timely and comprehensive", highlighting some of the key issues facing Irish farmers.

"As part of the countrys essential services, the whole farming and agri sector has played a key role throughout Covid-19. Despite farmers coping with many issues in 2020 from Brexit, ongoing CAP reform, the global pandemic and climate change, it is heartening to see almost three out of five farmers have a positive outlook on the sector and how technology is playing an increasing role on Irish farms, something that is supported in the Governments ongoing plans for a balanced rural development," the Minister said.

On climate change and land use, our farmers have already shown great leadership in this area and are actively contributing to the national effort to address our shared climate challenge. I am confident they will continue to do this.

"On agri-environment funding, it has been the Governments key priority to ensure the transition to the next CAP runs smoothly and that farmers can continue to access current schemes this year without interruption.

This past year has shown us that our mental health is important - we have all had to dig deep to find resilience and hope throughout Covid. I would strongly advise farmers to reach out to friends, neighbours or supporting agencies," he added.
Asia

India: Karnataka public transport strike enters second week

Around 130,000 workers from four major Karnataka state government transport corporations have been on strike since April 7 over the governments refusal to increase wages in line with the 6th Pay Commission recommendations. The strikers are also demanding improved benefits, including health insurance. The industrial campaign began on December 10 with a three-day strike.

The workers are from the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation, North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation and the North Eastern Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NEKRTC).

Workers family members joined the strike on Tuesday in defiance of government orders not to do so. About 50 families were arrested in Bengaluru, but released on the same day. Over 30 workers from the NEKRTC have been suspended for joining the strike.

Manipur: Medical college staff at state run facility resign over salary demands

Non-teaching staff and nurses at the state-run Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) in Imphal, Manipur state, submitted resignation letters on April 8 to demand pay increases in line with the Seventh Pay Commission.

The medical workers withdrew their resignations four days later after the state government agreed to fulfil the demand and signed a memorandum of understanding. JNIMS is the only medical college hospital run by the state government. It has about 190 doctors, plus nurses and non-teaching staff.

Jharkhand steel plant workers strike

Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL) workers in Jharkhand walked out on Tuesday to demand a pay rise. The strikers said that they have been due to receive a pay increase since January 2017.

Strikers denounced BSL management and the leaders of the National Joint Committee for Steel for delaying the wage increase. The strike was called by the Krantikari Ispat Mazdoor Sangh (KIMS) and Jai Jharkhand Majdoor Samaj.

A day before the strike, KIMS members held a motorcycle rally protest inside the plant, urging workers make the strike successful. Company management cancelled all employees leave ahead of the strike.

Andhra Pradesh: Municipal and civic contract workers demand unpaid salaries

Several hundred municipal and civic contract workers demonstrated on Tuesday in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh over unpaid salaries. They said that the state government had failed to fulfil a promise of paying salaries regularly on the first day of every month.

Protesters alleged that each worker is owed 42,000 rupees ($US560) in salaries and that it has been outstanding for the last seven months.

Auto plant workers in Tamil Nadu demand wage increase

Several hundred workers from Plant 2 of Ashok Leyland, a heavy-vehicle manufacturer in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, protested on April 8 to demand a wage rise.

The multinational Ashok Leyland, whose corporate office is located in Chennai, has manufacturing facilities across several Indian states, including Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. The company has a workforce of nearly 11.5 million worldwide.

Sri Lankan state bank employees continue to demand pensions

About 100 members of the Ceylon Bank Employees Union protested outside the Lake House Roundabout in central Colombo on April 8 over the Rajapakse governments failure to provide a pension to bank employees who do not currently have any pensions. They are also demanding that newly-recruited employees be confirmed as permanent employees after two years training. Bank employees at Badulla in central Sri Lanka also demonstrated that afternoon at the citys main bus stand.

This protest was jointly organised by the Protest Centre for the Protection of Public Property and Human Rights and the Ceylon Bank Employees Union. It followed lunch-time demonstrations involving hundreds of state bank employees between March 16 and 23 and on April 1.

Indonesian fast food workers protest over wage cut

Dozens of workers demonstrated on Monday outside the headquarters of PT Fast Food Indonesia in the Gelael Building in Tebet, Jakarta. Fast Food is the Indonesian franchise of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

The restaurant workers were protesting the companys COVID-19 policy measures, which include wage holdingi.e., wage cutsand delays in the payment of overtime and holiday allowances. Workers said they may hold additional protests outside the Gelael Building later this month.

Australia and New Zealand

Applus workers at Woodside LNG hub in Western Australia strike again

Australian Workers Union members working for maintenance contractor Applus on the Burrup and offshore Woodside LNG facilities in northern Western Australia are planning another two-week strike. The dispute, which involves 48 workers, is over the companys proposed enterprise agreement (EA).

The walkout will be the fourth since workers began rolling work bans and stoppages in February. Previous actions included work stoppages of 48 hours on February 9, five days on February 27 and a two-week stoppage on March 10.

Applus workers, including non-union members, have overwhelmingly rejected two proposed EAs from the company. The AWU said Applus marine and welding inspectors, rope access and engineering crew want the enterprise agreement to include secure rosters and the reversal of cuts in non-union employment contracts that the company imposed two years ago.

Applus wants flexible rosters and has rejected the unions key bargaining claims on pay rates and conditions. About 100 workers are affected by the EA negotiations but because of Australias anti-democratic industrial relations laws only union members can legally strike without being fined.

Auckland port workers strike over unsafe conditions

Ports of Auckland workers walked off the job for several hours on April 13 in protest over health and safety standards and cast a unanimous vote of no confidence in the companys chief executive Tony Gibson. The strike followed a review by Construction Health & Safety NZ (CHASNZ) and commissioned by the Auckland Council, which owns the port.

The review followed three deaths at the port. In July last year, Ports of Auckland was fined $242,000 for safety breaches after a pilot boat accidentally struck and killed a swimmer in 2017. In 2018, a 23-year-old worker died after a straddle carrier tipped over. In August last year, father-of-seven Palaamo Kalati, a stevedore, was crushed to death by a container.

Auckland mayor Phil Goff and Port of Auckland CEO Gibson have sought to wash their hands of any responsibility for the unsafe workplace culture. In fact, the conditions are the inevitable product of decades of outsourcing, casualisation, long working hours and the prioritisation of profit over safety, in which the Labour Party-led council is complicit.

Following this weeks walk-out, Maritime Union national secretary Craig Harrison told Radio NZ that the union would request a meeting with the ports management to discuss CHASNZs review. The union has not called any further industrial action over the issue.

Wellington bus drivers vote to strike

Bus drivers in Wellington, New Zealand, voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to strike over a long-running pay dispute. Hundreds of bus services were cancelled on Wednesday during the meeting.

Employer NZ Bus wants a new collective agreement that would reduce penalty rates and remove one week of annual leave. Currently, drivers get double pay after midnight and time-and-a-half on weekends. One driver told the Dominion Post that the loss of penalty rates would have meant a $7,000 reduction in her pay last year.

The union said that drivers would hold surprise strikes with as little as 24 hours notice and the first one could occur on Monday. The company says it wants to introduce the same contract in Wellington that it currently has for drivers in Auckland. In September 2020, Tramways Union leaders praised the Auckland pay agreement, which included pay increases of between 2 and 3 percent and overtime rates of just 1.25 times the ordinary rate, and 1.5 times when a sixth day is worked.
At midnight on June 30, 1983, nearly 3,000 Arizona copper miners employed by the Phelps Dodge Corporation went on strike in the desert camp towns of Ajo, Morenci, Douglas and Clifton. For three long years, strikers from 13 local unions fought a ruthless company and its thugs, police, the National Guard, the Reagan administration, the states Democratic governor, the National Labor Relations Board, federal court injunctions, and the AFL-CIO, which isolated the strike in order to ensure its defeat. In 1986, the strike was lost, and strikebreaking replacement workers voted to decertify the unions.

The World Socialist Web Site recently spoke to Jorge OLeary, a Mexican-born doctor at the company-owned Phelps Dodge Morenci Hospital, who was fired during the strike for disobeying orders that he refuse medical attention to strikers and their families. OLeary, who is now 80 years old, set up a free medical clinic for strikers, became the de facto spokesperson for the striking miners, and was widely recognized by the national press as the strikes popular leader. He presently lives in Tucson, Arizona.

OLeary address a rally (1984)

During the strike, OLeary worked closely with the Socialist Equality Partys predecessor organization, the Workers League, and its publication, the Bulletin, which provided political direction for the strike as well as regular news and analysis of the corporation and the state and federal governments strategy to defeat the miners.

The Workers League campaigned throughout the country and internationally to broaden the struggle into a general strike against the Reagan administration and Democratic Party attacks on jobs, wages, living standards and social programs. The strike coincided with a powerful strike of 150,000 miners in Britain that nearly brought down the Thatcher government in 198485, but which was similarly betrayed by the leadership of the National Union of Miners and Trade Union Congress.

Jorge OLeary at age 80 today

The Workers League was involved in the Phelps Dodge struggle from beginning to end, and the Bulletin became a well-respected source of information and political advice among the strikers and their supporters. Throughout the strike, OLeary worked particularly closely with then-Workers League National Secretary David North, who traveled regularly to Southeastern Arizona and grew to be trusted by the strikers as a political leader. North regularly spoke before meetings of miners and addressed working class audiences across the country, appealing for a national struggle in defense of the Phelps Dodge miners and opposing the AFL-CIOs policy of isolating the strike.

PATCO leader and Workers League member Ron May (standing at right) and then-Workers League National Secretary David North (seated to his left) address meeting of striking miners in 1984

The isolation and defeat of the strike was one of a series of milestones in the destruction of the trade union movement in the United States. In 1981, the AFL-CIO refused to call a general strike to support 11,000 PATCO workers, leading to Reagans mass firings and the decertification of the union. In 198586, the UFCW decertified Local P-9, comprised of 1,500 militant meatpacking workers in Austin, Minnesota, guaranteeing the defeat of their strike against Hormel. Similar struggles of paper mill workers in International Falls, Minnesota, in 1989 and of Pittston coal miners in Virginia and West Virginia in 198990 were isolated by the trade unions and crushed.

The Bulletin and Workers League explained that the ruling class was exacting vengeance for the semi-insurrectionary strike wave of the 1930s, when millions of workers rebelled against the conservative AFL and won massive concessions from American capitalism. The AFL-CIO, which had adopted a strategy of corporatism, sided with management and facilitated wage cuts and job losses throughout the 1980s.

The Bulletin warned that American capitalism was out to destroy the trade union organizations of the working class What they are aiming at goes far beyond wage concessions. Massive unemployment, the destruction of welfare programs such as Social Security and Medicare, the elimination of democratic rightsin short the impoverishment of the working class.

These warnings were proven correct. In the decades that followed, inequality skyrocketed and US trade union membership in the private sector shrank. While the richest 10 percent of the US owned 63 percent of wealth in 1985, they owned 77 percent of wealth by 2018. The share of the top 0.1 percent rose from 7 percent in 1986 to 22 percent in 2012. Private sector union membership fell from 26 percent in 1973 to just 6.3 percent today. The AFL-CIO dug its own grave. Today, workers do not view the AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions as workers organizations, as evidenced by the fact that the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) could only muster votes from 12 percent of the 5,800 highly exploited Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama.

An entire generation of members of todays Socialist Equality Party played leading roles in these struggles, which rooted the work of the movement firmly in the experiences of the working class. The Workers League and the Bulletin played prominent roles in every major strike in this period, winning many prominent strike leaders as party members, including Ron May, a PATCO air traffic control leader who was thrown into federal prison by the Reagan administration for engaging in the illegal strike.

Phelps Dodge1984Lalo Marquez, Jorge OLeary, David North and Ron May

May wrote the introduction for the pamphlet authored by David North on the Phelps Dodge strike titled Class War at Phelps Dodge.

Class War at Phelps Dodge sold widely in the working class across all industries. Forty years after the strike, the pamphlet retains immense political value. It is a moving account of an American labor battle and gives the reader a close proximity to the events themselves. But more than this, Class War at Phelps Dodge catalogs the fight of the Trotskyist movement to politically mobilize the working class against the global social counterrevolution of the 1980s at a time when its catastrophic outcomeultimately forced through by the AFL-CIOwas by no means inevitable.

We reproduce the interview with Jorge OLeary below, edited for brevity.

* * *

Eric London: Id like to begin by asking you about the strike at Phelps Dodge that began in 1983. Many of our readers are young socialists who were not alive at the time of the strike. It was an international news story at the time on account of the violence used by the company and the state of Arizona against strikers and due to the determination of the strikers. What was the strike about? Who was involved?

Jorge OLeary: Morenci [Arizona] is a company town. Its a mining town, and its not even on the map. The seat of the county is in Clifton, Arizona, but Morenci doesnt show in the map because its a mine. But its a mining town. Its in the east part of the state of Arizona close to the border with New Mexico.

In the state of Arizona there are several copper mines which had all been part of Mexico when Mexico was the owner of this part of the country, before it was forced to sell 26 percent of the state of Arizona [in the 1854 Gadsden Purchase following the US invasion of Mexico from 184648]. They put the Southwestern Pacific Railroad and they knew how much copper the state of Arizona had.

Phelps Dodge is the name of the mining company who owns the mining rights of many places in the world, including Chile, including South Africa, including Australia and including of course the United States, some places in Montana and several places here in Arizona and Texas. In 1914 or 1910, I dont remember exactly the date, there was a movement mostly of Anglo and Mexican miners in Douglas, Arizona. At the time the company asked for the National Guard and sent all these miners to the desert in New Mexico and they were dumped there. There were two or three hundred. And it was the beginning of the working-class movement in the mines of the state of Arizona. [This refers to the Bisbee Deportation. In 1917, Phelps Dodge and the US Army detained 1,300 striking miners in concentration camps in Arizona and New Mexico.]

In 1946, a union was formed in Morenci, and it was founded mostly for Mexican people who didnt have any rights. The mining company was founded in 1886, and all the time they brought miners from Mexico because here in the US there was not a workforce that knew how to mine, and Mexico had been mining for 500 years, so many from the south of Mexico and north of Mexico came to work in Morenci.

With the union things started changing. Every three years they signed a new contract and there was a little strike every three years, but everyone knew it would be resolved. The unions helped the workers in their own way at this time.

In 1983, I read some articles in the national press about Ronald Reagan, who hated unions. Newsweek said the company Phelps Dodge was getting ready for a long strike. I was a doctor there, and I went to a union meeting and it was full. There were 600 or 700 people there, there was the steelworkers union, and they allowed me to speak. I told them that the union was used to having a strike every three years with little things and then a settlement. But I told them this is different. They arent going to settle this strike.

I think on June the 1st [the strike actually began on the night of June 30th/July 1st], the 14 unions went on strike, June of 1983. Then we had a long struggle with the company, with the police, with the National Guard. Dave [North] also knows those details as good as I do. We were on strike with the help of our women, mostly Mexican-American women. If it werent for them the strike wouldnt have lasted as long as we lasted. We lasted three years on strike. We were isolated, the international unions, they didnt really help that much, they didnt help, really. One time in 1984 they gave 100 turkeys for Thanksgiving, that was the help. Can you believe it?

AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland who made only one visit to Morenci, Arizona and did not follow through on a promise to support the miners

The international unions from over there, from Chicago, from New York or whatever, they were not very interested in this strike. They knew the company hated the union. So, after many struggles of men and women, we lost. They settled, they acknowledged that the company won the strike. After three years we were on the picket lines, and the workers never failed, they were good, they supported the strike.

In any event, finally they started scabbing, people from all over the United States, they paid the scabs more than what they were paying regular [workers] before the strike. They increased their salaries, whatever was needed. So people wanted work and many people from Oklahomamostly rednecks to be honestcame and didnt even know how to mine but the company started working, and we lost the strike. There are many things that happened. Dave was here almost from the first day, with Larry [Porter], and they helped us a lot. The Bulletin helped continuously with information, with all kinds of whatever they could do for us they did, and I am very thankful to Dave for that.

Bulletin spreadpolice terror against copper miners [Credit: David North]

EL: You were a doctor at the Phelps Dodge Morenci Hospital, which was a company hospital, but during the strike you were fired. How did this happen?

JO: I started going to the picket lines whenever I could. I had a motorcycle, and I went and everybody knew me, and everybody was happy because the town doctor was backing them up, a Mexican. And thats when I became involved, thats when management asked me to quit doing that and quit going to the picket line and not talking to the media. Of course, I didnt obey, and they fired me. They gave me a hand-delivered letter saying that I was fired. So I cleaned out an old hayfeed store and put my office there. And then I started working, and mostly I didnt charge people, and we were happy to help. I dont regret one moment of the strike.

EL: Before you were fired, you were told by the company that you couldnt provide health care for striking miners and their children. Could you talk a little about that?

JO: This is correct. The medical rights were suspended for the striking community. And I was on call in the emergency room, and a little six- or seven-year-old kid came with a 103.4 [degree fever], and I wanted to take care of him and the nurse who was in charge in the ER told me that we couldnt do that because the company suspended the medical rights. I was on call, and I said I will keep seeing these patients, it doesnt matter if they have rights or not, Im a doctor and I need to see people when they are sick. Well, the same day or the next day I was fired because I kept seeing patients. The company said the hospital was on the company grounds, they owned the ground that I was stepping on, they owned my medical office, they owned the light, electricity, that they owned the water. They said, even when you go to the bathroom, Dr. OLeary, its with Phelps Dodge money. And I said no, this is my work. In any event, I was fired, and I started working in Clifton and I worked there for three years.

EL: The actual termination letter, from mine manager John Bolles, says you were supporting the strike through public appearances and statements, and concluded, It is not appropriate for us to condone your inflammatory behavior by continuing you in our employ. How did you come to frighten the company so much?

JO: Essentially, with my knowledge of how Reagan was against unions and that they didnt have any intentions to settle the strike, and I said without the workers, the mines cannot work. They didnt like what I was saying, and they fired me. They also knew it was against the law to stop me from seeing patients in the ER, so they couldnt say that.

EL: Can you talk a bit more about the role of the Democratic Party in this strike? This was when the union busting Ronald Reagan was president, but at the time Arizona had a Democratic governor, Bruce Babbitt, right? What did the strikers call him?

JO: Scabbitt! His last name was Babbitt, but we called him Scabbitt. The governor said we have to follow the law, and there was injunction but the judge said there couldnt be more than 10 people in the picket line, so they were taking sides right away. You dont have a picket line if you let the scabs get in, you lose the strike that way. We held our picket lines until this judge made the injunction and we moved the picket line to Clifton to stop the scabs from coming to the mine.

State police prepare to attack peaceful demonstration of copper miners, June 30, 1984 [Credit: David North]

To get to the mine you have to go through Clifton. And also the people in Clifton were workers, miners. So we held the picket line there, and we had before us the scabs and the police. The scabs couldnt get through until they sent the National Guard. We were nonviolent. We were vocal, were nasty, calling the scabs names, and thats when they started building a new road before the entrance of Clifton. They had machinery and they built a road before getting to Clifton so they could get in through the back road.

They sent soldiers, tanks, big trucks, helicopters and planes. It was revolutionthey were intimidating. When we went on the picket line, thats when the National Guard and the police came and chased everybody out and beat them up, and it was really sad to see that.

More state police prepare attack on demonstration of copper miners, June 30, 1984 [Credit: David North]

You might have a picture where this guy was naked before the soldiers and police and he had his hands open on the side like the cross, saying we are peaceful. And when many of the national news media came to Clifton, some of them were nice. But some of them were poisoning our minds. The local paper, for example, was owned by the company. The one who truly helped was Dave.

EL: Can you tell me about when your relationship with the Bulletin and with Dave began?

JO: Oh, our relationship was very good all the time. He was welcome at home and he came and had lunch or stayed to sleep at the house a couple of times. They came and we had good relations all the time, we felt the support of his intelligence, and he is very intelligent. I admire him very much.

EL: So what kind of work did you two do together during the strike?

JO: He interviewed workers and did articles about the strike. For instance, he got information that Sumitomo, a Japanese company, was interested in buying Phelps Dodge at the time, and he made an article about Sumitomo, which was during the war against the US they built submarines and now they were selling [products] with the earnings of the war. Anyway, the information that he knew or he advised me in many [ways as to how] to view [the situation]. I had some experience from Mexico from when I was a student, but to become the leader of the strike, he helped me.

EL: What was the relationship between the workers and the Bulletin and Workers League?

JO: The strikers saw in Dave a friend, in a particular way. Many of the workers were Catholic and believed if you are socialist, you are atheist. Most of the strikers were Catholic people. Greenlee County [where Morenci is located] has the highest number of soldiers in the nation [per capita]. It was not North Carolina or South Carolina, it was Greenlee County. Every high school guy went to the army. Ninety percent of them. So they are in that way conservative, and you know how the national media say that Russia and the communists dont believe in God, and things like that.

Bulletin front page of July 3, 1984: Police Attack Arizona Miners

So workers were very cautious at first. They were nice to Dave and knew that he was right. Some of them thanked the Bulletin for the help and orientation, and information about Phelps Dodge itself, including many things that they didnt know, including me. They knew he was right. They knew how the strike was going and the general unions were not helping that much, they were betraying our strike. They did betray, because at the same time they were going to have a strike in New Mexico and El Paso, Texas, and they settled those. They betrayed Morenci because if its a bigger mine we were isolated, and it was easier for the company to squash us with the governor and the money.

EL: At one point you were called east by the trade union leaders. Can you describe what happened?

JO: I went to Lebanon, New Jersey, with Angel Rodriguez. He was the president of the steelworkers [union]. And they [the union leaders] told me the strike didnt look too good, that there were 358 strikes around the country and that we shouldnt believe we were the most important. But we were, because we were 1,500 miners, and they tried to cool off the situation and I said, well, why did you keep negotiating for three years until our strike was lost? They said, well, we cannot win all the strikes. They said we win most of the strikesI dont know if its true or notbut we dont win all of them. And, they said, Phelps Dodge strike was partially won because we settled in New Mexico and in Texas, and they told us, you were the losing part. And they gave some money to the steelworkers union and they offered me some money. I told them to send it to the strike fund, because taking it would be eating with the blood of my brothers.

They tried to pay me off because I think they believed that I could become a problem for them. You know, talking to the national media. I dont know why, some of the unions wanted for me to be the governor of Arizona. I dont have the knowledge of money or anything, so I said forget about it. The guys over there in the north, whatever, the bosses of the unions, when I went to this hotel in Lebanon, New Jersey, it was luxury hotel. All these cars arrived to talk to me and to Angel [Rodriguez], they wanted me to be there. They were in Cadillacs, all of them. I was outside just waiting for them and they were all in limousines and Cadillacs, like in The Godfather .

We were told the strike was over, and they were trying to get jobs to some people here and there. They offered to me to be a boss of the University of New Mexico, and they gave me a contract for two years, and I said, I do not qualify to be medical director of the department of family practice. Maybe I could have done it, but there are other doctors who are better. And so I declined. I decided to keep working as a doctor. They offered me some money.

I was offered $175,000 [$417,000 in 2021 dollars] to sell out the strike. I declined and said to send it to the strike fund. They did not do that. Forget it!

EL: Thats a remarkable story. Can you talk more about how the AFL-CIO isolated your strike?

JO: Well, I thought they could have put more pressure nationally. I made an article about it that called for a national strike because otherwise the unions will disappear. I said the unions will disappear if we lose this strike and everybody should go on strike, and Arizona should go on strike. They [the national trade union leaders] told me it was impossible because we will be breaking the law. And I told them, They are breaking the law already!

Striker Larry Gonzales, beaten by cops and scabs

They said we have contracts, we cant go on a national strike. And they didnt want to do that. The governor wanted to run for president of the United States, and they asked me in the press about this. I told them he never will be president because he betrayed the working class. He betrayed the workers of Clifton and Morenci and it will be the shame of the unions to support somebody who defeats the strike.

EL: Can you tell us about your personal and political background? You were born in 1940 in Nogales, Mexico, when Lazaro Cardenas was president of Mexico and Leon Trotsky was living in exile in the Mexico City colonia of Coyoacan. Later, you graduated from UNAM in Mexico City. Were you politically involved in Mexico?

JO: Lazaro Cardenas was very powerful, he was president from 1934 to 1940. But he was very popular in Mexico, the most popular president we had after [Benito] Juarez [president of Mexico from 185872]. So, during the Bay of Pigsthe Bahia de Cochinoswe, the students, we had a meeting at the Zocalo. And so we were there and I was in a group called Brazil 9. That was a socialist group, but we were only about 20 people, and we didnt know who our boss was, so if the police beat us up, we couldnt give any information. We worked in cells.

I was in that group, but my ideas were socialistic since President Cardenas was a socialistic president and I love him very much. And I met him at that meeting in the Zocalo. At that meeting I was next to him, and there were almost 150,000 to 300,000 people. And I was just like I am here, I was next to him. They pulled the microphone, and I told the president we are with you, you are our hero. When he tried to speak at the megaphone, they cut the electricity.

But regardless, he spoke. And everybody listened. Can you imagine 150,000 or 300,000 people in complete silence? Well, we were in silence because he was speaking. Its the truth. I talked to him, and it was during the Bay of Pigs and we offered to go to Cuba. We were supposed to take the train to Yucatan and cross the channel to support Fidel. And the train was stopped, we were studentsall of us, we were students We were free to go [to Cuba], until I guess somebody called a general and 100 of us were in the train and they stopped the train. We said, No, we are supporting our president Lazaro Cardenas. And they didnt like it too much that we called him the president because for us he was still our president. [Cardenas had ceased being president in 1940. Adolfo Lopez Mateos was president of Mexico at the time of the Bay of Pigs in 1961.]

[Cardenas] sent word that we should return or we will be detained in Merida and that the army was not going to let us cross because it would put us in trouble with the United States. And then we returned to Mexico City.

EL: How do you look back on this experience nearly 40 years after the strike?

JO: Im happy that my wife and I supported the strike. She was very supportive of me and she is an educated person. She is an anthropologist. I was very happy that Dave gave help.

Jorge and Anna OLeary in 1984

EL: Is there anything you would add to young members of the Socialist Equality Party today?

JO: The Bulletin, through Dave North, gave us a lot of information for our benefit. Not for the benefit of the governor or the company. He was honest, and we trust him. I told Dave that some of his political views are different from mine, but essentially we are for the working class. And that I will trust whatever he says. If he says something to me, I will say, Thats correct.

They should let you speak wherever you are. Tell workers the truth, that you want for the workers not to be begging for a better living. They have their right to have a good life, to improve humanity. And I think you have for instance this guy Trump, we were disgraced with him, he is a Nazi.

Any revolution or social change will bring threats. Police came to harass me. One Vietnam veteran policeman said, You fucking doctor, we will get you. We shoot people like crazy, we dont care who they are.

I am 80 years old and I still am for the revolution, but I am home now, I have arthritis. I wont be here too long, but my views havent changed. I am not as active as I would like to be, and Im sorry that we lost the strike, but we never betrayed the people. We fought shoulder to shoulder with the workers. And Im proud to talk in front of my children. One time, my daughter went to the university and they called her name for attendance. The professor said, Isnt your father Dr. OLeary? She said, Yes, and then all the students, 200300 of them, all the students stood up and applauded. I feel gratified.
Watch: Windsor gets ready for Prince Philip's funeral

On Saturday, a royal funeral like no other will take place as the Duke of Edinburgh is laid to rest at Windsor Castle.

The funeral has to comply with the UK's current coronavirus guidelines, which means the guest list was trimmed down from about 800 to 30.

Mourners will wear face masks, and many of them will be sat alone inside the quire of St George's Chapel.

The images will be a stark contrast to the last major royal funeral, when the Queen Mother was laid to rest on 9 April 2002.

She lay in state for three days before her funeral, at Westminster Hall.

Crowds of hundreds of thousands of people queued to pay their respects to the much-loved Queen Mother who saw Britain through the Second World War. An estimated 200,000 people paid respects to her at the hall.

Crowds gathered to pay their respects to the Queen Mother on 5 April, 2002 as her ceremonial procession made its way down the Mall in London. (Anthony Harvey/Getty Images)

Mourners queue-up on the over bank of the river Thames to get to Westminster Hall where the Queen mother's coffin was lying in state in April 2002. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images)

Her coffin was taken to Windsor Castle after her funeral service in London on 9 April, 2002. (Julian Herbert/Getty Images)

Some 11,887 police staff and 1,306 civilian staff were deployed from the day the Queen Mother died, 30 March 2002, until to the day of the funeral on 9 April.

Members of the public threw flowers as the coffin passed by and thousands of tributes were laid on the Mall.

After the procession of her coffin to lie in state, a Vigil of the Princes was mounted by Prince Charles, Prince Edward, Prince Edward and David Armstrong-Jones, the Viscount Linley.

When a two minute silence was held at 11.30am on the day of the funeral the hundred thousand strong crowd stood in near silence.

Then Dean of Westminster Dr Wesley Carr said it was remarkable that a crowd so large were so quiet.

The Queen Mother's coffin transported on a gun carriage along the London Mall on 5 April 2002, en-route to Westminster Hall. (Francois Guillot/AFP)

Prince Charles (C) with other members of the British Royal Family walking behind the coffin bearing the Queen Mother on 5 April, 2002 in her ceremonial procession down The Mall in London. (Sion Touhig/Getty Images)

Prince Charles (R), Prince Phillip (C) and Prince Andrew (L) led Prince Harry and other Royals behind the coffin on 5 April, 2002 in her ceremonial procession. (Anthony Harvey/Getty Images)

The funeral at Westminster Abbey had 2,200 guests. Famous faces included 35 members of the royal family, four former Prime Ministers, US First Lady Laura Bush and Dame Vera Lynn.

The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince William, the Duke of York, the Princess Royal, the Prince of Wales and Peter Phillips stood in front of the coffin in Westminster Abbey.

Prince Charles appeared to be holding back tears as he said goodbye to his grandmother.

Prince Charles stands vigil beside the Queen Mother's coffin while it lies-in-state at Westminster Hall in London 8 April 2002. (Adrian Dennis/AFP)

Prince Charles (C) and the Duke of York (R) stand vigil beside the Queen Mother's coffin at Westminster Hall. (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)

The Archbishop of Canterbury, then Dr George Carey thanked the Queen Mother for her "faithful duty and unwearied service.

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"Like the sun, she bathed us in her warm glow."

The coffin was carried out of Westminster Abbey and the Duke of York, Prince William, the Prince of Wales, Prince Harry, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal, Peter Phillips and Prince Edward followed behind.

The coffin was then driven from Westminster Abbey to St Georges Chapel in Windsor where she was buried alongside her husband George VI and their daughter HRH Princess Margaret.

Prince Charles (R) Prince Andrew (L) and Prince William (C) behind the Gun Carriage bearing the coffin of the Queen Mother on 9 April, 2002 on the way to Westminster Abbey during her state funeral. (Anthony Harvey/Getty Images)

Prince Andrew, Prince Charles, The Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Anne and Prince Edward following the body of the Queen Mother to Westminster Abbey during her funeral on 9 April 2002 in London. (Hugo Philpott/Getty Images)

The Queen leaving Westminster Abbey with the Duke of Edinburgh after the funeral ceremony of the Queen Mother 9 April 2002 (Francois Guillot/AFP via Getty Images)

On the eve of the funeral in April 2002, the Queen had delivered a televised address to the nation and the Commonwealth about her mother.

She said: "I thank you for the support you are giving me and my family as we come to terms with her death and the void she has left in our midst."

She added: "Over the years I have met many people who have had to cope with family loss, sometimes in the most tragic of circumstances.

"So I count myself fortunate that my mother was blessed with a long and happy life.

"She had an infectious zest for living, and this remained with her until the very end.

'I know too that her faith was always a great strength to her."

The coffin of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother is placed on catafalque at Westminster Abbey during her funeral in 2002. (PA Images)

The British Royal family watch as the coffin of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother is prepared to be carried from Westminster Abbey at the end of her funeral service. (Ben Curtis/ EPA/SOLO ROTA / AFP)

Prince Charles (L) and his sons Prince Harry (C) and Prince William arrive at Westminster Hall before following the gun carriage carrying coffin of the Queen Mother en-route to Westminster Abbey. (Gerry Penny/AFP via Getty Images)

The Queen Mother's coffin passes mourners and police before being carried to The Queens Chapel in St. James Palace on 2 April 2002. (Gerry Penny/AFP via Getty Images)

For the Duke of Edinburgh, who reportedly "didn't want a fuss", the scaled back ceremony may well have suited his tastes.

"He doesnt see himself as important enough for that," an aide once said when asked about the dukes opinions on lying in state.

Crowds are urged to stay away from Windsor on Saturday, for what will be a markedly different royal funeral.

Inside the quire of St George's Chapel, the image of a Queen, sat alone, will be striking.

Additional reporting by Kate Eagles.

Watch: Edward and Sophie view hundreds of flowers for Prince Philip
Texas Senate Bill 7 is neither Jim Crow 2.0 nor desperately needed to prevent widespread election fraud. Rather, it is a reaction by the Texas Republican Party to the 2020 electoral cycle.

The Texas GOP is using SB 7 to respond to real demands from Republican voters to safeguard Texas elections from imagined fraud.

SB 7 also pushes back against reforms implemented, or attempted, in 2020 under the extant legislation by Democratic election officials in several populous urban counties to make it easier to vote and, in doing so, help boost turnout. SB 7 introduces enhanced penalties for voter fraud, expands the scope of actions considered fraudulent, and allows for a more prominent and obtrusive role for partisan poll watchers that, combined, could have a chilling effect on voting by many of societys most vulnerable members who are easily discouraged or intimidated from exercising their constitutional right of suffrage.

Less controversially, SB 7 requires counties to employ a voting system that provides a paper audit trail and establishes more stringent penalties for ballot harvesting.

Under SB 7, early voting sites in counties with 30,000 or more residents would only operate between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. Practices that became popular in 2020 in large urban counties, such as polling locations remaining open until 10 p.m. and special 24-hour voting sites, are prohibited.

SB 7 bans the drive-thru option used by more than 125,000 Harris County voters in 2020. While drive-thru voting is convenient, it also is more vulnerable to fraud than other forms of in-person voting since generally only a single election worker and a voter are present in the tent where the voting takes place.

SB 7 restricts the ability of counties with 1 million or more residents to engage in the most efficient distribution of polling locations and voting equipment by mandating a proportional allocation of each based on the number of eligible voters residing in the countys state House districts, regardless of projected voter demand.

SB 7 codifies a 2020 ruling by the Texas Supreme Court in a case brought by Attorney General Ken Paxton against then-Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins, expressly prohibiting county election officials from mailing out unsolicited vote-by-mail applications. It also adds a host of amendments that would have the net effect of creating additional small hurdles to voting by mail. Unlike in 34 states, where all registered voters are allowed to vote by mail for any reason, in Texas no-excuse absentee voting is limited to those 65 and older.

Under current law, recording devices such as smartphones and cameras cannot be used at polling locations. SB 7 allows partisan poll watchers (though not voters) to record any action they consider illegal while also giving them greater access and freedom of movement.

While video evidence can be invaluable in identifying and punishing malfeasance (think of the George Floyd video), there is a significant risk this expanded ability of partisan poll watchers to monitor, record and report alleged voting improprieties for prosecution could have an intimidating effect on vulnerable voters, ranging from those needing assistance to vote to those who are wary of the authorities due to past mistreatment or present fears.

SB 7 passed the Texas Senate by an 18-13 party-line vote on April 1 and is under review in the Texas House Elections Committee. If signed into law, it would first and foremost turn back the clock on Texas voting access to 2018. It would add some new restrictions that would make voting by mail moderately more difficult than in 2018, within a state already in the bottom 10 nationally when it comes to access to mail voting. And SB 7 would make the voting process more intimidating for many of the most vulnerable Texans, who already must surmount more obstacles to vote than in a large majority of the 50 states.

SB 7 is not a nuclear-powered DeLorean that will transport Texas voters back to 1955 and Jim Crow like Marty McFly in Back to the Future. It also, however, is not going to improve voter turnout in a state that consistently is found in the bottom 10 of turnout rankings; quite to the contrary, if SB 7 becomes law, Texas would be much more likely to drop in these rankings. SB 7 also reinforces Texas image as a state whose government appears to spend an abnormally large amount of time and energy making it more difficult for its citizens to vote, especially those who on tend to vote for Democratic candidates more than for Republican candidates.

Jones is the political science fellow at Rice Universitys James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy.
Guam has played a part in bringing COVID-19 relief throughout the Indo-Pacific region recently.

A media release from the 36th Wing states that for the past two months, service members assigned to Andersen Air Force Base and Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz have partnered with the Department of State to receive and load needed cargo for U.S. embassies. The local Air Force base was used for the mission because of its ideal location in the Indo-Pacific region, and its proximity to east and Southeast Asia.

The supplies were distributed to Mongolia, Vietnam, Brunei, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea, Australia and Fiji via a military-contracted Gulfstream jet, according to the release, which did not disclose what specific aid was included in the shipments.

The military coordinated with the local Department of Public Health and Social Services to ensure compliance with COVID-19 guidance and restrictions.

For this specific mission our impact is wide reaching in the fight against COVID, said 1st Lt. Jannell Viera-Hernandez. We have enabled the DoS mission to posture AAFB as a diplomatic hub to the East Pacific, ultimately increasing the quality of life of the population in the region.
Savannah Resources said a "major milestone" had been passed for what could become western Europe's largest lithium mine, after Portugal's regulator gave its environmental impact study a preliminary stamp of approval.

Interest in lithium mining has been spurred by the expected growth in sales of electric vehicles, which are cheaper to run and more environmentally friendly than other cars.

However, lithium projects in Portugal face strong opposition from environmentalists and local communities, who are demanding stronger regulation and more transparency.

Portugal is Europe's biggest lithium producer, but its miners sell almost exclusively to the ceramics industry and are only now preparing to produce the higher-grade lithium that is used in electric cars and to power electronic appliances.

Barroso, declared a world heritage site for agriculture in 2018, is one of many lithium-rich areas in northern Portugal and London-based Savannah already mines feldspar, quartz and pegmatites in the mountainous region.

Savannah expects the Barroso mine to "provide Europe with a strategically important local, long term and secure source of lithium raw materials," its chief executive David Archer said.

Portugal's environment regulator APA said that the company's environmental impact assessment confirmed with its requirements, Savannah added in a statement on Friday.

It will now progress to the next stages of the process, including a public consultation, which will then be evaluated by APA before final approval, Savannah said.

Archer said lithium was added to the European Commission's list of critical raw materials last year.

This was to reflect its importance to, among other things, tackle the "threat to raw material supply availability to the EU due to increased demand globally," he added.

Savannah said the project, which could contribute more than 1.2 billion euros ($1.44 billion) to Portuguese GDP, would comply with all the environmental requirements, from water usage to reducing its light and sound impact.
Washington: It was one of the more tantalising, yet unresolved, questions of the investigation into possible connections between Russia and Donald Trumps 2016 presidential campaign: Why was a business associate of campaign chairman Paul Manafort given internal polling data  and what did he do with it?

A Treasury Department statement on Thursday (Friday) offered a potentially significant clue, asserting that Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian and Ukrainian political consultant, had shared sensitive campaign and polling information with Russian intelligence services.

Konstantin Kilimnik, assessed by the FBI to have ties to Russian intelligence.

Kilimnik has long been alleged by US officials to have ties to Russian intelligence.

But the statement in a broader Treasury Department sanctions announcement was perhaps the most direct link the US government has ever drawn between the Trump campaigns inner workings and the Kremlins intelligence services.
Watch: Prince Philip Funeral: William and Harry leave chapel together after ceremony

Prince Harry and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were spotted chatting as they left the funeral of the princes' grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh.

Princes William and Harry have been reported to be at odds over the last few months and years, with Harry recently describing their relationship as at "space".

William, 38, had to defend the rest of the Royal Family as "very much not a racist family" in the fallout of an interview Harry, 36, did with his wife Meghan Markle and the TV chat show host Oprah Winfrey.

Harry and Meghan levelled accusations of racist remarks made by someone senior before their baby, Archie, was born.

Read more: Prince Philip funeral: Queen, Prince Charles, William and Harry lead mourners at Windsor Castle

Harry, William and Kate were spotted talking after the service. (BBC)

All eyes were on Harry and William in the run up to the funeral of Prince Philip, which brought their reunion forward. It was thought their first meeting after the interview would not be until July, when they are set to unveil a statue to their mother, Princess Diana, at Kensington Palace.

Despite walking apart in the procession on their way down to the chapel, and being sat on opposite sides of the quire during the service, William and Harry were reunited, along with Kate, William's wife, soon after.

The trio left the chapel at similar times, with William appearing to wait for his younger brother outside.

They walked up the hill back toward the castle together, exchanging a few words.

Read more: Meghan Markle sends handwritten card as Harry lays wreath for Prince Philip

The three royals walked back to the state apartments together. (BBC)

These days the brothers are separated by thousands of miles as Harry and Meghan chose to live in California after stepping back from their senior royal roles.

William and Kate are taking on more work in the Royal Family, and have spent the pandemic working on projects related to the mental health and wellbeing of those on the frontline of the NHS response.

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Although Meghan could not attend the funeral, because she is pregnant and could not get clearance to fly, she sent a handwritten card to accompany a wreath which they requested from the same florist who arranged the flowers for their wedding reception in May 2018.

Harry has had to be in quarantine since arriving in the UK, because there are no coronavirus travel corridors open at the moment.

He was staying at Frogmore Cottage, in Windsor, the home given to him and Meghan by the Queen after their wedding.

The coronavirus restrictions meant he had to sit alone, opposite his brother and Kate who were able to sit next to each other, as they are a household.

Watch: Minute's Silence Observed for Prince Philip Outside Windsor Castle
Record-breaking Decrease in New Passenger Vehicle Sale in Europe

COVID-19 pandemic exerted a significant influence on the automotive sector. In 2020, a sharp decrease in new vehicle sale in the European Union was recorded. When compared to 2019, the number of such vehicles is 3 million lower.

According to ACEA (Association des Constructeurs Europeens d'Automobiles), Covid-19 pandemic brought many companies to stop production and reduce employment. The first coronavirus wave had the greatest impact on new vehicle sales in 2020. What is more, the financial standing of many people who were interested in buying a car deteriorated.

In what European Union countries were the falls the highest?

According to the analyses presented by ACEA, the highest falls in new vehicle sales were recorded by the following countries:

Croatia (-42.8% when compared to 2019)  the recorded decrease in the number of cars sold is 27 thousand vehicles, Bulgaria (-36.8% when compared to 2019)  the recorded decrease in the number of cars sold is 13 thousand vehicles, Portugal (-35% when compared to 2019)  the recorded decrease in the number of cars sold is 78 thousand vehicles.

Unfortunately, the largest vehicle markets in Europe suggest the decrease in demand for new vehicles reaching several hundred thousand cars. The first places are taken by:

Spain (-32.3% when compared to 2019, 407 thousand cars fewer), Italy (-27.9% when compared to 2019, 535 thousand cars fewer), France (-25.5% when compared to 2019, 564 thousand cars fewer), Germany (-19.1% when compared to 2019, 690 thousand cars fewer).

When did the breakthrough time come?

Based on data concerning the number of new passenger vehicles registered in EU countries in 2020 and 2019, it is easy to notice that the decrease in the sale of brand new vehicles is connected with coronavirus pandemic occurrence, primarily with its first wave.



In March 2020, the demand for new cars decreased by 55%. In April, it fell by another 21%. In May, the index returned to above 52%. September was the only month last year when higher sale of new vehicles when compared to the previous month was recorded. The number of registered vehicles of that type increased by 3.1% then.

Which manufacturers were most afflicted by the decrease?

In one of its reports, ACEA mentions the number of registered new passenger vehicles by manufacturers. It turns out that virtually all automotive companies recorded high decrease in the number of cars sold.

Which vehicle makes recorded the highest decrease in sale in 2020?

Vehicle make Registrations of new passenger vehicles in EU (+EFTA+UK) in 2020 Registrations of new passenger vehicles in EU (+EFTA+UK) in 2019 % change 2020/2019 OPEL 485,778 815,707 -40.4 FIAT 492,101 659,666 -25.4 VOLKSWAGEN 1,346,999 1,783,924 -24.5 PEUGEOT 741,498 964,993 -23.2 RENAULT 819,009 1,062,808 -22.9 AUDI 600,470 742,716 -19.2 BMW 674,654 831,066 -18.8 MERCEDES 738,236 892,511 -17.3 SKODA 643,019 762,491 -15.7 TOYOTA 648,275 742,497 -12.7

Effect of COVID-19 pandemic on the decrease in new vehicle sale

The global coronavirus pandemic is surely one of the most important causes of the decreasing interest in new vehicles. However, this is not the only reason. An important factor contributing to such a situation is e.g. the increase in the new vehicle prices particularly if we consider the fact that it is not in proportion to the average pay. In other words, the car prices grow more than the salaries of citizens in many European countries.

Vehicle sale and insurance

If we decide to buy a brand new vehicle, we must buy a third party liability insurance in advance. The owner of a brand new vehicle must buy the mandatory policy on the vehicle registration day on the latest. This is crucial as it is impossible to collect the vehicle from the distributor without valid third party liability insurance.

Consequently, it is worth looking for the insurance even before you visit the dealers. The easiest way will be to use the car insurance calculator. Thanks to it, you will not only compare the vehicle policies, checking their prices and scope, but also buy them fast and easily online.

By S N Chatterjee

Copyright 2021  S N Chatterjee - All Rights Reserved

Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




Considering the alarming daily spike in Covid cases and reports of highest single-day surge of 2,34,692 new cases in the last 24 hours, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a review meeting related to the pandemic at 8 p.m. on Saturday.

The meeting was planned after the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan earlier chaired a high-level review meeting with the Health Ministers of 11 states and UTs to review measures taken by the states and UTs for prevention, containment and management of the recent surge in Covid-19 cases.

The Prime Minister will discuss the deadly second wave of the coronavirus pandemic and the national vaccination drive. This will be the Prime Minister's second Covid-related meet in two days, and third since last week.

The meeting is related to frightening spike in daily cases as over two lakh cases are being registered for the last three days in the country as well as over 1.5 lakh per day since April 11 and over a lakh per day since April 7.

The Prime Minister held a similar meet on Friday of several ministries and was briefed on the government's efforts to meet rising demand for medical oxygen to treat critically ill Covid-19 patients.

The Prime Minister also held a video conference with Chief Ministers of some of the worst-affected states.

The surge in cases has left the country's already-battered health care infrastructure on the verge of collapse, with hospitals overflowing, doctors disillusioned and fatigued, and critical medical equipment - like ventilators and oxygen cylinders in perilously short supply.

At least 11 states with highest Covid cases have red-flagged low oxygen reserves. Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal, Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh are reporting an unprecedented surge in new Covid cases.

Oxygen is desperately needed at hospitals and Covid-19 facilities to help people with advanced Covid-19 symptoms, who are often unable to breathe on their own and could die if not aided.

These states have also raised shortage of beds that has forced patients to share those available in hospitals. Ambulance services are also badly affected in many states as thousands who have either tested positive for Covid-19 or are suspected of carrying the virus, being rushed to hospitals.

Ten states of the country on Saturday accounted for 85.83 per cent of the new deaths in which Maharashtra, Delhi and Chhattisgarh reported more than half of the total number registered in the last 24 hours.

A total of 1,341 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) said on Saturday.

Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties (398) followed by Delhi (141), Chhattisgarh 138, Uttar Pradesh (103), Gujarat (94), Karnataka (78), Madhya Pradesh (60), Jharkhand (56), Punjab (50) and Tamil Nadu (33).

India's daily new cases continue to rise with 2,34,692 new cases registered in the last 24 hours.

Ten states, including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan report 79.32 per cent of the new cases.
As new strains of the virus that cause COVID-19 are circulating around the U.S., a Pfizer executive said Saturday that the companys vaccine could be quickly adapted to fight the new strains.

Morten Sogaard, vice president of Target Sciences, Emerging Science & Innovation, noted the companys mRNA vaccine has an advantage because Pfizer can alter the sequence of the RNA very easily.

You can basically, within a couple of weeks, put a new sequence in, he said, allowing the vaccine maker to respond to new strains much more efficiently.

Sogaard, who lived in Ridgefield for more than a decade with his family, was the keynote speaker at a virtual conference hosted by Western Connecticut State University Saturday. Sogaard discussed how researchers at Pfizer have begun harnessing artificial intelligence to speed the development of new drugs.

He gave an example of developing a vaccine against the flu. While researchers might decide to pursue one vaccine to combat a particular strain ahead of flu season, by the time the vaccine is ready many months later, the strain may have gone in a different direction, resulting in a vaccine thats less effective.

The shorter timeframe needed to create an mRNA vaccine helps prevent that. He also described the development of the companys mRNA vaccine in less than a year as unparalleled.

Sogaard said other researchers are also watching other mutations of the virus around the world to see if they can model the sequence for the next vaccine.

That comes as the pharmaceutical companys CEO, Albert Bourla, said people could need a third dose booster shot of the vaccine within 12 months of getting their second shot.

A likely scenario is that there will be likely a need for a third dose, somewhere between six and 12 months and then from there, there will be an annual re-vaccination, but all of that needs to be confirmed. And again, the variants will play a key role, Bourla said during an interview on CNBC that aired Thursday but was taped on April 1.

The news people might need an annual dose of a COVID-19 vaccine didnt come as a surprise to Gov. Ned Lamont Thursday.

I dont think Im shocked, said Lamont during his pandemic briefing. Weve been having annual flu shots since I was a kid.

As of Thursday, some 55 percent of Connecticut residents over the age of 16 have received at least one shot of vaccine. And in some smaller communities, vaccine coverage is approaching or has surpassed 70 percent, according to town-by-town data released by the state that same day.

But that also comes as new variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 are circulating in the state. The most recent report on variants from the Yale School of Public Health and Jackson Laboratory showed about 85 percent of samples researchers identified through genomic sequencing in the past week were identified as variants of concern or variants of interest.

Lamont said the state has been in contact with the makers of the three vaccines granted emergency use authorization in the United States about the potential for creating a custom booster shot for new variants of the virus.

I think it may be something thats with us for a while, but its still a wait and see, Lamont said.

Sogaard said Pfizer is also shifting how it approaches manufacturing. In the past, researchers would develop what Sogaard called a pilot manufacturing lab before moving to a large manufacturing facility. Now manufacturing has shifted to smaller but more continuous production,

The company has also developed self-contained pods for manufacturing. You actually ship your manufacturing container say to Saudi Arabia or to China and then you just have to have electricity and water, he said.

AI also played a role in allowing Pfizer to scale-up manufacturing of the vaccine quickly, Sogaard said.

AIs certainly here to stay, I think its just going to get more and more important, he said.
Three years after Carson Long Military Academy closed in New Bloomfield, its legacy continues to echo through the community and Perry County as a whole. And there could be disputes on the horizon as a result.

At odds are historic artifacts, papers, furniture, and  above all else  money, according to several sources. But some leaders say solutions could be cooperative and dont have to be antagonistic.

Specifically, some in the New Bloomfield community feel that Carson Longs legacy in the form of historic and material items should remain in Bloomfield Borough, but they may be up against the reality of property and trust law.

Bloomfield council members for months have been talking about what might happen to former Carson Long artifacts, and money thats allegedly tied to them. They would like those to stay in the borough, and some members have expressed concerns that other groups in the county would take them away for their own benefit.

On April 6, council put those issues down on paper when it approved a letter to be sent to state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the Carson Long trustees, and their attorney. The letter outlines a borough position that artifacts and the money should remain in the borough.

The purpose of this letter is to request consideration be given to including language in the final settlement documentation that would clearly recommend, if not require, that all funding designated for the preservation of the CLMA history be used within the New Bloomfield community, the letter states.

The letter goes on to outline supporting arguments for that position, including the history of Carson Long as a military academy dating to the early 1900s. The school originally began as the Bloomfield Academy in 1836, a Latin grammar school, which became a coeducational boarding school in the 1850s, then a school for teachers in the latter half of the 19th century.

Following the military academys closing in 2018, its trustees auctioned off much of the schools material possessions to pay debts. It gave many local historical items, papers and even furniture to Perry Countys history groups, the Historical Society of Perry County and the Perry Historians, for safe keeping. The groups eventually took full possession of the items.

75 Carson Long Military Academy auction preview

The campus itself was sold for $730,000 to Talmudic University in 2020. The Miami-based rabbinical school is working to make the property its Northeast campus.

The closing and sale of a nonprofit institution and its assets is tightly controlled in state law to prevent abuses, which is why the attorney general is getting Bloomfields letter. His office and the county Orphans Court will review all the final settlements in the liquidation of Carson Longs assets.

That will include how leftover money is doled out to community organizations. The trustees can direct that some, making recommendations to where money should go, but the court would also hear other arguments from groups.

But when it comes to the artifacts, that may be a done deal.

Regulators approved Carson Longs deal to give them to the historical groups, and those groups have bills of sale to prove ownership, said Bill Bunt, vice chairman of the trustees and a local attorney.

Theyre now the legal owners of those things, he said, when told about Bloomfields letter. I dont anticipate us taking a position on this because we dont own the artifacts.

He did not know how much money would be left over after everything is settled.

Bloomfields letter alleges the Historical Society of Perry County will take the artifacts to Duncannon for display at the Clarks Ferry Tavern and use money associated with them for projects unrelated to Carson Long. Its unclear if there are prerequisites for how such charitable money can be used.

Glenn Holliman, the historical society president, said he believes this issue can be resolved cooperatively.

Im sure we all want to do the right thing to preserve the history of New Bloomfield and Perry County, he said.

The Perry Historians, located just outside New Bloomfield, received about a third of the items, mostly papers and photographs.

Jerry Clouse, of the Perry Historians, said it put in a request with the Carson Long trustees for about a third of the money leftover to aid its preservation of documents. That included an employees time, wages, supplies and equipment for digitizing the items it received.

It was itemized as to what money we would need, he said in an interview. He did not have the exact figure at hand, but said groups do have to attest to how they will use the money.

Local displays of Carson Long artifacts couldve been far more intriguing if some of the most interesting items had not been auctioned off, Clouse said. For example, there were artifacts related to President Teddy Roosevelt that had been auctioned.

They wouldve had a bigger draw for people to come and see, Clouse said.

The historical society received the rest of the physical artifacts from Carson Long, including large amounts of files, trophies, uniforms, furniture, and other items. Theyve begun to review and catalogue the items, including the 150 boxes of files.

Its proving to be a treasure trove of Perry County history, Holliman said, including documents about the early history of Bloomfield Academy.

The items are in safe storage, he said, and the society is working on plans to display many of the artifacts for the public in years to come. But space is limited. The society doesnt have a Bloomfield property, but is willing to work with others including Talmudic University and the borough.

Weve had conversations with Talmudic, and wed be delighted to help them with a display when they open a welcome center, Holliman said. Theres more than enough artifacts and materials to fill multiple museums.

Jim T. Ryan can be reached via email at
Canada's commemorative ceremony in honour of the late Prince Philip offered a scaled back pandemic-era tribute to a man remembered for his public service, commitment to youth and enduring support of his wife the Queen.

The official program for the National Commemorative Ceremony in honour of Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, sits on an empty pew prior to the ceremony at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa on Saturday, April 17, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Canada's commemorative ceremony in honour of the late Prince Philip offered a scaled back pandemic-era tribute to a man remembered for his public service, commitment to youth and enduring support of his wife the Queen.

The service at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa, which included virtual tributes and performances, followed the Duke of Edinburgh's official funeral inside St. Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who earlier on Saturday announced a $200,000 donation to the Duke of Edinburghs International Award, called the late royal "a man of great service."

"He devoted his life to duty and to the people of the Commonwealth," he said during the virtual service.

"In the days following his passing, we've heard from countless people across Canada and around the world," Trudeau said. "They've shared memories, stories and spoken about his impact on their lives and their communities."

Prince Philip was "a man who believed in people and in particular, in young people," he added. "He challenged them to do more to believe in themselves and to push for a better and brighter tomorrow."

The Queen's husband of more than 73 years died April 9 at the age of 99.

Former governor general David Johnston recalled the Duke of Edinburgh's dedication to resolving the Queen's problems, however small.

In 2010, before his installation as governor general, Johnston said he and his wife Sharon were invited to Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

Reverend Shane A. D. Parker, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa, speaks during the National Commemorative Ceremony in honour of Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa on Saturday, April 17, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

The Queen invited Sharon to spend a few hours at the stables tending to the horses, but she had only packed dress shoes, he said.

"Prince Philip twigged to the predicament," Johnston said. "Turning his chair back, he peered under the table, glanced at Sharon's feet, turned to the queen and said, 'I think she's your size.'

"Her Majesty disappeared from the breakfast table, returning moments later with a pair of well-worn brogues, problem solved," he said. "In this moment, the Queen's consort had overcome one possible obstacle to the Queen's plans."

In accordance with pandemic-related restrictions, no guests were invited to attend the church service.

Instead, Canadians were asked to watch the broadcast on television or online and not congregate outside.

A gun salute took place as part of the national ceremony, which was followed by a recital by the Dominion Carillonneur at the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill.

Earlier on Saturday, the official funeral took place at Windsor Castle amid public health restrictions meant to protect against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Queen sat alone in the quire of St. Georges Chapel as she mourned her husband, the longest serving royal consort in British history.

The service paid tribute to both Philip's service in the British Royal Navy and his unwavering support for his wife.

The ceremony was limited to 30 mourners inside the chapel, including the widowed monarch, her four children and her grandchildren. Everyone wore face masks and maintained physical distance or sat in family bubbles.

"Certainly because of COVID there was perhaps a certain surreal quality about it but it was also very beautiful," said John Yogis, secretary of the Halifax branch of the Monarchist League.

"The most touching aspect was to think about Her Majesty by herself."

Yogis said seeing the Queen seated alone, a solitary figure after nearly three quarters of a century with Philip by her side, gave him "goosebumps and sadness at the same time. It really is an era coming to an end."

Yogis, also director of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute, called the Duke of Edinburghs International Award one of the Prince's "most significant contributions to the Commonwealth."

The program exposes youth to the "outdoors, the wilderness and the notion of service and citizenry," he said.

The donation to the Canadian branch of the Duke of Edinburghs International Award honours Prince Philip's commitment to the success of future generations, Trudeau said in a statement.

Prince Philip served in the Royal Navy for more than 12 years and maintained close ties to the armed forces throughout his life.

Service personnel had a significant role in Saturday's funeral tributes despite the attendance limit.

Royal Marine Buglers sounded the Navys battle alert in honour of the Prince's military service as his coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault at St. Georges Chapel inside Windsor Castle.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2021.

 With files from The Associated Press.
ALBANY - A day after Mayor Kathy Sheehan compared Wednesdays Black Lives Matter protest at the police department's South Station to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, local activists convened a press conference to demand an apology from city officials.

The activists also say the city is honing in on a broken window to try to paint a false picture of chaos rather than addressing the deployment of pepper spray on mostly peaceful protesters.

We are here today and tonight to demand that the police take the first step for accountability and justice, said Legacy Casanova, a local Black Lives Matter leader who helped organize Wednesdays protest and march. The activists Saturday demanded the city fire the police officer who pushed at Chandler Hickenbottoms megaphone and snatched it, causing her to fall and chip her tooth.

Activists also said Sheehans comparison of the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6  where a mob of people entered government buildings illegally and where five people died, including a Capitol police officer  to the Black Lives Matter protest at the South Station was dangerous rhetoric.

To compare us, our protest for civil rights, to the attempted coup and overthrow of the United States government, is dangerous. Its dangerous for the people who protest here. Its dangerous for the people when they go home. That is dangerous rhetoric from the mayor, said local resident and activist Matt Marshall.

Alice Green, executive director for the Center for Law and Justice, said Sheehans comparison was ludicrous, outrageous, irresponsible and harmful for police-community relations.

Sheehan apologized for those remarks on Saturday, hours before another protest stepped off at 6 p.m. and marchers began heading along Lark Street.

My comments referred to the physical actions of the use of violence to attempt to gain unlawful entry into a governmental building, Sheehan said in a tweet. In no way did I intend to compare the insurrection to the BLM movement or protests. I am sorry.

Activists said they did not accept Sheehans apology, adding that the damage had already been done.

Star Mizzero said she felt traumatized by Wednesdays confrontation, where she was pepper sprayed.

On Friday, police shared new video clips of the South Station confrontation from officers' body camera footage. In one clip, Adam Walker can be seen wearing a camouflage uniform, shining a bright light on officers' faces.

The police shine their lights on us all the time with their high-powered flashlights, Walker said. When young Black children see me in camouflage, they get inspired; they get reminded of their heritage, of their powers. We are not militant. We dont have weapons. We have cameras. We have lights.

Police Chief Eric Hawkins said on Friday that the light can cause damage to officers and distracts them from their duties.

The clips released by the police department show at least two protesters banging the South Station door with their feet. One police officer inside the building says, The guy with the black hoodie just broke the window. That man with the black hoodie was a white protester. An officer in the video also says the window was broken with a bottle.

At the 6:16 p.m. Wednesday timemark shown by the stations security footage, protesters can be seen crowding the entrance as one protester kicks the door. As this footage plays, Hawkins said Friday, Its important to note here, the officers are not engaging these individuals out front at this point. What youre seeing here is totally without provocation from any officers.

But footage from a protester obtained by the Times Union Saturday shows Walker partially inside the building, shining his light against the window with the officers on the other side. Then the officer wearing a white polo  who would later grab Hickenbottoms megaphone  quickly steps outside as Walker walks backward. Walker then shines his light on the officer, who is still behind the door.

The officer then opens the door and pushes Walkers light contraption downward, spurring more intense yelling from the crowd. The window had not been broken when this occurred, footage shows, but the white protester wearing a hoodie, who police would later say broke the window, can be seen in the same clip kicking and shoving against the door after the officer pushes the light contraption. This footage was not shown at the police departments press conference, but Hawkins did show body-camera footage from the officer in this scene at several points throughout the presentation of footage, including when he grabbed the megaphone.

Lexis Figuereo, leader of Black Lives Matter Saratoga Springs, said he took issue with Hawkins' characterization of Wednesdays protest as a riot. Figuereo said the protest was peaceful, adding that no one was storming the building or harming people or causing more damage besides the one broken window.

Of course we are screaming (at the protest). Youd be screaming, too. Why would you not be screaming when we continually watch Black people and people in marginalized communities be terrorized by police? Figuereo said, wearing a shirt that read We march, yall mad. We sit down, yall mad. We die, yall silent.

Figuereo, who is Black, was one of the protesters shown in clips released by police on Friday, and in it, Hawkins said at the press conference, he can be heard shouting racial slurs at the Black officers standing in front of the entrance.

Figuereo said on Saturday that he would not apologize to the Black officers because, he said, they were the ones who he saw push women near the rail.






Mumbai, April 17 : In a unique initiative to curb unnecessary traffic on roads, the Mumbai Police have introduced 'colour-coded stickers' for all authorised vehicles which are allowed to ply in the current stringent restrictions, a top official said here on Saturday.

Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale said in a statement that the the colour-stickers -- red, green and yellow -- are being issued free of cost from this evening by local police stations to vehicles falling under the authorised categories.

"While red stickers will be for doctors, nurses, health professionals, medical supplies, ambulances, etc, the green stickers would be for all types of foodstuffs, milk, bakery products, vegetables, fruits, and yellow shall be for movement of people engaged in critical services like civic staff, telephones, media, et al," Nagrale said.

The measure is being taken after complaints that these service vehicles were getting stuck in massive traffic snarls, especially at toll posts entry-exits to the city.

Officials said that this course of action is intended to deter all non-authorised vehicles taking to the roads, as some people were even found going for joy-rides or long-rides, creating traffic hurdles for essential vehicles on roads and highways.

Nagrale further warned that anybody found violating the rules or misusing the colour-code stickers would be dealt with strictly and prosecuted under various provisions of the law.
A furious fire killed three workers on the spot at a factory in the northern Vietnamese province of Bac Ninh on Friday night.

The blaze broke out and spread over an area of nearly 1,000 square meters at the second floor of the factory of Dreamtech Vietnam Co., Ltd at the VSIP Industrial Park in Tien Du District at around 11:00 pm on the same night.

Firefighters immediately arrived at the site upon the report of the case but found it difficult to access to the affected area. They needed about one hour to put the fire under control.

Three workers -- 28-year-old D.T.T.H. from the same province, 32-year-old M.V.K. from Tuyen Quang Province and 31-year-old N.V.T. from Thai Binh Province -- were found dead at the scene.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the incident and calculating damages.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Ohio Supreme Court on Friday rejected an appeal by a man challenging a Cuyahoga County judges order forcing him to appear for an in-person court proceeding during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Cassandra Collier-Williams ordered Michael Paluscsak to attend his Oct. 1 deposition in-person rather than allowing him to appear remotely via Zoom as part of a lawsuit where he and a debt collector sued each other in 2017 over a $1,175 medical debt he owed St. Vincent Charity Medical Center.

The Ohio Supreme Court did not take up Paluscsaks appeal of an 8th District Court of Appeals holding that routine court orders, like discovery orders, are not able to be appealed.

Justice Michael Donnelly, a former colleague of Collier-Williams before he was elected to the Supreme Court in 2019, wrote in a concurring opinion to explain that he agreed with the decision, but urged judges across the state to opt for remote hearings whenever possible.

Trial-court orders do not normally put parties and their household members at risk of serious illness or death, but we are living in a perilous time, he wrote. The hardships and risks involved in an in-person deposition during a pandemic are obvious.

He noted that the case involving Paluscsak was not timely, and courts across the state have spent time and money updating technology to be able to conduct court remotely to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

People should not have to choose between putting their lives on the line and losing their chance to petition the court for redress of their grievances, Donnelly wrote. In these extraordinary times, it is incumbent upon members of the judiciary and all officers of the court to ensure the safety of litigants and all those who interact with the court system.

Justice Jennifer Brunner signed onto Donnellys opinion.

Collier-Williams order came after Paluscsaks attorney had asked lawyers for the Toledo-based debt collection agency to allow Paluscsak to attend the deposition via Zoom. The debt collection attorneys insisted Paluscsak appear in-person for the deposition.

In court filings, they said that the entire case could hinge on Paluscsaks testimony under cross-examination and letting him testify via Zoom could give him an unfair advantage. They argued that the Porter Wright law firm agreed to host the deposition in a large conference room at its downtown offices, which were more than 90 percent empty because most of its employees were working from home during the pandemic. They said the conference room is large enough to ensure participants were at least 6 feet apart.

Paluscsaks attorney asked Collier-Williams to revisit her order the day after she imposed it, and said that Paluscsaks wifes doctor diagnosed her with a pre-existing condition that made her more susceptible to serious injury or death if she were to contract the virus.

Collier-Williams denied the request.

She did grant Paluscsak a stay in the case while he appealed to the Eighth District Court of Appeals, which delayed his deposition date.

The case stems when Toledo-based debt collector Gusses sent Paluscsak notices seeking to collect a debt for $1,175 in medical services by a St. Vincent Charity, according to court records.

Paluscsak then filed a counterclaim against the company on the basis that there is no actual entity named St. Vincent Charity, and accusing it of violating Fair Debt Collection Act and the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act.
Opponents of plans to remove a colonial-era Hunter Valley homestead to make way for a coal mine say it would destroy an important historic site that was the likely staging ground for a massacre of local indigenous people.

Glencore is seeking approval to extend its Glendell mine near the village of Camberwell to extract an extra 140 million tonnes of coal. The sandstone Ravensworth homestead, which dates from the 1820s, would be relocated to the town of Broke about 30 kilometres away.

Maria Foot, a member of the Wonnarua First Nations clan, outside the historic Ravensworth homestead. The area is slated to be dug up as part of the Glendell coal mine expansion by Glencore, a major mining company. Credit:Janie Barrett

Local indigenous groups, though, say the plan amounts to a desecration of history because the area was known to be the launching spot for hunts that led to the brutal killing of the original residents and is likely itself to have been the site of some of the murders.

Once [the homesteads] removed, its just an empty shell, Maria Foot, a member of the local Wonnarua clan, said. Its like moving a graveyard.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced an agreement with Eurofins to incorporate its worldwide Covid-19 testing network into IATA Travel Pass.

Eurofins is a leader in bio-analytical testing with 800 laboratories across 50 countries. As part of the partnership, Eurofins dedicated Covid-19 portfolio encompassing multiple test types and hundreds of Covid-19 sampling stations globally will be made available through the IATA Travel Pass.

Amid the pandemic, coronavirus testing is required for most international travel. As part of the IATA Travel Pass initiative, Eurofins laboratories will provide secure, verified test results to travelers using the app. This result is checked against the IATA Travel Pass registry of national entry requirements to produce an OK to Travel status. Through the app passengers can share their status and the digital test certificates with authorities and airlines to facilitate travel.

Trials of IATA Travel Pass incorporating the global Eurofins network are expected to begin with airlines piloting IATA Travel Pass across multiple regions in the coming weeks.

Verified testing is the immediate solution to give governments the confidence to open their borders to travelers. IATA Travel Pass aims to make it as simple as possible for travelers to locate certified laboratories and securely receive the test results that governments require. Our partnership with Eurofins is another mark of quality for IATA Travel Pass which is being built to the highest data security and privacy standards. Adding the extensive Eurofins network to the initiative will help travelers more conveniently adjust their travel preparations to meet the COVID-19 requirements, said Willie Walsh, IATAs Director General.

Fast, secure, high-quality testing is a critical element in the fight against the pandemic and enabling the return to normalised travel. Eurofins is a market leader in testing and laboratory services and since the outbreak of Covid-19, Eurofins has established widespread PCR testing capabilities, as well as a wide range of testing solutions through its [email protected] programs; and has carried out over 15 million tests in its own laboratories, while also supporting the development of a number of vaccines. We are delighted to be partnering with IATA and to support the IATA Travel Pass, to provide the testing gold standard to ensure people can travel with security and confidence, Gilles Martin, Eurofins Chairman of the Board and CEO.

IATA Travel Pass provides the infrastructure needed to securely manage, share and verify test data matched with traveler identities in compliance with border control requirements. It will help travellers manage these new processes starting with understanding the requirements to travel and helping them identify labs, such as Eurofins, which are certified do to the testing. - TradeArabia News Service
The defacing of a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. mural at 131 South Fraser Street in State College is being called a hate crime by authorities.

The State College Police Department was notified of the murals defacing around 2:35 p.m. on April 16. The incident is under investigation.

I can assure the community that the State College Police Department is utilizing every tool available to identify and hold accountable the persons who committed this hate crime, said State College Assistant Police Chief Matt Wilson.

The suspects defaced the mural by stenciling in a red substance over the image of King with an insignia below it. Authorities said the crime is being investigated as a hate crime which under Pennsylvania law is called ethnic intimidation.

It is believed the crime happened overnight. Authorities said, attacks through hate and hate-based symbolism have no place in the Borough of State College and will not be tolerated.

The police department is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction of the persons responsible for defacing the mural.

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza and mural is a cherished memorial and a symbol for the State College community that Dr. Kings fight for social justice lives on in our community, State College Borough Manager Tom Fountaine said. To deface that mural is an attack on the pillars of our community, including our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the State College Police Department at (814) 234- 7150.

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Former Temple University business dean indicted in rankings scandal

Philadelphia prepares for potential unrest following verdict
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-16 22:22:26|Editor: huaxia

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Many Asian Americans are speaking out against hate crimes directed at the Asian community in the wake of the Atlanta shootings. Let's hear how they feel living in a country which has long claimed itself "a beacon of human rights."

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
STEIN, Germany, April 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Thanks to 10,000 hectares of company-owned forests, Faber-Castell has already been producing in a climate-neutral way for years. According to a recent TUV audit, Faber-Castell has been able to reduce its emissions by a further 26%. The pencil manufacturer predominantly sources renewable energy for its activities across the globe.

- Picture is available at AP Images (http://www.apimages.com) -

In the 2019/20 fiscal year, carbon emissions from Faber-Castell production sites were reduced by 26% or 12,000 tonnes compared to the previous year. This equals about the same amount of CO 2 as a typical passenger car driving around 70 million kilometres. In relation to the quantity of products produced globally, emissions were reduced by 20%. For one million pieces produced, emissions fell from over 13 to just under 11 tonnes. This is a successful development that can be attributed mostly to the increase in the share of electricity from renewable energy sources.

In addition to Brazil and Austria that have covering their needs with 100% green electricity for some years, Peru and Germany have now also switched to exclusively green energy. A lower number of air freight shipments has also contributed to the reduction. As always, these calculations were audited by TUV and offset through carbon stored in the company's forests planted in Brazil.

Globally, Faber-Castell factories now use a total of almost 85% of thermal and electrical energy from renewable sources. For the last few decades, the company's German headquarters in Stein has even been a producer of green electricity thanks to a water turbine. The Faber-Castell plant in Brazil, the world's largest pencil producer and exporter of writing and drawing instruments to over 70 countries, has been purchasing energy from renewable sources for more than 15 years. Since 2019, the plant has been using only green electricity and has made significant improvements through ambitious environmental targets in the area of wastewater and waste disposal.

Faber-Castell's global production companies in nine countries manufacture in a climate-neutral way thanks to the company's own 10,000 hectares of planted pine forests in Brazil  a unique model in the stationary industry. The 100% FSC-certified forests provide the raw material for the Brazilian pencil factory and can cover up to 80% of the Faber-Castell Group's global wood demand. All other wood used for pencil-making is also FSC- or PEFC-certified. Hence, the 2.3 billion pencils and colour pencils produced annually are coming from 100% from sustainable sources.

Faber-Castell regularly publishes its group-wide environmental indicators, thus ensuring transparency in sustainability reporting. With the use of almost 85% renewable energy sources and demonstrably climate-neutral production using its own forests, Faber-Castell remains one of the industry pioneers in climate protection.

About Faber-Castell:

Faber-Castell is one of the world's leading companies for high-quality products for writing, drawing and creative design as well as decorative cosmetic products. With more than two billion pencils and coloured pencils per year and around 6,500 employees, Faber-Castell is the world's leading manufacturer of wood-cased pencils. Nowadays the company is represented in over 120 countries and has its own production sites in ten countries as well as sales companies in 22 countries. Founded in 1761, Faber-Castell is one of the oldest industrial companies in the world and has been owned by the same family for nine generations. The company owes its leading position on the international market to its traditional commitment to the very highest quality, environment and the large number of product innovations.

Contact:

[email protected]

Enlaces relacionados

https://www.faber-castell.com



SOURCE Faber-Castell
General Motors Co and South Korean joint-venture partner LG Energy Solution on Friday said they will build a second US battery cell manufacturing plant, revealing plans for a $2.3 billion factory in Spring Hill, Tennessee.

The planned 2.8 million-square-foot plant, scheduled to open in late 2023, will employ 1,300 people and will have production capacity of about 35 gigawatt-hours, similar to the companies' Ultium Cells joint-venture plant in Lordstown, Ohio, as they move to respond to the growing demand in the electric vehicle market. The plant's capacity would enable it to supply battery packs for more than 500,000 electric vehicles a year.

"The addition of our second all-new Ultium battery cell plant in the US with our joint venture partner LG Energy Solution is another major step in our transition to an all-electric future," GM Chief Executive Mary Barra said.

The United Auto Workers on Friday called on GM to ensure the new plant is staffed with union-represented workers, which GM officials have said would be determined by the employees.

LG Chem said in a regulatory filing that its LG Energy Solution unit will invest $933.5 million in the plant between this year and 2023.

GM and LG Energy Solution will use a different, less-expensive battery chemistry in Tennessee than the one to be used in the Lordstown plant that opens next year, sources previously told Reuters.

Sources have said the No. 1 US automaker will need more battery plants beyond Tennessee to meet aggressive EV targets, including projected sales of more than 1 million EVs globally in 2025. GM's longer-range target includes halting sales of light-duty gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles by 2035.

Most battery manufacturing is currently concentrated in China and Korea, while Tesla and Japanese partner Panasonic largely control most US battery production.

When it opens, the new GM-LG battery plant will supply batteries for the Cadillac Lyriq crossover EV that GM is slated to start building at its nearby Spring Hill assembly plant next year. LG is expected to supply the batteries from Korea until then.

Supplier sources said a second Cadillac electric crossover, called Symboliq, is expected to join the Lyriq in production at Spring Hill in 2024, along with two new electric crossovers for Honda and its premium Acura brand.

GM said in October it would invest $2 billion in Spring Hill to build EVs. The Detroit automaker said last year it was investing $27 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles over the next five years.

GM is expected to build EVs in five North American plants by 2025 - two in Michigan, and one each in Tennessee, Ontario, Canada, and Mexico, according to research firm AutoForecast Solutions.

LG Energy Solution said last month it planned to invest more than $4.5 billion in US battery production over the next four years, including plans to build at least two new plants.
The owner of a long-vacant, downtown Charleston building that recently sold for $2.66 million wants to add a rooftop bar.

The property owner at 304 King St. that once housed King Street Grille before it closed in 2016 is asking the city to add a 1,600-square-foot space on top of the two-story structure without the required 13 parking spaces.

The application lists the previous property owner, NCGS Properties LLC, on the request, but the new owner is an affiliate of Manhattan-based Gindi Capital. The New York commercial real estate firm bought the 123-year-old building March 22.

The city's Board of Zoning Appeals will take up the request on April 20.

Changing hands

A fast-food restaurant near Tanger Outlets in North Charleston that closed two years ago now has a new owner.

Benton Parkway LLC paid $1.41 million for the 1-acre site that housed a former Burger King at 4820 Tanger Outlet Blvd., according to the commercial real estate firm Oswald Cooke & Associates, which represented the seller.

Burger King has a lease through June 2023 on the 2,558-square-foot vacant building.

Efforts to reach the buyer for information on plans for the restaurant site were unsuccessful.

Workforce housing

A large developing community in northern Mount Pleasant wants to amend its planned development guidelines so it can add more workforce housing.

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The developers of the 1,600-acre Carolina Park subdivision will ask the town's Planning Commission April 21 to allow up to 130 workforce housing units, which would change the overall density of the development to 2,160 residential units from 2,030.

The amendment involves a nearly 13-acre parcel between Faison Road and Legacy Eagle Drive, west of Roper St. Francis Healthcare's Mount Pleasant Hospital.

In the works

A 57-unit townhome development called Rhodes Crossing is planned near a proposed 358-unit apartment development of the same name along Sanders Road in West Ashley.

The Charleston Planning Commission will consider conceptual approval of the proposed project April 21 while the Design Review Board will take up the planned apartments on April 19.

The larger project is being proposed by Davis Development of Stockbridge, Ga., while the townhomes property is owned by a firm called Bear Island II LLC.

Also, 22 townhomes are proposed on slightly more than two acres on Theresa Drive on James Island.

In addition, 40 workforce housing micro townhomes are planned in a new 5-acre development called Bermuda Pointe on Ashley River Road near Church Creek.

The proposed three-story development will tie in to Waterfowl Lane, according to plans presented to the city by SUP Bermuda Point LLC.
As the hearse solemnly pulled out from St Marys Cathedral on Thursday and made its sombre way down College Street behind a five-strong police motorcycle escort, a chum of the late designer Carla Zampatti, who fondly remembered the fashionista whipping around Sydney in her bright yellow sportscar, whispered: Thats probably the slowest car ride Carla has ever had.

The cortege slowly leaves St Marys Cathedral on Thursday down College Street. Credit:Dean Lewins/Getty

It was a droll moment in what had been a fittingly grand but emotional farewell for one of Australias great fashion mavericks, businesswomen, philanthropists, feminists and all-round good eggs.

A self-made woman who only learned to speak English at the age of 9 when she emigrated to Australia from Italy, Zampatti managed to overcome the stigma of being a single mother in conservative 1960s Sydney to build a multi-million-dollar empire of glamour.

Thursdays state funeral, attended by no less than three former prime ministers and the wife of the current one, along with two former governor generals and the current NSW premier, as well as a whos who of Australian fashion, business and society, was a fitting farewell for such an inspiring woman.
Is Lee Min Ho dating anyone this 2021? The last time his name was attached to someone in the romantic sense was with Suzy Bae. The two dated for three years, with the media following them all over until they called it quits.

Lee Min Ho Relationship 2021: Not Yet Over Suzy Bae?

It appears that Lee Min Ho is not yet ready for anyone new. His relationship with Suzy Bae can be described as a whirlwind type of romance that lasted quite some time, so it might not be that easy to move on from it yet.

It can be remembered how much of frenzy there was when it went public that Lee Min Ho and Suzy Bae were dating in 2015. In 2016, the two were already wearing matching couple rings, to the glee of their fans. In 2017, they even celebrated their second-year anniversary in Seoul with their friends.

In November 2017, however, several fans were shocked to hear reports of the two breaking up. Reports had it that they remained friends. Some speculated it was because Lee Min Ho had to serve mandatory military service.

While Lee Min Ho is still single right now, as alleged by reports, Suzy Bae was apparently quick to move on. Suzy Bae reportedly dated a South Korean actor Lee Dong-Wook, who is 13 years her senior. However, as reported, their respective busy schedules made the relationship fail. They called it quits after a few months of dating.

Lee Min Ho 2021 Projects: Actor Busy with 'Pachinko'

Lee Min Ho is presently part of the upcoming Apple TV+'s upcoming drama "Pachinko." On April 11, Lee Min Ho himself took to his social media account to post pictures of the set and a selfie of him wearing a hoodie. "Last day," he captioned the photo.

"Pachinko" does not have an ordinary set, since its shooting locations are multiple and across oceans from each other. Filming locations for the highly-awaited drama are Korea, Japan, and Northern America. The last location was in Canada.

The cast and crew were in Vancouver, Canada since February after they wrapped up their filming in Korea last year.

"Pachinko" is based on the novel of the same name written by Min Jin-Lee. Based on a description of the novel in Publisher's Weekly, "Pachinko" is an "epic" historical novel that revolves around a Korean family, who ended up migrating to Japan.

In an interview, the actor revealed how auditioning for the role was difficult. It was not a shoo-in for him, because it was already a long time since he auditioned for something.

Yet, he got the role, which is a testament to his acting skills.

Kdramastars owns this article.

Written by Annie Dee
Williamstown's Net Zero Effort to Be Subject of Panel Discussion

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  The Select Board took a pause Monday from talking about local crises to discuss a global crisis.

Included on the warrant for June's annual meeting is a resolution calling on the town to commit to pursuing a net zero greenhouse gas emissions goal.

Members of the town's Carbon Dioxide Lowering (COOL) Committee, which drafted the resolution, first presented the idea to the board last month . On Monday, the Select Board discussed the proposal during a review of the warrant's first draft. And next week, the whole town is invited to a virtual panel discussion on the initiative with state Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield.

"This basically says that Williamstown should pursue a net zero goal consistent with the limits established by the commonwealth," Town Manager Jason Hoch advised the board. "The intent here is to actually do the local plan rather than having something foisted on us by the state.

"This article is not binding us to local targets. It's simply saying, 'Start working on your local plan of approach to meet state standards.' "

The link between state standards and local action raised a concern for Andrew Hogeland, who noted that the town has no control over the targets that come from Boston.

"This ties us to a state policy, state law, which I think people like the version that's in effect today," Hogeland said. "But they might not like the one in effect two years from now.

"I would have people consider redrafting this so it's independent of state policies and not bound to them. They may change, and we may not like the changes.  People would not have liked this [state] plan two years ago. They may not like it two years from now. I'd like us to stay independent."

Wendy Penner of the COOL Committee said the focus of the resolution is on the town making a commitment to forming a comprehensive climate action plan by 2023 that is informed by but not dictated by Beacon Hill.

"It is true that the state is going to come up with the road map to get to net zero," Penner said. "And that should inform us. But I think we should be leading the way, as we have in the past."

Penner said the COOL Committee could think about revising the warrant article to address Hogeland's concern  either by gathering signatures on a new petition or by bringing an amendment to the floor of the meeting.

Hoch said he appreciated the resolution's approach of getting ahead of the commonwealth's efforts to direct greenhouse gas policy statewide.

"By the time the state gets there, the solutions end up being hard, regulatory targets that are the burdensome pieces," Hoch said. "The appeal of getting ahead of it locally was actually to be able to identify some of those areas, identify where there are cost and equity issues  and, being ahead of the state regulatory framework, to be more thoughtful about it."

Jeffrey Thomas raised equity issues by noting that the costs of "greener" practices sometimes can be prohibitive. He expressed a concern that the town, by requiring climate initiatives in construction, might make the community even more exclusive at a time when its existing exclusivity already troubles many residents.

"I'm not suggesting I don't agree with climate change goals," Thomas said. "I'm as concerned about climate change as anyone. Yet, in the balance of things, sometimes, I think affordability in the community is an important thing to consider.

"[I]nvestment in renewable energy, for example, tends to be for people who have disposable income. It's easier to afford a solar array, it's easier to realize those long-term savings, if you have money upfront to do that solar install.  I just wonder how that relates to affordability. I don't have all the answers. They're complicated questions. I just think it's important to be mindful."

Penner said she agreed with Thomas' concerns about exclusivity "100 percent." And she noted that utility companies have programs that help lower income residents acquire solar arrays and electric heating elements for their homes.

The action clause of the COOL Committee's resolution requires that, "our climate actions recognize the needs of vulnerable members of our community and are inclusive and equitable."

Penner echoed that sentiment.

"I agree that's something we absolutely have to be mindful of," she said. "I think some states are doing a fantastic job with making this technology available to all households. That's very important, so the disproportionate burden of this transition away from fossil fuels is not falling on our most vulnerable folks."

Anne O'Connor noted that the COOL Committee and Williams College's Zhilka Center will host a panel discussion on the net zero proposal on Tuesday, April 20, at 7 p.m.

"It should be a good way to learn more about what the resolution would meet," O'Connor said.

Fewer questions Monday attended the Select Board's annual Arbor Day proclamation, which Chair Jane Patton read into the record.

O'Connor said the acknowledgment of the April 30 holiday is more than a formality.

"The trees along Main Street  emerald ash borer is very much here," O'Connor said. "A number of ash trees were taken down in the fall. We inevitably will see the remainder be rapidly sickened and need to be removed in the next five years.

"The amount of urban canopy, in my experience, over the years has dramatically declined, all along Main Street, all across the Williams College campus, along many residential streets. We must take action."

And O'Connor on Monday issued a call to action on another front, inviting residents to participate in a townwide litter cleanup event on Saturday, April 17. There will be two stations set up  one at Field Park across from the library and another in South Williamstown at Bloedel Park  to pick up bags that can be filled with trash and returned for disposal by the town.

"It can be safe for families because a family can work at playgrounds or school grounds, parks," O'Connor said. "It doesn't have to be along the road side."

The event's rain date will be Saturday, April 24.
Brussels, April 17 : The European Commission is backing the digital euro project proposed by the European Central Bank (ECB), European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni said.

Addressing a press conference on Friday following a Eurogroup meeting, Gentiloni said the project was being seen "as a potentially important element of a strong and innovative digital finance sector" as well as one that could lead to more efficient and resilient payment systems, reports Xinhua news agenc.

"A digital euro could also support broader policy objectives: the digitalisation of our economy, open strategic autonomy, and strengthening the international role of the euro," he added.

Gentiloni warned that a digital euro has opportunities and risks "which need to be carefully taken into account as we move forward".

During the meeting, the finance ministers of the euro area were given a presentation on the topic by ECB chief Christine Lagarde.

Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe said the finance ministers of the euro area were "looking with interest" at the idea of creating a digital euro which "has the potential to affect our way of life in the years to come".

"This is an important project, not just technically, but also politically, and I expect that Eurogroup ministers will play an important role in considering the case for and the political dimensions of a digital currency," he said.

The EU Finance Ministers also continued their discussions on setting up a banking union.

"Our banking system has proven its resilience to date during the era of Covid-19," Donohoe added.
RED BLUFF, Calif. - This weekend the Red Bluff Round-Up celebrates its 100th anniversary, and it is already bringing in lots of revenue.

In years past, the popular event usually brings in about $7 million for the local economy.

This year is not looking much different.

Dave Gowan, CEO of the Red Bluff Tehama County Chamber of Commerce said the event might break the $7 million mark this year due to the fact that its the rodeos 100th anniversary, and people have been planning on coming.

"The hotels are full, the restaurants are full, gas stations are busy, the shops downtown and around town are all having great traffic, said Gowan.

Gowan tells Action News Now that a lot of the money from the Round-Up goes to St. Elizabeth Hospital and civic groups throughout Red Bluff and Tehama County.

The planning for this years event was done with even more energy than years past according to Gowan.

RELATED: 2 days till 100th Red Bluff Round-Up Rodeo

People did it with more anticipation, said Gowan. And with just a greater sense of energy and involvement.

The Red Bluff Round-Up is bringing in first-timers and old-timers this year.

Some people said they are traveling from as far as Michigan and Florida.

The pandemic forced the event to cancel last year, so people are excited that it's back.

"My husband and I have been attending the Red Bluff Round-up for probably about 40 years, said Barbara Carter, a visitor from Idaho. We missed it last year, so we are really excited to be back and visiting our friends.

David and Judy Weinsteim took a road trip up from Los Angeles with their dog named Rodeo to see the event in action for the first time.

RELATED: Red Bluff Round-Up returns Friday

"We were all set to come up last year, and it got canceled of course, said David. We just waited around and are glad it got put back on schedule and now we're here."

There will be some modifications to this weekends schedule including no parade on Saturday because of the pandemic.

Local businesses in Red Bluff have rallied together to put something special on Main Street in its place.

Kelly Troehler, owner of Copper & Clay Company in Red Bluff, is working with other businesses to bring some festivities to downtown.

This will include a sidewalk sale, face painting, petting zoo, special food and drinks, live music and more.

Downtown businesses said they are welcoming people with open arms this weekend.

"We're looking forward to new faces, said Troehler. The people that we know in the community and those that haven't seen our store yet.

Troehler said she has already seen an uptick in sales at her store.

All of the fun on Main Street will be happening on Saturday, April 17 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Round-Up kicks off Friday evening and will last through Sunday, April 18.
The bodies of the 20 children who died during a fire in a school in Niger this week, were buried on Friday in Niamey.

Relatives of those killed, as well as authorities, attended the funeral of the students, whose coffins were covered with the country's flag and buried in a mass grave in the country's capital.

A fire fuelled by high winds swept through an elementary school on the outskirts of Niger's capital and killed 20 children on between the ages of 7 and 13, who were in school when the blaze erupted on Tuesday afternoon.

Authorities said the fire spread quickly through the school grounds, where around 2,000 students attend classes.

"We will do everything to make sure that it does not happen again" Niger's Interior Minister Alkache Alhada said after attending the burial of the children.

The cause of the fire was under investigation and it was not immediately known where it started.

However, teachers and parents said Wednesday that the deaths highlight the dangers of temporary classrooms set up outside. Straw huts are often used to make room for students in overcrowded schools.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
American Public Deserves to Know About Ashli Babbitts Death: Police Association Spokesperson

Sgt. Betsy Smith, spokesperson for the National Police Association, says the American public deserves to know more about the fatal shooting of U.S. Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt during the Jan. 6 Capitol breach.

Smith believes that the continued politicization of police has to be addressed, adding that while Babbitt did wrong in being part of the group that entered the Capitol, the message the Department of Justice (DOJ) is sending is a double standard. She is ok with the officer not being charged, but thinks the American public deserves to know the details of why deadly force was deployed.

I feel like what it says to our citizens is that, well, if you are protecting our wealthy politicians at the United States Capitol, you have different rules of engagement than you do if youre trying to protect a small town or an urban area, and I find that very dangerous, Smith said on NTDs The Nation Speaks. NTD is an affiliate of The Epoch Times.

The American public deserves to know the details of why deadly force was deployed, because there are very strict rules when we use deadly force.

Had Ashli Babbitt been a liberal activist protesting abortion or perhaps protesting Brett Kavanaughs confirmation at the Supreme Court, we might be dealing with a very different issue, and that is not how the American justice system operates. We also deserve to know that officers name, there was really no reason to know the name of the officer that shot Daunte Wright. But yet it was released. And now, she (the officer) has had to flee her home.

The DOJ and the U.S. Capitol Police didnt respond to requests by The Epoch Times for comment by press time.

The DOJ announced on April 14 that the U.S. Capitol Police officer who fatally shot Babbitt wont be charged.

Officials examined video footage posted on social media, statements from the officer involved and other officers and witnesses to the events, physical evidence from the scene of the shooting, and the results of an autopsy, the DOJ said in a statement.

Based on that investigation, officials determined that there is insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution.

Melody Black, from Minnesota, becomes emotional as she visits a memorial set up near the U.S. Capitol for Ashli Babbitt who was killed during the Jan. 6 breach of the building, in Washington on Jan. 7, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Terrell Roberts, an attorney for the Babbitt family, told The Epoch Times that the decision was baffling, given the circumstances that its a clear case of shooting an unarmed person without any legal justification.

Mark Schamel, a lawyer representing the officer, told The Epoch Times via email that the officer had to resort to deadly force and that his actions stopped the mob from breaking through and turning a horrific day in American history into something so much worse.

Babbitt was with a group that entered the Capitol building on Jan. 6. A witness to the event said that police were asking people to get back and out of the way from a door that had its windows smashed. Babbitt didnt heed the call and as she tried to climb through, an African American police officer wearing a suit fatally shot her in the neck area.

There is no indication that Babbitt was armed and her familys attorney has said she wasnt.

Smith, the police groups spokesperson, said she was also disturbed by the complete lack of curiosity by the legacy media.

They dont seem to really care why Ashli Babbitt was killed, she said.

Theyre so concerned about police tactics and why we do what we do until it comes to Ashli Babbitt, an unarmed woman shot and killed by law enforcement. I think the American public deserves to know and we need to have that discussion.
Katrina Kaif Tests Negative For COVID-19; Thanks Everyone Who Checked Up On Her With A Sweet Post

Actor Katrina Kaif on Saturday said she has recovered from COVID-19, more than ten days after contracting the virus. The 37-year-old actor took to Instagram and shared a picture of herself, thanking fans for their wishes.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Katrina Kaif (@katrinakaif)

"Negative. Everyone who checked up on me, thank you. It was really sweet, felt a lot of love," she wrote. The Zero actor had opened up about her COVID diagnosis on April 6 and was under home quarantine.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Katrina Kaif (@katrinakaif)

Earlier in the day, fashion designer Manish Malhotra and actor Sumeet Vyas tested positive for COVID-19. Both are currently under home quarantine. On Friday, Mumbai reported 8,839 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 5,61,998.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 14:17:21|Editor: huaxia

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KATHMANDU, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Six Nepali women reached the top of Mt. Annapurna on Friday in the first-ever ascent of Nepali women on the 8,091-meter tall mountain, Nepal's Department of Tourism and an expedition organizing company said.

Purnima Shrestha, Sharmila Tamang, Dawa Phuti Sherpa, Dawa Yangjung, Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, and Maya Sherpa reached the top of the mountain on Friday afternoon, they said.

Mingma Sherpa, chairperson of Seven Summit Trek, one of five expedition organizing companies for Friday's assent on Mt. Annapurna, told Xinhua on Friday that the six women became the first Nepali women to reach the top of this mountain. "This is a great achievement for them and the Nepali women," he said.

Bhisma Raj Bhattarai, section officer at the mountaineering section of the tourism department, told Xinhua on Friday that these women reached the top of the mountain becoming the first to do so.

In 1978, two female climbers from the United States became the first women to reach the top of the world's 10th tallest mountain. Annapurna is considered among the world's most treacherous mountains to climb due to its extremely steep south face - a wall of rock that rises 3,000 meters.

According to Sherpa, on Friday, a total of 68 climbers including the mountain guides reached the top of Mt. Annapurna, which is the record high on the mountain in a single day. It beats the record set on May 1, 2016, when 32 climbers had scaled the mountain. Even though Nepal's tourism department has so far issued permits for 44 Nepali and foreign climbers to climb Annapurna, the number of climbers that scaled the mountain Friday also includes high altitude mountain guides for whom permits are not issued. Enditem
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Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi took part in his first royal ceremony since tying the knot with Princess Beatrice as the couple were among 30 guests at Prince Philip's funeral.



Edoardo, 38, supported his wife Beatrice, 32, who he married in July last year, as she mourned the loss of her beloved grandfather, who passed away last Friday at the age of 99.

Beatrice, who is the daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York, wore a long collared jacket, believed to be a custom Claire Mischevani coat, as she attended St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, accompanied by her husband this afternoon for the funeral.

She paired her sophisticated ensemble with a round hat embellished with a large black bow and a pair of understated stiletto heels as she joined her family to mourn the loss of the late Duke of Edinburgh.

Beatrice and her husband joined other royals outside St George's Chapel ahead of the funeral, including her younger sister Princess Eugenie, her husband Jack Brooksbank, Kate Middleton and Zara and Mike Tindall, who have recently welcomed a child.

Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi took part in his first royal ceremony since tying the knot with Princess Beatrice as the couple were among 30 guests at Prince Philip's funeral

Edoardo showed his support for his wife Beatrice as they both held hands while attending the St George's Chapel for the funeral of Beatrice's grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh

The couple then entered St George's Chapel and sat alongside Eugenie, 31, and her husband Jack, as well as Zara and Mike - both of which have recently welcomed baby boy's who they named after Prince Philip - for the emotional ceremony

Beatrice, who is the daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York , wore a long collared jacket, believed to be a custom Claire Mischevani coat, as she attended St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle

Princess Beatrice sat beside her husband Edoardo, while her younger sister Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank and Zara and Mike Tindall sat socially distanced along the same row as the couple

The couple then entered St George's Chapel and sat alongside Eugenie, 31, and her husband Jack, as well as Zara and Mike - both of which have recently welcomed baby boy's who they named after Prince Philip - for the emotional ceremony.

Meanwhile, Eugenie, 31, wore her brunette tresses in a natural wave across her shoulders adorned with a large headpiece and donned a black jacket with studded heels as she attended St George's Chapel this afternoon for Prince Philip's funeral.

Beatrice and Eugenie, accompanied by their husbands, traveled by car to St George's Chapel while their father Prince Andrew joined the procession of senior royals walking behind the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin.

Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank, 34, who named their first child after Prince Philip, were among the select 30 guests who attended the funeral.

Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank, 34, (pictured with Beatrice and Edoardo and Zara and Mike Tindall) who named their first child after Prince Philip, were among the select 30 guests who attended the funeral

Princess Beatrice and Edoardo greeted the Dean of Windsor at the Galilee Porch of St George's Chapel during the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh

Beatrice paired her ensemble with a round hat embellished with a large black bow and a pair of understated stiletto heels as she joined her family at the scaled-back funeral

Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi attended the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at St George's Chapel on Saturday afternoon

Edoardo, 38, supported his wife Beatrice, 32, (far left) who he married in July last year, as she mourned the loss of her beloved grandfather, who passed away last Friday at the age of 99

Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice joined other royals, including Kate Middleton and Zara and Mike Tindall outside St George's chapel ahead of Prince Philip's funeral

The new mother donned a long black coat embellished with simplistic stitching while she also carried Gabriela Hearst's 'Diana' handbag and completed her attire with a pair of black stiletto heels.

The Duke of Edinburgh showed his dedication for his two granddaughters by attending each of their weddings, most recently Beatrice's intimate ceremony to Edoardo at The Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge, Windsor, in July last year.

Looked up to as the patriarch of his family, Prince Philip became a mentor for younger royals who continued to turn to him over the years. Eugenie once described him as the rock of the family.

The Queen's four children, eight grandchildren and their respective spouses have come together today to support Her Majesty following the death of her husband last week at the age of 99.

All 30 guests who attended the scaled back funeral amid the Covid-19 pandemic kept themselves protected by wearing black face masks covering both their noses and mouths.

Three German relatives - whose ancestors were denied a place at Princess Elizabeth and Philip's wedding because of anti-German feeling after the second war - have been included.

Beatrice was seen attending St George's Chapel for the funeral of Prince Philip alongside her husband with her hair styled in a curled fashion cascading down her shoulders

Princess Beatrice and Eugenie reunited for the public engagement as they lined up outside the chapel alongside Kate Middleton and other senior royals

The Queen's four children, eight grandchildren and their respective spouses have come together today to support Her Majesty following the death of her husband last week at the age of 99

Prince Philip's coffin was carried across the grounds of Windsor Castle in a specially modified Land Rover, while Prince Philip oversaw modifications to the vehicle himself

The two sisters and their husbands reunited amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic outside St George's Chapel ahead of the intimate service

Princess Beatrice was accompanied by her husband Edoardo, who she married in a ceremony amid the Covid-19 pandemic last July, as they both attended St George's Chapel on Saturday afternoon

Others on the guest list include the Queen's first cousins Princess Alexandra, the Duke of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent, who loyally supported the monarch and Philip by carrying out royal duties over the decades.

But the most prominent name missing from the list is Prince Harry's wife Meghan, who has stayed at home in Los Angeles as she is unable to fly as she is expecting her second child.

Also is missing is the Queen's cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, 78, who is not a working royal.

There was also not room for the spouses of the Queen's cousins - the Duchess of Gloucester and the Duchess of Kent, nor Prince Michael's often controversial wife, Princess Michael of Kent.

The Queen announced her husband's death on Friday as the Union Flag was lowered to half-mast outside Buckingham Palace.

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.'

Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank, 34, who named their first child after Prince Philip, were among the select 30 guests who attended the funeral

Meanwhile, younger sister Eugenie, 31, wore her brunette tresses in a natural wave across her shoulders and donned a black jacket as she climbed into her vehicle to head towards St George's Chapel

Beatrice and Eugenie (left), who are the daughters of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York, attended St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, accompanied by her husband this afternoon for the funeral

Attending Prince Philip's funeral (pictured) was Edoardo's first royal ceremony since tying the knot with Princess Beatrice at a wedding ceremony in July last year, amid the Covid-19 pandemic

Beatrice and Eugenie traveled by car to St George's Chapel while their father Prince Andrew joined the procession of senior royals (above) walking behind the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin

Due to Covid-19 rules, Prince Philip's scaled-back funeral included 30 guests - those who will be in Prince Philip's funeral procession (left) and those who will be St George's Chapel (right)

THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH'S DEDICATION TO HIS GRANDDAUGHTERS: BEATRICE SHARES LESSON SHE LEARNT FROM HER GRANDFATHER WHILE EUGENIE NAMES SON AFTER PHILIP

The Duke of Edinburgh showed his dedication to his granddaughters in turn by making rare public appearances to attend Eugenie and Beatrice's weddings.

In her last engagement before Philip's death, Beatrice shared a lesson she learned from her grandfather explaining how he encouraged her not to become 'obsessed with solutions' and to focus on the journey to get there instead.

The Queen's granddaughter divulged the words of wisdom inspired by the late Duke of Edinburgh while speaking speaking at a virtual event on March 31.

She was announcing her patronage with non-profit organisation 20:40 which aims to help young people collaborate on socio-economic issues.

In a rare outing for Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh showed his dedication for his granddaughter by attending her intimate wedding to Edoardo at The Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge, Windsor, in July last year

Prince Philip became a mentor for younger royals, with Eugenie previously describing her grandfather as the rock of the family (pictured at Eugenie and Jack's wedding in 2018)

Princess Eugenie, 30, penned an emotional tribute to Prince Philip days after he died as she said she would remember his 'spectacular life' (pictured, On The Royal Balcony At The Investec Derby Festival At Epsom In Surrey in 2017)

When asked to share advice with young future leaders during the webinar, Beatrice told them not to become obsessed with the 'solution' while trying to solve problems because their journey will always have 'twists and turns'.

She went on to urge them not to become 'disheartened' by obstacles and to remain 'focused' on what they are trying to achieve, a lesson she said was inspired by her grandfather Prince Philip.

Speaking from her home, Beatrice, who donned a white and blue striped shirt, said: 'One of the things that I've always been inspired by is keeping your curiosity and don't be afraid to un-think and un-learn.

'But also don't feel like you have to have all the answers yourself, one of the things that has always helped me, and this actually is inspired by my grandfather, whose turning 100 this year, but you kind of become obsessed with solving the problem, don't become obsessed with the solution.

'Because your route to actually finding a way to get through that problem will be different and the path will be different, and it might twist and turn.

'So don't be disheartened if your first path is not the one you think you have to stick to. Keep focusing on what you're trying to achieve and you'll get there.'

The Duke of Edinburgh enjoyed a special bond with his grandchildren and made one of his last public appearances at Beatrice and Edoardo's lockdown wedding in July 2020.

Meanwhile, Eugenie paid tribute to her beloved grandfather earlier this year by naming her newborn son after him.

Princess Eugenie and husband Jack Brooksbank, who married in October 2018, named their first child, a son born in February, August Philip Hawke Brooksbank.

But tragically, due to lockdown restrictions, it is thought that Eugenie never had the opportunity to introduce her newborn sons to her grandfather before his death last Friday at the age of 99.

Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank paid tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh earlier this year by naming their first child, a son born in February, August Philip Hawke Brooksbank

Princess Eugenie and husband Jack Brooksbank, who married in October 2018, named their first child, a son born in February, August Philip Hawke Brooksbank. Pictured, the couple with their son in an Instagram snap

The Queen's granddaughter also recently paid tribute to her beloved grandfather on Instagram earlier this week as she said she would remember his 'spectacular life'.

She shared the lengthy post alongside two pictures of her with the Duke of Edinburgh, who passed away last Friday at the age of 99.

In the post, Eugenie said she 'would remember learning how to cook, how to paint, what to read' as well as her grandfather's 'favourite beer' and BBQing ability.

She finished the statement by posting: 'Thank you for your dedication and love for us all and especially Granny, who we will look after for you.'

She posted: 'Dearest Grandpa, we all miss you. You would be so touched by all the tributes that have been shared with me the past few days. 

'People remember sitting next to you at a dinner, or shaking your hand once, who remember you saying hello in passing, or remember how much their DofE award meant to them. 

'I remember learning how to cook, how to paint, what to read. I remember laughing at your jokes and asking about your spectacular life and service in the navy. 

'I remember incinerating the sausages and you swooping in to save the day.

'I remember your hands and your laugh and your favourite beer. 

'I will remember you in your children, your grandchildren and great grandchildren.'

She finished the post by thanking the Duke for his service, before signing off: 'With all my love, Eugenie.'

The royal shared two images alongside the emotional post, including one alongside sister Princess Beatrice on The Royal Balcony At The Investec Derby Festival At Epsom In Surrey in 2017.

Another showed Prince Philip patting a then eight-year-old Eugenie affectionately on the head on Christmas Day at Sandringham in 1998.

Eugenie once described him as the rock of the family.

Speaking in the 2016 ITV documentary Our Queen at Ninety, Princess Eugenie said of Philip: 'I think Grandpa is incredible. He really is strong and consistent. He's been there for all these years, and I think he's the rock, you know, for all of us.'
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 17)  The country's active COVID-19 case count exceeded 200,000, the highest number of sick people in a day, according to the Department of Health's Saturday bulletin.

The active case count is 22% of the total number of infections which stood at 926,052 after 11,101 new cases were recorded. At least 96% of the active cases have mild symptoms, 2.9% have no symptoms, 0.5% are in a severe state, 0.4% in critical condition, and 0.29% are moderate cases.

It is the second day in a row that the country logged a new record of active cases and the eighth time this month alone.

The total excludes data from nine laboratories that did not submit their reports on time, the department added.

Meanwhile, 72 more patients died, pushing the death toll to 15,810 or 1.71% of the case total. The recovery tally is 706,532 or 76.3% of the COVID-19 count, including 799 new survivors.

The DOH said it reclassified 16 survivors into fatalities after validation and deleted 20 duplicates, including eight recoveries.

The daily positivity rate dropped to 17.7% out of 43,574 tests administered as of noon of April 16. Positivity rate is the percentage of individuals that tested positive out of the people tested in a day.

The latest rate is slightly lower compared to the past few weeks. It peaked on April 2 at 25.2% and remained hovering over 20% until April 13. Johns Hopkins University warned that high percentages mean there may be high transmission and more undetected cases.

The OCTA Research team pointed out that the enhanced community quarantine, the country's strictest form of lockdown imposed for two weeks from late March to early April, aided in controlling the surge of cases. Metro Manila and nearby provinces later eased into a more relaxed, modified quarantine but experts urged the public to continue the ECQ "mindset" to keep the gains.

Among Filipinos abroad, the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed seven more infections, pushing the total to 18,141 in 91 countries. The death toll and survivor count stayed at 1,115 and 11,142, respectively.

Meanwhile, global COVID-19 deaths surpassed three million, Johns Hopkins data showed, while total infections neared 140 million.

Expect more surges

Former Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit said the recent surge in cases in the country will not be the last, since the pandemic could rage on possibly for a few more years.

"We will see more of these cases as we go, " Dayrit told CNN Philippines' Newsroom Weekend on Saturday. "We have to be used to the fact that there will be surges and we have to adapt to these surges as much as we can."

Dayrit pointed out that measures are in place to control the spread of the virus but contact tracing is still weak. As to vaccination, he said the proposal to prioritize Metro Manila may erupt into a political issue if the government chooses to deprive other areas of the shots.

On treatment, the former health chief said the Food and Drug Administration should allow the antiparasitic drug ivermectin to be available to doctors, but the manufacturers themselves have maintained that there is still no basis to use the drug to treat COVID-19.
By DAVID BILLER, MARIA CHENG and JOSHUA GOODMAN, Associated Press Writers

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)  The global death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering 3 million people Saturday amid repeated setbacks in the worldwide vaccination campaign and a deepening crisis in places such as Brazil, India and France.

The number of lives lost, as compiled by Johns Hopkins University, is about equal to the population of Kyiv, Ukraine; Caracas, Venezuela; or metropolitan Lisbon, Portugal. It is bigger than Chicago (2.7 million) and equivalent to Philadelphia and Dallas combined.

And the true number is believed to be significantly higher because of possible government concealment and the many cases overlooked in the early stages of the outbreak that began in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019.

When the world back in January passed the bleak threshold of 2 million deaths, immunization drives had just started in Europe and the United States. Today, they are underway in more than 190 countries, though progress in bringing the virus under control varies widely.

While the campaigns in the U.S. and Britain have hit their stride and people and businesses there are beginning to contemplate life after the pandemic, other places, mostly poorer countries but some rich ones as well, are lagging behind in putting shots in arms and have imposed new lockdowns and other restrictions as virus cases soar.

Worldwide, deaths are on the rise again, running at around 12,000 per day on average, and new cases are climbing too, eclipsing 700,000 a day.

This is not the situation we want to be in 16 months into a pandemic, where we have proven control measures, said Maria Van Kerkhove, one of the World Health Organizations leaders on COVID-19.

In Brazil, where deaths are running at about 3,000 per day, accounting for one-quarter of the lives lost worldwide in recent weeks, the crisis has been likened to a raging inferno by one WHO official. A more contagious variant of the virus has been rampaging across the country.

As cases surge, hospitals are running out of critical sedatives. As a result, there have been reports of some doctors diluting what supplies remain and even tying patients to their beds while breathing tubes are pushed down their throats.

The slow vaccine rollout has crushed Brazilians pride in their own history of carrying out huge immunization campaigns that were the envy of the developing world.

Taking cues from President Jair Bolsonaro, who has likened the virus to little more than a flu, his Health Ministry for months bet big on a single vaccine, ignoring other producers. When bottlenecks emerged, it was too late to get large quantities in time.

This situation is similarly dire in India, where cases spiked in February after weeks of steady decline, taking authorities by surprise. In a surge driven by variants of the virus, India saw over 180,000 new infections in one 24-hour span during the past week, bringing the total number of cases to over 13.9 million.

Problems that India had overcome last year are coming back to haunt health officials. Only 178 ventilators were free Wednesday afternoon in New Delhi, a city of 29 million, where 13,000 new infections were reported the previous day.

The challenges facing India reverberate beyond its borders since the country is the biggest supplier of shots to COVAX, the U.N.-sponsored program to distribute vaccines to poorer parts of the world. Last month, India said it would suspend vaccine exports until the viruss spread inside the country slows.

The WHO recently described the supply situation as precarious. Up to 60 countries might not receive any more shots until June, by one estimate. To date, COVAX has delivered about 40 million doses to more than 100 countries, enough to cover barely 0.25% of the worlds population.

Globally, about 87% of the 700 million doses dispensed have been given out in rich countries. While 1 in 4 people in wealthy nations have received a vaccine, in poor countries the figure is 1 in more than 500.

In recent days, the U.S. and some European countries put the use of Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine on hold while authorities investigate extremely rare but dangerous blood clots. AstraZenecas vaccine has likewise been hit with delays and restrictions because of a clotting scare.

Another concern: Poorer countries are relying on vaccines made by China and Russia, which some scientists believe provide less protection that those by Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca.

Last week, the director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledged the countrys vaccines offer low protection and said officials are considering mixing them with other shots to improve their effectiveness.

In the U.S., where over 560,000 lives have been lost, accounting for more than 1 in 6 of the worlds COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations and deaths have dropped, businesses are reopening, and life is beginning to return to something approaching normalcy in several states. The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits tumbled last week to 576,000, a post-COVID-19 low.

But progress has been patchy, and new hot spots  most notably Michigan  have flared up in recent weeks. Still, deaths in the U.S. are down to about 700 per day on average, plummeting from a mid-January peak of about 3,400.

In Europe, countries are feeling the brunt of a more contagious variant that first ravaged Britain and has pushed the continents COVID-19-related death toll beyond 1 million.

Close to 6,000 gravely ill patients are being treated in French critical care units, numbers not seen since the first wave a year ago.
MOSCOW (AP)  An American astronaut and two Russians have returned to Earth after six months aboard the International Space Station.

A Soyuz space capsule carrying NASAs Kate Rubins and Russians Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov landed at 0455 GMT (12:55 a.m. EDT) Saturday in the steppes of Kazakhstan.

Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian space agency Roskosmos, said all three were feeling well after they were extracted from the capsule and began reacclimating to the pull of gravity.

The three had arrived at the orbiting laboratory complex on Oct. 14.

There now are seven people aboard the ISS: NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and Russians Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov arrived on April 9; Americans Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, and Japans Soichi Noguchi, came aboard in November on the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience, the first ISS docking under NASAs Commercial Crew Program.
Photo: The Canadian Press Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller is seen during a news conference in Ottawa on Friday, April 16, 2021. Miller has expressed his disgust over a video showing a security guard in a physical altercation with an Indigenous woman who was accused of shoplifting from a grocery store. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller has expressed his disgust over a video showing a security guard in a physical altercation with an Indigenous woman who was accused of shoplifting from a grocery store.

The nine-minute video posted on social media Wednesday shows a man, who identifies himself as a security guard, kneeling on the woman as he tries to handcuff her in the Saskatoon store's parking lot.

The woman, saying she threw the receipt for her purchases in the garbage, struggles with the man and at one point punches him in the face.

Miller said Friday that he saw a brief clip of the altercation.

"Equally disgusted, as any other video of the same nature that seems to pop up far too often," Miller said when asked about the video. "I hope that the full force of the law will be applied in this situation after a proper and due investigation.

"I have very few words that others haven't expressed."

Saskatoon police said they received a shoplifting call at the grocery store about 4 p.m. They arrived to find a 30-year-old woman being detained by a loss prevention officer.

Police said the woman refused medical treatment. She was taken into custody and charged with theft under $5,000 and assault.

The security guard had minor injuries and was treated on scene by paramedics.

Police have not said whether they are looking into the guard's response, but confirmed they are investigating what happened.

The owner of the FreshCo store, who is Metis and the father of two daughters, posted on Facebook that he was shocked and horrified by the altercation. He said the store has ended its contract with the security company.
London, April 17 : As most of the students are dependent on online learning and video-conferencing apps due to the pandemic, the University of Hertfordshire in the UK has suffered a cyber-attack that has eventually disrupted its online learning.

According to a ZDNet report, the cyber-attack has affected all of its IT systems, including Office 365, Teams and Zoom, local networks, Wi-Fi, email, data storage and VPN.

The university reported the hit by attackers on Wednesday, resulting in the cancellation of all online classes on Thursday and Friday.

"Shortly before 22:00 on Wednesday 14 April, the University experienced a cyber-attack which has impacted all of our systems, including those in the Cloud such as Canvas, MS Teams and Zoom," the varsity said in an update on its website.

The university noted that the outage may impact students submitting assignments, but assured them that no student, would be disadvantaged as a result.

Students were allowed to attend the university so long as computer access wasn't necessary.

"You will not be able to access computer facilities in the LRCs, Labs or the University Wi-Fi. Remote access to specialist software and PCs is currently unavailable," the varsity said.

The university's system status page, last updated 17 hours ago, shows the extent of the disruption.
A remote island tribe who believe Prince Philip is their god have devised a day of rituals to mark his death.

The tribesmen and women on the South Pacific island of Tanna in Vanuatu will mourn by dancing, speeches and the ceremonial drinking of the native plant kava, according to an expert on the culture.

The group - who believe Prince Philip is their god and the incarnation of a volcano spirit - could also anoint his son Prince Charles as his successor.

While the royal family has been preparing for the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral service on Saturday, Australian Museum research associate Kirk Huffman believes similar preparations have been taking place on the other side of the world.

Mr Huffman is considered an authority on what is known as the Prince Philip Movement - a group based in villages in the south-western part of the island of Tanna in southern Vanuatu.

A remote island tribe (pictured) who believe Prince Philip is their god have devised a day of rituals to mark his death

Prince Philip devotees prepare kava roots to be drunk at an upcoming mourning ceremony to take place for Prince Philip

He said followers all speak a language called Navhaal - which is only spoken by approximately 4,500 people worldwide - just a few hundred people are associated with the Philip Movement.

He added: 'Those in the movement have been very saddened to hear about his death.

'As soon as the messages about his death came they had meetings.

'They got leaders, important people from two, possibly three different factions of the group together at a meeting to sort out how they're going to deal with the funerary situation.

'They held funerary speeches last weekend. There may be special dances.

'Dancing there is a highly-respected form of saying something powerful, and there may be some that have already gone on.

'There may be a periodic display of some of the movement's Prince Philip memorabilia - photographs, letters, that sort of thing. There'll also be more periodic speeches by various traditional leaders there.'

However, possibly the most important element of the funerary rituals will be evening sessions of the men of the group drinking kava - an infusion made from the root of a pepper plant.

The tribesmen (one pictured) and women on the South Pacific island of Tanna in Vanuatu will mourn by dancing, speeches and the ceremonial drinking of the native plant kava, according to an expert on the culture

The group - who believe Prince Philip is their god and the incarnation of a volcano spirit - could also anoint his son Prince Charles as his successor. Pictured: A tribesman

While the royal family has been preparing for the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral service on Saturday, Australian Museum research associate Kirk Huffman believes similar preparations have been taking place on the other side of the world (the islanders, pictured)

Mr Huffman is considered an authority on what is known as the Prince Philip Movement - a group (some pictured) based in villages in the south-western part of the island of Tanna in southern Vanuatu

Mr Huffman describes the drinking of kava as a 'sacred activity', which is the 'liquid key that opens the door between the material world and the non-material world'.

He said: 'Through the medium of kava, one can pass messages back and forth between those worlds.

'Traditionally, the purpose of drinking kava is to ensure the continuity of life as it should be.

'Through the use of kava, you can get better rain, better sun, better crop fertility, all sorts of things. Because you put these requests into the world through the kava.

'There'll be that same sort of thing in Tanna for Philip's spirit. There'll be messages and ideas being sent and received, that will be very important.'

Tribesmen are seen having a meeting in Yaohnanen - near the town of Yakel - a remote Pacific village on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu after Princ Philip's death on April 9

Mr Huffman explained that, in traditional religions throughout the region of Melanesia - which consists of Vanuatu, Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea - death is merely considered the end of someone's physical form, with their spiritual form persisting.

He continued: 'Your spirit form can recycle. You can be reincarnated. It can wander around, it can come out years later in another person.

'So from the point of view of the people of the movement, (Philip) is originally from Tanna.'

Mr Huffman is also an honorary curator of the National Museum at the nation's Vanuatu Cultural Centre and has spent more than 18 years working as an anthropologist in Vanuatu.

Yaohnanen tribesmen on the Pacific Island of Tanna, in Vanuatu, hold a framed photo of Prince Philip following the news of his death

Chief Albi (pictured holding a photo of Prince Philip) said it was unclear how the religious movement would change following Philip's death because villagers believed his spirit was now adrift and seeking a new 'home'

Ikunala village Chief Yapa holds photos of himself and four other local men with Prince Philip, taken during their 2007 trip to England

He said the Prince Philip Movement is 'visionary' and involves clans in the south-west of Tanna searching for 'something they had lost'.

He said they were looking for 'someone, either a human spirit or a power, that had gone overseas.

'And it was probably from the mid to late 70s that they latched on to the possibility that it was Prince Philip, in his current form.'

The Yaohnanen tribesmen hold a framed photograph of Prince Philip, which the Duke of Edinburgh had sent them

According to Mr Huffman, Philip's connection with the movement began during an official visit to Vanuatu in 1971, where he took part in some traditional rituals on the northern island of Malekula.

'Although Prince Philip never visited Tanna, chiefs from the island saw him take part in the rituals, and that was greatly respected,' Mr Huffman said.

'And in February of 1974, he and the Queen came through on the Royal Yacht Britannia and they sailed down past the island of Tanna.

'A lot of photographs of him would have been circulating (among the group), and some of the things that he may have said or done during those visits may have been some of the things to help people in that part of Tanna sort of focus on him and think 'maybe he's the one we've been looking for for so long'.'

It then evolved over the decades as the two parties occasionally exchanged gifts, photographs and letters with one another.
Aided by vaccines, mandatory mask-wearing and social distancing, the Murphy administration this year has gradually relaxed restrictions on nursing homes visits, attendance at weddings and sporting events and dining capacity at restaurants.

But there is one segment of the population that is still waiting for a reprieve from the pandemic-driven lockdown: the 12,000 people who live with developmental and intellectual disabilities who used to spend as many as 40 hours a week learning and socializing with their peers at what are called day programs.

Aside from a six-week period in the fall, day programs have been shut since the pandemic began 13 months ago, based on a Health Department formula measuring positive COVID-19 cases per capita by county.

Using the COVID-19 Activity Level Index, or CALI score, means that regardless of how carefully program operators follow safety measures or how many participants get vaccinated, no programs will open until the number of cases fall to what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deems a moderate range.

And even when a county reaches the moderate level  like what happened this week in Hunterdon, Mercer and Somerset  reopening isnt required, but rather left up to program providers, according to a state Department of Human Service memo. CALI scores are monitored weekly and can abruptly change.

Parents and siblings say their disabled loved ones are depressed and anxious and they see their social skills and spirits deteriorating. Hundreds of families have formed an organization on social media to challenge what they see as the Murphy administrations disregard of their loved ones well-being, if not a violation of their civil rights. They want a more reasonable solution, one that takes into account how many are fully vaccinated.

Gwen Orlowski, executive director for Disability Rights New Jersey, a federally funded legal advocacy group, said Friday many families have contacted her organization seeking help. Disability Rights agrees families have a valid point.

We recognize that there are public health concerns to reopening day programs, and we also recognize that the continued closure of congregate day programming is taking a toll on (those) who need those services and their families or caretakers who are trying to fill the gaps during the pandemic, Orlowski said.

Considering that other public congregate spaces like bars, indoor dining, casinos, schools, parks, indoor wedding venues, and sporting events are opening up, we do not want people with developmental disabilities to bear an excessive burden to protect public health, she said.

Marianne Reagan of Eatontown said she feels fortunate she retired before the pandemic hit. She cannot imagine how her 41-year-old daughter Kelly, who has cerebral palsy, would be filling her days since the Ladacin Network day program closed in Ocean Township.

Kelly Reagan wakes up at 5 a.m. and was accustomed to filling her day with occupational and physical therapy, educational and vocational programs, and just bonding time with her peers, Reagan said. She takes he daughter to the gym pool every day, then for a car ride, often to the Jersey shore boardwalk.

She is angry. She is sad, said Kellys mother, who feels the same way.

Chris Migton of Clark said her 37-year-old sister Barbara wanders around the house aimlessly or sits quietly. She has become withdrawn and is not her usual sunny self. Its as though shes on very low battery.

Migton said its frustrating her sisters future well-being depend on the state Health Departments CALI score, and the color-coded map turning from red and orange symbolizing very high and high risk, to green (low) or yellow (moderate) risk.

Barbara has regressed to behaviors that were more common when she was younger, such as repeating what is said to her and making noises to herself, Migton said.

This rule does not apply to any other school, university, business, no one except congregate day programs for adults with disabilities, Migton said. This is in violation of their civil rights and completely ignores the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990). This rule treats disabled people different than typical people, that goes against everything the ADA stands for.

State Human Services spokesman Tom Hester defended the Murphy administrations cautious approach.

The health and safety of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities is paramount, and all decisions regarding closure and reopening of congregate day programs are guided by data and improvements in public health, Hester said.

The state Department of Human Services closed day programs on March 17, 2020. The state allowed them to reopen at 25% capacity from Sept. 21 to Nov. 25, he said.

Day programs would have been permitted to resume March 29, but only if the CALI score was moderate or low, which didnt happen until April 10 in the three-county, central west region of the state.

In a meeting with families on Thursday, Assistant Human Services Commissioner Jonathan Seifried assured them the department understands that some participants and families are eager for programs to re-open as soon as possible. We appreciate all feedback received on the current guidance and actively working with the New Jersey Department of Health and other colleagues on updated guidance to provide additional flexibility.

Marianne Reagan said when shes pleaded with Human Services officials in previous discussions to relax the rules, she said she was informed that people with developmental disabilities are three times more likely to die from COVID-19.

My kid is healthier than an ox, and shes vaccinated, Reagan said. They are not all the same. Let them decide. We feel helpless.

The coronavirus has exacted a toll on people with developmental disabilities. A data analysis by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and FAIR Health, a private company that analyzes health care claims, showed people with developmental disabilities were three times more likely to die from COVID-19  slightly higher than people with lung cancer. Some advocates have quietly questioned the usefulness of a study based on private claims because most of this population is on Medicaid, the government-funded insurance program for poor and disabled people, however.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

People with developmental disabilities are not naturally at higher risk for becoming infected, according to the CDC, but they often have other serious underlying medical conditions that raise their risk of serious illness.

Some people with developmental disabilities may have difficulties accessing information, understanding or practicing preventative measures, and communicating symptoms of illness, according to the CDC website.

In New Jersey, there have been 2,470 positive cases and 167 deaths among the 24,000 people who receive services through the Department of Human Services Division of Developmental Disabilities. Of the 167 deaths, 40 were people who lived in state-run institutions known as developmental centers, according to state data. Others lived in group homes or with their families. The rate of infection in the early months of the pandemic worried families and disability advocates.

Another 83 people with developmental disabilities who do not receive state services also died from COVID-19, state data shows.

Orlowski from Disability Rights said shes been in touch with state officials and believe they are working on a solution, but she doesnt know when it will be ready.

Robert Jones, president and CEO for Childrens Aid and Family Services, which operates a day program in Paramus, said some families are running out of hope. Hes spoken to a few who are exploring moving their loved one into a group home or other residential placement. Its not a choice they want to make, he said.

There are a lot of unintended consequences to shutting everything down, Jones said.

When you have intellectual disabilities or developmental disabilities, one of the important part of your lives is routine, Jones said. Without it, there has been a regression of behaviors ranging from the disruptive to the frightening, such as head-banging and running away, he said.

Pre-pandemic, the seven-hour day program helped participants learn pre-employment and life skills, such as doing laundry, meal preparation, sorting and delivering books and reading, Jones said. Some participants have Zoomed-in from home or their group homes, but its not as effective, he said.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers alike have seized on the issue, asking for Gov. Phil Murphy to be more sympathetic to peoples pain under lockdown.

Throughout the COVID-19 emergency, the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities have often been put on the back burner, Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle, D-Bergen, said in an April 7 statement. Now, as the State continues to open and with the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines, it is critical that the state of New Jersey prioritize fully re-opening day programs.

Sen. Steven Oroho R-Sussex, said he hoped the governor understands how important this is.

The inability to participate in comfortable, calming activities and to interact daily with others in a productive environment has done unimaginable harm to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, Oroho said. The sooner we can open these vital facilities, the better.

Reagan said she and other families have called and written their legislators and the governor to plead for a change in policy. They plan to gather with signs and bullhorns in Freehold on April 24 to make their case to the public.

They need to see us, Reagan said.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.



Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio.
(CNN)  Protecting individual rights from government overreach is at the core of what sets the US apart from the rest of the world. It helped the country break free from a monarchy and withstand the pull of fascism, dictatorships and communism.

But in today's interconnected global world of easily manufactured weapons and easily transmitted disease, protecting freedoms is coming at an ever greater cost.

We're used to thinking of the fight for freedom in terms of wars fought abroad, like the long fight in Afghanistan.

But America's longest war isn't in Afghanistan, it's right here at home.

Far more deadly and uniquely American than any military conflict, the US gun war is raging in US cities and suburbs, in schools, and offices, at churches and grocery stores.

Americans who didn't volunteer for duty are on the front lines and dying for your freedoms every single day.

The latest battlefield erupted in Indianapolis Thursday night, where eight people were gunned down in a few minutes at a FedEx facility.

The "liberty" promised by the Declaration of Independence is interfering with the "life" and the "pursuit of happiness" in ways the Founding Fathers could never have imagined.

Given the choice, with help from conservative courts and Second Amendment true believers, the country is choosing personal freedom over public safety, giving some of its people a feeling of liberty, but also causing many people to die in the process.

'National embarrassment,' but not necessarily the next priority

Biden called the endless roll of mass shootings "a national embarrassment" at a Friday afternoon news conference, but he pushed back on a question about his administration prioritizing infrastructure over pushing for new gun control, calling on Congress to act. "It doesn't mean that I can't also be working at the same time on the economy and on Covid, but it's not a question of my being able to set the agenda in the Senate as to what they will move to first."

In today's US, where everything seems like a partisan, political fight, the subject might be Covid restrictions or gun control, but it's generally the same Republican lawmakers and governors pushing liberty versus a science and public health crowd pushing statistics about lives lost.

There have been 45 mass shootings in the US in the past month. But most gun deaths won't be in mass shootings. More have died this year by suicide, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive. More than twice as many Americans have already died from gun violence in 2021 than servicemembers died in Afghanistan in nearly twenty years.

When Biden promised this week to get American troops out of Afghanistan after 20 years by September 11, he marked the sacrifice of 2,300 servicemembers who volunteered to serve and lost their lives there, protecting the country.

He's mostly powerless in the gun war, however, since courts have interpreted the Second Amendment to give Americans easy access to guns and much of the country votes like it is afraid the government will take its guns away.

While there is some small movement in Congress toward new background check measures, there remains a sacrosanct belief in an inalienable right to weaponry in portions of the country, abetted by the Supreme Court's interpretation that the Second Amendment has more to do with individuals and handguns than a well-regulated militia.

Protecting the Second Amendment at all costs is written in stone on the Republican political platform and even most Democrats are unwilling to address the root cause of gun violence, which is not that the wrong people have guns, but that there are so very many guns that are so very easy to obtain. The majority of gun deaths, after all, are suicides.

For some, the government is already overreaching

While the segments of American society trying to protect the Second Amendment may worry about the government taking their guns, Black Americans need to be seriously worried about the government taking their lives.

The country is no longer able to ignore how unarmed Black men -- George Floyd to Daunte Wright and beyond -- are routinely killed by police.

Social media and bodycam video along with trials like the one of former Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin make it impossible for those men to be buried in statistics. The repeated police killing of Black men is as unacceptable as the inevitability that another mass shooting will occur.

"We need to be clear when we're talking about, this is not a Black versus White issue. This is a right versus wrong issue," said Angela Rose Myers, president of the Minneapolis chapter of the NAACP, during an appearance on CNN Friday. "And people in our state and our government should not be murdering their citizens."

Related: Pressure grows on Senate to pass police reform bill

Here again, there is slow movement in Congress to pass new federal policing standards, but every day it seems like Americans wake up to a new example of police killing someone.

The spirit of those Second Amendment arguments is evident in a new interest in the First Amendment, which protects the rights of assembly and worship -- rights that some Americans feel are being overrun by state orders and recommendations to practice social distancing during the pandemic.

Rep. Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, went after Dr. Anthony Fauci in a heated exchange on Capitol Hill Thursday, demanding to know when Americans can have their freedoms back from the pandemic.

"What metrics, what measures, what has to happen before Americans get more freedoms back?"

The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases laid out reality.

"Right now, we have about 60,000 infections a day, which is a very large risk for resurge. We're not talking about liberties. We're talking about a pandemic that has killed 560,000 Americans," said Fauci, who later said his "best estimate" would be to have the number of infections per day "well below" 10,000.

A pandemic and an epidemic

It's hard to separate these two crises. Dr. Leana Wen, the former health commissioner for Baltimore and a CNN medical analyst, was asked by CNN's Kate Bolduan about gun violence just after speaking about Covid on Friday.

"I'm an ER doctor," she said. "We undoubtedly understand that gun violence is a health emergency. It's also a public health emergency."

She said the government needs to use tools to address the crisis and compared the regulation of guns to the regulation of cars.

"We're not trying to ban cars. We're trying to use seat belts and drunk driving laws to make it safer. That's the same approach that we need to use for gun violence as well," she said.

In recent years, such as 2019, more Americans died from firearms than automobile accidents, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Courts have sided with the people over public health in the pandemic as well as in the gun war. States are all over the map on both.

Some Americans are still under relatively strict Covid restrictions. Others are in states that have no restrictions at all.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, faced protests and an alleged kidnapping attempt in 2020 over earlier Covid restrictions. This month she wanted additional Covid vaccines to fight a hot spot in her state, in part, because she is unable to place new restrictions in her state because the state Supreme Court ruled them out of order.

Now, denied extra vaccine by the White House, she's pushing personal responsibility instead, pushing for voluntary pauses on indoor dining, deferring to liberty.

The federal government has, arguably, barely tried to exert authority on Covid.

Former President Donald Trump disagreed with federal mandates like a requirement to wear masks in public places and pressured states to lift restrictions.

Biden has chosen to let states make their own rules, avoiding a fight over his authority and instead making masks mandatory in federal buildings and on public transportation. While public health agencies have repeatedly warned not to let up, states -- led by Democrats and Republicans -- have moved to loosen mandates and restrictions. The people have their freedom, and with it has come the potential for a fourth Covid surge despite a remarkable vaccination effort.

Honoring sacrifice

Washington has long been focused on war and the sacrifice of servicemembers who pay the price for American ideals.

A ceremony commemorated a new World War I memorial blocks from the White House Friday.

Earlier in the week, Biden visited Arlington National Cemetery after announcing he'd pull US troops from the country's longest active military conflict.

"War in Afghanistan was never meant to be a multi-generational undertaking," he said. "We were attacked. We went to war with clear goals. We achieved those objectives... And it's time to end the forever war," Biden said, announcing his decision to pull the remaining US troops from Afghanistan.

The gun war is already a much larger multi-generational undertaking if you place the start at Columbine in 1999 and consider Sandy Hook, Las Vegas and the Pulse Nightclub as major battles.

The toll of this war is horrible and there is no end in sight.

Editor's Note: If you or a loved one have contemplated suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text TALK to 741741. The International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide also provide contact information for crisis centers around the world.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "On guns and Covid, it's liberty over lives."
A California woman who weighs just over 130lbs has amassed a massive TikTok following because of her stellar eating challenges where she eats mass amounts of food in impressive times.

Raina Huang, 27, is currently in the midst of a several-week long tour across Utah and Idaho, with plans to finish the series of food challenges in Las Vegas. As of Wednesday, she had already completed more than a dozen.

The competitive eater made a stop at Lucy's Pizza in Idaho Falls, devouring an 18-inch, four topping pizza and a 40-ounce drink in just 8.03minutes.

Raina Huang, 27, is currently in the midst of a several-week long tour across Utah and Idaho, with plans to finish the series of food challenges in Las Vegas

The competitive eater made a stop at Lucy's Pizza in Idaho Falls, devouring an 18-inch, four topping pizza and a 40-ounce drink in just 8.03minutes

'I'm ok,' Huang said to EastIdahoNews.com after she chowed down on the remainder of the food. 'Their pizza is really good. I feel like it was pretty light because their pizza isn't too thick on the crust, so it wasn't too bad.'

Huang, who has 1.7million followers on her TikTok page Rainaiscrazy, has actually developed a lactose intolerance that is a direct result of the many food challenges she has been a part of over the years.

'I'm not too bad on the lactose intolerance, so I can definitely take in a good amount before I feel really bad,' she said.

She is no stranger to large portions, attributing the ability to consume large quantities to her family's background.

Huang is no stranger to large portions, attributing the ability to consume large quantities to her family's background. She is seen eating a meatball in one bite

'I'm Chinese and in Chinese culture  there's no portion control. My family always wanted to feed the kids and they'd always put everything on my plate,' she explained. 'My family didn't want any leftovers so they'd say 'Raina, eat it!' So they kind of trained me for this.'

But even with the large portions, Huang is clearly able to manage a small frame.

'I run a 5K every day,' the competitive eater shared. 'When I'm at home, I definitely balance it out. When I'm on tour doing stuff like this, that will be my meal for the entire day. At home, I eat very healthy  a lot of vegetables, very few carbs and very little meat.'

One recent clip shows the mega eater demolishing a massive burger with a ton of fries in under 39 minutes

Another clip shows Huang scarfing - if you can call it that - a 9lb chicken sampler - in just over 45 minutes.

Huang's first eating challenge took place three years ago when she ate a 4lb burrito in six minutes, becoming a huge hit on YouTube. She enjoys noodle challenges the most and shared that she struggles the most with pancake ones.

One recent clip shows the mega eater demolishing a massive burger with a ton of fries in under 39 minutes while another clip shows Huang scarfing - if you can call it that - a 9lb chicken sampler - in just over 45 minutes.

Huang is joined on her recent food journey by fellow food lover 31-year-old Blaine Koenig of Long Beach, California. Koenig completed his own challenge in Caldwell - eating an 8lb steak - before he made it to Idaho Falls.

'I run a 5K every day,' the competitive eater shared. 'When I'm at home, I definitely balance it out. When I'm on tour doing stuff like this, that will be my meal for the entire day. At home, I eat very healthy  a lot of vegetables, very few carbs and very little meat'

'It took me 55 minutes,' Koenig said. 'I'm just happy if I finish the challenge. That's my goal. It's never to try and beat a record or anything like that. I feel it big time. I don't usually feel that great. On the drive over here, I was sweating a lot.'

Huang and Koenig love finding new food challenges to tackle but mostly enjoy the opportunity to see new places.

'It's definitely about meeting the fans  and exploring because I love to travel,' said Huang. 'The traveling part has been incredible for me I've been bubbled up in California my whole life and when I started to (consider) going on international trips or even within the U.S., I was like "Oh my God, there's so much to do and discover and so many different cultures. I really enjoy experiencing that."'
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A new police state has been established just north of the states of Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. The Province of Ontario is home to over 38% of the population of Canada and is 55% bigger in area than the State of Texas, and it is now acting like a nightmarish police state.

CTV News reports:

The Ontario government is giving police temporary powers to enforce its stay-at-home order and allowing them to stop individuals and vehicles and ask their reasons for leaving their homes. Solicitor General Sylvia Jones made the announcement Friday afternoon as part of the new measures introduced by Premier Doug Ford's government to stop the further spread of COVID-19. "We have made the deliberate decision to temporarily enhance police officers' authority for the duration of the stay-at-home order. Moving forward, police will have the authority to require any individual who is not in a place of residence to first provide the purpose for not being at home and provide their home address," Jones said. "Police will also have the authority to stop a vehicle to inquire about an individual's reason for leaving their residence."

So much for freedom of movement or assembly. Unless the police deem your presence outside your prison cell home essential, you could be in for trouble.

Those who will not comply will be issued a ticket, Jones said. The province has not provided further details on possible fines, but she said under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, penalties for non-compliance are set at a minimum of $750.

I find the excerpts from the news conference announcing these changes deeply troubling, just looking at the faces and listening to the tone of these authoritarians as they try to justify their seizure of power over the details of ordinary life. George Orwell would recognize them:



Solicitor General Jones (Twitter video screen grab).

Ontarian police and local authorities are not necessarily enthusiastic about exercising these new powers to detain citizens and examine their motives for daring to leave home:

A spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service said they are reviewing the new orders. "Prior to any change in our enforcement strategy, we will notify the public on how we plan to implement the new provincial orders," spokesperson Allison Sparkes said. Several police services have said Friday that they will not be randomly stopping people. They include Waterloo Regional Police, Peterborough Police, Guelph Police, London Police and Ottawa Police. Toronto Mayor John Tory expressed his concerns over the new police powers, saying in a tweet that he will review the regulations carefully and will discuss them with the medical officer of health and the police chief. Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie also said stopping people arbitrarily "is not how we get control of the virus." She added that she will speak to the chief of Peel police and public health to look at how it will be enforced.

It sounds as if the provincial authorities are drawing their inspiration from China's early response with drastic lockdowns. At least so far, they are not discussing welding doors shut to trap people inside. They might also consider the disaster across their own border in Michigan, where Governor Gretchen Whitmer's drastic lockdown regulations have led to one of if not the worst problems with COVID in the United States, while free states like Texas and Florida do much better.

I'd be a lot more impressed if, instead of trying to keep people indoors, where the virus spreads far more readily than outdoors, they focused in early therapeutic intervention in cases of COVID, using ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine, both widely used and relatively benign pharmaceuticals, that inhibit reproduction of the virus and often have been shown to slow and even stop the effects.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
The coronavirus pandemic has dramatically intensified class tensions. While tens of thousands of people in Germany have lost their lives, hundreds of thousands are struggling with health problems, millions have suffered a loss of income and the top 10 percent of the population has perversely enriched itself. With its reopening policy, the ruling elite is sacrificing human lives to guarantee its profits.

Under these conditions, the class character of political tendencies is laid bare. In her new book The Self-Righteous Ones, Left Party politician Sahra Wagenknecht explicitly adopts the anti-immigrant and nationalist line of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and emerges as a vociferous proponent of a policy of mass infection. The fact that she was elected by 61 percent of delegates as the Left Partys lead election candidate in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia on Saturday underscores that her reactionary views are shared by the majority of the party.

Prior to the vote, Left Party parliamentary deputy Niema Morassat published extracts from Wagenknechts book on Twitter. The book, which was officially released on Wednesday, is a declaration of war against hundreds of thousands of people who vote for us and campaign to protect the environment and oppose racism, stated Morassat. The partys head of federal affairs, Jorg Schindler, also sought to distance himself from the book.

But Wagenknechts persistent far-right agitation and her new tract do not contradict the Left Partys programme. If she agitates against refugees, embraces the AfD and unites with right-wing extremist coronavirus deniers, she does so from the standpoint of seeking to mobilise this far-right filth to impose that very programme.

As the partys parliamentary group leader for many years, Wagenknecht is one of the architects of the Left Partys anti-worker policies. Along with her entire parliamentary group, she voted for the emergency passage of the bank bailouts, which diverted hundreds of billions of euros in public money into the pockets of the super-rich. She is also a strident advocate for governments at the state level with Left Party participation that have cut wages, privatised hospitals and housing, and built up the police.

These policies are the basis for Wagenknechts agitation. In the tradition of the far right, she portrays herself as a spokesperson for the little guy and denounces self-righteous elites, while she in reality advances the ruling class agenda by promoting nationalism, blaming immigrants for the attacks on wages and defending German capital against its foreign rivals.

Wagenknechts criticisms of the Left Party and Greens identity politics, which she enjoys focusing on in public discussions of her book, emerges from this right-wing standpoint. She does not criticise the fact that identity politics divides the workers and prevents them from mounting a common struggle against capitalism. Rather, she supports these divisions by advocating the exclusion of immigrants and discrimination against them in the job market. In this way, she diverts attention away from the Left Partys responsibility.

For example, the Left Party, in coalition with the Social Democrats, cut the wages of public sector workers in Berlin by up to 12 percent in order to finance guarantees for the Berlin Bankgesellschaft. Like a right-wing extremist, Wagenknecht declares foreigners to be responsible, and that wage cuts in many areas were solely due to high levels of immigration to Germany. The liberal-left narrative of cosmopolitanism and diversity caused them (the trade unions) to no longer dare to even raise the issue of the employment of immigrants, she claimed.

Wagenknecht does not merely adopt the slogan Jobs for Germans first, but also explicitly defends politicians in the right-wing extremist AfD. The accusations and allegations used to attack right-wing politicians in public debates are often excessive, she said. For example, the warning that AfD co-leader Jorg Meuthen wants to introduce a new type of fascism in Germany is totally unjustified.

Throughout the book, she presents in essence the far-right programme of the AfD, blusters about a German dominant culture, and appeals for a strong national state that will have to stand up to the United States and China.

Over recent months, Wagenknecht has used her YouTube show Wochenschau to reach out to the far-right lateral thinker demonstrators, coronavirus deniers and anti-vaccine advocates to ensure the abandonment of the last remaining restrictions aimed at containing the pandemic.

I think it is criminal to encourage young and healthy people to take a vaccine, the long-term effects of which are totally unclear, she said on December 10. The closure of retail outlets achieved nothing, but has destroyed our economic basis, she asserted on January 7. Then on February 4, she even rejected any evidence of a decline in incidence rates as a result of the closure of schools and workplaces; in March she declared the incidence rates to be exaggerated because PCR tests detect asymptomatic cases.

All these groundless claims are well known among coronavirus deniers and were disproved by scientists long ago. If one permitted Wagenknechts policy of allowing the mass infection of the population under age 65 to be pursued, up to 180,000 people in younger age groups would be at risk of losing their lives, according to calculations by the virologist Melanie Brinkmann. This death toll is apparently a price worth paying for Wagenknecht, so that we dont ruin our economy, as she put it on the Anne Will talk show in February.

AfD deputy Daniel Roi posted this picture, showing Wagenknecht's with quotes of her new book, on his Facebook page

It comes as no surprise that Wagenknecht has won plaudits from the AfD for her racism, nationalism and strategy of mass infection. Daniel Reu, an AfD deputy in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament, posted extracts from Wagenknechts book together with a picture of Wagenknecht and the AfD logo. The right-wing extremists North Rhine-Westphalia state party wrote on Twitter, Sahra Wagenknecht hit the nail on the head.

However, her decisive election as lead candidate makes clear that these right-wing positions are also supported by the Left Party. Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, all parties in parliament have imposed the inhumane policy of herd immunity, which puts corporate profits before human lives. As a result, social inequality has reached unprecedented levels, while close to 80,000 people have died from the virus. The parties are also stepping up the deportation of masses of immigrants and the strengthening of the repressive state apparatus.

On all of these issues, the Left Party plays a key role. The partys only minister president, Bodo Ramelow in Thuringia, has been especially aggressive in enforcing the reopening of the economy. His state has the highest incidence rate of the pandemic in Germany, with 235 cases per 100,000 people over the past seven days. The coalitions made up of the SPD, Greens and Left Party in Berlin and Bremen also fully support the mass infection policy.

Thuringia has been for years one of the states with the highest deportation rate per head of population. The state even deports people to war zones like Afghanistan. In every state where the Left Party is in government, refugees are being confined to inhuman camps despite the pandemic, threatening them with death on a daily basis. In Berlin, the SPD/Left Party/Green government adopted a new police law that paves the way for a police state.

On the basis of these right-wing policies, there have been numerous instances of the Left Party directly cooperating with the AfD. After the formation of a coalition government in Thuringia involving the Christian Democrats, AfD and Free Democrats provoked outrage across Germany and internationally, Ramelow ensured with his vote that the right-wing extremist party secured one of the state parliaments vice president positions. At the local level, several alliances between the two parties have occurred.

To the extent that there is criticism within the Left Party of Wagenknechts positions, this is merely from the standpoint that she speaks too explicitly about what the party is implementing in practice on a daily basis. The Left Party is an integral part of the all-party coalition responsible for the imposition of social spending cuts, mass coronavirus infection and militarism. It is to achieve these ends that Wagenknecht is mobilising the right-wing extremist filth.

This underscores the urgency of building the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei, which rejects the party cartel and is unifying workers in struggle against inequality, war and fascism. The SGP is standing in the federal election to fight for this socialist perspective.
The Longview Early Childhood Center Childcare and Preschool, a part of the Midland County ESA, recently received a tuition grant from the Midland Kiwanis Foundation. The organization would like to extend the utmost of gratitude to the Foundation for its $5,000 tuition grant to support the needs of our low income and ALICE (Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed) families.

Longview Early Childhood Center Childcare and Preschool opened in November 2020. The center announces its four-star rating with Michigans Great Start to Quality. This achievement in such a short time highlights the facilitys hardworking staff and the superior care offered to Midlands families and their young children from infancy to preschool. The rating assures both our grantors and our families that they are investing in a high quality early childhood education for a lasting impact on their childs development.
Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh expressed shock on Saturday (April 17) at a mass shooting incident at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis in the US that killed eight people, including four Sikhs.

"Shocked by the mass shooting incident at FedEx Ground facility in Indianapolis which took the lives of 8 people including 4 Sikhs. Pray for strength to their families in this hour of grief," Singh said in a tweet.

Shocked by the mass shooting incident at FedEx Ground facility in Indianapolis which took the lives of 8 people including 4 Sikhs. Pray for strength to their families in this hour of grief. https://t.co/kfzBV2OakT  Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) April 17, 2021

Four Sikhs, including three women, were among the eight people who were killed in the Indianapolis incident.

Brandon Scott Hole (19) and a former employee at the facility in Indianapolis carried out the mass shooting late on Thursday, before allegedly committing suicide.

About 90 per cent of the workers at the delivery service facility in Indianapolis are said to be Indian-Americans, mostly from the Sikh community.
The Volgograd-Moscow plane landed at Sheremetyevo after the cargo compartment opening sensor was triggered, a source in the aviation circles informed.

"The Airbus-320 aircraft on the Volgograd-Moscow flight landed at Sheremetyevo after the indication of the opening of the cargo compartment was triggered," the TASS quotes the source, specifying that the aircraft's cargo compartment will be checked.
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In Zinder, Nigerien director Aicha Macky announces up front her relationship to the desert city that lends her film its name. I am a daughter of Zinder, states an introductory title card, capping a more detached scroll of facts about the citys historical legacy of crime, poverty and social division. This is the last time that Macky will assert any intimate knowledge of her hometown, which she otherwise approaches with an outsiders curiosity. For Zinder, it emerges, is a place of drastically separate districts and social strata: Checking her privilege early on, Macky plunges into the deprived neighborhood of Kara Kara, traditionally a place to which lepers and other social outcasts were banished, and where bloody, destitute gang culture continues to thrive.

The short, straightforward documentary that follows is a vividly observed chronicle of tough, unforgiving streets. What keeps Zinder from feeling touristic, however, is the tension between shock and familiarity in its point of view: Its a study that feels eye-opening for filmmaker and audience alike. Premiering at this years Visions du Reel festival, Mackys second feature should get ample further play on the docfest circuit, joining a growing movement of nonfiction African filmmaking with an indigenous perspective. Specialist documentary distributors and streaming platforms may show interest too, while the films trim 83-minute running time could feasibly be further condensed for television slots.

Rather than Macky herself  who eschews any voiceover or onscreen presence  our guides through the dusty sidewalks and shanties of Kara Kara are a talkative, surprisingly good-humored ensemble of local gang (or palais, in the local parlance) members, whose individual hard-luck narratives gradually build a consistent sociological mosaic. The most forthcoming of them, nicknamed Siniya Boy, is introduced riding pillion on a motorcycle through the towns beige, bumpy streets, waving a handmade flag crudely adorned with swastikas and the name Hitler in scratchy capitals. Its a jolting image, though not entirely what it seems. Siniya Boys palais has been named after the late dictator in somewhat misinformed fashion: Its the name of a guy in America, an invincible warrior, he declares proudly. Like him, were not scared.

Small wonder that, when Macky asks him how her Zinder upbringing and his could have been so different, hes the first to admit that education is the missing factor for him, alongside many denizens of Kara Kara. A palais, as he matter-of-factly describes it, is a group of youngsters with nothing to do. The film looks on impassively as the men of Hitler pass the days by lifting weights (or, in one amusingly macho challenge, motorbikes) in their clubhouse and shooting the breeze at the barbershop; they look upon acts of violence (either live, or captured and disseminated on mobile phones) with corresponding calm. Several subjects talk us through the brutal stories behind their many bodily scars, on which cinematographer Julien Bosses camera lingers with low-lit solemnity. Bawo, a former palais boss gone straight as a taxi driver, explains in grisly but nonchalant detail how his scalp was split open. Hes lived to tell the tale, even if he hasnt quite escaped the world that mutilated him.

For many palais members, their principal livelihood entails trafficking gasoline from across the nearby Nigerian border: Ramsess, an intersex palais member, is among the most brazen of the smugglers, with a fearlessness seemingly cultivated from years of childhood bullying over their gender identity. (Now its waking up with no money that bothers me, they shrug.) The escalation and policing of this dangerous trade gives Zinder a core of narrative momentum and urgency, though Macky is chiefly interested in more everyday exchanges, in a culture where the prison fence is as standard a neighborhood meeting point as a local bar.

Indeed, as its overview of the community expands and diversifies, one wishes Zinder had slightly more time to burrow into its neglected corners. What begins as a male-led portrait is most chilling when Macky turns her attention to the women of Kara Kara, many of them forced into underage sex work, with their own horrific scars to show and tell  though their individual characters and stories dont emerge quite as distinctly as those of the palais brethren. Zinder is a powerful, plainspoken document of social barriers and subcultures in a region that many foreign filmmakers would paint with one broad brush. Macky, on the other hand, leaves us with the impression that theres more to uncover in her hometown yet.

Reviewed in Visions du Reel festival (online), London, Apr. 15, 2021. Running time: 83 MIN.

Running Time: Running time: 83 MIN.

Production

(Documentary  France-Niger-Germany) A Point du Jour, Les Films du Balibari, Tabous Production, Corso Film, Arte France presentation. (World sales: Andana Films, Lussas.) Producers: Clara Vuillermoz, Ousmane Samassekou, Erik Winker.

Crew

Director: Aicha Macky. Camera: Julien Bosse. Editor: Karen Benainous. Music: Dominique Peter.

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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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Soyuz MS-17 crew returns to Earth after 185 days on space station



April 17, 2021  Two cosmonauts and an astronaut have landed safely from the International Space Station after spending 185 days aboard the orbiting laboratory.



Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos and Kate Rubins of NASA touched down on the steppe of Kazakhstan on Saturday (April 17), riding aboard Russia's Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft. The three crewmates landed southeast of the remote Kazakh town of Dzhezkazgan at 12:55 a.m. EDT (0455 GMT or 10:55 a.m. local Kazakh time).



"Behind our shoulders is six months being on the space station," Ryzhikov said during a brief change of command ceremony on Thursday when he relinquished leadership of the station's Expedition 64 crew. "It was an amazing time and it was unforgettable. There were many unforgettable events during our increment."



After landing, Russian recovery forces, as well as NASA personnel, were on hand to help the crew out of the Soyuz descent capsule and provide initial medical checks. Rubins was next to be flown by NASA jet back to Houston, while Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov are flown back to their training center in Star City, Russia.



Ryzhikov, Kud-Sverchkov and Rubins' departure from the station on Friday at 9:34 p.m. EDT (0134 GMT Saturday) marked the official end of Expedition 64. At the time of their undocking, Expedition 65 began on the station under the command of NASA astronaut Shannon Walker.



"I know I speak for everybody when I say thank you so much for these wonderful five months that we have had together," Walker told Ryzhikov as she accepted command of the station. "It has truly been the teamwork and the camaraderie that has made it very special."



"Expedition 64 was incredibly busy. We've done all kinds of research, I don't know how many EVAs [extravehicular activities or spacewalks] between the two sides, multiple cargo vehicles, we've done station repairs, we've done station upgrades, we've done station maintenance," said Walker.



Walker, with NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Mark Vande Hei, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov, will operate the station for one week until the arrival of SpaceX's Crew-2. Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur of NASA, JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet are scheduled to launch on April 22 and dock their Dragon "Endeavour" to the station the next day.



Walker will then hand over command of the Expedition 65 crew to Hoshide before she, Hopkins, Glover and Noguchi land on Dragon "Resilience" on April 29.



Ryzhikov, Kud-Sverchkov and Rubins arrived on the station on Soyuz MS-17 on Oct. 14. They served as flight engineers on the Expedition 63 crew for one week before beginning Expedition 64.



During their 185 days on orbit, Ryzhikov, Kud-Sverchkov and Rubins conducted hundreds of experiments in the disciplines of biology, biotechnology, physical and Earth science. They also oversaw the arrival and departure of multiple visiting vehicles, including SpaceX's first operational Crew Dragon mission, which brought the Crew-1 astronauts to join the Expedition 64 crew.



Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov each performed their first spacewalk by making the first-ever EVA out of Russia's Poisk module. The two worked outside the station for 6 hours and 48 minutes to prepare for the removal of the Pirs docking module, which will clear the way for the arrival of Russia's Nauka multipurpose laboratory later this year.



Rubins, together with Glover and Noguchi, conducted two spacewalks to prepare the space station for the installation of new, more capable solar arrays. The two seven-hour EVAs brought her total career time working in the vacuum of space to 26 hours and 46 minutes over the course of her four spacewalks.



This was Ryzhikov's and Rubins' second spaceflight and Kud-Sverchkov's first. Rubins now has logged 300 days in space. Ryzhikov has spent 358 cumulative days off the planet.



The three traveled a total of 78.4 million miles (126 million km) completing 2,960 orbits of Earth.



Russia's Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft lands in Kazakhstan from the International Space Station with cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins on Saturday, April 17, 2021. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)





NASA astronaut Kate Rubins (left) and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov are seen after landing aboard Soyuz MS-17 from the International Space Station on the Kazakh steppe on April 17, 2021. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)





Soyuz MS-17 crew mission patch. (Roscosmos/spacepatches.nl)



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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-18 04:52:19|Editor: huaxia

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HAVANA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Cuba registered 1,026 cases and 12 deaths from COVID-19, the highest daily death toll since the disease appeared in the country last year, the Ministry of Public Health reported on Saturday.

According to the ministry, the total number of cases has reached 92,474 while the death toll has climbed to 512.

The ministry's national director of hygiene and epidemiology, Francisco Duran, explained that 29 patients were currently hospitalized in critical condition and 35 were in serious condition.

Havana continues to be the epicenter of the disease in the country, with 366.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest incidence rate in the country, followed by the provinces of Matanzas and Sancti Spiritus.

Cuba has been battling a new wave since January, and in response, authorities have increased restrictions, including the isolation of travelers arriving to the country and limiting or banning flights from some countries.

In Havana, the third and final phase of trials continues for the Cuban vaccine candidate Soberana-02, and in eastern Cuba, another vaccine candidate Abdala is also continuing phase three trials.

Phase two clinical trials of the Cuban vaccine candidate Soberana Plus will begin in the next few days with the participation of 450 volunteers between 19 and 80 years old with a history of mild to moderate COVID-19 or asymptomatic infection.

Two other Cuban vaccine candidates, Soberana-01 and Mambisa, are in different phases of research. Enditem
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 16)  The Department of Environment and Natural Resources wants the law on solid waste management amended to keep up with the times, an agency official says.

Actually, the [Ecological] Solid Waste Management Act, yung [the] RA 9003, is a good law. But of course like other laws, we need to update also this law, DENR Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and International Affairs Jonas Leones told CNN Philippines The Exchange on Friday. This was passed in 2000 and a lot of things happened, there are already new technologies on how to dispose this kind of waste.

Among these technologies are waste-to-energy projects, which Leones said are in place in other countries. However, such technology has yet to be allowed in the Philippines, which he says has been facing an alarming surge in garbage generation during the raging health crisis as medical wastes in particular pile up steadily.

If we can amend or revise some provisions of RA 9003 to include the waste-to-energy projects, I think we can adequate address this problem, he added.

The utilization of waste-to-energy facilities in the countrys waste management efforts has been forwarded by lawmakers like Sen. Sherwin Win Gatchalian. He is among the authors of Senate Bill No. 1789, or the proposed Waste-to-Energy Act, which aims to hit two birds with one stone: beef up the countrys waste treatment and disposal, and generate sustainable energy.

Given that current environmental laws ban technologies using incineration, Leones said authorities have found an avenue for adopting waste-to-energy projects by allowing certain industries to non-burn technology in addressing their garbage woes.

For now, the DENR is in close coordination with hospitals, which generate massive amounts of medical waste amid the health crisis, along with local governments, as they are in charge of managing households medical garbage like face masks and shields.

Local governments likewise observe protocols set by the agency in the disposal of such wastes.

We have a special crew dressed in PPE, special trucks that collect these infectious wastes. Then these are subjected to the different guidelines that are mandated by the DENR before they go to the landfill, said Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte about how her locality handles medical waste especially those hailing from areas under special concern lockdown due to clustering of COVID-19 cases.

Meanwhile for hospitals, Leones said hospitals register their waste to the agency, which in turn grants them assistance and special permits on disposing such garbage.
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The Police in Oyo State on Friday say they rescued three kidnapped victims who were abducted by gunmen at Onipe Village, along Ijebu-Ode-Ibadan road on Monday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that three females were on Monday abducted at Onipe village, Oyo State.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Adewale Osifeso, confirmed the rescue of the abductees in a statement issued on Friday and made available to journalists in Ibadan.

Mr Osifeso said the rescue was made possible as a result of pressure and intelligence along with effective utilisation of local hunters and vigilantes under the supervision of the Police.

They combed the suspected location in search of the abductees before recording the breakthrough.

The Commissioner of Police is hereby using this medium to appeal to the good people of the state not to relent in sharing credible and timely information with the Police for effective discharge of its duties, he said.

According to Mr Osifeso, the state commissioner of policemen, Ngozi Onadeko, vowed to continue to protect lives and properties.

(NAN)
KYODO NEWS - Apr 17, 2021 - 19:32 | World, All

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry and Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng on Friday confirmed cooperation between the two major world powers in the field of climate change, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

China and the United States share a lot of common interests in tackling climate change, Han was quoted by the news agency as telling Kerry during their video conversation.

Kerry, a former U.S. secretary of state under former President Barack Obama, visited Shanghai from Wednesday for talks with Chinese officials, as Sino-U.S. tensions linger over several issues including Beijing's alleged human rights abuses and Taiwan.

U.S. President Joe Biden, who took office in January, sent Kerry to Shanghai in an attempt to find clues on how to improve the country's deteriorating relations with the Chinese Communist-led government, foreign affairs experts say.

Han told Kerry, the first senior official to visit China under the new administration, that Beijing "welcomes the U.S. return" to the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, which Biden's predecessor Donald Trump abandoned.

Kerry was quoted by Xinhua as telling Hua that U.S.-China cooperation is of vital importance in responding to the global challenge of climate change, hailing China's tremendous efforts made in that regard. Han was in Beijing when he talked with Kerry.

Biden, who has made climate change matters a priority in his foreign policy, has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to join the two-day climate summit starting next Thursday. Kerry is also believed to have sought China's support to make the online meeting a success.

So far, however, China has said only that it is "seriously considering" whether Xi, who has pledged to make his country carbon neutral by 2060, will participate in the gathering.

Xi said Friday that climate change issues should not be used as a "bargaining chip" for politics, during his virtual summit on climate change with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Emphasizing that climate change is a common concern of all humankind, Xi urged developed economies to provide adequate technical and capacity building support for emerging nations to grapple with it, according to the news agency.

Xi's remarks underscored China's eagerness to keep the United States from putting political pressure on Beijing in the run-up to the upcoming summit scheduled to be hosted by Biden.
An activist is rallying for the USCIRF to not change its designation of India as a "country of particular concern" following reports of rampant religious freedom violations in the country under Prime Minister Modi's rule.

Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations chairman John Prabhudoss called upon the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on Wednesday to maintain its designation of India as a "country of particular concern" or "CPC" after its government continued to tolerate religious freedom violations.

During the panel event hosted by International Christian Concern, Prabhudoss discussed "India's Designation as CPC" and highlighted the importance of recognizing it as such for its escalating religious persecution rates.

According to the Christian Post, the increase in the religious freedom violations in India can be attributed to Prime Minister Modi's rise in power alongside the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014. Since then, the world's second-largest country has been ranked as the 10th-worst by Open Doors when it comes to religious persecution of Christians.

India has been included in the USCIRF's list of countries of particular concern in an annual report in 2020. However, the U.S. State Department failed to take action against the religious freedom violations in the country.

The USCIRF report said that the governments' implementation of "national-level policies violating religious freedom across India'' is a point of particular concern. But India fired back, saying that the report was "biased." The ICC's panel discussion on Wednesday was in preparation for the USCIRF's annual report for 2021, which is due for release towards the end of the month.

"The Hindu nationalism has proven to be as dangerous as other forms of religious extremism," Prabhudoss argued, adding "attacks on Christian institutions and churches every single day ever since the [BJP] came to power is indeed a troubling development."

Prabhudoss also expressed his concern over a campaign run by a foreign Hindu nationalist government in Washington, which through its proxies have lobbied for the reversal of the religious freedom recommendation in India. He called upon the USCIRF to maintain the designation given to India "based on the facts" as mandated to the commission by the U.S. Congress.

In a similar vein, several human rights advocates and organizations are also rallying to declare India as a country for particular concern. According to International Christian Concern, a letter signed by dozens of human rights advocates and organizations was sent to the USCIRF to persuade them to maintain their religious freedom recommendation for India.

They expressed alarm over the increased attacks and persecution of Christians, caused by emboldened radical Hindus who were influenced by the spread of Hindutva ideology. Reports of India's worsening state of religious freedom told of disrupted church services, destroyed property, assaulted Christians, and more.

ICC's Director of Advocacy Matias Perttula called upon the Biden administration to help USCIRF to declare India a country of particular concern this year while "[continuing] to champion religious freedom across the globe". Perttula said, "The United States must lead with its values and champion the cause of religious freedom for everyone, everywhere, all the time."
Any piece of journalism published or broadcast by a media organisation is a collaboration, even if there is only one byline. There will be an editor who commissioned the idea, another who checks the copy, and often a legal team and fact-checkers as well. None of this applies to the social media accounts of individual journalists. Here, they are most exposed  their judgments entirely their own, their unmediated personalities on display. And here, like Milligan, they can attract passionate followers, who in turn can influence what they do. We live at a time of increasingly partisan journalism. Credit:iStock Milligan is an excellent, experienced journalist, so we can assume she will say her tweet was true. But what precisely did it mean? It seemed to go beyond anything the ABC had published or broadcast. Yet it would be unthinkable for the institution not to stand by her. Our public broadcaster is thus ensnared in the implications of a journalists personal social media use.

We live at a time of increasingly partisan journalism. The domination of News Corporation acts as a background rumble in the dreary and interminable culture wars. Other media outlets struggle not to define themselves in its reverse image. Social media is part of this, fuelling partisanship, and sometimes privileging personality over the message. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Media organisations try to work out how to behave  when to converse, and when to withdraw. But so far, it is all a bit ad hoc. The public must surely be left unsure of the principles that guide this form of journalistic practice. The editor of The Age, Gay Alcorn, withdrew from social media a few months ago after one story provoked a Twitter storm. She said: I was hoping as editor I could continue to discuss things on Twitter but it seems not  I dont mind criticism of the media at all. But reluctantly, am out of here. (Shes back now, but in a much more limited way.)

Nine journalist Chris Uhlmann has rather gleefully poked the tiger, describing people on Twitter as sewer rats. Meanwhile, the ABCs managing director David Anderson has repeatedly been questioned about ABC journalists social media posts before Senate estimates. Mostly, this has involved opinionated comments. Milligans tweet falls into a different class. It can only be understood as factual assertion. ABC managing director David Anderson has defended the national broadcasters reporting on allegations against the Attorney-General. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Spectacularly unhelpful in the present context, an ABC lawyer tweeted that the Morrison government was fascist and the Prime Minister was an awful human being. Further back, ABC journalist Laura Tingle commented on the departure of a valued ABC colleague with a tweet  now deleted  about ABC funding: we grieve the loss of so many of our colleagues to government ideological bastardry. Hope you are feeling smug @ScottMorrisonMP.

And even further back Four Corners executive producer Sally Neighbour did not hold back when then ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie was sacked by the board in 2018 . Excellent decision, she tweeted. Loading Four Corners went on to screen a program about the Guthrie departure. Its hard to believe Neighbours tweet was helpful. The ABC updated its social media policy last year. It instructs employees not to use social media in a way that undermines your effectiveness at work. My sources suggest this is not consistently policed. Implementation is left to the judgment of individual managers, not all of whom are comfortable with limiting journalists freedom of speech. Not all are sure that they could, even if they wished to do so. Other media companies have gone further. The BBC, in a recent update to its policy, stated: Your personal brand on social media is always secondary to your responsibility to the BBC.

The New York Times has also toughened up its social media policy, which now says: Our journalists should be especially mindful of appearing to take sides on issues that The Times is seeking to cover objectively. But what does objectivity mean? The traditional, bloodless, voice of news reporting can conceal the value judgments innate in the journalism process  what to cover, who to interview and how to present the result. Loading This can be gendered. Once, when male journalists dominated, sexual harassment and abuse were scarcely regarded as newsworthy. Now there is a fresh field for the traditional journalistic role of exposing abuses of power. Some have called this advocacy, but there is nothing inherently objective about old ways, particularly when they incorporate sexism. Social media is here to stay. For journalists it is a means of promotion, a source of tips and contacts. The feedback of audiences can be scarifying, but educative. You cant be a robot on social media. Milligan displays her heart, constantly caring for the feelings of the survivors of sexual abuse. Thats easy to admire. But where are the limits? On the day the High Court overturned the verdict against Cardinal George Pell, Milligan tweeted: Hug your children.

Loading I believe responsible use of social media is part of good citizenship. Journalists carry particular responsibility. They should not withdraw, nor throw sewer rat abuse. They should work out how to behave. We cant expect a defamation action to help. Its time journalists and their audiences thought it through  and took it seriously. Margaret Simons is an author, journalist and academic.
Photograph: Wong Maye-E/AP

The vast majority of citations and charges against George Floyd protesters were ultimately dropped, dismissed or otherwise not filed, according to a Guardian analysis of law enforcement records and media reports in a dozen jurisdictions around the nation.

Related: After Breonna Taylor's death, activists fought to ban surprise police raids. One year later, they're winning

But some prosecutors and law enforcement observers charge that departments carried out mass arrests as a crowd control tactic, as a means to silence peaceful protesters, and as a public relations strategy designed to turn the public against demonstrators by making them appear more violent than they were. And whats more  some of the citing officers never witnessed the protests in the first place.

It sends a message that you might get arrested if you express your views and first amendment rights, said Vera Eidelman, staff attorney with the ACLUs speech, privacy and technology project. Police absolutely should not be relying on mass arrests to control a crowd or silence people who they disagree with.

In most of a dozen jurisdictions examined, at least 90% of cases were dropped or dismissed. In some cities, like Dallas and Philadelphia, as many as 95% of citations were dropped or not prosecuted.

Overpoliced, underprotected is a series focused on police violence in the US following one of the largest-scale uprisings in history.

A year on from the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, there are demands both inside the government and from grassroots movements to end the systemic racism and lethal force that has been embedded in police culture for centuries.

But with stark differences in approaches to reform and revolution, and the continued power of police unions, achieving sweeping change faces more obstacles than ever.



In Houston, about 93% of citations were dropped; in Los Angeles, about 93% of citations were not filed. The prosecutors office in San Francisco dismissed all 127 cases related to peaceful protest-related charges, though data for more serious citations was not available.

Story continues

Officials did not file charges for nearly all low-level offenses, like disobeying curfews, while they most often pursued cases with strong evidence of more serious crimes, like assault or looting. Still, data shows that a majority of felony charges were also dropped, which some prosecutors said was due to a lack of evidence.

The analysis does not include federal charges, and the figures are estimates that will change as the remaining cases play out in court. Police sent citations to a patchwork of agencies and departments in different cities where prosecutors, mayors or city attorneys largely made the call to drop charges.

Mayors in every city except Detroit dropped all citations over which they had jurisdiction. The administration of Mayor Mike Duggan, a former prosecutor, pursued a high number of low-level misdemeanor charges or ordinance violations, even though the demonstrations were largely peaceful. But district court judge Larry Williams Jr dismissed more than 100 cases because police refused to provide basic evidence, such as body-cam footage.

In most instances, Detroit officers who wrote tickets were not at the protests and didnt actually witness the alleged crimes, said the National Lawyers Guild and Detroit Justice Center attorney Rubina Mustafa. Instead of continuing to attempt to prosecute with shoddy evidence, the city earlier this year dropped nearly 300 more citations, but has still pursued dozens of charges against protest organizers. All told, 93% of Detroit cases have been dropped.

Among those still facing charges is the Detroit Will Breathe organizer Tristan Taylor, who said the mass arrests across the country are all about intimidation of people who vocally oppose police brutality: It says something about the nature of policing when thats a uniform tactic.

Officers arrest a protester near the police station in Detroit, Michigan, on 30 May 2020. Photograph: Seth Herald/AFP/Getty Images

The mass arrests were also part of a public relations campaign by Duggan and the Detroit police chief, James Craig, to paint the protesters as violent agitators and undermine their messaging, a strategy used by police in cities across the nation, said Tyler Crawford, the National Lawyers Guild director of mass defense.

What they try to do is spin it and say Look at how unlawful protesters are as is evidenced by all of these arrests that weve made, he said. Then they hope people have stopped paying attention after six, 10, 12 months when prosecutors say, Hey, weve got to drop these charges because these people shouldnt have been arrested.

In Dallas, where more than 95% of cases were not filed, police represent an exception. The department dropped about 675 charges stemming from one protest because the spirit of service to which the Dallas police department is committed would not be exemplified by moving forward with charges, leadership explained in an August report. Still, it sent nearly 200 charges to the prosecutors office, of which about 85% were dropped or had not been filed as of September, though a department spokesperson did not know the outcome of eight cases.

In Philadelphia, police sent over 1,700 charges to the city and the office of the district attorney, Larry Krasner. Mayor Jim Kenney and Krasner dropped or are poised to drop about 95% of the charges, including all ordinance violations. Krasner is handling a large portion of the more serious misdemeanors and felonies with a restorative justice program that involves dropping charges upon completion of the program. It includes a mix of meeting with victims, community service and referrals to job and education programs. Only about 80 of the most serious charges have so far been filed.

Police were making arrests as a form of crowd control, so in many instances there were no criminal charges to file, a Krasner spokesperson, Jane Roh, said. In other instances, there was simply not enough information to proceed on opening a criminal case.

The number of dropped cases are also relatively high in cities that witnessed more violence. In Minneapolis, where Floyd was killed, more than 90% of cases were dropped by November, though a local Black Lives Matter leader told the Guardian that hundreds of charges that police made since then remain in legal limbo. Portland has also seen recent violent clashes between protesters and law enforcement. Still, only 15% of nearly 1,100 cases have been filed and 82% have been rejected by the Multnomah county prosecutor, Mike Schmidt.

Minneapolis state patrol arrest protesters on 7 October 2020. Photograph: Kerem Yucel/AFP/Getty Images

In New York City, more than 5,000 summonses that police wrote citywide for low-level offenses were dismissed by a summons court, according to the courts chief clerk. Though the precise percentage is unclear, the National Lawyers Guild attorney Gideon Oliver, who coordinated defense for many of those cited, said the vast majority, if not all, of summonses were or will be dismissed. Meanwhile, Brooklyns prosecutor dropped 83% of 136 more serious criminal cases, and Manhattans prosecutor dropped about 64% of nearly 1,000 cases.

The mass arrests overwhelmed already strained criminal justice systems by forcing them to contend with processing thousands of protesters. That resulted in delayed arraignments and kept high numbers of inmates crowded in small New York jails for up to days at a time during the pandemic, Crawford said.

The police response created this whole additional public health crisis that wasnt something people talked about much, but, in the moment, that was one of the biggest issues we were concerned about, he said.

Moreover, forcing the criminal justice system to process thousands of cases based on flimsy evidence that probably would not result in prosecutions represented an enormous waste of tax dollars and time, observers said.

Thats not what the government should be doing, Eidelman said. It points to an excessive use of governmental authority.
GEORGETOWN  Close to 100 residents of a gated, country club community groaned with dismay and cursed April 15 when the planning commission voted for a low-income apartment complex close to their subdivision.

One resident of Wedgefield Plantation demanded to know when the topic would be discussed with Georgetown County Council. Planning director Holly Richardson quickly pulled out her phone and said it will be discussed further May 11.

The woman then sternly said she and her husband would be there before storming out of the Howard Center auditorium.

Georgetown Memorial Hospital originally bought the 64 acres off Wedgefield Road and North Fraser Street in 2008 to build a medical facility, but the project fell through.

Now, the hospital is looking to sell 16 acres of it to Foursix Housing and Blue Line development, but the sale depends upon a change in land use rules. This change in rules is what the commission recommended for council approval April 15, and the topic will now move to county council over its next several meetings.

Resident Tom Olejniczak said he and his family recently bought a plot of land in Wedgefield, and were planning on building a home. Its always been a dream of his to live in Wedgefield, he said.

"I remember driving in Wedgefield for the very first time and thinking 'Wow, this is really pretty back here, I like this,'" Olejniczack said.

He told planning commission, though, that if the development is built, he and his family will not move forward with the build.

Georgetown County is in dire need of affordable housing, though, according to a recent study of the county conducted by Bowen National Research.

Based on the most recent census data, the average household income in Georgetown was just above $48,000 per year, making affordable rent in the county no more than $1,200 a month, or 30 percent of income. According to the county, average monthly rent in the county is between $1,000 and $1,500.

The proposed apartments would be restricted to families with low income  a family of four, for example, could make no more than $38,700 a year if they wanted to live there, based on median household income in the county.

Tony Cates with Foursix said rent at the 90 proposed units would be between $400 and $975, depending on the income of the residents and how many bedrooms are in a unit. The development would have units ranging from one to four bedrooms, but exact counts for how many units of each are not yet available.

This lack of specificity is the a main point of contention for residents of Wedgefield. Cates said he and Blue Line only have very general plans for the development because land use changes only require general plans  once the land use rule is changed, the developer will then be required to have more specifics on the project plans, such as exactly how many one, two, three and four bedroom units there will be and their designs and layouts.

If the land use rule is changed, Foursix and Blue Line will have to go through the same process of getting recommendations from planning commission and approval from council for the specific plans for the development.

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"Exactly what we are going through now, we will replicate. We will have all the details at that point because we will be asking for a plan amendment, not just a use amendment," Cates said.

On April 12, Foursix and Blue Line held a community meeting with Wedgefield residents where Cates said he explained the current plans they have to dispel misinformation that he said had been circulating.

Cates told residents at this meeting Foursix and Blue Line would work with the community on the design of the development to ensure minimal impact, and residents expressed concerns over how it would be funded.

"We get a tax credit from the state of South Carolina of which we sell to a corporation," Cates said. "We don't make money from the tax credit, the tax credit is the instrument that finances it, it is not a way that we make money."

Cates said he thinks the residents' issues with the development are rooted in negative view of people who would be living in the development.

"In my opinion, (residents) did not come for information, they came to voice an opinion, and that's fine, everybody has an opinion," Cates said. "It's the individuals that will be living in the units that people have an issue with, its their perceived opinion of crime and property values that a person making an honest person's wage will bring, and that's just not true."

Residents of Wedgefield cited traffic and property value concerns April 15 as other reasons they were against the development.

In 2008, a traffic study was done to accompany the hospital's purchase of the land, and that study recommended adding two coordinating stoplights: one at Wedgefield Road and 701, and another at 701 and 51.

Since 2008, the population in the area has grown substantially, and residents said they worried adding more people to the area would only add more traffic.

As far as Wedgefield Plantation property value, the county's director of economic development, Brian Tucker, said the administration and the planning commission do not believe the apartments will adversely impact that.

"It is our belief that this is a quality project that will bring housing to the county that we need," Tucker said.

A few residents echoed that while they are for affordable housing options in Georgetown County, they do not think the best spot for one is by Wedgefield Plantation.

"Why should the tax payers and residents of Wedgefield, Windsor and other surrounding people in the area pay for the bad mistakes that the hospital made in purchasing this property?" resident Miki Nadeau said.
monitors will watch over a nearly six-month-old cease-fire agreement in Libya, the U.N. Security Council decided in a vote announced Friday, as the country heads toward December elections after a decade of fighting and upheaval.

The council agreed unanimously to follow through on Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' recent proposal for up to 60 monitors to join an existing political mission in

The monitors would arrive in an incremental deployment ... once conditions allow," according to the council's British-drafted resolution. The measure also urges all foreign forces and mercenaries to get out of the country, as was supposed to happen months ago.

We now expect all U.N. members to act on that, helping to regain its sovereignty and work towards lasting peace and stability, Britain's minister for the Middle East and North Africa, James Cleverly, said in a statement from London.

He heralded the resolution as sending a clear signal of support for Libya's transitional government, which took power last month and is expected to lead the country to the elections, planned Dec. 24.

Libya's U.N. mission didn't immediately comment on the resolution. The country didn't get to vote on them, as it isn't a member of the 15-nation council. Voting was conducted by email, due to the coronavirus pandemic; the results were announced at a brief virtual meeting.

has been wracked by chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011 and split the oil-rich North African country between a U.N.-supported government in the capital, Tripoli, and rival authorities based in the country's east.

Each side was backed by armed groups and foreign governments. The U.N. estimated in December there were at least 20,000 foreign fighters and mercenaries in Libya, including Syrians, Russians, Sudanese and Chadians.

In April 2019, east-based commander Khalifa Hifter and his forces, backed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, launched an offensive to try and capture Tripoli.

His 14-month-long campaign collapsed after Turkey stepped up its military support of the U.N.-backed government with hundreds of troops and thousands of Syrian mercenaries.

The cease-fire agreement, reached in October, called for the foreign fighters to leave within three months.

The cease-fire deal has dramatically reduced civilian casualties, but the U.N. has continued to document killings, forced disappearances, sexual violence, arbitrary arrests, hate crimes and attacks against activists and human rights defenders in Libya, U.N. special envoy Jan Kubis told the council last month.

The Security Council resolution also demands all countries fully comply with a decade-long U.N. arms embargo on Libya. A recently released report by U.N. said the embargo has been totally ineffective.

(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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Kim Kardashian was a smoldering sensation when she stepped out for a night on the town in Miami Beach.

The 40-year-old reality TV bombshell, who is in the process of divorcing her third husband Kanye West, cut a typically glamorous figure on her latest night out.

She slid her iconic hourglass frame into a glimmering golden peekaboo dress that showed off her cleavage to full advantage.

Wow: Kim Kardashian was a smoldering sensation when she stepped out for a night on the town in Miami Beach

Her outfit featured a fashionable turtleneck as well as a slit up the hem enabling her to emphasize her shapely legs.

The KKW Beauty founder sharpened her unmistakable features with makeup as she surfaced from lockdown for her latest outing.

Letting her luxurious dark locks down, she could be seen balancing expertly on a pair of sky-high stilettos with straps winding up almost to the knee.

During part of her evening excursion Kim stopped off at the new Goodtime Hotel in Miami Beach and could be seen heading to her car outside.

What matters most: For her latest night out she was surrounded by friends including her longtime pals Jonathan Cheban and Stephanie Shepherd

Use it or lose it: Her outfit featured a fashionable turtleneck as well as a slit up the hem enabling her to emphasize her shapely legs

He's a fan: Jonathan, who styles himself the 'Food God,' slipped into a black T-shirt with a neon green image of the Looney Tune character Marvin The Martian

Glowing: During part of her evening excursion Kim stopped off at the new Goodtime Hotel in Miami Beach and could be seen heading to her car outside

The sex tape icon, who arrived at the venue in a sleek black Lamborghini, had a gentleman on hand to open her car door for her.

For her latest night out she was surrounded by friends including her longtime pals Jonathan Cheban and Stephanie Shepherd.

Jonathan, who styles himself the 'Food God,' slipped into a black T-shirt with a neon green image of the Looney Tune character Marvin The Martian.

He teamed the top with a pair of matching leather trousers and a pair of colorful shoes before stepping out with his celebrity friends.

What a look: Stephanie slipped into an eye-catching ensemble that included a black bra, black skirt and matching mesh connecting them

Coordinated: Jonathan teamed the top with a pair of matching leather trousers and a pair of colorful shoes before stepping out with his celebrity friends

History: Stephanie used to be Kim's assistant and although she left the position a few years ago they have evidently kept their personal equation solid

The reliable Kardashian satellite made sure to add a splash of dazzle to his ensemble, including with a necklace and a glittering watch.

Jonathan could be seen walking ahead of Kim as the global superstar made her way carefully down a flight of stairs leading out to a parking lot.

Stephanie slipped into an eye-catching ensemble that included a black bra, black skirt and matching mesh connecting them.

She used to be Kim's assistant and although she left the position a few years ago they have evidently kept their personal equation solid.

Social media siren: Kim boasts a grand total of more than 215 million followers on Instagram where she frequently displays her eye-popping fashion choices

C'est soiree la: In fact that same night it emerged via social media that Kim recently joined a reunion of all six Kardashian-Jenner sisters

By the way: That evening Kim filmed out the window of her Lamborghini revealing Jonathan in a separate car with Phil Riportella and Simon Huck

Although they were not visible as she left the hotel on her night out Kim was wearing bejeweled grillz that evening, she revealed on her Insta Stories.

The social media siren boasts a grand total of more than 215 million followers on the platform where she frequently displays her eye-popping fashion choices.

That evening Kim filmed out the window of her Lamborghini revealing Jonathan in a separate car with Phil Riportella and Simon Huck.

In fact that same night it emerged via social media that Kim recently joined a reunion of all six Kardashian-Jenner sisters.

Family matters: Kim and her estranged husband are the proud parents of four children - North, seven, Saint, five, Chicago, three, and Psalm, one

Legacy: Before Kim wound up on the list her baby sister Kylie Jenner, the 23-year-old lip kit mogul extraordinaire, made her own way into the rankings in 2019

Making a splash: Kim's dress played up the legendary derriere with which she famously once 'broke the internet' for Paper magazine

Making it work: The thrice-married SKIMS founder and her rap star husband have reportedly agreed to split custody of their four children

Various sisters posted group shots to Instagram showing Kim with Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian as well as Kylie and Kendall Jenner on a sofa.

However those social media pictures showed Kim in a different ensemble to her gold getup from this Friday night suggesting the reunion occurred on a different date.

Kim and her estranged husband are the proud parents of four children - North, seven, Saint, five, Chicago, three, and Psalm, one.

Her busty new outing comes about a week after she followed in Kanye's footsteps and made it onto the Forbes Billionaires List for the first time.

Only the best: Kim has hired top Hollywood divorce lawyer Laura Wasser who also represented her in her previous divorce from her husband of 72 days Kris Humphries

In the offing: Once that show ends the Kardashian-Jenner women are heading over to a mystery project distributed by Hulu in America and Star abroad

Cat's out of the bag: On the premiere episode of the last season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians her family could be seen discussing Kim's marital woes

On the move: Meanwhile Kim herself discussed the difficulty of having her children fly off to see Kanye in Wyoming while she has to stay on the west coast studying law

Kim ranked at 2674th place with an estimated $1 billion net worth while Kanye was ahead of her at 1750th as he is reportedly worth about $1.8 billion.

Before Kim wound up on the list her baby sister Kylie Jenner, the 23-year-old lip kit mogul extraordinaire, made her own way into the rankings in 2019.

However the magazine later published an investigative report into Kylie's finances and she was not included on the list this year.

The day her billionaire news broke Kim posted an album of celebratory bikini snaps from her beach hideaway captioned: 'Bliss.'

The truth of the matter: 'That's the hardest thing for me is to be away from the kids, but I have to really dedicate myself and do it,' said Kim

Kim finally filed for divorce from Kanye in February after about a month of rumors that the marriage was on the verge of collapse.

The thrice-married SKIMS founder and her rap star husband have reportedly agreed to split custody of their four children.

Kim has hired top Hollywood divorce lawyer Laura Wasser who also represented her in her previous divorce from her husband of 72 days Kris Humphries.

Kanye and Kim are negotiating the division of their assets and TMZ has reported she may get to keep their Hidden Hills home in order to not uproot the children.

Mainstay: Jonathan is a staple member of Kim's orbit and has been seen several times on Keeping Up With The Kardashians over the years during various phases of her life

Connections: The Goodtime Hotel which was one of Kim's stops that evening was co-launched by Miami nightlife impresario David Grutman who is a friend of hers

Downward: Kim kept her eyes on the steps as she made her way carefully downstairs

The family's long-running E! show Keeping Up With The Kardashians is in the midst of airing its 20th and final season.

Once that show ends the Kardashian-Jenner women are heading over to a mystery project distributed by Hulu in America and Star abroad.

On the premiere episode of the last season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians her family could be seen discussing Kim's marital woes.

There's Kim's Lambo: The reality TV icon comes from a family of gearheads including her sister Kendall Jenner and her former stepfather Caitlyn Jenner

'I know she doesn't want to talk about it on camera, but I just feel like she's struggling a bit,' said Kim's mother Kris Jenner.

Kim's eldest sister Kourtney Kardashian, who herself co-parents three children with her ex Scott Disick, said her younger sibling 'can't possibly navigate this on her own.'

Meanwhile Kim herself discussed the difficulty of having her children fly off to see Kanye in Wyoming while she has to stay on the west coast studying law.

Priorities: Kim had her phone in her hand as she clambered back into her Lamborghini after her sensational night out

'That's the hardest thing for me is to be away from the kids, but I have to really dedicate myself and do it,' said Kim.

Kris recently appeared on The Kyle And Jackie O Show and noted that the divorce was 'always going to be hard' since Kim and Kanye have 'a lot of kids.'

The momager, who has been through two divorces, said that 'all I want is for those two kids to be happy. And I want the kids to be happy. That's the goal.'
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh expressed shock on Saturday at a mass shooting incident at a facility in Indianapolis in the US that killed eight people, including four Sikhs.

"Shocked by the mass shooting incident at Ground facility in Indianapolis which took the lives of 8 people including 4 Sikhs. Pray for strength to their families in this hour of grief," Singh said in a tweet.

Four Sikhs, including three women, were among the eight people who were killed in the Indianapolis incident.

Brandon Scott Hole (19) and a former employee at the facility in Indianapolis carried out the mass shooting late on Thursday, before allegedly committing suicide.

About 90 per cent of the workers at the delivery service facility in Indianapolis are said to be Indian-Americans, mostly from the Sikh community.

(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.)
On Monday Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple was 'Surprised' by Senators Letter regarding a Hearing on App Store Issues and will send their Chief Compliance Officer to Washington." The report noted that on Sunday, Apple responded to the leading members of the subcommittee, Senators Amy Klobuchar (Dem) and Mike Lee (Rep), in a letter, agreeing to send Chief Compliance Officer Kyle Andeer to testify on Wednesday April 21.

Timothy Powderly, senior director of government affairs for the Americas, wrote that Apple was "surprised" by the letter from Klobuchar and Lee, saying it had previously expressed a willingness to participate but "simply sought alternative dates in light of upcoming matters that have been scheduled for some time and that touch on similar issues."

We're now learning that on Monday the Coalition for App Fairness, supported by Epic Games and Spotify, will be holding a virtual Press Conference Monday, April 19, 2021 in advance of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights hearing on app stores.

Speakers will share their stories of how the anti-competitive practices of app store platforms have created a broken app marketplace for developers and consumers. Participants will be available for questions from members of the media after brief remarks.



Apple will be holding a special event on Tuesday, April 20, likely to introduce the next-gen iPad Pro. It's going to be a powerful media event that is likely to drown out the noise generated from the Coalition's press conference.

Whether Apple will use the event to counter any negative or slighted commentary against the App Store is unknown at this time.
The fight over the San Francisco school districts effort to rename 44 schools isnt over yet even though the school board has reversed course.

A lawyer representing plaintiffs in a lawsuit that prompted the boards reversal is calling on the district to amend that resolution to remove language deeming the lawsuit frivolous.

In a letter to the school boards attorney on Friday, attorney Paul Scott also asks the board to make out checks for $1,000 to each of six nonprofits that acted as petitioners in the case. In exchange, he said, the plaintiffs will dismiss the lawsuit and not seek any further legal fees.

The district did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The school boards April resolution called the lawsuit nothing more than a transparent attempt to thwart a lawful and duly-noticed action with which it disagrees, and continued to say that the board wishes to avoid the distraction and wasteful expenditure of public funds in frivolous litigation.

It was passed largely in reaction to the litigation, which alleged that the board violated the Brown Act, the states open meetings law, because the public agenda item said only that the board would decide on a list of potential schools to be renamed. A San Francisco superior court judge ruled in March that the district had to either rescind the vote, or show why it shouldnt have to.

In a letter to the boards attorney, Scott wrote that his firm has incurred 200 hours in fees and other costs. While the boards resolution technically complies with the judges order, Scott said, it has still failed to take genuine responsibility for its own missteps, which is unbecoming of a governmental body, sets a bad example for our Citys schoolchildren, and is wasteful of taxpayer resources.

If the school board does not amend the April reversal and pay the nonprofit organizations in the case, including five alumni organizations and the San Francisco Taxpayers Association, the law firm will simply proceed in the normal course to collect our fees and costs as permitted by statute.

Board members have said they intend to revisit the initiative after schools have fully reopened, probably in the fall. The board had already suspended work on the renaming initiative in February to focus on school reopening. While some parents and students celebrated the initial vote, saying it was hurtful to wear the names of racists on school sweatshirts, others decried the decision for failing to consult experts and lacking historical accuracy.

In a statement following the vote, board President Gabriela Lopez acknowledged mistakes were made, and promised a more deliberative process moving forward, which includes engaging historians at nearby universities to help with future discussions.

Emma Talley is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: emma.talley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @emmat332
When a friend texted Christopher Gregoire asking for some weed, he agreed to smoke with her and arrived at her Baton Rouge hotel room about 20 minutes later.

He knocked on the door, but instead of his friend welcoming him inside, Gregoire found himself confronted with undercover narcotics detectives, he said during a recent interview. He quickly realized that his friend had cooperated with police at his expense. He said she was working as a prostitute at the time, though he knew her from smoking weed and was unsure whether she used other drugs.

Gregoire, 25, was booked into jail last year on possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

The case exemplifies a controversial practice in the BRPD narcotics division: so-called "troll rips" where detectives would set up dates with prostitutes via online ads, then show up and threaten to arrest the women unless they agreed to set up a drug dealer, according to a recent internal department memo containing widespread misconduct allegations. The practice has come under scrutiny amid a widening corruption probe focused on the division.

Two narcotics detectives have been arrested, one accused of stealing marijuana seized as evidence, another of buying stolen electronics. BRPD leaders also transferred four supervisors from narcotics to street patrols, effectively halving the division, removing its leadership and suspending normal operations.

Alleged corruption in BRPD narcotics unit includes stolen drugs, illegal searches, planted evidence After a Baton Rouge police officer was accused of purchasing stolen electronics several weeks ago, he sat down and drafted a memo alleging wid

Meanwhile, East Baton Rouge prosecutors have dropped charges against at least 115 defendants, including Gregoire, because their cases relied on testimony from detectives accused of criminal wrongdoing. The dropped charges  a small handful of them stemming from apparent "troll rips"  prompted questions about whether some detectives were focusing on low-level drug arrests rather than conducting long-term investigations and bringing charges against dealers farther up the chain.

Gregoire said he believes his case illustrates a similar point. He had no criminal record in East Baton Rouge before his May 2020 arrest. He works and pays taxes.

"To be honest, it seems like a waste of time and tax dollars," he said. "Maybe they were looking for something bigger that night, like heroin or whatever. But using these women to catch people with weed on them  how is that helping anyone?"

Gregoire said the detectives who arrested him appeared relatively uninterested in building a bigger case or figuring out where his weed came from. He was arrested for possessing 9.5 grams of marijuana, less than the 14-gram threshold that carries stiffer penalties under Louisiana law.

The sting occurred during the peak of the pandemic, when local law enforcement agencies had been explicitly discouraged from booking people on minor offenses in hopes of reducing the jail population and minimizing the spread of COVID behind bars.

After BRPD corruption probe halts 100+ cases, will narcotics officers change who they arrest? After local prosecutors dismissed more than 100 cases involving two Baton Rouge police officers recently accused of misconduct, the sheer numb

In an arrest report, police disclosed some details about the circumstances but stopped short of describing all their techniques. The BPRD narrative describes how Jason Acree  who was arrested weeks later and booked into jail for possession of intent to distribute marijuana and malfeasance in office  and other detectives contacted a confidential informant at the Econo Lodge off Siegen Lane. While under police supervision, the informant texted Gregoire asking him to bring her marijuana, according to detectives. The report does not refer to the informant as a prostitute, though Gregoire said she was a sex worker.

Policing experts and local law enforcement leaders interviewed by The Advocate agree that a good narcotics unit should focus on more substantial investigations than one-off drug busts and street-dealer arrests.

Jillian Snider, an adjunct lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said she never saw detectives use a similar technique targeting prostitutes during her 14 years at NYPD, where she worked in narcotics, vice operations and street crimes. She said their prostitution operations focused instead on uncovering human trafficking cases and holding johns accountable.

"Often prostitutes are also the victims of violent crime," she said. "Some are forced into the act of prostitution, so now if you're trying to force them into cooperating with police, that creates an even more sensitive situation. That never was a practice we used."

She said using the tactic to achieve a relatively minor arrest, like the case involving Gregoire, seems unproductive.

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"To me, that's so low level," she said. "I think it's investing way too much manpower and resources into such a low-level charge. I would rather arrest someone with 200 pounds of marijuana."

However, Snider also noted there are still too many unanswered questions about the case to know for certain whether detectives were totally off base. She said police often use low-level offenses to solicit information from suspects and build bigger cases. And court records don't reveal whether the officers who arrested Gregoire had some higher-level intelligence or a potential endgame in mind.

Since his charges were dropped, Gregoire said he wonders whether he'll get back the money he spent on bail, and whether the arrest should be expunged from his record. He pointed out that marijuana use has been legalized in many states.

He also said another man was arrested under similar circumstances that night, using the same informant. Court records show a second marijuana distribution arrest originating from a Reiger Road hotel. The defendant in that case was planning to sell $50 worth of weed, according to police. He was also booked into jail despite the pandemic, and his charges were recently dismissed.

Half of BRPD's narcotics division was arrested or transferred. What happens to their cases? When Baton Rouge police staked out a suspected drug deal and came away with large amounts of marijuana and three guns, Kelvin Patterson told d

In addition to those cases, the list of dropped charges reveals several other similar investigations.

One police report describes an investigation "targeting illegal narcotics and prostitution" in the Baton Rouge area. In that case, an informant contacted a woman through SnapChat and arranged to buy $80 worth of Xanax. The woman was arrested after showing up with the drugs. She had no prior criminal history in East Baton Rouge.

In other cases, detectives ended up arresting the sex workers, either for prostitution or because there were drugs inside their hotel rooms.

According to one arrest report, detectives contacted a woman via an online prostitution ad, arrived at her hotel room and found loose meth on the coffee table. Her arrest also occurred in May 2020. The report does not mention whether she declined an offer to cooperate and avoid arrest.

Charges against at least two other women arrested under similar circumstances were also dropped. Both were advertising sex work online, then found in possession of drugs, according to police. Recent attempts to reach those defendants and other women who cooperated with police were not successful.

The BRPD internal memo that describes so-called "troll rips" was prepared by one of the arrested detectives, Jeremiah Ardoin, who received a misdemeanor summons in December for allegedly buying stolen electronics. He wrote the memo not long after his arrest and gave it to department leadership, alleging widespread corruption among his close colleagues.

The memo presented some specific allegations against other detectives, including Acree. He was rearrested this week on an additional obstruction of justice count. His name appears on arresting documents and subpoena lists for the majority of dropped cases, including the handful involving prostitutes.

BRPD narcotics detective, already facing drug charges, arrested again amid ongoing probe A detective with the Baton Rouge Police Department was arrested late Wednesday afternoon, his second arrest in recent weeks amid an ongoing co

Ron Haley, a local civil rights attorney representing Ardoin, called such cases "the lowest hanging fruit of narcotics investigations."

In an interview last week, Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul declined to comment on the specific allegations, citing an ongoing internal investigation into division operations.

But Paul, who once served as narcotics commander for Louisiana State Police, said best practices call for detectives to focus on large-scale narcotics investigations targeting the leadership of violent drug trafficking networks; smaller offenses should fall to the BRPD street crimes division. He said prosecuting drug users should never be the end goal.

Paul said he repeatedly communicated that message to the BRPD narcotics division after taking office in 2018, and the ongoing investigation will reveal how closely detectives followed his instructions. He declined to comment on specific changes coming to the division, but said there is room for improvement.
The driving mode pretty much turns Google Maps into a hub for the experience behind the wheel, obviously with the navigation app the core of everything.Google Maps pretty much becomes an alternative to Android Auto for phones, with the interface clearly inspired from this app, while the feature lineup includes pretty much the same capabilities. Google Maps driving mode allows you to make calls, control the music playback, and read your messages from just one place, all while also benefitting from Google Assistant integration.The UI has been specifically optimized to make sense for drivers and reduce the distraction behind the wheel, so it comes with big buttons that are easy to interact with.Furthermore, the driving mode allows you to do everything without closing the navigation interface, which means you can always get directions no matter what you do.But until now, the driving mode has been exclusive to users in the United States. The same feature also went live in Germany in early April , also as a preview, and now Google is bringing it to a series of new countries, including Australia, Great Britain, Ireland, India, and Singapore.Once again, the driving mode can only be used in English regardless of the country, and it remains available only on Android. Theres no word as to whether Google wants to release it on iPhone as well.The Google Assistant driving mode in Google Maps requires at least Android 9 and 4GB of RAM to run properly. You can find the instructions to activate the driving mode in Google Maps here, but make sure your device meets all requirements first and you live in a supported region.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 03:04:17|Editor: huaxia

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ABUJA, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Eighteen people were killed and 21 others wounded when militants of the extremist group Boko Haram attacked Nigeria's northeastern town of Damasak earlier this week, wreaking havoc in the area, said a state governor on Friday.

Babagana Umara Zulum, governor of the restive state of Borno, told reporters on Friday during his visit to Damasak that he has confirmed from local residents 18 people had died and 21 injured in the Boko Haram attack on Tuesday.

"The UN humanitarian hub, private residential houses, a police station, a primary healthcare centre ... were among properties destroyed," said Zulum.

According to the governor, the militants invaded the town with three gun trucks.

He said he visited Damasak to fully assess the extent of damage and interact well with security officials involved in the counterinsurgency operations in the town, adding measures were put in place to forestall future attacks.

Boko Haram has been trying to establish an Islamist state in northeastern Nigeria since 2009. The terror group has also extended its attacks to other countries in the Lake Chad Basin. Enditem
Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny risks cardiac arrest at "any minute" as his health has rapidly deteriorated, doctors warned Saturday, urging immediate access to Russia's most famous prisoner.

On March 31, President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponent went on hunger strike to demand proper medical treatment for back pain and numbness in his legs and hands.

On Saturday, US President Joe Biden added his voice to a growing international chorus of protest at the treatment of the activist, describing his situation as "totally unfair".

Navalny, 44, was imprisoned in February and is serving two-and-a-half years on old embezzlement charges in a penal colony in the town of Pokrov around 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of Moscow.

Navalny's personal doctor Anastasia Vasilyeva and three more doctors including cardiologist Yaroslav Ashikhmin have asked prison officials to grant them immediate access.

"Our patient can die any minute," Ashikhmin said on Facebook on Saturday, pointing to the opposition politician's high potassium levels and saying Navalny should be moved to intensive care.

"Fatal arrhythmia can develop any minute."

Navalny barely survived a poisoning with the Novichok nerve agent in August which he has blamed on the Kremlin. His doctors say his hunger strike might have exacerbated his condition.

Having blood potassium levels higher than 6.0 mmol (millimole) per litre usually requires immediate treatment. Navalny's were at 7.1, the doctors said.

"This means both impaired renal function and that serious heart rhythm problems can happen any minute," said a statement on Vasilyeva's Twitter account.

The doctors said he had to be examined immediately "taking into account the blood tests and his recent poisoning".

- 'Alexei is dying' -

Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh, who accompanied him when he collapsed on a plane after the poisoning in August, said the situation was critical again.

Story continues

"Alexei is dying," she said on Facebook. "With his condition it's a matter of days."

She said she felt like she was "on that plane again, only this time it's landing in slow motion", pointing out that access to Navalny was restricted and few Russians were aware of what was actually going on with him in prison.

On Saturday, responding to reporters' questions about Navalny's plight, Biden responded: "It's totally, totally unfair, totally inappropriate".

More than 70 prominent international writers, artists and academics, including Jude Law, Vanessa Redgrave and Benedict Cumberbatch, have called on Putin to ensure that Navalny receives proper treatment immediately.

Their appeal was published late Friday by France's Le Monde newspaper.

Navalny's team had earlier announced plans to stage what they said would be "modern Russia's biggest protest".

Navalny's allies said they would set a date for the protest once 500,000 supporters had registered with a website. As of 2230 GMT Saturday, more than 450,000 people had signed up.

Yarmysh on Saturday urged more Russians to sign up, saying that a big rally could help save Navalny's life.

"Putin only reacts to mass street protests," she added.

Earlier this week, Navalny's wife Yulia, who visited him in the penal colony, said her husband now weighed 76 kilograms (168 pounds) -- down nine kilograms since starting his hunger strike.

On Friday, Russian prosecutors asked a court to label Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation and the network of his regional offices "extremist" organisations in a move that would outlaw them in Russia and could result in jail time for their members.

"The darkest times are beginning for free-thinking people, for civil society in Russia," said Leonid Volkov, the head of Navalny's regional offices.

as/jj/acb
SAN MATEO, Calif., April 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts received word on Wednesday, March 24, they placed first or Gold for the 2021 CAPPS Excellence in Community Service Award. The award was first established in 2016 and seeks to recognize schools demonstrating exceptional commitment and service within their communities.

"Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts is a great example of what schools can do even during a pandemic!" said Robert Johnson, California Association of Post-Secondary Schools (CAPPS) executive director.

"Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts is a great example of what schools can do even during a pandemic!" said Robert Johnson, California Association of Post-Secondary Schools (CAPPS) executive director. "Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts' multiple and continuous service to its community, including supporting COVID-related services to the affected public, demonstrates their desire to lift the communities they serve," said Johnson. "Institutions like Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts make California a better place."

For consideration, the school put forth more than 12 pages highlighting their community service, outreach, and volunteerism achieved by students and staff within the past year. In the application were multiple coronavirus relief efforts, including an instance where the San Mateo County Health Department made an urgent request of the school for help at a residential care facility for seniors affected by COVID-19. The call sought to mitigate a staffing shortage where medical personnel had walked out, and students filled the gap.

"This event led to the county recommending us to other medical facilities when looking for help and volunteers," said Fred Faridian, Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts' San Mateo Campus director. "We have established a strong working relationship with the medical community." 2020 provided students with many volunteer opportunities, including coronavirus testing, distributing Pfizer-BioNTech inoculations, supplementing clinic workforces, and serving as auxiliary staff to tired responders staffing drive-thru clinics. Other philanthropic endeavors included helping at flu clinics, supporting food and clothing drives, answering Christmas lists at homeless shelters, and supporting the Walk to End Alzheimer's cause.

"I am extremely proud of what our campuses and students do to give back to their communities, especially in these challenging times," said Burke Malin, Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts' chief executive officer. "Knowing how much our students have stepped forward in this last year demonstrated to me that we made the right choices when admitting them into our allied health programs. I would be honored to have any of them take care of my family or me."

A video that highlights the philanthropic and volunteer efforts can be found at https://vimeo.com/gurnick/capps-excellence-community-service-award-2021.

Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts is a private academy offering quality allied-health and nursing programs operating six campuses in California with locations in San Mateo, Modesto, Fresno, Concord, Sacramento, and Van Nuys. Gurnick Academy offers allied healthcare, nursing, and medical imaging programs, including vocational nursing, to over 2,500 students each year.

Press Contact: Cindy R. Chamberlin, Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts Content Specialist, at [email protected].

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Student Providing COVID Vaccination

"Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts is a great example of what schools can do even during a pandemic!" said Robert Johnson, California Association of Post-Secondary Schools (CAPPS) executive director.

SOURCE Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 12:48:58|Editor: huaxia

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CANBERRA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Australia's medical regulator has ruled that fatal blood clotting suffered by a 48-year-old woman was a side effect of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine.

The woman from New South Wales' Central Coast was admitted to hospital with blood clots four days after she received AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine last week, and died earlier this week.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) on Friday evening confirmed that the clotting in her arteries and veins and her low platelet count was "likely to be linked to vaccination."

The TGA's Vaccine Safety Investigation Group (VSIG) said the investigation into the woman's death was complicated by underlying health conditions including diabetes and "some atypical features."

"Despite the atypical clinical features and the negative antibody test, in the absence of an alternative cause for the clinical syndrome, VSIG believed that a causative link to vaccination should be assumed at this time," it said in a statement.

"Given this is an atypical presentation, should the test results and/or autopsy provide an alternative causation, VSIG would review their decision."

It is the third confirmed case of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine in Australia from about 885,000 doses administered.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on April 8 that access to the AstraZeneca vaccine would be restricted for Australians, and adults under the age of 50 should avoid using it on the advice of the TGA.

Earlier on Friday Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly urged Australians to get vaccinated, saying the benefits outweigh the risks.

"We are in a very unusual situation here in Australia at the moment, with no community transmission and very few cases right throughout this year," he said. "That will not continue. We will at some point in the future, we do not know when, but we will have cases here in Australia."

"The chances of being infected will rise, so being vaccinated is a protection not only for yourself, but also for the people you care for." Enditem
When the littoral combat ship was first delivered in 2008, former Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite said he was not a fan.

"I wasn't a fan of it at its inception, but I've become a big fan of it," Braithwaite said this week.

As Navy secretary, the retired flag officer spent time aboard the ships, interacting with their crews and learning about their capabilities. That gave him a different outlook on the LCS, which has long been unpopular on Capitol Hill.

Read Next: A Resurrected First Fleet Is the Weapon the Navy Needs to Counter China, Former SecNav Says

Braithwaite said one of the reasons he feels the ship gets a bad rap is that it was misnamed.

"LCS actually is a corvette," he said at an event hosted by the Heritage Foundation. "One of my other initiatives that I wanted to do is rebrand it.  I've done that in the private sector, rebranding companies. It's not an easy thing to do.

"But that ship was misnamed from the beginning. It is a super corvette."

Corvettes -- small, high-speed missile boats -- are not part of the Navy's arsenal. In a 2019 article in Proceedings, the U.S. Naval Institute's magazine, Marine Lt. Col. Colin D. Smith wrote that, while the Navy has tested small ship variants since the Pegasus-class lethal patrol craft launched in the 1970s, the service has shied away from them.

The Navy tried to address littoral needs with the LCS, "but it struck out miserably," Smith argued, saying the ships serve little functional purpose against modern threats.

Braithwaite said he felt the same way about the LCS when he became Navy secretary in 2020.

"It was not a hull form that I would ever embrace," he said. "... Then, when you really peel back what the ship's capabilities are, you know, something like being in the straights or in other littoral spaces is perfect for that ship."

After years of mechanical setbacks -- including a recent issue that has halted delivery of new littoral combat ships -- Navy leaders say the LCS will play a role in the future fight. Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener, commander of Naval Surface Forces, said in January that the LCS would see a surge in missions in the Pacific as military leaders look to counter China's growing maritime influence in the region.

The commanding officer of the LCS Montgomery's blue crew told reporters in 2019 after the ship's first deployment that he saw firsthand the benefits of having an LCS in the Asia-Pacific region. The ship was able to pull into shallow ports bigger vessels wouldn't have been able to visit, allowing the crew the chance to work with a range of regional navies.

Braithwaite said that he agrees the LCS will play a role in that part of the world.

"Looking to create a squadron in Singapore that would have patrol responsibilities in that part of the world, I think, would be a great role for the LCS," he said.

The Navy plans to divest itself of the first four experimental LCSs and other ships that aren't fit for a fight against sophisticated adversaries.

One of those ships, LCS Freedom -- the Navy's first littoral combat ship -- returned this week from its final deployment, where it carried out a counter-drug mission in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.

Related: Navy's Littoral Combat Ships Will Be on the Front Lines in the Pacific, SWO Boss Says
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A group of students of Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Osun state, have organised a mentorship fair in secondary schools in the town, advocating the need for quality education.

The students who are fellows of the Millennium Campus Network, an international organisation training social impact leaders across the globe, carried out the project in the actualisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The fellows led by Michael Amosun and Peter Opatola, have embarked on a three year project that will ensure that secondary school students are mentored by experienced individuals from the society.

This was first kick-started at Urban Day Secondary school in Ile-Ife in March.

For several years, the United Nations has repeatedly highlighted the dire state of quality education across the world. Unfortunately not too many countries are doing enough to adequately address this issue.

In Nigeria for instance, about 10.5 million children between the ages of 5-14 are currently out of school.

This coupled with the fact that Nigeria regularly earmarks around 8 per cent of her national budget to education instead of the 15 per cent to 20 percent budgetary allocation recommended at the World Education Forum in 2015, Mr Amosun said.

He said that through their Legacy project, the fellows are working closely with government school authorities, teachers and parents to mentor these students.

While NGOs are a dime a dozen these days, what sets these fellows apart is their commitment to long term supervision, monitoring and mentoring of students in designated public schools. A recently conducted poll at Urban Day College, Ife, Osun State shows that around 70% of students are from a broken home while about 20% of the students fend for themselves and 93% of them do not have positive role models.

Also, the staff adviser of the fellows, Femi Koya, a professor in the University, charged fellows to commit themselves to this cause as they deem it fit.

He lauded the initiative and assured support every time.
As 2021 began, Labor looked to be a rank outsider in the next federal election. Like the state premiers, Scott Morrison was riding high, and with the COVID-19 vaccine rollout about to start the received wisdom was that Anthony Albanese was done for.

Some in the caucus had even begun to talk openly about whether it was time to roll the leader and replace him.

What a difference a couple of months can make.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese visited Malaga fabricators Adarsh Australia in Western Australia last week. Credit:Peter de Kruijff

Morrison and his government have been knocked from pillar to post, incurring significant political damage for the slow vaccine rollout and their mishandling of Brittany Higgins rape allegation and other bullying and sexual harassment claims.
RENFREW, ON, April 16, 2021 /CNW/ - Canadians everywhere are feeling the impact of COVID-19, on their families, their livelihoods and their way of life. Together, Canada and Ontario are working to reduce the impact of the pandemic, ensure health and safety, rebuild businesses, and promote job creation, growth and investment.

Today, The Honourable Catherine McKenna, Canada's Minister of Infrastructure and Communities; The Honourable John Yakabuski, Ontario's Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, and Member of Provincial Parliament for RenfrewNipissingPembroke, on behalf of The Honourable Laurie Scott, Ontario's Minister of Infrastructure; and His Worship Don Eady, Mayor of the Town of Renfrew, announced joint funding to expand and improve the Ma-te-Way Activity Centre in Renfrew.

The Government of Canada is investing over $6.4 million towards this project through the Community, Culture and Recreation Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada plan. The Government of Ontario is providing over $5.3 million, and the Town of Renfrew is contributing over $4.2 million.

This project includes expanding the current community arena and hall to include an Indigenous Cultural Centre, an additional ice pad, a walking track, fitness centre, gymnasium, and multipurpose rooms. This expansion will allow the Centre to improve access to cultural infrastructure and better meet community needs through enhanced recreational facilities.

All orders of government continue to work together for the people of Ontario to make strategic infrastructure investments in communities across the province when needed most.

Quotes

"Investing in cultural, recreational, and community infrastructure is essential in supporting inclusive and healthy communities. Today's announcement for the Ma-te-Way Activity Centre in Renfrew ensures these community and recreational facilities are able to offer valued social and recreational programs for years to come, including a new Indigenous Cultural Centre and enhanced recreational facilities like an ice pad, walking track and fitness centre. Canada's infrastructure plan invests in thousands of projects, creates jobs across the country, and builds cleaner, more inclusive communities."

The Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities

"This joint investment not only bolsters our community's infrastructure but provides social and cultural resources that residents will be able to take advantage of for years to come. Our government is committed to supporting infrastructure investments like the Ma-Te-Way Activity Centre in Ontario as they continue to foster job creation and regional tourism opportunities that lead to strong local economies."

The Honourable John Yakabuski, Ontario's Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, and Member of Provincial Parliament for RenfrewNipissingPembroke, on behalf of The Honourable Laurie Scott, Ontario's Minister of Infrastructure

"Through this incredible commitment of financial support by our federal and provincial government partners, the Town of Renfrew will see the creation of a community hub that provides a central access point for a range of much needed health, cultural, recreational, and green spaces to nourish community life. Our relationship with our Algonquin friends is a long-standing one, and so I'm pleased that today's announcement also makes possible the creation of the Bonnechere Algonquin First Nation Indigenous Cultural Centre which will nurture bi-cultural awareness through the sharing of traditions, customs, values, spirituality and the life-sustaining resources of the land."

His Worship Don Eady, Mayor of the Town of Renfrew

Quick facts

Through the Investing in Canada plan, the federal government is investing more than $180 billion over 12 years in public transit projects, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation routes, and Canada's rural and northern communities.

plan, the federal government is investing more than over 12 years in public transit projects, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation routes, and rural and northern communities. Across Ontario , the Government of Canada has invested more than $8.3 billion in over 2,880 infrastructure projects.

, the Government of has invested more than in over 2,880 infrastructure projects. Over the next ten years, the Government of Ontario is investing approximately $320 million across the province, with the Government of Canada investing approximately $407 million , under the Community, Culture and Recreation Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. This stream supports the construction of new facilities and upgrades to existing facilities that improve community infrastructure (community centres, libraries), recreational venues (arenas, recreational spaces) and cultural spaces (theatres, museums).

is investing approximately across the province, with the Government of investing approximately , under the Community, Culture and Recreation Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Infrastructure Program. This stream supports the construction of new facilities and upgrades to existing facilities that improve community infrastructure (community centres, libraries), recreational venues (arenas, recreational spaces) and cultural spaces (theatres, museums). Ontario is investing over $10.2 billion under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program to improve public transit; community, culture and recreation; green, and rural and northern community and other priority infrastructure.

Associated links

Federal infrastructure investments in Ontario

https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/prog-proj-on-eng.html

Investing in Canada Plan Project Map

http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/gmap-gcarte/index-eng.html

Ontario Builds Project Map:

https://www.ontario.ca/page/building-ontario

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn

Web: Infrastructure Canada

SOURCE Infrastructure Canada

For further information: Chantalle Aubertin, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, 613-941-0660, [email protected]; Christine Bujold, Press Secretary, Office of the Honourable Laurie Scott, Ontario's Minister of Infrastructure, 416-454-1782, [email protected]; Sofia Sousa-Dias, Communications Branch, Ontario Ministry of Infrastructure, 437-991-3391, [email protected]; Kevin Hill, Director of Parks, Recreation & Facilities, Town of Renfrew, 613-432-3131, [email protected]; Media Relations, Infrastructure Canada, 613-960-9251, Toll free: 1-877-250-7154, Email: [email protected]

Related Links

www.infrastructure.gc.ca


The Government's science advisory body has stopped releasing papers on the coronavirus pandemic as a mark of respect to Prince Philip.

Downing Street is said to have confirmed there will be an affective two-week blackout on documents from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).

Usually, documents are published each week on Friday afternoons. They were last published on April 9 - the day the Duke of Edinburgh passed away.

But as a mark of respect to Philip, whose funeral is today, they will now not be published again until April 23, the Mirror reported.

The Government's science advisory body has stopped releasing papers on the coronavirus pandemic as a mark of respect to Prince Philip

Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh are pictured last year in the quadrangle of Windsor Castle ahead of his 99th birthday

Number 10 had earlier confirmed there would be an eight-day period of mourning in the run-up to Philip's funeral.

They said there would be no coronavirus press conferences and no ministers would give media interviews.

Ministers were also told to wear dark clothes and a black tie when at public events.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman told the Mirror: 'As we have done throughout the pandemic we will continue to publish SAGE papers.

Number 10 had earlier confirmed there would be an eight-day period of mourning in the run-up to Philip's funeral

'If they aren't published this week, they will be published next week.'

The Queen will say farewell to Philip during a televised funeral service at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle later today.

Due to coronavirus restrictions, it will only be attended by a small group of close family and friends.

The regulations have reduced the scope of the service with public elements cancelled, mourners reduced from around 800 to just 30, and all guests wearing face masks and sitting apart.

But Philip's children and grandchildren have been paying tribute to his life and legacy and welcoming the support and warm words from the public who have left flowers and cards.

Philip's 'unwavering loyalty' to the Queen and 'courage, fortitude and faith' will be hailed at his funeral.
Amid explosive tensions between the NATO-backed government in Kiev and Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky travelled yesterday to meet French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. German Chancellor Angela Merkel also attended part of the meeting via a conference call.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky [Credit: en.kremlin.ru]

As Zelensky arrived in Paris, diplomatic relations between Washington and Moscow were teetering on the brink of collapse. Russia expelled ten US diplomats including US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan, in retaliation for sweeping sanctions Biden imposed on Russia, and after Washington abandoned threats to deploy two warships along Russias Black Sea coast. Last month, Russia recalled its ambassador to the United States, normally the last diplomatic step before the outbreak of war, over Bidens extraordinary remark calling Putin a killer.

Recent weeks had seen a flare-up of the conflict provoked by the February 2014 NATO-backed coup in Ukraine, in which Washington and Berlin backed far-right forces to topple a pro-Russian government in Kiev. The coup rapidly split the country along linguistic lines, as Russian-speaking areas of the country opposed the new far-right government. Crimea voted to secede from Ukraine and to re-join Russia, while pro-Moscow separatists took over the Donbass in eastern Ukraine.

Tensions have soared since Bidens inauguration, after which the Kiev regime cut off water supplies to Crimea and adopted a Crimean Platform calling to militarily reconquer the Donbass and Crimea, which hosts a key Russian naval base at Sevastopol. This policy, if enacted, clearly entails going to war with Russia. Moscow retaliated by massing troops along the Russian-Ukrainian border and threatening to seal off parts of the Black Sea.

Yesterday morning, before the talks with Zelensky, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov asked Berlin and Paris to restrain Kiev. He said, It would be very important for us if Mr. Macron and Ms. Merkel used their influence during this video-conference with Mr. Zelensky to explain to him the possibility of a definitive cessation of all provocations on the front lines in eastern Ukraine.

After Zelenskys meeting with Macron, in a working lunch, Zelensky issued a statement calling for resumption of talks between the Moscow and Kiev, mediated by Berlin and Paris. He said, I would like all four of us to participate [to discuss] the security situation in the east of Ukraine and to end the occupation of our territory.

Berlin and Paris both issued statements generally supporting Zelensky and hypocritically blaming Russia for the conflict. In a communique, the German Chancellery stressed its concern at the increase in Russian troops along the border with Ukraine and called for a withdrawal of these reinforcements so that we can achieve de-escalation.

In Paris, the Elysee presidential palace declared its support for Ukrainian sovereignty and stressed that Volodymyr Zelensky expressed on his part a very clear wish for de-escalation. It added that the talks between Merkel, Macron and Zelensky had centred on the search for a political solution to the crisis and the means to bring Russia back on board in negotiations. It added that officials from Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine would meet in order to prepare a new round of talks on the Normandy format.

So-called Normandy format talks began in 2015, amid the international crisis provoked by the Obama administrations threat to arm Ukraine against Russia; Merkel and then-French President Francois Hollande held talks with Russian and Ukrainian officials in an attempt to avert war.

Yesterday, Peskov responded to the summit by denying that Russian troop deployments were a threat and insisting that Moscow seeks a diplomatic resolution: Russia is not a party to conflict. Russia is doing its best to help resolve this conflict. We will always work to make that clear.

Despite the generally favourable tone of the German and French communiques backing Zelensky, it was more or less apparent that the Ukrainian presidents appeals for greater European support against Russia had fallen on deaf ears.

On Thursday, the day before arriving in Paris, Zelensky had granted a full-page interview to the right-wing French daily Le Figaro, laying out his agenda for the talks. He pointed to dangerous military tensions internationally: Since Joe Biden took office, everyone has been flexing their muscles around the planet. Personally, I dont want that to be at Ukraines expense.

On this basis, Zelensky asked France to support Ukrainian membership in NATO and the EU, given its close support for NATO ever since the 2014 coup: Our country has made great sacrifices in terms of human lives. We cannot stay indefinitely in the waiting room of the EU and of NATO.  It is time to shift into higher gear, for us to be invited into the EU and NATO, as we do not want to have to beg.

Zelensky also dismissed the Normandy format talks between Berlin, Paris, Moscow and Kiev, declaring that they were dead: I think Emmanuel Macron is capable of maintaining them on life support. But honestly, they are in cardiac arrest.

Le Figaro s interviewer pointed to questions about the extent of support for Zelensky in Washington. Asked whether he had waited a long time after Bidens inaugurationtwo months, in factbefore receiving a phone call from the US president, Zelensky was forced to evasively reply: Too long, you mean? But the United States is a great country. They have a lot of problems to resolve, and Ukraine is not their first priority, I am sorry to say.

Yesterday, by all accounts, neither Paris nor Berlin supported Zelenskys calls for Ukraines admission into the EU or NATO. Macron reportedly refused to discuss Ukrainian membership in NATO until the next NATO summit meeting, set for June, while French Junior Minister for European Affairs Clement Beaune declared that Ukrainian membership in the EU was unrealistic: We can support Ukraine  But that does not mean membership, that is not a serious perspective.

Le Figaro concluded that Macron had eluded Zelenskys appeal for help, pointing to panic in European ruling circles at the extraordinarily sharp military and diplomatic tensions with Russia. It wrote, This was a meeting whose importance was magnified by events and that visibly provoked embarrassment in Paris.

A German government spokesperson said: Ukraine can freely choose its political needs. However, further steps towards membership are not currently expected. The Suddeutsche Zeitung wrote that Berlin is walking a tightrope after Kiev asked it for arms and NATO membership, adding: These two requests are rejected by the federal government. The idea that Ukraine would be accepted into the NATO alliance given unresolved territorial conflicts and would benefit from its guarantee of assistance is considered absurd in Berlin.

In the final analysis, responsibility lies not only with the reactionary Kiev regime but with NATOs reckless, long-standing policy of military escalation in Eastern Europe. Over the three decades since the Stalinist dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, it gradually integrated most of Eastern Europe into the NATO military alliance. Its 2014 putsch placed hostile far-right militias like the Right Sector and the Azov Battalion on Russias borders, and gave them enormous political weight in Kiev.

The Normandy format talks have, over the last six years, failed to resolve the conflict stirred up by NATO. The support of European and American imperialism for a far-right regime in Kiev threatening Russia with military action perpetually leaves open the danger of a war between Ukraine and Russia, escalating into all-out war between all the NATO powers and Russia.
Pastor who predicted end to Trump's presidency says Gods going to 'reimburse' black Americans

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Despite opposition among some conservatives to the idea of reparations for slavery, the Rev. John A. Kilpatrick, a self-styled Assemblies of God prophet in Alabama who predicted the end of Trump's presidency in 2018, also predicted that God is going to reimburse black Americans for their trouble and labor.

Kilpatrick, who leads the Church of His Presence in Daphne, Alabama, as well as John Kilpatrick Ministries, made the prediction in a viral video clip shared earlier this month by online personality Larry Reid.

The Alabama preacher told The Christian Post on Wednesday that the clip is at least two years old, roughly around the same time he predicted that former president Donald Trump wouldn't have a second term in office due to "witchcraft trying to take this country over" that he wouldn't be able to withstand.

Now let me say something right quick. I think back on African American people in America. I think how they were taken against their wills, put in the belly of ships brought over here, beat, cussed. Many of them died in the guts of those ships, thrown overboard. They were pulled from families over there. You aint never heard a gut-wrenching song 'til you hear a black person sing one of those black negro spirituals," Kilpatrick said in the clip posted on March 1, before trying to sing Nobody Knows the Trouble Ive Seen.

When you experience hell it comes out of your voice. If youre one of those people that youve got problems with black people or whatever, you better shut your mouth, cause theyre Gods people, you better hear what Im saying to you. Shut your mouth, you better shut your white mouth, he told his audience.

I know some of you [were] raised in the deep South, raised by prejudiced people, bigoted people, you better get that out of your system, get it out of your system. Itll cause you to suffer right along with those masters. Itll cause you to suffer right along with them. These are Gods people, he warned before making his comments on reimbursement for black people.

I know that theres wicked in the white race and wicked in [the] black race, Im not justifying none of that stuff. Im just saying God knows what happened to the black race. He knows how they wound up over here and God is going to reimburse the black people for all their trouble and all their labor. You watch what I tell you, he said.

Speaking with CP about the clip Wednesday, Kilpatrick explained that his comments about black Americans werent made as part of his planned message and weren't in response to any specific event at the time.

It was just some comments that I made before I actually preached.  It wasnt a sermon on that in particular. I just made the comments as I was addressing my congregation, he said.

I made those comments not because I was addressing any particular issue in my church, because it wasnt necessary to do that. ... I was just making the statement that the black people in America have endured so much, he said. I was raised in the deep South. I was raised in Georgia and my playmates used to be black kids. And I loved them and they loved me. And I just dont like to see anybody mistreated and anybody abused in any kind of way, and I was just making a statement that morning that I believe that God is going to remunerate and bless the black race because of all theyve been deprived of.

When asked if he had reservations about upsetting his diverse but predominantly white church with his comments, he said that he wasn't and explained that his ministry is global and it was just something that needed to be said.

My people are used to me being a straight shooter. Im not a provocative person. I just try to shoot straight and just tell it like I believe that it is. And I just was talking to my congregation that morning and telling them that they really need to be careful. Everybody needs to be careful about the black race because theyve gone through a lot, he said.

Kilpatrick, who explained that he tries not to get political with issues, didn't elaborate on what that remuneration for black Americans would look like, but maintained that I believe God is going to bless them and I believe God is going to send revival to the black race, and thats the way I felt about it.

While Kilpatrick didn't use the word reparations and shied away from politics in his response, his prediction about reimbursement to black Americans for their trouble and labor could be as accurate as his predictions on Trump's presidency.

On Wednesday, a House committee voted to recommend for the first time the creation of a commission to consider providing black Americans with reparations for slavery in the United States and a national apology for centuries of discrimination through a bill called H.R. 40, The New York Times reported.

The late Democratic Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, first proposed the bill to study reparations for black Americans in 1989 and every legislative session after that. The bill never reached the House floor for a vote to put it on a path to become law.

His Democratic colleague, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, continued his fight when she raised the issue of reparations in January 2019 by introducing bill H.R. 40, also known as the Commission to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans Act.

In addition to providing reparations, the legislation "is intended to examine the institution of slavery in the [British] colonies and the United States from 1619 to the present," according to a press statement at the time.

Last May, three days before the death of George Floyd on May 25, and just months after Conyers death in October 2019, Lee paid homage to Conyers efforts in an op-ed on the bill for the ACLU.

Though many thought it a lost cause, he believed that a day would come when our nation would need to account for the brutal mistreatment of African Americans during chattel slavery, she wrote.

She then explained how H.R. 40 is not just about money but a path toward restorative justice.

Though critics have argued that the idea of reparations is unworkable politically or financially, their focus on money misses the point of the H.R. 40 commissions mandate. The goal of these historical investigations is to bring American society to a new reckoning with how our past affects the current conditions of African Americans and to make America a better place by helping the truly disadvantaged, she said.

Consequently, the reparations movement does not focus on payments to individuals, but to remedies that can be created in as many forms necessary to equitably address the many kinds of injuries sustained from chattel slavery and its continuing vestiges. To merely focus on finance is an empty gesture and betrays a lack of understanding of the depth of the unaddressed moral issues that continue to haunt this nation.

During a committee debate Wednesday, Lee added: Were asking for people to understand the pain, the violence, the brutality, the chattel-ness of what we went through. And of course, were asking for harmony, reconciliation, reason to come together as Americans.

While noting that he didnt know enough about some of the more recent high-profile fatal police shootings of black men, like 20-year-old Daunte Wright in Minnesota, Kilpatrick said there is a spiritual component to the violence happening today.

I can understand so much of the frustrations that they [black people] were going through," he said. "At the same time, I realize were living in a world filled with hatred and violence. Thats the way it is before the coming of the Lord.

"The Lord said one of the main things that filled the Earth in the days of Noah, He said, as it was in the days of Noah so shall it be in the days before the coming of the Son of Man. He said the Earth was filled with violence and I believe that violence is pervasive right now. I believe its filling the Earth. I really do. Its not just a racial thing. Its not just a black and white thing. This is just the spirit of violence thats filling the Earth. And I believe that right before the coming of Christ, I believe that were close to that.

He urged pastors to try speaking calm into tense situations such as on discussions on race as that is something that Christ would have done.

I saw a commercial one time of a building supply company and it showed a major storm coming in. Big, deep, dark clouds, lightning, thunder, wind blowing. And it showed him [building supply company representative] at a stop sign and to the right was clear skies and to the left was a major storm. He cut his signal on, his turn signal on to the left and drove right into the storm.

You know, a lot times the Lord has not called us to drive away from the storm, Hes called us to drive into the storm because thats where your voice needs to be heard. People [are] not going to listen to your voice in clear skies. Theyre going to need to listen to a preachers voice in the middle of the storm. And Jesus voice was raised in the midst of the storm, he said.

I think that preachers need to use their voices to calm the storm. Instead of stir up the storm. So we shouldnt run from it, we should run to it. But when we get there, we need to ask ourselves the question: Is this storm going to get better or worse because of my voice? Am I going to have a calming effect on this? Am I going to bring order out of disorder or am I going to bring disorder out of order? he continued. I do know that pastors, if theyre called by God, God gives them wisdom to deal with situations and wisdom has to come from God, it cant come from within. We can have knowledge, we can have intelligence, but God has to give wisdom and the Bible says, if any man lack wisdom, let him ask God.

He further noted: If we speak the Word of the Lord, it will deal with the political realm. It will deal with the racial issues, it will deal with everything that has to be dealt with, because the Word of God is a common denominator.
TRS leaders claim that the higher poll percentage was due to the success of party's 'micro-level booth management', under which the party has appointed an incharge for every 20 voters. (Representational Photo: DC)

Hyderabad: The ruling Telangana Rastra Samiti (TRS) is upbeat following the record 89 per cent polling, the highest in the past three elections, recorded in the Nagarjunasagar Assembly byelection on Saturday.

TRS leaders said the higher polling percentage in recent Legislative Council elections had worked in favour of TRS and the same would be repeated in Nagarjunasagar. They exuded confidence of securing a majority that would be higher than what was recorded in the 2018 December Assembly polls.

In 2018, TRS candidate Nomula Narasimhaiah had won with a majority of 7,726 votes over Congress candidate K. Jana Reddy and TRS is confident that Narasimhaiah's son Bhagat will surpass his father's margin of victory.

The leaders claimed that the higher poll percentage was due to the success of the party's 'micro-level booth management', under which it appointed an in-charge for every 20 voters.

Mission Chanakya, which predicted BJP victory in 2020 Dubbak Assembly bypoll, TRS victory in 2018 Assembly polls and 2020 GHMC polls correctly, observed that TRS has the edge over its rivals in Nagarjunasagar. It made these observations after interacting with a voter-base of about 80,000 voters.

"It was found that there was no anti-establishment wave against TRS.

Nagarjunasagar is predominantly an agriculture-based constituency where 90 per cent of voters are farmers and TRS government's pro-farmer policies and schemes helped it to garner the majority support. Besides, there was 'institutional support' for TRS which Congress and others lacked," said Shiv Keshav Amuka from Mission Chanakya.

TRS in-charge for Nagarjunasagar bypoll and MLC Palla Rajeshwar Reddy expressed confidence that the party will retain the seat with a higher majority compared to the previous election.

"The reports obtained from our cadre from all areas in the constituency indicate that there was a positive vote in favour of TRS and we are confident of surpassing the 2018 majority," Reddy said.
Last year, when the coronavirus pandemic drove an unprecedented number of people to parks across the state, it was exactly what state officials wanted to see  even if they werent prepared for it.

No one I think imagined just how intense ... the increase in visitation would be, Shawn LaTourette, the acting commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, told NJ Advance Media. Not because any agency or apparatus of government wasnt ready to help its citizens, but because the spaces themselves dont hold all the people that wanted to partake in them.
The Khan

Saima Mir Point Blank 14.99

Mirs debut novel takes us deep into the heart of Yorkshires gangland. British Pakistani lawyer Jia Khan has left her family behind to forge a new life in London. But when her gangster father is murdered, shes drawn back into the criminal underworld.

The Khan is strong on illuminating the networks of family and community, giving fresh life to its familiar plot  essentially a Bradford take on The Godfather.

John Williams

The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman

Julietta Henderson Bantam Press 12.99

An uplifting tale of love, loss and the redemptive power of humour. Aged 12, Norman Foreman was half of comedys next big double act, set to debut at the Edinburgh Fringe  until his partner, Jax, the dunny one, died.

When grief-stricken Norman starts asking questions about the dad hes never met, his mum organises a roadtrip to Edinburgh to reckon with her past and get Norman on to the stage  solo.

Madeleine Feeny

My Phantoms

Gwendoline Riley Granta 12.99

Bridget, an academic, lives with her therapist partner and their rescue cat. It couldnt be more different from her parents short-lived, explosive marriage. Her father is an economically sketched mediocrity who nonetheless exudes a manic, Dickensian menace, but its her mothers needy reserve and withholding ways that continue to taunt Bridget.

Rileys seventh novel is a slender, quietly savage riposte to the sentimentality that so often defines depictions of family bonds.

Hephzibah Anderson

The High House

Jessie Greengrass Swift Press 14.99

In a house by the sea live three survivors of a climate-change apocalypse. In turn, Caro, her half-brother Pauly and their friend Sal look back on the long litany of extreme weather events that have devastated the planet and left them isolated.

Fortunately, the house was carefully prepared for the catastrophe  but now supplies are dwindling. Greengrasss lyrical evocation of the coastal landscape and her grim vision of the future prove a potent, deeply disturbing combination.

Anthony Gardner
Britons have taken to social media to show how they will be remembering Prince Philip today, including wearing Union Jack socks and knitting tributes to the Duke.

Others decorated Christmas trees with pictures of Philip or put up photos in their windows to remember the Queen's consort of 73 years on the day of his funeral.

Flags have been lowered to half-mast and many councils, police forces and other organisations will be holding a one minute's silence with the rest of the UK at 3pm.

Among those posting tributes was Teresa Collins, from Ealing, West London, who tweeted a picture of a knitted Philip with a Union Jack, calling it a 'talented tribute'.

Another Twitter user, Vikki, from Wales, covered a Christmas tree with pictures of Philip and the Queen and flags, saying: 'I have decorated this tree in his honour.'

And Phil Harries, a surgeon from Southampton, tweeted a photo of his Union Jack socks, saying: 'I think Prince Philip would have approved of my socks today!'

The Queen will say farewell to Philip during his funeral at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle today, attended by a group of 30 close family and friends.

Covid regulations have reduced the scope of the service with public elements cancelled, mourners reduced and all guests wearing face masks and sitting apart.

Here is a selection of tweets showing how people will remember Philip today:
New York City's EMTs and paramedics are being 'targeted' by anarchists who are smashing ambulance windows, a union leader has said - as he blasted the FDNY for leaving crews to fend for themselves.

Bricks were hurled through the windows of four FDNY vehicles and 'FTP,' which stands for 'F**K the police,' was painted on the sides of two ambulances in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, according to Oren Barzilay, president of the Local 2507.

There's been at least one of these types of attacks every month since January, all within blocks of each other, said Barzilay, who heads the union of over 4,000 Uniformed EMTs, Paramedics and Fire Inspectors.

'Someone is targeting our crews,' Barzilay told the New York Post.

'These incidents are causing a delay in getting the public the help they need as these units are placed off-service for investigation, the wellness of our members and repairs.'

Anarchists are throwing objects, such as bricks, through FDNY ambulances, union president Oren Barzilay said.

At least four times this year, something was thrown through FDNY EMT vehicle windows, Barzilay sad.

And there's no help on the horizon, according to Barzilay.

He told the New York Post that crews aren't being taught self-defense or given de-escalation training, and are using outdated protection equipment, such as 20-year-old bulletproof vests.

The first of the anarchists' attacks was on the Jan. 1, when something was launched through the passenger side window of an ambulance on Marcus Garvey Boulevard, according to the New York Post.

The same thing happened again on Feb. 14, March 28 and April 11, all within blocks of each other.

On Monday, the 'FTP' tag was found on the doors of two ambulances outside of FDNY EMS Station 57 on Throop Avenue.

'FTP' - which stands for 'F**k the police' - was found spray painted on two ambulances in Brooklyn, New York.

The Daily Mail reached out to the New York City mayor's office for comment Saturday afternoon, but no one was immediately available.

The FDNY said it couldn't comment on these specific incidents, but they're all under investigation by the fire marshals and the NYPD.

The NYPD confirmed the incidents are under investigation but couldn't discuss the matter further.

The vandalism from anti-government agitators is just one threat to FDNY EMTs and paramedics.

They've also been physical assaulted by patients, many of whom are emotionally disturbed or on drugs.

The most notable recent incident was the Hannibal Lector-like bite 25-year-old FDNY Paramedic Jenna Piscitello sustained on March 5.

During an early morning call in Brooklyn, a teenage patient bit into Piscitello's left cheek and ripped out a chunk flesh.

She suffered extensive injuries and possibly permanent face scarring.

FDNY Paramedic Jenna Piscitello, 25, was bitten on March 5 by a patient during an early morning call in Brooklyn.

'The injuries sustained by our paramedic are horrific,' Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro told EMS1.com. 'No one should be attacked when they are at work, and certainly not EMTs and paramedics who respond to every incident with one mission  to save lives.'

The FDNY EMTs and paramedics already sustained over a dozen physical assaults the week Piscitello was bit alone, Barzilay said.

'Here we are, once again, with one of our members badly injured,' Barzilay said. 'How much longer will our women and men be sent out on calls without have the proper tools to assist them?'
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 20:30:23|Editor: huaxia

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A graduating student searches for job opportunities at a job matching fair at Tsinghua University in Beijing, capital of China, on March 16, 2021. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

BEIJING, April 17 (Xinhua) -- China's fresh college graduates have shown interest in a wider range of occupations during the ongoing spring recruitment season, according to a survey recently conducted by China Youth Daily.

The survey of 1,690 new graduates showed that jobs with more stability or more flexibility as well as ones in emerging industries are all favored by the students.

Specifically, 61 percent of those surveyed would like to have a relatively stable job such as a teacher or civil servant, 49 percent may also pursue a career with more flexibility such as the internet or real estate industry, and 41 percent would work in new emerging industries such as livestreaming.

In the survey, 65.3 percent of those interviewed said a majority of the graduates-to-be they know have received job offers.

It also found that 37.8 percent of students have no plans to work in crowded major cities, and 30.9 percent of those surveyed are inclined to start their career from the grassroots level. 
1 They Have A Bad Comic's Mentality

When I first started doing comedy, I got a job working the door at my local comedy club. Part of my job was to follow out anyone who left the show early, mainly to check if they had paid their tab. A lot of comics, the in-your-face, equal-opportunity-offender kind, would take great pride in how many people walked out during their set. If youre pissing people off, you must be doing something right. they would tell me after the show.

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I would always tell them that every time I follow these people out to the lobby, I would ask them if they had a problem with the show, because the manager was worried about bad Yelp reviews. The vast majority of the time, those customers werent leaving early because they were offended. They were leaving because they were bored.

I think of that every time I see a politician or a commentator complaining that theyre losing followers on social media and that Big Tech is trying to silence them. And you know it must be true because they said this on national television, and the YouTube clips of that were all over your Facebook feed. A far more likely explanation might be that many of those followers were fake accounts, or they were suspended for a terms-of-service violation. An even better explanation would be some of those people just, well, moved on with their lives.

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The ones peddling the cancel culture narrative have a real problem, and it's that most people's everyday existences are barely affected by the hobgoblins of cancel culture. Just look at their own failed attempts at canceling, I mean, calling for boycotts. They tried to boycott Hamilton ... despite the fact that at the time, the show was only being performed in two cities and had a nine-month wait list for tickets.

Walt Disney Studios "Ok, well instead everybody boycott this by not getting Disney Plus! All you're missing is Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar...and you're all gone."

People smashed their Keurig machines and burned their Nikes; products they had already paid for. They wanted to boycott Univision, CNN and MSNBC; channels they never watched in the first place. Just recently, they called for a boycott of Major League Baseball because the organization caved to a different boycott threat  sweet Jesus, this is exhausting.

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The ironic thing is, because while our technology, the internet, and social media may have brought us all closer together than ever before, it has also put us at risk of a new digital Dark Age. Everything we post online, every podcast, every news report, this article  its all just ones and zeros on hard drives were not gonna be able to access decades from now. Future archaeologists are gonna think our world ended sometime between 2008 and 2016, because thats when the newspaper industry downsized their print runs and switched to digital only. That would be the ultimate punchline to the joke that is cancel culture: on a long enough timeline, everything will be canceled.

Top image: Deepstock, Lightspring/Shutterstock
3500 year-old honeypot: Oldest direct evidence for honey collecting in Africa Heritage Daily (Kevin W)

Navys UFO video is best world has ever seen, filmmaker says New York Post (furzy)

Can Banana Buffers Save California From Wildfires? Atlas Obscura (Chuck L)

The Nations Corn Belt Has Lost a Third of Its Topsoil Smithsonian (David L)

Solar-to-Hydrogen Tech Sees Remarkable Efficiency Jump IEEE Spectrum (Chuck L)

Flywheels Turn Superconducting to Reinvigorate Grid Storage Potential IEEE Spectrum (Chuck L)

Brain Disease Transmitted By Tick Bites May Be Treatable Neuroscience News (David L)

Egg and sperm cell size evolved from competition PhysOrg (Chuck L)

The Brain Rotates Memories to Save Them From New Sensations Quanta (David L)

The Anti-Freud Dublin Review of Books (Anthony L)

Human-monkey chimera embryos created in lab for first time New Atlas (furzy)

The genetic mistakes that could shape our species BBC (Dr. Kevin)

#COVID-19

Covid: Canada sounds the alarm as cases overtake US BBC

With coronavirus surging, Brazil tells women not to get pregnant until a better moment RT (Kevin W)

Some Brazilian hospitals have run out of sedatives, forcing doctors to use restraints while coronavirus patients are intubated "I never thought I would be living through something like this," a doctor says. "The patient is submitted to a form of torture" https://t.co/WbbfqupnnK  BNO Newsroom (@BNODesk) April 15, 2021

China?

Myanmar

Brexit

Old Blighty

Not surprising, as there is still no Labour opposition to the worst Tory government in living memory https://t.co/y6zAPAbvf9  Brexit Bin  #BrexitReality (@BrexitBin) April 16, 2021

New Cold War

Syraqistan

Biden

The Supreme Court Is Making New Law in the Shadows New York Times (furzy)

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren: Lower the Medicare eligibility age to 55 Facebook (Kevin C)

Black Injustice Tipping Point

Our Famously Free Press

Gargantuanisation London Review of Books (Anthony L). More on the EverGiven

CalPERS CIO comp under review Top1000Funds (Kevin W)

SPAC Hot Streak Put on Ice by Regulatory Warnings Wall Street Journal. Took too long. SPACs are the new name for a favorite gimmick of penny stock shills.

Class Warfare

Antidote du jour. A photo series from Chet G:

Attached are five photos (all occurring in a second or two) on the release of a bobcat in Pennsylvania. Here is Robyn Graboskis April 8 description of the situation: ==============

This gorgeous female bobcat is in care at Centre Wildlife Care after being hit by a car. A huge shout out to the Pennsylvania Game Commission for catching her and bringing her to us, and to Dr. Shapira from Straley Veterinary Associates for treating her. Wildlife rehab takes a village! She is improving by the day, and is already eating and growling at us.

============== The release occurred on April 12.



And a bonus (furzy):

Sally enjoying her pampering session. pic.twitter.com/1wKU4IYvFE  Dick King-Smith HQ (@DickKingSmith) April 15, 2021

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
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The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna says 905 aspirants have picked its nomination forms for the forthcoming local government council polls in the state.

The partys state publicity secretary, Tanko Wusono, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Kaduna on Friday.

The State Independent Electoral Commission, KAD-SIECOM, has fixed June 5 for the polls.

At the close of the sales of nomination forms on April 14, some 105 contestants have picked the forms to seek the partys platform and stand election for the chairmanship position in the 23 LGs.

Some 800 others had purchased the nomination forms for councillorship tickets of the party in the 255 wards in the state, he said.

The APC opened the sale of its nomination forms on April 2, with chairmanship aspirants paying N1.1 million and councillorship aspirants N310,000.

According to him, no female politician picked nomination form for the office of chairman while only 12 females and five physically challenged persons got the nomination forms for councillorship seats.

He said the forms were given free of charge to the physically challenged aspirants and at half the price to female aspirants.

Mr Wusono also said all the serving LG chairmen under the APC whose terms of office would soon elapse, had indicated interest to seek reelection.

He said, the vice chairman of Kaduna North LG is the only one aspiring to contest against his chairman.

The publicity secretary said the APC expects more than 90 per cent victory at the polls going by the performance of the party in the state.

There is no local government that has not witnessed a project executed by the APC administration. So let our projects speak for us, Mr Wusono said.

The APC had fixed April 19 to April 21 for the screening of aspirants and May 5 for the primaries.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says its nomination forms are also currently on sale and would close on April 20.
ALBANY  Stand outside any supermarket in the Capital Region or anywhere in New York State and youll notice something has changed in the last year. Most of the shoppers are carrying woven grocery bags.

Its the result of New Yorks year-old ban on single use plastic bags, which aims to cut the use of fossil fuels (the bags are petroleum products) and reduce much of the unsightly trash that has historically littered our roadways and sidewalks.

But while the sidewalks may be free of stray plastic bags, were contending with another form of litter and waste: All the face masks that one sees discarded in parking lots and other public spaces.

So this year, when the Albany Downtown Business Improvement District holds its annual cleanup day on Saturday, volunteers will likely be picking up more face masks than grocery bags. It might be different types of litter that we are seeing, said Georgette Steffens, the BIDs executive director.

Thereve been other changes over the last year.

A year ago, people marched and held Zoom rallies for climate action on Earth Day 2020.

Barely a month later, people were marching in the streets for Black Lives Matter after George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis.

Now, the trial of the police officer who knelt on Floyds neck, Derek Chauvin, is in full swing. The pandemic has eased but not vanished and, activists say the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions hasnt changed. But the disproportionate impact of COIVD-19 on Black people and other minorities has made people realize that the problems of racial division, poverty and the environment are interconnected.

Its been horrible but clarifying, said Jessica Azulay, executive director of Alliance for a Green Economy.

As the 51st anniversary of the original Earth Day approaches this Thursday, theres been solid progress in cleaning up New Yorks air and water and moving away from CO2-laden energy production to more green power.

More solar farms have been built, albeit at a slower pace than expected due to the pandemic. And the work-from-home trend sparked by the pandemic may continue post-pandemic, which should lead to some reductions in gasoline consumption as fewer people commute to work each day.

Moreover, environmental activists are heartened by Joseph Bidens presidential victory over Donald Trump, which resulted in a turnaround among federal regulators such as the Environmental Protection Agency.

Rather than ignoring pollution, the EPA is starting once again to enforce clean air laws and help insure continued reductions in air and water emissions, noted Peter Iwanowicz, executive director of Environmental Advocates NY.

Were getting back into the climate game, Iwanowicz said, referring to Democrat Bidens recognition that global warming is not a hoax as Republican Donald Trump famously said.

In New York, voters in November will consider an Environmental Rights Amendment which, if approved, would give people further redress in the courts to fight pollution in their neighborhoods. Then in 2022 voters will decide on a $3 billion bond issue to help pay for restoring wetlands and making the state more resilient to disastrous storms like Sandy or Irene.

The pandemic has also renewed New Yorkers enthusiasm for outdoor pursuits like hiking and camping. This enthusiasm isnt expected to wane once the pandemic ends. One indicator: the state and private landowners are piloting a new parking reservation system at the Adirondack Mountain Reserve in Keene which is a popular entry point for a number of hiking trails in the area.

We were already in the midst of a decade-long increase in visitation to the Park before COVID hit and many of the factors that drove that rise in usenamely social media advertising and an increase in staycations following the 2008 recessionremain in effect, said Ben Brosseau, spokesman for the Adirondack Mountain Club.

Not everything has changed.

Operators of waste water treatment plants continue to struggle with the baby wipes and even masks that people flush down their toilets, despite warnings that they create havoc in sewage systems.

Its a problem on all levels. These wipes are so convenient but they do not degrade, said Patricia Cerro-Reehill, executive director at NY Water Environment Association.



And some of the changes the pandemic brought to the environment may prove fleeting.

A year ago, the skies over the Capital Region and much of the nation resembled those of 200 years ago, thanks to the pandemic lockdowns including factory closures and a drop in highway traffic with attendant tailpipe emissions.

But with at least some return to normalcy, the CO2 emissions appear to be rising again, said Matthias Vuille, a professor and researcher at the University at Albanys Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences.

We saw quite a dip last year, said Vuille who explained that in April 2020, CO2 fossil fuel emissions had fallen an estimated 20 percent. As of January 2021, they were down between 5 percent and 8 percent, he said.

It was still lower than it was before but it had resumed quite a bit, he said.
Gandhinagar, April 17 : In a significant decision, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Saturday said that all those pilgrims returning from the holy Kumbh fair in Uttar Pradesh won't be allowed direct entry into their villages and towns. First, they will be RT-PCR screened for Corona infection and shall be quarantined and isolated for 14 days in case they are found positive.

The Gujarat CM said that all district collectors have been instructed on this.

Taking a serious call on the Covid-19 outbreak in the state, while briefing the media in Jamnagar on Saturday, the Gujarat CM said, "The administration is doing all it can to curb the spread of the coronavirus and ensure that minimum people gets infected in the state. In this context, all the returnees from the Kumbh Mela will not be allowed a direct entry into the villages and towns." "Every one of them will be RT-PCR tested and if found positive, will be isolated for 14 days before letting them go to their places. We have instructed all the district collectors regarding this decision, so that the administration can prepare itself for such entrants and ensure that such people do not get access to their villages and towns," the CM said.

The situation in Gujarat is dire as far as the outbreak is concerned. The state saw around 9,000 people getting detected for coronavirus infection and a little under hundred lost their lives on Friday due to the pandemic.

The outbreak has not limited itself to major cities, as was the case before, but has also gained access to small towns and villages.

The Chief Minister and as well as the Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel visited Jamnagar as well as Kutch on Saturday to take stock of the situation.
LOCAL BRIEFS: Pardee shots, housing panel, welcoming Fletcher chief

Pardee urges people to sign up for shot

Pardee UNC Health Care announced that it has an increased supply of COVID-19 vaccinations and appointment availability. With a recent shipment of additional Pfizer vaccines, Pardee has increased appointment availability at their vaccine clinic on the campus of Blue Ridge Community College. Individuals age 16 and over are encouraged to book an appointment online via yourshot.org or by calling 828-694-8222.

Pardee officials encourage those who are eligible  which is nearly anyone age 16 or older  to consider getting the vaccine and be a part of the effort to reach herd immunity.

We have so much to be optimistic about, said Dr. David Ellis, chief medical officer, Pardee UNC Health Care, but we should also remain intently focused on getting our community fully vaccinated so that we can return to a sense of normalcy. Ellis also echoed what the CDC and NC DHHS officials are saying about vaccines: The best vaccine to get is the one that is currently available to you.

League panel focuses on affordable housing

The League of Women Voters of Henderson County will host a virtual panel discussion on affordable housing at 2 p.m. Thursday, April 22. Speakers from Habitat for Humanity, the Housing Assistance Corporation and other organizations will share how housing issues are addressed by non-profit groups, local governments, and more.

Attendees will learn how the issue impacts everyone and what they can do as concerned citizens. The panel discussion is free and open to the public. For more information and to register for the Zoom event, please go to www.lwvhcnc.org.

Fletcher hosts reception for its new police chief

The Town of Fletcher will host a drop in reception for new Police Chief Dan Terry, from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 21, 2021 at Fletcher Town Hall. The reception will take place in the multipurpose room of Town Hall located on the third floor. The Town will follow all Covid-19 protocols for this indoor event. The public is invited to attend.
U.S. President Joe Biden has called Iran's enrichment of uranium to 60 percent purity unhelpful but said the United States is pleased that Iran is still participating in indirect talks with Washington aimed at getting both countries back into compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal.



"We do not support and do not think it's at all helpful that Iran is saying it's going to move to enrich to 60 percent," Biden told reporters at the White House during a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.



"We are, though, nonetheless pleased that Iran has continued to agree to engage in discussions -- indirect discussions -- with us and with our partners on how we move forward and what is needed to allow us to move back into the [nuclear deal]...without us making concessions that we are just not willing to make," Biden added.



Asked if Iran's move was a sign that Tehran is not serious about returning to the nuclear deal, Biden said: "The discussions are under way. I think it's premature to make a judgment as to what the outcome will be. But we are still talking."



Iran announced earlier that it had begun enriching uranium to 60 percent, higher than it has ever done before and a step closer to the 90 percent that is weapons grade.



Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said on state television that the centrifuges at the Natanz nuclear site were now producing 9 grams at 60 percent purity an hour, adding: Any enrichment level that we desire is in our reach at the moment and we can do it at any time we want.



Iran announced on April 13 that it planned to start enriching uranium at up to 60 percent purity in reaction to an alleged attack on the Natanz nuclear site two days earlier that they have blamed on Israel.



Tehran has repeatedly denied it is seeking nuclear weapons, saying its nuclear ambitions are purely for civilian purposes.



Under the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran committed to keep enrichment to 3.67 percent. Recently it has been enriching up to 20 percent, saying the deal was no longer enforceable.



Iran and global powers have been meeting in Vienna to try to rescue the nuclear deal, which former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from in 2018.



The talks will carry on for several more days before breaking so that Iranian and U.S. officials can return home for consultations, a European Union official said on April 16.



Irans decision to go up to 60 percent enrichment is not making the negotiation easier," the EU official told reporters, calling an explosion that occurred at the Natanz site "deliberate sabotage."



Few details have emerged about the April 11 attack.



Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement, but 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.



Israel plans to hold a meeting of its top security officials on April 18 over the Iranian announcement on enrichment.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP
Calls began coming into the police from several people at the warehouse who described a barrage of gunfire, the police dispatch turning into an account of growing horror. Officers arrived to find people dead and wounded in the parking lot and inside the building. The gunman was among them.

The chaos within the facility, and in the homes of the employees, was intensified by the fact that many employees did not have cellphones with them.

Jim Masilak, a FedEx spokesman, confirmed on Friday that cellphone access is limited within the warehouse, where packages are sorted for shipping, to minimize distractions. Such policies are common in the industry.

But for family members, not hearing from their loved ones was agonizing.

From 10 p.m. until 10 a.m. it was a nightmare, a total nightmare, said Tami Campbell, who was only assured of the survival of her husband, a truck driver at the warehouse, when he called her at the end of his all-night shift. I called his phone a thousand times even though I knew he wouldnt have it.

She joined other families of employees who had gathered early Friday morning at a nearby hotel to wait for news. The mood was tense, with television crews crowded outside and flags that had already been lowered to half-staff. A team of chaplains, the American Red Cross and at least one therapy dog stood by. Mayor Hogsett arrived for a private conversation with the families.

Patricia Holman, the senior chaplain for the Police Department, was one of six chaplains who arrived at the hotel to provide counseling and comfort. She has worked for the city for more than 30 years, first as a police officer, then as a chaplain.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 18:57:19|Editor: huaxia

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A U.S. military vehicle runs past the Tal Tamr area in the countryside of Hasakah province, northeastern Syria, on Nov. 14, 2019. (Str/Xinhua)

Mounting facts have alarmed that as long as the United States does not completely abandon interventionism, the peace of the world will continue being threatened.



BEIJING, April 17 (Xinhua) -- An addict to force and invasion, the United States, a self-proclaimed "shining city on the hill," has long sought to justify its wanton military operations in the name of "humanitarian intervention."

The world's sole superpower has long been the mastermind of a number of humanitarian disasters and in fact the creator of wars, turmoil and pains across the world.

From directly waging wars to supporting proxy wars, from inciting domestic rebellion elsewhere to providing weapons and ammunition, and training anti-government armed forces, the United States has an appalling record of intervening in many countries by force.

Statistics suggest that from the end of World War II to 2001, there were at least 248 armed conflicts in the world, of which 201 were initiated by the United States, according to a recently published article titled "Severe Humanitarian Disasters Caused by U.S. Aggressive Wars against Foreign Countries" by China Society for Human Rights Studies.

These wars not only claimed the lives of a large number of soldiers, but also caused extremely serious civilian casualties, social unrest and property losses, resulting in alarming humanitarian disasters.

An Afghan boy sells water at a graveyard where a number of war victims have been buried in Kabul, Afghanistan, on April 16, 2021. (Photo by Rahmatullah Alizadah/Xinhua)

Since the 21st century alone, the world has recorded a total of about 27 million refugees due to wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, all with American intervention.

After World War II, in a bid to consolidate its global hegemony, the United States turned into a professional meddler with other countries' internal affairs. Usually, Washington interfered in the name of democracy but actually created one human rights disaster after another under the banner of human rights.

Economic sanctions, cultural infiltration, inciting riots and manipulating elections are common plays in the U.S. interventionism textbook against the so-called "ideologically hostile countries."

Lindsey O'Rourke, a political scientist at Boston College, wrote in her book titled "Covert Regime Change: America's Secret Cold War" that from 1947 to 1989, the United States launched altogether 64 operations of subversion in other countries.

Illegal migrants are seen on the deck of the Libyan Coast Guard's ship in Tripoli, Libya, on March 31, 2021. (Photo by Hamza Turkia/Xinhua)

The Central Intelligence Agency's first known covert action was to manipulate Italy's 1948 election by spreading incendiary propaganda, bankrolling their preferred candidate, and orchestrating grassroots initiatives -- "all to advantage Italy's centrist forces over their leftist competitors," according to an article published by Foreign Affairs.

With mounting experience, Washington became more and more skilled in manipulations of elections across the world. From Chile, Guyana to El Salvador, similar operations were observed.

Even the U.S. allies are not exempted from the U.S. interventionism. The lessons like the Plaza Accord with Japan was not far away, and the effect of the weakening pound and euro respectively to Britain and Germany is still there.

Such unscrupulous interventionism is downright hegemonism and a gross violation of international law and order, which will only face backlash from the international community.

Demonstrators attend a rally to mourn the death of the Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani and deputy chief of Iraq's paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in al-Tahrir Square in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 3, 2021. (Xinhua)

Mounting facts have alarmed that as long as the United States does not completely abandon interventionism, the peace of the world will continue being threatened.

The era when the global situation was determined by one or few superpowers has gone. The path a country takes is based on its own cultural traditions and historical accumulation, in which no external forces have the right to interfere.

Any country, who willfully places its hegemonic will above the sovereignty of other countries and the international law, is going against the global trend and will end up being isolated from the rest of the world. 
Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are surging in Pennsylvania, as state officials warn of the impact of trends seen across the country: increased travel, relaxing restrictions and the spread of more contagious virus variants.

Pennsylvania is reporting an average of 4,922 cases a day, up from roughly 2,515 a month ago, according to a New York Times database. Hospitalizations have also climbed by about 16 percent in the past two weeks, and the state now has one of the highest per capita daily case counts in the United States. Deaths, which tend to lag behind infections by weeks, have started to increase again after plunging from the states high of an average of 222 in mid-January, now averaging about 37 a day.

State and national health officials are also worried about the spread of more contagious virus variants, particularly the B.1.1.7 variant first found in Britain. That variant is estimated to be about 60 percent more contagious and 67 percent more deadly than the original version.

B.1.1.7 is now the most common source of new coronavirus infections in the United States. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 28 percent of Pennsylvanias cases involve that variant, and it is spreading in a vast majority of two dozen other states with high caseloads. In Michigan, more than 57 percent of cases involve B.1.1.7; in Tennessee, the figure is over 60 percent.
Like most everyone else, Im tired of wearing a mask.

Every time I go to the grocery, a restaurant, church, or work I have to put on a mask. Not long ago, if we wore a mask into a bank or convenience store, the attendants would be alarmed and call 911. Today if we dont wear one, we are in trouble and not welcomed.

A lot of people have died from COVID-19 and thus I understand masks are important in this pandemic era. I dont want a disease. I have had two Pfizer shots and I wear a mask most every place I go.

Is it our God-given right to take off our masks? While we are free to take off our masks, others are free to ask us to put them on. The business owner has the freedom to require a mask. The airlines have the freedom to require masks. The religious assembly has the freedom to require you to wear a mask. People with whom you socialize may ask that you wear a mask. Of course, you are free to not patronize those businesses, forsake religious assembly and not hang out with certain people.

You are free to go mask-less if you want to. However, you arent free to be in someone elses face without a mask if they dont want you there without one. There are many places where you arent allowed to smoke. There are some businesses that will not allow your pet. They have the freedom to refuse you service and you have the freedom to go somewhere else. This is America.

Weve all been to the funeral home around sick people. A dear friend of mine eulogized a funeral in late November. Two people were in attendance who had COVID-19. He caught the virus and was dead by mid-December. He spent his last two weeks of life isolated in intensive care. He meant well in trying to help out a family in their time of grief. It cost him his life. He had been very active and healthy.

Ive spoken in churches and to groups where people would come up and shake my hand and then say, Well, Ive been sick, but I came anyway. They acted like they should have received a trophy for coming and contaminating everyone. In reality, their actions were inconsiderate of everyone elses health.

State governments may remove mask mandates. However, keep in mind that business owners still have the right to require masks. Churches still have the right to require masks. You dont have to let anyone in your home without a mask if you choose.

We have freedom in America to make choices  all of us.

Glenn Mollette can be reached at GMollette@aol.com.
The lobbying scandal around former UK Prime Minister David Cameron and finance company Greensill Capital is rapidly expanding.

After Greensill collapsed this March, a series of investigations by the Times and Financial Times revealed that Cameron had become an advisor for the company in 2018 and tried to use his political and personal connections to secure government financial backing. Cameron reportedly held millions of pounds worth of shares in the operation. Founder Lex Greensill had been a special advisor to the Tory government under Cameron, where he used his position to push a policy which benefited his company.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock speaking at a government Covid-19 press conference inside No10 Downing Street (credit: picture by Andrew Parsons/No 10 Downing Street--Flickr)

Camerons actions implicated Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Matt Hancock. Sunak promised Cameron he would push the team at the Treasury to find ways of supporting Greensill. Hancock had a private drink with Cameron and Lex Greensill in 2019, after which the company secured a major contract within the National Health Service (NHS) without a competitive tendering process.

Since these original investigations, more government figures have been exposed for their close connections with Greensill. Earlier this week, it was revealed that senior civil servant Bill Crothersfor a time the governments chief procurement officer, overseeing 40 billion of spendingtook a job as a paid adviser to Greensill two months before stepping down from the civil service in November 2015, an appointment agreed to by the Cabinet Office. Crothers became a director at the company in 2016 and reportedly accrued shareholdings worth 5.8 million by 2019.

A few days later, another senior government adviser, David Brierwood, was found to have been a director on Greensills board for the entire three-and-a-half years he was working in Whitehall. Brierwood had been a banker at Morgan Stanley and was brought into government under Cameron in 2014, two years after Lex Greensill. Within two months, Brierwood was working at Greensill Capital.

Greensill evidently made a special point of securing advisers with government connections. Its work in the National Health Service (NHS) was carried out by subsidiary company Earnd (now also in administration) whose advisory board included former Labour minister Lord David Blunkett and former leading Tory adviser on homelessness Dame Louise Casey.

Outside of Greensill, former BP executive John Mazoni kept a 100,000 a year directorship at alcoholic and soft drinks company SABMiller when he became chief executive of the civil service under Cameron. He gained a knighthood last year before leaving the civil service and becoming chairman of energy firm SSE and a non-executive director at drinks giant Diageo.

For scores of business interests, there is quite literally an open door into government. Recent analysis by the Mirror of the list of people given passes for access to the Houses of Parliament by members of the House of Lordsreserved for secretaries, researchers, drivers and carersfound more than 100 people with declared interests as lobbyists or representatives of interest groups.

The scandal has created a panic in the political elite, all swimming in the same gutter, with different factions rushing to cover themselves and shift attention elsewhere. There are now three select committees carrying out investigations into the scandalthe Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Treasury committee and Public Accounts committeein addition to an independent inquiry commissioned by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a Whitehall review ordered by Cabinet Secretary Simon Chase and a review by the Committee on Standards in Public Life.

Crotherss history was revealed by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), chaired by Conservative Lord Eric Pickles, as part of an attempt to shift focus away from the Tory Party and onto the civil service. The effort is undermined by the fact that all of this has been taking place on Acobas watch.

On Wednesday, the i newspaper revealed that a member of Acoba, former Conservative council leader Andrew Cumptsy, is the leader of two lobbying firmsCumptsy Communications and the Enterprise Forum. The latter advertises itself as a link between the leaders of UK Industry and the Conservative Party Cabinet. Cumptsy Communications acts on behalf of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for SME House Builders, a lobby group for small and medium-sized property developers. The president of the Enterprise Forum is Picklesa role he failed to declare before becoming Acobas chair.

Johnsons inquiry is itself an exercise in cronyism and corruption. It will be chaired by corporate lawyer Nigel Boardman, the son of a former Tory cabinet minister. He still holds a prestigious position at the British Museum, given to him by Cameron.

Boardman also works as a non-executive director at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for which he has been paid 20,000 a year. The department had significant dealing with Greensill through the British Business Bank. Boardmans law firm, Slaughter and May, worked closely with the Treasury to set up the COVID Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) which Cameron tried to secure access to for Greensill. The law firm briefed against lobbying reforms proposed by Cameron in 2014 and Boardman himself conducted a whitewash of the governments handing out of contracts to the private sector during the pandemic.

Johnson, while widely known to be less than friendly towards Cameron, is desperate to shut the scandal down before he and his close allies are pulled deeper into the mire. The prime minister is still in the middle of corruption allegations over his relations with Jennifer Arcuri. Johnson had an affair with the businesswoman while Mayor of London, during which time she gained access to thousands of pounds of public money and was given positions on trade missions to New York and Tel Aviv.

The whole Tory government is implicated in the handing out of billions of pounds worth of contracts to the private sector to provide personal protective and testing equipmenta large chunk of it with no competition or transparency and to close friends of the Tory Party. Prince among thieves is the Health Secretary. In the last few days, it emerged that Hancock was gifted a 20 percent stake in Topwood Ltd, a company part-owned by his sister, just a month before it was awarded a contract by NHS Wales.

Labour have sought to capitalise on these events, accusing the Tories of sleaze. Shadow cabinet minister Rachel Reeves unsuccessfully pushed for a parliamentary inquiry, saying Johnsons has all the hallmarks of another cover-up by the Conservatives.

This is rank hypocrisy. Labours being out of power for 11 years has merely left its MPs with fewer opportunities to get their noses in the trough. But where the party does hold power, in the local councils, its representatives are no less rotten than their Tory counterparts. Labour-run Lambeth council in London is currently carrying out the latest in a long run of social cleansing operations in close collaboration with private property developers. A leading role is played by Tom Branton, appointed as the councils Director of Regeneration in 2020. Branton was a lead officer at Southwark council a decade ago, where he organised a similar scheme involving property developer Lendlease. He left the council to join the company shortly afterwards, manging the project he had just authorised.

In Liverpool, Joe Anderson, Labour Mayor since 2012, was arrested last September on suspicion of conspiracy to commit bribery and witness intimidationhe denies any wrongdoing.

A report by local government executive Max Caller has found that up to 100 million of public money may have been misused by Liverpool council due to the awarding of dubious contracts, a lack of record keeping and an environment of intimidation. The report revealed that a firm run by Andersons son was given a role in a demolition project, despite having no published highways experience, on the direct instruction of the council. It noted that many senior councillors had not declared gifts or hospitality in the register of interests.

In a profoundly undemocratic move, the city has been placed in the hands of commissioners appointed by Tory local government secretary Robert Jenrick.

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick at a Covid-19 press conference in 10 Downing Street. 29/03/2020 (Picture by Pippa Fowles / No 10 Downing Street-Flickr)

Last summer, Jenrick himself overruled a planning inspector to quickly approve a 1 billion pound development scheme run by Tory donor and former pornographer Richard Desmond, a day ahead of new infrastructure charges coming into effect. Jenricks intervention saved Desmonds company 30-50 million, lost to the local council. Jenrick also allowed the number of affordable housing units to be slashed, saving the company another 100 million. Desmond had paid 12,000 to attend a Tory fundraising dinner in November, sitting next to Jenrick.

British capitalism has abandoned all pretence of fair competition, impartial regulation and democratic accountability. From a body which defends the interests of the capitalist class in general, the government has degraded into little more than an auction house for the sale of personal favours. The Greensill scandal threatens to become a major national crisis by exposing this reality.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that the ongoing Kumbh in Haridwar should now have symbolic participation due to the Covid-19 crisis.

Modi tweeted that he spoke to Swami Avdheshanand Giri of Juna Akhara over telephone and enquired about the health of saints, many of whom have contracted the infection, and also conveyed his appreciation for their cooperation with the local administration.

"I prayed that two 'shahi snan' have taken place and Kumbh (participation) should now be kept symbolic. This will boost the fight against this crisis," the prime minister tweeted in Hindi.

The ongoing Kumbh, which has seen people from different parts of the country attending the auspicious event in large numbers, has drawn flak from various quarters as the number of Covid-19 cases has zoomed at a rapid pace in the past few weeks. The event has also reported the coronavirus cases in large numbers.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 17:01:55|Editor: huaxia

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Airport workers load a package of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine onto a refrigeration vehicle at Phnom Penh International Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on April 17, 2021. A second batch of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine that Cambodia purchased from China arrived in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, on Saturday. (Photo by Ly Lay/Xinhua)

PHNOM PENH, April 17 (Xinhua) -- A second batch of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine that Cambodia purchased from China arrived in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, on Saturday.

Cambodia's Health Ministry secretary of state Yok Sambath received the vaccine, manufactured by Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech, at the Phnom Penh International Airport.

So far, Cambodia had received more than 3.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from China and the World Health Organization-led COVAX Facility.

The kingdom launched an anti-COVID-19 inoculation drive on Feb. 10, focusing on high risk and vulnerable groups such as frontline doctors and health workers, civil servants, teachers, armed forces, journalists, garbage collectors and garment factory workers, among others.

As of Friday, 1.24 million people had been vaccinated against the virus, according to a government report.

Sambath said Cambodia is expected to acquire more than 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in order to inoculate at least 10 million of its 16 million population.

The Southeast Asian nation has registered a total of 5,771 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, with 3,311 receiving ongoing treatment and 39 confirmed deaths, the Ministry of Health said on Saturday. Enditem
The executive committee of the opposition party Indian National Congress, the Congress Working Committee (CWC), has accused Narendra Modi government of colossal mismanagement of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic. It said that despite sufficient warning from experts and examples of several European and South East Asian countries, the government failed to prepare itself to handle the second wave of the pandemic.

The CWC said government failed to create sufficient public awareness that a waning pandemic could be a precursor to a second wave that may be more devastating than the first wave. and failed to rapidly scale up the production and supply of the two approved vaccines in India by providing sufficient funds and other concessions, if sought. The CWC in a statement on April 17 said Modi government also failed to resort to compulsory licensing and production of the two approved vaccines in other pharma manufacturing facilities in India and failed to universalise vaccination after health workers and front line workers had been vaccinated in Phase I.

Congress also accused the government for not providing adequate funds to 'the state governments that were fighting a two front war - one against the pandemic and the other against the economic recession - despite accumulating hundreds of crores of rupees in the opaque PM-CARES Fund'.

The committee observed that the government should have allowed the state governments and public and private hospitals to handle the vaccine rollout. It failed to prevent, or at least minimise, the wastage of vaccine doses that stands at more than 23 lakh doses today; failed to maintain the scale and momentum of testing, tracking and tracing of infected persons and their contacts; failed to grant emergency-use approval to other vaccines that had got approval in the US, UK, European Union and Japan and failed to allow the import of other approved vaccines manufactured in other countries to augment the supply of vaccines The committee also blamed the government for failing to adopt a need-based, fair and equitable allocation of the vaccine doses to the various states.

"We regret to say that the nation is paying a very heavy price for the thoughtlessness and unpreparedness of the NDA government to tackle the gravest disaster that has hit the country and has affected millions of families claiming 1,75,673 lives so far. It is a shame that the country with the world's largest vaccine manufacturing capacity has earned the odium of being among the most affected countries in the world. With a heavy heart, we caution the people that unless urgent corrective measures are taken the nation faces an unprecedented catastrophe," the committee concluded.

ALSO READ: 'Despite a year to prepare India caught off guard': Sonia Gandhi criticises Modi govt

ALSO READ: 'Tughlaqi lockdown': Rahul Gandhi slams Centre's COVID-19 strategy
Published on 2021/04/16 | Source

New poster added for the upcoming Korean documentary "A Long Way to School" (2020)



Directed by Kim Jung-in



Synopsis

Half of the students in special schools across the country face war-like mornings, commuting for 1 to 4 hours a day.



Due to unreasonable lack of special schools compared to the number of students with disability, mothers take it to the streets to oppose by kneeling on a platform to stand up for the children.



A world-changing photo begins with the mothers' courageous cry!



Release date in Korea : 2021/05/05
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Gunshots rang out late on Friday in Somalias capital Mogadishu, witnesses said.

The attack occurred when government troops approached the home of the citys former police commander, who was sacked for opposing a move by the president to extend his term.

The stand-off reveals splits within Somalias security services that threaten to see forces turn on each other, creating an opportunity for the al Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab insurgency to exploit.

Somalias long-running political crisis has entered a new, dangerous phase, said the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think-tank, in a briefing note on Saturday.

The opposition is said to be considering forming a parallel government, cracks have deepened in a security apparatus long divided along clan lines, and the presidents opponents have vowed to resist extension of his rule.

Somalia, riven by civil war since 1991, is trying to rebuild with international help.

But the path to stability has been obstructed by a political crisis caused by a failure to hold elections that were due in February.

On Monday, lawmakers extended President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohameds four-year term by up to two years.

The resolution passed after then Mogadishu police chief, Saadaq Omar Hassan, announced parliament was suspended, triggering his sacking moments later.

Hassan retreated to his house in the Shirkole area of the city, which is guarded by 100 armed men who have been reinforced by clan fighters, his family and area residents said.

Storm, then calm

Calm returned after the burst of gunfire, but some Shirkole residents held street demonstrations in support of Hassan, burning tyres and shouting slogans against the president.

If you are attacked, you have to defend yourself, said Mahad Mohamed Salad, a pro-Hassan lawmaker.

The government denied claims it wanted to attack Hassan.

We have no interest attacking a civilian area where most inhabitants are children and women, Interior Security Minister, Hassan Hunbdubey, said in an online address late Friday.

Donors, who have opposed the presidents move to extend his term, fear the crisis could abet further attacks by Islamist al-Shabaab militants, who have been trying for years to topple the government.

The militants on Friday killed Mohamed Abdi Hayle, the District Commissioner for Hamarjajab on the edge of Mogadishu, the state news agency reported.

They also captured the Becaadweyn area of the central state of Galmudug without resistance on Thursday, after the Somali army left the area, residents said. (Reuters/NAN)
"I love West Cork. I idolise the place; when I fly from London to JFK or back, Im always looking down for a landmark; if I see Bere Island, Im laughing. Or, I say to myself theres Kenmare bay or theres John Dunnes house.' Those are the little things that I love."

Internationally-acclaimed fashion photographer Boo George speaks to me from his West Cork home where, due to the pandemic, he has recently been spending more time. "I used to go to the States every six weeks; I could live there, but Ive chosen to live in London. Throughout the lockdown Ive been to Dubai, France, the Canaries, and Spain  I have to travel for work. When Im in Ireland Im not making any money.

"I usually travel with two assistants and equipment, well oiled. Thats the equipment  not me."

Boo is good fun. The Wicklow native tells the Irish Examiner that, although he loves international travel, its the West of Ireland that really grabs him.

"We used to go to Allihies as kids  my parents, myself, my brother and sister. One of my earliest childhood memories is going on the Dursey cable car.

It broke down going over to the island. My mother was sitting on the ground terrified. The state of it as well! Later, we started going to Schull with all of my aunties and uncles  we used to have a laugh."

Boos work too eventually led him to West Cork when, three months ago, The Telegraph commissioned him to photograph Ian Bailey.

Life for Boo has been busy. Initially, after buying his house in Beara, there were long periods of time when he couldnt visit: "I was in England and I was working hard."

Boos professional exploits see him working for fashion magazines and brands worldwide. Alongside French publications, he works for Vogue, Elle, Porter, and brands such as Zara and Chanel. "The people I meet are all pretty sound. Obviously the fashion industry is on its knees at the moment, purely because the high street is closed. But Ive had a very, very, good career. Unfortunately, I dont think the fashion industry will come back as strong as before. After Covid it will hopefully level off  work will be consistent, but Im not expecting it to be as regular. Once upon a time I worked six days a week and on a plane literally every ten days. I was in Palm Springs all the time, working for names like Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Barneys. All that has slowed down.

"Its tough at the moment, a conspiracy theorists dream. Protesters are labelled as left-wing gurriers; theyre just normal people who want to get their rights back."

Looking forward to travel opening up and the vulnerable being vaccinated, he is not in favour of the vaccine passport which, he feels, is a step too far in our fundamental freedoms.

"If I go to London, Paris, Milan, New York, or LA Im solely travelling for work. I live in London. Its the best city in the world. Ive loads of mates there and live in a cool area, but its not the same if everything closed."

Perhaps thats why Boo finds himself living the West Cork life, his house overlooking Kenmare Bay and across from An Siopa Dubh  the Black Shop  and Sneem on the Kerry coast. Just turned 40, Boo's love of the sea is enduring. "For my degree in the North of England I went to Whitby and spent ten days in the North Sea documenting fisherman. I made a book out of it." Boo says he treats his celebrity clients no differently than his West Cork neighbours.

Boo George, the Wicklow photographer with Victoria Beckham

"I think the reasons celebrities gravitate towards me are (A) because Im quick when I take their photograph (B) Im very decisive and (C) Im just being myself.

"Ive worked with people like Kim Kardashian and Victoria Beckham and I find, a lot of the time, theyre sound. Its the publicists, all panicked and hyped up, which can be problematic. Usually, the celebrities themselves are fine.

"I love my home in Beara. When I bought it first I didnt come [here]  I was too busy. But the more Im here the more I love it. Its magical. If the weather's bad I just cook  I love cooking. The first thing I bought was 'an AGA'. I just had lobster linguini for breakfast  bangin!

"Its a local lobster caught by a friend of mine. I got it last night and cooked it this morning.

"This place is idyllic if youre not too materialistic. Obviously, everyone is, a bit. But its nice to come here, to a place where I can cycle down the road to buy a load of shrimp from Kieran Lyons, or a whole lamb off the farmer next door  you cant do that in cities."

He tells me one of his friends has an oyster farm. I tell him he has the life.

"Ah sure, the grass is always greener. 'I want to be earning more money... I want a bigger house... I want a shinier car... yada yada ya'. ya dee ya dee ya.

"After graduating, I came back to Ireland for about six months before heading over to London, where I spent six years assisting for Julian Broad and Phil Poynter. They were both very good  I learned an awful lot from them. When I went solo, my first big commission was in Zambia photographing diamond mines. There was a military presence and they used to fire off AK-47s at night. When I came back to London, Katie Grand from Love magazine asked me to do a shoot of Donatella Versace. Later, Donatella told me that Id taken the best ever portrait of her in her life  a nice compliment! From then on, my work in the fashion industry escalated, with clients such as Louis Vuitton. Im very grateful for it.

"Ralph Lauren  the most iconic American brand  laid off 3,000 people in the US as a result of the pandemic  thats three thousand families affected. One of the only brands doing well is Zara. Arcadia, which owned TopShop, is gone... Itll get better, but it's not going to be the exactly the same. Id like to see brands give older people in photography more equal employment opportunities  employ the best person for the job."

Victoria Beckham on the front cover of Vogue - as shot by Boo George

On fast fashion, Boo hopes that sustainability will increase in the industry. "Waste has to be managed. Do we need ten pairs of jeans? Do we need ten t-shirts? UNICEF is now involved in sweatshops  theyve come a long way."

He himself doesnt feel pressurised into wearing the latest off-the-rack. "Im interested in dressing classically, like an Irish country gentleman or the old Joycean look. When I work, I wear black Chelsea boots, blue denim jeans, white shirt, and a black cashmere sweater  probably a hat and a wax jacket. I always get my boots polished on a Friday in East London with the rest of the Tories  I dont work every day, but the days I do, Im paid handsomely, so I like to look smart.

"My wife is from London. She loves Ireland, as does my stepson. But, at 16, hes not too interested at the moment. I travel back and forth with my French bull terrier, and all I can say is I love life."

Alongside the international world of high-end fashion, the Irish countryside seems be in Boos blood. As a young man, he took portraits of Irish Travellers in the Wicklow Mountains. He tells the Irish Examiner that his sister is a farmer in Tipperary.

"Im going to photograph Keira Knightley next week for the cover of Harpers Bazaar," he says.

"Thatll be lovely. Its in Suffolk. Its quite a nice balance  talking to my neighbour, John Dunne, about the benefits of cowshite on the land one day, the next flying to do a photoshoot of Keira Knightley for the cover of Harpers Bazaar."
The Federal Government, on Saturday, announced that it had flagged-off the physical verification phase of the ongoing forensic audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio inaugurated the exercise in Uyo, Akwa Ibom, according to a statement by NDDCs Director of Corporate Affairs, Ibitoye Abosede.

The statement quoted Mr Akpabio as saying that 16 field auditors were selected to immediately identify and verify the over 12,000 projects across the nine Niger Delta states.

He said: It is the position of President Muhammadu Buhari that for us to have a properly constituted board for the NDDC we should first address inadequacies in NDDC, since inception.

To this end, there is nothing our detractors have not done to stop the forensic audit. This has led some people to wonder if the forensic audit has been aborted, he said.

Mr Akpabio attributed the slow pace of the forensic audit to budgetary delays, saying that President Buhari had intervened to save the situation.

The President is resolute that he cannot leave the Niger Delta and NDDC the way he met it. As a demonstration of his commitment, President Buhari is funding the forensic audit from the budget of the Presidency.

So, I wonder why some people will be peddling rumours that the forensic audit had derailed  when in fact the exercise is ongoing, he said.

The minister faulted claims that the forensic audit was being used as a ploy to continue with the NDDC Interim administration, insisting that the security component of the audit exercise was as important as the forensic audit itself  due to safety issues in the region.

Forensic report

According to him, the field visit was a critical next step that would be followed by the production of the forensic report.

The physical verification is a very serious exercise, such that its findings may lead to the prosecution of contractors, who abandoned their contracts without completing them, he pointed out.

Babayo Ardo, Permanent Secretary in the ministry, said the forensic audit of the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, Rivers, had been concluded.

He said the second phase of the audit exercise would commence with the inspection of over 12,000 projects sites that had been identified in the region.

ALSO READ: Governors hit hard on NDDC on its big day

Also speaking, NDDC Interim Administrator, Efiong Akwa, said the commission had set up a committee to move around the states, to ensure that previous verification exercises were conducted transparently.

The committee would move around the sites with a formidable security escort to ensure their safety as well as ensure the verification was done properly, he assured.

On his part, the Lead Forensic Auditor, Joshua Basiru, assured of the auditors commitment to deliver their mandate for the repositioning of the NDDC.

He said that in spite of challenges encountered during the first phase of the audit, his team made appreciable progress in line with the forensic terms of reference.

So, I urge the field forensic auditors and their teams to diligently and meticulously render their professional service for the successful completion of the forensic audit, he said. (NAN)

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Ben Affleck was spotted spending some quality time with his son Samuel, nine, in Los Angeles this Friday.

The 48-year-old Justice League heartthrob was California casual in a dark hoodie thrown over a T-shirt and teamed with dark jeans.

The outing comes just days after Affleck's 32-year-old ex girlfriend Ana de Armas was seen grabbing coffee with a hunky mystery man.

Family time: Ben Affleck was spotted spending some quality time with his son Samuel, nine, in Los Angeles this Friday

Ben shares son Samuel, as well as daughters Violet, 15, and Seraphina, 12 with his amicable ex-wife Jennifer Garner, whom he split from in 2015.

Meanwhile his breakup with Ana occurred this January after they spent nearly nearly 10 months involved with one another.

He met the Cuban beauty on the set of their soon-to-be released erotic thriller Deep Water, which began filming in New Orleans in November 2019.

They were frequently glimpsed together throughout the coronavirus lockdowns, even traveling with the children and his mother to visit Georgia.

Sizzling: The 48-year-old Justice League heartthrob was California casual in a dark hoodie thrown over a T-shirt and teamed with dark jeans

Cross country: His latest outing in Los Angeles comes just two days after he wrapped filming in Boston on his upcoming movie The Tender Bar

'The quarantine was unique because they had downtime and really got to know each other spending time at home,' a source told Page Six at the time.

However after the breakup a Page Six source said that: 'Ana decided she doesn't want to live in LA and Ben wants to be close to his family,' adding: 'His priority is to be rooted in LA. They are in different places [in their lives].'

Ben's latest outing in Los Angeles also comes just two days after he wrapped filming in Boston on his upcoming movie The Tender Bar.

Moving on? The outing comes just days after Affleck's 32-year-old ex girlfriend Ana de Armas was seen grabbing coffee with a hunky mystery man; Ben and Ana pictured in 2020

The Hollywood dreamboat was seen affectionately hugging his colleagues on the set during his last day of shooting on the picture.

George Clooney is directing the movie in Ben's native Massachusetts and it concluded principal photography this week.

The movie is based on the 2005 memoirs by Pulitzer-winning author J.R. Moehringer who used to spend time at his uncle's Long Island bar in search of a father figure.

J.R.'s memoir reveals his father was a DJ who left when his son was a baby prompting the author to search for a stand-in among the barflies.

Ben like George is a movie star who has turned director in a number of previous films and is set to assume the same position again.

Split: The Academy Award-winner's break-up with de Armas occurred in January, after nearly 10 months together; Ben and Ana pictured in 2020

In different places: 'Ana decided she doesn't want to live in LA and Ben wants to be close to his family,' they added of Ben's three children with ex Jennifer Garner. 'His priority is to be rooted in LA. They are in different places [in their lives]'; Ana pictured in March

In fact after The Tender Bar Ben's docket includes directing and starring in a World War II movie that is entitled Ghost Army.

Last month Affleck's ex wife Jennifer Garner publicly changed her mind about one of her famous quotes from the early days of their separation.

The 48-year-old actress told Vanity Fair in 2016 that 'I lost the dream of dancing with my husband at my daughters wedding.'

However in a recent Hollywood Reporter interview she smiled and said: 'When our kids get married, we'll dance, I know that now.'

The onetime couple tied the knot in 2005 and over the course of their marriage welcomed Violet, 15, Seraphina, 12, and Samuel, nine.

The way they were: He shares his three children - Samuel and his two daughters Violet, 15, and Seraphina, 12 - with his amicable ex-wife Jennifer Garner

After they separated in 2015 they sustained a co-parenting relationship that was so friendly that it led to frequent reunion rumors.

When they first separated in 2015 Ben was amid a swirl of reports about his affair with the family's nanny Christine Ouzounian.

However Jennifer clarified to Vanity Fair in that 2016 interview: 'Let me just tell you something. We had been separated for months before I ever heard about the nanny.'

The 13 Going On 30 actress continued: 'She had nothing to do with our decision to divorce. She was not a part of the equation. Bad judgment? Yes. Its not great for your kids for [a nanny] to disappear from their lives.'
Reader Carl J. Collazo recently sent in information he had found about the last full-sized train robbery in Texas, the 1912 Baxters Curve robbery near Dryden, and asked for further information about one of the robbers, Ben Kilpatrick, who was part of the Wild Bunch outlaw gang.

The Dryden robbery was mentioned here in the July 11, 2020, column about the great little train robbery of the miniature Brackenridge Eagle amusement ride in Brackenridge Park.

Known then as Old No. 99, the one-fifth-scale train was given an Old West look by its 19th-century replica locomotive.

When the excursion line was robbed July 18, 1970, by a pair of Fort Sam soldiers, some of the passengers thought they might have been part of old-timey fun, like a Wild West show.

On ExpressNews.com: Zoo recreates miniature train robbery as 50th anniversary fundraiser

The column refers to the caper as the first train robbery in the West in 47 years, following one that occurred in 1923 near Okesa, Okla., but it also has been compared to the last full-size train robbery in Texas, which occurred March 12, 1912, near Dryden in West Texas.

The Brackenridge haul amounted to about $500 in cash and valuables, while the Baxters Curve robbery netted absolutely nothing, thanks to the actions of a San Antonian aboard.

When robbers Kilpatrick and Ole Frank Hobek attempted to hold up the westbound Southern Pacific train, No. 9, at 12:05 a.m. that March day, it was business as usual for Kilpatrick, known as the Tall Texan.

Kilpatrick had been robbing trains and banks since before the turn of the previous century, undeterred by a term in federal prison. He sometimes worked with members of the Hole in the Wall gang, aka the Wild Bunch (discussed here Nov. 28, 2020) or with Black Jack Ketchums gang. But this time, his fellow thief was a hapless Minnesotan who was heard to call Kilpatrick Partner.

On ExpressNews.com: Wild Bunch member may have visited 1900 SA Fair, but theres no proof

Kilpatrick, originally from Concho County, had a troubled relationship with his father and left home at age 12 to start working on ranches. Remembered as a likeable, easy-going cowboy, according to biographer Arthur Soule in The Tall Texan, young Kilpatrick  big for his age on his way to an eventual 6 feet, 2 inches  rode flank, wrangled and worked as a camp cook helper.

As the young cowpoke went from one roundup to another, he met some shady characters, including Ketchum and Will Carver, another future Hole in the Wall member, and drifted into an outlaws life, perhaps, as Soule suggests, because it was an ordinary cowboys only chance at fame and fortune.

There had been some of both for Kilpatrick, who had shared in a 1900 robbery of more than $32,000 in gold coins from the First National Bank of Winnemucca, Nev., and had the dubious distinction of being easily recognized from the photographs on his wanted posters, which cited his height and yellow eyes.

He was less than a year out of prison when he went back to robbing trains in 1911, first outside Memphis, Tenn., and then some small-time jobs in West Texas.

The Southern Pacific train that must have looked like a comeback vehicle was on a regular service run between San Antonio and El Paso, carrying the U.S. mail and freight for Wells Fargo & Co., as well as passengers.

When it stopped at Dryden for water, Kilpatrick and Hobek, masked and armed with pistols and rifles, boarded the engine and told the driver at gunpoint to stop at the next iron bridge at Baxters Curve.

Crew members were told to uncouple the engine, baggage and mail cars from the rest of the train. Kilpatrick held the engineer, mail clerk and baggage helper in the engine, and Hobek took David Andrew Trousdale of San Antonio, who was the express messenger and freight manager, to the baggage car, poking him with his rifle as he demanded his help with the robbery, which was starting to look like slim pickings.

They found packages valued at $2 and $37, which didnt impress the Minnesotan, who cut open some mail pouches and pawed through checked baggage, taking only a Mexican hat. Still dissatisfied, he declared his intention to see what the passengers had.

In a statement later, Trousdale said he told Hobek he wasnt getting fighting wages and didnt care what Hobek took but that as they moved through the car, the messengers mind was on finding some way of turning the tables on him.

He found it when they passed a stack of oysters. Nearby was an ice maul, a mallet used to break up the ice used to keep perishables fresh. Trousdale slipped it under his coat and pointed out a package that was going to Sanderson, telling Hobek that it was worth more than all that he had gotten.

When the outlaw rested his rifle against his leg to pick up the package, Trousdale brought the mallet down on the base of Hobeks skull, adjoining his head from his neck. When he fell, Trousdale hit him on the top of his head three more times, literally beating his brains out.

The San Antonian took two Colt revolvers and a Winchester rifle off the dead man and gave the pistols to the mail clerk and the helper. The three crew members turned the lights off and waited in silence for the other robber to come looking for his accomplice. An hour or more later, Kilpatrick came calling for Frank, and Trousdale  a good shot who had grown up in the Tennessee countryside  raised the rifle and waited for him to come into close range before he fired one shot  the bullet striking him about an inch and a half above the left eye, passing through his head and going through the end of the car.

Both Kilpatrick and Hobek were discovered to be carrying explosives, dynamite and nitroglycerine, for the safe. If Trousdale had been off with his coup de grace, he could have blown them all up.

When the crew members made sure that the dead robbers had no living confederates on or off the train, they recoupled the cars, tidied the baggage and mail cars, and went on to Sanderson, where they reported the attempted robbery and the shootings. Trousdale went before a grand jury and the coroner, told his story and was released.

He was hailed as a hero.

San Antonio man slays desperadoes, proclaimed the San Antonio Light, March 13, 1912, and other newspapers told his story nationwide. Grateful passengers had collected a purse of $51 on the spot for him, Wells Fargo rewarded him with $1,000 and the railroad chipped in $500.

Trousdale remained in the same job on the same route for 43 years until he retired in 1945 with the gift of a gold watch set with a diamond, in recognition of courage and fidelity.

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Raipur, April 17 : Four patients were killed when a fire engulfed a private hospital in the Chhattisgarh capital Raipur on Saturday.

While Ramesh Sahu succumbed to burn injuries, three others -- Ishwar Rao, Vandana Gajmala and Devika Sonkar -- died due to suffocation.

The reason why the fire erupted was not immediately known.

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel called the disaster "very unfortunate" and expressed profound grief towards the families of the bereaved, said an official statement.

He announced a financial aid of each Rs 4 lakh to the families of the four who died.

Raipur Collector Dr. S. Bharathi Dasan and Raipur Senior Superintendent of Police Ajay Yadav reached the spot and oversaw the rescue efforts.




We are looking for folks who are willing to share their personal, compelling healthcare/insurance stories, where harm has been done in some way to the speaker by our current system.



Please reply to



HOST: Santa Clara County Single Payer Health Care Coalition



Supporting Partners: California Nurses Association, Raging Grannies, Silicon Valley DSA, South Bay SNAHP, Green Party of Santa Clara County, CARA



WHEN: Saturday, April 17, 2021 12:00-2:00 PM PT



WHERE: 5365 Prospect Road San Jose 95129

(The Old Orchard Supply Hardware parking lot)

(Corner of Lawrence Expy and Prospect Road, near Taco Bell)



Wheelchair accessible; MASK & SOCIAL DISTANCING REQUIRED



BRING: Water, signs for your car #CalCare #AB1400 Join us for a CalCare SpeakOut Car Rally, a Covid-safe rally where we will gather in our cars to demonstrate our support for legislation AB 1400: CalCare in California. The event will center around sharing and hearing personal health care stories about our broken health care system.We are looking for folks who are willing to share their personal, compelling healthcare/insurance stories, where harm has been done in some way to the speaker by our current system.Please reply to singlepayerscc [at] gmail.com if you have a story to share or know someone who is willing to share.HOST: Santa Clara County Single Payer Health Care CoalitionSupporting Partners: California Nurses Association, Raging Grannies, Silicon Valley DSA, South Bay SNAHP, Green Party of Santa Clara County, CARAWHEN: Saturday, April 17, 2021 12:00-2:00 PM PTWHERE: 5365 Prospect Road San Jose 95129(The Old Orchard Supply Hardware parking lot)(Corner of Lawrence Expy and Prospect Road, near Taco Bell)Wheelchair accessible; MASK & SOCIAL DISTANCING REQUIREDBRING: Water, signs for your car #CalCare #AB1400 For more event information: https://www.facebook.com/events/2797450033...

Added to the calendar on Friday Apr 16th, 2021 3:03 PM
Published:

14 April 2021





"Im originally from Russia and I moved to London alone in 2017 in search of asylum. Since moving to London Ive been thinking about my future and how to become a useful member of society so I decided to apply to go university.

"I chose to study at Queen Mary because its a Russell Group university and has a great location! I really like the East End community and it really feels like home here. Its a strange time to be studying because teaching is online and you cant see your lecturers or peers in person. But I am enjoying my course and Im glad to be accepted to study here.

"I work part-time as a Barista at a Deli Bar to support myself financially. Due to the pandemic, my hours at work have been considerably less and Ive been stressed out about losing my job. The past year has been very difficult for me because of my financial situation, refugee status and the pandemic. I was also worried about my university entrance exam because studying at university means so much to me. Im very grateful to be a recipient of an Alumni-funded scholarship. I feel less stressed and excited for the future. The funding has enabled me to buy books and course resources. Im thankful that I can now focus on my studies without worrying about finances.

"Queen Mary opens so many opportunities for students future. Since Ive started last September Ive had emails about career opportunities, placements and internships. This year I want to focus on my studies but hope to secure internships in the next two years of my degree. After I graduate, I hope to do Masters at Queen Mary to build my skills further. My long term goal is to use my skills, knowledge and work experience to start my own business in the future.

"Thank you, I really appreciate your kindness. Your gift has been extremely helpful for me in so many ways. You have inspired me to give back to Queen Mary in the future and help others like myself."
A crowd in Tel Aviv in early March. Photo: Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images

As of Sunday, Israel will drop the national outdoor mask mandate it established at the beginning of the pandemic, marking a milestone for one of the nations to roll out the vaccine the fastest.

Health minister Yuli Edelstein said on Thursday that he had advised ministry director-general Chezy Levy to end the requirement this weekend, which coincides with the 73rd anniversary of Israels Independence Day. The masks are intended to protect us from the coronavirus, Edelstein said. After professionals decided this was no longer required in open spaces, I decided to enable taking them off. Earlier this week, cabinet ministers voted to fully reopen Israeli schools beginning next week.

Although Israel experienced a considerable third wave of cases this winter, the small prosperous nation has been one of the most successful in securing and administering COVID vaccines. The Health Ministry stated on Thursday that the country  with a population of a little over 9 million  had 4,961,238 people who had received two shots and 5,338,967 people who had received one. Cases and positive testing rates are down significantly: There are currently a little less than 3,000 active cases in the country, and as of Sunday, only 0.4 percent of tests came back positive.

Many of the Israeli successes achieved during the pandemic have come at the expense of the semi-autonomous Palestinian National Authority. Although the first vaccines were delivered to Israel in December, the nation did not distribute vaccines in the West Bank until almost two months later. After a significant third wave in February, only 2 percent of Palestinians had been vaccinated as of late March.
She was utterly alone.

With coronavirus restrictions firmly in place, some of Queen Elizabeth IIs relatives sat in small family groups with children and spouses to mourn Prince Philip, her husband. But she sat alone at the end of a pew, and for many watching the proceedings from home, the sight of the newly widowed queen, who will turn 95 next week, was perhaps the saddest image of the day.

These pictures really bring home one of the horrible truths of the pandemic, the British journalist Jane Merrick said on Twitter: that there can be no tearful hugs with reunited family right at the time when you need it most.

One Twitter user, referring to a widely shared photo of Elizabeth, said it was the first image from the funeral that made her tear up. She looks so alone there, more a widow today than a queen.

Many on social media remarked on the queens seeming frailty, saying she looked little or more vulnerable. And of those who lamented her having to grieve her husband in an era of social distancing, some took pains to note that their sympathy transcended any feelings about the monarchy.
A man received an iPhone SE for free after he ordered a kilo of apples. If this shocks you, even the guy who received it for free was also surprised since he wasn't expecting it.

It started when the man ordered some fruits from his everyday grocery outlet. When went home, he was surprised to see that instead of the apples he ordered, the one that he brought back is an iPhone SE.

Nick James, a 50-year-old man, is the lucky U.K. resident who received the free iPhone flagship. He ordered his Apple at the supermarket chain Tesco.

This company gave James his new iPhone since it is currently conducting a marketing strategy, which it calls super-sub or super-substitutes. If you know this supermarket, here's what you need to do so that you can also have an iPhone SE or other smartphone brands for free.

Getting a free iPhone SE

Right now, Tesco is allowing some of its lucky loyal customers to receive a free iPhone SE or other smartphone brands such as the Motorola E7 and more. If you also want to be included in the lucky ones, all you need to do is regularly buy grocery items.

Also Read: Future iPhones May Predict When it Is Likely to Run Out of Charge, Plus New Underwater Features

However, you need to remember that it is not 100% effective.

Although this is the case, you can still purchase a lot of grocery items so that you will have more chances of winning, as reported by News 18.

On the other hand, Wales online provided a complete list of the gadgets that you can possibly receive. Here are their exact details:

Pampers Active Fit Nappies (Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 Black)

Gnocchi (Nokia 3.4)

Freshly baked bread rolls (Motorola E7)

Galaxy chocolate drink (Samsung Galaxy Watch 3)

Mini Cheddars (Apple iPhone 12 Mini)

Cotton Buds (Samsung Galaxy Buds Live)

Galaxy Milk Chocolate Bar (Samsung Galaxy S21 5G)

Tesco laundry tablets (Samsung Galaxy Tab 7)

Apples for (Apple iPhone SE)

Frozen cod (Apple Airpods)

Is iPhone SE still a good smartphone?

According to The Verge's latest report, iPhone SE is still a great Apple smartphone since it has good battery life, advanced camera features, and the latest software updates.

However, you still can't compare it with the current iPhone 12 flagships. If you want to know more details, all you need to do is click here.

For more news updates about iPhone SE and other Apple smartphones, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: Apple is Looking Into Using Watch and iPhone to Detect COVID-19 With The Help of Seattle Researchers

This article is owned by TechTimes

Written by: Giuliano de Leon

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
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Market Overview and Growth Factors:

Cinnamic Aldehyde is also known as cinnamaldehyde, an organic compound occurring naturally in the bark of cinnamon trees and other species of cinnamon such as camphor and cassia. It can be produced naturally by forming reaction between benzaldehyde such as isovanillin and acetaldehyde. Cinnamaldehyde is mainly used as flavor and fragrance agent in the food & beverage and cosmetics & personal care industries.

Growing demand for organic agricultural activities with escalating demand for nutritious food products among health-conscious consumer is influencing the market growth. Moreover, the product use is increasing in oral care and heart diseases due to anti-bacterial and anti-diabetic properties.

Get a Free sample @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/6018

Competitive Analysis:

Some of the key players in the global cinnamic aldehyde market are:

Kao Corporation

Emerald Performance Materials

Finoric

Jayshree Aromatics Pvt Ltd

Muby Chemicals

Payan Bertrand S.A.

LANXESS

Yingcheng Wuhan Organic Material Co., Ltd

Merck KGaA

Sigma-Aldrich

Graham Chemical

Market Segmentation:

The global COVID 19 Impact on Cinnamic Aldehyde Market is segmented into nature, application, end use industry, and region. On the basis of nature, the market is segregated into organic and synthetic. The synthetic cinnamic aldehyde is produced by reacting benzaldehyde with acetaldehyde.

Based on the application, the market is segmented into fragrance agent, flavor agent, insecticides, anti-microbial, anti-cancer, oral care, animal feed, and others. Flavor agent accounted for the largest market share as a result of increasing use in the households and food & beverage industry. The product use, as a fragrance agent, is increasing in deodorants, detergents, cleansers, and cosmetics. Cinnamic aldehyde helps to fight against tooth decay, bad breath, cure diabetes and reduce infections owing to antibacterial and antifungal properties.

Based on the end use industry, the market is divided into household, food & beverages, cosmetic & personal care, agriculture, healthcare, and others. The food & beverage industry accounted for the largest market share as a result of increasing demand for nutritious food products and beverages. The product consumption is rising in cosmetics & personal care industry with growing prevalence of various cosmetics brands in the market such as LOreal, Avon, and Lakme across the regions.

Regional Analysis:

Based on the region, the cinnamic aldehyde market is segregated into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa.

Asia Pacific is the fastest growing region in the cinnamic aldehyde market owing to the increasing demand for nutritious food and energy drink with rising health consciousness among the consumers. Increasing spending on the cosmetics & personal care industry is driving the market growth further.

North America is the second largest region in the cinnamic aldehyde market with increasing spending on personal care products coupled with high per capita income. Moreover, growing aging population coupled with rising health awareness is uplifting the market growth.

Europe is another significant region in the market due to growing food & beverage industry with increasing consumption of packaged food products among working population.

Latin America and the Middle East & South Africa regions are likely to witness moderate growth during the review period with significant growth of cosmetics and personal care industry.

Browse key industry insights spread across 100 pages with 47market data tables & 12 figures & charts from the report, Cinnamic Aldehyde Market Information: by Nature (nature and synthetic), Application (fragrance, flavor, insecticides, household, and animal feed), by End Use (food & beverages, cosmetics & personal care, healthcare), by Region: Forecast till 2023 in detail along with the table of contents @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/cinnamic-aldehyde-market-6018
Six wilted red roses stood in a vase on the kitchen island in a New Orleans East house where family members gathered Saturday morning, hours after a 3 a.m. knock on the door meant Anthony Hartford was among the dead in the Gulf of Mexico.

Hartford, 53, a longtime chef on the lift boat Seacor Power when it capsized, had delivered the roses and a cake to his wife at her job at University Medical Center for her birthday, Janet Hartford said. That was March 30, the last time she saw her husband of 24 years, a father to four.

Its no feeling right now, she said inside a home that was filling fast.

Hartford, relatives said, was prone to pinstripe suits, fancy old cars, top-shelf cigars and showing up for loved ones.

I had the best dad in the whole world. The whole world, said a trembling Antranae Hartford, 24, youngest of his four children.

The Lafourche Parish coroner identified Hartford and another Seacor Power crew member, James Wallingford, 55, of the northeast Louisiana village of Gilbert, as the latest found dead in the Gulf. The Coast Guard said Hartford and Wallingsford were in the port-side engine room of the mostly sunken vessel, which flipped onto its starboard side Tuesday afternoon in high seas driven by hurricane-force winds.

Janet Hartford said her husband had been due back home on Tuesday but called to ask to work an extra trip for the overtime pay. The last text from him, sending hugs and kisses, came Sunday, she said.

The deaths of Hartford and Wallingford bring confirmed deaths to four since the jackup barge turned over about eight miles south of Port Fourchon. Six of the 19 people aboard were rescued Tuesday. The first body was found Wednesday, that of 63-year-old captain David Ledet of Thibodaux. The second was found Thursday: 69-year-old Ernest Williams of Arnaudville in the waters near Cocodrie, miles away from the toppled boat

Saturday marked the fifth day of a search that has covered 4,000-plus square miles. Nine crew members remained missing.

What we know about capsized lift boat Seacor Power and rescue efforts off Louisiana coast Five crew members are dead and eight are missing as U.S. Coast Guard rescuers continued to search the waters of the Gulf of Mexico for survivo

Janet Hartford said her husband loved his work and had been a cook on the Seacor Power since it was owned by a different company and called by a different name, the Dixie Endeavor.

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A friend of Hartford who did not want to be identified for this story said the two of them worked together about a decade ago. Hartford served as Seacor Power captain Dave Ledet's cook.

"Him and Captain Dave were real close," the friend said.

As a cook, Hartford was out to sea for six to eight weeks at a stretch. The man the crew called Big Ant was at least 6 feet, 2 inches tall and maybe 300 pounds, a big presence on the vessel.

"He was a real jolly guy, always happy. He had the same greeting for everybody. He'd say, 'Whats up, Big Dawg?'" the friend said.

"He was one of the best cooks in the fleet. He barbecued the best steaks Id ever tasted."

Usually, Saturday and Tuesday were steak days. Sundays were for chicken. On Monday, it was red beans or any kind of beans. Seafood days were Friday.

Earlier this week, relatives drove south to Port Fourchon to join other pensive families of the missing. But they returned home.

It was overwhelming, seeing families grieving, not knowing whats going on." his wife said. "It was too much.

Hartford taught his children not to settle, telling them to go for whatever you want, said Lucretia McKendall, his oldest daughter.

He was in the process of doing that himself, building a man cave in a room off the New Orleans East house.

He was a lovable giant. Didnt know a stranger, said another relative, Felicia Wilson. Always upbeat, looking for the positive.

But Saturdays news left little to be positive about in the place he called home.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 13:07:19|Editor: huaxia

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LIMA, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Presidential candidates Pedro Castillo and Keiko Fujimori will face off in runoff election in Peru, the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) said on Friday.

"In the framework of the 2021 General Elections, the National Office of Electoral Processes managed to process 100 percent of the electoral records for the president and vice presidents," the agency said in a statement.

According to the ONPE, the two prevailed over a crowded field of candidates in the first round on April 11, with Castillo of the Free Peru party garnering 19.09 percent of the votes, and Fujimori of the Popular Force party becoming the runner-up with 13.36 percent of the votes.

None of the 18 presidential candidates in the elections garnered the minimum 50 percent of the votes required to win the first round outright and forgo a runoff which is scheduled for June 6.

Castillo, a teachers' union leader, and Fujimori, daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori, represent two very different national plans and models of government.

Political observer Jerjes Loayza described their first- and second-place finish as "unexpected, since we thought the possible scenarios would represent liberal candidates with relatively similar government plans."

Loayza, a professor from the National University of San Marcos, told Xinhua that several factors, such as the pandemic and inequality in the country, may have played a role in the scenario that these two candidates obtained the most votes in the first round.

Castillo "reflects the demands of a forgotten population that is very tired of presidential repetitions," said Loayza.

However, Castillo does not represent "the usual left," since he and his supporters are "a conservative pro-life and pro-family" segment, he added.

Meanwhile, Fujimori, who is "beyond the right," has name recognition and "a surname that elicits a hard vote, that is, a vote that generates an inevitable pull on a sector of the population that was very well worked by former president Fujimori," he said.

Whoever wins the June 6 runoff will take office on July 28 for the 2021-2026 term. Enditem
Prince Philip, officially known as Duke of Edinburghs funeral procession has begun with Queen Elizabeth II leaving the Sovereigns Entrance of Windsor Castle. The UK monarch accompanies by a lady-in-waiting wore a mask as she took her seat in the Bentley to reach St. Georges Chapel for the funeral of her husband of 73 years. As the entire service is live-streamed on the official YouTube channel of the Royal family, the ceremony is carried out while following all COVID-19 protocols including face masks and social distancing.

Who will perform the service?

Prince Philip's Ceremonial Royal Funeral is the same as that of Queens Mother in 2002. The service will be conducted by the Dean of Windsor and the Archbishop of Canterbury will pronounce the Blessing. Even though around 800 mourners would have attended Prince Philips funeral in normal times, Buckingham Palace has said that only 30 members of the UK royal family will be attending the service in person amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Several key members were forced to miss the Duke of Edinburghs service including Prince George, Meghan Markle and Sarah, Duchess of York, popularly known as Fergie. Ahead of the funeral, Buckingham Palace had released the list of 30 UK family royal members who attended the ceremony.

Prince Philips unwavering loyalty to UKs Queen Elizabeth II and his wife will be praised at his funeral that will take place at Windsor Castle on April 17. The longest-serving consort with the official title of Duke of Edinburghs courage, fortitude and faith will also be lauded on Saturday as his funeral is majorly muted due to the COVID-19 pandemic with only 30 official attendees. As per the request of Prince Philip, who died on April 9 at the age of 99, the service will be a highly religious one without a sermon.

Among the songs that have been selected is the hymn Eternal Father, Strong To Save, which are traditionally associated with members of the navy like that of Prince Philip. The same was sung at the funeral of Duke of Edinburghs uncle, Earl Mountbatten of Burma, who was murdered by the IRA in 1979.

Image credits: AP
If it feels like Rutgers is bringing back almost everyone this coming fall, its because it is.

The Scarlet Knights will return 20 combined starters on offense and defense from the 2020 season. That is tied for the most in the Big Ten with Minnesota, according to betting analyst Brad Powers. Rutgers is also the only team in the league that is returning an entire starting unit -- all 11 of the Scarlet Knights offensive starters are back.

Rutgers (and several other conference rivals) is benefitting from the blanket eligibility waiver the NCAA granted last season amid the coronavirus pandemic. The decision gave all seniors the option of a fifth season of competition, and the Scarlet Knights had five players with significant starting experience take advantage: Center Nick Krimin, tight end Jovani Haskins, nose guard Julius Turner and linebackers Tyshon Fogg, Olakunle Fatukasi and Tyreek Maddox-Williams.

The Scarlet Knights did have two starters forego their bonus season of eligibility: Defensive tackle Michael Dwumfour and safety Brendon White. But they added two players with starting experience from the transfer portal this offseason -- Temple defensive tackle Ifeanyi Maijeh and North Carolina cornerback Patrice Rene.

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Illinois will bring back the third-most starters in the Big Ten with 18. Five teams -- Indiana, Maryland, Michigan State, Nebraska and Purdue -- bring back 17. Michigan will return 16 starters and Penn State and Wisconsin return 15. Iowa brings back 13 and Ohio State will only return 12, although the Buckeyes will still be the preseason favorite to win the conference due to their tremendous recruiting success in recent years.

Northwestern is the only Big Ten program that is not returning double-digit starters. The Wildcats only bring back nine starters from last years West Division title team.

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James Kratch may be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Michael Joy never thought hed see his beloved dog Sam again after he went missing in the summer of 2016 from Fort Benning, Ga. But nearly five years later, a recent phone call from more than 800 miles away in Cleveland would make that dream come true.

Michael Joy, a retired Army medic who now lives in Clarksville, Tenn., never quite got over the loss of Sam, a 6-year-old Labrador Retriever and Siberian Husky mix. He had two other dogs and when the second one died in December, he felt even more of a loss of Sam.

My other dog died and they were really close, Joy said. It was the last thing that tied me to him.

So two weeks later, he and his wife welcomed a new dog to the family and named him Sam.

But even with the new four-legged family member, the loss of Sam was still there. A few weeks ago Joy was reminiscing, showing his wife and kids pictures of his original Sam as a puppy. And just days later, a call from Cleveland changed everything.

When I first got the phone call I was like I dont know what youre talking about. Ive never been to Ohio. Are you sure hes my dog? Can you describe him? And she said he has light brown hair and I was like Wait a second. You cant be talking about the same Sam, Joy said.

On April 2, more than 800 miles away from the Army base where Sam went missing, Cleveland Division of Police found Sam as a stray and brought him to Clevelands Animal Care & Control, City Dogs Cleveland. Staff performed a medical assessment, vaccinated him, scanned him for a microchip and, upon learning who the owner is, contacted Joy.

Although City Dogs Cleveland offered to extend the typical hold time to one week so the Joy family could make the 8-hour drive, it wasnt necessary. The next morning they were in the car headed north.

The second I saw him it was a rush of emotion, Joy said. My wife and daughter were crying. Me, I dont show emotion too well. I was a medic for 20 years and I saw a lot of stuff. But seeing him I almost teared up. I was so happy to see him.

Although Sam didnt recognize Joy right away, it didnt take long. Once he started smelling me and hearing my voice he was attached to my hip and hes still attached to my hip right now, Joy said.

One of the best parts of our job at Cleveland Animal Care & Control is reuniting lost dogs with loving owners who have been looking for them, kennel manager Michelle Harvanek said in a press release. We take a lot of pride in our efforts to trace microchips right away and making several attempts to contact owners. We also place a huge emphasis on microchipping dogs. Every dog that leaves our care through adoption or return to owner is microchipped if they werent already.

This is one of those very feel-good stories that make all of our hard work worth it.

It took Sam about a day to adjust to being home with Joy again but hes back to being the affectionate, calm and mild-mannered dog he was five years ago.

If your dog needs a microchip, you can contact Cleveland Animal Care & Control at 216-664-3069.
While some grandparents socially distanced from their families during the COVID-19 pandemic, that wasnt possible for grandparents raising their grandchildren.

Many of these grandparents were forced to adapt over the last year and provide space for virtual classrooms for their grandchildren and perhaps even learn to become Zoom technicians, said Pennsylvania Department of Aging Secretary Robert Torres.

These older adults also faced the added stress of being among the population most at risk to contract COVID-19 and suffer the worst health outcomes or even die from the disease, Torres said.

Torres spoke Friday at the NEPA Intergenerational Coalitions 14th annual Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Conference, Generations of Love, which was virtual this year because of the pandemic.

While the virtual setting was different, Torres said the conversation about helping grandparents raise their grandchildren is more critical than ever as the number of them is on the rise.

In Northeast Pennsylvania, there are more than 21,000 families in which grandparents are raising grandchildren, said Howard Grossman, chair of the NEPA Intergenerational Coalition.

Grossman said this number will continue to grow as long as substance abuse problems continue among parents.

Grandparents also are raising grandchildren because their parents may be incarcerated, as well as many other reasons, such as teenage pregnancy, he said.

Throughout Pennsylvania, there are more than 90,000 families in which grandparents are raising their grandchildren, said Gov. Tom Wolf, who also spoke at the virtual conference.

These families face unique challenges in our communities and often need unique support and resources, Wolf said. My administration remains committed to helping grandparents raising grandchildren.

Over the last few years, Torres said the number of unpaid family caregivers has risen statewide and throughout the country.

Throughout the U.S., he said there are about 53 million unpaid family caregivers, and about 1.5 million live in Pennsylvania. The number of multigenerational homes also is on the rise, he said.

Torres said grandparents raising their grandchildren face many challenges and need vital services and support.

We saw some of these challenges even more so this past year because of the pandemic and the resulting shutdowns, particularly of schools, he said.

He highlighted the Pennsylvania Department of Agings Caregiver Support Program, which provides primary caregivers with financial reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses such as school supplies and technology-related items, babysitting and summer camp fees, as well as education, training and support.

The program, funded by federal and state dollars, is administered at 52 area agencies on aging in 67 counties throughout the state, he said.

People age 55 and older who are the primary caregivers of their grandchildren are eligible for the program, he said.

Torres said the state Department of Aging has supported legislation that would change the Caregiver Support Program to increase access to services so that more Pennsylvanians can benefit.

House Bill 464, proposed by state Rep. Karen Boback, R-Harveys Lake, would expand the criteria of the Caregiver Support Program to mirror federal eligibility standards. It recently passed unanimously and went to the Senate for consideration.

Were optimistic it will be supported during this legislative session, Torres said.

For information about the program, go to aging.pa.gov or contact your local Area Agency on Aging.


Anele 'Nelli' Tembe was laid to rest at Lala Kahle Cemetery in Hillcrest, west of Durban on Friday, 16 April.

Her funeral service was held at Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre and was attended by her fiance AKA, family, close friends, artists and business people. The service only had two speakers and was characterised by choral music.

Aneles father Moses Tembe pleaded with Mzansi to stop labelling her daughter as chronically suicidal or that she had suicidal tendencies.

Speaking through his friend Sandile Zungu, who read his tribute letter to his daughter, Moses said the question still stands about how his daughter died.

I was not there when Anele met her fate last Sunday. I neither seek to attack any person, nor create suspicions or stigmatised any mental condition. However, I cannot allow the unfortunate narratives go unchallenged, which say Anele, my daughter, was chronically suicidal or had suicidal tendencies."

He said all he could say was that Anele would not consider taking her own life as a solution.

Not even a single member of the family would have ever associated Anele with suicide. She loved herself so much that she wanted to live, more than less. As Aneles father, I hereby state categorically that she was not suicidal. We need to understand the forces that put us in situations, alcohol and drugs, when over used, have an impact on our youth, he said.

Moses said his daughter was an independent thinker and a dreamer. Anele prided herself to stay way from boys. She always told me she only wants to give birth when she is married. It was no wonder that when she turned 22, she introduced her boyfriend to us and lobola negotiations started two weeks ago, he said.

Moses also advised AKA to get closer to God during this difficult time of losing his fiancee. The funeral service was attended by mourners including Minister of Police Bheki Cele, DJ Tira and Sjava.
Mumbai, April 17 : Actor Param Singh, who features in the show "Ishk Par Zor Nahi", says his character Ahaan Malhotra is not merely black or white but well-layered. The actor says this makes Ahaan different from the characters he has played before.

"Most of the characters I have essayed before were either black or white characters. However, in Ishk Par Zor Nahi, my character Ahaan is not one dimensional. He has a very layered personality as there's much more to him than what meets the eye," he says.

He adds that he has never been one for playing completely positive characters.

"Honestly, I love to play a character who's flawed yet beautiful! There's so much to explore. Ahaan might not be an instantly likeable or a relatable guy but I look forward to bringing all the facets of his personality on screen to the best of my abilities," he says.

"Ahaan is a young, dashing, bright and a successful entrepreneur. He is cold and calculative and lives a disciplined and controlled life. He is a fiercely protective family man for whom family values are more important than love," he adds.

"Owing to his scarred family history, Ahaan is judgmental when it comes to women. He respects the ones who aren't too outgoing and have no ambitions and dreams," he says.

Also, the fact that the show is a love story was what helped him come on board.

"My last few projects were intense action-loaded crime dramas and sci-fi shows. So, I wanted to do something light, like a romcom or a light humorous love story," he says.

The actor has been part of shows such as "Mariam Khan Reporting Live" and "Sadda Haq: My Life, My Choice".
Fox News is reporting:

Amid the outrage from liberals over the recently passed election security law in Georgia, GOP-controlled state legislatures are advancing bills in other states that Republican supporters say are necessary voting security measures but Democrats decry as attacks on voting rights.

The efforts were highlighted by Democrats as they pushed S. 1 and H.R. 1 in Congress last month -- bills that would take many elements of elections out of the hands of the states and put them under the federal government's control.

"Efforts have been made to suppress the vote. Efforts have been made to introduce bills that would suppress the vote," Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said of GOP-backed bills on the state level. "A dozen states including Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania, have introduced legislation to limit access to vote by mail."

But the conservative group Heritage Action says these state-level bills won't limit voting rights, but rather increase election security. And the group last month invested at least $10 million in support of these laws in several key swing states.

GEORGIA ELECTION OFFICIAL WARNS BIDEN TO STOP 'LIES' ABOUT VOTING LAW: 'SOMEONE IS GOING TO GET HURT'

"States across the nation are working to secure their elections and restore voter trust. Grassroots activists and state lawmakers alike are hard at work making it easy to vote and hard to cheat," Heritage Action Executive Director Jessica Anderson said in a statement. "I am thrilled to see so many states advancing laws that will inspire confidence in our elections, the bedrock of our democracy."

While many eyes have been on Georgia, here's the status of efforts to tighten election laws in some other important states.

Texas

In Texas, the state Senate has already advanced S.B. 7 and the state House is considering H.B. 6, two bills aimed at tightening voting rules on a variety of fronts.

S.B. 7 would prohibit election officials from sending out unsolicited mail ballots; ban drive-through voting; define a poll watcher's role and say he or she is "entitled to sit or stand near enough to see and hear the activity"; sets certain early-voting hours; and more.

H.B. 6, meanwhile, passed out of a House committee but still needs a full vote. It would ban paid "vote harvesting services" and report deaths to voter registration officials so deceased individuals can be removed from the rolls.

These bills will need to be considered by the full House before May 10 if they are to pass. They've lead to protests in front of the Texas statehouse, according to FOX 7.

"This is a voter suppression bill and we should not have that in Texas, not in 2021," Democratic Sen. Royce West of Dallas said of SB 7, according to FOX 7.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says the election bills are simply meant to address security.

"We must stop this race-baiting on every issue," he said, according to FOX 7. "Election security is what the public wants. Over 75% support voter ID which Congress wants to eliminate by the way. Voters want confidence in their election system, SB 7 is not voter suppression, it's voter security."

Arizona

Arizona is advancing a variety of bills that take more limited actions. One bill, which has already passed, is meant to ban government entities from using private money to conduct elections. This is in response to money given by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to help run elections in cities and states last year.

Also already passed is a bill that requires the health department to provide the secretary of state with information about deaths so those individuals can be removed from voter lists.

Other bills that have yet to pass include one that would require photo ID -- or two different items that aren't photo ID but include the name and address of the voter -- for early voting. Another would remove a voter from the early voting list if they don't vote early in two consecutive election years.

Those bills are expected to get final votes in the next week or so.

Florida

Florida is taking more of an omnibus approach, including several changes in individual House and Senate bills.

The most high-profile piece of legislation is HB 7041. It bans ballot-harvesting; allows drop boxes but only under certain security measures; bans officials from sending unsolicited mail ballots; bans the use of private funds to run elections; and forces the state department and motor vehicle department to work together to update voter files when drivers licenses or ID cards are changed.

There is also a similar bill in the state Senate.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer addresses the state during a speech in Lansing, Mich. Gov. Whitmer on Wednesday, March 31, 2021. Whitmer is likely to veto any election bills passed by her state's GOP legislature, so Republicans are planning to introduce a ballot measure to accomplish a handful of goals, including voter ID. (Michigan Office of the Governor via AP, File) (Michigan Office of the Governor via AP)

Michigan

Republican legislators in Michigan are in a different situation as they cannot expect Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to sign any legislation that they pass.

But they are working on a way to bypass the governor with a ballot initiative. No initiative has been proposed yet, but Fox News is told it could include voter ID for in-person and absentee voting; a ban on private money for elections; drop box security; and a ban on ballot harvesting.

Other states

The Wisconsin Senate passed a bill banning private money from being used to run elections. Tennessee passed a similar bill, according to The Tennessee Star

Arkansas also passed a bill banning unsolicited mail ballots, according to UA Little Rock Public Radio. And Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds last month signed a bill that among other things banned unsolicited mail ballots.
New Delhi:

Police on Tuesday arrested five persons in connection with assaulting a Nigerien national in Delhis Malviya Nagar on Tuesday.

A shocking video surfaced on Monday where it can be seen how a youth of Nigerien living in Delhi's Malviya Nagar was brutally beaten up while tied to a lamp post by a local mob on suspicion of theft.

The video that has gone viral on various social media platforms dates back to September 24 when a resident of Malaviya Nagar by the name Krishna Kumar alleged that he has caught the Nigerian youth who attempted an act of theft at his house.

It is worth noting that Malaviya Nagar has a substantial population from various African nations, Nigerians being one of the highest among them.

After the brutal assault, the Nigerian was taken to the police where the locals reported that he sustained injuries as result of a fall from the staircase.

The video was captured on a cell phone by one of the bystanders shows how the mob was hitting him on the leg, the back and other places of the body.

The Nigerian youth was seen begging for mercy as the mob continued to shower him with rods and sticks on his body. He was eventually stripped to his underwears and was tied to a lamp post.

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For the third time in the past 10 years, migration flows from Central America to the United States have reached a crisis point at the southwest U.S. border. Most of these migrants are from the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. These countries each face significant governance issues, resulting in violence and stunted economic opportunities that lead many of their citizens to make the perilous journey north.

As the Biden administration and Congress work to address the root causes of this crisis, they must also tackle its strategic implications. Chinas growing activity in the Western Hemisphere threatens to undermine U.S. influence in the region and exacerbate the governance challenges facing the Northern Triangle. By bolstering economic ties in the region and focusing on improving governance, the U.S. can address the key drivers of the migration crisis, push back on the growing malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party in our hemisphere, and improve American economic competitiveness by creating alternative supply chains beyond the reach of Beijing.

The economic challenges facing the Northern Triangle and the rest of Latin America have provided an opportunity for China to expand its influence in the region at the expense of U.S. interests. Beijings recent no-questions-asked investments in the region have primarily focused on resource extraction and infrastructure projects, which have undermined progress many countries have made to diversify their economies while consistently prioritizing skilled jobs for Chinese workers. Furthermore, Chinese investments have provided ample opportunities for official corruption at the highest levels. In April 2019, the U.S. sanctioned Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his family for using a canal project backed by Chinese investment to launder money.

In the Northern Triangle, China is already making inroads. El Salvador switched its Chinese diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to the Peoples Republic of China in 2018, and President Nayib Bukele signed memorandums of understanding for $500 million in potential Chinese development projects during a 2019 state visit to Beijing. While Guatemala and Honduras still recognize Taiwan, China continues to push countries across the region to abandon the island with promises of significant investment.

To combat Chinas investment and influence campaign, the U.S. should double down on its economic commitment to the region. The proximity of the Northern Triangle to the North American free trade area provides an opportunity to integrate El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras into U.S. supply chains at a time when many American and Latin American companies are actively seeking alternatives to China. One approach proposed by Matthew Rooney at the George W. Bush Institute would allow companies manufacturing in Mexico to source components in Central America and bring them to the U.S. duty-free under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. This policy would incentivize manufacturers to relocate operations from China to the region to support production in Mexico. Connecting North American supply chains to Central America and continued economic assistance could create a significant number of local jobs, providing opportunities for many who might otherwise consider leaving their countries in search of work.

The full promise of these economic measures, however, cannot be realized unless governance improves in the region. According to a recent Wilson Center report co-authored by Ricardo Zuniga, the State Departments new special envoy for the Northern Triangle, the combination of entrenched corruption and elite resistance to political and economic reforms in the region is the most important contributing factor to limited growth and social progress. Despite decades of U.S. foreign assistance, these governance issues have left governments in these three countries largely unable to address the widespread poverty, violence, and hunger that has continued to mar the lives of many of their citizens.

Backed by renewed U.S. commitment, a governance-focused approach to the region can help drive meaningful change. To start, the Biden administration should develop an accountability strategy that utilizes targeted sanctions and visa restrictions, through the new Engel List, the Global Magnitsky Act, and other authorities, to hold corrupt officials accountable and incentivize changes in behavior. The U.S. should also reward governmental organizations and non-governmental actors for reform and accountability efforts through political support, aid, and technical assistance.

For far too long, foreign policymakers in Washington have given inconsistent attention to the problems facing the Northern Triangle and rising Chinese activity on our doorstep. And these issues also have broader reach. As AEI research fellow Ryan Berg recently told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the contest between democratic values and Chinese-supported authoritarianism is a significant challenge facing the U.S. and its partners across Latin America. In the midst of yet another border crisis and escalating economic and geopolitical competition with China, Congress and the Biden administration should seize this opportunity for leadership in our own backyard. The futures of millions of our neighbors depend on it.
The citys Community Development Department, which offers various housing assistance programs to Laredoans, is funded largely through federal grants. In a typical year, the department receives around $5 million in funding from the government. In the past year, they have received triple that amount.

As families across the country were rocked by unemployment, medical debt and other financial strains due to the pandemic, the government poured money into local governments so that they could offer rental assistance, mortgage assistance, quarantine vouchers and other forms of homelessness prevention to their communities.

All told, the city received around $16 million to this end  via the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of the Treasury and from the state of Texas  much of which is specifically geared to help people who are at risk of eviction keep their homes.

And the city still has millions of dollars left to help Laredoans make rent right now.

Since it launched its rental assistance program in October, Community Development has received around 1,000 calls inquiring about the assistance, but only 300 people have applied for it and only 100 have been granted the help, said Tina Martinez, the departments director.

The application asks about the household income, number of people who live there, a copy of the current lease and any notices they may have received that they are behind on their rent.

Thats the minimum. Right now with the programs were running, we are not restricted to ask for (a social security number). As long as you can show me an ID or valid lease, immigration status is not in question, Martinez said. ... That should not be a reason someone does not inquire about our program.

Around 100 people have been denied for rental assistance and another 100 applications are in review. Often the people who are denied either did not complete their application or their landlord rejected the terms of the agreement, Martinez said. The landlord must agree not to evict the tenant while they are receiving this assistance.

Martinez said more people have been completing the application for rental assistance in the last few months thanks to a waiver from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This streamlined and simplified the application. Before, she felt it was so complicated that it deterred people from applying.

These typical programs require inspection of the house, make sure everyone has social security. But these additional requirements always make the application process so lengthy, Martinez said.

She estimates that with the funding they have been granted, the city will be able to assist around 600 households that are having trouble paying rent. The program pays for 100% of what they owe to their landlord and a few more months to get on their feet  up to six months total.

The funding is available until September 2022.

Julia Wallace may be reached at 956-728-2543 or jwallace@lmtonline.com
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-18 03:11:29|Editor: huaxia

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ROME, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The regional health commission in Italy's Lombardy said Saturday that public confidence in the country's use of the AstraZeneca vaccine has been hindered by safety fears.

Giovanni Pavesi, director-general of the Lombardy Region Welfare Department, told health officials and reporters, mostly via video hookup, that reports of health concerns tied to the AstraZeneca vaccine have resulted in people turning down that vaccine.

"This is a more serious problem than we anticipated," Pavesi said, adding the hesitation over AstraZeneca is having an impact on the broader rollout in his region and elsewhere.

Both Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and the country's president, Sergio Mattarella, were vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Lombardy, which includes Italy's financial capital of Milan, is the country's most populous region. The region was hit hardest by the coronavirus in terms of total cases and the overall mortality rate.

In April, distribution of the AstraZeneca vaccine was halted for four days while officials looked into the concerns that it could cause blood clots in some patients. At least two deaths in Italy have been linked to blood clots in patients who had recently received the vaccine.

More recently, distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was paused just as it was about to start, based on similar concerns in the United States, where there were six deaths among the more than 6.8 million patients who received the vaccine there.

There have been no significant reports of serious health concerns with the vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna, the other vaccines approved for use in Italy.

As of Saturday, nearly 14.8 million Italians have received at least one dose of a vaccine and nearly 4.4 million have been fully vaccinated, the equivalent of 7.3 percent of the country's total population.

Meanwhile, 272 candidate vaccines -- including 88 in clinical trials -- are being developed worldwide, including in Germany, Britain, China, United States, and Russia, according to data provided by the World Health Organization up to April 13. Enditem
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Market Definition:

Ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) is a highly versatile synthetic rubber, which exhibits excellent resistance to oxygen, ozone, polar materials, and sunlight and is highly resistant to steam, heat, and water. It is used across diverse industry verticals for a wide range of applications. Market Research Future (MRFR) has added the global COVID-19 Impact ON Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer Market to its existing portfolio, which is a compilation of the key dynamics affecting the market. As per the report, COVID-19 Impact ON Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer Market is expected to catapult to USD 6.5 Bn by the end of 2025 from USD 3.9 Bn in 2019, at a CAGR of 6% over the forecast period of 2019-2025.

Get a Free Sample of This Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2767

Market Scenario and Growth Factors:

EPDM experiences significant demand from the automotive industry, where its properties such as excellent resistance to heat, UV rays, and ozone is highly desirable. They help in reflection of UV rays and reduce polymer degradation due to which they are used in engine mounts, vehicle glazing systems, moisture barriers, valves, and pumps. They are used in the manufacturing of seals & gaskets, weather-stripping, brake parts, radiator, tubing, belts, windshield wipers, and others. Expanding the automotive industry and increasing the production of vehicles is supporting the growth of the market. EPDM is also used in the construction industry for waterproofing applications. They help in lowering air-conditioning costs as well. The booming construction industry in the developing countries of Asia Pacific is favoring the growth of the market. Other factors supporting the growth of the market include numerous rainwater harvesting initiatives undertaken in various countries and increasing adoption of green cities.

On the other hand, the growth of the market might be hindered by the volatile price of raw materials.

Competitive Landscape:

Firestone Building Products Company (US),

Exxon Mobil Corporation (US),

SABIC (Saudi Arabia), Dow (US),

Carlisle Companies Inc. (US),

JSR Corporation (Japan),

SK global chemical Co., Ltd (South Korea),

Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (Japan),

Lion Elastomers (US),

LANXESS AG (Germany),

KUMHO POLYCHEM (South Korea),

Johns Manville (US),

Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd (Japan)

Segmentation:

The Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer Market has been segmented based on application and end-use industry.

By application, the ethylene propylene diene monomer market has been segmented into seals & gaskets, weather-stripping, tires & tubes, wire & cables, roofing membranes, electric insulation, radiators, oil additives, and others.

By end-use industry, the ethylene propylene diene monomer market has been segmented into automotive, building & construction, aerospace & defense, electrical & electronics, consumer goods, medical, and others.

Regional Analysis:

Region-wise, the ethylene propylene diene monomer market has been segmented into North America, Latin America, the Middle East & Africa (MEA), Europe, and Asia Pacific (APAC).

The largest share of the market was captured by APAC in 2019. The region is in the midst of rapid industrialization, and various end-use industries of EPDM are expanding at an accelerated pace in the region, which is generating constant demand within the market.

The prolific growth of the automotive industry in the UK, Germany, Italy, and France are supporting the growth of the EPDM market in Europe. Besides, the European Union (EU) has laid down stringent regulations for environment protection, which works in favor of the EPDM market. The region is investing significantly in the medical sector, which is inducing the growth of the market.

North America EPDM market is likely to exhibit substantial growth in the coming years. Demand will be generated from the automotive, electrical & electronics, construction, and healthcare industries.

The growth of Latin America EPDM market can be attributed to the fast track industrialization in countries such as Brazil and Chile.

The MEA market growth is driven by the GCC countries. Construction activities are going on at a torrid pace, which is inducing high demand within the market.

Access Complete Report Details @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer-market-2767
Hunter Biden arrives at the inauguration of Joe Biden on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2021. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

News Media That Conspired to Dismiss Biden Laptop Scandal as Russian Disinformation Are Now Trapped

Commentary

If you limit your news reading to only the U.S. corporate media, you miss a lot.

For instance, you likely missed hearing anything about this explosive story in the UKs Daily Mail last week about how forensic experts have proven the Hunter Biden laptop contents werent faked.

The corporate news media and the big tech social media conglomerates made extensive efforts to blunt the impact of the emerging laptop scandal so it wouldnt affect the outcome of the fast-approaching 2020 presidential election.

The popular media take is that their censorship worked beautifully: Trump was voted out and Biden won handily.

It Was Bound to Happen: The Return of the Biden Laptop Scandal

The big question thats been looming ever since last November is this: What happens when the laptop scandal resurfaces again, as its doing now?

Some people seem to think this situation is going to remain in stasis for the next four years. That every time more of the laptops awful contents are revealed, President Joe Biden will laugh loudly when a reporter dares to ask him about it and say: Cmon man! Thats Russian disinformation! and the corporate news media will obediently drop the issue.

Im not sure that expectation is correct.

Last month, I commented about how the federal investigation that is targeting Hunter Biden hasnt ended yet. Which is strange, if the conventional wisdom is accurate that the investigation was only started back in 2018 to protect the Biden family. Joe Biden is safely in the White House now. What would the FBI be waiting for?

If the investigation into Hunter Biden has been subsumed by politicsas is widely assumedwhy havent the people running it made defensive leaks on behalf of the Bidens?

Wouldnt there have been leaks to the media from inside the FBI about how were not finding anything and after two years its time to end this, were wasting our time, theres nothing here?

Instead, there have been no leaks from any of the investigators involved.

You know why thats strange?

We already know what a politicized group of political partisans at the FBI or in a special counsels office would look like.

Because weve spent more than four years seeing evidence declassified regarding the FBIs handling of the Crossfire Hurricane counter-intelligence investigation and the Mueller special counsels handling of the Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn case.

If the people in the FBI running the Biden investigation or in Durhams special counsels office were political partisans, theyd also be leakers. Regular leakers, who would be using media allies to drive certain political narratives centered around their designated targets, either to shield those targets or to arouse suspicions against them.

Well, pardon me if I keep pointing this out: The people handling the federal investigation of Hunter Biden and those working with Durham since April 2017 investigating Spygate dont leak anything. Regularly or otherwise.

Durhams people and the FBIs Biden investigators dont leak anything to the media about any of the central figures of their probes. There have been no leaks about James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Hunter Biden, Tony Bobulinski, or anyone else involved in these investigations.

Thats because the investigations are real, and they arent being run by political partisans, and they will conclude and announce their findings at the proper time.

Given the nature of the kind of behavior that we know Hunter Biden has been engaging in for years, the fact that nothing is leaking from the investigation into him is remarkable.

Contrast Donald Trump Jr. With Hunter Biden

Of all the children of Donald Trump, its his eldest son, Donald Jr., who gets most of the press attention. While his other grown-up son Eric and daughters Ivanka and Tiffany are also in the public spotlight, its Don Jr. who comes closest to matching his fathers bombastic public persona and love of opining on social media.

And for this reason, much of the corporate media enthusiastically pursued Don Jr. just as avidly as it did his father.

For several years, sensational stories appeared in the mainstream press that sold the idea that Don Jr. was in mounting legal trouble for serious crimes.

Which was always nonsense, because any research into Don Jr. will establish that hes a successful businessman who enjoys a stable family life. Hes never been tied to drugs, and despite rabid news media partisans frantically searching for years, no evidence of him being a family bag man for foreign bribes has ever emerged.

We were repeatedly assured by legal experts and reporters with high-level sources that Don Jr. was headed to prison just based on the notorious Trump Tower meeting with some Russian political operatives who turned out to be connected to Fusion GPS, the very same firm that was paid by the Hillary Clinton campaign to produce the fake Steele dossier.

We heard for months in anonymously sourced news reports that Mueller was closing in on the dastardly Trump Crime Family, how former Trump associates such as Flynn, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, and others had flipped on the president and were loudly singing to Mueller about the Russian collusion.

And none of it was true.

Not only was Don Jr. never charged with collusion, but Mueller also couldnt even find any evidence of violations of campaign finance laws, since no money or anything of real value was exchanged at the meeting. So there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth in the mainstream press as Don Jr. got away withabsolutely nothing.

Meanwhile, what was the story with Hunter Biden the past few years as Don Jr. was supposedly involved in all kinds of nefarious activity?

From Trying to Invent Fake Scandals to Trying to Hide Real Ones

I cant tell you how ironic it is that after five years of the mainstream media trying to nail Don Jr. on something, anything, this has now happened: Hunters abandoned laptop allegedly has videos on it that he apparently made of himself with multiple prostitutes.

And now all the corporate media outlets that engaged in deliberate conspiracy to hide the laptop scandal are nowlike Hunter in many of these shocking videos and picturescaught with their pants down.

The mainstream corporate media has blithely moved on from helping to launch and drive numerous fake Trump family scandals to enthusiastically covering up Biden family scandals.

The end result of all of this was that when it was vitally important for the American public to know the truth about the family that was seeking to enter the White House, the American corporate media conspired among themselves to deliberately suppress and hide a genuine political scandal in order to influence the 2020 presidential election.

When the history of our time is written, its going to look very unkindly on these people in the American media who werent only getting the major stories wrong because they let their biases influence everything, but were also covering up for potentially real criminals while trying to turn innocent people into criminals.

And that is absolutely unforgivable.

This same corporate media that spent more than four years claiming Spygate was a right-wing conspiracy theory while enthusiastically pursuing the TrumpRussia collusion hoax turned around and babbled to the country that the Hunter Biden laptop was a Russian disinformation campaign. Because Joe said so.

We all know they did it to keep the laptop scandal from hurting Bidens chances against Trump in the presidential election.

Well, Trump is gone now. They cant justify continuing this blatant conspiracy to suppress the truth about the laptop and what it reveals about the Bidens to hurt Trump. They cant even find Trump these days, much less hurt him.

These media companies are laying off personnel at a frantic pace as the U.S. economy continues to improve and unemployment is dropping to its lowest point since the pandemic began more than a year ago.

And nothing will bring the viewers and readers back like a good old-fashioned juicy political scandal about a presidency, the likes of which the country hasnt seen since Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky were discovered to have been doing unmentionable things in the Oval Office.

You must understand: The news medias wall of silence is going to crack.

Some of these dying news media outlets need this Biden scandal to survive. Theyre not going to be able to help themselves. Their own self-interest is going to outweigh the political calculations of protecting the Bidens.

Brian Cates is a writer based in South Texas and author of Nobody Asked For My Opinion  But Here It Is Anyway! He can be reached on Telegram at t.me/drawandstrikechannel.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Kolkata, April 17 : On the day of the fifth phase of Assembly elections in West Bengal, a purported audio clip of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee released by the IT cell of the BJP triggered a major war of words with both the Trinamool Congress and the saffron party appealing to the Election Commission to take action against the other.

While the BJP claimed that Banerjee is trying to polarise the voters, the ruling Trinamool accused the saffron brigade of intruding into people's right to privacy by tapping the phone of the Chief Minister.

The alleged audio tape released by BJP's national IT cell in-charge Amit Malviya had a conversation between the Chief Minister and the Trinamool candidate from Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar, Partha Pratim Ray, where a female voice, purportedly that of Banerjee, could be heard asking "Partha" to "keep the bodies so that the party could hold a rally with the dead".

The voice is then heard asking "the Trinamool candidate" "to tell the families "not to take the bodies home".

The tape also has the female voice asking the second person to "consult a lawyer and draw up an FIR" so that the "Commandant, IC, SP... could be transferred".

"Who were killed in the firing?" the female voice could also be heard saying.

The voice on the other end responds: "Didi, they are our men." The next question was: "Did the CRPF open fire?"

It then goes on to add: "I will ensure they are all arrested. Keep your cool. They are trying to divert your attention. Tell people that they are doing all these to prevent them from voting. They will conduct NPR, set up detention camps." The Trinamool did not deny the veracity of the tape and, instead, played it out during a press conference (after the BJP media briefing releasing the tape).

"Does the BJP acknowledge that even the Chief Minister of a state is under telephone surveillance," Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy asked.

Meanwhile, Banerjee said at an election rally on Saturday that "she will find out about everyone involved in tapping her phone" and order a CBI probe.

BJP leader Swapan Dasgupta, who led a delegation to state Chief Electoral Officer Ariz Aftab against the Chief Minister's purported conversation, said, "We didn't tap the Chief Minister's tape. A telephonic conversation is between two people and anyone can understand what can happen." "The conversation is a burning example that Trinamool Congress is trying to polarise the elections and we have cautioned the Election Commission and asked them to take strong steps against this," Dasgupta added.

A Trinamool delegation comprising Yashwant Singha, Derak O' Brien and Purnendu Basu also met the Chief Electoral Officer and complained of phone tapping of Chief Minister Banerjee.

Speaking to the media, Trinamool's national spokesperson Derek O' Brien said, "First we need to think from where the tap was released. It was released from the BJP office and so there is no doubt that the BJP is behind this conspiracy. Getting access to a private conversation by tapping the phone is a direct assault on the legal rights, including right to privacy, of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee."

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
When the Hospital Corporation of America, a Nashville-based hospital system, purchased the Houston Northwest Medical Center in 2017, hospital CEO Scott Davis said then they had an eye on beautifying the campus and improving accessibility for their patients.

On Wednesday, April 14, HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest administrators unveiled the recently finished $11 million renovations to the exterior of the campus revealing a fresh look and finely manicured landscape making the hospital more inviting to the community.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Cypress VFW gifted new roof from local business owner

They kept their word.

Davis said there were two main reasons for the hospital to spend the money for beautification efforts on the campus.

First is our partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and everybody in our area. We want to improve our community. The whole demographic in this area is a wonderful place to be and we want the area around it to reflect that so obviously a big piece of the project was buying out some of the dilapidated property between us and FM 1960 and tearing those down and making it a better place for people to go, he said.

The second, and what he said was the most important piece, was for access and convenience for their patients.

We have a beautiful South lobby, but weve never had parking and accessibility out there so folks have had to come through our North entrance and walk all the way back to the South lobby.

Some of that space from razed, dilapidated buildings became two new parking lots providing a more convenient experience for patients and visitors to the campus.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Klein ISD dedicates 'student-designed' Fox Elementary school

The lots are adjacent to the main entrance for surgical, cardiac, and imaging patients, making it easier for the patients who need it, Davis said.

They also included two new helipads in that space.

We had historically been landing them (helicopters) on the street. We moved them off the street right next to the campus, he said.

Fortunately, the previous landing spot wasnt on one of the main thoroughfares, but on a side street. Emblazoned in the middle was a large H to signal pilots the landing location.

With our Level II Trauma Center, were very busy. We felt like we needed to get a more accessible helipad location and add a second as we grow as an organization, he said.

Every time a helicopter came to land, they had to shut down traffic, an annoyance for hospital personnel, security, and the general public.

As you look at our property from 1960, you would have seen that strip mall and that has been razed and replaced with a really nice wrought-iron fence, some stone and landscaping, Davis said.

Instead of blight, the space has opened up to the aesthetically pleasing hospital campus and nice green space. That attracted the attention of Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Bobby Lieb.

When HCA bought the campus, they put in a capital improvement plan to improve the aesthetics of the hospital, both interior and exterior, Lieb said.

Where the chamber has become particularly interested is the work theyre doing to the outside to improve the aesthetics along the corridor.

According to the chamber president, the FM 1960/Cypress Creek Parkway strip of road, particularly in that part of the strip, has experienced some blight.

While the hospital remains a viable commercial business, a lot of the commercial around it has not kept up with the times and has seen some downward conditions.

The hospital is doing their part by not only improving their property, which sits back from the main road, but they have been purchasing the properties in front of them that are adjacent to the street and theyre knocking those old, dilapidated buildings down and putting in landscaping and nice fencing, he said.

Lieb said he hoped other surrounding property owners would follow suit and create visually appealing spaces.

Theyve been a member of our chamber for 45 years. They are the longest, continuing member on record for our chamber, Lieb said proudly.

In addition to replacement landscaping around the campus, they waterproofed, sealed, and repainted the entire medical campus.

That was a large part of the project and really gave the campus a great facelift, Davis said.

The hospital has a long legacy extending back to 1973 when it first opened.

Waterproofing the building is also a good thing considering the hurricanes and weather we have here in Houston, he said.

We landscaped all the way from all of 1960, up Cypress Creek Parkway with lampposts lighting, new landscaping around the new large area, around the lots and around the rest of the campus, Davis described.

He said most of the plants came through the February freeze.

That happened right after we had put most of our plants in, he said surprised that they survived.

They began planning the renovations to the campus in October of 2019.

You can guess COVID-19 delayed everything relative to the project. Its been a journey to get to this point. We had estimated it would only take us a year to get it done and finish in October of 2020, but it was recently completed, six months later than anticipated.

It would have been nice to have these parking lots during COVID to make things easier.

The plan also included security with newly installed camera systems and all the lots are fenced as well.

They should feel safe and secure anytime they visit the campus, Davis said.

Looking to the future, Davis also said an additional medical office building to house more physicians or something along those lines would be under consideration in the near future.

It could also be pharmacies interested in going into that space as well, he said.

The campus already boasts two physician buildings that continue to fill with new tenants.

We are growing fast enough that we will need a third building in the near future, he said.

Now that convenience, safety, and accessibility have somewhat been achieved, Davis said they hoped for continued enhanced patient volume and visitors who came to the campus would enjoy the experience.

Inside the doors of the massive hospital, Davis said they were focused on finishing their Level II Trauma Center designation which would have been finished except it was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Well get that final survey. We are currently working on the graduation and education components in pursuit of that Level I. Were excited about that as well, he said.

Davis said the main difference between Level I and Level II is the education component with residencies.

We actually have all of it in place, its just adding that last formal residency rotations, he said.

Even through COVID, they have been able to grow their patient volume.

The hospital boasts 425 beds and has 1,400 to 1,500 employees on the payroll.

All the hospital improvements dovetails into the Chambers plan for forming a management district for the FM 1960 area. Such districts are commonly used tools in areas of the city to try to spruce up and create economic development.

Any additions to the hospital would be welcomed by the Chamber.

We have the highest density of population in Harris County in the northwest corridor per square mile, Lieb said.

Weve got the people and it would make sense that the hospital would pursue that level of care with that many people in our area, he said.

dtaylor@hcnonline.com
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The Duke of Edinburgh's personal regalia which he selected himself for his funeral has been pre-positioned on nine cushions on the altar at St George's Chapel ahead of the service this afternoon.

Prince Philip's insignia on display at the church in Windsor Castle includes the medals and decorations conferred on him by the UK and Commonwealth countries together with his Field Marshal's baton, Royal Air Force Wings.

The Duke, who died aged 99 on April 9, also included insignia from Denmark and Greece - Order of the Elephant and Order of the Redeemer respectively - in a nod to his birth heritage as a Prince of Greece and Denmark.

The regalia was sewn in place on the burgundy velvet and gold piped cushions at St James's Palace in London by two seamstresses, including Diane Hatcher from Cleave Court Jewellers, earlier this week.

Insignia, orders, decorations and medals are a way of a country saying thank you and recognising someone's achievements - and there were dozens more that could not be fitted onto Philip's cushions for space reasons.

The Duke of Edinburgh's insignia is placed on the altar in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle ahead of his funeral today

The Order of Merit (top left), The Royal Victorian Chain (top right) and Philip's Full Size Medal Group (bottom). From left to right, these medals are: Queen's Service Order, New Zealand; 1939-1945 Star; Atlantic Star; Africa Star; Burma Star; Italy Star; War Medal 1939-1945; King George VI Coronation Medal; Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal; Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal; Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal; Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal' Royal Navy Long Service & Good Conduct; Canadian Forces Decoration; New Zealand Commemoration Medal; Malta George Cross 50th Anniversary Medal; Greek War Cross; Croix de Guerre with Palm

Order of the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar (left), Brunei Esteemed Family Order (circle) and Singapore Order of Darjah Utama Temasek (right)

Thistle Collar and St Andrew Badge (bottom centre) and the Thistle Breast Star and Badge (centre)

RAF Wings (top left) and Field Marshal's Baton (across the centre)

Garter Collar and Greater George (bottom centre), Garter Breast Star (top right) and Lesser George (bottom left)

Stephen Segrave, Secretary of the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, said on Thursday: 'There will be nine cushions with insignia placed on pre-positioned around the altar at St George's Chapel in Windsor.

'They represent British and Commonwealth orders and decorations, and the final cushion with orders from Greece and Denmark, for obvious reasons.

Full list of Prince Philip's insignia on display at St George's Chapel today The Order of Merit

The Royal Victorian Chain

Order of the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar

Brunei Esteemed Family Order

Singapore Order of Darjah Utama Temasek

Thistle Collar and St Andrew Badge

Thistle Breast Star and Badge

RAF Wings

Field Marshal's Baton

Garter Collar and Greater George

Garter Breast Star

Lesser George

British Empire Collar and Grand Masters Badge

British Empire Breast Star and Badge

Royal Victorian Order Collar and Badge

Royal Victorian Order Breast Star and Badge

Order of the Elephant (Denmark)

Order of the Redeemer (Greece)

Order of Australian Knight

Order of New Zealand

Order of Canada

Canada Order of Military Merit

Papua New Guinea Order of Logohu Full Size Medal Group: Queen's Service Order, New Zealand

1939-1945 Star

Atlantic Star

Africa Star

Burma Star

Italy Star

War Medal 1939-1945

King George VI Coronation Medal

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal

Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal

Royal Navy Long Service & Good Conduct

Canadian Forces Decoration

New Zealand Commemoration Medal

Malta George Cross 50th Anniversary Medal

Greek War Cross

Croix de Guerre with Palm Advertisement

'The Duke of Edinburgh had, I think, 61 decorations and awards from 53 different other countries, and there simply just wasn't the space to have them all on display at the funeral.'

Asked how it was decided what would go on display, Mr Segrave said: 'I think if you have to draw the line somewhere, the line was drawn at Commonwealth orders and decorations, and those two countries that are appropriate to the Duke of Edinburgh.

'And he certainly had a hand in planning his arrangements, so he would have made the decision himself.'

Mr Segrave said the chosen insignia would have 'absolutely' meant a great deal to Philip.

The plans for Philip's funeral - codenamed Forth Bridge - have been in place for many years, and were updated and reviewed regularly by Buckingham Palace staff in consultation with the Queen and the duke.

The insignia are sewn in place on the cushions with fishing wire because it is see-through and therefore tends not to show up in the way coloured thread would.

Among the chosen pieces are the Order of the Garter which consists of a collar made out of 22 carat gold, a badge with Saint George slaying the dragon known as the greater George, a sash with a badge called the lesser George, a breast star with the motto of the order, 'Honi soit qui mal y pense', which translates as 'Evil to him who evil thinks', and the garter itself.

Others include the Royal Victorian Order collar and badge, British Empire collar and Grand Masters badge, Royal Victorian Chain and Order of Merit.

The Order of Merit is restricted to 24 members and is awarded in recognition of outstanding service in the Armed Forces, science, literature, art and the promotion of culture.

One particular cushion has the Field Marshal's baton - the most senior appointment in the British Army - next to Philip's RAF wings.

A qualified pilot, the duke gained his RAF wings in 1953, helicopter wings in 1956 and private pilot's licence in 1959.

Insignia on display from across the Commonwealth will include the Order of Australian Knight, Order of New Zealand, Order of Canada, Canada Order of Military Merit, Papua New Guinea Order of Logohu, Zanzibar Brilliant Star of Zanzibar, Brunei Esteemed Family Order, and Singapore Order of Darjah Utama Temasek.

Today, the Duke of Edinburgh's 'unwavering loyalty' to the Queen and his 'courage, fortitude and faith' will be marked at his funeral.

After 73 years of marriage, the Queen will say farewell to Philip during a televised funeral service at St George's Chapel, attended by a small group of close family and friends.

Covid regulations have reduced the scope of the service with public elements cancelled, mourners reduced from around 800 to just 30, and all guests wearing face masks and sitting apart.

A touching photograph of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh giving a glimpse of their lives away from protocol and ceremony was released on the eve of Philip's funeral.

British Empire Collar and Grand Masters Badge (bottom centre) and British Empire Breast Star and Badge (centre)

Royal Victorian Order Collar and Badge (bottom centre) and Royal Victorian Order Breast Star and Badge (centre)

Order of the Elephant [Denmark] (left) and Order of the Redeemer [Greece] (right)

Order of Australian Knight (bottom centre), Order of New Zealand (top left), Order of Canada (top right), Canada Order of Military Merit (bottom left) and Papua New Guinea Order of Logohu (bottom right)

The Duke of Edinburgh's personal regalia which he selected himself for his funeral has been pre-positioned on nine cushions

Philip's personal regalia has been placed on cushions on the altar at St George's Chapel ahead of the service this afternoon

The royal couple are pictured as they are rarely seen - relaxing together during a summer break and enjoying the stunning scenery of the Scottish Highlands on the Balmoral estate.

The Duke of Edinburgh is pictured in ceremonial dress during Trooping the Colour in London in June 2011. The Duke is wearing the uniform of the Colonel of the Grenadier Guards

Looking completely at ease and smiling warmly at the photographer, Philip and the Queen relax on the grass at the Coyles of Muick, a beauty spot near the town of Ballater in Aberdeenshire.

The duke lies back on a rug, propping himself up on his left elbow and has jauntily placed his hat on his right knee.

Beaming at the Countess of Wessex - who took the picture in 2003 - the Queen, dressed in a tartan skirt, blouse and cardigan and a string of pearls, also sits on a rug.

The area is clearly a favourite spot for the Queen as she has named a corgi puppy, recently given to the monarch, Muick and it has a dorgi puppy playmate called Fergus - another Scottish name.

No sermon will be delivered during the ceremonial royal service on Saturday afternoon, in keeping with Philip's wishes.

His love of the sea and long association with the Royal Navy permeates the Order of Service, with the music chosen by the duke including the hymn Eternal Father, Strong To Save - traditionally associated with seafarers and the maritime armed services.

The Dean of Windsor, in the Bidding, will pay tribute to Philip's 'kindness, humour and humanity'.

'With grateful hearts, we remember the many ways in which his long life has been a blessing to us,' he will say of Philip.

'We have been inspired by his unwavering loyalty to our Queen, by his service to the nation and the Commonwealth, by his courage, fortitude and faith.

Diane Hatcher, a seamstress at Cleave Court Jewellers, sews Philip's insignia onto cushions in St James's Palace on Tuesday

Cushions with the Duke of Edinburgh's insignia were sewn into place at St James's Palace in London earlier this week

Diane Hatcher sews medals and decorations conferred on the Duke of Edinburgh on Tuesday, ahead of his funeral today

Some 30 guests will be attending Philip's funeral today which takes place at St George's Chapel (above) at Windsor Castle

'Our lives have been enriched through the challenges that he has set us, the encouragement that he has given us, his kindness, humour and humanity.'

Philip's close association with the military will be on show at today's funeral The military have been rehearsing all week for their pivotal role in the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral. The Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and the Army will be in the grounds of Windsor Castle today, taking part in the procession and carrying out other duties including the playing of The Last Post. Rehearsals have been taking place at the Army Training Centre Pirbright, near Woking, in Surrey, where hundreds of military personnel gathered following the announcement of Philip's death. Military duties begin hours before the funeral this afternoon, with Philip's coffin - covered with his personal standard and surmounted with his sword, naval cap and a wreath of flowers - moved at 11am by a Bearer Party found by The Queen's Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, from the private chapel to the inner hall of Windsor Castle. By 2.15pm, the service detachments recognising Philip's special military relationships will be in position in the Quadrangle, which will also be lined by the Household Cavalry and The Foot Guards. The Band of the Grenadier Guards, of which Philip was Colonel for 42 years, will lead the procession to St George's Chapel. They will be followed by the Major General's Party, and then the Service Chiefs, which will include the Chief of the Air Staff, Naval Staff and Defence Staff. Philip had a distinguished career in the Royal Navy and while he gave up active service in 1951, he remained closely connected to it and other military elements throughout his public life. The coffin, transported from the castle to the chapel in a specially-modified Land Rover Philip helped to design, will be flanked by pallbearers drawn from the duke's special relationships - the Royal Marines, regiments, corps and air stations. 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 RAF. Minute Guns will be fired by The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery from the East Lawn for the duration of the procession and a Curfew Tower Bell will sound. As the procession approaches Horseshoe Cloister, the Band of the Grenadier Guards will stop playing and march through into Denton's Commons. The Rifles Guard of Honour, positioned in Horseshoe Cloister, will give a royal salute and the national anthem will be played. In tribute to Philip's Naval service, a Royal Naval Piping Party of 1 Chief Petty Officer and 5 Ratings will be present. The piping party will pipe the 'Still' once the Land Rover is stationery at the foot of the steps. A bearing party of Royal Marines will carry the coffin up the steps and pause for a minute's silence. The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Dean of Windsor will receive the coffin. Inside the chapel, Philip's insignia - the medals and decorations conferred on him by the UK and Commonwealth countries - together with his Field Marshal's baton, Royal Air Force Wings, and insignia from Denmark and Greece, will be pre-positioned on cushions on the altar. The Last Post will be sounded by buglers of the Royal Marines from the west end of the Nave. Buglers of the Royal Marines will sound Action Stations during the service at the duke's request. Advertisement

The Prince of Wales and Princess Royal will lead the Duke of York, Earl of Wessex and other family members walking behind the duke's coffin, carried on a Land Rover hearse he helped design, during the funeral procession which the Queen will join, travelling by car.

Royal brothers the Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex, who have a troubled relationship, will not walk shoulder to shoulder but with their cousin Peter Phillips between them.

Philip's love of carriage-driving will be a poignant feature of his funeral, with his carriage, which he designed, and ponies making an appearance.

The polished dark green four-wheeled carriage, accompanied by two of Philip's grooms, will stand in the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle as the duke's coffin is carried past in the procession.

Among the mourners will be the Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Cambridge, Countess of Wessex and her children Viscount Severn and Lady Louise.

Zara and Mike Tindall, Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank have been invited.

Also attending will be the children of the Queen's sister Princess Margaret, three of Philip's German relatives and his close friend Countess Mountbatten of Burma.

The Queen was photographed driving in the grounds of Windsor Castle yesterday and during the day was back at work receiving calls from General David Hurley, Governor-General of Australia, and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

It is understood the calls were made by the national figures to convey their condolences to the Queen.

Philip's children and grandchildren have been paying tribute to his life and legacy, and welcoming the support and warm words from the public who have left flowers and cards.

In the grounds of Windsor Castle yesterday, the Earl and Countess of Wessex viewed cards and flowers left by the public and appeared touched by the tributes to the duke.

While looking over handwritten letters from children, Sophie could be heard saying 'how sweet' before speaking to her husband Edward about the number of bouquets that have been gathered.

She was also heard to suggest there would have been many more tributes if coronavirus restrictions had not been in place.

The couple, who were joined by their daughter Lady Louise Windsor, spent around 15 minutes looking at hundreds of flowers and wreaths outside St George's Chapel.

Among them were floral tributes from Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and the Royal Navy - which the duke was associated with for much of his life.

Lord Chartres, a former bishop of London, said the Queen would be under 'extraordinary pressure' during the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral as she mourns her husband in public.

The retired Church of England bishop, who was understood to be close to Philip, told BBC Radio 4's Today: 'I hope that today people really will be sending up a prayer for the Queen and for the other members of the royal family because having to grieve in public is an extraordinary pressure and something that most of us would not really want to do.

'But it is part of their life and their world, and I hope today, and I'm sure, that people won't forget the personal dimension in the formal ceremonies.'

Lord Chartres said the duke had a 'very practical' Christian faith, adding: 'I always remember preaching on occasions which he was principal actor that the instruction would always come down: 'No more than four minutes'.

'He was at home with broad church, high church and low church, but what he really liked was short church, and I think that-one was left in no doubt about that.'

The peer described Philip as a 'very questioning, curious and deeply committed person'.

The story behind Philip's 18 medals: What he wore and why he was given them

Queen's Service Order, New Zealand: On November 15, 1981, Prince Philip was awarded the Queen's Service Order by the Government of New Zealand for service to the country

Queen's Service Order, New Zealand

On November 15, 1981, Prince Philip was awarded the Queen's Service Order by the Government of New Zealand for service to the country.

The flower-shaped medal is the first worn on Prince Philip's chest.

The order was established on March 13, 1975, and is used to recognise 'valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the public sector, whether in elected or appointed office'.

The order replaced the Imperial Service Order in New Zealand following a 1974 review of New Zealand's honour system.

1939-1945 Star

This star is a campaign medal of the British Commonwealth awarded for service during the Second World War.

It was put in place on July 8, 1943, and was awarded for specific periods of military service between September 3, 1939, and either May 8, 1945, in Europe or September 2, 1945, in the far east.

Those in the Navy had to spent 180 at sea to be awarded the medal.

1939-1945 Star: This star is a campaign medal of the British Commonwealth awarded for service during the Second World War

Atlantic Star

In May 1945, Prince Philip was awarded the military campaign medal the Atlantic star.

It was for service during the Battle of the Atlantic - World War II's longest campaign.

Atlantic Star (let): In May 1945, Prince Philip was awarded the military campaign medal the Atlantic star. Africa Star (right): Prince Philip was awarded on July 8, 1943, for service in Africa during the Second World War

Africa Star

Prince Philip was awarded the Africa Star on July 8, 1943, for service in Africa during the Second World War.

The medal was awarded to those who served in North Africa between June 10, 1940, and May 12, 1943.

Burma Star (with Pacific Rosette)

In May 1945, he was awarded the Burma Star for service in the Burma Campaign in the Second World War

The Burma Star awards British and Commonwealth forces who served in the Burma Campaign from 1941 to 1945.

He also wore the Pacific clasp on the Star for his service in the Pacific.

Philip was the First Lieutenant of the destroyer HMS Whelp and was present in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese signed the surrender agreement with Allied forces.

Speaking in 1995 about his time on the ship, Philip described his experience of watching the Japanese capitulate.

'Being in Tokyo Bay with the surrender ceremony taking place on a battleship which was what, 200 yards away? You could see what was going on with a pair of binoculars.

'It was a great relief. And I remember because from there we went on to Hong Kong. And the most extraordinary sensation when we sailed because we realised we didn't have to darken ship anymore.

'We didn't have to close all the scuttles. We didn't have to turn the lights out. So you suddenly all these little things built up to suddenly feeling that life was different.

HMS Whelp then took in prisoners of war who had been held in horrendous conditions by the Japanese.

Burma Star (with Pacific Rosette): In May 1945, he was awarded the Burma Star for service in the Burma Campaign in the Second World War

Italy Star

The Italy Star was awarded for Prince Phillip's service in Italy and surrounding areas in the Second World War.

While serving on HMS Wallace, during the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, Philip helped to save his ship from a night bomber attack by launching a raft with smoke floats.

These distracted the bombers, allowing the ship to slip away unnoticed.

Italy Star: The Italy Star was awarded for Prince Phillip's service in Italy and surrounding areas in the Second World War

War Medal 1939-1945, with Mention in Dispatches

The medal was awarded to those who served in the Armed Forces or Merchant Navy for at least 28 days between 1939-45.

The oak leaf on the ribbon denotes the Mention in Despatches which the Duke received for his 'alertness' in helping to spot enemy ships.

War Medal 1939-1945, with Mention in Dispatches: The medal was awarded to those who served in the Armed Forces or Merchant Navy for at least 28 days between 1939-45

King George VI Coronation Medal, 1937

These medals were made to commemorate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the current Queen Elizabeth's parents.

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal, 1953

A commemorative medal made to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal, 1977

A commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne.

Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, 2002

A commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne.

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, 2012

A commemorative medal created to mark the 60th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne.

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, 2012: A commemorative medal created to mark the 60th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne

Royal Navy Long Service & Good Conduct

Awarded in October 2016 for his 75 years of service and dedication to the military.

Canadian Forces Decoration (4 Bars)

This honorary award was presented to the Duke in April 2015.

New Zealand Commemoration Medal, 1990

This was awarded only during 1990 to around 3,000 people in recognition of contributions made to New Zealand life.

Canadian Forces Decoration (4 Bars) (left): This honorary award was presented to the Duke in April 2015. New Zealand Commemoration Medal, 1990 (centre): This was awarded only during 1990 to around 3,000 people in recognition of contributions made to New Zealand life. Malta George Cross 50th Anniversary Medal, 1992 (right): This is a commemorative medal awarded by, or in the name of, the President of Malta

Malta George Cross 50th Anniversary Medal, 1992

This is a commemorative medal awarded by, or in the name of, the President of Malta.

Greek War Cross, 1950

This is awarded for heroism in wartime to both Greeks and foreign allies. The Duke earned his for his bravery in fighting the Italians when they invaded Greece in 1941.

Croix de Guerre (France) with Palm, 1948

A French military decoration to honour people who fought with the Allies against Axis nations in the Second World War.
Syracuse, N.Y. -- The Syracuse lacrosse defense, already looking at a headache in trying to slow down North Carolina on Saturday afternoon, has taken a hit with the loss of two key players.

SU defender Nick DiPietro and defensive middie Brandon Aviles will both sit out because of injury. The school did not provide any other information about the specifics of the ailments or a timetable for recovery.

DiPietro, a redshirt junior, has started all eight games for SU this year. Aviles, a redshirt freshman, has played in all 13 games of his two-year SU career.

Cole Horan is expected to get his first career start for SU in place of DiPietro. Horan, a transfer from Furman, has played in four games off the bench for the Orange this season.

No. 5 North Carolina (8-2) paces all of Division I lacrosse with an average of 17.4 goals per contest.

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Two people are in critical condition after an overnight crash in southwest Houston left a car split in half, police said.

The collision happened at 12:30 a.m. Saturday at the intersection of Highway 90 S. Main and Clearview Villa Place.

A Chevrolet Impala traveled at high speed on the highway, striking a slower moving Chevrolet in the back, according to police. The Impala spun out of control and slammed into two metal poles, which fell on the car, splitting it in half.

The second car involved in the crash was found down the road and suffered some damage. However, the driver fled the scene.

This happened in front of Houston Fire Department Fire Station No. 21. Members of the station heard the crash and responded immediately, said HFD district chief Richard Cole.

"We were lucky enough to have a quick response," said Cole, who added that high-speed crashed happen frequently at this intersection.

The two people in the car, a male and female, were extricated from the vehicle and sent to a hospital. They were alive but in critical condition.

A knocked-down pole fell on the driver and entrapped the passenger on one half of the car.

Cole wasn't sure how old the victims were but estimated they were in their 30s.

One of the fallen poles is the fire station's emergency signal, which notifies drivers with a red light that a fire truck is about to come out. Cole said it could be a while before they're able to replace it, so his team will have to use caution while pulling out.
Paris Hilton said that 'it still gives me like post-traumatic stress disorder' to discuss her sex tape which was filmed when she was just 20-years-old.

She and her then-boyfriend Rick Salomon, who is 13 years her senior, starred in the tape which was leaked in 2003 and which Rick himself began to sell in 2004.

'That will always be something that will hurt me for the rest of my life,' she confessed during an interview with Vanity Fair.

Looking back: Paris Hilton said that 'it still gives me like post-traumatic stress disorder' to discuss her sex tape which was filmed when she was just 20; pictured last November

'It's always there in the back of my mind and kind of, when it happened it was just - people were so mean about it to me,' she said.

'And just the way that I was spoken about just on all the nightly talk-shows, and all the media, and just everyday having to see things, and with my family was just heartbreaking, where I would be in tears every single day.'

Paris candidly revealed: 'I didn't wanna leave my house, didn't wanna show my face. I just felt like my life was over.'

The heiress added that 'I just always had looked up to just these amazing women like Princess Diana and I just felt like when he did that to me, took that all away from me and people would never look at me the same.'

Throwback: She and her then-boyfriend Rick Salomon, who is 13 years her senior, starred in the tape which was leaked in 2003; they are pictured during their relationship

She said: 'Obviously it was humiliating. That's a private experience between two people. You think that you love someone and you trust them, and to have your trust betrayed like that and for the whole world to be watching and laughing, and even more hurtful to me, for people to think that I did that on purpose, that just killed me.'

Paris went on: 'It just made me just - it was, it still gives me like post-traumatic stress disorder even like talking about it. And yeah, just, that was a part that was, you know, obviously it was humiliating for people to see all of that, but the fact that people would think that I would want that or do that on purpose just really angers me.'

She said: 'And then after I just noticed there was a lot of celebrities purposely doing it, which then it made it look even more like I did too, and it was almost like this blueprint to become famous.'

The Simple Life star acknowledged: 'And then since then there's been others which have been leaked by, you know, their exes, and that's a different story. But the way that I was made a villain back then because of something that someone did to me, and now is just a completely different story.'

'I was just so like in love with him': In her documentary This Is Paris released last year she likened her experience with the sex tape saga to being 'electronically raped'

Paris argued: 'Like if that would've happened today it would not be, you know, what it was back then. So you know, I'm again happy that things have changed and that people are realizing that is just, the woman in the situation who is the victim should not be treated like that or spoken about like that.'

She and Rick filmed the sex tape in 2001 and after a three-minute version of it was leaked by Kahatani Ltd. in 2003 they both sued the company.

Rick also released a longer version of the video and plugged it to NBC in February 2004: 'Its 18 minutes of full color and I think everybody will enjoy it.'

Two months later Rick struck a deal with the porn studio Red Light District Video to sell a 45-minute version with the name 1 Night In Paris, Today reported.

Hand in hand: Paris is currently engaged to dashing businessman Carter Reum, announcing the news the day before Valentine's Day this year; pictured last September in Cabo

At the time it was reported Rick was paying Paris $400,000 and a cut of the back-end profit but her camp said she would give the money to charity, per E!.

In 2013 when TMZ approached Paris as she emerged from LAX they brought up the tape and she insisted that she 'never made a dollar' off it.

Rick has been married three times since his relationship with Paris, once to Shannen Doherty and then twice to Pamela Anderson.

Meanwhile Paris is currently engaged to dashing businessman Carter Reum, announcing the news the day before Valentine's Day this year.

The way they were: Rick has been married three times since his relationship with Paris, once to Shannen Doherty and then twice to Pamela Anderson; he and Pam are pictured in 2013 in LA

In her documentary This Is Paris released last year she called Rick 'my first real relationship' and said she was 18 when they became an item.

'I was just so like in love with him and I wanted to make him happy. And I just remember him just pulling out the camera and he was kind of pressuring me into it, like: "Oh, you're so boring. Like, do you want me to call someone else? No one will ever see it,"' she alleged in a confessional.

She likened the experience to being 'electronically raped,' and her mother Kathy recalled being 'in bed a lot' in the aftermath of the leak.

Paris' little sister Nicky, who was in her early 20s when the tape leaked, shared: 'We lived in a hotel where the New York Daily News and New York Post was on everyone's front door down the whole hall, so on days where it was a cover story I would run down the hall first and flip every newspaper over so they didn't have to see it.'
Quint Digital Media Limited (QDML), the owner of The Quint, Hindi Quint and Fit, Indias leading digital media platforms, has published its Q4 and Annual Results for FY 2020-21. The company had acquired these digital properties on July 1, 2020. Accordingly, it has been operating them for nine months of FY 2020-21. In this ninemonth period, QDML has posted Operating Revenues of Rs 18.03 crore, and profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 1.70 crore.

In Q4 FY2021 (January-March), QDML reported EBIDTA margin at 24.5%, while there was a 5.3% Increase in Q4 revenues compared to Q3.

Full Year 2020-21:

QDML reported strong operational revenues Quarter-on-Quarter beginning Q2 (that is, post the acquisition of the digital properties by QDML). The company saw an EBIDTA of Rs 4.69 crore for the period July-March FY 2020-21.

QDMLs operating revenues are broad-based, with 110 brands across a diversified base of industries/ sectors. The companys programmatic and partner revenues have contributed 25% of the overall revenues in the current fiscal.

The audience footprint across the websites and various digital platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Snapchat, etc., is also strong and diversified.

Description/ Period Quarter 4 9 months ending

March 31, 2021 (Quarters 2, 3 and 4) Page Views 96 Mn 299 Mn Video Views 163 Mn 558 Mn Unique Viewers 193 Mn 471 Mn Impressions 2 Bn 6.9 Bn

Source: based on data provided by platforms/ other agencies

In addition, the digital properties had nearly 14.8 million subscribers/ followers across various platforms at the end of FY 2020-21. The management is confident that its digital properties have entered a phase of sustained profitable growth.
OTTAWA - A House of Commons committee has reversed a decision to wrap up its investigation into sexual misconduct in Canada's military.

The facade of the headquarters of the Department of National Defence is pictured in Ottawa, Wednesday, April 3, 2013. A House of Commons committee is reversing a decision to wrap up its investigation into sexual misconduct in Canada's military. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA - A House of Commons committee has reversed a decision to wrap up its investigation into sexual misconduct in Canada's military.

But how much further the investigation will go was in doubt Friday as Liberal committee members launched a filibuster to avoid a vote on a Conservative motion to summon one more witness, a former senior adviser in the Prime Minister's Office.

Earlier this week, the Bloc Quebecois had joined Liberal members of the defence committee in voting to conclude their investigation this week and begin preparing their report on the matter.

But Conservative MP James Bezan moved Friday that Elder Marques be summoned to testify within seven days.

Liberal committee chair Karen McCrimmon ruled Bezan's motion out of order, saying it was inconsistent with the earlier decision to conclude the committee's investigation.

However, Conservatives challenged her ruling, arguing that the decision to begin preparing the committee report didn't preclude hearing from more witnesses.

All opposition members, including the Bloc's Andreanne Larouche, voted to overturn McCrimmon's ruling.

However, Liberal members then filibustered Bezan's motion with lengthy speeches about whether Marques should be invited, rather than "summoned" to appear and bemoaning the fact that appearances by three people who were supposed to be the final witnesses Friday had to be cancelled because of prolonged debate over the surprise motion.

Among the cancelled witnesses was Rear Admiral Rebecca Patterson, the defence champion for women in the Armed Forces.

The meeting was finally adjourned hours later without getting to a vote on Bezan's motion.

The committee has been investigating allegations of inappropriate behaviour involving former chief of the defence staff Gen. Jonathan Vance.

Global News has reported that Vance allegedly had an ongoing relationship with a woman he significantly outranked. He is also accused of having made a sexual comment to a second, much younger, soldier in 2012, before he became commander of the Armed Forces. The outlet has reported Vance denies any wrongdoing.

Vance, who turned over command of the military in January after more than five years in the job, has not responded to requests for comment by The Canadian Press and the allegations against him have not been independently verified.

Military police are now investigating the allegations against Vance. They have also launched an investigation of Vances successor as defence chief, Admiral Art McDonald, who stepped aside in February following unspecified allegations of misconduct. McDonald also denies wrongdoing.

Opposition members of the defence committee have been trying to determine who in the Liberal government knew about the allegations against Vance and when they learned of them.

Their investigation has been frustrated by the government's refusal to allow staffers in the PMO or minister's offices testify at committees, despite a House of Commons order. The Liberals maintain that ministers, not their staffers, are the ones who should be held accountable.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has testified three times on the Vance allegations. He has said he was told by then-military ombudsman Gary Walbourne about an allegation against Vance in March 2018 and that his chief of staff alerted the Privy Council Office about it.

Former clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick has testified that the matter could not investigated because Walbourne refused to provide details or the name of the alleged victim.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2021.
Before we offer our congratulations once again . . .

YOU BASTARDS!!! MAYOR Q MARRIED AND WE DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO SEND HIM A CHEAP BLENDER!!!



Last night some of the most KICK-ASS TKC TIPSTERS explained his bebe tweet.

Now, once again, with the help of AWESOME TKC TIPSTERS:

OUR AWESOME BLOG COMMUNITY SHARES A CRAPPY SCREENCAP OF MAYOR Q'S PUBLIC RECORD MARRIAGE LICENSE!!!

Don't blame our trusty Indian computer . . . This doesn't look like a very fancy affair even by COVID crackdown standards.

Personal aside . . .

With help from AWESOME TIPSTERS, we were able to run the bebe story yesterday before anybody else in KCMO because we remember Katie hanging out with the future Mayor at the park before his council run. Even back then she was WAY TOO HOT for the ambitious politico and KC's least favorite writer was just a bit annoyed because I was listening to my headphones and didn't want to talk politics. Moreover, anybody who has ever met Q in public knows that you're just talking to your future boss so it's best to get all of your digs in as soon as possible . . . But I digress . . .



More deets on the new KCMO first lady Katie . . .

Mayor Q's new wife used to work at 12th & Oak as an eco-devo planner but advisers of the city hall honcho didn't think it was appropriate that she stay on after it was clear he would be a front-runner in the mayoral election.

They've been dating off & on since before he ran for council.



Nevertheless, she totes earned a job in The Dotte as Economic Director.



And so . . .

TKC WISHES THIS NEW KANSAS CITY POWER COUPLE CONGRATULATIONS!!!



Again, we request you d-bags take it easy in the comments and don't project your misery on much more successful and happy local power players.

Developing . . .


Russia is conducting major aerial exercises including missile launches and bombings over the Black Sea amid warnings from the US of 'another MH17'.

New videos indicate Moscow is continuing to mass its military might close to the Ukrainian frontier.

One video showed a detachment of warships moved by the Russian navy from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea, the first such switch since Soviet times, according to reports.

A military convoy recently spotted in Krasnodar region, Russia, amid warnings of war with Ukraine

Some of the military vehicles recently spotted in Bryansk region, Russia, amid fears Moscow is gearing for war

Another highlights armaments and troops being moved by road and rail in Krasnodar, Rostov and Bryansk regions.

The developments come as some 50 Russian fighters, bombers and attack aircraft were due to be involved in 'exercises over the Black Sea', reported Interfax.

The war games come amid the greatest period in tension between Russia and Ukraine with almost 100,000 Russian troops believed to be massed on its borders with its ex-Soviet neighbour.

The report said: 'During the exercises, the planes will perform missile launches and bombardment of naval targets.'

A detachment of ships of the Caspian flotilla were filmed passing under the Crimean bridge

Putin is continuing to build up his forced on the border with Ukraine, as the government warns troops numbers could swell to 110,000 with 7,000 tanks and other vehicles in support

It added crews from the Russian air force and the Black Sea Fleet would 'perform tasks to accompany ship strike groups and actions as part of reconnaissance strike complexes while ensuring security in the Black Sea.'

Naval aircraft and helicopters and the Black Sea Fleet also involved.

The detachment includes the Admiral Makarov frigate equipped with Caliber cruise missiles, the Grayvoron and Vyshny Volochek small missile ships, as well as large landing ships, the Samum hovercraft and the Ivan Golubets minesweeper.

On Tuesday Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said Moscow was conducting major exercises in response to threats from NATO.

298 people, including 80 children, were killed when Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down in July 2014

During the last 'hot' conflict in the region, Malaysia Alrlines flight MH17 was shot out of the sky by pro-Moscow rebels, killing 298 people in July 2014.

The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) had recommended American pilots to show extreme caution when flying above certain regions of Russia and Ukraine.

The FAA had issued two notices to airmen (NOTAM), said the report.

One said: 'Air crews were told to exercise extreme caution when flying 'into, out of, within, or over' the areas of the Moscow flight information region (FIR), as well as the Rostov-on-Don, Simferopol, Dnepr and Kiev FIRs.

The notices were issued 'due to potential safety-of-flight risks associated with escalating regional tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Yesterday Russia detained a Ukrainian diplomat in St Petersburg for allegedly receiving classified information from the main security agency as tension between the two countries grows.

Oleksandr Sosonyuk, Ukraine's consul, was taken into custody by the Federal Security Service

The Federal Security Service (FSB) said Alexander Sosonyuk, Ukraine's consul, was taken into custody during a meeting with a Russian in which he received 'information of a classified nature contained in the databases of law enforcement agencies and the FSB.'

The claims come amid high tensions between the two ex-Soviet countries with fears the situation could deteriorate into war.

The security service said Sosonyuk was 'caught red handed' and added his activities were 'incompatible' with his status as a diplomat.

Russia claimed Ukraine's consul was caught 'red handed' and had a 'clear hostile nature' to the country

The FSB said in a statement: 'The foreign diplomat will be handled in accordance with the norms of international law.

'[He] has a clear hostile nature in relation to Russia.'

Sosonyuk headed the Ukrainian consulate in St Petersburg, Russia's second city.

Moscow denies inflaming the tense standoff on the frontier.
Facing swift blowback from allies and aid groups, the said President plans to lift his predecessor's historically low cap on refugees by next month, after initially moving only to expand the eligibility criteria for resettlements.

In an emergency determination signed by Biden earlier Friday, he stated the admission of up to 15,000 refugees set by former President Donald Trump this year remains justified by humanitarian concerns and is otherwise in the national interest. But if the cap is reached before the end of the current budget year and the emergency refugee situation persists, then a presidential determination may be issued to raise the ceiling.

That set off a deluge of criticism from top allies on Capitol Hill such as the second-ranking Senate Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, who called that initial limit unacceptable. press secretary Jen Psaki said later that Biden is expected to increase the refugee cap by May 15, though she didn't say by how much.

Biden has been consulting with his advisers to determine what number of refugees could realistically be admitted to the United States between now and October 1, the end of the fiscal year, Psaki said.

Given the decimated refugee admissions program we inherited, she said it's now unlikely Biden will be able to boost that number to 62,500, as he had proposed in his plan to Congress two months ago.

But Biden, she said, was urged by advisers to take immediate action to reverse the Trump policy that banned refugees from many key regions, to enable flights from those regions to begin within days; today's order did that." The new allocations provide more slots for refugees from Africa, the Middle East and Central America and lift Trump's restrictions on resettlements from Somalia, Syria and Yemen.

Critics from both sides of the political spectrum had accused the president of bowing to political pressure that has been mounting over the record pace of unaccompanied migrants crossing the US-Mexico border.

Stephen Miller, a key architect of Trump's immigration policies, tweeted that keeping Trump's cap reflects Team Biden's awareness that the border flood will cause record midterm losses.

The indicated the border situation was partly why Biden had not acted before now, even though migrants at the border do not go through the same vetting process as refugees.

It is a factor, said Psaki, noting that the Office of Refugee Resettlement has personnel working on both issues and so we have to ensure that there is capacity and ability to manage both. Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal said he didn't buy that.

This cruel policy is no more acceptable now than it was during the Trump Administration, Blumenthal said. To be clear: the asylum process at the southern border and the refugee process are completely separate immigration systems. Conflating the two constitutes caving to the politics of fear. Since the fiscal year began last October 1, just over 2,000 refugees have been resettled in the US.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken notified Congress on February 12 of a plan to raise the ceiling on admissions to 62,500, but no presidential determination followed. The law does not require congressional approval and past presidents have issued such presidential determinations that set the cap on refugee admissions shortly after the notification to Congress.

New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Biden in a letter Friday that his inaction undermines your declared purpose to reverse your predecessor's refugee policies.

Menendez said it also makes it unlikely that the program can hit its target next budget year of 125,000, which Biden has pledged to do.

Refugee resettlement agencies said it was important that admissions go higher even if it's not possible to meet the target to send a message that America will be a leader again in offering safe haven to the world's oppressed.

Some 35,000 refugees have been cleared to go to the United States, and 100,000 remain in the pipeline and their lives remain in limbo, said David Miliband, president and CEO of the Rescue Committee.

This leadership is sorely needed, he said.

Under Biden's new allocation, 7,000 slots are reserved for refugees from Africa, 1,000 from East Asia, 1,500 from Europe and Central Asia, 3,000 from Latin America and the Caribbean and 1,500 from the Near East and South Asia. A reserve of about 1,000 slots can be used as needed.

The State Department, which coordinates flights with resettlement agencies, booked 715 refugees to come to the United States with the anticipation that Biden would have acted by March, but those flights were canceled since the refugees were not eligible under Trump's rules, according to resettlement agencies.

Most of the refugees are from Africa and fleeing armed conflict or political persecution. Trump limited most spots to people fleeing religious persecution, Iraqis who have assisted US forces there, and people from Central America's Northern Triangle.

(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.)
(Newser)  Police in Portland, Ore., declared a riot Friday night after authorities say protesters smashed windows and burglarized businesses during demonstrations that started earlier in the day after police fatally shot a man while responding to reports of a person with a gun. The vandalism downtown came after the Friday morning police shooting but also was part of vigils and demonstrations already been planned for the night in the name of people killed in other police shootings nationwide, including 13-year-old Adam Toledo of Chicago and Daunte Wright, a Black man in a Minneapolis suburb, per the AP. Deputy Police Chief Chris Davis told reporters earlier in the day that a white man in his 30s was shot and killed by police. The man was pronounced dead at the scene in Lents Park, which is in a leafy, residential neighborhood of the city. Two officers fired a device that shoots nonlethal projectiles, and one officer, who is now on paid leave, fired a gun, police said in a statement.

story continues below

Davis didn't know if the man who died had pointed a weapon at the officers and didn't say how many shots were fired. As police began to finish their on-scene investigation around 3pm, a crowd marched through the park, ripped down police tape, and stood face to face with officers in riot gear. Police left the park around 3:30pm, and the crowd remained and eventually stood in a nearby intersection, blocking traffic and chanting. Police said later Friday they used pepper spray on protesters in order to disengage. Some people hit officers with sticks and chased officers as they were leaving, police said in a news release. Officers deployed smoke canisters and then used a rubber ball distraction device, police said. Portland has been the site of frequent protests, many involving violent clashes between officers and demonstrators, ever since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. Over the summer, there were demonstrations for more than 100 straight days.

(Read more Portland, Oregon stories.)
LONDON  A popular princes return. Two brothers, once close but now estranged. A grandmother in deep mourning for her spouse of more than seven decades. A strait-laced father whose open grief over his own fathers passing provides a rare glimpse of his inner life.

Saturdays funeral of Britains Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth, will at once be a solemn national rite of passage and another chapter in the tumultuous family drama over Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, duchess of Sussex, who relinquished their roles as senior royals and have embarked on a new life in Montecito, California.

The procession begins at 6:45 a.m. Pacific and most major networks are carrying live.

This is Harrys first trip back to his homeland since the couples blockbuster interview with Oprah Winfrey last month, in which they explicitly described how a callous and racism-tinged palace culture, coupled with constant hounding by the British tabloids, gave rise to their decision to start over elsewhere.

Family unhappiness, as ever, is a wellspring of private pain, but the royal rift, including the painful schism between Harry and his elder brother, William, is also a public spectacle that has drawn worldwide attention.

The two brothers will walk behind Prince Philips casket, carried by a specialized Land Rover, but will be separated by a cousin.

The British public had barely digested the couples burst of American-style candor in the interview  which prompted indignation in many quarters, but aroused sympathy in others  when Philips death at 99 gave rise to speculation over whether Harry and William, second in line to the throne, might be able to patch up their differences.

Some were openly rooting for royal reconciliation, even while at pains  in very British fashion  to avoid acknowledging there had ever been a spat to begin with.

The friction that we are told has arisen is a friction better ended as speedily as possible, former Prime Minister John Major, appointed as special guardian to the two princes after the 1997 death of their mother, Princess Diana, told the BBC this week. A shared emotion, a shared grief at the present time because of the death of their grandfather, I think, is an ideal opportunity.

June 9, 1997, from left, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince William, Earl Spencer, Prince Harry and the Prince of Wales walking behind the coffin of Diana, Princess of Wales during her funeral procession to Westminster Abbey. (File/Tony Harris/PA Wire URN:32463670 Press Association via AP Images)AP

It was Dianas funeral, of course, that yielded indelible images of two motherless boys  William then 15 years old, Harry 12  appearing composed but shellshocked as they walked together behind their mothers casket, in the midst of an enormous nationwide outpouring of grief. That cemented many Britons affection for the brothers, and the public fraying of their bond has been greeted with dismay.

In the interview, Harry spoke frankly of how he and his brother had grown apart long before he and Meghan decamped for Canada and then California. He told Winfrey his relationship with William is space at the moment, and disclosed that his father, Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, had at one point stopped taking his calls.

But Harry also said he loved them both and hoped for a rapprochement. Time heals all things, hopefully, he said.

Nonetheless, the couples depiction of their royal kin in a high-profile interview stung. It didnt help that it came soon after the latest season of the Netflix historical-fiction series The Crown had offered an unflattering portrayal of Charles over the breakdown of his marriage to Diana.

Public statements from the brothers and their father about Philips death were dissected for clues about the family dynamic. Although accounts over the years consistently depicted the queens husband and consort as a stern and even domineering parent to his eldest son, Charles tribute was unexpectedly emotional, referring to my dear Papa.

William spoke of royal duties  I know he would want us to get on with the job  which some took as a veiled reproof of his absentee brother. Harrys homage to my grandpa was more lighthearted in tone: master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right til the end.

Harry and Meghan are expecting their second child this summer, a girl, and she followed medical advice to avoid travel because of her advanced pregnancy. The prince, wearing a black face mask, was met on the tarmac at Londons Heathrow Airport on Sunday by security staff and whisked away in a black Range Rover.

Although attending a funeral is grounds for compassionate exception to quarantine restrictions, Harry reportedly self-isolated upon arrival at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, which was something of a fraught venue for him and Meghan.

The historic royal retreat  called a cottage even though it has four bedrooms, plus a nursery  was a wedding gift to the couple from the queen, but they subsequently wound up paying for expensive renovations amid a tabloid outcry. After leaving the country, Harry and Meghan offered the home to Harrys niece Princess Eugenie to live in with her husband and baby son.

In the interview, Meghan said during their residence there she at times feared for her mental health, but was coolly rebuffed by the palace in her efforts to get help.

While shared mourning can be a catalyst for healing, rigid rituals and strict behavioral protocols surround any royal funeral, and Saturdays is expected to be no exception. Family members, if they so choose, could easily confine themselves to highly choreographed, emotionally distanced interactions in the course of the observances.

The funeral will be the first in the immediate royal family since Dianas, but entirely different in scope and tone. The service at St. Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle  scene of Harry and Meghans 2018 wedding  will be limited to 30 in-person participants because of coronavirus protocols. But it will feature a degree of public pomp, with a procession beforehand by hundreds of military service members escorting the casket.

Britains ravening tabloids have been a bit more circumspect than usual about Harrys return. Amanda Platell, a columnist for the Daily Mail, took yet another potshot at him for pursuing a celebrity lifestyle, but wrote that in the eyes of many, the funeral would bring Dianas once inseparable sons together again, just as she would have wished.

One emerging newspaper narrative has cast Williams wife, Catherine, the duchess of Cambridge, as a potential peacemaker between the brothers  although Meghans comments to Winfrey, contrasting the racist tabloid references to herself with glowing coverage of Catherine, caused some ill feelings in Britain.

Previewing the princes reunion, some professional royal-watchers tempered optimism with skepticism. Ingrid Seward, editor in chief of Majesty magazine and author of a biography of Philip, said she envisioned a touching moment of reunion.

When youre in an emotional state, and you see someone you havent seen for a while that was so much part of your life  I think Harry and William will be very happy to see each other, she said.

Even so, she said an estrangement such as theirs was unlikely to swiftly evaporate.

These very delicate situations need to be discussed at the right moment, said Seward. And certainly, it wont be the right moment.
Russia and Belarus are restoring the trade turnover between the two countries after the blow caused by months of pandemic, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Friday during a meeting with the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Mishustin also highlighted the resumption of flights between Belarua and Russia.

Lukashenko said during the meeting that pending issues with Moscow were being discussed "sincerely and frankly".

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)


Speakers:

Shen Xiaoming, secretary of the Hainan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and chairman of the Standing Committee of Hainan Provincial People's Congress

Feng Fei, governor of Hainan province

Cong Liang, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC)

Zou Jiayi, vice minister of finance

Wang Shouwen, vice minister of commerce and deputy China international trade representative

Zhang Jiwen, vice minister of the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC)

Wang Chunying, deputy administrator of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE)

Chairperson:

Chen Wenjun, head of the Press Bureau of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) and spokesperson of the SCIO

Date:

April 12, 2021

Chen Wenjun:

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning! Today's press conference is about the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP). In accordance with the decision and deployment of General Secretary Xi Jinping and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the construction of the Hainan FTP is being accelerated, polices are being formulated, and important progress has been achieved. Today, we have invited officials from central government departments and the Hainan provincial government to meet with you and introduce the situation. Speakers present at today's press conference include Shen Xiaoming, secretary of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee and chairman of the Standing Committee of Hainan Provincial People's Congress; Feng Fei, governor of Hainan province; Cong Liang, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC); Zou Jiayi, vice minister of finance; Wang Shouwen, vice minister of commerce and deputy China international trade representative; Zhang Jiwen, vice minister of the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC); and Wang Chunying, deputy administrator of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE). Now, I will give the floor to Mr. Cong.

Cong Liang:

Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the media, good morning! On April 13, 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at a conference celebrating the 30th anniversary of the founding of Hainan province and the Hainan Special Economic Zone, announcing the CPC Central Committee's major measures to support Hainan in comprehensively deepening reform and opening up. The Master Plan for the Construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port was officially released on June 1, 2020.

We studied in depth the series of important speeches and instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping on supporting Hainan in comprehensively deepening reform and opening up and building itself into a free trade port, and developed a good understanding of the significant decision of the CPC Central Committee that building the Hainan FTP will exert a far-reaching impact. The construction of the Hainan FTP is intended to gather high-quality global production factors including capital, knowledge, technology, management, and data, providing an example of high-quality development for the nation. It will promote deeper reform with a higher level of openness so that we can explore new paths and accumulate new experience to speed up the improvement of the socialist market economy system. It will explore the formation of an internationally competitive open system so as to provide an important platform for China to adapt to and actively participate in the formulation of international economic and trade rules at a deeper level.

Over the past three years, especially since the release and implementation of the master plan, the leading group on deepening all-round reform and opening up of Hainan province has been working with the Hainan provincial government and relevant departments to carefully implement the deployment and requirements of the leading group. The system integration and innovation has been put in a prominent place, with focus on trade and investment liberalization and facilitation and the efficient flow of various factors of production. The system integration and collaborative innovation have been highlighted. A series of supporting policies have been put in place to promote Hainan FTP construction. According to preliminary statistics, more than 110 policy documents have been issued and the policy framework of the FTP is taking shape. We have got off to a good start. In general, these policies and systems can be summarized in six aspects.

First, we introduced policies that enable trade and investment to be freer and more convenient. We have established a goods trade system featuring zero tariffs and introduced one negative and two positive lists. The Yangpu Bonded Port Area took the lead in the implementation of an entry and exit management system for goods to facilitate trade, which features opening up the "front line" (the area between the Hainan FTP and other countries and regions outside the customs territory of China) and regulating the "second line" (the area between the Hainan FTP and other areas within the customs territory of China). We have issued the negative list for the access of foreign investment, rolled out special measures to loosen market access, and reduced the number of sectors and industries that are off-limits to both Chinese and foreign investors in its negative list for market access to 27 articles, making investment freer. We have introduced the Catalogue of Encouraged Industries (2020 version) and 17 policy documents to support the development of tourism, the modern service industry, and the high-tech industry, giving more room for development.

Second, we introduced policies that enable financial support to be safer and more convenient. We issued policy documents such as the Opinions on Financial Support for Hainan to Comprehensively Deepen Reform and Opening Up, and promoted the establishment of financial policies and institutional frameworks that are suitable for the Hainan FTP. We have enhanced RMB convertibility and promoted the facilitation of cross-border trade in goods and services as well as new types of international trade settlements. A quota of US$5 billion has been allocated under the Qualified Domestic Limited Partner (QDLP) pilot scheme in Hainan. We also took the lead to launch a pilot reform of overseas listing registration for domestic companies.

Third, we introduced policies that enable the tax preferential policies to be more efficient and targeted. We have formulated and implemented preferential policies including corporate income tax of 15 percent on encouraged industrial enterprises and personal income tax of 15 percent for eligible talents. Enterprises established in the Hainan FTP are entitled to corporate tax exemption for income from newly increased overseas direct investment. We have improved the offshore duty-free shopping policy, approved the establishment of six more duty-free shops, and provided "mail delivery" and "deposit offshore, pick up backshore" services. We have introduced policies such as VAT refunds for ships, and a tax rebate at Yangpu Port of Departure, and allowed ships that transit at Yangpu Port of China to refuel with bonded oil. Now, we are formulating tax exemption policies for foreign exhibits during national level exhibitions.

Fourth, we introduced policies that enable the transportation service to be more convenient and open. We have promoted the integration of ports and shipping businesses in the Qiongzhou Strait and built a safer, more efficient, convenient, and cost-effective transportation channel in the Qiongzhou Strait. A convenient and efficient vessel registration procedure has been established, and we are promoting the construction of Yangpu Port of China into an international port of registry. We have innovated cruise and yacht management, supported the construction of Sanya into a home port for international cruise ships, and promoted travel among Hainan, Hong Kong, and Macao by yacht. We introduced the Seventh Freedom traffic rights for air passenger and cargo services and promoted the upgrading of Boao Airport to an international port.

Fifth, we introduced policies that enable the supporting factors to be more effective. We have expanded the scope and channels of visa-free entry for foreigners and carried out a pilot reform of international talent service management. We have issued the high-level talent classification standards (2020), high-level talent identification measures, and management measures for overseas talents. A total of 38 domestic professional qualification examinations are open for overseas personnel and 219 overseas professional qualifications are recognized. International pilot projects on internet data interaction have been carried out. Special channels for international internet data have been set up in nine key parks. Policies such as "standard land" and "rent first and transfer later" have been introduced to guarantee the demand for land in a more flexible and effective way.

Sixth, we introduced more efficient and sophisticated institutions to secure the implementation of the construction of the FTP. The 24th session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress reviewed the draft Hainan Free Trade Port Law and solicited opinions from the public. The first batch of legal adjustment matters have all been settled including the introduction of three laws and seven administrative regulations. Special regulations for key parks such as Sanya Yazhou Bay Resort have been issued. We have also innovated institutional mechanisms for ecological civilization. We streamlined administration and introduced systems such as "one stamp of approval." Thirty-six risk prevention and control measures such as anti-smuggling were introduced. The construction and development environment of the Hainan FTP has been significantly improved.

"Spring brings a new beginning and the best is yet to come." With the implementation of Hainan FTP policies and systems, the improvement of the development environment, and the increase of market players, Hainan will surely become a popular destination for investment and business. Thank you all!

Chen Wenjun:

Thank you, Mr. Cong. Next, I will give the floor to Mr. Shen.

Shen Xiaoming:

Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the media:

Good morning, everyone! First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all sectors of society for their attention and support during the comprehensive deepening of reform and opening up and the construction of a free trade port in Hainan. On April 13, 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at a conference celebrating the 30th anniversary of the founding of Hainan province and the Hainan Special Economic Zone, giving Hainan a new historical mission to comprehensively deepen reform and opening up, and supporting Hainan to gradually explore and steadily promote the construction of a free trade port with Chinese characteristics. The Master Plan for the Construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port was officially released on June 1, 2020. In the past three years, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, and with the strong support of the central and state departments, other provinces, and all sectors of society, we have put into practice the guiding principles from General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speeches and instructions on Hainan. The vibrant Hainan province has deepened reform and opening up, showing significant changes in ten aspects.

First, our enthusiasm for entrepreneurship has never been higher. We vigorously carried forward the enterprising, pioneering, and hard-working spirit of special economic zones. Each year, we focus on one area and tackle problems centering around the area. We continue to carry out a series of activities such as "making contributions to speed up the construction of the Hainan FTP," encourage government officials to bear the responsibility, and promote the construction of the Hainan FTP to get off to a very good start and develop at a rapid pace.

Second, the quality of economic development has significantly improved. We have made the economic transformation in three aspects, the industrial structure has been optimized, and the quality of development has been considerably enhanced. First, we made the resolve to wean the economy away from the real estate industry. The proportion of industrial investment rose from less than 40% to more than 60%. Second, the economic growth drivers shifted from mainly investment, in particular, real estate and infrastructure investment, to the combination of consumption and investment. Third, we worked to attract various market entities that are in line with the direction of industrial development to participate in the construction of the free trade port. Though under the pressure of real estate regulation and the impact of the epidemic, by great efforts, Hainan's GDP and tax revenue have maintained steady growth, and the main economic indicators are better than the national average. In the first year of the construction of the Hainan FTP, the number of newly established enterprises, the actual use of foreign capital, the number of talents attracted, and offshore duty-free sales have all doubled.

Third, all types of market entities have responded actively. With the implementation of such key policies as the "one negative list and three positive lists for zero tariffs" and the "three lists for lowering market entry threshold," we have added 763,000 market entities in the past three years, exceeding the total number registered entities in the previous 30 years. The utilization of foreign investment has doubled three years in a row, with the three-year aggregate reaching $5.27 billion, a figure more than half the total reported during the previous 30 years combined. For the past three years, central enterprises and their subsidiaries in Hainan saw business revenues grow by more than twentyfold. Additionally, the number of new enterprises grew by 113.7% after the release of the master plan.

Fourth, talent attraction has gained good momentum. With the support of such central ministries and commissions as the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee as well as other provinces, we have introduced three batches of 285 outstanding officials to work temporarily in Hainan as well as sent four batches of 400 Hainan officials to study in relevant central Party and government departments and developed provinces. Following the instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping to mobilize the strength of the whole country and attract talents extensively to support the comprehensive deepening of reform in Hainan, we have brought in 233,000 talents for the province since 2018, up by 675% over the preceding period. Among the talents, over 50% were introduced in less than a year after the release of the master plan. Therefore, the first phase of the action plan's goal of attracting 1 million talents to Hainan has been fulfilled. We have also set up one-stop service windows for talents, released administrative measures for overseas personnel to practice and take professional qualification exams in the Hainan FTP, put in place preferential income tax policies for enterprises and individuals, and set salary as the main indicator for evaluating talents. Through these measures, Hainan has become a much better place for talent development.

Fifth, Hainan's environment has seen constant improvement. Hainan's environment is a treasure not only for Hainan people but also for all Chinese people. We have taken solid steps to advance the building of the national pilot zone for ecological progress in Hainan. The pilot program to establish a national tropical rainforest park system has been launched and passed national assessment. The proportion of new energy vehicles owned in Hainan has reached 4.2%, 1.3 times higher than the national level. We have also launched a ban on the production, sale, and use of disposable non-degradable plastic products. Additionally, the use of prefabricated buildings has doubled for three consecutive years; a "zero landfill" model for domestic waste was achieved on the island by the end of last year; the percentage of good air quality days reached 99.5% in 2020 with the average concentration of PM2.5 decreasing to 13 micrograms per cubic meter. The water ecosystems of rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and offshore areas were among the best in China.

Sixth, Hainan's business environment has become increasingly better. By regarding the business environment as the "golden bowl" for the Hainan FTP, we have promoted integrated policy innovation as a key focus and released 12 batches of 116 policy innovation cases. We have strengthened Hainan's one-stop service window for international trade, cutting approval time by 70-80%. Our extremely simple approval procedures are welcomed by all types of market entities.

Seventh, a modern industry landscape is taking shape. We have sped up efforts to form a "3+1" modern industry system (tourism, modern service, high-tech, and high-efficiency tropical agriculture). In terms of tourism and modern services, by making good and full use of the offshore duty-free shopping policy, we have encouraged Chinese consumers to purchase high-end, medical, and educational products and services in Hainan instead of overseas. From May 7 to 10 this year, the first China International Consumer Products Expo will be held in Hainan. In terms of high-tech industry, construction of the Nanfan Agricultural Silicon Valley has made substantial progress; a number of deep-sea projects have been launched at the Yazhou Bay Science City represented by the deep-sea manned submersible Fendouzhe; and China's Mars mission Tianwen-1 and lunar probe Chang'e-5 were launched at the Wenchang International Aerospace City. In the past three years, the number of high-tech enterprises in Hainan has increased by 273%, internet industry revenues have risen by 192% and the supporting role of the high-tech industry has become more and obvious. Regarding high-efficiency tropical agriculture, while we continue to grow rubber trees, betel nut trees, and coconut trees, we have also actively introduced seeds for new varieties of tropical fruit from around the world. Meanwhile, we have encouraged traditional maritime fisheries to move their business onshore or to deep-sea areas and to engage in leisure fishing. The structure of the agricultural industry has been further optimized.

Eighth, risk prevention and control have been forceful and effective. We always believe that "opening up" must be guaranteed through "effective management." The information platform for social management has been put into full use, offering 24-hour monitoring over the flow of people, materials, and capital in offshore areas, along the coastline, and on the island. We have also adopted provisional anti-trafficking regulations to crack down on fraudulent purchases taking advantage of the offshore duty-free shopping policy in accordance with the law.

Ninth, people's sense of gain has steadily been enhanced. We have secured a high-quality victory in the battle against poverty. All five impoverished counties, 600 impoverished villages, and 650,000 registered poor have shaken off poverty. We have accelerated the implementation of a commodity housing program to meet the housing demand of local residents and talents introduced from elsewhere. We have taken forceful steps to curb the rise of consumer prices. We now have 102 schools set up in cooperation with quality educational resources brought in from elsewhere in China. We have also introduced 49 quality medical institutes from other Chinese provinces. With these measures, we have basically achieved the goal of enabling locals to "attend a good school at their doorway" and "get their ailments treated without going to town and their serious illnesses treated without leaving the island."

Tenth, a law on the Hainan FTP is in the making. We are actively cooperating with the National People's Congress (NPC) to make the law so as to give Hainan greater legislative power and power to carry out reforms. Now the NPC Standing Committee has completed the first review and a collection of public opinion.

On April 13 three years ago, General Secretary Xi Jinping made an important speech to welcome worldwide investors to invest in Hainan, participate in the construction of the Hainan FTP, and share China's development opportunities and the fruits of its reforms. Three years on, Hainan has proven by practice that the free trade port is indeed an opportunity for the whole world and we welcome everyone to Hainan. Thank you.

Chen Wenjun:

Thank you, Mr. Shen. Now the floor is open for questions. Please identify your news outlet before asking questions.
ALBANY - They gathered Saturday at Townsend Park, just as they had three days before.

Are we ready? Legacy Casanova asked the crowd of protesters, most wearing black, many carrying signs that professed the grief and anger that has enveloped so many across the city and nation.

They walked down Lark Street, where business employees peered outside and saw raised fists, raised signs and heard raised voices that screamed, Matter! each time the words Black lives were spoken.

When is this going to stop? Nahshon McLaughlin asked as he walked past the giant yellow Black Lives Matter mural painted last summer, a marker that reminded him of the last time he was here protesting, chanting different names of Black Americans killed by police: Breonna Taylor, George Floyd.

And now here he was again, over half a year later, chanting new names  Daunte Wright, Adam Toledo  walking atop a mural that was fading away.

Its sadness. This is just anger and sadness, he said.

The scores of activists and supporters eventually converged at the South Station on Arch Street, the scene of a confrontation Wednesday evening.

Casanova told the protesters not to climb or even touch the rail at the South Station  an action that police said escalated tensions at the last protest.

As evening settled the scene was calm outside the station, with protesters singing and marching. No police were seen stepping outside, though at least two could be seen on the roof. The rails leading to the entrance were empty of people.

Three days ago the similar demonstration culminated in the brief clash between police officers and demonstrators, where officers deployed pepper spray and a window was broken by some protesters. City officials held a news conference about Wednesday's protest on Friday, describing the gathering as a "riot."

Protesters were peacefully chanting as night fell, with leaders reminding people to pick up their trash. Many criticized Mayor Kathy Sheehan

for her comments equating the clash Wednesday in Albany to the deadly Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol.

What she said made me sick, one protester said.

Lukee Forbes, a community leader, said officers not being outside dramatically helped with deescalating tensions.

Police not being here is whats going to keep this from escalating, he said. Thats what gets tensions high: when police are here.

Many protesters promised to return to the station and continue protesting until the officer who pushed at a womans megaphone on Wednesday is fired.

Kat Reyefico, 29, was at the station on Wednesday. She wasnt hit with pepper spray, she said, but her friends were, and as she tried to help them, she inhaled the residue from the chemicals. She was beginning to have an asthma attack, she said. She borrowed he friends inhaler, and promised herself she would return again on Saturday.

This is where Im supposed to be, she said, playing a drum she had borrowed from the heavy metal band shes in. She was giving rhythm to the chants, providing a beat for the people who yelled again and again: No justice, no peace.

Troy protest

The Albany march came a few hours after another gathering in Troy.

Under different circumstances, the gathering under the Collar City Bridge Saturday afternoon could have been mistaken for a family reunion. Music played, kids drew with chalk on the asphalt, and people passed out snacks and water. A large table loaded with flowers below a large banner reading "Black Lives Matter" taped to bridge supports and signs in the crowd with messages like, "Abolish Racism in Troy PD or Abolish the Troy PD" revealed the event as both a memorial and a call to action. There were no uniformed police present.

Saturday was the fifth anniversary of the day Edson Thevenin, 37, was killed by a Troy police officer during a traffic stop on the road above the crowd of roughly 150. The police officer who shot Thevenin, Sgt. Randall French, was cleared of wrongdoing.

The case roiled Troy, and people who spoke at the Spring into Action: Rally 4 Black Life gathering Saturday said the pain they feel over what they see is a lack of justice in the Thevenin case has only been worsened by the subsequent deaths of people of color at the hands of police, both locally and nationally.

Luz Marquez, a founder of Troy4BlackLives and a cosponsor of the event, spoke passionately, urging the crowd to keep raising their voices for Black lives and keep up pressure on the city's elected leaders.

"If you want to stop gun violence, stop white supremacy," Marquez said, adding her voice to others Saturday to defund the police.

Angela Beallor, a founder of Reimagine Troy, said as a white person, she has had interactions with police, but lived to tell the tale. Black and brown people often do not. Jessica Ashley read a statement from Gertha Depas, Thevenin's mother.

"Five years have not eased the pain, they have intensified the struggle," Ashley read. "The power is always in the hands of the people and change comes when we speak up."

Other speakers included Messiah Cooper, whose nephew, Dahmeek McDonald, was shot by police in 2017. Cooper said what he sees as his failure to act in the past is what motivates him to do so now. It's important, he said, not only to stand up for people because they are a friend or a relative, but simply because it's the right thing to do.
A family-owned office cleaning company has held talks with an American private equity firm connected to ex-Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy about a takeover, sources said.

It is understood that OCS, which also provides security guards to shopping centres and catering for office canteens, is working with advisers from Lazard on 'strategic options', which could lead to a sale of a stake in the business.

OCS was founded as The New Century Window and General Cleaning Company by Frederick Goodliffe in 1900.

OCS is still family-owned, so any deal could crystallise a hefty pay-out for family members

A decade later his three sons  Gilbert, Tom and George  joined the company and today fifth generation relatives still work at OCS, which has remained in Goodliffe family ownership.

As a result, any deal could crystallise a hefty pay-out for family members. Ian Goodliffe, one of the great grandsons of Frederick Goodliffe, is a director of OCS.

One source suggested that US-based Clayton Dubilier & Rice  which employs Sir Terry as an adviser  may be the private equity firm in 'exclusive' talks with the owners of OCS, which employs 19,000 people.

Clayton Dubilier & Rice has been highly acquisitive over the last year, acquiring a variety of UK firms, including plumbers' merchant Wolseley for 308 million.

OCS and Clayton Dubilier & Rice declined to comment.
Samuel Ayeh-Paye, former Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayensuano Constituency, has charged politicians and government officials to desist from politicizing mining issues in the country.



He called on political figures in the country to place their partisan affiliations aside and selflessly work together to fight the menace of illegal mining, popularly called galamsey.



His comment came on the heels of a national consultative dialogue on small-scale mining opened by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in Accra on Wednesday.



President Akufo-Addo has called for national consensus to promote a responsible, viable and environmentally sustainable small-scale mining industry.



His call is aimed at stamping out the menace of illegal small-scale mining, otherwise known as ''galamsey'', and also to support and grow responsible small-scale mining.



The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, engaging stakeholders in the dialogue, also cautioned against illegal mining.



The Minister stressed that sanctions and penalties imposed by the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act 995) should be applied to all those who infract the law irrespective of political colour, socio-economic status or class.



Contributing to Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo' programme, Samuel Ayeh Paye sent words of advice to his fellow politicians and leaders of the nation.



"Let us remove the politics and ensure that the government officials and politicians involved in illegal mining desist from it so that we achieve the goal to rid the nation of illegal mining that has ruined and contaminated our waterbodies," he stated.

"Irrespective of your political affiliations, let's support the Minister in the fight against illegal mining," he added.





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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South Australia is rapidly emerging as a focal point for the militarisation of the countrys universities. Several research and development (R&D) partnerships between military contractors and universities in the state have been announced in recent weeks.

This is part of the deepening integration of universities across Australia into a military build-up, all behind the backs of students and the broader public. Successive Liberal-National Coalition and Labor governments have placed Australia on the front lines of the escalating danger of war as US administrations step up the confrontation with China and Russia.

The crew of the Royal Australian Navy submarine HMAS Rankin enters Pearl Harbor for a brief stop during Rim of the Pacific exercises in 2018 [Credit: U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Cmdr. Cheryl Collins/Released via Flickr]

Three South Australian institutionsall situated in the state capital, Adelaidehave joined the French Australian Laboratory for Humans-Autonomous Agents Teaming, also called CROSSING. The University of Adelaide, Flinders University, and University of South Australia will enter CROSSING in collaboration with the French National Centre for Scientific Research, French technological university IMT Atlantique and French maritime military contractor Naval Group.

The Naval Group was listed in the online magazine Defense News as the worlds 30th largest defence contractor in 2020.

Announced in February, the new lab will focus on human interaction with autonomous systems. The labs director, Professor Jean-Philippe Diguet, said: The CROSSING lab will bring together leading French and Australian scientists from artificial intelligence, machine learning, computer science, engineering, psychology and human factors. Such research, he said, would be used to advance the way operators control systems on ships, and improve human performance.

CROSSING codirector, University of Adelaides Anna Ma-Wyatt, said the lab will develop new ways for humans to work with robots and autonomous systems. Anne Beauval, IMT Atlantique vice-president, says CROSSING will look at human interaction with autonomous machines in submarine communication and detection, ocean monitoring as well as digital transformation at different levels of practice (industrial management, command & control).

While few concrete details are available, such research could potentially be used, among other applications, in developing smaller, cheaper and faster autonomous submarines that can be engaged in underwater military surveillance, border patrol, mine countermeasures and anti-submarine warfare.

From left to right: Pierre-Eric Pommellet, CEO, Naval Group; Professor Anna Ma-Wyatt, co-director CROSSING; Professor Jean-Philippe Diguet, co-director CROSSING; South Australian state premier Steven Marshall [Credit: University of Adelaide]

University managements lauded the announcement as a boon for business, including their own.

Flinders University vice-chancellor Colin Stirling, said the new lab lifts South Australias internationally regarded defence research capacity. In 2019, when the lab was first proposed, Stirling said it was yet more evidence of South Australia being an unbeatable place to do business.

University of Adelaide vice-chancellor Peter Hj boasted: The CROSSING lab is another dimension in which IMT Atlantique is joining forces with academic and industrial partners to strengthen our positioning in Australia.

Having established the University of Adelaides Australian Institute of Machine Learning in 2018, the university will oversee artificial intelligence and machine learning research at the CROSSING lab.

Last month, Australian defence contractor Safran Electronics & Defense Australasia (SEDA) announced its largest investment in related research. Subsidised by an Australian Research Council (ARC) grant, $1.8 million will be pumped into a multi-year collaboration between SEDA and the University of Adelaide, with $643,565 of the funding coming directly from the government-funded ARC.

SEDAs project at the University of Adelaide will focus on coordinated autonomous sensing of naval objects in dynamic maritime environments based on artificial intelligence technologies.

Also in late March, Defence Industry Minister Melissa Price announced a partnership between Flinders University and South Australia-based defence contractor DEWC T&E to establish a Centre of Expertise for Electronic Warfare.

DEWC specialises in electronic warfarethe use of electromagnetic radiation to attack or impede enemiesand is owned by former Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel.

Having a skilled Electronic Warfare workforce comprising both practitioners and researchers across Defence, academia and industry is key to ensuring future defence capabilities are fit-for-purpose and future proofed, Price said.

She added: The 2020 Defence Strategic Update outlines increased investment in Electronic Warfare capabilities across all domains. These advanced capabilities will provide the ADF with a strategic and tactical advantage to keep pace with the evolving operating environment.

The electronic warfare centre is part of the governments Defence Science Partnership (DSP). The DSP was developed in 2014 by the Defence Departments Defence Science and Technology Group (DST Group). DST Groups then chief defence scientist declared that it would provide a uniform model for universities to engage with Defence on research projects.

When the WSWS reported on the DSP in 2018, 32 of Australias public universities had signed on to the agreement. Last year, new DST chief defence scientist Professor Tanya Monro ratified a new agreement called DSP 2.0, which has been signed by all 37 public universities.

Monro said last July: This new arrangement provides a robust framework for Defence to partner with universities and removes the need to negotiate individual contracts for every collaborative project Its critical that we harness the skills, talents and expertise of the entire innovation network to deliver the best possible outcomes for Defence and Australia more broadly.

Universities across the country are being further incorporated into the military build-up. Among them is the University of Queensland.

In the 2020 Defence Strategic Update, $9.3 billion was pledged to the development of hypersonic weaponsmissiles that travel faster than the speed of sound, allowing them to bypass existing missile defence systemsand the further development of capabilities such as directed-energy systems.

Research on hypersonic flight has been conducted for over a decade, most notably through the Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation program (HIFiRE), which began in 2007. HIFiRE was a collaboration between the DST Group, the University of Queensland, the US Air Force Research Laboratory and defence contractors BAE Systems and Boeing.

UK-based BAE Systems is the worlds seventh largest defence contractor, while US arms maker Boeing is second.

HIFiRE was succeeded by the Australia-US Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment program (SCIFiRE), announced last December. SCIFiRE aims to develop and test prototype hypersonic cruise missiles, able to reach Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound), with the project expected to be completed by the early 2030s.

Royal Australian Air Force chief Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld said in December that SCIFiRE is another opportunity to advance the capabilities in our Air Combat Capability program to support joint force effects to advance Australias security and prosperity.

The announcements are just the latest agreements between universities and weapons makers. In 2017, the worlds leading arms dealer Lockheed Martin opened the $13-million Science, Technology, Engineering Leadership and Research Laboratory (STELaR Lab) at the University of Melbourne under the Victorian state Labor government of Daniel Andrews.

Universities are being increasingly integrated into Australias alignment with US imperialisms war drive against China. Such a war would lead to a catastrophic nuclear third world war.

Deep opposition exists to militarism and the drive to war, but to succeed it requires a socialist perspective, directed against the entire capitalist nation-state system that produces war. Students and youth who want to help build an international anti-war and socialist movement are encouraged to join the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) and participate in the IYSSE

The Australian IYSSE is holding a major meeting in opposition to the drive to war against China at 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 24.
The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded $400,000 to History Colorado to support a new, long-term exhibition that recounts the deadliest day in Colorado history  the 1864 atrocity known as the Sand Creek Massacre  with the voices of Cheyenne and Arapaho tribal members.

It will be the only exhibit of its kind in the United States to share the history of the massacre from the viewpoint of Cheyenne and Arapaho tribal members.

On Nov. 29, 1864, 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho, including 150 women and children, were slaughtered by 675 soldiers of the 1st and 3rd Regiments of the Colorado Volunteer Cavalry, led by Col. John Chivington.

The massacre led to the resignation of Colorado Territorial Gov. John Evans, at the request of President Andrew Johnson. However, Chivington resigned from the Army and was never held accountable for the massacre or the atrocities that followed, including a parade of body parts through the streets of Denver.

Evans' role in the massacre is why state and federal naming boards are considering proposals to rename Mt. Evans, with several proposals submitted by the tribes.

The endowment's Public Humanities Project grant will fund an installation on the top floor of the History Colorado Center for at least five years, according to a news release from History Colorado.

Grant funds will support ongoing tribal consultation, research, and exhibition design. The exhibition reflects an eight-year partnership between History Colorado and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, the Northern Arapaho Tribe, and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. Participating tribal historians and descendants include Otto Braided Hair (Northern Cheyenne), Fred Mosqueda (Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma), Ben Ridgely (Northern Arapaho), Gail Ridgley (Northern Arapaho), and Chester Whiteman (Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma).

We have to acknowledge our historyincluding the darkest chaptersin order to heal and move forward, said U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, who as Governor formally apologized for the Sand Creek Massacre on behalf of the State of Colorado. This exhibit will ensure we never forget the horrific atrocity at Sand Creek, and by so doing help prevent us from repeating it.

We've had difficult times in the past with History Colorado, said Otto Braided Hair. This grant shows commitment and dedication from History Colorado.

It will include information about the lives of the Cheyenne and Arapaho people before the massacre, life today and our efforts to remember the massacre, said Fred Mosqueda. This NEH funding will help with this important work.

The Sand Creek Massacre exhibition will demonstrate that all people in the United States, tribal and non-tribal, can work humbly together to remember and begin to heal from the Sand Creek Massacre, said Shannon Voirol, director of exhibit planning at History Colorado. It will also offer universal, timely lessons that fear, racism, and stereotyping can and do lead to catastrophic consequences.

The History Colorado Center had an exhibit on Sand Creek when it first opened in 2012, however, that exhibit was developed without adequate input from tribal representatives and leadership and closed shortly after opening.
New Delhi, April 17 : Water supply in several parts of the national capital, including areas under the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and South Delhi are likely to face water shortage from Saturday evening, the Delhi Jal Board said.

The DJB claimed that the water crisis in Delhi has emerged due to reduction in supply of raw water from Upper Ganga canal to Yamuna in Delhi. The board informed that the supply of raw water from Haryana has reduced by 25- to 30 per cent which resulted in shortage at two Water Treatment Plants (WTPs) - Sonia Vihar and Bhagirathi.

"Water supply in areas of East Delhi, Northeast Delhi, South Delhi and NDMC will remain affected on Saturday evening. The situation may remain so for a week until the water supply restores," the DJB said in an official statement.

Delhi gets 250 million gallons of raw water a day through the Upper Ganga Canal. At present, around 200 million gallons a day (MGD) is being received. On Wednesday, high ammonia concentration in the Yamuna and less water in the river had affected the production capacity at Chandrawal and Wazirabad water treatment plants, which supply around 228 MGD drinking water to people of Delhi.

DJB vice chairman Raghav Chadha on Wednesday had written to Haryana Chief Minister requesting him to address the issue of short supply of raw water and discharge of pollutants in the river from Haryana.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 21:45:49|Editor: huaxia

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-- Too many Asian Americans have been attacked, harassed, blamed, and scapegoated since the pandemic erupted in the United States early last year.

-- Besides rising anti-Asian sentiment, Asian Americans have to grapple with the country's highest rates of long-term unemployment as the pandemic has shuttered hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, beauty salons and other sectors of the economy for more than a year, said a USA Today report.

-- "The important thing to remember is that this is really not an exceptional moment by any means," said Courtney Sato, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard's Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History. "It's really part of a much longer genealogy of anti-Asian violence that reaches as far back as the 19th century."

WASHINGTON, April 17 (Xinhua) -- "There has never been a situation during my lifetime that I've felt this level of fear," U.S. House lawmaker Andy Kim, a Korean American, said about the local skyrocketing anti-Asian hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

He confessed that even his five-year-old son had encountered anti-Asian discrimination.

This is a historic moment right now for the United States to "determine the next few decades of how Asian Americans are treated and understood and accepted in this country," the congressman told a press conference here earlier this week.





LEGISLATION

The U.S. Senate will likely vote next week on an anti-Asian American hate crimes bill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Thursday, one day after senators voted 92-6 to open debate on the legislation with sweeping bipartisan support.

Under the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, the Justice Department will assign an official to expedite reviews of COVID-19-related hate crimes, as well as coordinate with local law enforcement and community-based groups to facilitate and raise awareness about reporting on hate crimes.

The legislation would also call on the federal administration to offer guidance on "best practices to mitigate racially discriminatory language" describing the coronavirus pandemic.

People march to protest against anti-Asian hate crimes on Brooklyn Bridge in New York, the United States, April 4, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

"Words matter," said Senator Mazie Hirono, who introduced the bill together with House Democrat Grace Meng. "When you have a president who deems the 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," the senator said, referring to former President Donald Trump, who frequently used such phrases to describe the coronavirus.

The Senate has a "moral imperative to take action," Schumer had told reporters previously, noting that he is "open to strengthening the bill."

Schumer and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell have started negotiating a potential amendments deal, including measures to improve the reporting of hate crimes, beef up related training for law enforcement and set up a hotline where hate crimes can be reported.

President Joe Biden met with members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus on Thursday and voiced his support for passing the legislation.

Meanwhile, the White House announced new actions last month, including additional funding and a cross-agency initiative to battle anti-Asian violence and discrimination.

CRISIS POINT

The legislation came after eight people, including six women of Asian descent, were shot dead in the Atlanta area last month. Protesters of different colors and ages took to the streets in more than 60 U.S. cities in the weeks after the shootings, calling to stop anti-Asian violence which has stoked widespread fear and anger among people of Asian descent in the country.

People attend a "Stop Asian Hate" candlelight vigil in a city park of Alhambra, Los Angeles County, California, the United States, March 20, 2021. (Xinhua)

"The Asian American community has reached a crisis point that cannot be ignored," Judy Chu, a Democratic lawmaker from California, said after the Atlanta shootings.

"For more than a year, the Asian American community has been fighting two viruses, the COVID-19 pandemic and anti-Asian hate," Meng said during a press conference on Tuesday. "We've heard about and seen videos of both young and elderly Asian Americans being shoved to the ground, stomped on, being spat on and shunned. These heinous acts have been outrageous, unconscionable and they must end."

Too many Asian Americans have been attacked, harassed, blamed, and scapegoated since the pandemic erupted in the United States early last year.

According to Stop AAPI Hate, a California-based nonprofit social organization tracking incidents of violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) during the pandemic, it received nearly 3,800 reports of attacks or abuse against people of Asian descent between March 2020 and February 2021 and the real number of such incidents is believed to be far more than that.

An analysis of police data by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, found that in the 16 largest U.S. cities in 2020, overall hate crimes fell 7 percent but those targeting Asian Americans surged nearly 150 percent.

Besides rising anti-Asian sentiment, Asian Americans have to grapple with the country's highest rates of long-term unemployment as the pandemic has shuttered hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, beauty salons and other sectors of the economy for more than a year, said a USA Today report.

Police officers patrol in Chinatown in New York, the United States, March 19, 2021. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that 48 percent of estimated 615,000 unemployed Asian Americans were without work for six months-plus through the first quarter of this year, surpassing the portion of long-term unemployed among jobless workers in the African American population (43 percent), white population (39 percent) and Hispanic population (39 percent).





LONG WAY TO GO

During his first week in office, Biden issued a memorandum to condemn coronavirus-related racism. But anti-Asian violence has continued to be rampant and showed no signs of abating despite nationwide attention and weeks-long protests in the wake of the Atlanta shootings, reflecting long-term challenges for the White House to crack down on anti-Asian hate crimes.

The long history of discrimination against Asians, the deepening political divide, as well as bigotry and stereotypes like regarding Asian Americans as "perpetual foreigners" who never assimilate, all play a role in the surge of anti-Asian violence in the United States during the pandemic, local analysts have noted.

"The important thing to remember is that this is really not an exceptional moment by any means," said Courtney Sato, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard's Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History. "It's really part of a much longer genealogy of anti-Asian violence that reaches as far back as the 19th century."

On Capitol Hill, the Congress's response has mostly fallen along party lines. When the House passed a non-binding resolution in September 2020 to denounce anti-Asian racism, 164 Republicans voted against it and only 14 voted in favor, said Caitlin Chin, a research analyst at the Brookings Institution.

People march to protest against anti-Asian hate crimes on Brooklyn Bridge in New York, the United States, April 4, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

Biden has also been criticized over the lack of Asian American and Pacific Islanders serving in top roles in his administration.

As for law enforcement, Robert Boyce, a retired chief of detectives from the New York Police Department, told ABC News that law enforcement officers tasked with investigating a crime's motivation face many obstacles in finding evidence of hate. As a result, hate crimes are hard to prosecute.

The good news is that Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial demographic in the United States and are becoming an increasingly important electorate, Chin noted, suggesting both Democratic and Republican parties could benefit from protecting the Asian American community.

However, changes may not come soon. Asian Americans represent a population of 21 million people in the country with the highest income inequality of any racial group. There is still a long way to go before Asian people can break the bamboo ceiling in the U.S. political and economic fields.

(Video reporter: Ding Chunyu; Video editors: Hong Yan, Wu Yao, Zhang Yuhong, Lin Lin)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-18 00:08:32|Editor: huaxia

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KHARTOUM, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Despite a long-time observance of Ramadan traditions as a social legacy, the Sudanese people this year have to abandon some of them in the throes of economic pressures, COVID-19 precautions and social transformations.

In the capital Khartoum, the streets are almost empty of collective iftar, the evening meal marking the end of daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

"Until recently, Ramadan was an occasion for social solidarity and family interconnections," Imtisal Al-Tayeb, a Sudanese social researcher, told Xinhua on Saturday.

"However this year, those social manifestations have almost faded away because of the economic conditions and the high prices, with fewer people gathering outside for the collective iftar of Ramadan," she said.

Fear of the spread of COVID-19 is another factor in a depressed Ramadan as people are committed to health precautions including social distancing, Al-Tayeb added.

The social researcher referred to social transformations as the third contributor to the decline of the Ramdan-related traditions in Sudan.

"The popular connection in Khartoum is diminishing little by little due to continued immigration and lack of communication among the population," she explained.

The Ramadan tradition of El Mesaharaty, a name given to people who walk around and beat drums to wake others up for suhoor, the meal eaten early morning before beginning the fast, has also witnessed a marked decline this year.

"This year we do not have any activities. The reason is the ban of gathering due to coronavirus," Abdul-Azim Noureddine, a member of a suhoor group of young men in southern Khartoum's Al Azhary neighborhood, told Xinhua.

"There is also some security disorder in Khartoum, forcing some of our group members to avoid gathering," he added.

It is worth noting that Hulu-murr, a traditional Sudanese soft drink essential on the fast-breaking table during the holy month in Sudan, seems to have been affected by the high prices.

"This year we were forced to abandon Hulu-murr, which has become very expensive, "Umal-Kiram Yaqoub, a housewife of southern Khartoum's Suba neighborhood, told Xinhua.

The total cost of the needed sorghum and other ingredients to make Hulu-murr is about 5,000 Sudanese pounds (13 U.S. dollars), which is a very large amount for a normal family, Yaqoub said.

"We have lost the taste of Ramadan after losing the taste of Hulu-murr," the housewife added. Enditem
Ukrainian authorities plan to put PrivatBank, which was nationalized in 2016, up for sale soon.

Under our plans, PrivatBank, Ukraines largest banking asset, will soon be put up for sale. We believe that the privatization of PrivatBank  which holds 20% of the Ukrainian banking market  will draw the interest of the most prestigious international investors, including from the US and the EU, Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Kyrylo Shevchenko said in an interview with GlobalCapital.

According to him, the Ukrainian banking sector holds significant potential for international investors. In the near future, we hope that international banking groups will take equity in Ukrainian state-owned banks, the NBU governor noted.

Shevchenko added that about 100 court processes were ongoing now around PrivatBank, noting it is an exceptionally complex matter.

At the same time, he noted that Ukraine aimed to resolve the situation with PrivatBank by the end of this year. We hope that the court cases will have been resolved and we will be able to focus solely on recovering assets, the banker said.

According to his forecasts, the states share of the banking market will fall from 55% to 25% in five years. This process will assist the Ukrainian banking system in gaining greater independence and promote the banks operation according to market-driven principles, Shevchenko said.

As a reminder, PrivatBank was nationalized in December 2016. On April 18, 2019, the Kyiv District Administrative Court declared the nationalization of PrivatBank illegal. The NBU, the Ministry of Finance and PrivatBank lodged an appeal against this ruling.

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The U.S. supply of COVID-19 vaccines is beginning to rapidly outpace demand, as appointments remain unfilled across the country and states say they are running out of people willing to get the shots.

As of Friday, 49 percent of U.S. adults had received at least one vaccine dose, and various polls suggest that only about 60 percent are interested in getting a vaccine right away.

Health officials have suggested that the country needs to achieve a vaccination rate of 70 to 90 percent to achieve coronavirus herd immunity, the point at which a virus no longer circulates freely because it cannot find susceptible hosts.

The decision this week to suspend administering the Johnson & Johnson shot over rare blood clots may only deepen suspicious about vaccines -- but public health experts say the pause is evidence that safety concerns are being rigorously monitored.

Javier Morena receives his first dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine on Friday in Staten Island. Vaccine hesitancy is becoming an increasing concern in the rollout

On Friday, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf issued a desperate plea for residents to get vaccinated, as clinics in the state reported hundreds, if not thousands, of available appointments that were not being filled each day.

'The appointment availability does give us cause for concern because it's indicative of hesitancy, which really is the challenge to come,' said Alison Beam, the state's acting health secretary, who joined Wolf at a news conference.

She said the fact that nearly half of Pennsylvania's nursing home workers have declined the vaccine is further evidence of 'how far we have to go and how much of a challenge overcoming this vaccine hesitancy will be in the near future.'

A recent survey from KFF found that just 61 percent of adults say they have either received the vaccine or want to as soon as possible.

Another 17 percent want to 'wait and see' while 13 percent said they would 'definitely not' get vaccinated. Seven percent said they would only get the shot if required.

The poll shows, as others have, a strange political divide over vaccines, with 29 percent of Republicans said they would 'definitely not' get vaccinated, compared to just 5 percent of Democrats.

Less than half of Republicans (46 percent) say they want a vaccine as soon as possible, compared to 79 percent of Democrats who do.

This is despite the vaccine rollout being overseen in part by both Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, who both received the shots themselves.

A CDC map shows the percentage of the population 'strongly hesitant' about the vaccines

There is also a racial divide over vaccines, though it is less pronounced than the political split.

Black people are the racial group most likely to say they want to 'wait and see', at 24 percent. Only 16 percent of white people want to wait, and 18 percent of Hispanics.

Louisiana has gotten creative in its vaccine push, with brass bands playing at a 24-hour drive-thru coronavirus vaccine event, and doses delivered to commercial fishermen minutes from the docks.

State surveys indicate 40 percent or more of Louisiana residents are hesitant about getting the vaccine or entirely unwilling to do so.

And while Louisiana is administering doses at rates greater than some other Southern states, it remains among the bottom six in vaccinating adults 18 and older, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Other states also are trying novel approaches, either because they've seen noticeable dips in vaccine interest or have concerns about equitable access.

Even with the resistance, the United States has shown remarkable progress: As of Friday, more than 200 million doses have been administered to Americans, and nearly half of American adults have received at least one dose.

Alaska's health department is weighing creating vaccine clinics in airports.

Ohio's health agency asked vaccine providers to develop sites near bus stops and to consider offering mobile immunization services.

In Connecticut, the health department launched an effort to call residents directly to schedule appointments.

Mississippi is working with local organizations to bring vaccinations directly to homebound elderly people.

Alabama's health agency surveyed vaccine reluctance to determine how it should craft messaging to appeal to the hesitant.

Mike Bayham, secretary of the Republican Party of Louisiana, had a rough battle with COVID-19 in March 2020. He was bedridden for a week and dealing with symptoms for weeks longer.

He's now received his first shot - and he's encouraging fellow Republicans to do the same. Bayham tells friends and colleagues the vaccine is one of the greatest achievements of Donald Trump's presidency, and he shares details of what it feels like to have COVID-19.

'You don't want this virus. Whatever the vaccine can do to you, the virus is far worse,' Bayham said.
YEREVAN, APRIL 17, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan sent a congratulatory message to President Bashar Al-Assad of the Syrian Arab Republic on Syrias National Day. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister, the message runs as follows,

Excellency,

I warmly congratulate you and the friendly people of Syria on the National Day of the Syrian Arab Republic.

The Armenian and Syrian peoples are bound by deep-rooted historical ties and feelings of friendship, which provide a strong basis for cooperation and development of relations between our two countries.

I am hopeful that the people of Syria will soon overcome the consequences of the severe crisis and will move along the path of peace and stability.

I reaffirm our willingness to provide continued assistance in solving your humanitarian problems and promote the traditional dialogue to the benefit of our countries and peoples.

I wish you good health and every success, as well as peace and prosperity - to the friendly people of Syria.
Cardi B drew criticism online after posted a tweet criticizing the 'Defund the Police' movement

Cardi B has deleted her controversial tweet praising the police and hitting out at the 'defund the police' movement.

The Bodak Yellow singer had responded to calls to 'defund the police' on Thursday, tweeting the idea was 'bu*****t'.

'We need cops and thats facts we just need strict laws for cops. If you shot someone just like civilians you will go to jail that same day, get charge, wait for bond and go to trial.

'That will make you think twice about shooting anyone.'

The seemingly pro-cop message sparked a fierce backlash against the rapper, who has spoken out about police brutality in the past.

'Cardi B thinks she is so slick her axx [sic] used to say defund the police untill [sic] she got called out for saying that and she walks with bodyguards,' one user posted.

Others branded her ignorant about the movement, and others tried to explain it to the singer.

'Cardi. Defund the police does NOT mean ABOLISH the police,' one person tweeted. 'It means reallocating all the money from the police to local municipalities. To social workers. Housing, education, employment, mental health care, and youth services. Stop sending military weapons used in war to police.'

Within a few hours of posting, Cardi B had deleted her tweet.

Cardi B has been much more critical of the police in other posts.

She also posted a message with a more anti-police angle after the shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo.

She tweeted: 'That video of that 13 year old falling on his a** after getting shot by a cop is so sick, sad and disgusting. I'm so tired of police brutality & entitlement. We are sooo tired of it .When will it end? like [sic] this s*** is becoming too much. Its truly traumatizing.'

That message remains posted on her Twitter account.

Cardi B has been outspoken in the past about issues involving police brutality and supports the Black Lives Matter movement, in addition to Bernie Sanders.

A day before she posted her deleted tweet, she posted a video calling out Republicans.

'We have seen a young man get killed by a cop, unarmed, and the excuse was the cop that had been on duty for 20-plus years, mistaked [sic] a gun for a taser,' Cardi B said in the video.

'And my thing is, where the f*** are you Twitter blue-check Republicans at? Yall are the loudest on this motherf***ing app.

'Yall not saying nothing, yall not complaining, yall blame everything with whats wrong in America beside the police. Yall have been very silent! Whats going on?'

The reaction on Twitter to Cardi B's message was mixed

Cardi B also posted a video on Twitter in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder, expressing support for the protests.

Cardi B said, 'Seeing people looting and going extremely outraged, it makes me feel like, Yes! Finally! Finally m*****f*****s is gonna hear us now. Yeah!''

'I feel like I have done videos against police brutality, I feel like this is like my seventh time,' Cardi B added.

The 'Defund the Police' movement has picked up renewed steam in recent days following several high-profile police shootings.

On Sunday, Daunte Wright, 20, was shot and killed when a Brooklyn Center police officer appeared to mistakenly fire her gun during a traffic stop, instead of her Taser.

On March 29, 13-year-old Adam Toledo was shot and killed by a Chicago police officer, with the bodycam footage sparking outrage upon its release on Thursday.

Additionally, the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd is drawing to an end, with closing arguments set for Monday.

The 'Defund the Police' movement focuses on reallocating local resources from the police to other areas of a community, such as social services.

'Abolish the Police,' meanwhile, is a phrase pointing at getting rid of the current policing system altogether and enacting new community safety procedures from scratch.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 01:07:25|Editor: huaxia

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BEIRUT, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon registered on Friday 2,008 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections to 506,808, the Health Ministry reported.

Meanwhile, death toll from the virus increased by 45 to 6,854.

Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan signed on Friday agreements with the Lebanese University and a number of private universities to secure Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines for these establishments.

Hassan explained that this move guarantees a safe return for teachers and students to educational institutions in fall.

Mass vaccination is being conducted in Lebanon. Enditem
Pregnant women in Britain should get a Covid-19 vaccine made by Pfizer (PFE.N) or Moderna (MRNA.O) because there is more real-world data to show they are safe, the British public body that advises on vaccinations said on Friday. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said around 90,000 pregnant women had been vaccinated in the United States, mainly with the two American vaccines, without any safety concerns being raised.

"Based on these data, the JCVI advises that it is preferable for pregnant women in the UK to be offered the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines where available," it said. "There is no evidence to suggest that other vaccines are unsafe for pregnant women, but more research is needed."

Pregnant women had previously been advised against taking the vaccine in Britain because not enough information was known about the impact. "I encourage all pregnant women when they are called to get the jab to come forward and discuss the benefits and risks of the vaccine with a trusted source like their GP (family doctor), obstetrician or midwife," Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.

Britain recently advised that all under 30s should be given alternative vaccines to the Oxford/AstraZeneca (AZN.L) shot if possible because of a "vanishingly" rare side effect of blood clots in the brain.

Also read: Pfizer to pursue bringing COVID-19 vaccine to India after easing of import rules

Also read: Protection from COVID-19 vaccine still strong after six months: Moderna
To the Editor;

I want to thank senators May and Mannion and Assembly members Hunter, Stirpe, and Magnarelli for their votes for a historic state budget.

New York state has consistently underfunded education, long-term care, broadband, housing, and several other key systems. This has resulted in many, many residents facing immense suffering and being denied the opportunity to reach their full potential, which has all been greatly exacerbated by the pandemic. We can see this locally, in the Syracuse City School District where NYSED classifies 85% of students as economically disadvantaged yet the district spends about 25% less per child than the average district in the state. While emergency relief money from the federal government is welcome and necessary in the midst of a pandemic, only a significant and permanent commitment from New York State government can turn these disparities around.

Thanks to this budget, school districts across Central New York, including Syracuse, are finally getting the Foundation Aid promised to them 15 years ago. SUNY is receiving a boost of funding that puts an end to decades of disinvestment, while increased TAP funding will help students afford the tuition increases of the past. Investments in green infrastructure will ensure the state will be part of the transition to a clean energy economy while improving our resilience. Restaurants and arts organizations will receive a boost to get them through the pandemic. And the list goes on.

Its disappointing to see the Syracuse Post-Standard Editorial Board look out at a city and region facing entrenched, daunting challenges with poverty and systemic racism, and decide that they were more concerned with protecting the interests of downstate multimillionaires who will have to pay an extra 1 to 3% more in taxes.

Thankfully, Central New Yorkers and our state legislators see things differently. New York has always had the wealth, the ingenuity, and the people to take on the challenges of the 21st century. Now, we finally have the political will too.

Jeremy Zhe-Heimerman | Syracuse, NY

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(Editors note: This project is a collaboration between the Plainview Herald and Saint Francis Ministries to showcase kids who are cleared for adoption.)

---

Aubrie is a delightful girl with much to offer. Whether its crafting, singing or dancing, she is creative at heart.

The 14-year-old likes to express herself artistically and is looking forward to exploring mediums she has yet to try. She spends her time outside riding her bike, but shes also a fan of modern cinema.

Aubrie loves to curl up on the couch with a blanket and popcorn for a quiet movie night.

She has a thirst for knowledge and immerses herself in anything from a math problem to a good book.

Aubrie has a girly-girl side and enjoys make-up, dressing up and trips to the mall with her friends. She has a servants heart and aspires to one day help the homeless.

But right now, Aubries biggest hope is to find a family and home of her own.

---

Aubrie is one of the children listed on the Texas Adoption Resource Exchange (TARE) website. Visit https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Application/TARE/Home.aspx/Default for more details.

Saint Francis Ministries is a nonprofit organization and a community-based care provider for the Texas Department of Family Protective Services Region 1. This region includes 41 counties across the Panhandle and South Plains.

To learn more about fostering or adopting, those interested are encouraged to attend one of the monthly virtual meetings hosted by Saint Francis Ministries and other child placing agencies. The meetings provide information about how to get started, the basic qualifications and more, in addition to providing opportunity for attendees to ask questions.

Those interested can visit Saint Francis Texas on Facebook @SFMtexas to register for the online meetings, which can also be found below:

The meetings are scheduled for the second Thursday of the month (Lubbock area  https://lubbock-area-foster-care-adoption.eventbrite.com) and the third Thursday of the month (Amarillo area  https://amarillo-area-foster-care-adoption.eventbrite.com).

For more information, please contact Erin Baxter at (806) 317-5631 or email texasinfo@st-francis.org. Visit Saint Francis Ministries online at https://saintfrancisministries.org.
Decriminalizing HIV is in the interest of justice and public health, the statement said. There is no need to single out one disease, particularly one already burdened with stigma. Those who cause harm to others by purposefully transmitting HIV can still be held accountable, without the need to unfairly criminalize all those living with HIV. We support the efforts of (bill sponsor) Senator (Robert) Peters in decriminalizing HIV.
Liberty University has filed a lawsuit against its former president and chancellor, Jerry Falwell Jr., seeking $10 million in damages over breach of contract and other allegations.

The Virginia-based evangelical Christian school filed the suit against Falwell on Thursday in the Lynchburg Circuit Court, accusing the former school head of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and statutory conspiracy.

The complaint alleges that Falwell created a well-resourced exit strategy from his role via a 2019 employment agreement while not telling Liberty officials about his personal scandals.

Of specific note was the revelations last year about Falwells wife having an extramarital affair with a former pool boy named Giancarlo Granda, which eventually led to Falwell's resignation.

Source:The Christian Post
Should prostitution be treated as a criminal matter?

This question, long a source of bitter infighting among feminists, is now being debated in Parliament.

A new Private Member's Bill, introduced by Labour MP Dame Diana Johnson, aims to reduce sex-trafficking and make the law less cruel to exploited women.

Sounds sensible, you might think. And, indeed, major charities and lobby organisations are lining up to take a stand  but not on the side of trafficked women.

On the contrary, these groups  which include Labour's hard-Left caucus Momentum, Amnesty International, the GMB trade union and feminist group Sisters Uncut  are sticking up for the punters who pay to rape trafficked women.

Should prostitution be treated as a criminal matter, asks MARY HARRINGTON. This question, long a source of bitter infighting among feminists, is now being debated in Parliament

For make no mistake, sex with an unwilling woman is nothing less than rape.

What happened to the belief that prostitution is a form of violence against women?

The statistics are telling. Of the estimated 72,800 sex workers in Britain, 88 per cent are women.

And between 1990 and 2016, about 180 prostituted women were murdered.

All sides agree that prostitution is dangerous to women, but they disagree on how to tackle that danger.

On one side are advocates of the decriminalisation of selling sex, who claim the proverbial 'world's oldest profession' will never be eradicated.

They argue that repression drives it underground, making prostituted women more vulnerable.

They propose prostitution should, instead, be made safe, legal and subject to regulation.

A new Private Member's Bill, introduced by Labour MP Dame Diana Johnson, aims to reduce sex-trafficking and make the law less cruel to exploited women

On the other side are those who agree with Dame Diana and recommend the so-called Nordic Model, named after the Scandinavian countries that have adopted this approach.

It tackles sexual exploitation by criminalising the punters. Thus, selling sex is decriminalised but buying it is punishable by fines or imprisonment.

Crucially, supporters of the Nordic Model argue that most women only join the sex trade out of poverty and desperation and that these unhappy women shouldn't be punished further.

Of course, this still doesn't mean society should tolerate or condone this abusive racket. So the Nordic Model tackles the demand.

Dame Diana's Sexual Exploitation Bill seeks to introduce a version of the Nordic Model to this country.

If it becomes law, selling sex would be decriminalised but paying for it would be a criminal offence.

And a new offence of 'enabling or profiting' from another's sexual exploitation would target traffickers and pimps.

Dame Diana, the MP for Hull North, says her goal is to 'bust the business model of sex-trafficking'.

According to a report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Commercial Sexual Exploitation in 2018, the monstrous practice of trafficking for sexual exploitation takes place in Britain on an 'industrial scale'.

Dame Diana, the MP for Hull North, says her goal is to 'bust the business model of sex-trafficking'

Most of the women in UK brothels are from overseas, with 75 to 90 per cent coming from impoverished Romania.

Many thousands are trafficked, having been lured overseas with promises of work as au pairs or barmaids, only to find themselves trapped in the living hell of forced prostitution.

In 1999, Sweden banned paying for sex.

Almost a decade later, a study showed that the number of prostituted women there was a tenth of the total in neighbouring Denmark, where buying sex was, and still is, legal.

Research suggests sex-trafficking, too, is lower in Sweden than in comparable nations, because traffickers focus on other countries where the 'market' is less constrained.

Researchers also found that after Norway introduced a ban on buying sex, street prostitution fell between 45 and 60 per cent, with no evidence of it moving 'underground'.

By contrast, in Germany, selling and buying sex have been legal since 2002. But this hasn't caused trafficking to disappear  in fact quite the reverse.

By 2007, the UN had recognised Germany as a top destination for victims of trafficking.

A 2012 study of 150 countries showed that decriminalising prostitution results in more prostitution  which means more trafficked women.

Whenever something is legalised, the implication is that society condones it and so more people do it. And the need for reform is not just about trafficking.

Today, prostitution in Germany is an industry thought to be worth about 11 billion a year. Ten-storey 'mega-brothels' offer a queasy kaleidoscope of sexual 'services'.

And the number of prostitutes has mushroomed  there are an estimated 400,000 women working in the German sex industry, attracting punters from all over the world.

When something is suspiciously cheap and plentiful, it's often thanks to miserable workers in cruel sweatshops. So it is with Germany's supposedly safe and decriminalised sex industry.

Groups  which include Labour's hard-Left caucus Momentum, Amnesty International, the GMB trade union and feminist group Sisters Uncut  are sticking up for the punters who pay to rape trafficked women

The country's 'brothel king', Jurgen Rudloff, owner of a chain of 'mega-brothels' and once a regular pro-prostitution guest on TV chat-shows, is now serving a five-year sentence for sex-trafficking.

Court documents report that the women in Rudloff's brothels were treated like animals and beaten if they didn't make enough money.

Nor has decriminalisation delivered much safety in Britain's first legal red-light area  the Holbeck 'managed zone' in Leeds.

This was established in 2014 to create a safe, regulated place for prostitutes to work. But the outcome hasn't been greater safety  at least not for local residents.

It has seen drug-addicted women injecting themselves in phone booths, elderly woman being flashed at outside their homes, needles and used condoms littering the streets, and schoolchildren propositioned by kerb-crawlers.

Locals hold protests at the impact that Holbeck's supposedly safe and regulated sex trade has had on their quality of life.

So far their outcry has been ignored. It's a safe bet that the residents of Holbeck (especially schoolgirls) would support criminalising the punters who make their lives a misery.

Today, prostitution in Germany is an industry thought to be worth about 11 billion a year. Ten-storey 'mega-brothels' offer a queasy kaleidoscope of sexual 'services'. Pictured: The Reeperbahn red light district in Hamburg

But not so the 150 prominent organisations, academics and activists, including Stonewall and Amnesty International, which have signed an open letter opposing the Sexual Exploitation Bill.

These people believe themselves to be on 'the right side of history': that of personal freedom, labour rights and the removal of all stigma and shame.

But the brutal truth is that the main beneficiaries of decriminalisation aren't women.

They are pimps and punters. And there's nothing feminist about supporting such men, whatever the social justice warriors say.

Even Jeremy Corbyn-supporting Momentum has joined the campaign against criminalising those who pay for sex.

These hypocritical Leftists claim to oppose untrammelled capitalism and stand up for the exploited.

Yet they have come out all guns blazing in support of an industry whose central 'product' is the industrial-scale rape of impoverished women for the profit of monsters like Jurgen Rudloff.

The experience of Germany shows decriminalisation creates a nightmare of trafficking, violence and misery.

Holbeck shows the devastating effect on communities of legalised street prostitution: squalid litter, unsafe streets and frightened schoolgirls.

And that's before you get to the hell endured by the prostitutes themselves. And yet, for these culture warriors, anyone who doesn't abide by the mantra 'Sex work is work' is a bigot and reactionary.

These self-righteous activists are happy to ignore the outcry of ordinary people forced to live amid the squalor of legalised prostitution and turn away from the misery of Romanian girls lured overseas and then forced into sex slavery.

For anyone concerned about tackling street crime and the abuse of women, the Nordic Model works.

And if we adopted it in Britain, it would make a very clear statement about what we, as a society, are willing to tolerate.

Men who use prostitutes and pretend it's all fine, because they paid, should be punished as the rapists they are.

And if the Sexual Exploitation Bill becomes law, it would be a significant step in the fightback against those activists who want to bully communities and smash civilised values in the name of a 'freedom' whose real-world consequence is barbarous exploitation.

But, sadly, these people have an institutional stranglehold in today's Britain. They've mobilised to kill the Sexual Exploitation Bill, making full use of the woke domination of media and culture. Now its second reading has been postponed, with no date set for its return.

MPs answer to us, not to woke lobbyists and hard-Left noise-makers. I've written to my MP asking him to support the Bill and I urge you to do the same.

Let's make our voices heard.
Health Ministry makes vaccination against Covid-19 accessible to some groups of foreigners

Third-country nationals without public health insurance left out of system.

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Our paywall policy: The Slovak Spectator has decided to make all the articles on the special measures, statistics and basic information about the coronavirus available to everyone. If you appreciate our work and would like to support good journalism, please buy our subscription. We believe this is an issue where accurate and fact-based information is important for people to cope.

Several groups of foreigners living in Slovakia will be able to get their Covid vaccine jab. The amendment, authored by the Health Ministry, enables the vaccination of some people who do not pay health insurance or have health insurance debts.

The change came into force this week.

Some foreigners not entitled to Covid-19 vaccine. Type of insurance matters Read more

The amendment stipulates that Slovak and foreign citizens are entitled to vaccination in Slovakia if they pay for public health insurance here. Moreover, the citizens of other EU country who do not have any residence in Slovakia are entitled to the vaccine if they have a registered S1 form.

It means that the holder of an S1 form has to register the form at any branch of the health insurer in Slovakia, the ministry wrote in a press release. After registering the form, the insurer will request an issuing of a health insurance ID with the EU logo. After the ID is issued and delivered to the person, he/she can go to a vaccination appointment.

However, people from non-EU countries who do not pay public health insurance in Slovakia are not entitled to vaccination. It is not possible to get a jab as a private payer either.

The ministry can still extend the list of people whose vaccination will be reimbursed, the ministry added, without providing more details.

Entitlement and payment method for vaccination Category Who reimburses the vaccination What people need to show Slovak citizen insured in Slovakia Health insurer Insurance card Slovak citizen insured in Slovakia with an insurance debt Health insurer Insurance card Slovak citizen who pays health insurance in another EU country, but has residence in Slovakia (S1 form) Health insurer Insurance card with the EU logo Slovak citizen without health insurance in Slovakia Health Ministry Slovak ID or passport A person with health insurance in another EU country who is entitled to full health treatment in Slovakia (S1 form) Health Ministry Insurance card with the EU logo Foreigner with health insurance in Slovakia Health insurer Insurance card Foreigner without health insurance in Slovakia with subsidiary protection and a victim of human trafficking listed in the Interior Ministry's programme Health Ministry Special insurance card issued by the VsZP insurer Foreigner without health insurance in Slovakia who is a student of medicine and works in a hospital here Health Ministry Contract with a hospital and confirmation about studying at university Foreigner without health insurance in Slovakia -- Vaccination is not possible

Source: Health Ministry

Read more about the Covid vaccination in Slovakia:

14. Apr 2021 at 11:45 | Compiled by Spectator staff
Year after year, Danisa Butter Cookies continue to hold such an important role in various celebrations of citizens around the world, such as Christmas, Chinese New Year and Tet, Mothers Day, Mid-Autumn Festival, and so many other celebrations. This does not happen out of the blue, for every piece of these special Danish delicacies is intentionally made to uphold quality by only using premium ingredients and being made with fine craftsmanship. Now, Danisa Butter Cookies aims to celebrate various cultures and the festivity of every celebration that it brings from it by introducing several special variants.

Danisa Limited Gold Edition

This limited edition of Danisa Butter Cookies was introduced as a luscious range of butter cookies that is perfectly enriched with the taste of choco cashew. Every butter cookie is a result of a combination of the well-thought and authentic Danish recipe, the rich and luxurious chocolate ingredients, as well as the crunchy tropical cashew. All of this dedication in the process of production aims to create cookies with a creamy texture and a delicate yet remarkable flavor that perfectly melts in everybodys mouth and palate so that these Danish butter cookies are special, premium, and can be a part of every celebration.

Danisa Melody Tin: Summer Version and Winter Version

Seasons come and go, but the festivity should remain. This is why Danisa also introduced the Danisa Melody Tin variant that comes in two collectible versions: Summer and Winter. Whichever Danisa Melody Tin being picked, Danisas loyal customers will be able to indulge themselves in the classic, luscious Danish butter cookies they always love: the cookies made from the authentic Danish recipe that Danisa takes such pride in.

However, this is not the only thing to expect because Danisa Melody Tin is also specially designed to create a beautiful melody while the loyal customers twist the tin. Hopefully, the uniqueness that this variant possesses will push Danisas loyal customers to celebrate one another by giving Danisa Melody Tin to their loved ones.

Danisa Melody Mid Autumn Set

Usually on September, citizens around the world celebrate the full moon. This occasion inspired Danisa to show its love and gratitude to them by introducing the Danisa Mid-Autumn Set that loyal customers around the world can obtain and serve during the celebrations that are filled with reunions and gatherings with their loved ones. Danisa Mid-Autumn Set is the perfect tin of Danish butter cookies to serve together with the traditional mooncakes everyone knows and loves.

Danisa Christmas Edition

For decades, Danisa Butter Cookies have been known as the noble symbol of gratitude. Naturally, these classic delicacies tend to be enjoyed together during Christmas. Therefore, it should not come as a surprise that Danisa, as a brand, introduced Danisa Christmas Edition that comes in an exciting tree shape of tin with three different color variants, perfect to be a special gift for the beloved ones or to celebrate the festivity and the joy of Christmas together.

Festivity, gratitude, and togetherness are among the things to expect in a celebration. However, Danisa is looking to extend these feelings by introducing different variants that can be served on various occasions. Danisa aims to be a part of their beloved customers celebrations, whichever it is.
The Braves announced a series of roster moves in advance of this afternoons game against the Cubs. Atlanta selected the contracts of infielder Sean Kazmar Jr. and left-hander Jesse Biddle, recalled righty Bryse Wilson and placed outfielder Ender Inciarte and southpaw Sean Newcomb on the injured list. Righty Kyle Wright was optioned to the alternate training site last night. (ESPNs Jeff Passan had previously reported Kazmars impending call-up).

Kazmars return to the big leagues is nothing short of remarkable. A 36-year-old infielder, his entire MLB experience to date consists of 19 games with the 2008 Padres. Kazmar has since bounced between the San Diego, Seattle, Mets and Atlanta farm systems. He has spent the past eight years in the high minors with the Braves, and his determination to return to the big leagues will now pay off. Andrew Simon of MLB.com provided the starting lineups (via Twitter) of the last MLB game in which Kazmar appeared.

Biddle signed a minor-league deal with Atlanta earlier this month. The 29-year-old southpaw has pitched in the big leagues in each of the past three years, with the bulk of that time coming in 2018 with Atlanta. The former top prospect has a 4.68 ERA with subpar strikeout and walk rates (22.3% and 12.8%, respectively) over 92.1 innings at the highest level. Hell replace Newcomb, who was placed on the injured list for undisclosed reasons.

Inciarte, meanwhile, went on the 10-day IL as expected. He strained a hamstring in last nights game. With both Inciarte and Cristian Pache now on the shelf, Atlanta will turn to Guillermo Heredia in center field this afternoon.
FM Bui Thanh Son holds phone talk with Chinese counterpart

Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son made a phone call to Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on April 16.









Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (Source: VNA)



Son took the occasion to brief his Chinese counterpart on Vietnams guideline for external relations defined at the 13th National Party Congress, under which Vietnam consistently pursues an independent foreign policy for peace, cooperation and development, diversification and multilateralization, and comprehensive and in-depth international integration.



The FM reiterated that maintaining and developing the traditional friendship and the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with China is always one of the top priorities in Vietnams external policy.



FM Wang Yi affirmed that China attaches importance to promoting the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with Vietnam and congratulated Vietnam on the success of the 13th National Party Congress and the 11th session of the 14th National Assembly, during which the country selected a new leadership and defined socio-economic development targets for the years ahead.



The two FMs shared the view that the two parties and countries relations continue to maintain a positive development trend, with regular exchanges and contacts at all levels held in flexible forms, and economic-trade cooperative growing despite the heavy impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The two countries have shared medical supplies and experience in fighting the pandemic, and supported each other in times of natural disasters.



The two sides agreed to promote exchanges at high level and other levels, and invited each other to make mutual visit at an appropriate time for direct discussion. They also vowed to bring into full play the role of the two Foreign Ministries in coordinating and promoting cooperation across the fields in bilateral ties towards a healthy and substantial growth of economic-trade relations, and maintain discussions on international and regional issues of mutual concern.



The two sides discussed sea-related issues in a sincere and straightforward manner and agreed to continue optimizing the role of existing negotiating mechanisms. Minister Son said that the two sides should handle disputes in the spirit of respecting each others legitimate rights and interests, bilateral agreements and common perception, and international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and work together with ASEAN to achieve positive progress regarding a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC)./
Police oversee a checkpoint on the Quebec side of the Champlain Bridge between Ottawa and Gatineau, Que., in May 2020. The Ontario government has announced the checkpoints will return Monday at its interprovincial border crossings with Quebec and Manitoba. (Jonathan Dupaul/CBC - image credit)

Travel checkpoints are set to return Monday between Ottawa and Gatineau, Que., part of a slate of new COVID-19 restrictions announced by the Ontario government on Friday.

Premier Doug Ford announced the checkpoints will soon appear at Ontario's borders with Quebec and Manitoba as part of the province's ongoing attempt to manage the severity of the pandemic's third wave.

Exceptions will be in place for people going to work, seeking medical care, transporting goods and exercising Indigenous treaty rights.

"Should an individual not have a valid reason to enter Ontario, they will be turned back," said Health Minister Christine Elliott during Friday's news conference.

"These are tough but necessary measures to help us overcome this health crisis."

The restriction hearkens back to last spring when the Quebec government implemented checkpoints on bridge and ferry crossings across the Ottawa River, during the pandemic's first wave.

Genevieve Guilbault, Quebec's deputy premier, said Friday evening that her province's borders would be closed to visitors from Ontario starting Monday as well.

Rules still 'unfolding'

During a city news conference Friday, both Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and Ottawa Police Service (OPS) Chief Peter Sloly said municipal officials were still waiting for details on the checkpoint plan.

Sloly said his understanding was that the checkpoints would be operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for several weeks.

He said OPS was having enforcement discussions with the RCMP, Ontario Provincial Police and their counterparts in Quebec.

"It is a still unfolding set of regulations and expectations, and so anything further than that would be speculation at this time," Sloly said.

Watson characterized the premier's comments as a clear signal to Ontario residents to stay on this side of the Ottawa River and not head to their cottages or Gatineau Park.

Even so, Watson said he hoped officers would be allowed to exercise some discretion if people had other "legitimate" reasons for travel  for instance, the death of a loved one.

Story continues

"What we're saying is, look, you don't have to go over to go to Gatineau Park or to get cheap beer at the depanneur," Watson said. "But if there's a sensible reason ... I hope that the police are given that discretion."

The border announcement comes as Ottawa Public Health reported 345 new cases and one death Friday, with more than 100 COVID-19 patients in hospital for the first time since the pandemic was declared in early 2020.

Another 181 cases are resolved, with the confirmed active case total now above 3,100.
The ex-boyfriend of a young mother fatally gunned down outside her Bessemer home has been charged in the slaying.

Bessemer police on Friday announced the arrest of De Anthius Jacobien Edwards. The 20-year-old is charged with murder in the Wednesday shooting death of 21-year-old Joanne LaShay Jackson, the mother of 3-year-old twins.

The shooting happened about 9:15 p.m. Wednesday in the 2800 block of Carolina Terrace. Jackson was taken to UAB Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 10:10 p.m.

Her family said Jackson had broken things off with Edwards about a month ago, and that he had shown back up on Tuesday and smashed her cell phone. He returned Wednesday night.

LaShay Jackson, a 21-year-old mother of twins, was shot to death April 14, 2021 in what authorities believe was a domestic incident. (Contributed)

Jacksons father, David Jackson, said his other daughter was there as well. She said he came in talking crazy and she told him to leave,' David Jackson said his other daughter told him. As he was walking down the steps, she walked out too to make sure he was leaving.

By the time he got halfway down the stairs, he just started shooting,' he said. I think the second shot hit her in the chest.

Lt. Christian Clemons said Edwards surrendered to Bessemer police on Thursday. He said it appears the argument between Edwards and Jackson was over Jacksons new relationship with someone else.

Jackson was a graduate of Jess Lanier High School. Her father said she returned to high school after she gave birth to the twins  a boy and a girl - and he was so proud of her for getting her diploma. After high school graduation, she attended cosmetology school and was looking forward to starting her own salon someday.

To know her was to love her,' said her father said. Im devastated.

Edwards was booked into the Jefferson County Jail at 2:51 p.m. Friday with bond set at $150,000.
Black Ink Crew star Ceaser Emanuel already owns several tattoo shops with plans to expand throughout all 50 states. In a recent Instagram Live, he teased his plans to open another shop in Jamaica, Queens.

Ceaser Emanuel of Black Ink Crew attends It Was All A Dream Black Ink Gallery And Silent Auction | Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

Black Ink Crew season 9 returns in April 2021

In Aug. 2019, before the lockdown, season 8 premiered with David Ceaser Emanuel partnering with longtime friend and former rival Paul Puma Robinson. However, the other employees questioned his choice due to their intense fallout.

While Young Bae decided to get a divorce, Walt Miller introduced his girlfriend, whom he eventually married in Hawaii, where Alex also proposed to Taylor Donna Marie Lombardi Pinckney.

Additionally, the manager began following a new passion; stand-up comedy. Black Inks brand ambassador Karis Miss Kitty Phills mother died, and the crew supported her.

Last season on #BlackInkCrew was WILDand this season is gonna be wilder.



Don't miss the season 9 premiere MONDAY at 8/7c only on @VH1! pic.twitter.com/FscH0MEAmU  Black Ink Crew (@BlackInkCrew) April 15, 2021

RELATED: Ryan Henry of Black Ink Crew Publicly Apologizes for Betraying Best Friend

However, JaKeita Sky Days revealed Miss Kitty allegedly hooked up with Ceasers friend, Ryan Henry of Black Ink Crew: Chicago. Upset because they previously dated, the Black Ink owner fired Missy Kitty, who later joined BIC Chicago and cut off friendships with other employees.

Additionally, Sky got into a violent confrontation with her son Des that eventually involved producers. Therefore, she hasnt returned to the show. Following nearly a two-year break, the series picks up in Apr. 2021.

How many Black Ink shops are there?

In 2013, viewers got their first glimpse into Ceasers flagship Black Ink shop in Harlem, usually only referred to as 113th. It became a place where the crew seemingly partied more than tattooed and served as a place to sleep for employees when they fell on hard times.

Additionally, many celebrities passed through the location to receive a tattoo. Even though he upgraded the place and it turned into a landmark over the next eight seasons and several years, Ceasers landlord forced him to vacate the property, or he would triple their rent.

The #BlackInkCrew are taking over Atlanta on the SEASON FINALE starting NOW! pic.twitter.com/fdgPyPRfey  Black Ink Crew (@BlackInkCrew) May 4, 2017

The owner has since revealed his flagship store is done. In 2016, he opened another Harlem-based shop, 125th. Two years later, he opened his Atlanta location and made Sky, former receptionist of 113th, the manager. However, she dipped out to start her own business, now closed fashion boutique Her Little Secret.

He also expanded to New Orleans in 2018, which he initially wanted to operate as a 24/7 shop. After being approached by the mayor and wishing to pay homage to his late friend, Ceaser opened a Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn location in 2019. The Black Ink Crew star recently teamed up with Van Johnson to open another shop in Houston, Texas, making him the owner of five stores.

[Editors note: This article was updated to include to the Houston location.]

Ceaser Emanuel teased next shop opening in Queens

A couple of weeks before season 9 premiered, Ceaser took to his Instagram to announce his intentions to open another shop. In an Apr. 2021 Live, he broadcasted himself standing outside a building in Jamaica, Queens, he hoped to buy and turn into the next Black Ink.

The tattoo artist noted hes trying to do big things and wants to open it before the end of the year. Hes already thinking about expanding into another city, Philadelphia, and said he plans to stay in the business for several more years.

The fate of 113th has turned the crew UPSIDE DOWN. From new ventures, old drama, and shop shake-upsyou dont want to miss SEASON 9 of #BlackInkCrew, premiering MONDAY APRIL 19 at 8/7c on @VH1. pic.twitter.com/uG5Wzlk4cJ  Black Ink Crew (@BlackInkCrew) April 9, 2021

RELATED: Black Ink Crew Boss Ceaser Says He Will No Longer Date These Types of Women

The 41-year-old also explained he wants to become a billionaire within the next 10 years and still hopes to take over the five boroughs and expand throughout all 50 states.

Black Ink Crew returns Apr. 19 at 8/7 Central on VH1.
By Emily Graham, Republican & Herald, Pottsville, Pa. (TNS)

A GoFundMe for the family of George Marcincin, killed in a road rage argument in Schuylkill County, has raised more than $20,000 as of Saturday.

Lori Sweigart, of Leesport, aunt of Marcincins wife, Shelia, started the fundraiser Tuesday to collect donations for funeral expenses. It had an original goal of $5,000.

George was an awesome guy and an amazing father to a daughter and 3 sons! He was a Military Vet who served in Iraq. He didnt deserve to leave his family this way, Sweigart said in the GoFundMe post.

The fundraiser met the $5,000 goal on Tuesday, and it has been increased to $25,000. More than 350 people have donated so far.

Shelia Marcincin wrote in a post on the site that the funeral expenses have been covered.

George is going to have such beautiful viewing, services, and burial, because of each and every one of your kind and generous hearts, she wrote. Any donations past the goal will be used toward other expenses such as rent, electric, propane, vehicle payments, car insurance, food, etc. during this very difficult time.

According to an obituary published in the Reading Eagle, Shelia was Marcincins wife of seven years.

Marcincin, 38, was an Army 101st Airborne veteran who served two tours in Iraq, according to the obituary. He worked at the Orwigsburg Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and had four children: Teresa, Harley, Jaicen and Mervin.

His funeral will be held in Leesport on Tuesday, and he will be buried in Indiantown Gap National Cemetery.

State police said Tamiir Ion Whitted, 29, is charged with first-degree murder, third-degree murder, aggravated assault and several related charges in Marcincins death.

According to state police, Marcincin and Whitted were both driving south on Route 61 in in West Brunswick Township, Schuylkill County, when the conflict started, leading the men to get out of their vehicles and fight. Authorities said Whitted pulled out a knife, stabbed Mancincin and drove away.

More:

Woman killed, man charged after road-rage incident in Maryland, authorities say

It gives us some peace: Family reacts to arrest in Pa. mothers death during road-rage incident

Baby shot in the head as people exchange gunfire during Chicago road-rage incident: police
Ashley Cain's girlfriend Safiyya Vorajee said that their daughter Azaylia has been 'struggling' to open her eyes due to swelling amid her leukaemia battle.

Taking to Instagram on Friday, Safiyya, 34, cradled her eight-month-old in her arms as she explained that they were going to put cold compresses on Azaylia's eyes in the hope it would help sooth the swelling.

Safiyya said in her video: 'Azaylia's got really, really swollen eyes today and we've been told by our community nurses to put some cold compresses on them and get them down again so she can open her eyes, bless her.'

Update: Ashley Cain's girlfriend Safiyya Vorajee said that their daughter Azaylia has been 'struggling' to open her eyes due to swelling amid her leukaemia battle

She went on to admit that her little one was 'really, really struggling today' because of the swelling to her eyes.

Safiyya also added alongside the video that they were told to turn down her feed to stop any fluid retention.

Later in the day, Safiyya shared a short video of her and Ashley spending time with Azaylia, with the latter resting his head on her cot as she tried to sleep.

Battle: Taking to Instagram on Friday, Safiyya, 34, cradled her eight-month-old in her arms as she explained that they were going to put cold compresses on Azaylia's eyes in the hope it would help sooth the swelling

Struggle: Safiyya said in her video: 'Azaylia's got really, really swollen eyes today and we've been told by our community nurses to put some cold compresses on them and get them down again so she can open her eyes, bless her.'

Her posts come after Ashley shared sweet snaps cuddling with his daughter Azaylia in bed and said he feels 'truly blessed to have another day with you' amid her leukaemia battle.

The former Ex On The Beach star, 30, posted adorable new pictures with his eight-month-old as she took a nap beside him.

Ashley said that although they can't have 'playtime right now' due to her illness they have been making up for it 'with lots of snuggles'.

Family: Later in the day, Safiyya shared a short video of her and Ashley spending time with Azaylia, with the latter resting his head on her cot as she tried to sleep

Together: Safiyya's posts come after Ashley shared sweet snaps cuddling with Azaylia in bed and said he feels 'truly blessed to have another day with you' amid her leukaemia battle

Ashley and his girlfriend Safiyya have been chronicling her terminal leukaemia battle on social media since she was diagnosed aged just two months.

He wrote beside the pictures: 'Morning - Don't count the days, make the days count.

'Truth be told, there's not so much playtime right now but we make up for it with naps and lots of snuggles. Pretty much anything that makes her the happiest and most settled.

'We have always been like two pees in a pod and wherever she is I'm not far away. I think that's where we both feel most comfortable. Truly blessed for another day with you baby, keep surprising us!'

Cute: The former Ex On The Beach star, 30, took to Instagram on Friday to post adorable new snaps with his eight-month-old as she took a nap beside him

Heartfelt: Ashley said that although they can't have 'playtime right now' due to her illness they have been making up for it 'with lots of snuggles'

It comes after Azaylia delighted her parents on Thursday evening by eating her first proper food in a fortnight.

Safiyya shared videos of the tot sitting on her lap while eating greens from her plate and revealed she had shared her food.

She said: 'We have Azaylia's grandma here and she has just made some dinner for me and look who's eaten her greens? She has just had so much fun with my dinner and it's the first time she's eaten in about two weeks. She amazes me.'

Let's go champ: It comes after Azaylia delighted her parents on Thursday evening by eating her first proper food in a fortnight

Safiyya was bursting with pride in her latest slew of videos sharing her daughter's time at home after she was given days to live by doctors.

Earlier in the day, Ashley was seen sweetly kissing his baby daughter's head as the strong family soaked up time together at home on Thursday.

In an adorable clip shared to Instagram, she was cradled by her doting mum while her proud dad stands nearby.

The little girl was rushed to hospital on Tuesday after her heart rate climbed to over 200 and she received a platelet transfusion.

Helping hand: Her gran was on hand to cook

Her girl: Safiyya was bursting with pride in her latest slew of videos sharing her daughter's time at home after she was given days to live by doctors

Doting dad: Earlier in the day, Ashley was seen sweetly kissing his baby daughter's head as the strong family soaked up time together at home on Thursday

Updating fans on Azaylia's condition on Thursday, Safiyya showed that the youngster was being treated to lots of cuddles from family members.

Safiyya held her daughter, who was clutching a colourful toy, in a quick video posted on stories while Ashley planted a sweet kiss on his only child's forehead.

Another clip showed Azaylia dancing with her aunty and Safiyaa saying that the lady was their 'family nurse' and had been 'amazing'.

Meanwhile, Ashley later took to his Instagram stories to thank his mum and sister for helping to care for their home whilst he and Safiyya have been at the hospital with Azaylia.

Loved ones: The eight-month-old was cradled by her mum

Daddy and daughter: The Ex On The Beach star soaked up the quality time with his baby girl

Sharing a snap of them holding Azalyia with crown emojis on their heads, Ashley penned: 'These two people have been here right from the start. Cooking food and washing clothes while we were in hospital, standing outside for hours everyday doing window visits while we were at home.

He went on to praise them for being a 'rock' for him and Safiyya, praising his 'incredible' relatives for their selflessness throughout Azaylia's illness.

The update comes after it was revealed that Azaylia has been put on oxygen to help her sleep 'comfortably' after returning home from hospital.

Taking to Instagram on Wednesday evening, Ashley's partner and Azaylia's mother Safiyya gave an update on their daughter after returning home.

'My family, so proud': Ashley was also seen cradling his daughter while Safiyya kissed her head

Sharing a sweet video of herself holding a sleeping Azaylia in her arms, Safiyya admitted they had experienced an 'exhausting' night.

She said: 'Really really exhausting night last night. We didn't get much sleep at all, probably haven't had much sleep in the last few weeks.

'As you can see, Azaylia is on oxygen at the moment. Her breathing is a little bit more intense. She is struggling a little bit so we're giving her oxygen just to help her sleep more comfortably.

Making memories: Safiyya also shared a short video of Azaylia dancing with her aunty and Safiyaa saying that the lady was their 'family nurse' and had been 'amazing'

Thank you: Meanwhile, Ashley later took to his Instagram stories to thank his mum and sister for helping to care for their home whilst he and Safiyya have been at the hospital with Azaylia

'She's not had an uncomfortable day today, she's been very comfortable and quite sleepy. Hopefully later on she wakes up and we can have some playtime.'

Safiyya went on to share another sweet video of a sleeping Azaylia in her arms and added the caption: 'Quality time' followed by a heart emoji.

It comes after Azaylia was nominated for a Pride Of Britain Award by thousands of supporters around the world.

The little girl has been battling acute myeloid leukaemia since she was just two months and has garnered thousands of votes.

Update: It comes after Safiyya revealed on Wednesday that Azaylia has been put on oxygen to help her sleep 'comfortably' after returning home from hospital amid her leukaemia battle

The Azaylia Diamond Cain Journey To Fight Acute Myeloid Leukaemia Facebook page, which has 136.9K member, saw traction rising to get the tot nominated for one of the prestigious awards to recognise her fight.

After their Pride Of Britain votes began the couple revealed she had been discharged from hospital again.

On the Facebook page for the tot, one of her followers penned: 'Get this little champ nominated!!', leading to masses of comments confirming fans had voted.

The page has followed Azalyia's journey with huge support from many close to the family as well as strangers who have been helping the family.

In what will no doubt be happy news for the family, on Wednesday Safiyya shared a video of Azalyia as they made their way home after another platelet transfusion.

The video showed Azaylia on a stretcher while playing with a teddy bear which had been gifted to her by a paramedic.

Sweet: Safiyya later shared another photo with Azaylia and said: 'Thank you for today, and blessing me with my beautiful family'

Before she was admitted to hospital on Tuesday night, the aesthetic practitioner wrote alongside the video: 'Back in hospital tonight, Azaylia's heart rate was over 200.

'Currently waiting for her blood results to see if we can get her some antibiotics to treat any infections...

'You are amazing baby. Mummy and daddy promised to give you our 100% from day 1 & we will keep to our word what ever you need we will do for you baby.'

Clearly heartbroken, the couple took to Instagram to give the update alongside the videos showing paramedics tending to the tot in her third urgent hospital trip in the brief time she has been allowed to return home.

Earlier in the evening, a special clap was held for Azaylia, with celebrities like Abbey Clancy, Marnie Simpson and Mrs Hinch leading the stars in taking part in the clap, which celebrated eight-month-old daughter amid her leukaemia battle.

Vote for Azaylia: The baby girl has been nominated for a Pride Of Britain Award by thousands of supporters around the world (Azaylia pictured in a digital portrait by Roe-Parkin Creative)

Let's go champ: On the Facebook page for the tot, one of her followers penned: 'Get this little champ nominated!!', leading to masses of comments confirming fans had voted

The couple 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 Covid crisis.

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!'

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 I've had the chance to walk down the street with my baby in my arms.

Home: In what will no doubt be happy news for the family, on Wednesday Safiyya shared a video of Azalyia as they made their way home after another platelet transfusion

'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.'

He added: 'I have been told today, there is an official doorstep clap that's 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 tonight's clap, to show support for Azaylia and her journey.

'Despite what's 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!'

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.

Heartbreak: Azaylia was rushed to hospital on Tuesday night, just hours after celebrities and fans held a clap in her honour

Support: Abbey was joined by her husband Peter Crouch alongside three of their children, and in her video Abbey wrote '#GoChamp'

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'

Taking to Instagram, her mum Safiyya shared a video from within the hospital during which Ashley 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.

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.

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

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

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

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, she 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.

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.

Heartbreak: It comes after Safiyya revealed she has planned a tattoo tribute to her daughter Azaylia, as the tot continues her fight against leukaemia

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...

'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...

'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

'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...

'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.

Sweetheart: Ashley said he has spent the first eight months of fatherhood under Covid-19 restrictions in hospital as his daughter fought the cancer

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.

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.'

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...

'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!'

For help and support caring for children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, please contact Together for Short Lives on 0808 8088 100 or visit www.togetherforshortlives.org.uk
Police in the south-central Vietnamese province of Phu Yen on Thursday started legal proceedings against five forest protection officials for their lack of responsibility and abusing positions and power while on duty, leading to serious consequences in a deforestation case last May.

Four of the officials have faced the accusation of showing their lack of responsibility and causing serious consequences, including Nguyen Van Thuan, 24, Cao Tan Khoi, 32, Nguyen Huu Toan, 36, and Huynh Kim Truc, 49.

They have also been prohibited from leaving their residences.

The other, Phan Van Tam, 29, has been arrested and prosecuted for abusing position and power while performing duty.

The five officials in question are among a total of 24 accused in the deforestation case that occurred in Phu Yens Song Hinh and Tay Hoa Districts in May 2020, when the local forest protection forces discovered loggers had used motor vehicles to open a road, about two meters wide and nearly one kilometer long, in the forest for the transportation of illegally-cut wood.

The Phu Yen polices investigation into the case later showed that 119 trees with diameters of 19-100 centimeters had been cut down without permission in total.

Nearly 36.5 cubic meters of logs, including over 1.5 cubic meters of rare wood types, had been left at the scene.

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Jaipur, April 17 : The Rajasthan government on Saturday fixed the rate for RT-PCR diagnostic tests for Covid-19 conducted by private laboratories at Rs 350, slashing it by Rs 150 from the earlier rate of Rs 500 per test.

As per the orders issued state Health Secretary Siddharth Mahajan, "The new rate for RT-PCR diagnostic tests for Covid-19 infections has been fixed at Rs 350 with immediate effect." The decision was taken after a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

On Saturday, the state reported a record 9,046 new Covid cases, while the death toll stood at 37. Rajasthan presently has 59,999 active cases.
Author John Phillip Santos, the first Mexican American Rhodes scholar, has written about his magical, haunting family saga and about the big brood of first cousins who grew up like brothers and sisters in San Antonio.

On Friday, he recalled a scene from his memoir, Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation, which was a finalist for the National Book Award.

It took place on a family ranch in Pleasanton and zeroed-in on a primo hermano and an ornery Shetland pony named Brown Beauty.

The pony had a tendency to flip riders into cactus stands.

That first cousin has become President Joe Bidens pick to head the U.S. Census Bureau.

If confirmed by the Senate, Rob Santos will become the first person of color and first Mexican American to serve in the post.

While I couldnt interview him  the White House asks its nominees to lay low until after confirmation  several San Antonians recalled a home-grown talent and brilliant statistician with an international reputation.

He wants the job, willing to take a pay cut for it.

Santos hasnt lived in San Antonio since 1976, but grew up on the citys West Side. His parents have died, and the family lost his brother in the Vietnam War. Lots of relatives remain in town.

Hes vice president and chief methodologist for the Washington, D.C.-based Urban Institute and is reportedly doing the job from his dining-room table in Austin.

He was influenced by values instilled in him by his parents, civil servants who worked at Kelly AFB; the Irish nuns at Little Flower School; and the Brothers of the Holy Cross, where he graduated in 1972.

Santos didnt know he had to apply for college admission before fall attendance, so he went to San Antonio College before enrolling at Trinity University, majoring in math.

He earned a masters degree in statistics at the University of Michigan. In a 2017 interview, he thanked affirmative action for that.

His resume includes jobs as senior study director and sampling statistician at Temple Universitys Institute for Survey Research; director of survey operations at the University of Michigan; vice president of statistics and methodology at the research center NORC at the University of Chicago; and executive vice president at the Austin research firm Nustats.

Hes president of the American Statistical Association and past president of the American Association for Public Opinion Research.

Rogelio Saenz, professor of demography at the University of Texas at San Antonio, remembers Santos was involved in one of the first national surveys of Chicanos and knows intimately what the Census Bureau is facing.

Saenz said Santos opposed the Trump administrations attempts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census and its push to exclude undocumented immigrants from the count.

He sees (the census) as a fundamental part of our democracy, he said.

Juan H. Flores, policy analyst and former executive director at the La Fe center, who has known Santos for 35 years, says his expertise cuts across several disciplines: healthcare, housing, employment and economic development and how theyre interconnected.

Sister Gabriella Lohan, a COPS/Metro leader who was Santos sixth-grade teacher at Little Flower, recalled a bright, analytical student.

Lohan said Santos has joined other Little Flower graduates whove reached national heights, citing Santos alongside former mayor and housing secretary Henry Cisneros and political activist Rosie Castro, mother of Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro and U.S. Congressman Joaquin Castro.

In an interview with the American Association for Public Opinion Research, Santos spoke of being an adventurous latchkey kid who learned to fish at Woodlawn Lake using his mothers tortilla masa for bait.

Wearing his long hair pulled back in a ponytail, he laughed about summers in which we literally vanished from the face of the Earth, getting home in time for supper.

Santos described himself as a person who may not have been upfront until recently, choosing instead to be the person that provides the best sound counsel and makes sure that things get done right.

A passion for mathematics might have been built into the genes, noting his father, Raul, an aircraft tool maker who loved math and trigonometry but didnt get past junior high.

Rob Santos has reached heights his father might have never imagined for him. He would have been proud of a statistician with a social justice heart, one who has translated numbers off the page to people on the ground.

He has been involved in research on Social Security beneficiaries; drug abuse; housing discrimination; mental health; the impact of federal raids on undocumented immigrants; and survivors of the World Trade Center collapse.

His primo hermano John Philip is proud that Santos answered the census by checking off Hispanic but writing-in Mestizo in the race category, to emphasize it should be part of census nomenclature.

He couldnt help but laugh about the memory of an ill-tempered pony that Rob Santos rode bareback into the sticks. He came back 40 minutes later, on foot, smiling.

eayala@express-news.net
Amid the surge in COVID-19 infections in the state, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Saturday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to permit the state to avail services of doctors and paramedics of Central Para Military Forces (CPMF) and military hospitals in the state in combating the COVID-19 crisis.

Soren in his letter opined that more than 90% of the cases were asymptomatic during the first wave of COVID-19 and the number of persons requiring the support of oxygen or ventilator was also not very high. He added that the state government did not anticipate the second wave to be so virulent as the country has begun vaccination on a large scale.

"We had anticipated the second wave to be less virulent due to vaccination and herd immunity. But it has surprisingly turned out to be extremely virulent. We are trying to fight this pandemic with whatever medical infrastructure and resources are available in this backward state. All the doctors and paramedics available in the government and the private sector are being optimally utilized. But, the requirement to handle the current caseload is much higher than the availability," Chief Minister wrote.

"..each such company of CMPF deployed in Jharkhand is manned by a certain number of doctors and paramedics. Similarly, there are two Military Hospitals located at Ranchi and Ramgarh catering to the medical requirement of 23 Infantry Divison, Sikh Regiment and Punjab Regiment. I feel the contingent of doctors and paramedics available with the aforesaid establishments can be of immense help in case they are deployed for the treatment and management of COVID-18 patients," Soren said.

COVID-19 situation in Jharkhand

Earlier in the day, the chief minister convened an all-party meet to review the situation and discuss plans to control the spread of the virus. The state has recorded the highest single-day spike of 3,843 cases and 59 fatalities in 24 hours on Friday. The total tally of COVID-19 infections in the state has reached 155,115 cases, of which 23,045 are active cases and 1,376 have died due to the virus, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. A total of 1,30,694 people have recovered from the infection.

A few days back, a video of a daughter lashing out at hospital authorities had sent shock waves across the nation. The daughter was lashing at the hospital authorities after her father succumbed to COVID-19 while waiting for the doctors to provide medical aid at the Ranchi hospital. Moreover, the incident occurred at a time when the state's Health Minister Banna Gupta was on a visit to the hospital to inspect the COVID-19 ward of the hospital.

The video showed her saying that she repeatedly called for doctors at the hospital but none available to attend to her ailing father who needed immediate attention, but none came to the rescue.

"Mr. Minister, we kept on shouting for doctors but none of the doctors came. No doctor came. What were they doing? Do people come here to die like this? I have been waiting for one hour asking for a doctor," the girl said in the video recorded by the onlookers.

The incident has shed light on the issue of poor health infrastructure in the state and the medical apathy which the state citizens are dealing with amid the pandemic.
Grief is complicated, and everyone experiences it differently. But its usually something people go through alone, even when family or close friends are also mourning the loss. The coronavirus crisis has taken the lives of more than 127,000 people in the UK, in turn turning grief into a collective experience as opposed to an individual one .

Restrictions have also made it harder  and in many cases impossible  to say goodbye to loved ones, with limitations imposed on everything from hospital visits to funerals. The democratising aspect of the pandemic has meant that few have been spared these difficulties.

This weekend, QueenElizabeth II will say goodbye to her husband of 73 years, the Duke of Edinburgh, in a small funeral attended by just 30 guests in line with government guidelines. Normally, the death of a senior member of the royal family would be a high-profile affair, attended by a hundreds-strong guestlist of family members, friends, political figures and celebrities paying their respects, with thousands gathering nearby to offer their condolences. In this case, though, Prince Philip will be commemorated in a low-key service, at St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle. The Queen, who must maintain social distancing from those outside of her household, will sit alone at the ceremony.

The Queen is no different from any other man, woman or child who has lost someone during this pandemic, says royal biographer Penny Junor. Of course, Her Majesty has lost loved ones before, having had to say goodbye to her sister, Princess Margaret, and The Queen Mother, both within one month of each other in 2002. But shes always had her husband beside her to help during those periods of grief, notes Junor. Now, on Saturday, no one will even put their arms around her.

Grieving during a pandemic is a very unique experience. Not only have people not been permitted to arrange regular funerals, theyve also had to, in many cases, come to terms with the idea that their loved ones have died alone given that families and friends were not permitted to visit coronavirus wards to say goodbye in case of infection. They might have also been unable to visit their loved one in the chapel of rest, and dress them in the clothes that they would have chosen says Dr John Wilson, author and director of the Bereavement Service in the York St John Universitys Counselling and Mental Health Clinic. Meanwhile, for some cultures, government guidelines have meant that the observance of religious traditions, such as washing the body or having an open coffin, has not been possible.

Dealing with all of this on top of grief is deeply distressing. The normal channels of support on offer, such as community and opportunities to reminisce have all been curtailed to some degree, says clinical psychologist Lorraine Sherr. There can be feelings of guilt to negotiate, too, as people regret not being able to commemorate their loved ones in the ways they would have liked. Furthermore, due to the rate at which coronavirus deaths have skyrocketed in the last year, some people might be dealing with multiple losses at once. This degree of mass grief triggered by the pandemic means that people might not have the dedicated time to cope with each loss, Sherr says.

Add this to every other major life disruption caused by the pandemic (economic downturn, travel restrictions, education interruptions), and grief becomes all the more unbearable. People come to bereavement situations with their life strengths to help them, notes Sherr. But the pandemic has meant that were all slightly weakened, which makes new assaults far more challenging.

People come to bereavement situations with their life strengths to help them. But the pandemic has meant that were all slightly weakened, which makes new assaults far more challenging Lorraine Sherr

With all this in mind, its no wonder psychologists are concerned that those who have been bereaved during the pandemic are likely to experience mental health difficulties in the future, with one study noting how the stress and social disruption caused by the pandemic has heightened depression and anxiety globally, and is adversely affecting many individuals with pre-existing psychiatric disorders and substance use disorders. The study adds that a central concern is with the development of normal grief and distress into prolonged grief and major depressive disorder, which is characterised by intense feelings of longing, and a long-term preoccupation with the deceased that can lead to emotional disruption, isolation, and, in some cases, increased suicide risk.

People dont really get over grief, but in most cases they learn to adjust and accommodate it into their everyday life, says Sherr. Some people may, however, get very stuck, and feel unable to move forward; those people need special care and attention.

Ultimately, pandemic or not, grief will always be a very personal experience. Sherr notes that while there are some theories that show common patterns and reactions, they wont necessarily manifest in the same order or apply to everyone. Take the oft-cited five stages of grief aka the Kubler-Ross model introduced by Swiss-American psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in her 1969 book, On Death and Dying. For years, the stages (denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance) have been widely misinterpreted as feelings experienced by bereaved people. Theyre not. Kubler-Rosss model was, in fact, based on interviews with individuals with life-threatening illnesses. This is just one of the reasons why it can be damaging to look to prescriptive methods and strategies when it comes to finding ways to deal with your grief, say bereavement specialists.

Dont be pressured by others into grieving their way, says Dr Wilson, who suggests finding small ways to distract yourself every day so as to avoid your grief becoming all-consuming, as it might well do given that many of us have had more time on our hands in the last year.

Dont be pressured by others into grieving their way Dr John Wilson

This is something the Queen and other members of the royal family have done in the last week, with Her Majesty returning to royal duties just four days after Prince Philips death having attended a retirement ceremony at Windsor Castle for Lord Chamberlain Earl Peel, who had previously been the royal households most senior official. The Princess Royal, the Queen and Prince Philips only daughter, has also resumed official duties, having met with two prestigious yacht clubs on the Isle of Wight on Wednesday as part of her role as president of the Royal Yachting Association.

That said, as helpful as it can be to stay distracted, its also important to carve out dedicated time to indulge your grief, says Dr Wilson, because bottling it up by keeping busy does you no good at all. Some people might find it helpful to exercise or start journaling, others could find comfort in looking at old photographs and videos. Find what works for you, he adds, noting how there are many Covid grief support groups on social media that can allow bereaved people to connect with one another. Meanwhile, the Good Grief Trust has an extensive list of charities and organisations that can offer support.

The most important thing is not to pressure on yourself, says Sherr. Allow yourself time and space. And dont feel like you cant commemorate the life of the person youve lost in light of all the restrictions. There are many things you can do to safely honour them, like planting a tree in their memory, or creating some sort of memorial in your home. All these add to the celebrations of the life lost, which can help aid your mourning, adds Sherr. Life is precious and sometimes grief helps remind us of this.

As tragic as the past year has been for those who have lost loved ones, there is light at the end of the tunnel. In England, social distancing restrictions are currently set to life on 21 June, which would mean that, for the first time in 15 months, bereaved friends and family members will be able to hold one another at last. And while funerals might have not occurred in the ways they would have hoped, once the rules are lifted, theres nothing to stop people gathering to celebrate those theyve lost once again. Regardless of whether its a royal parade or a knees-up in a local pub, there will come a time when were able to commemorate the lives weve lost in the last year. And well do it however we like.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 04:06:43|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The 920 UN-dispatched trucks delivering aid to Northwest Syria from Turkey last month represents up to half of all cross-border humanitarian assistance, a UN spokesman said on Friday.

"On Wednesday, we dispatched 54 truckloads of humanitarian assistance from Turkey to Northwest Syria via the Bab al-Hawa crossing," said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "These trucks are some of the hundreds the United Nations delivers each month with essential and life-saving assistance."

Many more consignments are planned for the coming weeks, he said.

Of the 4.2 million people in Northwest Syria, over 75 percent require humanitarian aid. The cross-border operation reaches 85 percent of these people every month, he said. "We believe that a renewal of the cross-border authorization for an additional 12 months later this year is essential."

The Security Council resolution authorizing the single crossing expires in July. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 00:49:51|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Friday initiated a lecture tour telling stories from the history of the century-old Communist Party of China (CPC).

A total of 100 lecturers will bring the CPC stories to the cultural and tourism sectors, government departments, schools and the military, according to the ministry.

The lecture tour, scheduled from April to June, will be an effective way to carry out the Party history learning and education campaign, said Hu Heping, minister of culture and tourism.

He also called for utilizing revolutionary cultural and tourist resources to create more works in the performing arts and fine art, educational tour routes and services, as well as visual teaching resources to increase the attraction and appeal of the Party history learning and education campaign. Enditem
Photo: The Canadian Press

Adult residents of dozens of small Interior communities are, or soon will be, eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, regardless of their age.

Interior Health has taken a whole community approach to its immunization program in small communities across the Interior, for people 18 and older. IH says residents of these communities face barriers to accessing larger immunization clinics in urban places, so smaller clinics are being brought to them.

While some clinics have already come and gone, others are currently in operation, others will be up and running in the coming weeks.

In a curious move, IH has made no mention to the media of immunizing entire populations of dozens of smaller communities, but Castanet has reached out for more information.

Communities in the Thompson-Okanagan include:

Ashcroft (April 26  May 6)

Barriere (April 22  April 30)

Beaverdell (April 12)

Cache Creek (April 26  May 6)

Celista (April 6  April 10)

Chase (April 12  April 21)

Enderby (March 15  ongoing)

Greenwood (April 16- April 17)

Lee Creek (April 12  April 21)

Magna Bay (April 6  April 10)

Scotch Creek (April 6  April 10)

Seymour Arm (April 6  April 10)

Sicamous (March 25  April 30)

Sun Peaks (May 4  May 7)

A full list of the 47 communities where adult residents can be vaccinated can be found here.

Residents can register for their vaccine appointment online here, or by calling 1-833-838-2323 between 7:00 a.m.  7:00 p.m.

Those living outside of the noted communities must wait for the age-based vaccine rollout. Currently, those 64 and older can book their appointment, while those between 55 and 65 can receive their AztraZeneca vaccine at a local pharmacy.

Immunization clinics will verify postal codes at the time of appointments, IH said in a statement. We are aware of some instances of people traveling from other regions to seek vaccinations in these communities. This not only takes away from the calculated vaccine supply for the community but may also potentially expose residents to COVID-19 when people travel from other regions.

The entire adult population of the Windermere local health area in eastern B.C. will also be able to receive their vaccine starting Monday, after new cases have soared there in recent weeks.

The Windermere local health area, which includes Invermere, Radium Hot Springs, Windermere, Fairmont Hot Springs and Canal Flats, saw new weekly cases jump to 24 between March 28 and April 3, followed by another 34 between April 4 and 10.

With a population of just over 10,000 people, the most recent data shows a weekly infection rate of 335 cases per 100,000 people. The Central Okanagan, meanwhile, had a weekly infection rate of 136 cases per 100,000 people. As a result, Interior Health has made the move to vaccinate the entire community, to limit transmission.

A similar move to vaccinate most of a region's population was recently made in Whistler, where widespread transmission has led to a large number of P.1 variant of concern cases.
ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg discussed a series of regional issues during a phone conversation, the presidential office here announced.

As part of the discussion, Erdogan and Stoltenberg first addressed the developments in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean regions, the latest situations in Libya and Afghanistan, and the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, the presidency said in a written statement.

Erdogan told Stoltenberg that a peaceful environment currently dominates the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean regions "thanks to Turkey's constructive efforts".

The Turkish leader also noted that the new government in Libya should be given support in the fields of security and defence, and the support for Afghanistan should continue with NATO's capacity and capabilities.

He also emphasized that the crisis between Russia and Ukraine should be solved through dialogue based on the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the Minsk agreements, according to the statement.

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Ethiopian Airlines Group, Africas leading airline, has transported 3.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine from Shanghai to Sao Paulo, Brazil, via Addis Ababa.

The vaccine arrived in Brazil on April 15. So far, Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services has transported over 20 million vaccines to more than 20 countries.

Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Tewolde GebreMariam said: As a leading pan African airline, we joined the fight against the pandemic since the outbreak of the virus. Our commitment to fighting against the pandemic and saving lives has been unwavering in Africa and beyond. I feel that our efficient and timely delivery of vaccines would save millions of lives that could have been lost due to lack of access to vaccines. We are devoted to transport vaccines globally with our modern fleet, well-established infrastructure and diligent employees. I am glad that we have started to reach beyond Africa and we will continue to play our part in the global vaccine distribution. Our collaborative efforts are the only way out at this critical time where equitable distribution and transportation of the vaccines is desirable.

Ethiopian Airlines has beefed up its cargo shipment capacity by reconfiguring its passenger aircraft and introducing new technologies. The airline has become the choice of cargo partners as a result of its agility, capability to store and carry time-sensitive shipments such as pharmaceuticals. It played an exemplary role in the distribution of PPE across the globe which led to the selection of Addis Ababa Bole International Airport as a humanitarian air hub by UN agencies.

Currently, Ethiopian is developing an in-house dry ice manufacturing facility that is capable of producing 9,000kg of ice daily to fulfill the need for additional coolants for vaccines produced by Pfizer-BioNTech & Moderna that require ultra-cold environment for transport.

It is to be recalled that Ethiopian transported PPE and other medical supplies to Brazil when they were desperately needed to prevent the spread of the virus. - TradeArabia News Service
The Central government on April 16 clarified that RT-PCR tests "do not miss" various variants of the SARS-COV-2. The Union Minister for Health Dr Harsh Vardhan took to his Twitter handle to confirm the news. The governments clarification came amid media reports that RT-PCR tests are failing to detect new variants of the novel virus. There are various mutations of the COVID-19 vaccine that have been found in many countries including India.

RT-PCR detect COVID variants

The COVID-19 mutation variants found in India include UK mutations, Brazil mutations, South Africa variants. However, the centre has now explained that the RT-PCR test will reveal all the COVID-19 variants. He further said that the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium has processed 13,000+ samples for Genome Sequencing. The central government however expressed concern that despite their advice several states did not send samples for genome sequencing along with clinical data of positive people.

RTPCR Tests being used in India DONT miss UK, Brazil, SA & Double Mutant #coronavirus variants



Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium has reaffirmed the fact having processed 13,000+ samples for Genome Sequencing



It has been regularly sharing data on variants with States  Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) April 16, 2021

Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry on March 24 revealed that the Genome sequencing by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG) has shown variants of concern and a novel variant in India. The novel SARS-CoV-2 variant has been found in Maharashtra with double mutation. The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG) is a grouping of 10 National Laboratories that was established by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Since then INSACOG is carrying out genomic sequencing and analysis of circulating COVID-19 viruses and correlating epidemiological trends with genomic variants.

The Union Health Ministry of India stated, "Since INSACOG initiated its work, 771 variants of concerns (VOCs) have been detected in a total of 10787 positive samples shared by States/UTs. These include 736 samples positive for viruses of the UK (B.1.1.7) lineage. 34 samples were found positive for viruses of the South African (B.1.351) lineage. 1 sample was found positive for viruses of the Brazilian (P.1) lineage. The samples with these VOCs have been identified in 18 States of the country."

(Image Credit: PTI)
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The police in Ondo State has commended Nicholas Tofowomo for commencing work on the rebuilding of the Okitipupa Police Station, burnt during the nationwide #EndSARS protest.

The commands Spokesman, Tee Leo-Ikoro, made the commendation in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Okitipupa.

Mr Leo-Ikoro commended Tofowomo, who represents Ondo South Senatorial District, for his interest in promoting security.

The senator promised to rebuild the station after it was burnt by protesters, this promise got the approval of the Inspector-General of police.

 As we can see, bulldozers are already evacuating the debris of the burnt structure in readiness for reconstruction work to begin, he said.

ALSO READ: IGP Alkali orders immediate reform of police monitoring unit

The police spokesman urged well-meaning individuals and corporate organisations to toe the path of the senator by supporting security agencies.

Security is the business of everybody, the society will be better secured if we truly make it our business, he said.

Leo-Ikoro urged members of the public to always support the police with reliable information to enable it to fight crime effectively.

NAN recalls that several structures housing government establishments were attacked during the October 22, nationwide protest against police brutality. (NAN)
Gangubai Kathiawadi: Sanjay Leela Bhansali To Take Digital Route For The Alia Bhatt Starrer?

The release date of Alia Bhatts upcoming film Gangubai Kathiawadi was revealed on filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansalis birthday along with the incredible teaser, which took the internet by storm. A week and a half later it was reported that the filmmaker tested positive for novel coronavirus. With just one day left for shoot, fans expected the film to be ready for release by 30th July. However, after Alia contracted the virus too, many began wondering if Gangubai Kathiawadi will be able to premiere on the big screen on the decided date or not.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alia Bhatt  (@aliaabhatt)

Now that both the filmmaker and the actress have recovered, Maharashtra government has ordered a halt on shoots till 1st May due to the second wave of coronavirus that has taken over the country. Well, a report shared by Bollywood Hungama suggests that Gangubai Kathiawadi may have to take the digital route after all. A source revealed, Its the way the Covid-19 situation is going. Very soon there may not be any other option left for Bhansali. He is now seriously thinking of going digital with Gangubai Kathiawadi, the 30th July theatrical release now seeming next to impossible.

Many filmmakers decided to take the digital route after theatres shut down and a nationwide lockdown was announced last year. Do you think the same will happen because of the second wave of COVID-19 in 2021?
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- The organizer of a downtown Grand Rapids protest over the Minnesota police officer fatal shooting of Daunte Wright, a Black man, said she is tired of seeing my people die in police shootings.

Im sick and tried of seeing my people die at the hands of those who took a vow to protect and serve, said Alyssa Bates, president of the Justice for Black Lives group in Grand Rapids.

Bates and others spoke at Rosa Parks Circle for the rally Call to Action: Justice for Daunte Wright.

The rally attracted a growing crowd before an estimated 150 people marched through the streets of downtown Grand Rapids for about 30 minutes.

Before the march began, Bates spoke about 20-year-old Daunte Wright, who died April 11 when former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter shot him during a traffic stop. Brooklyn Center is a Minneapolis suburb.

Daunte Wright was the same age as me, with an entire life ahead of him, she said. What happened with Daunte Wright was not an isolated situation. And like I said about George Floyd, Daunte could very well have been any of us.

Another former Minnesota police officer, Derek Chauvin, is on trial for the May 2020 death of Floyd, a Black man.

Grand Rapids police were visible during Fridays march -- and at one point advised marchers to get off the street and onto the sidewalk -- but there were no arrests.

In two recent rallies, both organized by Justice for Black Lives in March, police made arrests. During a March 8 rally -- coinciding with the first day of trial for Chauvin -- police made eight arrests after officers said protesters refused to obey commands not to march in the street and block traffic.

Then on March 27, during a protest over the earlier March 8 arrests, police arrested two people for obstructing police and a third for a second-offense noise violation.

For Fridays rally, organizers had a valid permit through the Grand Rapids Office of Special Events.

Bates, who wore a protective vest, was keenly aware that police likely would be keeping an eye on the event. She advised marchers to stay in a tight group and told them what to do if arrested.

Jakari Richardson, another speaker, said he was disappointed the rally didnt attract more Black people. Most of the marches were white.

We have to get involved and we have to know the importance of being in unity with each other. Its not fair that you all are present, screaming Black Lives Matter, but Black people arent present, he said.

Its really sad, he said. If were going to fight this battle, we have to be involved, we have to be committed, we have to be dedicated.

More from MLive

WOOD TV 8 reporter Barton Deiters dies after battling West Nile Virus

Were so tired, says organizer of Kalamazoo protest about the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright

Michigan reports 8,955 new coronavirus cases, 40 deaths Friday, April 16
Traffic stops also have the potential to escalate, like the case of Mr. Wright, who was shot by a police officer after he got back into his car as the police tried to arrest him for an unrelated warrant. The officer, Kimberly A. Potter, who had shouted that she was preparing to use her Taser, resigned and was charged with second-degree manslaughter.

Paige Fernandez, a policing policy advocate at the American Civil Liberties Union, said low-level infractions such as expired registrations and air fresheners on mirrors should not be handled by armed police officers.

The danger that police traffic stops pose greatly outweighs any benefit of having them engage in that, Ms. Fernandez said.

Mayor Mike Elliott of Brooklyn Center, Minn., where Mr. Wright was killed, said police officers should not be pulling people over because of an expired registration during the coronavirus pandemic.

The prohibitions against objects hanging from rearview mirrors can extend to fuzzy dice, graduation tassels and rosaries. Last year, amid the pandemic, authorities in Maine warned against hanging masks.

A woman who answered the phone for the manufacturer of one of the most common hanging air fresheners, Little Trees, said the company would have no comment on the legal debate. The companys website shows the scented paper trees hanging from a rearview mirror.

States have long grappled with how to best handle the obstruction issue. After court data showed more than 1,400 citations in one year for people driving on Maryland highways with windshields obstructed by objects or materials, the state changed its law in 2017. The violation is no longer a primary offense, which would justify a traffic stop, but a secondary offense, which can only be cited after a motorist has been pulled over for something more serious, such as speeding.
Ukraine received its first 117,000 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine through the COVAX global vaccine sharing programme on Friday.

Under a contract between Kyiv and Pfizer, the country expects a shipment of 10 more million doses in May-June.

The country's chief doctor has said vaccinations using the Pfizer shot will begin in the Kyiv region on Sunday and will be offered across the country from Monday.

Residents and staff of Ukraine's retirement homes will be the first in line to get the jab, then it will be offered to emergency officials and border guards.

Ukraine started vaccinations in February after receiving 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca shot from India.

Kyiv also ordered 1.9 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine developed by the Chinese drug maker Sinovac Biotech.

The immunisation campaign has been hampered by widespread reluctance to take the vaccine, with only 432,817 people getting at least one shot so far.

Struggling to contain the soaring infections, the Ukrainian authorities introduced lockdown restrictions in many of the country's regions.

The former Soviet nation of 41 million has registered 1.9 million cases and more than 39,000 confirmed deaths.

It reported 17,479 new coronavirus cases on Friday.

(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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Princess Margaret's beloved daughter Sarah Chatto looked emotional she attended Prince Philip's funeral this afternoon.

The Queen's only niece, who has remained close to Her Majesty and Prince Philip for many years, joined other members of the royal family on Saturday to mourn the loss of the Duke of Edinburgh, who passed away last Friday at the age of 99.

Looking sobre, Lady Sarah, 56, wore a large brimmed black hat and a statement pair of elegant pearl earrings while leaving Prince Philip's funeral at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, this afternoon.

The Queen's only niece Sarah Chatto (above) joined other members of the royal family on Saturday to mourn the loss of the Duke of Edinburgh, who passed away last Friday at the age of 99

Her brother David Armstrong-Jones, the Earl of Snowdon, joined the procession of senior royals walking behind the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin before the intimate service.

They both joined the Queen and Philip's four children and eight grandchildren and their respective spouses at the service in St George's Chapel on Saturday.

Lady Sarah, 56, and David, 59, - also known by his professional name of David Linley - are the children of Princess Margaret and her first husband, Lord Snowdon.

The decision to invite David - also known by his professional name of David Linley - Lady Sarah and her husband Daniel was an indication of how highly they are regarded within the royal family, and is a tribute to the close relationship the Duke of Edinburgh enjoyed with his sister-in-law Princess Margaret.

She arrived at the chapel by car while her brother David Armstrong-Jones, the Earl of Snowdon, joined the procession of senior royals walking behind the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin before the intimate service

David and Lady Sarah enjoyed a close relationship with the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and their children growing up - often joining the family on holiday - and remain so to this day.

Certainly their inclusion in the small group of 30 is an indication as to just how close they are. These include Jack Brooksbank, the husband of Eugenie, daughter of the duchess and the Duke of York, and Beatrice's husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.

The 67-year-old Countess of Mountbatten - Penelope 'Penny' Knatchbull, previously known as Lady Romsey and later Lady Brabourne - was also invited.

Three German relatives - whose ancestors were denied a place at Princess Elizabeth and Philip's wedding because of anti-German feeling after the second war - have been included.

Others on the guest list included the Queen's first cousins Princess Alexandra, the Duke of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent, who loyally supported the monarch and Philip by carrying out royal duties over the decades.

But the most prominent name missing from the list is Prince Harry's wife Meghan, who has stayed at home in Los Angeles. Also is missing is the Queen's cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, 78, who is not a working royal.

Lady Sarah, 56, and David, 59, (pictured during procession) also known by his professional name of David Linley - are the children of Princess Margaret and her first husband, Lord Snowdon

Sarah and David joined the Queen and Philip's four children and eight grandchildren and their respective spouses at the service in St George's Chapel on Saturday

The Earl of Snowdon joined the procession of senior royals walking behind the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin before the intimate service

The guests who will be involved in Prince Philip's funeral procession (left) and those who will be St George's Chapel (right)

There was also not room for the spouses of the Queen's cousins - the Duchess of Gloucester and the Duchess of Kent, nor Prince Michael's often controversial wife, Princess Michael of Kent.

However Lady Sarah's husband made the cut. Sarah is a devoted mother to her and Daniel's two handsome, charismatic sons: Samuel, 24, Charles's godson, and has been a Page of Honour to the Queen, and Arthur, 22.

As with their cousins, David and Lady Sarah's children did not attend the funeral, but they would no doubt have been included in a larger congregation.

The Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex, were also reunited for the first time since Harry's bombshell Oprah Winfrey chat at the funeral, but were separated by cousin Peter Phillips as they walked in a line behind their grandfather's coffin.

David and Lady Sarah Chatto were among the members of the Royal Family who travelled to St George's Chapel by car. The Earl of Snowdon was also part of the funeral procession ahead of the service.

Who are the Queen's niece and nephew Lady Sarah Chatto and David Armstrong-Jones?

Countess of Snowdon, 56, and David, 59, - also known by his professional name of David Linley - (both pictured in January 2019)

Lady Sarah Chatto was born in 1964  the last royal baby born at a palace rather than a hospital  within weeks of cousins Prince Edward, Lady Helen Windsor and James Ogilvy.

The Queen has been described as a 'surrogate mother' to the siblings and is particularly close to Lady Sarah, who is understood to remind Her Majesty of her late sister.

One royal insider previously revealed: 'The Queen adores Sarah and seeks out her company as often as possible. She is her absolute favourite younger Royal.

'They are hugely at ease in each other's company. Much giggling can be heard when they are together. They share a sense of loyalty, fun, duty and the ridiculous.'

One acquaintance said: 'Sarah is very unassuming; shy and almost embarrassed with no grandeur at all. Take royal events  she'll be on the balcony, but she never pushes herself to the middle or the front, like some.'

At the time, her parents, Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones, Lord Snowdon, were the toast of swinging London, their Kensington Palace apartment  now the London home of William and Catherine  the scene of hedonistic parties.

But the marriage, a rebound affair after Margaret was forbidden to marry divorced equerry Peter Townsend, was notoriously tempestuous.

The Queen's only niece attended St George's Chapel to mourn the loss of the Duke of Edinburgh, who passed away last Friday at the age of 99 (pictured in 2017)

The decision to invite Lady Sarah and her husband Daniel (pictured at wedding) is an indication of how highly they are regarded in the royal family, and is a tribute to the close relationship the Duke of Edinburgh enjoyed with Princess Margaret

Fuelled by alcohol and affairs on both sides, their 18-year union was once described as a 16-year break-up.

At just 13, her parents' divorce was 'terribly upsetting' for Sarah.

As Margaret was granted custody, the children stayed in Kensington Palace. Sarah was sent to Francis Holland School in Chelsea, a smart all-girls' day school, followed by Bedales with her brother.

The mixed boarding school in rural Hampshire  alma mater of actors Daniel Day-Lewis and Minnie Driver  was a fashionable, arty, bohemian choice.

It had no uniform and nurtured artistic expression above all else. It was what both parents wanted  and it ensured David and Sarah inherited a love of art.

This 'progressive' institution was the polar opposite to the starchiness of a royal upbringing.

One contemporary said that when Lady Sarah turned up 'she was practically in a velvet-collar coat and tweeds although everyone else was hanging out in their kickers'.

However it was quite possibly this school  with its warm, nurturing atmosphere  that made her the woman she is now.

Sarah had grown up knowing that her mother had little time or patience for babies and small children; despite Snowdon's reluctance, nannies and housemaids were in charge and the children were instructed never to wake their mother before 11am  a rule that was keenly enforced by Nanny Sumner.

The Queen has been described as a 'surrogate mother' to the siblings and is particularly close to Lady Sarah, who is understood to remind Her Majesty of her late sister

David and Lady Sarah enjoyed a close relationship with the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and their children growing up - often joining the family on holiday - and remain so to this day

When Margaret gave her house on Mustique island in the Caribbean  Les Jolies Eaux  to David alone on his 27th birthday (he let it out and then sold it, preferring to buy an estate in Provence) it was said that Sarah was not consulted; nor did she profit from the sale.

Her father, however, doted on her and it is from him she is said to have inherited her 'immense charm'.

From her father she also inherited her artistic eye. A foundation course at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, followed by a printed textiles course at Middlesex Polytechnic, paved the way for her training at the Royal Academy Schools.

Her oil paintings today sell for thousands and she is Vice President of the Royal Drawing School. From her mother, she inherited a love of dance. While Margaret was Patron of the Royal Ballet School, Sarah is its Vice President.

Not that the young Sarah ever felt herself to be above her art school contemporaries.

She may have shared her 21st birthday with Prince Edward, Lady Helen Windsor and James Ogilvy at Windsor Castle, but she also included all of her friends from art school.

The Earl - David Armstrong-Jones (pictured) - who is known for his high-end furniture company - also attended the funeral and walked in the royal procession

It was when she met Daniel Chatto whilst working as a wardrobe assistant on 'Heat and Dust', in which dashing actor Chatto had a small role, that her love life became serious.

The son of actor Tom Chatto, and theatrical agent Ros Chatto (who was the mistress of another theatrical agent, Robin Fox), Daniel appeared in around a dozen films and TV programmes, often period dramas based on the novels of W. Somerset Maugham or Charles Dickens.

He soon gave up his acting career, however, to focus on painting, a passion shared with Sarah.

Together he and Sarah set up home in Kensington whilst still unmarried  a fact that enraged Princess Margaret  where they still live in a small, pretty, Grade II listed terrace house.

Pictured left to right, David Armstrong-Jones, Earl of Snowdon, Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones, Serena Armstrong-Jones, Countess of Snowdon, and Charles Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley, attend the Alexander Dundas's 18th birthday party hosted by Lord and Lady Dundas on December 16, 2017 in Londo

They also have a Georgian country farmhouse near Midhurst in Sussex, given to Sarah by her godfather, the late art-loving philanthropist Simon Sainsbury.

The informal country life of dogs, horses and annual sheepdog trials  which she judges  is the essence of Sarah, a royal who has never been lured by pomp and ceremony.

Indeed her wedding to Chatto in July 1994 was such a short, simple affair that chauffeurs were caught by surprise: the Queen, Prince Philip and Diana had to wait at the City church of St Stephen's Walbrook after the service for their cars to come back.

Her veil was anchored by the Snowdon Floral Tiara, created from brooches given to Princess Margaret by her husband, and the wedding portraits show the newlyweds flanked by the Queen and the Queen Mother.

Although her childhood lacked the stability she has created for her own family  according to royal insiders, she found her mother's early indiscretions 'almost unbearable'  Sarah remained a loving, dutiful daughter until the end.

Her mother's death in 2002  after a series of strokes and four years of suffering  saw her children by her side.

Sarah, says a royal source, had been 'selfless and often left her own family overnight to drive to KP to care for her mother'.

Sarah arrived at the chapel by car while her brother David Armstrong-Jones, the Earl of Snowdon, (pictured with Prince Philip) joined the procession of senior royals walking behind the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin

Charles Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley, David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon and Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones attend the wedding of Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank at St George's Chapel on October 12, 2018 in Windsor

Margaret's death also brought the Queen even closer to her only niece, in her new role as something of a surrogate mother. One, it appears, that endures to this day.

Meanwhile David is honorary chairman for Europe, the Middle East, Russia and India of auctioneers Christie's. He was promoted to the role in 2015 from his former role of chairman of Christie's UK.

The Earl, also known by his professional name of David Linley, also produces luxury British accessories and has reportedly created the interiors for a number of exclusive central London homes.

Linley was picked by Prince Charles, his first cousin, as number two in his The Prince's Foundation, a new merger of his charity commitments, in 2018  an appointment which raised eyebrows as he was chosen ahead of the heir to the throne's sons William and Harry.

Last year a friend said: 'David is very, very close to the Queen and Prince Charles. He goes to Sandringham at Christmas and turns up at Balmoral in the summer.'
Actual Tweet, Name Removed

I guess vax status will be a new dating profile criteria. Like political affiliation or which side of the pillow you prefer (the cool side, thank you very much.) The Tweeter was female, and she was turned down by a male BECAUSE she was vaccinated. I know the headline is irreverent, but it was my first thought when I read this Tweet. And Summer is coming.




Teenagers as young as 15 were given the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine after their ages were not verified by qualified medical staff.

Despite having no Covid-19 vaccines even being approved for children in Australia, the jab were given to 13 children aged between 15 and 17.

Another five adults were given the wrong amount of either the AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccine, the Therapeutic Goods Administration said.

A series of teenagers as young as 15 have been given the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine in Australia - after their ages were not verified by qualified medical staff

The TGA blamed the concerning dosing errors to 'not confirming patient age prior to vaccination', according to the Daily Telegraph.

'In most cases, these reports were associated with either no adverse event or with common adverse reactions expected for vaccines,' the TGA said.

'In most cases, these errors appear to have been due to an oversight in clinical practice.'

The bungled vaccinations also prompted the TGA to remind GPs that the AstraZeneca vaccine were not for adolescents.

'If individuals under the age of 18 present for vaccination they should not be given the AstraZeneca vaccine,' it said.

The TGA also confirmed the death of a Weet-Bix factory worker from a blood clotting condition linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine she had five days earlier.

Genene Norris, 48, from the New South Wales Central Coast, died on April 14 after receiving the embattled coronavirus jab on April 8.

She developed blood clots the next day and four days after she received the jab, she was placed on dialysis in an intensive care unit until her death.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration's vaccine safety investigation found Ms Norris' case of thrombosis is likely to be linked to the vaccine.

Genene Norris, 48, from the New South Wales Central Coast died days after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine

Authorities said the review of the woman's case was complicated by her underlying health conditions - including diabetes among others.

Ms Norris was given the jab before health authorities declared the Pfizer vaccine was the preferred option for patients under 50.

It is the third report of an Australian case of blood clotting from the AstraZeneca vaccine. The other two cases were treated in hospital and are recovering.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration's Vaccine Safety Investigation Group met late on Friday, April 16 after Daily Mail Australia revealed 24 hours earlier that Norris died after receiving the Covid jab.

Experts on the Vaccine Safety Investigation Group said despite the absence of antibodies in the woman's blood which have been found in other clotting cases linked to the vaccine, a causative link should be assumed.

They also noted some laboratory tests were still pending and a post-mortem examination will be conducted on Monday, April 19.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration's vaccine safety investigation found Ms Norris' case of thrombosis is likely to be linked to the vaccine (stock image)

'Given this is an atypical presentation, should the test results and/or the autopsy provide an alternative causation, VSIG would review their decision,' the TGA said on Friday.

The same group advised earlier in April that people aged under 50 should not be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca jab due to a risk of blood clots.

There have been 885,000 doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine given to Australians since the rollout began.

The three cases of blood clots gives a rate of one in 295,000 jabs that could potentially result in these complications, the TGA said.

WHICH COUNTRIES HAVE SUSPENDED THE ASTRAZENECA VACCINE? NOT SUSPENDED Austria

Bulgaria

Croatia

Cyprus

Czechia

Hungary

Latvia

Luxembourg

Malta

Poland

Romania

Slovakia

Slovenia SUSPENDED FOR UNDER-30s Greece

United Kingdom SUSPENDED FOR UNDER-55s Belgium

France SUSPENDED FOR UNDER-60s Estonia

Germany

Ireland

Italy

Portugal

Spain SUSPENDED FOR UNDER-65s Finland

Lithuania

Sweden SUSPENDED FOR UNDER-70s Iceland SUSPENDED FOR ALL AGES Denmark

The Netherlands

Norway Advertisement

Australia Chief Health Officer Paul Kelly pointed out on Friday that Covid-19 patients were far more at risk of developing blood clots than those who get the vaccine.

He said 'people should be cautious about jumping to conclusions' over the case and he urged people to continue to get vaccinated.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison also called for calm, saying concerns around vaccine hesitancy meant it was important the matter was investigated.

Professor Kelly confirmed some Australians have been reluctant to receive a vaccine since the medical advice on the AstraZeneca jab was updated.

However he stressed the vaccines were safer than the alternative, quoting a new Oxford University study which found the risk of blood clots in the brain is eight times more likely after a Covid-19 infection than an AstraZeneca jab.

'Clotting is a feature of Covid,' Prof Kelly said.

'It also happens to be a feature, very rarely, of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

'But the benefit absolutely, and particularly for those over the age of 50, outweighs significantly the risk.'

Vaccination is crucial because the Australian community will not remain virus-free forever, Prof Kelly warned.

A study of 500,000 Covid-19 patients in the US found that 36 in a million developed a potentially deadly blood clot.

By comparison, only four per million people suffer a serious blood clot as a result of the AstraZeneca jab.

Symptoms of the rare clotting complications include severe headaches, blurred vision, pain or bruising away from the injection site, leg swelling and shortness of breath.

Health authorities advise anyone experiencing any of these after vaccination should seek medical attention.

The effects are different from more common side effects which include fatigue, sore muscles or fever that subside by day three after vaccination.

Sanitarium Health Food Company, which is based on the New South Wales Central Coast, confirmed the woman was one of its 800 employees.

'The company is saddened by the loss of a much loved employee, and we offer our heartfelt condolences to her family, friends and workmates,' a spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.

Mr Morrison promised the whole adult population would be immunised by October, but the rollout has since been derailed by the jab's link to blood clots.

Twenty million doses of Pfizer are on their way but no more help is on hand for younger Australians until at least October.

The prime minister said he 'would like' all Australians to get at least their first dose by the end of the year, but made no guarantees.

In a desperate attempt to get the stalled program back on track, he plans to create huge hubs to ramp up vaccinations.

Ms Norris' death follows Denmark declaring they will be ceasing use of the AstraZeneca vaccine all together, while under 30s in the UK are already being offered alternative vaccines.
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A detailed analysis report of the Global Single Malt Whiskey Market has been covered in the report coupled with a thorough description of each company profile with information on the H.Q, future capabilities, key mergers & acquisitions, financial outline, partnerships and new product launches and developments.

The comprehensive value chain analysis of the market will assist in attaining better product differentiation, along with detailed understanding of the core competency of each activity involved. The market attractiveness analysis provided in the report aptly measures the potential value of the market providing business strategists with the latest growth opportunities.

The report classifies the market into different segments. These segments are studied in detail incorporating the market estimates and forecasts at regional and country level. The segment analysis is useful in understanding the growth areas and probable opportunities of the market.

Final Report will cover the COVID-19 Impact and Recovery on this industry.

Browse the complete Global Single Malt Whiskey Market Research Report  Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast Till 2027 @ https://www.decisiondatabases.com/ip/38929-single-malt-whiskey-market-report

The report also covers the complete competitive landscape of the global Single Malt Whiskey market with company profiles of key players such as:

Bacardi

Beam Suntory

Brown-Forman

Diageo

Pernod Ricard

Asahi Breweries

Distell

Gruppo Campari

John Distilleries

Radico Khaitan

United Spirits

The detailed description of each has been included, with information in terms of H.Q, future capacities, key mergers & acquisitions, financial overview, partnerships, collaborations, new product launches, new product developments and other latest industrial developments.

SEGMENTATIONS IN THE REPORT:

By Type

Scotch Whisky

American Whisky

Irish Whisky

Others

By Distribution Channels

Supermarkets

On-Trade

Specialist Retailers

Online

Convenience Stores

By Geography

North America (NA)  US, Canada, and Mexico

Europe (EU)  UK, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Spain & Rest of Europe

Asia-Pacific (APAC)  China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia & Rest of APAC

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Middle East and Africa (MEA)  Saudi Arabia, UAE, Israel, South Africa

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In an unprecedented lawsuit, historian Fernando Mikelarena Pena is being taken to court accused of libel and slander for his scholarly research into the fascist repression during the 19361939 Spanish Civil War. If successful, it would set a dangerous precedent to silence and suppress academic research on the crimes of fascism in Spain.

Adolf Hitler and Francisco Franco meeting in 1940 [Source: Wikimedia Commons]

The lawsuit is over Mikelarenas book Without mercy, political cleansing in Navarre 1936. Responsibilities, collaborators and executioners (Sin piedad: Limpieza politica en Navarra, 1936. Responsables, colaboradores y ejecutores, 2015) and his article, The culling of Tafalla-Monreal on 21/10/1936 (Saca de Tafalla-Monreal de 21/10/1936) posted last October in Diario de Noticias de Navarra. In both texts, Mikelarena deals with a massacre of left-wing prisoners that took place in Navarre, a territory located to the north of Spain, bordering France, in 1936.

That year, General Francisco Franco launched a coup against the elected Popular Front government. The coup failed when the armed working class confronted the army in major urban areas and foiled the coup plotters plans. As a result, Spain was divided into two zones, the Popular Front-controlled territory and the fascist, thus initiating the Spanish Civil War that would last until April 1939 with the victory of Francos forces. A 40-year dictatorship would ensue, lasting until 1978.

Navarre fell immediately into the hands of the Requetes, an ultra-Catholic regional paramilitary force. In the areas under fascist control, repression against left-wing militants or alleged sympathisers started immediately. Following secret instructions drafted months before by the chief architect of the coup, Emilio Mola, fascists were to eliminate left-wing elements, communists, anarchists, union members, etc. Approximately 75,000 were extrajudicially executed behind fascist lines.

In his article and book, Mikelarena deals with the largest massacre of prisoners by the Requetes in Navarre, the Saca of Tafalla. Saca refers to extrajudicial murders during the Spanish Civil War.

On October 18, 1936, Julian Castiella Sanchez, head of the Requetes of Navarrese town Tafalla, died in battle. Three days later, in retaliation, 64 Republican prisoners were taken out of the Tafalla jail by the Requetes and transferred to the Tejeria, where they were shot and buried in a mass grave.

In his research, Mikelarena provides new information on these events, indicating that at that time Jaime del Burgo Torres was temporarily head of Requetes when the massacre happened. Mikelarena points out that there is no certainty that Jaime del Burgo took part in these executions but points out that it is very striking that no one mentioned the presence of Del Burgo in the events. Del Burgo would enjoy a successful career in the Francoite state apparatus.

Mikelarena concludes his article by appealing for more research to be done on this massacre, since it was the most serious repressive event that occurred in Navarre during the political cleansing process recorded in 19361937. He concluded, There is still something dark as to why there are so many questions, the result of lack of will to clarify.

Mikelarenas call, however, has faced the wrath of Jaime del Burgos grandson, Arturo del Burgo Azpiroz, who has taken Mikelarena to court over alleged crimes of libel and slander. If successful, this suit will have far-reaching and reactionary consequences, under conditions where Francoism is being promoted by broad layers of the Spanish ruling class.

The Spanish bourgeoisie has systematically sought to cut off workers and youth from an understanding of the crimes of Franco. They relied on the Stalinists and social democrats, who in the dying days of the Franco regime agreed to a Pact of Forgetting of fascist crimes, enshrined in the so-called Amnesty Law of 1977 between the social-democratic Spanish Socialist Party, the Stalinist Communist Party and the Francoite regime. The amnesty blocks all prosecution of fascist repression.

Now, if the lawsuit is successful, researchers will be pressured to not investigate the crimes of fascism for fear of prosecution. It takes place barely two years after the University of Alicante agreed to a request from a fascist lieutenants son to erase scholarly articles in their database linking his father to fascist repression during the war. The university only backtracked after mass public outcry.

Since 2019, the ruling class has shifted far to the right. In January, Spains Constitutional Court issued an extraordinary ruling claiming that the Franco regime did not commit crimes against humanity.

The far-right Vox party, which defends the heritage of Francoism, is now the third parliamentary force, with 15 percent of the vote. Benefitting from the relentless promotion of the media and the state apparatus, it publicly defends revisionist pseudo-historiography, falsely blaming the left for having started the Spanish Civil War and claiming it was chiefly responsible for extrajudicial executions.

Above all, Del Burgos lawsuit benefits from the political climate created by the increasing adoption of Voxs programme by the Socialist Party (PSOE)-Podemos government.

This includes the fascistic herd immunity policy of letting the COVID-19 virus spread, which has led to over 100,000 deaths and 3.2 million infections; the relentless persecution of migrants; the incarceration of Catalan separatist leaders and rappers; and the repression against youth protests. At the same time, Podemos has downplayed coup threats from sections of the military which are discussing carrying out a Franco-style coup to murder 26 million leftists.

While the PSOE and Podemos have refused to defend Mikelarena, the historian has received widespread support. Over 330 historians, academics, teachers and graduate students from 52 universitiesincluding universities in the UK, Sweden, and Francehave signed a manifesto opposing the lawsuit. It states: We consider that historical research deserves no other judgment than that of historiography, that is, the rigorous assessment of the critical framework used and weighting of the conclusions drawn.

The manifesto continues, We defend freedom of research on the darkest periods of contemporary history, made difficult enough by the concealment and destruction of historical sources by those who for decades held the levers of power. We defend societys right to know how the violence of the rebels was created in 1936 and who was responsible.

Significantly, the manifestos authors link Mikelarenas case with the international offensive against historical truth, declaring: It is not an isolated case. In recent days it has been known that the Polish government has convicted two prestigious historians for their research on the Holocaust. This is a dangerous path for intellectual freedom.

The manifesto was referring to the court case that found Professors Barbara Engelking and Jan Grabowski, two of the most renowned historians of the Holocaust in Poland, guilty of defamation and spreading inaccurate information. These two historians had been sued by a niece of Edward Malinowski, the mayor of a Polish town during World War II. The historians quoted testimony suggesting that the mayor was implicated in a massacre of Jews by German soldiers.

As the WSWS noted on the case, In trying to pre-empt any serious historical research into the history of Polish anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, the Polish state seeks to both historically whitewash the crimes of the far right and pre-empt the long overdue reckoning with the powerful but tragic history of the working class movement in Poland.

The same can be said about the case against Mikelarena in Spain. It is critical for workers and youth to defend historical truth against attempts to re-legitimize the crimes of fascism.
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Leading humidity control and evaporative cooling specialist Condair has appointed Rajaee Karasneh as its new business development manager for Saudi Arabia.

Based out of Riyadh, Karasneh takes on the responsibility for expanding sales of Condairs humidifiers, dehumidifiers and evaporative cooling systems across the region.

He joins Condair as an extremely experienced sales manager in the engineering and construction sectors, having worked for international companies such as Veolia, Ovivo and Aquatreat in Jordan, Saudi and UAE.

Lauding the appointment, Condair Middle East General Manager Mahmoud Widyan said: "We are delighted to be welcoming such an experienced business development manager to our team. For many years Condair has operated successfully across Saudi through its distributor partners and will continue to do so."

"This investment in the region will further support and grow sales, and is an indication of the potential we see in the Saudi market," he stated.

"Condair is a global leader in humidifiers, dehumidifiers and evaporative cooling technologies. I feel very proud to have been given this opportunity to lead Condairs operations in the region and expand the companys sales," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
WASHINGTON  Ever since North Korea began building nuclear weapons in the 1990s, the policy of the United States has been clear: Give up those bombs or face international isolation.

After three decades of sanctions, threats of force and diplomacy  including President Trump's theatrical summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un  North Korea now has more nuclear weapons than ever, plus ballistic missiles that intelligence officials say could deliver a warhead to the U.S. And because of the global pandemic, the hermit kingdom has shuttered its borders, halting imports of food and medicine in a way more punishing than international sanctions could ever be.

That dangerous security threat is now in President Joe Biden's lap, and his administration is expected to announce the results of a policy review on North Korea soon. Experts and people briefed on it say they expect that while Biden will not formally abandon the goal of "total denuclearization," he will attempt to achieve the more limited aim of diminishing North Korea's nuclear threat, while at the same time seeking to lower the visibility of a thorny foreign policy problem that has no neat solution.

Image: President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet at the demilitarized zone separation North and South Korea on June 30, 2019. (Dong-A Ilbo / via Getty Images)

"Realistically speaking, the administration's North Korea strategy will probably be open to (an) approach in which North Korea's capabilities are capped or limited," Eric Brewer, who worked on North Korea policy at the National Security Council in the Obama administration, told NBC News. "Even if denuclearization remains a component of the strategy, I find it hard to believe they wouldn't be open to more interim solutions that reduce the threat."

The administration also plans to seek to reinvigorate the so-called trilateral relationship between the U.S., South Korea and Japan, according to a former Trump administration official who has been consulted.

Whether there are direct talks with the North Koreans depends on the North's behavior, that person said.

Story continues

While denuclearization would remain a long-term goal, the U.S. could try to persuade North Korea to agree to restrictions on its delivery systems for nuclear weapons in return for substantial relief from economic sanctions, Brewer said. If unchecked, those delivery systems, including solid-fuel missiles, ICBM warheads and multiple re-entry vehicles, could allow North Korea to launch attacks faster and potentially evade U.S. countermeasures.

Brewer recently co-authored an article in Foreign Affairs with Sue Mi-Terry, who worked on the National Intelligence Council under President Obama and served as a CIA analyst, arguing for a "realistic bargain" with North Korea.

The two, who are both now senior fellows at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote that the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the regime's economic woes, and could mean North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would be open to cutting a deal.

"Kim has not been easily swayed by economic pressure in the past," they wrote, but it is possible he is desperate enough for sanctions relief  and confident enough in his existing nuclear and missile capabilities  that he would trade some limits on his weapons programs for a significant reduction in sanctions."

In an interview, Terry told NBC News, "Right now, we are looking to re-engage with North Korea in some form."

Victor Cha, who oversaw Korea policy in the George W. Bush administration, agreed.

Image: Joe Biden with President Park Geun-hye of South Korea (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images file)

He noted that North Korea has shut down its borders completely in an effort to tamp down the spread of Covid-19, including imports of food and medicine from China. In so doing, it has imposed a blockade on itself more draconian than sanctions, which don't usually cover humanitarian aid.

"This is about as maximum as the sanctions can be and it's all self-imposed," said Cha, who said Biden may want to offer pandemic-related aid as a gesture of goodwill.

Even with a less ambitious objective, arms control negotiations with North Korea would be "really, really hard," Brewer said, particularly because Pyongyang has tended to fiercely resist any inspection or verification mechanisms. And any restrictions on the North's weapons systems would have to be verified on the ground, he said, not just via U.S. intelligence surveillance.

Intelligence officials say North Korea has no intention of giving up its nuclear weapons, leaving the Biden administration faced with a series of unpalatable options. They range from attempting to restart talks that have a history of failure to a military strike that could have disastrous repercussions.

"North Korea will be a WMD threat for the foreseeable future, because [Kim Jong Un] remains strongly committed to the country's nuclear weapons, the country is actively engaged in ballistic missile research and development, and Pyongyang's (chemical and biological) efforts persist," says an unclassified intelligence assessment released Tuesday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

After two failed presidential summits with Trump, North Korea has greeted the incoming Biden team with a series of provocations, including harsh rhetoric and a short-range missile test. But so far, the regime has not taken the far more provocative steps of testing a long-range missile or a nuclear weapon, both of which it has done previously.

There is always a chance, however, that Biden's bid for negotiations fails, and North Korea falls back on its pattern of aggressive and attention-seeking behavior, including threatening its neighbors and testing dangerous weapons. If that happens, the only real option short of war  covert CIA operations aside  is more economic sanctions, experts say.

Critics point out that years of sanctions of various kinds have failed to convince the North to denuclearize. But in fact, observers say, the U.S. has never mounted the sort of sustained and biting sanctions campaign against North Korea that the Obama administration used to push Iran to bargain, resulting in a 2015 nuclear agreement from which Trump withdrew, but which Biden is seeking to restore.

"It took three years of really hard sanctions for Iran to come to the negotiating table," Terry said.

Those sanctions included penalties against European and other banks accused of violating the law by doing business with Iran. So far, no administration has been willing to levy similar "secondary sanctions" against Chinese banks that keep North Korea afloat.

"The U.S. imposed $8 billion to $9 billion in fines on U.K. and French banks for money laundering for Iran, but $0 in fines on Chinese banks for money laundering for North Korea," said Bruce Klingner, a former CIA analyst and Korea expert at the Heritage Foundation.

Klingner and other North Korea experts cite a single telling exception to that rule: An action against an obscure bank in Macau that they say could be a blueprint for putting the squeeze on North Korea.

The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Banco Delta Asia in 2005, accusing it of laundering money for the North Korean regime. Soon, more than two dozen financial institutions had pulled back from doing business with North Korea, imperiling its finances. Even many top U.S. officials were surprised at how hard the sanctions had bitten.

"You Americans finally have found a way to hurt us," Cha, then the point person on Korea policy, recalls an inebriated North Korean diplomat mumbling during a round of toasts at a negotiation.

But two years after the sanctions on the bank were imposed  including the freezing of $25 million in North Korean assets  the U.S. gave the money back, paving the way for North Korea to re-enter the international banking system. It was part of a deal that was supposed to result in the unwinding of North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

That didn't happen, of course, yet no similar sanctions have been levied since.

Joshua Stanton, who runs the blog OneFreeKorea and is one of the foremost experts on North Korea sanctions, argues that United Nations reports on sanctions compliance regularly provide evidence that could be used to penalize companies, but the U.S. has rarely acted on that material.

"Why are we more tolerant of Chinese banks violating North Korea sanctions than Barack Obama was of European banks that violated Iran sanctions?" asked Stanton.

One reason, Cha and others say, is because the U.S. has long sought China's help in pressuring North Korea.

"We've always been careful about going after Chinese," Cha said. "It's a balancing act  there's a desire to have Chinese cooperation in the negotiations."

In order for diplomacy to work, it must be backed by a credible threat of force, the former Trump administration official and other experts say.

"The only way to get the North to agree to anything is sanctions plus a military threat, and diplomatic pressure," the former official said.

In response to questions from NBC News, a spokesperson for the National Security Council said, "The North Korea review is in its final stages and we're not going to get ahead of that."
The Contra Costa County district attorneys office has charged a man with two counts of murder after he allegedly drove while intoxicated and crashed his car into another vehicle, killing its driver and a 7-year-old passenger.

Christian Vargas  who was on probation for a previous DUI conviction  has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and driving under the influence of alcohol and causing injury, according to a criminal complaint provided on Friday to The Chronicle.

The complaint says that Vargas did unlawfully, and with malice aforethought murder Ramiro Gerardo Castro and Sela Meliane Rosalez-Mataele on Monday.

Vargas, 25, had a blood alcohol content of .08% or more as he traveled eastbound at a high rate of speed on West Leland Road just east of John Henry Johnson Parkway on Monday evening, the criminal complaint says.

The Chevy Camaro he was driving crashed into the rear of a Toyota Corolla, causing its driver to lose control and hit several trees, Pittsburg police said. The driver of the Corolla, identified in a criminal complaint as Castro, suffered major injuries and died, police said. A 7-year-old child identified in the complaint as Sela Meliane was taken to the hospital with critical injuries and later died.

The 7-year-old child and two other children, ages 1 and 4, were all ejected from the Corolla, police said. The youngest was in a car seat. Vargas was not injured in the fatal crash, police said.

Besides the two counts of murder, the district attorneys office charged Vargas with driving under the influence of alcohol causing injuring within 10 years of another DUI offense; driving with .08% blood alcohol content causing injury within 10 years of another DUI offense; and a number of special enhancements for causing great bodily injury to other passengers, a criminal complaint says.

A second adult in the Corolla is expected to recover from major injuries, police said on Tuesday.

Two passengers in the Camaro  including a 10-year-old child who was seated in the rear seat  were taken to a local hospital with serious injuries, police said on Tuesday. Their conditions were unknown on Friday.

Vargas is being held at Martinez Detention Facility on $2.5 million bail. His next court date is scheduled for April 28, said Scott Alonso, a spokesperson for the Contra Costa County district attorneys office.

Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ByLHernandez
Michigan Expands Mask Requirement to Children as Young as 2

Michigan officials on Friday ordered children as young as two to wear masks in a bid to curb the rise in COVID-19 cases the state has seen in recent weeks.

Under the previous version of the states Gatherings and Mask epidemic order, children under five were exempt from masking requirements.

Expanding the mask rule to children ages two to four requires a good faith effort to ensure that these children wear masks while in gatherings at childcare facilities or camps, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement.

The expanded mandate, which takes effect on April 26, follows guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), according to the state.

Elizabeth Hertel, Michigans health director, said the expanded mandate was an example of the smart health policies and mitigation measures that the state has employed to try to stem the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

This includes the requirement to wear a mask while in public and at gatherings, limits on indoor residential social gatherings larger than 15 people with no more than three households, and expanded testing requirements for youth sports. Additionally, the most important thing people can do right now is to get the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine to protect themselves and their families, and help us eliminate this virus once and for all, she said in a statement.

The mask and gathering order is now in place through May 24.

Dr. Matthew Hornik, president of the Michigan Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said that wearing a mask significantly reduces the spread of infection and should be part of the comprehensive strategy to reduce COVID-19-including for children age two and up.

Use of masks does not restrict oxygen in the lungs even in children, it is recommended to wear a mask with layers to filter droplets effectively, he added.

Justin Winslow, president and CEO of the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association, also praised the expansion of the order, in part because officials did not force restaurants to shutter for a third time.

A medical mask is seen on the ground in Ann Arbor, Mich., on April 15, 2020. (Seth Herald/AFP via Getty Images)

It is incumbent upon all of usoperators and guests aliketo do our part to act responsibly so that we can quickly return to a quality of life that includes dining and travel opportunities for everyone, Winslow said in a statement.

Critics noted that both Hertel and Tricia Foster, a top aide to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, recently returned from out-of-state vacations. Whitmer has called the criticism partisan hit jobs and said officials can do what they want on their personal time as long as they are safe.

Parents told WDIV that forcing their toddlers to wear masks would probably not work.

Very high chance theyre gonna take it off, drop it. Its gonna get dirty, likely, if it lands on the floor and then theyre supposed to put it back on their face, said Tiffany Teal. I dont expect him to keep it on all day. Im not going to force it too much and make him upset.

Michigan saw the COVID-19 positivity rate, or the percentage of people who get tested and test positive, increase for eight consecutive weeks before a recent decline. The metric remains up 390 percent from mid-February and higher than the previous peak of 14.4 percent seen in December last year.

Approximately 18.8 percent of hospital beds across the state are occupied by COVID-19 patients, down from 19.6 percent on Dec. 4, 2020.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky on April 12 recommended Michigan impose harsh measures to curb the surge in virus cases.

The answer to that is to really close things down to go back to our basics, to go back to where we were last springlast summerand to shut things down, to flatten the curve, she told a virtual briefing.

But the Biden administration has refused to send more COVID-19 vaccine doses. Whitmer has said thats the best method to respond to the crisis.

The state is also urging the federal government to send more therapeutic antibody treatments like Regeneron Pharmaceuticals REGEN-COV and other treatments for COVID-19 such as Remdesivir.

Whitmer told a briefing this week that people should make appointments to get vaccinated as soon as possible and keep wearing masks, social distancing, and washing their hands.

As of Friday, 29.5 percent of Michigan residents 16 and older were fully vaccinated against the CCP virus.

I know how hard this year has been on all of us. I know were all feeling pandemic fatigue, but we got to remember were in this together, Whitmer said. Its going to take hard work to beat this virus, but Michiganders are used to hard work and we can beat this virus together.
Hong Kongs Fall a Harbinger of Communist Chinas Takeover of Free World: Epoch Times HK Director

The suppressive climate in Hong Kong cultivated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)under which attackers can rampage the printing press of one of the citys independent newspapers with impunityis what Beijing hopes to foist onto the West, according to Guo Jun, director of the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times.

Once hailed for its democratic freedoms, Hong Kong has seen a steady rollback of its autonomy since the former British colony reverted to Chinese rule in 1997. Over the past year, Beijing imposed sweeping laws to criminalize vaguely defined acts of secession, subversion, and foreign collusion, while instituting electoral reforms declaring that only patriots could rule the territory.

Since then, authorities have prosecuted dozens under the new security law or other charges, including most recently media mogul Jimmy Lai, publisher of local outlet Apple Daily and a fierce critic of the Chinese regime.

Hong Kong is the perfect example of how the CCP turned a free society into one where people fear speaking freely, Guo said in a recent interview for The Epoch Times American Thought Leaders program.

Today, even the Oscars cant be aired in Hong Kong because movies have to be reviewed by the Chinese regime before they can be played in Hong Kong theaters. The Chinese regime, step by step, turned Hong Kong into this, she said, adding that she has observed the same phenomenon happening in the West.

Hollywood, some big tech companies, Wall Street, they need to do business with China, so they toe the Chinese Communist Party line when it comes to topics that the Chinese Communist Party does not like, she said.

Imperceptibly, things change around you and you realize the world is different, she said. People dont dare to say what they really feel because they fear being attacked or discriminated against.

Guo noted that some may find it hard to conceive that this could be happening in a free society.

But whos behind all of this, controlling all of this? Whos using financial incentives and Chinas market as bargaining chips to change the entire world? she said.

We know its the Chinese Communist Party, and its honed its skills in Hong Kong.

Bringing the Truth

On April 12, four men barged into The Epoch Times printing plant in Hong Kong. Wielding sledgehammers, two of them smashed critical printing equipment, bringing the outlets newspaper distribution to a halt. The edition resumed publication on April 16, in time to cover the sentencing of Lai and other prominent pro-democracy activists.

Guo, citing a series of similar sabotage attempts since the facility began operations in 2006, said the CCP was highly likely behind the violent attack.

The Epoch Times doesnt have any hostile enemies because we dont owe any debts and we never had any financial conflicts with groups or individuals, she said.

Guo, who was among the founding members of The Epoch Times in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2000, said the scarcity of independent information from inside China was what motivated the group to establish the newspaper.

They wanted to bring the truth of China to the entire world and also convey international voices to the Chinese people, Guo said.

At the time, the Chinese regime staged a self-immolation incident to use as propaganda to justify its persecution of Falun Gong adherents, which had been initiated a little more than a year earlier. Guo found that Chinese and English-language outlets werent reporting the evidence that emerged about how the CCP had staged the event.

But our newspaper at that time was able to report the truth about this event to the world, she said.

A year later, when SARS broke out in southern China in late 2002, the CCP, as they did during the current pandemic, covered up the outbreak.

It was the Hong Kong Epoch Times that first broke the story, Guo said.

Sabotage

But the outlets unfiltered reporting of the Chinese regime has come at a cost. Not long after the organizations founding, its first cohort of reporters in China were all arrested.

A lot of them are graduates from Tsinghua [University] and other prestigious universities in China, Guo said. They were tortured for a long time in prisons in China.

Even today, reporters with the outlet are targeted by the regime.

We also have a lot of reporters globally whose family members continue to be harassed and threatened in China, she said.

In March, a host of the Hong Kong Epoch Times online current affairs programs received a message, delivered by a relative, from mainland Chinese police: Stop broadcasting or face arrest under the new national security law.

Guo herself has been the target of intimidation by the CCP. When she moved to Hong Kong to work at the edition, she received a letter demanding that she immediately leave the city. The writer also said they would surveil her every move and follow her wherever she goes.

The regime had also attempted to sabotage the Hong Kong edition by putting pressure on retailers and advertisers. Guo recalled one instance in which a small advertising client in Hong Kong received threatening letters in four different languages.

Some of these clients [in Hong Kong] are Koreans or from other countries, so the Chinese regime uses different languages to threaten and harass them, she said.

In May 2019, the Hong Kong Epoch Times started selling newspapers in about 500 7-Eleven stores in the city.

People were very happy that it was now very convenient to purchase The Epoch Times, Guo said.

But that arrangement didnt last long.

Unfortunately, the Chinese regime very quickly put pressure on the 7-Elevens, so 7-Eleven unilaterally backed out of the contract and took The Epoch Times off its shelves, she said.

Not Backing Down

What the regime seeks to achieve is not just about filtering out one or two news items, but to export its entire system through a combination of threats and economic coercion, Guo says.

Because Hong Kong was free from Western sanctions until recently, the Chinese regime has taken advantage of Hong Kongs status as an international financial center to attract foreign investment and engage in forced technology transfer, she said.

Its tactics are to lie and to use financial incentives to get major financial groups to partner with it, and these big financial groups and companies control the media and important institutions, she said. Financial incentives make people lose their conscience, to self-censor, and to even restrict other peoples free speech.

You can be very financially free and relatively prosperous, but fundamentally you have to operate within the rules of the Chinese regime, Guo said. Your freedoms are restricted, you have to give up freedom of speech, and you have to attack the other group of people so that they cant speak up.

Asked whether she was afraid, Guo vowed to never back down.

For us, humans must have basic dignity, basic freedoms of expression, she said. Theres no turning back for us because this is so essential. If we give up even this, then we wont have basic dignity.

Guo added that shes received a lot of advice about moving operations elsewhere due to the escalating political pressure. She urged the free world to stand together in protecting Hong Kongs basic rights and supporting the papers persistence in the city, calling it a shared responsibility.

A popular nickname for Hong Kong is base to counter the CCP, she said. The Chinese regime also sees this. Its strategy this time around is to take Hong Kong but not its people  through intimidation and threat.

If it really comes to that point one day, I feel it would be a tragedy, not just for Hong Kong people and Chinese people, but very unfortunate for the world, Guo said. So we hope to stop this downward trend while we still can.

Cathy He contributed to this report.
MARTIN COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - There's a lot of hills and forests in Martin County. That makes finding someone in need or responding to an emergency or disaster difficult.

Many of the first responders in the county are also volunteers. This means when there is a need the ones who are need could be doing something else. The Martin County Sheriff's Posse hopes to fill the void when that need comes.

Community members can apply to be on the posse. The group will be focusing first on search and rescue and disasters.

Sheriff Travis Roush says the biggest need is for when there is an amber or silver alert in the area. More boots on the ground mean a better chance at finding the person who is in need.

Roush explains, "We want to get ahead of a crisis. And hopefully, it's an organization, a unit, that never needs called out. That's the dream. But it's one of those things that's better to have and not need it instead of need it and not have it."
Cadiz Man Charged With Assault, Imprisonment

By West Kentucky Star Staff

CADIZ - A Cadiz man was charged with assaulting his wife during an argument Thursday night.Trigg County Sheriffs deputies said they were called to Beechwood Drive where they say 46-year-old James Bopes was holding his wife down on a bed and threatening to kill her.A woman and two juveniles were also in the home at the time, but escaped and called police.Deputies said Bopes was highly intoxicated at the time.Bopes was charged with terroristic threatening, unlawful imprisonment, and assault.
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, has said his past controversial comments on terrorist groups including Taliba...

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, has said his past controversial comments on terrorist groups including Taliban and Al-Qaeda were misconstrued.

The minister also said he has no issues with Christians, adding that his personal driver, secretary and technical assistant are all Christians

Pantami made this known in an interview with Peoples Gazette on Friday.

He said, My personal driver is Mai Keffi, a practising Christian. I also have a Christian, Ms Nwosu, as my secretary and Dr Femi, also a Christian, as my technical adviser.

If I did not like Christians or I did not see them as my brothers and sisters, I would not have been working with them for so long. I employed more Christians than Muslims on my staff because I believe in merit and competence over ethnic or tribal sentiments.

I have never condoned terrorism and I reject any affiliation to terror groups. I have long preached peaceful coexistence amongst people of every faith and ethnicity, the minister added.

Pantami has come under fire over his alleged link with terrorist groups, with many Nigerians calling on the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) to sack the minister.

The Nigerian Twitter community also said the minister could not be trusted with the data of Nigerians, especially with the ongoing National Identification Number and Subscriber Identity Module integration exercise under his watch.

In a viral video recorded many years ago which was later confirmed by his lawyer, Michael Numa, the minister was seen engaging the late Boko Haram leader, Mohammed Yusuf, in a public debate.

Pantami, an Islamic scholar, according to Peoples Gazette, also once declared that he was always happy when infidels were massacred.

Peoples Gazette said Pantamis comments were contained in three audio recordings of his teachings in the 2000s, when he took extreme positions in support of the brutal exploits of Al Qaeda and Taliban elements on a campaign to obliterate the West and conquer other parts of the world.

But the minister in his latest interview said his statements were misconstrued, rejecting affiliations with terror groups.

The hashtag #PantamiResign has since been trending online. The supporters of the minister have also come up with a counter-hashtag  #PantamiWillStay.
The Joona Akhara, one of the largest sects of seers in the country, announced the end of its participation in the Kumbh Mela on Saturday, hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal that participation in the ongoing gathering in Haridwar be kept symbolic in view of the surge in coronavirus cases.

The people of India and their survival is our first priority. In view of the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, we have duly immersed all the deities invoked on the occasion of Kumbh. This is the formal immersion-conclusion of Kumbh on behalf of Joona Akhara, Swami Avadheshanand Giri, the mahamandaleshwar' of the Joona Akhara, said in a tweet in Hindi.

An enclosed note signed by Giri, Joona Akhara patron Hari Giri and secretaries Mahant Mohan Bharti and Mahant Mahesh Puri said the decision to immerse the Kumbh deities had been taken in public interest after consultations with other seers of the Akhara.

"Immersing the deities, we also pray to all teertha' and siddhapeeth' and declare the immersion of Haridwar Kumbh Mela, 2021," it said.

The ongoing Kumbh Mela has been at the centre of controversy amid fears that it could be a superspreader event with lakhs of devotees attending the event as the second wave of the coronavirus surges uncontrollably.

Stating that faith was a big thing but human lives were more important , the head of the Joona Akhara earlier in the day appealed to people to attend the Kumbh Mela in limited numbers in view of the surge in COVID-19 cases.

"We must all realise that the strain of coronavirus was not as aggressive or fatal earlier as it is at present. So my appeal to the emotional devotees is that they should attend the Kumbh fair in limited numbers," he told reporters in Haridwar.

The mahamandaleshwar' of one of the oldest sects of seers also appealed to sadhus to keep their participation in the event symbolic in order to save others' lives.

He especially advised elderly people, pregnant women and children to avoid coming to the fair and stay safe.

Giri earlier noted that the Kumbh Mela is already towards its fag end, with the two major shahi snan' being over .

One shahi snan' remains in which traditionally only Bairagi seers participate. Others have only symbolic representation.

The Bairagi seers must have their shahi snan. The administration is committed to organise it. But my personal appeal is things should be kept limited and symbolic for the sake of humanity," the seer said.

Giri on Saturday also defended Niranjani Akhara which had recently announced that the event was over for them.

"... they perhaps meant to say that the two major shahi snan' had been concluded and the one that remains is attended mostly by Bairagi seers with only a symbolic representation by other akharas, he said.

The Joona Akhara 'mahamandaleshwar' also asserted that seers of his Akhara are following all COVID-19 norms.

"The number of seers from our Akhara undergoing COVID-19 test is the highest, out of which, only one or two have tested positive and the rest are all negative. I have had myself tested for COVID-19 12 times," he said.

A total of 1,701 people had tested positive for COVID-19 in the Haridwar Kumbh Mela area from April 10 to 14 confirming fears that one of the world's largest religious gatherings may contribute further to the rapid rise in coronavirus cases.

A majority of the 48.51 lakh people who took part in the last two royal baths (shahi snan) held on the occasion of Somwati Amavasya on April 12 and Mesh Sankranti on April 14 were seen openly violating COVID-19 norms like wearing of face masks and social distancing.

President of Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, Mahant Naredra Giri was admitted to AIIMS, Rishikesh after testing positive for the disease last week. Mahamandaleshwar of Maha Nirvani Akhara from Madhya Pradesh, Swami Kapil Dev, who was under treatment for COVID-19 at a private hospital here, died on April 13.

ALSO READ: COVID-19 update: RT-PCR test mandatory for Kumbh Mela returnees in Gujarat

ALSO READ: 'Kumbh Mela should now only be symbolic,' says PM Modi

ALSO READ: Seers demand apology from Nirajani Akhada for announcing Kumbh Mela 'end'
Three million lives: That is roughly equivalent to losing the population of Berlin, Chicago or Taipei. The scale is so staggering that it sometimes begins to feel real only in places like graveyards.

The worlds Covid-19 death toll surpassed three million on Saturday, according to a New York Times database. More than 100,000 people have died of Covid-19 in France. The death rate is inching up in Michigan. Morgues in some Indian cities are overflowing with corpses.

And as the United States and other rich nations race to vaccinate their populations, new hot spots have emerged in parts of Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.

The global pace of deaths is accelerating, too. After the coronavirus emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the pandemic claimed a million lives in nine months. It took another four months to kill its second million, and just three months to kill a million more.
After a video capturing the deadly police shooting of Adam Toledo was made public, the Chicago City Council Latino Caucus said the footage clearly showed that the 13-year-old boy was unarmed at the moment a cop shot him.

"There is no question of what transpired... The body camera footage shows that Adam Toledo was an unarmed child with his hands up when he was shot by a Chicago police officer," the Latino Caucus said in a statement as reported by CBS Chicago.

The Latino Caucus further noted that the Latino teen stopped and raised his hands as directed by the police, but that still did not prevent him from being killed.

READ NEXT: One-Year-Old Boy Shot in the Head in Chicago Road Rage Shooting

The Shooting Incident in Chicago's Little Village

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) released nearly 30 pieces of video and other materials related to Adam Toledo's case on Thursday or 16 days after the incident.

Footage showed Adam Toledo standing by the side of Ruben Roman, 21, on a street corner of 24th Street and Sawyer Avenue in Little Village when several shots were fired in the early morning of March 29. Both then ran into a nearby alley.

The police officer, who shot Adam Toledo, chased the teen down the alley, ordered him to stop, and showed his hands.

A slow-motion version of the video from the cop's body camera shows Adam Toledo standing sideways in a large gap in a wooden fence with what looks like a handgun in one of his hands behind his back.

But when the police officer opened fire, the footage shows the teen has raised his hands, and they appeared to be empty. Another video shows Roman on the alley's ground and getting handcuffed.

Adeena Weiss Ortiz, a lawyer for the Toledo family, said they are exploring legal action against Eric Stillman, the cop who shot Adam Toledo.

Ortiz said it's an assassination if one shoots an unarmed kid with his arms in the air, Chicago Sun-Times reported. She acknowledged that Adam Toledo appeared to have something that "could be a gun," but stressed that it's not relevant because the teen has tossed the firearm.

Latino Caucus Pushes for New Police Oversight Ordinance

The Latino Caucus is now calling for the passage of an ordinance dubbed the Empowering Communities for Public Safety to create a new commission of community members with civilian oversight of the police department, among other changes.

Initially backed by the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability and the coalition for a Civilian Police Accountability Council, the ordinance will give communities a choice over electing a civilian commission to oversee the Chicago Police Department.

It will pave the way for the creation of an 11-member board that would be given a voice on the department policy and police accountability. The Latino Caucus has called Adam Toledo's death "a tragedy by all measures."

On Friday, hundreds of people marched through the streets and gathered in Logan Square Park to demand justice for Adam Toledo.

Many demonstrators also said that they were there to protest a policing system that is no longer working, and they wanted Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to hear that message.

READ MORE: Chicago Shootings Leave 2 Dead, 14 Hurt, Including Police Sergeant Shot in Face

WATCH: Body Camera Video Shows Fatal Shooting Of 13-Year-Old Adam Toledo In Chicago - From NBC News NOW
Graduates celebrate during ECUs commencement ceremony in 2019. The classes of 2020 and 2021 will be recognized during in-person ceremonies that follow current COVID-19 safety guidelines on May 7. | Photos: Cliff Hollis & Rhett Butler

UNC System President Peter Hans | Photo: Contributed

Ceremony and guest information

This post appears here courtesy of ECU News Services . The author of this post is Jamie Smith East Carolina University will host three in-person commencement ceremonies Friday, May 7 at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium to celebrate the spring Class of 2021 and the Class of 2020. University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans will deliver the keynote address to about 4,000 spring graduates.Ceremonies at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. will recognize undergraduate students and be grouped by colleges to accommodate the number of graduates and guests. A 5 p.m. ceremony will celebrate ECU's graduate and professional students.said ECU Chancellor Philip Rogers.Hans was a first-generation college student and grew up in the small North Carolina towns of Hendersonville and Southport. He completed his undergraduate studies at UNC-Chapel Hill and earned a master's degree in extension studies from Harvard University.Prior to his election as UNC System president in 2020, he served as the ninth president of the North Carolina Community College system. During his tenure the system increased visibility, enrollment, completion rates, public funding, private support and business partnerships.Hans served on the State Board of Community Colleges and the UNC Board of Governors where he was chosen by peers for leadership roles and fought for streamlining the transfer of student credits. He served previously as senior policy advisor to three U.S. senators, counseled the private sector on public affairs at one of the state's largest law firms, and supported former UNC System President Margaret Spellings on key initiatives.To comply with current mass gathering requirements, ceremonies have been divided by college to accommodate the number of students who completed the RSVP forms. A livestream of the event will be available to students and their families who are unable to attend or choose not to attend the in-person celebration.The 9 a.m. undergraduate ceremony includes the colleges of Education, Engineering and Technology, Fine Arts and Communication, and Health and Human Performance.Colleges participating in the 1 p.m. undergraduate ceremony include the College of Allied Health Science, Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business and College of Nursing.The 5 p.m. ceremony celebrates graduate and professional students from all ECU degree awarding colleges for master's, doctoral and professional degrees.Each Class of 2021 graduate who completed the RSVP form before the deadline will receive four guest tickets to attend the in-person ceremony. Class of 2021 graduates will sit on the field and will not require a ticket for entry.Class of 2020 graduates who completed the RSVP form prior to the deadline will receive five tickets for the in-person ceremony. Each 2020 graduate will be seated with up to four guests in a special section of Dowdy-Ficklen and will require a ticket for entry.On Friday, April 16, ticket information will be sent to all 2020 and 2021 graduates who met the RSVP deadline. The ticket information will be sent to the email address used in the RSVP form.Guest tickets can be printed or displayed on a mobile device and will be required for entry into the stadium. Any guest without a ticket will not be permitted to enter. All tickets are for one-time use assigned to each graduate and can't be duplicated, copied or transferred to another graduate.All guest tickets will be placed in four-person pods throughout the lower sections of the stadium. Guests must remain in their pods to maintain social distancing protocols, which will be monitored by staff on site. Graduates and their guests will be required to wear a mask while inside the stadium. Children 2 years of age and younger will not need a ticket for entry but must sit on the lap of one of the four guests in their assigned pod.Additional information and details about the ceremonies, tickets and safety protocols will be shared on the ECU commencement website in the days and weeks leading up to May 7. The website includes graduate and guest information as well as lists of frequently asked questions.The university intends to host the ceremonies rain or shine, but circumstances such as new COVID-19 restrictions or severe weather could require the event to be canceled.For other commencement related questions contact commencement@ecu.edu . For graduates or guests that require ADA accommodations, contact ECU Disability Support Services at 252-737-1016.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 17:50:43|Editor: huaxia

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LUANDA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Angolan National Fuel Society (Sonangol), the Angola's state oil company, has sold 31.78 percent of the stake it held in Puma Energy, for 600 million U. S. dollars, according to a press release reaching Xinhua here.

The transaction happened under a tripartite agreement, which included the Trafigura company as the buyer.

"These transactions represent the culmination of the efforts of the national oil company, aiming to protect itself from participating in the recapitalization of Puma Energy," read the document, stressing the agreement are in line with the strategic goal included in the privatization program, with evident results in the optimization of Sonangol's portfolio of assets, key elements to focus on its core business.

The completion of the relevant procedures, including selling Sonangol's shares in Puma Energy to Trafigura, will take between six and eight months, according to the document.

Sonangol has previously announced the purpose of selling more than 50 assets and shares it held in companies in the real estate, tourism, oil, telecommunications and finance sectors. Enditem
This is part three of a multipart series of articles featuring interviews with US educators. Read part one here and part two here. We encourage all educators, parents and students to share your stories and describe conditions in your district with educators@wsws.org.

In order to fuel Bidens back-to-school campaign, which is meant to facilitate the broader reopening of the economy, the recent $1.9 trillion federal relief package has set aside $128 billion for K-12 school districts that resume in-person learning. School districts have flexibility regarding how to use this money. However, according to the legislation, 20 percent of the funds given to school districts must be spent on evidence-based practices to combat learning loss.

Teachers and students at P.S. 15 in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York City on September 2, 2020 [Credit: AP Photo/John Minchillo]

The World Socialist Web Site spoke with teachers from across the US regarding the severe crisis in public education, the recent relief bill and how they would like to see these funds used in schools.

A New York City elementary school teacher spoke about the relief bill and the interests of the federal government in funding learning loss, noting, The district is going to put more students into my classroom in the middle of the year. I have to find time to test and evaluate these students and still teach the students I already have. I dont have an assistant. Its too much for one person to do. The kids need YOU! They dont individually get your full attention when youre spread too thin.

The New York City Public Schools, the largest school district in the country with 1.1 million students, will receive an estimated $4.5 billion in federal coronavirus relief from the recent stimulus bill, which amounts to about $900 million that must be used for learning loss.

Elementary, middle and high schools have all reopened for in-person instruction in the district, despite the fact that more transmissible variants of COVID-19 now make up the majority of active cases in the city. The city has seen an uptick in cases and currently has a seven-day average citywide test positivity rate of 6.4 percent, with much higher case rates in working class neighborhoods.

The New York City teacher continued, The Biden administration is not looking at the reopening of schools in a reasonable way. Its not rational. Do they really care about the kids? They are not having a school year that is typical. They dont get art and music and gym. Theyre sitting in one classroom all day. Middle and high school is a whole different ball game. You move through classes, theres a lot of movement through hallways. How can they do that safely?

Describing the amount of economic stress teachers are also under this year, the teacher noted, Recently a colleague of mine had to take three personal days off to manage her mothers funeral. Later in the year her daughter needed to be picked up from an upstate New York college because of a COVID-19 outbreak. Because she didnt have any personal days left, they docked her pay!

Another teacher in Norfolk, Virginia described where funds are needed in public education in her district, saying, Ive heard that the money is not being spent to retool old schools air conditioning and all that. Here in Norfolk there was the concern with lead in the water supply, and they are not putting money there either.

I think its just about paying the school district to babysit the kids. I dont think that its going to fix infrastructure. I dont think its going to address the disparity in pay that teachers have. Theyre not going to touch that. Its probably going to go to pad the wallets of the higher-ups and keep business as usual. I keep hearing that theyre afraid they wont have enough teachers to hire in the fall, and Im not hearing anything about a pay bump. There was an email we got saying we might get some extra pay if we stay until the end of the school year, like a summer bonus  if we live that long.

I dont think it will be used to improve the literacy issues that the students in Norfolk have. Its not going to change the class struggle that our children have or the racial disparities that our children in Norfolk have.

The WSWS asked how she would spend the money. She replied, I would put it toward addressing the literacy difficulty. I almost see it as a social justice issue. I dont see how we have so much difficulty getting our kids to read. Its almost like we dont even want them to read.

In terms of safety, repair the ventilation systems! They even tell us that the plexiglass is too expensive, and teachers are going to the hardware store to get and make their own screens. They arent giving us PPE, and they are not deep cleaning anything. I would also probably hire more teachers and give more funding for professional development thats nationally recognized and meaty, that would be beneficial for everyone.

She added, It would also be better to have more hardware. We seem to be running out of laptops. The kids came in to get them to take home and now the schools dont have enough for the children learning in-person. The internet connection for the remote kids is up and down. There are days when everybody is kicked out of the Zoom meeting, and you have to put on the Canvas message board that its an asynchronous day with assignments but without instruction, which you didnt plan on. But you cant get it to function.

Youre really at the mercy of Cox Cable, and theres limited connectivity. Theres the mobile hotspots, but we dont have enough of those. Even within the school there are internet signal dead zones. It would be nice for all the kids to have confidence that their internet would work.

Most of the kids are struggling to stay connected from home. When its overcast or it has been raining, we just know that half of the class wont be able to tune in. If its not bright and sunny outside, its a s show. I would put some of the $128 billion toward that.

A teacher in Tennessee also responded to the recent federal relief bill, saying, In the past 11 years, Tennessee has seen great influxes of federal money, the largest being Obamas Race-to-the-Top grant in 2010, which ushered in the Common Core, rigorous standardized testing, and a punitive teacher evaluation model.

While a few hundred teachers across the state benefited from the $44 million by taking on summer work to train their colleagues on the new standards and best practices, most teachers in the state had none of that money reach their classrooms in any meaningful way aside from the burden of the new evaluation system.

She added, Bidens relief package to the state is significantly larger in 2021. While teachers can speculate on how the billions will be spent, we are sure it will not be spent on what is needed to improve student outcomes and teacher working conditions. We know what works in education; mountains of research exist about the effectiveness of this or that instructional strategy or intervention.

These are just a few items I would suggest if I was asked where the money should go: smaller class sizes; hire more teachers; hire more psychologists, social workers, and student supports; fully fund and staff restorative justice programs; wraparound supports for the whole child; make access to internet free.

Jessica has been teaching in California for 16 years. She currently teaches kindergarten in Davis Joint Unified School District (DJUSD) near Sacramento. She spoke to the WSWS about the conditions in her school district and the intensified drive to fully reopen schools.

This week were starting in-person instruction. A lot of us are very worried, especially those of us with children. Its like there is no choice but to go back. My husband works in a hospital, but our two daughters arent vaccinated. My friend whos a teacher has a daughter with an autoimmune disease. Shes probably going to have to take an unpaid leave of absence.

On Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom called on school districts to use recent state and federal funding to extend the work day and school year in order to get students back into classrooms. Newsom said, Use this money to extend learning opportunities, extend the school day, extend the school year. Who says you have to end on June 15, who says that? Were not saying that, were saying the opposite. Thats what I want to offer: that flexibility.

All major school districts throughout the state returned to some form of in-person instruction in recent weeks. Despite a steady rise in cases throughout the state, Governor Newsom plans to lift most major restrictions by June 15.

Jessica further described the push to fully reopen schools in her district, saying, In our contract vote, 80 percent had voted for a four-day week in-person. Now the Board is imposing a five-day week. They rejected the $4,300 bonus we demanded and brought it down to $2,500. Its a mess! So DJUSD is opening up five days a week, in-person AND online. Thats a heck of a lot of preparation and teaching time. Our district is giving us $900 a month per child for child care, but then were worried about our children in a group setting at child care. Theres no choice.

In our daily schedule, teachers are given only 45 minutes of prep time. Thats nothing, when it takes one to two hours to do the video. We have to prepare math and language arts lessons.

The district is also offering us a one-time bonus of $2,500, but thats a lot of work ahead of us for next year. I have a friend who teaches in Elk Grove, near Davis. They arent getting any bonuses, and they also started this week. Why is it that all the districts arent going by one plan, same bonuses, etc.?

There have been COVID-19 cases here. Several of my coworkers got it. One teacher had to even start a GoFundMe to help her financially manage. My husband works as a physical therapist at a hospital. We even have a COVID quarantine hotel here.

I know that when this school year ends, theres going to be a mass exodus of teachers out of this profession. Its just too much work and stress for teachers.

To be continued
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Princess Eugenie attended the funeral of her grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, alongside her husband Jack Brooksbank this afternoon, at St George's Chapel in Windsor.

Eugenie, who is the daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York, wore her brunette tresses in a natural wave across her shoulders and donned a 5,690 Franz Knotted Trench coat, by Gabriela Hearst, as she arrived by car this afternoon ahead of the service.

The Queen's granddaughter, who gave birth to her first child, August Philip, with Jack in early February, was seen wearing a black face mask to stay protected amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, older sister Beatrice donned a long collared jacket and a round hat embellished with a large black bow as she joined her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.

Eugenie and husband Jack, who married in October 2018, named their first child August Philip Hawke Brooksbank, in honour of her grandfather Prince Philip.

Princess Eugenie attended the funeral of her grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, alongside her husband Jack Brooksbank (pictured) this afternoon, at St George's Chapel in Windsor

Eugenie, holding her hands together, appeared sombre as she stood alongside her husband Jack during Prince Philip's funeral (pictured)

Eugenie and Jack (pictured top centre) appeared behind Prince Philip's youngest son Prince Edward, his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and their two teenager children Lady Louise Windsor, 17, and Viscount Severn, 13, (pictured bottom right)

Eugenie, holding her hands together, appeared sombre as she stood alongside her husband Jack during Prince Philip's funeral.

The couple were standing near Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, as well as Eugenie's cousin Zara Tindall and her husband Mike, with all the pairs following social distancing guidelines.

Looking teary-eyed, it was the first time that Zara, 39, Princess Anne's daughter, had been seen since giving birth to her son Lucas Philip Tindall three weeks ago.

Eugenie, who donned an elegant black coat with matching high heels, finished her demure look with a black fascinator, while carrying a clutch, thought to be the Gabriela Hearsts 'Diana' bag.

Eugenie and husband Jack (pictured together), who married in October 2018, named their first child August Philip Hawke Brooksbank, in honour of her grandfather Prince Philip

Princess Eugenie (pictured) arriving at St George's Chapel, in Windsor Castle, for the funeral of her grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh

Eugenie (pictured right), who is the daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York , wore her brunette tresses in a natural wave across her shoulders and donned a black jacket as she arrived by car at Windsor Castle, accompanied by her husband Jack Brooksbank this afternoon

The mother-of-one, who has previously described Prince Philip as the rock of the royal family, completed her ensemble with a smattering of sophisticated makeup.

The royal and her husband Jack Brooksbank, 34, who named their first child after Prince Philip, were among the 30 guests who were invited to attend the funeral.

They appeared behind Prince Philip's youngest son Prince Edward, his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and their two teenager children Lady Louise Windsor, 17, and Viscount Severn, 13.

The Queen's granddaughter, who gave birth to her first child, August Philip, with Jack in early February, was seen stepping out of her vehicle at St George's Chapel (pictured left), while wearing a black face mask to stay protected amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Pictured right: Eugenie and Jack with other members of the royal family

Eugenie (pictured), who donned an elegant black coat with matching high heels, finished her demure look with a black fascinator, while carrying a clutch bag

Eugenie (pictured) and her husband Jack Brooksbank, 34, who named their first child after Prince Philip, were among the 30 guests who were invited to attend the funeral

The Duke of Edinburgh showed his dedication for his two granddaughters by attending each of their weddings, most recently Beatrice's intimate ceremony to Edoardo at The Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge, Windsor, in July last year.

Looked up to as the patriarch of his family, Prince Philip became a mentor for younger royals who continued to turn to him over the years. Eugenie once described him as the rock of the family.

The Queen's four children, eight grandchildren and their respective spouses have come together today to support Her Majesty following the death of her husband last week at the age of 99.

Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank, pictured left, alongside other members of the royal family including the Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Beatrice

The Duchess of Cambridge (far right) waits with members of the royal family, such as Zara Tindall, Mike Tindall, Princess Eugenie, Jack Brooksbank, Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi outside St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle

THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH'S DEDICATION TO HIS GRANDDAUGHTERS: BEATRICE SHARES LESSON SHE LEARNT FROM HER GRANDFATHER WHILE EUGENIE NAMES SON AFTER PHILIP

The Duke of Edinburgh showed his dedication to his granddaughters in turn by making rare public appearances to attend Eugenie and Beatrice's weddings.

In her last engagement before Philip's death, Beatrice shared a lesson she learned from her grandfather explaining how he encouraged her not to become 'obsessed with solutions' and to focus on the journey to get there instead.

The Queen's granddaughter divulged the words of wisdom inspired by the late Duke of Edinburgh while speaking speaking at a virtual event on March 31.

She was announcing her patronage with non-profit organisation 20:40 which aims to help young people collaborate on socio-economic issues.

Prince Philip became a mentor for younger royals, with Eugenie previously describing her grandfather as the rock of the family (pictured at Eugenie and Jack's wedding in 2018)

When asked to share advice with young future leaders during the webinar, Beatrice told them not to become obsessed with the 'solution' while trying to solve problems because their journey will always have 'twists and turns'.

She went on to urge them not to become 'disheartened' by obstacles and to remain 'focused' on what they are trying to achieve, a lesson she said was inspired by her grandfather Prince Philip.

Speaking from her home, Beatrice, who donned a white and blue striped shirt, said: 'One of the things that I've always been inspired by is keeping your curiosity and don't be afraid to un-think and un-learn.

'But also don't feel like you have to have all the answers yourself, one of the things that has always helped me, and this actually is inspired by my grandfather, whose turning 100 this year, but you kind of become obsessed with solving the problem, don't become obsessed with the solution.

'Because your route to actually finding a way to get through that problem will be different and the path will be different, and it might twist and turn.

'So don't be disheartened if your first path is not the one you think you have to stick to. Keep focusing on what you're trying to achieve and you'll get there.'

The Duke of Edinburgh enjoyed a special bond with his grandchildren and made one of his last public appearances at Beatrice and Edoardo's lockdown wedding in July 2020.

Meanwhile, Eugenie paid tribute to her beloved grandfather earlier this year by naming her newborn son after him.

Princess Eugenie and husband Jack Brooksbank, who married in October 2018, named their first child, a son born in February, August Philip Hawke Brooksbank.

But tragically, due to lockdown restrictions, it is thought that Eugenie never had the opportunity to introduce her newborn sons to her grandfather before his death last Friday at the age of 99.

Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank paid tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh earlier this year by naming their first child, a son born in February, August Philip Hawke Brooksbank

The Queen's granddaughter also recently paid tribute to her beloved grandfather on Instagram earlier this week as she said she would remember his 'spectacular life'.

She shared the lengthy post alongside two pictures of her with the Duke of Edinburgh, who passed away last Friday at the age of 99.

In the post, Eugenie said she 'would remember learning how to cook, how to paint, what to read' as well as her grandfather's 'favourite beer' and BBQing ability.

She finished the statement by posting: 'Thank you for your dedication and love for us all and especially Granny, who we will look after for you.'

She posted: 'Dearest Grandpa, we all miss you. You would be so touched by all the tributes that have been shared with me the past few days. 

'People remember sitting next to you at a dinner, or shaking your hand once, who remember you saying hello in passing, or remember how much their DofE award meant to them. 

'I remember learning how to cook, how to paint, what to read. I remember laughing at your jokes and asking about your spectacular life and service in the navy. 

'I remember incinerating the sausages and you swooping in to save the day. I remember your hands and your laugh and your favourite beer. I will remember you in your children, your grandchildren and great grandchildren.'

She finished the post by thanking the Duke for his service, before signing off: 'With all my love, Eugenie.'

The royal shared two images alongside the emotional post, including one alongside sister Princess Beatrice on The Royal Balcony At The Investec Derby Festival At Epsom In Surrey in 2017.

Another showed Prince Philip patting a then eight-year-old Eugenie affectionately on the head on Christmas Day at Sandringham in 1998. Eugenie once described him as the rock of the family.

Speaking in the 2016 ITV documentary Our Queen at Ninety, Princess Eugenie said of Philip: 'I think Grandpa is incredible. He really is strong and consistent. He's been there for all these years, and I think he's the rock, you know, for all of us.'
An artist's impression of an electric car manufactured by VinFast. Photo courtesy of VinFast.

Automaker VinFast has increased its charter capital by nearly 37 percent this year to VND42.5 trillion ($1.84 billion) amid plans to launch electric vehicles.

Vietnams first fully-fledged carmaker hiked its capital by a total of VND11.38 trillion on three occasions in the first three months, according to the National Business Registration Portal.

This makes VinFast the largest subsidiary of conglomerate Vingroup in terms of charter capital, followed by Vinhomes and Vincom Retail.

Vingroup, the countrys biggest private company, owns a 51.52 percent stake in VinFast, while the Vietnam Investment Company, owned by Vingroup chairman Pham Nhat Vuong, owns 40.98.

In January VinFast introduced three self-driving electric cars that will be delivered this year. The company plans to sell them in the U.S., Canada and the E.U., with bookings opening in November and delivery to be made in June next year.

It is reportedly planning an initial public offering in the U.S. to raise at least $2 billion, the first ever Vietnamese company to do so.

Vingroup plans to build a second auto plant in Vietnam in the central province of Ha Tinh. Its first is in the northern city of Hai Phong.
Hollinger, William "Peanut"

William A. Peanut Hollinger

It isnt often many of us are at a loss for words; however, it seems the words needed to express our loss at this time just can not be found. For the purposes of this obituary we could just share the basics: place of birth, accomplishments, family and so on...but Peanut just wasnt a basic guy. It is rare to experience the presence of someone, whom when they walk into a room, their very existence changes all that is in the room and intensifies the energy. Someone that draws you in. You are intrigued by their essence, personality, stories and experiences. It is as if they are holding court and all of those around are the captivated audience. This is what it was like to know Peanut Hollinger. When he entered any room, it would simply light up. Now, he is gone.

William A Hollinger, known to most as Peanut, left our presence on April 15, 2021. For those of us who had the gift of knowing Peanut, we will no doubt miss this ever present, larger than life personality. This gentle man was known as Captain, Papa, Dad, friend, boss, businessman, mentor. Yet his most favorable term of endearment was that of a River rat. Peanut literally grew up on the river and claimed those in the industry as family. He began working on the River at the age of 14 and continued to do so for his lifetime. He held every position on a boat, owned multiple successful companies alone and with partners; however his most prized partnership was with his wife, Jayne. Traveling through life together, they made it an adventure from Mississippi to Kentucky and all of the places they lived in between. Many joined them on their journey, most notably their children: Lois Hollinger Harrison (Tim) of LaGrange, Ga. Debbie Hollinger Moore (Steve) of McKinney, Tx. and Sunnie Gayle Leach of Paducah, KY. Russell, who followed in his fathers footsteps as a boat captain has no doubt greeted his Dad on the other side along with his other daughter, Beth.

If you knew Peanut you no doubt have a story. It may be about his friendship, his business acumen, or his ability to give second chances. Please share those stories! Laugh out loud at his memory but most of all find the good. Peanut had a gift for that. As a way to honor his memory look for it within yourself and others. Share the good and know just like the flowing brown waters of what was his home, his presence will forever be felt.

A private cremation service is planned with a celebration of life at a later date this summer.

Milner & Orr Funeral Home of Paducah is in charge of arrangements.

We appreciate your help in maintaining state mandated Covid restrictions. This includes wearing a mask and maintaining the minimum six feet of distancing within our facility at all times.

During this difficult time of Covid, you may show your support by joining the Hugs from Home program where your message will be attached to a balloon in the chapel to remind the family of your love and support. Please go to www.milnerandorr.com to send a hug.

You may leave a message of sympathy and light a candle at www.milnerandorr.com.
Ken Gooch, right, retired head of forestry for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, leads Stockbridge officials through Ice Glen last month, in preparation for a study to save its old-growth trees.
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Chicago residents reacted with outrage and grief to newly-released bodycam footage showing police officer Eric Stillman fatally shooting thirteen-year-old Adam Toledo after a brief foot chase as the boy turned and faced the officer with his hands in the air.

A demonstrator carries a sign bearing images of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin and others, during a protest Thursday, April 15, 2021, in Brooklyn Center, Minn. [Credit: AP Photo/John Minchillo]

Stillman and other officers were responding to reports of shots fired in Little Village, a predominantly Hispanic, working-class neighborhood in Chicagos southwest side, at around 3 a.m. on March 29. Stillman confronted Toledo and 21-year-old Ruben Roman before chasing Toledo on foot into an alley.

Stillman yelled at Toledo to stop and to drop a gun he had in his hand. The teenager slowed down before dropping the gun and turning with his empty hands raised. In less than a second Stillman opened fire, striking Toledo in the chest. Nineteen seconds elapsed from when the officer got out of his squad car to when he shot the boy.

Dozens of protestors marched in Chicago just hours after the video was released. Local news stations reported a demonstration in downtown Chicago and a later one right outside the Chicago Police Department headquarters. Protestors were reported to have blocked traffic but remained peaceful.

A larger protest was held Friday night in Logan Square, near the home of Mayor Lori Lightfoot. More than 2,000 people said they would attend the event or were interested in doing so on Facebook, with videos of the demonstration already showing that thousands of people had gathered in the streets. Police were expected to block off Lightfoots home with barricades and officers.

Lightfoot, a Democrat, appealed for calm and defended Stillman at a Thursday news conference, saying anyone who saw footage of the incident would see that officer spring into action to try to revive Adam, to call for medical assistance. Lightfoot claimed most officers go their entire career without shooting their weapon and added that officers are traumatized whenever they do shoot someone.

Although protestors have declared they will remain peaceful, police have preemptively made preparations for violent confrontations. Officers were deployed throughout the downtown area and city vehicles were set aside to be used to block traffic if necessary. Business owners boarded up windows and barricaded stores in anticipation of violence.

According to news site Block Club Chicago, police began preparations for protests as early as Monday, stating it was closely monitoring events across the country, one day after the police murder of Daunte Wright sparked protests in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. That day, some officers had their days off canceled, and police presence was heavy throughout the city. Officers sat in their cars with their flashing lights on and closed off Oak Street, an affluent commercial area, to drivers.

The footage of Toledos murder adds to the outrage among the American population over police violence and brutality. The video was released amid the ongoing trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who kneeled on George Floyds neck for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020, and the recent killing of Wright in a Minneapolis suburb.

Wright was pulled over by police who said they later discovered he had a warrant for his arrest for a misdemeanor weapons charge. While he was being arrested, Wright pulled away from officers and attempted to sit down in his drivers seat. Potter pulled her pistol on Wright, which she allegedly mistook for her taser, and shot him seconds later. Wright died at the scene. Potter was charged with second-degree manslaughter on Wednesday.

For five nights in a row, sometimes in snowy weather, protestors marched in Brooklyn Center. Protestors chanted Wrights name and demanded justice outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department. The first three nights of protests were marked by violence and chaos, as police deployed tear gas on protestors and made dozens of arrests. The National Guard was deployed to back up the police. Officers threatened to arrest journalists during the protests, openly stating that they would be arrested if they did not leave the area.

Police reported 72 people were arrested on Tuesday and another 24 on Wednesday. Protestors returned Thursday but no arrests were made. However, police said they will remain alert and prepare for demonstrations to continue as the trial of Derek Chauvin approaches its final stages next week.
WASHINGTON, April 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Armenian National Institute (ANI) announced the launch of an Arabic version of its widely consulted website on the Armenian Genocide, which will continue to be expanded over the coming months. The site can be accessed at arabic.armenian-genocide.org or through the main ANI site at https://www.armenian-genocide.org/.

The ANI website contains extensive records on the history and affirmation of the World War I-era Armenian Genocide, when 1.5 million Armenians fell victim to the Young Turk government's policy of mass deportation and annihilation. The initial release of the Arabic language site includes the Chronology of the Genocide, FAQs, original documentation, archival material, references on international affirmation, and contemporaneous photo evidence, as well as links to the online Armenian Genocide Museum of America, legal documents, focused exhibits, teaching resources and more.

"These resources have not been available to Arabic speakers in the past, yet the role many Arab states played in mitigating the effects of the Armenian Genocide and the dangers posed by the Turkish government's efforts to deny and rewrite that history are as alive as ever. We know the consequences of Turkey's censorship on its own history and are pleased to provide these resources to Arabic reading scholars, teachers, and the public," stated ANI Chairman Van Krikorian. "During the Genocide, of course the Ottoman Turkish government used Arabic script, including to record the government's own post-war trials where Turkish leaders were convicted of planning and executing the extermination of the Armenian race. We will be adding original Arabic script documents in time as well. Most of all, we thank all those who contributed to this project's development and look forward to its expansion," Krikorian noted.

Large diaspora communities formed across the Arab world after the Armenian Genocide. In contrast to the destruction of ancient Armenian centers across Ottoman Turkey, newly-formed Middle East communities created by survivors and refugees recovered and flourished over the following decades, and substantial Armenian communities continue to exist across the region. Countries like Lebanon and Syria are also among the list of 30 countries that have formally recognized the Armenian Genocide.

Among the earliest critics of the Young Turk policy of genocide was the Sharif of Mecca, Al-Husayn ibn 'Ali, who called upon fellow Muslims to protect, help, and defend the deported Armenians. This remarkable pronouncement by the guardian of the Holy Places of Islam was largely heeded and stood in sharp contrast to the proclamation of jihad by the religious leadership in the Ottoman capital of Istanbul.

The ANI site also includes links to memorials around the world, including to the "Armenian Genocide Memorial Church" in Der Zor, Syria which was intentionally destroyed by terrorist forces coordinating with the Erdogan regime in Turkey in 2014.

Once again, a first-rate team of supporters and volunteers helped ANI's professional staff realize the production of the Arabic language version of the ANI website. Genny Chekerjian took on the task of translating substantial portions of the large quantity of information posted on the site. Hagop Vartivarian provided editorial support, while Vatche Sarkissian closely collaborated with Chekerjian to provide as accurate a rendition of vital records as possible, and coordinated with longtime ANI webmaster Mark Malkasian to upload the site in the Arabic script.

"The continuous expansion of the ANI website and its translations have been the collaborative project of numerous supporters across the Armenian diaspora and our non-Armenian friends who appreciate the importance of making the critical records on Armenian Genocide affirmation easily accessible," stated ANI Director Dr. Rouben Adalian. "From across the continents they have shared their time, talent, and encouragement. The Arabic version is a work in progress, and we welcome constructive comments from scholars and the community of concerned individuals working to defend human rights and protect human life everywhere in the world."

ANI maintains a broad range of online resources about the Armenian Genocide. The online museum is an interactive site allowing visitors to proceed at their own pace and includes a very popular introductory video. Several digital exhibits released by ANI since the centennial of the Armenian Genocide cover many aspects of the experience of the Armenian people starting in 1915. The ANI digital exhibits are based on photographic collections from U.S. archival repositories and document the extensive humanitarian intervention of American volunteers, who arrived in Armenia and across the Middle East in the immediate aftermath of the genocide.

The leading institutional website on the Armenian Genocide since its inception 24 years ago, the ANI website annually registers millions of hits. Widely consulted by educators and students, the site is also a major source of information in preparation of April 24 commemorative activities utilized by journalists, government officials, and the public. The creation of the Arabic language ANI site follows the earlier successful launch of the Turkish and Spanish language versions of the site. More information on the Armenian Genocide can also be ascertained via the ANI Twitter handle.

Founded in 1997, the Armenian National Institute (ANI) is a 501(c)(3) educational charity based in Washington, D.C., and is dedicated to the study, research, and affirmation of the Armenian Genocide.

NR# 2021-01

SOURCE Armenian Assembly of America

Related Links

https://www.armenian-genocide.org


The House has advanced two bills with unanimous support, one to decriminalize transmission of HIV and another to expand protections for survivors of sexual assault.

An amendment to House Bill 1063, introduced by Democratic state Rep. Carol Ammons of Urbana, changes several Illinois statutes related to people living with HIV/AIDS and its transmission. The House has approved the bill 90-9, sending it to the Senate for consideration.

Under current Illinois law, a person who transmits HIV to another person can be charged with criminal transmission of HIV.

The AIDS Confidentiality Act, meant to protect Illinoisans from having an HIV-positive status disclosed or used against them, contains exceptions allowing law enforcement officials to subpoena or petition for the HIV status of criminal defendants to determine whether they should be charged for potential criminal transmission.

We would not put a law on the books today that will criminalize COVID for people who refuse to test, and people who know theyre spreading COVID but refused to test and refuse to wear a mask, we would not then criminalize people for knowingly passing COVID, Ammons told the committee.

Her legislation would repeal existing laws allowing law enforcement or states attorneys to access the HIV status of an individual and would remove criminal statutes for the transmission of HIV completely.

This is why were trying to change this law is because this is the only (sexually transmitted infection) that we have on the books that literally criminalizes certain communities and is specifically targeted, Ammons said.

Witnesses testifying in support of the bill told the committee that the criminal statute has been used in 22 cases since 2012, and fewer than 10 times since 2017.

HIV and our knowledge about prevention and transmission has dramatically changed in the last 30 to 40 years, Tom Hughes, executive director of the Illinois Public Health Association said in his testimony. The (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recognizes that a person who is HIV positive, but who takes medication regularly stays virally suppressed, is undetectable on their viral load, and is effectively no risk for the transmission of HIV.

According to Hughes, the criminalization of HIV status poses a significant obstacle to public health by incentivizing people not to get tested or disclose their status to their partner out of fear of criminalization.

Under questioning from committee member Rep. Deanne Mazzochi, R-Elmhurst, Hughes said that during his time working for the Illinois Department of Public Health, most cases involving the criminal transmission of HIV revolved around communities of color and had a disproportionately negative impact on those groups.

Mazzochi noted that after insulin, HIV medication was one of our largest spends in the state of Illinois. She indicated that she would support the measure as long as studies showed it would reduce HIV transmissions rather than increase rates once it became decriminalized.

Ultimately, Mazzochi and other Republicans on the committee joined the Democratic majority to send the legislation to the House floor in a 17-0 vote.

House Bill 1732, introduced by Rep. Maura Hirschauer, D-Batavia, expands protections for sexual assault survivors by amending the Civil No Contact Order Act. That law allows for victims of non-consensual sexual conduct or penetration to a receive a court order protecting that person, their family, household or someone providing them services from having contact with the perpetrator of the crime.

HB 1732 already passed the committee unanimously last month, but Hirschauer brought it back with an amendment. The version that passed previously allowed for family or household members of the victim to file the petition on their behalf.

Hirschauers amendment to her bill requires a statement verifying that the victim consented to the petition for it to be filed this way. It also advanced to the House floor in a unanimous 17-0 vote.

Senate Bill 2277 also would make civil no-contact orders filed against those convicted of criminal sexual assault permanent instead of lasting two years. That measure also was passed by committee unanimously.
Amid a steep rise in cases, the Congress' top brass met virtually on Saturday and began deliberations on the steps needed to deal with the COVID-19 situation in the country.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, chaired by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, was attended by former party chief Rahul Gandhi, general secretaries, other permanent invitees and state in-charges of the party.

The CWC is discussing the current COVID-19 situation in the country and steps that need to be taken urgently to check the further spread of the virus.

The highest decision-making body of the Congress is also likely to pass a resolution asking the government to take effective measures to contain the spread of and provide vaccines for all along with financial support for the poor and oppressed sections.

The Congress has been critical of the Modi government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recently, both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to expand the country's vaccination drive against COVID-19.

The CWC meeting comes amid a steep rise in cases in the country with over two lakh new infections being recorded daily in the last three days.

(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 way Minnesota is handling allegations against police may be a revelation to people in Winnipeg.

Opinion

The way Minnesota is handling allegations against police may be a revelation to people in Winnipeg.

Were not used to seeing police on trial. Here, when officers are accused of crimes, many avoid prosecution through a variety of creative methods.

As we follow news accounts of the Minneapolis trial of former officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd, what seems even more unusual is that officers are testifying against their former colleague. Even the police chief took the stand in full uniform to condemn him.

And while Chauvins high-profile trial is still in progress, another Minnesota police officer, Kim Potter, was charged with killing a Black motorist. Whats noteworthy  and unprecedented by Winnipeg standards  is how swiftly and publicly her prosecution is proceeding. On Sunday, she allegedly killed Daunte Wright in a routine traffic stop. On Tuesday, she and her police chief both resigned. On Wednesday, she was jailed briefly and charged with second-degree manslaughter.

Thats not how things are done in Winnipeg. When police officers here are accused of wrongdoing, the so-called "blue wall of silence" is erected and the justice system often becomes woefully inefficient at investigating and prosecuting the alleged offences. This has happened so frequently that it seems theres a separate standard of justice  one that seems particularly lenient  when Winnipeg Police Service officers are themselves accused.

The breach of the blue wall in Minneapolis is perhaps not surprising, given the widely shared video of Chauvin kneeling for nine minutes on the neck of Floyd, who was pinned on the pavement. The horrifying video prompted public outrage of a level that made it impossible to deny the impact of Chauvins actions.

The 2020 death of Floyd, a Black man, under the knee of Chauvin, a white officer, gave impetus to the Black Lives Matter movement, which has also contributed to a groundswell to transform policing in Winnipeg. Protests against WPS brutality attracted thousands of people last June, and 63,000 people signed a petition to defund police in this city.

A commentator observing the Minneapolis trial said, "Policing is on trial here," referring to the justice systems ability to police its own. That same could be said about policing in Winnipeg.

Investigative journalism by the Free Press, particularly by reporter Ryan Thorpe, has shown a pattern of ways in which allegations against Winnipeg police are stymied.

Sometimes, its colleagues who are slow to investigate a fellow officer. Const. Justin Holz was off duty and had been drinking with fellow officers before he killed a pedestrian in a hit-and-run on Main Street; his breathalyzer test was delayed so his blood-alcohol reading at the time of the crash remains unknown, which may have led to a more lenient sentence.

Sometimes, the Crown wont go to trial when the accusations involve a police officer. That was the case with accusations of perjury against Const. James William Macumber, one of four officers who unlawfully entered a familys room at the Clarion Hotel, assaulted multiple people, seized recording devices without cause and falsely imprisoned two suspects.

The Independent Investigation Unit recommended a charge of perjury because Macumber lied on a police report to cover up his unlawful actions, but the Crown opted not to proceed.

Often, investigations of officers by the IIU police watchdog are thwarted by WPS managers, who refuse to hand over requested documents, block interview requests and deny the IIU has the right to even look into certain cases.

It boggles the mind how the police department can continue to provide employment for officers such as Patrol Sgt. Jeffrey Norman, who still wears the uniform even though he has been sued eight times over allegations including wrongful arrests, beating and threatening suspects.

If Winnipeg officers are paying attention to the new age of police accountability emerging in Minnesota, the astute among them will endorse the crumbling of the blue wall. Winnipegs upstanding officers, and there are many, will see change is necessary to restore honour to the badge.

There was hope remedies would come from the Manitoba government, which promised improvements to the Police Services Act. The changes were expected to be revealed last month, but Justice Minister Cameron Friesen postponed their unveiling until later this year, partly in order to consult with First Nations leaders.

Its anticipated that adjustments to the act will provide more oversight and transparency to help pierce the tightly-knit culture within policing and legal circles that seems to often protect Winnipeg officers who break the law.

Police supporters argue its wrong to use a wide brush to disparage all Winnipeg officers because of the misdeeds of a few. Thats fair; the "bad-apple" argument is understandable. But the WPS must commit to discarding its bad apples.

Look to Minnesota to see how its done.

carl.degurse@freepress.mb.ca

Carl DeGurse is a member of the Free Press editorial board.
Google announced a series of pledges on Thursday to fund and promote coronavirus vaccines across the globe, including $250 million in advertising grants for pro-vaccination groups.

Through its philanthropy arm, Google will pay for 250,000 shots in low and middle-income countries, as classified by Googles partner Gavi, a charity focused on vaccine distribution.

Google is also committing $2.5 million for pop-up vaccination sites and related efforts in Black, Latino and rural U.S. communities. The $250 million in ad grants will fund more than 2.5 billion vaccine-related public service announcements, according to a blog post from Karen DeSalvo, Googles chief health officer.

Google hired DeSalvo, a former Obama official, and other medical veterans for a new health division and the Alphabet Inc. unit has taken several public steps to combat the pandemic. The company tailored search results for online queries about the virus and offers vaccination locations in Google Maps. In March 2020, Google pledged $800 million in pandemic relief for frontline workers and ad credits for health organizations.

However the companys video arm, YouTube, has been criticized for airing videos questioning Covid-19 vaccines. Googles contact-tracing efforts have gone largely unused by governments and a Covid-19 testing project from Verily, an Alphabet health unit, ended in California in less than a year.
The actor Helen McCrory, best known for her roles in The Queen, the Harry Potter franchise and Peaky Blinders, has died aged 52. The news was announced by her husband, Damian Lewis, on Twitter on Friday.

Lewis, who is also a prominent actor, confirmed that McCrory had died peacefully at home after an heroic battle with cancer.

He went on to say that she had died as she lived. Fearlessly. God we love her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. She blazed so brightly. Go now Little One, into the air, and thank you.

Tributes pour in for an absolute true original

Helen McCrory was born in Paddington, London in 1968 to a Welsh mother and Scottish father. In her early life she spent time abroad living in Italy, before returning to Britain to study acting at the Drama Centre in London.

She garnered an impressive reputation for theatre performances in the capital, winning Third Prize at the Ian Charleston Awards in 1993 for her part in Trelawny of the Wells at the National Theatre, and was nominated for an Olivier for her stage role as Rosalind in As You Like It in 2006.

She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Polly Gray in the BBCs iconic period drama Peaky Blinders, in which she starred for five seasons.

Her co-star, Cillian Murphy, said of McCrory: I am broken-hearted to lose such a dear friend. Helen was a beautiful, caring, funny, compassionate human being.

She was also a gifted actor  fearless and magnificent. She elevated and made humane every scene, every character she played.

She also played Narcissa Malfoy, the wife of Lucius Malfoy and Draco's mother, in the Harry Potter film franchise and MP Clair Dowar in the 2012 James Bond blockbuster Skyfall. Sir Sam Mendes, who directed the latter, described McCrory as "an astonishing talent, a fabulous person, and an absolute true original".

Philanthropist McCrory raised millions during the pandemic

Aside from her professional achievements, McCrory was also known for her work and remained an active supporter of charitable causes in the final months of her life. Actor Matt Lucas, who worked with McCrory on some ventures, said that McCrory will be remembered not just for her remarkable stage and screen performances, but also for her selflessness and generosity.

In April of last year McCrory and Lewis formed their own FeedNHS initiative, which aimed to support essentials workers during the pandemic.

In an appearance on the BBC's Newscast, McCrory explained the motivation: "We've got lots of friends in the NHS and when this outbreak happened, they said one of the big problems they had was all the cafes and restaurants around the hospitals were closing.

"We decided we wanted to try and get food to these people working such long hours and weren't able to."

As well as Lewis, her husband since 2007, Helen McCrory is survived by their two children, Manon and Gulliver.
Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who Oregon Health & Science University tapped to conduct an investigation into the campus handling of sexual misconduct and discrimination complaints, told the school his hourly rate is $2,295 and his legal partners rate is $1,445 an hour.

Holder alerted the school in a March 30 letter, released by OHSU in response to a public records request by The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Holder and his firm were hired to investigate the campus sexual misconduct responses in the wake of the high-profile harassment lawsuit filed against the school and former anesthesiology resident Dr. Jason Campbell, who became widely known as the TikTok Doc for his viral dance videos in hospital scrubs.

OHSU officials said they dont know the total cost of the contract with Holder and his partner, former federal prosecutor Nancy Kestenbaum, but the university president called it a significant investment.

University President Dr. Danny Jacobs estimated the investigation would take at least six months by Holder, Kestenbaum and other lawyers at the Washington-based Covington & Burling firm. Holder said he agreed to discount the hourly rate by 10% for the university.

Engaging Covington and undergoing this process is a significant investment, but we believe that the investigators extensive experience and expertise will result in a comprehensive and independent analysis that would otherwise be impossible, Jacobs and OHSU board chair Wayne Monfries wrote to the school community on April 8.

Overall cost is difficult to predict as it will be dependent on a number of factors including volume of community members who submit information to the Covington team, said Tracy Brawley, an OHSU spokeswoman.

In February, a social worker at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center next to the OHSU campus filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging Campbell repeatedly sexually harassed her through texts and social media messages and assaulted her by forcing his body against hers in her office at the VA hospital last March.

The suit also alleged that several medical school professors failed to report the harassment for investigation after the social worker confided in them.

The social worker complained to OHSU about Campbell in early April 2020. An OHSU internal investigation concluded in August that Campbell violated the schools harassment policy and code of conduct. He was allowed to resign in lieu of a dismissal hearing Oct. 23, according to the school.

The schools lawyers have argued in court papers that the doctors identified in the suit arent subject to any of the suits Title IX allegations because the social worker didnt have a direct connection to OHSU at the time of her interactions with Campbell.

Title IX is a 1972 law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded schools.

The universitys lawyers and lawyers for OHSU Dr. Esther Choo, who is not named as a defendant in the suit but is one of the doctors who the alleged victim said she reported the sexual misconduct to, have asked a judge to direct the plaintiffs lawyers to halt from any personal attacks against Choo or other potential witnesses in the case.

We are seeking that the court issue an order preventing plaintiffs counsel from attacking the character and the credibility of individuals that work at OHSU and who might be witnesses, in this case, said attorney Karen OKasey, for OHSU, during a hearing earlier this week.

OKasey said the Twitter messages from the plaintiffs lawyers have crossed over from fair comments within the rules of professional responsibility.

Choo has retained New York-based attorney Roberta Kaplan, who is representing Mary L. Trump and writer E. Jean Carroll in separate suits against former President Donald Trump. A spokeswoman for Choo has argued that Choo wasnt a mandatory reporter because the social worker wasnt an OHSU student and Campbell wasnt under her immediate supervision.

Michael Fuller, one of the lawyers for the plaintiff who filed the suit against Campbell, defended the social media statements he and his co-counsel Kim Sordyl have made.

Im advocating for a woman who was allegedly sexually abused and had that abuse systematically covered up by this hospital. And Im saying what she would say, if she wasnt proceeding anonymously, Fuller told U.S. District Judge Marco A. Hernandez in a hearing this week.

Fuller argued that social media wont prejudice the defendants so far from a civil trial, but the judge noted that once something is up on social media its around for the long haul.

Im proud of the advocacy work that Im doing judge. I understand that it rubs people the wrong way, and it rubs OHSU the wrong way, Fuller said. And I dont take pride in the fact that it does, but I do take pride in the work that Im doing and the results that its having in the community.

The judge said hed take the matter under advisement.

Further back-and-forth arguments between Choos New York lawyer and Fuller fill recent court filings. Kaplan had asked for assurances from Fuller in an April 14 call that any materials provided by Choo to the plaintiffs lawyers would remain confidential, and when he wouldnt agree to that, things went south, according to the records.

Fuller contends Kaplan repeatedly raised her voice during the call and wrote that it sounded like she was going to cry on the call.

Rachel L. Tuchman, an associate lawyer of Kaplan, Hecker & Fink, responded in a court filing: The suggestion that Ms. Kaplan was close to tears is not only false, but suggests sexist attitudes about how women attorneys conduct themselves.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 14:43:11|Editor: huaxia

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by Jonas Lunte

BERLIN, April 17 (Xinhua) -- German trade fair Hanover Messe, one of the biggest trade fairs worldwide covering all areas of industrial technology, went digital this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic and saw a strong participation of Chinese companies.

"We are delighted to see strong participation of China," Jochen Koeckler, chairman of the management board of Deutsche Messe AG Hanover, organizer of the fair, told Xinhua on Thursday.

The fair, which ran from Monday to Friday, attracted 84 companies from Chinese mainland, including both fast growing companies and established global tech giants such as Huawei, which is focusing on accelerating industrial transformation through establishing 5G enabled wireless machines and the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

"Chinese exhibitors display almost 1,000 products in the EXPO area. Also, China enriched the conference program with a sequence on Tuesday's program and created more interest in the Chinese market," Koeckler said.

During the digital event, Yi Ren, vice president of marketing and overseas sales at China's robot designer and manufacturer Elite Robot Co., Ltd., talked about current trends in the Chinese industry and to what extent the fourth industrial revolution was changing the country's manufacturing sectors.

Already, many Chinese companies are embracing the application of smart solutions, he said.

Inspur, headquartered in Jinan in east China's Shandong Province, for instance, has become one of the leading global companies for software and hardware after producing its first microcomputer in 1983. At the Hanover Messe, the Chinese company presented its intelligent computing solution to protecting biodiversity by using AI to monitor wildlife animals like the Asian elephant.

Sustainability is also at the heart of Shanghai Electric Group Co., Ltd. The worldwide acting group sees industry 4.0 as a symbiosis of smart machines, intelligent supply chains and industrial internet. At the fair, the company not only displayed new clean power equipment but also intelligent applications for power distribution and automatic production lines.

Yuanda Robotics, a company founded by German engineers and the Shenyang Yuanda Aluminum Industry Group which developed an advanced collaborative robot, or cobot, told Xinhua on Friday that despite being online, Hanover Messe was "still something special and the right place" for the young company to show its smart industrial assistant Yu. Enditem
Photo: (Photo : Lisa from Pexels)

A group of child advocates says that Instagram for Kids could be harmful to kids' development. The group, Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood, is calling out Facebook because of its plan to create an Instagram for Kids.

According to the group, this child-centric-app will only disrupt the developmental growth of adolescents. The group of child advocates addressed their letter to the CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg.

Instagram for Kids

Recently, Facebook announced that they would be creating a child-centric app like Messenger for Kids, but this time for Instagram. This app will be for children ages 13 years old and below.

The child-centric app is a version of Instagram that has safety features for children. It includes stopping suspicious adults from sending messages to minors. The plan to create Instagram for Kids was first announced on BuzzFeed by Facebook.

ALSO READ: Instagram for Kids: Facebook Reportedly Looks to Create a Child-Centric App

Child advocates are against Instagram for Kids.

The organization, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, argues that instead of not putting the users' security at risk, the application will instead put children at a greater risk. According to the group, "It will likely increase the use of Instagram by young children who are particularly vulnerable to the platform's manipulative and exploitative features."

In the letter that the child advocates addressed to Zuckerberg that the application might exploit the way teens go through developmental changes.

ALSO READ: Parental Controls in TikTok: A Guide for Parents

The believed damages that Instagram for Kids could cause

The group emphasized that elementary and middle school-aged children develop well through social competencies, abstract thinking, and a sense of self.

The child advocates say that the social media app can damage a child's physical and mental health. Also, Instagram for Kids is believed by the group to increase bullying.

The group explained in their letter, "Instagram, in particular, exploits young people's fear of missing out and desire for peer approval to encourage children and teens to constantly check their devices and share photos with their followers."

ALSO READ: How to Use Social Media to Help Depressed Teens Feel Better

The response of Facebook

Even though the child advocates group has been petitioning Facebook to stop creating Instagram for Kids, Facebook says they acknowledge this. The social media giant also said that they are hoping to find a middle ground.

A representative of Facebook said in an interview with PEOPLE, "We agree that any experience we develop must prioritize their safety and privacy, and we will consult with experts in child development, child safety, and mental health, and privacy advocates to inform it."

Facebook also said that the primary aim of this child-centric app is to ensure the safety of its users who are minors. At the same time, they would like to avoid an existing problem that they have been observing from younger audiences, "We also want to find practical solutions to the ongoing industry problem of kids lying about their age to access apps."

ALSO READ: Experts Share Ways on How to Improve Mental Health Through Technology
A woman admitted Friday that she planned and participated in the sexual assault of a toddler, along with a man, in Long Branch in 2017, authorities said.

Olga Diaz, 34, of Long Branch, pleaded guilty to two counts of first degree aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child by causing or permitting a child to be portrayed in a sexually suggestive manner and filming it, according to a release from the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office.

While pleading guilty, Diaz admitted that she and Jaime Mauricio Leon, 34, of Bloomfield, planned the sexual assault of the child via text messages and that she took nude pictures of the child on June 15, 2017, the office said. She said she also made a video of herself sexually assaulting the toddler the following the day sent it and the pictures to Leon.

Leon later traveled to Long Branch where he and Diaz sexually assaulted the child together and were seen by a passerby who saw the acts happening through a window, officials said. The passerby reported the findings to the Long Branch Police Department on Dec. 16, 2017.

They provided evidence of Diaz and Leon committing the acts upon the toddler while engaging in sexual acts with each other, authorities said. The child appeared to be asleep, but an investigation revealed that Diaz provided her with sleeping medication. The text messages, images and video the pair shared were also recovered by police.

The child was known to Diaz but their exact relationship was not disclosed in the release.

Diaz faces up to 35 years in a New Jersey state prison, with a period of 33 years to be served without the possibility of parole when she returns for sentencing on July 23, the office said.

Leon was sentenced on Aug. 2, 2019 to 25 years in state prison on charges of first degree aggravated sexual assault and second degree possession of child pornography, officials said.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
On the FactCheck page, The Associated Press tracks down some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals that were shared widely on social media. The AP takes those untrue stories, checks them out and sets the records straight in this weekly series of news articles.


Star actresses Song Hye-kyo, Ko Hyun-jung, Lee Bo-young and Jeon Ji-hyun are all returning to the small screen at the same time.

Song, who went on hiatus after divorcing Song Joong-ki in 2019, has already chosen her next TV series as well as a follow-up project. The last TV drama she starred in was "Encounter" on tvN two years ago. Her next project is "Now We Are Breaking Up" set to air in the second half of this year where she plays a career-driven fashion designer.

Her follow-up project is a revenge drama written by Kim Eun-sook, who penned KBS' 2016 hit "Descendants of the Sun," where she co-starred with Song Joong-ki before they tied the knot in real life.
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Prince Andrew made a swift change into aviator shades and a bomber jacket after his father's funeral, after the Queen denied his demand to wear an Admiral's uniform.

The monarch took control earlier this week and decreed that none of the royal guests would be in military dress after her middle son caused a stir.

Andrew, who served in the Navy and fought in the Falklands War, did have his military medals pinned to his chest like other members of the procession that followed Philip's Land Rover hearse into the chapel.

Shortly after the service he changed into more casual garb including a jacket, gold watch and sunglasses, as he drove his Range Rover back to Windsor Castle.

He was seated closest to his tearful mother, albeit socially distanced, for the emotional ceremony at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle this afternoon when the Duke of Edinburgh was laid to rest.

Both the Duke of York and Her Majesty sat alone during the service because they are not in a Covid bubble with any of the other guests.

He cut a solemn figure as he walked behind his elder brother Charles and beside his younger brother Edward.

Today's funeral was the most visible the Duke of York has been for more than a year after stepping down from royal duties following his disastrous Newsnight interview about Jeffrey Epstein.

Prince Andrew made a swift change into aviator shades and a bomber jacket after the Queen denied his demand to wear an Admiral's uniform

Prince Andrew walks in the procession following Philip's coffin into St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle this afternoon

Andrew was the closest person to sit to his grieving mother, and they both sat alone because they were not in a Covid bubble

The Duke of York, who served in the Navy and fought in the Falklands War, did have his military medals pinned to his chest like other members of the procession tailing the Land Rover hearse

Prince Andrew (left) sat alone inside St George's Chapel as he was not in a Covid bubble with another guest

Prince Charles blinks away tears as he follows the coffin into the church with his brothers Andrew and Edward behind him

But the Duke of York, who served in the Navy and fought in the Falklands War, did have his military medals pinned to his chest like the other members of the procession

Members of the Royal Family walk behind the Land Rover which carries Philip's coffin at his funeral in Windsor today

Senior members of the Royal Family walk in the funeral procession towards St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle today

Alone in grief, the Queen sat on the opposite side of the church as she says goodbye to her husband at his funeral in extraordinary circumstances due to the pandemic

Andrew's remarks on television last week - when he said his father's death had left 'a huge void' in the Queen's life - was the first time he has spoken publicly in 512 days.

Not long after reports emerged that he was planning to attend the ceremony at Windsor Castle as an Admiral and even asked his tailor to start stitching the rank.

It raised eyebrows as, although serving in the Royal Navy, Andrew never reached the rank of Admiral.

His last serving rank was Lietenant-Commander, which was raised to Commander when he left active service in 2005.

Under a Navy policy, he received a promotion every five years meaning he was promoted to Honorary Captain in 2005, Rear Admiral in 2010 and Vice Admiral in 2015.

Andrew was due to be made an Admiral on his 60th birthday last year but asked if this could be deferred until he returned to frontline royal duties - which he has not.

The Queen's ruling that everyone would wear suits is also thought to spare Prince Harry's blushes. After quitting life as a senior royal and moving to California, the Duke of Sussex, who served in the Army, was forced to give up his honorary military positions and associations.

The funeral itself is steeped in military tradition and will feature many servicemen and women after Philip requested a military, and not state, funeral.

But former Buckingham Palace press secretary Dickie Arbiter this week said the Queen 'put her foot down' so everyone would be dressed the same.

Today's funeral at Windsor Castle was the most visible the Duke of York has been for more than a year after stepping down from royal duties following his disastrous Newsnight interview

Andrew was due to walk in the second row of the procession adjacent to his brother Prince Edward, and behind Price Charles and Princess Anne in the first row

The Royal Family's procession was led by Prince Charles and Princess Anne who looked emotional following the casket

Airmen of the Royal Air Force marching ahead of the funeral of Prince Philip. More than 700 members of the Armed Forces are involved in the event

He said: 'There has been this that Harry, not entitled to wear a uniform, he walked out of the royal family and then walked out of royal life.

'When he got married in 2018 he actually had to ask the Queen permission that he could wear his uniform to wear dress uniform at his wedding. When you leave the service, you can't just put your uniform on, it's the gift of the Queen to say yay or nay.

'As for Andrew, well he was effectively fired for that disastrous Newsnight interview justifying his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, so he was not entitled to wear that uniform either.

'It's a bit like school: you can't have some people in one thing and others in another, so the Queen put her foot down and decided everyone's going to be the same.'

Andrew was due to walk in the second row of the procession adjacent to his brother Prince Edward, and behind Price Charles and Princess Anne in the first row.

His daughters Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice - and their husbands - are also among the 30 handpicked guests.

Last week, after his father died aged 99, Andrew said the Queen was 'feeling it, I think, probably more than everybody else', calling her 'incredibly stoic'.

In a piece to camera he said: 'She described it as having left a huge void in her life. But we - the family, the ones that are closer - are rallying round to make sure that we're there to support her, and I know there is a huge amount of support not just for her but for everybody as we go through this enormous change.'

Sitting along in the chapel because of social distancing, the monarch wiped away tears as her husband of 73 years was laid to rest.

The Duke of Edinburgh's casket was covered in his personal standard and carried his sword, naval cap and a wreath of flowers as masked pallbearers lowered him on to his extraordinary self-designed Land Rover hearse

Andrew was due to walk in the second row of the procession adjacent to his brother Prince Edward, and behind Price Charles and Princess Anne in the first row

The grieving Prince of Wales, who shed tears for his late father when viewing tributes left at Buckingham Palace this week, looked sombre in a black mask as he was driven into his mother's Berkshire home.

His wife Camilla arrived separately just as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who was wearing the Queen's pearls, left Kensington Palace. Zara Tindall and his husband Mike arrived at the castle shortly afterwards followed by other grandchildren including Princess Beatrice and spouse Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.

At a sunny Windsor Castle, deserted with no crowds allowed, the quadrangle was packed with bands playing the prince's favourite songs and hymns including Jerusalem as his extraordinary Land Rover hearse arrived flanked by senior officers from the duke's regiments.

The Cambridges are set to see Prince Harry for the first time in a year after the brothers fell out over Megxit and the Sussexes extraordinary and damaging Oprah interview.

The Duke of Edinburgh's insignia, Field Marshal's baton, RAF wings and decorations from Denmark and Greece resting on cushions have been placed on the altar of St George's Chapel to mark the passing of the 'grandfather of the nation'.

Prince Andrew today arrived in Windsor for Philip's funeral in a suit after the Queen denied his demand to wear an Admiral's uniform

Members of the military march ahead of the funeral service at Prince Philip's Windsor home

The Foot Guards Band are seen marching as the world remembers the extraordinary 99-year life of Philip

The moment Prince William and Harry made up? Duke of Cambridge talks to his estranged brother in sign of reconciliation while walking out of chapel as they are reunited for the first time since Megxit

By Mark Duell for MailOnline

Prince William and Harry spoke to each other while leaving their grandfather Philip's funeral at Windsor Castle today as the estranged brothers appeared in public together for the first time in more than a year.

The princes talked while walking out of St George's Chapel following the service this afternoon, having earlier taken part in the procession either side of their cousin Peter Phillips behind the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin.

Their discussion came following an impromptu decision by some of the Royal Family to walk back to the castle, despite state cars having been put on for them - and it gave the cameras a chance to see the brothers talk.

Harry's friend Tom Bradby, who was presenting ITV's coverage of the funeral today, said: 'Funerals are a time of reconciliation and that's a sight, let's be honest, that many wanted to see. Not least the family itself.'

About an hour earlier, the Duke of Cambridge entered the chapel one place ahead of his younger brother  and the brothers were seated opposite one another during the service, with William next to his wife Kate Middleton.

William and Harry had looked sombre as they walked in silence behind the specially-adapted Land Rover carrying their grandfather's coffin as it made its way to the chapel and looked straight ahead as they both wore black suits.

It had been quietly hoped that the loss of their beloved grandfather, who both men loved deeply, might start the process of rapprochement - but the brothers are not thought to have seen each other before the funeral.

William, 38, and Harry, 36, were among nine members of the Royal Family who walked behind their grandfather's unique coffin this afternoon, leaving the Sovereign's entrance at Windsor Castle at precisely 2.45pm.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had earlier been seen wearing face masks as they left Kensington Palace in West London in the back of a vehicle before being driven the 20 miles to Windsor for the funeral.

Today marks the first time Harry and William have been seen together since March 2020, when they attended a Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey with other royals and could barely look each other in the eye.

Speaking about the brothers' conversation today, body language expert Judi James told MailOnline: 'The moment of connection between William and Harry came right at the end of the service as they left the chapel.

'In a well-co-ordinated but also relatively natural-looking moment, Harry walked up behind William and Kate to then join them, walking between them and chatting to them both. After a few seconds of what looked like natural and not self-conscious conversation, Kate fell back, leaving the two brothers walking off talking alone. It looked like a genuine moment of unity rather than something contrived for the cameras.'

Royal aides have been 'walking on eggshells' as they try to navigate the rift between the brothers, sources said last night as tensions remain following Harry and Meghan's acrimonious split from the Royal Family last year.

Prince Harry and Prince William walk together out of St George's Chapel today as Kate Middleton also walks alongside them

Prince Harry and Prince William walk next to each other as they leave the funeral service at St George's Chapel this afternoon

Members of the Royal Family including Harry and William walk away from St George Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle

Prince Harry speaks to Prince William as they leave the service at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle this afternoon

Relations were further soured by the couple's explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey last month, in which they attacked senior royals while Philip, who died on April 9 at the age of 99, lay in hospital in London.

And today is likely to have been a particularly difficult day for the brothers and evoke memories of having to walk behind their mother Princess Diana's coffin in September 1997, when they were aged just 15 and 13.

JUDI JAMES: William and Harry shared a 'genuine moment of unity' as they left St George's Chapel By JUDI JAMES, BODY LANGUAGE EXPERT Ahead of the funeral, Harry appeared to be performing the body language of subtle bravado, looking about and even chatting to some of the royal behind him, but looking less confident as he emerged to walk behind his grandfather's coffin. While William strode looking straight ahead and giving nothing away in terms of any acknowledgment of his brother, Harry performed a couple of self-comfort rituals that hinted at levels of suppressed anxiety. Pulling at his waistcoat he also performed a shoulder-roll in the actual chapel, a gesture that can imply someone is bracing themselves and trying to boost their own confidence. The moment of connection between William and Harry came right at the end of the service as they left the chapel. In a well-co-ordinated but also relatively natural-looking moment Harry walked up behind William and Kate to then join them, walking between them and chatting to them both. After a few seconds of what looked like natural and not self-conscious conversation Kate fell back, leaving the two brothers walking off talking alone. It looked like a genuine moment of unity rather than something contrived for the cameras. Advertisement

Insiders have stressed that the arrangement involving the positioning of the brothers in the funeral procession should not be taken as a sign that William and Harry refused to walk alongside each other.

Asked beforehand whether arrangements for the procession reflected the royal siblings' relationship, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said: 'This is a funeral, we're not going to be drawn into those perceptions of drama, or anything like that, this is a funeral.

'The arrangements have been agreed, and they represent Her Majesty's wishes, so we're not going to say anything more on that.'

Sources did admit, however, that the fraternal feud has taken up 'much thought and energy' in the Lord Chamberlain's Office, which was responsible for today's arrangements.

'Everyone is walking on eggshells so as not to exacerbate the situation,' said one.

'To be fair, both William and Harry have made clear that they wish to focus on mourning their grandfather and do not want anything to get in the way of that.

'But it has made everyone doubly nervous about saying anything that could be remotely construed of being critical of the other side. It's been a minefield.'

Sources insist the formation of those walking behind the coffin was based on 'bloodlines and age'.

The card on the wreath left for the Duke of Edinburgh by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in St George's Chapel was handwritten by Meghan, who is watching the funeral on television from her home in the US.

Meghan and Harry personally chose the locally-sourced flowers for their tribute - including Acanthus mollis (Bear's breeches), the national flower of Greece, to represent Philip's heritage, and Eryngium (sea holly), to represent the Royal Marines.

The wreath also features campanula for gratitude and everlasting love, rosemary to signify remembrance, lavender for devotion, and roses in honour of June being Philip's birth month.

Meghan, who is expecting the couple's second child, is watching proceedings from more than 5,000 miles away in California after doctors advised her not to fly.

She had hoped to attend, but the Duke of Sussex is at the funeral alone.

The floral wreath was designed and handmade by Willow Crossley, who was in charge of the flower arrangements for Harry and Meghan's evening wedding celebrations in Frogmore Gardens.

Prince William (centre) and Prince Harry (right) walked either side of their cousin Peter Phillips (left) at Windsor Castle today

Prince William (left) and Prince Harry (right) walk either side of Peter Phillips and behind Prince Andrew at Windsor today

The Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex walk either side of Peter Phillips during the procession at Windsor today

Prince William and Prince Harry follow the hearse towards St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle this afternoon

Prince Charles and Princess Anne walk in front of Andrew and Edward; William, Peter Phillips and Harry at Windsor today

Prince Harry walking in the procession at Windsor Castle today during the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh

Members of the Royal Family walk behind the Land Rover which carries Philip's coffin at his funeral in Windsor today

Members of the Royal Family walk behind the adapted Land Rover at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle this afternoon

(Left, from front) Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, Prince William, Earl of Snowdon, (centre) Peter Phillips, (and right, from front) Princess Anne, Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, Prince Edward and Prince Harry during the funeral today

(Left to right) The Earl of Wessex, Prince William, Peter Phillips, Prince Harry and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence today

Members of the Royal Family walk through the grounds of Windsor Castle this afternoon during the funeral procession

She also arranged the flowers for the christening of Harry and Meghan's son Archie in the private chapel in Windsor Castle, and for the launch event for the Hubb Community cookbook at Kensington Palace.

William and Harry's special bond with the Duke of Edinburgh The Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex's affection for their 'Grandpa' the Duke of Edinburgh was always to clear to see. On official engagements, William and Harry were often captured side by side with Philip, usually in fits of laughter at something the duke had said. Both enjoyed his witty and entertaining company and greatly admired his decades of dedication to duty and the loyal support he showed to the Queen. Philip, William and Harry together at Sandhurst in April 2006 In a tribute released on Monday, William described his grandfather as a 'extraordinary man'. He heralded his 'mischievous sense of humour', adding: 'I will miss my Grandpa, but I know he would want us to get on with the job.' William shared a poignant personal photograph taken by the Duchess of Cambridge of their eldest son Prince George, aged just two, riding in a carriage with his great grandfather in 2015. 'I will never take for granted the special memories my children will always have of their great-grandpa coming to collect them in his carriage and seeing for themselves his infectious sense of adventure as well as his mischievous sense of humour!' William said. Harry described Philip as 'a man of service, honour and great humour, adding that 'he was my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right 'til the end'. William and Harry spent their childhood summers enjoying barbecues cooked by Philip at Balmoral, as well as shooting, hunting and fishing, which was also much loved by the duke, on the Aberdeenshire estate. The trio all shared a love of polo and outdoor life. As a royal patriarch, adored by his eight grandchildren, Philip was a larger than life character who even kept his royal relatives on their toes. Harry said: 'He was authentically himself, with a seriously sharp wit, and could hold the attention of any room due to his charmand also because you never knew what he might say next.' In a nod to Philip's well-known impatience, Harry added: 'While I could go on, I know that right now he would say to all of us, beer in hand, 'Oh do get on with it!' So, on that note, Grandpa, thank you for your service, your dedication to Granny, and for always being yourself.' As a military man who served with distinction in the Second World War, Philip was proud of his grandsons for their own service in the armed forces. When William and Harry's mother Diana, Princess of Wales died suddenly in a car crash when they were just 15 and 12, the brothers were staying at Balmoral with their grandparents. The duke and the Queen supported the boys during the difficult days ahead. Philip is said to have offered William and Harry 'gruff tenderness and outdoor activities like stalking and hiking to tire them out'. Ahead of Diana's funeral, he is said to have told the brothers as plans were being made for them to walk behind the princess' funeral cortege 'If I walk, will you walk with me?' On the day, Philip joined the princes as they made the heartbreaking procession through central London in honour of the princess. The duke could be stern and it is not known what he made of the Megxit debacle when Harry quit as a senior working royal for a new life in the US with the Duchess of Sussex. Nor is it known whether Philip was aware of or what he made of the fall out from the Sussexes' bombshell Oprah interview in which they accused the royal family of racism. The Duke of York told on Sunday how Philip kept calm in a crisis, adding: 'If you had a problem, he would think about it. That's the great thing that I always think about, that he was always somebody you could go to and he would always listen.' In 2012, William and Harry visited Philip together in hospital while he was being treated for a bladder infection during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, and they did so again as a duo after he had abdominal surgery in 2013. Advertisement

Meghan is known for her skill at calligraphy and previously used to write wedding invitations.

Meanwhile, speaking about William and Harry, a source told the Daily Mirror yesterday: 'Tensions are still obviously running high, a lot has been said and wounds are still very raw.

'But there is a realisation that everyone does need to reach some form of resolution, if only for the Queen, who has said it is her wish that the family comes together.

'The family has been united in grief this week and it has given a lot of people pause for thought.

'It is certainly hoped that the period of unity from the darkness of the Duke's passing can be used as a catalyst to come together instead of letting the passage of time deepen divisions.'

The group were led by the duke's two elder children, with the Prince of Wales, 72, on the right and the Princess Royal, 70, on the left.

They were followed by the Duke of York, 61, and the Earl of Wessex, 57.

Philip's three adult grandsons were next, with William on the 'elder brother' column behind Charles and Andrew, while Harry was behind Anne and Edward.

Between them was Anne's son Peter, 43. Although he is older than William, he is not a direct heir to the throne.

Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence and the Earl of Snowdon followed behind the trio, with Philip's staff bringing up the rear.

Tensions within the family saw the Queen change the dress code for the occasion.

A royal ceremonial funeral normally involves honorary military uniforms  but Philip's mourners were wearing day dress instead.

The monarch was forced to step in over behind the scene tensions after Prince Andrew insisted on wearing an admiral's uniform, which other members of the Royal Family did not believe he was entitled to do.

This meant Harry - who has been stripped of his titles after quitting as a working royal - would have been the only member of the family not to be wearing military dress.

As an ex-serviceman he would only have been entitled to a lounge suit and medals.

Earlier this week the Daily Mail revealed that the Queen had ordered day dress to be worn by everyone to defuse the issue.

Last night the Duke of Sussex was finishing his quarantine after flying in from California. His pregnant wife Meghan Markle and 21-month-old son Archie did not travel.

This afternoon, the Duke of Edinburgh's 'unwavering loyalty' to the Queen and his 'courage, fortitude and faith' was marked at his funeral.

After 73 years of marriage, the Queen said farewell to Philip during the televised funeral service today, attended by a small group of close family and friends.

Covid regulations have reduced the scope of the service with public elements cancelled, mourners reduced from around 800 to just 30, and all guests wearing face masks and sitting apart.

No sermon was delivered during the ceremonial royal service, in keeping with Philip's wishes.

His love of the sea and long association with the Royal Navy permeates the Order of Service, with the music chosen by the duke including the hymn Eternal Father, Strong To Save - traditionally associated with seafarers and the maritime armed services.

The Dean of Windsor, in the Bidding, paid tribute to Philip's 'kindness, humour and humanity'.

'With grateful hearts, we remember the many ways in which his long life has been a blessing to us,' he said of Philip, who died aged 99 on April 9.

'We have been inspired by his unwavering loyalty to our Queen, by his service to the nation and the Commonwealth, by his courage, fortitude and faith.

'Our lives have been enriched through the challenges that he has set us, the encouragement that he has given us, his kindness, humour and humanity.'

The Prince of Wales and Princess Royal will lead the Duke of York, Earl of Wessex and other family members walking behind the duke's coffin, carried on a Land Rover hearse he helped design, during the funeral procession which the Queen will join, travelling by car.

Royal brothers the Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex, who have a troubled relationship, did not walk shoulder to shoulder but with their cousin Peter Phillips between them.

Philip's love of carriage-driving was a poignant feature of his funeral, with his carriage, which he designed, and ponies making an appearance.

The polished dark green four-wheeled carriage, accompanied by two of Philip's grooms, stood in the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle as the duke's coffin was carried past in the procession.

Prince Harry bows his head as he stands next to Prince William during the ceremonial procession at Windsor this afternoon

Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, Peter Phillips, Prince William and Prince Harry at Windsor Castle this afternoon

(Front row, from left) Prince Charles, Princess Anne, (second row, from left) Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, (third row, from left) Prince William, Peter Phillips, Prince Harry and (back row, from left) Earl of Snowdon and Sir Timothy Laurence

Senior members of the Royal Family walk in the funeral procession towards St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle today

Prince Harry walks behind Prince William (left, rear) as members of the Royal Family enter St George's Chapel this afternoon

Members of the Royal Family stand inside St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for Prince Philip's funeral this afternoon

Prince William stands in front of Prince Harry as the brothers enter St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle this afternoon

Prince Harry and Prince Andrew (left) sits alone, with Princess Anne and Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence between them

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge sit opposite Prince Harry at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle this afternoon

The Duchess of Cambridge stands inside St George's Chapel, with the Countess of Wessex and her children to Kate's left

Among the mourners were the Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Cambridge, Countess of Wessex and her children Viscount Severn and Lady Louise.

Zara and Mike Tindall, Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank were invited.

Also attending were the children of the Queen's sister Princess Margaret, three of Philip's German relatives and his close friend Countess Mountbatten of Burma.

The Queen was photographed driving in the grounds of Windsor Castle yesterday and during the day was back at work receiving calls from General David Hurley, Governor-General of Australia, and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

It is understood the calls were made by the national figures to convey their condolences to the Queen.

Philip's children and grandchildren have been paying tribute to his life and legacy, and welcoming the support and warm words from the public who have left flowers and cards.

The Duchess of Cambridge steps out of a car at Windsor Castle at the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral this afternoon

Kate Middleton travels in the back of a car at Windsor Castle today as she arrives for the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrive at Windsor Castle this afternoon for the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral service

Kate Middleton looks out of her car window as she arrives at Windsor Castle with her husband Prince William this afternoon

The Duchess of Cambridge arrives at Windsor Castle this afternoon for the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh

Cars leave Kensington Palace in London this afternoon with a police escort for Prince Philip's funeral at Windsor Castle

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge leave Kensington Palace this afternoon for Prince Philip's funeral at Windsor Castle

Prince William is pictured this afternoon as he leaves Kensington Palace for the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral at Windsor Castle

The Duke of Edinburgh looks out of the car window as he leaves Kensington Palace today to be driven to Windsor Castle

Floral tributes are seen in a car leaving Kensington Palace in West London this afternoon ahead of Prince Philip's funeral

In the grounds of Windsor Castle yesterday, the Earl and Countess of Wessex viewed cards and flowers left by the public and appeared touched by the tributes to the duke.

While looking over handwritten letters from children, Sophie could be heard saying 'how sweet' before speaking to her husband Edward about the number of bouquets that have been gathered.

She was also heard to suggest there would have been many more tributes if coronavirus restrictions had not been in place.

The couple, who were joined by their daughter Lady Louise Windsor, spent around 15 minutes looking at hundreds of flowers and wreaths outside St George's Chapel.

Among them were floral tributes from Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and the Royal Navy - which the duke was associated with for much of his life.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle speak to Oprah Winfrey in their bombshell interview which was first aired on March 7

Prince William (left, with his wife Kate Middleton) and Prince Harry (right, with his wife Meghan Markle) were last seen in public together at the Commonwealth Service with other royals at Westminster Abbey in London on March 9, 2020

The Duke of Edinburgh (front centre) walks next to Lady Louise Windsor (left) and in front of (from left) the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at St Mary Magdalene Church at Sandringham on Christmas Day 2017

Prince William laughs with his grandfather Prince Philip (centre) at the Rugby World Cup Final at Twickenham in October 2015

Prince Harry smiles with Prince Philip as Kate Middleton and Prince William laugh at Buckingham Palace in June 2014

Prince Charles and Prince Philip walk in front of Prince William and Prince Harry as they leave Westminster Hall to make their way to Westminster Abbey for her funeral service of the Queen Mother in London in April 2002

Prince Philip, William, Charles Spencer, Harry and Charles walk during Princess Diana's funeral in September 1997

Lord Chartres, a former bishop of London, said the Queen would be under 'extraordinary pressure' during the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral as she mourns her husband in public.

The retired Church of England bishop, who was understood to be close to Philip, told BBC Radio 4's Today: 'I hope that today people really will be sending up a prayer for the Queen and for the other members of the royal family because having to grieve in public is an extraordinary pressure and something that most of us would not really want to do.

'But it is part of their life and their world, and I hope today, and I'm sure, that people won't forget the personal dimension in the formal ceremonies.'

Lord Chartres said the duke had a 'very practical' Christian faith, adding: 'I always remember preaching on occasions which he was principal actor that the instruction would always come down: 'No more than four minutes'.

'He was at home with broad church, high church and low church, but what he really liked was short church, and I think that-one was left in no doubt about that.The peer described Philip as a 'very questioning, curious and deeply committed person'.
More than a dozen Senate Democrats sent a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday complaining of a woeful environmental track record by his Brazilian counterpart, Jair Bolsonaro and urging him to condition any support for Amazon preservation on significant progress reducing deforestation.

The letter was signed by senators including Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, and Bob Menendez, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. It comes just days before Biden is expected to meet with Bolsonaro and other foreign leaders at a U.S.-organized climate summit that was a major plank of his campaign pledge to more aggressively fight climate change.

The letter seems aimed at curtailing a fledgling bid by Bolsonaro, a far-right climate skeptic who was a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump, to refashion himself as a willing partner of Biden on the environment in the hopes of securing billions of dollars in foreign aid to promote sustainable development in the Amazon.

The senators warn that failure to slow deforestation will also affect their willingness to support Brazils bid to join the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development  a long-sought goal of Bolsonaro.

The 15 senators, who also include former presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, said they support cooperation on the Amazon between the U.S. and Brazilian governments, but questioned Bolsonaros credibility.

President Bolsonaros rhetoric and policies have effectively given a green light to the dangerous criminals operating in the Amazon, allowing them to dramatically expand their activities,  the senators wrote in the letter obtained by The Associated Press, citing recent reporting on abuses by Human Rights Watch.

A U.S.-Brazil partnership can only be possible if the Bolsonaro administration begins to take Brazils climate commitments seriously  and only if it protects, supports, and engages meaningfully with the many Brazilians who can help the country fulfill them, the lawmakers add.

Bolsonaro has sided with powerful agrobusiness interests, cast aspersions on environmental activists and snarled at European leaders who decried deforestation in the Amazon as destruction of the world's largest rainforest has surged toward its worst level since 2008.

On the campaign trail, Biden proposed countries provide Brazil with $20 billion to fight deforestation and said the country should face repercussions if it fails. At the time, Bolsonaro labeled Bidens comments as regrettable and disastrous.

Bilateral talks on the environment with Brazil began on Feb. 17, led by Bidens special climate envoy, John Kerry, The two sides have held regular technical meetings in the run-up to the April 22-23 climate summit, which is taking place online due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Brazil is striving to show its shift in rhetoric amounts to more than empty talk.

In a seven-page letter addressed to Biden on April 14, Bolsonaro recognized that his government needs to boost its performance curtailing illegal logging. He also said he supports sustainable development with economic alternatives for the regions impoverished residents and that he is committed to eliminating illegal deforestation by 2030.

To accomplish those goals, he said Brazil will require outside resources, adding that aid from the U.S. government would be very welcome.

Rubens Barbosa, a former Brazilian ambassador to the U.S., said it remains to be seen whether the tone of Bolsonaro's letter will match his speech at the summit.

Brazil's Environment Minister Ricardo Salles recently told reporters he is seeking $1 billion in foreign assistance to support efforts to reduce deforestation by 30% to 40% in 12 months and that, without that sum, he would be unable to set a target. Brazilian spending to protect the environment has been sliding for years, and under Bolsonaro plunged another 25% this year, the lowest level in two decades.

The ministry didn't respond to an AP request for comment about its proposals.

The U.S. senators argue Biden must see success before writing a check. They argue Bolsonaro has derided the environmental regulator and sabotaged its enforcement capabilities, sought to weaken protections for Indigenous territories, exhibited contempt for environmentalists and been reluctant to curb lawlessness that fuels destruction and violence.

Any U.S. assistance to Brazil related to the Amazon should be conditioned on the Brazilian government making significant, sustainable progress in two critical areas: reducing deforestation and ending impunity for environmental crimes and violence against forest defenders, the senators wrote.

Climatologists have warned that continued deforestation will push the Amazon beyond a tipping point, and its subsequent decomposition would release hundreds of billions of tons of carbon dioxide, making the Paris Agreements climate goals even harder to achieve.

However, Brazil has shown itself capable of driving down Amazon deforestation in the past, having reached all-time low in 2012. That started ticking upwards in the years thereafter, then exploded in the first year of Bolsonaros administration and rose again last year.

Amid outcry from European governments and threats of divestment by institutional investors, Bolsonaro in 2019 placed the army in charge of tamping down deforestation, despite experts' criticism that soldiers are both costly and untrained for such missions.

Preliminary data indicates deforestation has started declining from its record level, though it remains well above the average of the preceding decade. Vice President Hamilton Mourao, a general who leads the program, announced earlier that the army-led program will end at the end of April, returning enforcement duties to environmental agencies.

Brazilian officials have been scrambling to present Bolsonaro as a committed ally of the Biden administration on climate issues, said Daniel Wilkinson, who runs Human Rights Watchs environmental program. His new climate-friendly rhetoric simply cannot  and should not  be taken seriously in the absence of actual results.

The senators' rebuke comes amid a flurry of domestic efforts in Brazil to cast Bolsonaros administration as a bad-faith negotiator.

More than 200 nongovernment organizations and networks signed a letter that said climate negotiations with the U.S. and other foreign governments are taking place out of the public view and that no Amazon solutions can be expected from closed-door meetings. They said talks shouldnt advance until Brazil has cut deforestation rates.

A video produced by the Association of Brazils Indigenous Peoples also warned Biden not to trust Bolsonaro to negotiate the Amazons future.

Barbosa, who was Brazils ambassador to the U.S. for both center-right and leftist governments from 1999 to 2004, said Bolsonaro will face difficulty overcoming the credibility gap created by his newfound discourse about fighting deforestation and the negative results of the last few years.

Those two things must be reconciled, he said. Until then, no one will enter into serious negotiations with Brazil to transfer resources.

___Goodman reported from Miami.
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 04/16/2021



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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 Syngin Colchester 's self-styled reputation as a barefoot adventurer took a hit this week when he had to be rescued by park rangers after seriously injuring himself while hiking in a forest.The South African native, who had been on a solo road trip exploring America without his wife Tania Maduro , broke one of his ankles and severely sprained the other while hiking in the woods in Virginia this week.On Wednesday, Syngin posted a series of video clips on Instagram that showed his struggle in the woods shortly after falling to the ground.Syngin captioned his video, "I am at the hospital now waiting for my xrays...make sure to watch all the videos..there was no signal on the mountain nobody left..I had to climb my way to safety with 2 sprained ankles.""It was so painful I was a screaming in pain..I was scared because there was Nobody left to help I called for help there was nobody," he continued, adding two sad emoticons."It was me and only me that could get my self out of that mountain to [safety]...then the park rangers found me at the top by the waterfall."Syngin, a 30-year-old from South Africa who starred on Season 7 of with Tania, a 30-year-old from Connecticut, concluded with a bunch of crying emoticons, "I will let you all know what the doctor says... This mite put a end to my trip."Syngin also wrote the following hashtags: "#roadtrip #90dayfiance #tlc #fingerscrossed #camping #backyourself #findaway #backyourself #pushthrough #pain."In the video footage, Syngin said he fell "in the middle of nowhere" and showed off his swollen ankle."I don't know what to do -- wait until somebody comes by or I'm going to try to move it and see if I can limp down," Syngin reasoned. "I can't really walk much."Syngin tried to nurse his ankle by dipping it into the "ice cold" river. He said he was about 2.5 miles away from help."I can't do that. I have to turn around. Even going back, it's a long way, but it's shorter than going [over two miles]. This f-cking sucks," Syngin lamented.In the next video clip, Syngin revealed he had sprained his other ankle while limping up a hell."You're never going to believe this, I just sprained my other ankle. I have f-ck-ng two sprained ankles right now!" Syngin complained."I'm heading back up the hill. Kind of worried. No signal as well... Wish me luck."Syngin eventually made it up the hill and said he was in "a lot of pain." He found a park ranger's vehicle and they were able to give him medical assistance and transport him to a nearby hospital."But I'm still smiling -- somehow!" Syngin gushed.The next day, Syngin shared an update on social media and captioned another video, "I think my trip is over.""After seeking medical help, I found out that I have broken my left ankle and also very, very badly sprained my right ankle," Syngin confirmed, before showing footage of his cast and crutches."[The doctor] said six to eight weeks. It just sucks. I'll be real: I cried in the doctor's office. She felt so bad, and I was like, 'This is crazy! Who wants this right now?!'"Syngin noted he couldn't drive and so he had to figure something else out.After talking with Tania, the couple came up with a plan to get Syngin home back home to Connecticut."I booked him a hotel for tonight in a town with a train so he can catch one home tomorrow," Tania posted on Instagram Stories, according to People. "My sister will pick up, help set him up, and bring food that my gramma will make him."Tania also reportedly explained that she was "out of the country, and was not able to make to [Virginia] quick enough to get him."Syngin and Tania met when Tania actually traveled to South Africa with a different man. When the man disappointed Tania, she took off to a bar and met a local bartender, Syngin.The couple thought they were going to have a one-night stand but then they both said they couldn't get enough of each other. Tania therefore extended her trip to two months and later filed for a K-1 visa so Syngin could move to America.The couple experienced some bumps in the road once Syngin arrived in the United States.Syngin accused Tania of being controlling and worried they're not compatible, and Tania complained Syngin didn't seem ready to work a full-time job and start a family with her.However, the pair got married in 2019 and hoped to live happily ever after.On 's Season 7 Tell-All special that aired in February 2020, Tania admitted she was tired of working so much and supporting her husband. Tania said she looked into opera-singing and woodworking classes for Syngin but he wasn't taking any steps to explore his options.The Tell-All host Shaun Robinson asked Tania if she and Syngin would get divorced if five years passed and Syngin still didn't want a child, and she remained silent and through up her arms in defeat. Tania seemed to give away she'd leave Syngin in that case."I think it's definitely something we would probably break up over," Syngin shared.Want more spoilers or couples updates? Click here to visit our homepage!
Moscow, April 17 : Moscow plans to expel 10 diplomats from the US and ban several high-ranking officials from entering Russia, in retaliation for sanctions imposed by Washington this week.

The no-entry list includes the US attorney general, the secretary of homeland security, the FBI director and the director of national intelligence, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, DPA news agency reported.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would also restrict the activities of organisations and foundations from the US, to make sure they don't interfere in the country's internal affairs.

Lavrov also recommended that US ambassador John Sullivan return home for consultations in Washington, according to the Interfax news agency.

Moscow had earlier withdrew its ambassador, Anatoly Antonov, from Washington.

The expulsion of the 10 US diplomats mirrors Washington's decision to eject 10 Russian diplomats from the country.

The United States launched diplomatic and financial offensives against Russian officials and businesses on Thursday over election-meddling and Moscow-linked cyber hacks.

The diplomats expelled by the US include five members of the Russian intelligence services.

The US' 29 fellow NATO members, many of whom are in the EU, also backed the move. And Poland deemed three Russian diplomats, employees of the Russian embassy in Warsaw, as personae non gratae, and expressed solidarity with the US.

In response to Poland, Russia kicked five of that country's diplomats out of the country on Friday, a tougher measure than the usual reciprocal number.

Despite the fresh sanctions, the US does not seek to escalate tensions with Russia, President Joe Biden said.

He said Thursday that Washington did not want to start a cycle of escalation and conflict with Russia, echoing a White House statement that called for a "stable, predictable relationship." "We do not think that we need to continue on a negative trajectory. However, we have also been clear - publicly and privately - that we will defend our national interests and impose costs for Russian government actions that seek to harm us," the statement read.

Earlier in the day, Russia had welcomed that sentiment.

In addition to six members of the Biden administration, there were two former US officials banned from entering Russia on Friday: Ex-CIA director R James Woolsey Jr and John Bolton, who served as president Donald Trump's national security advisor.

The Foreign Ministry said all of the individuals were "involved in developing and implementing the anti-Russian policy course" of the US.
Portland police on Saturday identified the officer who fatally shot a man in Lents Park the day before as Zachary DeLong.

DeLong is an East Precinct officer who has worked for the bureau for eight years, police said. He shot the man after the man drew what appeared to be a firearm, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the investigation.

The man died at the scene. He was identified on Saturday as Robert Douglas Delgado, 46.

An autopsy revealed that Delgado died of a single gunshot wound.

Robert Douglas Delgado, 46, is seen in a handout photo.

Police had received multiple calls about a man in the park with a gun shortly after 9:30 a.m. Friday. They confronted Delgado and fired less-lethal, 40-millimeter munitions at him before the fatal shooting.

Witnesses said they heard two gunshots.

Emergency medics tried to revive Delgado, but he was pronounced dead beside a fence by the parks ball field off Southeast 92nd Avenue.

Investigators recovered what appeared to be a replica firearm with an orange tip on it, sources told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Friday. A witness also videotaped the shooting and provided the footage to police.

Dozens of demonstrators gathered at the scene shortly after the shooting, screaming at officers from the parks perimeter.

Police later declared a riot during a separate, previously scheduled protest in downtown Portland. In that event, demonstrators lit fires, smashed the windows of businesses, a church and the Oregon Historical Society, and caused other various damage.

The fatal police shooting was the first by Portland police since officers shot and killed Koben Henriksen in December 2019. Portland police twice fired weapons in 2020. No one was injured in those incidents.

DeLong was put on administrative leave, which is standard practice after police shootings.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632

Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
A seminar was held in Beijing on Thursday to examine the success of five documentary series produced by Zhejiang Radio & TV Group (ZRTG) promoting the beauty of Chinese culture.

The five series broadcast over the past few years  "East to the Sea," "Seal in Time," "The Southern Song Dynasty," "Art North 30" and "The Villages in China"  form an exquisite high-quality cultural works project led by the Zhejiang provincial media group. "East to the Sea," which was the last to be broadcast in early 2021, marked completion of the project.



Producers said that, with unique content and novel narratives, the documentaries have gained a lot of attention, making great influence in media communications and showing a full range of cultural beauty by documentary filmmakers.

Lyu Jianchu, president of ZRTG, said the company has attached great importance to the creation of high-quality cultural products and regarded it as an important vehicle to promote the building of "Cultural Zhejiang" and an important means to create significant cultural landmarks.

"The documentary project demonstrates the artistic ideals of Zhejiang-style filmmaking and the cultural strength of ZRTG, with its high-quality and top-class production, international creative approach, and professional communication methods," he said, adding the company would continue to dig deep in China's unique cultural resources and make more critically acclaimed documentaries.

Experts later also shared their opinions and suggestions on these documentaries and future ones.

Xiang Yunju, vice-chairman of the China Literature and Art Critics Association, said that though the cultural project was based on Zhejiang, it covered all of China, and spread to the world. "These documentaries allow China and the world to learn more about Zhejiang province," he said.

Professor Lu Haibo of the Central Academy of Drama said the project has produced good cultural communication results and established not only the concept of geographical orientation, but also the concepts of art and civilization. "ZRTG is a grand driving force for the promotion of Chinese culture, upholding strong Chinese self-confidence and the self-consciousness of Chinese culture. The project is quite meaningful."

Zhang Yaxin, a professor from the School of Television at the Communication University of China, said the creation and broadcasting of the cultural project was very ambitious. "It not only builds a true image of China, but also effectively establishes a system for our own voice. And it opens a window for the international spread of Chinese culture."

Tong Gang, vice president of China Federation of Radio and Television Associations (CFRTA), lauded the project as being "significant, unique, hardworking and commendable," fully demonstrating ZRTG's ability to inherit the spirit of innovation, the determination and courage to create quality cultural productions, the profound strength and a high degree of cultural awareness. He also pointed out that the creation of documentaries should not only firmly grasp the right direction, but also actively innovate program formats, and constantly stimulate creative vitality.

It was announced that ZRTG is creating several big documentaries such as "The Red Boat" to celebrate the centenary anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and some new cultural shows, including "The Shape of Culture" and "Treasure-like Countryside."
Vitamin D is in focus these days due to a report stating that the Nordic countries with the highest levels in Europe have the lowest Covid-19 mortality rate.

Although it is only correlation, you need to think of supplementing with some sunshine vitamin for its many health benefits. Vitamin D deficiency is a growing epidemic across the world and is contributing to many chronic debilitating diseases. Its deficiency is a well-known risk factor for rickets, osteoporosis and some evidence suggest it may increase susceptibility to autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes, as well as certain cancers and even dementia.

Vitamin D is actually a prohormone - which your body produces from cholesterol. Because it is a prohormone, it influences your entire bodys multiple repair and maintenance functions. We have about 25,000 genes in our body. When you consider the fact that vitamin D has been shown to influence nearly 3,000 of them, the bigger picture of its true impact on your health can be easily understood.

Just one example of an important gene that vitamin D up-regulates is your ability to fight infections. It produces over 200 antimicrobial peptides, the most important of which is cathelicidin, a naturally occurring broad-spectrum antimicrobial. This is one of the explanations for why it's so effective against colds and influenza. Vitamin D also modulates (balances) your immune response; it can prevent an overreaction in the form of inflammation, which can lead to a variety of allergies, asthma and autoimmune disorders, such as Crohns disease.

Vitamin D receptors have been identified throughout the human body, and that includes your brain. One study found that people with the lowest levels of vitamin D were 11 times more prone to be depressed than those who had normal levels. Vitamin D deficiency has previously been implicated in both psychiatric and neurological disorders. Researchers believe that optimal vitamin D levels may enhance the amount of important chemicals in your brain and protect brain cells; improves your brain's detoxification process and remove mercury by radically increasing an intracellular antioxidant; called glutathione. All these wonderful properties play part in the prevention of dementia and Alzheimers disease.

To get adequate Vitamin D from sunshine you need to expose 40% of your body every day. Lets be honest, thats impossible most months in Ireland, so we need to supplement. Reaping the health benefits of vitamin D is dose dependent, meaning you need to make sure your levels are within therapeutic range to benefit. And this range is far higher than previously thought and way higher than the recommended daily allowance established. Based on the most recent research, the current recommendation is 35 IUs of vitamin D per pound of body weight. It is best to get your GP or practitioner to check your blood levels regularly, especially if you have any health conditions. It should be taken with the other fat-soluble vitamins, especially Vitamin A and K for best results.
For the president, it came down to a simple choice, according to officials with knowledge of the debate: Acknowledge that the Afghan government and its fragile security forces would need an American troop presence to prop them up indefinitely, or leave.

No one wants to say that we should be in Afghanistan forever, but they insist now is not the right moment to leave, Mr. Biden said in announcing his decision on Wednesday. So when will it be the right moment to leave? One more year? Two more years? Ten more years?

The story of how Mr. Biden decided to end the American war in Afghanistan should surprise no one who has spent more than 10 minutes in his company over the past two decades. Yes, he had joined 97 other senators on Sept. 14, 2001, to vote in favor of going to war in Afghanistan. He had even been in favor of the Iraq war the next year.

But Mr. Biden turned on both endeavors and told anyone who would listen, in expository speeches that sometimes lasted for hours. In 2008, during visits to Afghanistan as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he found confusion at all levels about our strategy and objectives, Robert M. Gates, the former defense secretary, wrote in a memoir, Duty. Mr. Biden was so frustrated with the Afghan leadership, Mr. Gates added, that he once threw down his napkin and walked out of a dinner with President Hamid Karzai.

As vice president, Mr. Biden clashed with the Pentagon, including Mr. Gates, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about troop levels in the country, arguing for bringing them down to a minimal counterterrorism force. (He lost that battle.) And Mr. Biden was furious, Mr. Obama reported in his memoir, at generals who were trying to force a decision to commit additional troops with leaks saying that if more were not sent, the result would be mission failure.

Mr. Obama wrote that Mr. Biden used a vivid epithet and warned him about generals who are trying to box in a new president. The vice president leaned forward, putting his face a few inches from mine and stage-whispered, Dont let them jam you,  Mr. Obama recalled.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 19:55:42|Editor: huaxia

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SAO PAULO, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of China (CPC) has successfully integrated public opinion with policy-making and China is an excellent cooperative partner of developing countries, former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said.

"Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese government has successfully integrated public opinion with policy-making, and promoted people's livelihood through economic development," Lula, also founder of Brazil's Workers' Party (PT), told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"The ruling ability of the CPC is admirable, and I especially admire the CPC for being good at listening to public opinion," he said.

Talking about the global impact of China's development and South-South cooperation, Lula said China's development achievements indicate that development should benefit the people, and promote social integration and social progress.

"I think China could become a model for many countries. China is and will continue to be an excellent partner for the countries of the South," he added.

Praising China's economic model, Lula said "China in the last 30 years saw extraordinary economic growth," and economic growth started to become more successful when people began to lift themselves out of poverty and have study opportunities, better jobs and higher earnings.

"China has evolved in an extraordinary way, and I am pushing for other countries to follow China's example," he stressed.

The PT has a good relationship with the CPC, he said. "A lot of PT leaders have travelled to China and have discussed with the leaders of the CPC."

"I personally and my party have a deep respect for the CPC. Taking care of the number of people that the CPC takes care of, ensuring that the economy grows as it did ... I think it is magnificent," Lula said.

As the CPC is turning 100 years old and stronger, it can only be a good thing for the Chinese society, he said.

Congratulating China for its efforts to combat COVID-19, Lula said he would like to visit China again once the pandemic is over.

"I want to go back to China ... I want to learn more about how the economy works," he said.

(Video reporters: Chen Weihua, Zhao Yan, Kang Wenjun; Video editor: Zhao Xiaoqing)




KENT COUNTY, MI  Senior Sing A-Long, a Wyoming nonprofit, was awarded a $6,000 grant from the Alzheimers Foundation of America for to support its music therapy program.

The nonprofit, founded in 2004, works with senior communities to provide music therapy to older adults, many of whom suffer from dementia.

Senior Sing A-Long serves over 65 senior communities in West Michigan, said Development Director Sarah Dwortz. Since its inception, the nonprofit has served seniors with dementia, which is the most commonly caused by Alzheimers.

When people hear about us and find out what we do there or see it in person, all they have to say are positive things,' Dwortz said.

The grant will help the program by delivering more than 1,000 sessions this year, both in person and virtually, serving hundreds of seniors living in memory care in approximately 30 West Michigan long-term care communities.

We are proud to support Senior Sing A-long in delivering much needed services to families in Western Michigan affected by Alzheimers disease,' said Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr., president and CEO of Alzheimers Foundation of America, in a news release.

Fuchillo said community-based programs are essential as the prevalence of Alzheimers disease continues to grow.

Senior Sing A-Long uses musical therapy to allow older adults to socialize and engage with one another. Music therapists, like Libby Norris, and performers leverage music to promote healing and health.

Music does just have such a strong neural connection in the brain, Norris said. That is amazing. Like, it just helps connect.

Norris said even as the brain might have degeneration, especially if were talking about folks with dementia, its still a process in so many different areas of the brain. She said its a wonderful human connection because its something that the older adults dont even have to think about because its just there.

Norris and Dwortz have seen seniors in the program going from being nonverbal to reciting entire song lyrics through the program.

Dwortz said that the COVID-19 pandemic has been especially hard on senior communities, which largely isolated members both from the outside world and from each other. The Senior Sing A-Long program shifted online to accommodate, and she said it was often something seniors looked forward to.

What I love about it is you forget that these seniors, they werent even able to see their neighbors next door to them for so long because they were truly just in their own rooms and thats it, Dwortz said.

So even (virtual Senior Sing A-Long) was social for them, because not only seeing Libby, but they got to see their neighbor on screen, and theyre waving to them like, Oh, hello.

Dwortz said the nonprofit looked toward the Alzheimers Foundation of America for help because they had previously received a grant.

Chris Schneider, director of Communications for Alzheimers Foundation of America, said the foundation has seen a continued national need for Alzheimers services, especially during the pandemic. He said that the hard work the nonprofit has been doing to serve communities in a range of mediums has proven increasingly important.

Its a terrific service, Schneider said. The fact that theyre able to reach hundreds and hundreds of people through this program and really make a difference for them and improve their quality of life is really special. Were pleased to support them.

The grant money will continue to grow the nonprofit, Dwortz said. When having to downscale operations to 25%, it was the music therapy program that kept the nonprofit going.

Were so grateful that they decided to support us again, and thats going to go towards us helping continue our music therapy programming to all of these communities. And hopefully, [this will] increase the number of communities we can work with as well.

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Some students of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State have expressed displeasure over what they termed as frustrating the process of getting their academic transcripts years after graduation.

Over a 100 of them, who expressed their diverse experiences on a social media platform for the institutions alumni, said they missed international academic admissions and scholarships due to the frustrating processes put in place by the school before they could get their academic transcripts.

Apart from missing out from such global opportunities due to the failure of the school and etx.ng, an online consultant it engaged for the process, to send the transcripts before the specified deadlines, many ex-students said they were also not refunded monies they paid for the service.

Problematic process

Many Nigerian universities now make use of consultants to issue electronic and hard-copy mailed transcripts on behalf of their ex-students especially those applying for scholarships or admissions to schools overseas.

This is against the traditional process in the past whereby such students could apply for such documents, pay directly to the school and pick up the transcripts within a short time.

For OAU, graduates of the school who required their transcripts now have to apply through the consultant online (ETX) and after paying between N20,500 (for electronic transcripts) and N25,000 (for transcripts to be mailed to institutions abroad), the consultant carries out the process on behalf of the client and ensures the document is sent to the said destinations.

After registering on the etx.ng electronic portal, and paying the prescribed fees, the ex-student is notified of the different stages of the application process till the document reaches its destination.

Some of the stages span online documentation/approval at the etx.ng office, the schools alumni body, the schools records office, the applicants department and the registrar.

The applicant is notified at every stage via email but from the experience of many alumni, the process usually gets delayed or truncated when it gets to the school and at the end the documents are sent late after specified deadlines or not sent at all.

ETX.NG

Founded in 2013, ETX.NG is an electronic transcript exchange and certificate verification service in Nigeria which allows students & alumni, academic institutions, and employers to request, verify, and share digital credentials in a simple and secure way.

The platform on its website claims to have helped thousands of students and hundreds of institutions exchange more than 20 thousand transcripts and verification responses globally.

It also says it has the full approval and backing of the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).

PREMIUM TIMES was unable to ascertain how the funds, running into millions of naira collected by the consultant on behalf of the school since the scheme began years ago, is being shared betwee the two organisations.

When PREMIUM TIMES visited the ETX office in Abuja, an admin staffer, who did not give her name, said the fault was not that of the firm. She pushed the blame to the South-west school.

She said OAU is notorious for frustrating the process over the years and has made many students blame ETX for the failure to honour the agreement to send such transcripts on time.

We dont have the same problem with other schools. It is only in the case of OAU that we experience such challenges, she said. We usually deliver the transcripts electronically or by mail promptly once the schools have released them and we have confirmed payment. Our own process here does not take more than one week. If the transcript is not delivered on time, then it is the fault of the issuer, the university in this case.

Meanwhile, the OAU spokesperson, Abiodun Olanrewaju, when contacted for comments on Friday said the school was aware of the challenges being faced by ex-studcents applying for their transcripts and was moving to rectify the anomalies as soon as possible.

He also formally apologised to ex-students who may have felt genuinely aggrieved or shortchanged along the line.

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He said the Vice-Chancellor, Eyitope Ogunbodede, had already visited the transcript/record office of the institution to see how the process of issuing transcripts could be fast-tracked and improved upon.

Everything is being sorted out. We are aware of all this, Mr Olarewaju said on the phone. And we apologise as a university for the delays and the inconveniences that out alumni have suffered as a result of that innocent error on our part.

On measures the school is taking, he said: We have adjusted to suit the  of our graduates for now and they would see changes. Actually, the management was not happy that such things happened but it came to their attention late. If the management had known much earlier, the actions we are taking, we would have taken much earlier.

I can tell you loud and clear that the Professor Eyitope Ogunmodede led administration is ready to change this. The vice-chancellor has visited the transcript section, I accompanied him to the place. He held a meeting with them and has instructed our own computer section to make the processing of transcripts and the processing of same much faster

Aggrieved students

Meanwhile, many of the alumni of the institution expressed disgust in the process saying it had cost them opportunities and funds over the years. They also called on the authorities to revamp the system of collecting transcripts to make it more seamless and effective.

I experienced this and I became frustrated, says Ebun Odegbile. What I noticed it that the staff are not happy with the new system so they pledged to frustrate the process, imagine checking on them like someone is checking a sick patient and yet no information about stages of requested transcripts.

Another alumnus, Lolly Afo, urged the OAU authorities to find a lasting solution to the challenge ex-students face in getting their transcripts.

Aside having conversation around this issue, whats the way forward? she said. In my opinion, I think the alumni should propose a solution and tender it to the authorities. It cant continue like this. It is going to be a daunting task, but I see solution here.

The world has gone digital ages ago. I want to believe ETX was brought in as a digital resolution to solving a manual process but unfortunately, they are far from it! I dont think ETX has thought outside the box to innovatively create solutions to this problem. I can beat my chest that we have alumni that can create a digital solution to this problem but I also know that there would be giants, Pharaohs who are profiting from this hardship and wouldnt want things to run smoothly.

Another, Quosim Oladoye narrated his experience.

I remember when I applied and requested the transfer of the transcript to PG college and my department two years ago. It took more than three months to reach the destination.

Not until I visited the place and I later realised they did the whole process manually because the computer system got corrupted. They couldnt locate the file again, so they had to start all over. It was a bad experience.

Its very annoying and frustrating, said Obisanya Isaiah. Transcript requests are unnecessarily delayed for over 3-4months in Oba Awon University. I think the problem lies in the management of this department. There should be a management report/dashboard to monitor the general status of all requests. Any erring official should be sanctioned accordingly.

For Abimbola Aduroja,  the transcript nightmare is not what I bargained for when I applied through ETX. Six months after it is silence that I am experiencing.

When I got my first transcript processed in 1985, I can understand that there is no computer. With the level of computerisation today, its expected that excellence will be the order. Alas! still had the same experience.

ETX is more of a money-making venture, but for whom  University or some other individuals? ETX has no control over the process. So what are we really paying for? It should be possible for ETX with all the money they are making to employ people, even if its two persons per faculty to follow up (do leg work) and see that theres resolution within a particular period of time.

See other reactions in link below:

https://mobile.facebook.com/groups/2257562700/permalink/10158182452682701/?_rdc=1&_rdr
Chinese vice premier stresses spring farming

Xinhua) 13:30, April 17, 2021

Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, attends a teleconference on agricultural production in the spring, in Beijing, capital of China, April 16, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)

BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Vice Premier Hu Chunhua has called for efforts to ensure agricultural production in the spring to lay a solid foundation for achieving a bumper harvest this year.

Hu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the comments during a teleconference held on Friday.

Efforts should be made to ensure that the spring plowing area will only expand, rather than shrinking, Hu said,

He underlined efforts to cope with uncertainties caused by natural disasters by enhancing meteorological forecasting and improving emergency response plans.

Support policies for hog production should continue to be implemented to consolidate the outcome of hog production recovery, Hu said.

He also urged efforts to ensure employment for people shaking off poverty, including multiple measures to increase jobs.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Bianji)
A hypothermia technique that protects the brain as well as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) helped save a man from Hanoi who suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this year.

The patient has recovered from the cardiac arrest

N.A.T, 26, from Cau Giay district in Hanoi, has recovered from the cardiac arrest and apnea attack that occurred in February. He is now in stable condition and is able walk, eat and drink by himself.

T was taken by the 115 Emergency Center to E Hospital at 7:50 am on February 25. Upon hospitalization, he was in a state of apnea, cardiac arrest, pupil dilation, weak light reflection, and systemic cyanosis, with a critical prognosis.

The physicians immediately gathered to give emergency care and restore his heartbeat, but the patient was still in a coma. High-dose vasopressors were used to maintain the heart rate and blood pressure.

A consultation among doctors from the Emergency Department and the Cardiovascular Center Department of Intensive Care and Anti-Poisoning was held to detect the causes and discuss the treatment to save the patient.

The doctors decided to apply intensive resuscitation measures while trying to minimize the potential serious consequences to the patient.

A hypothermia technique, which minimizes the neurological sequelae to the patient, was chosen as well as resuscitation measures such as mechanical ventilation and continuous dialysis.

Hypothermia is a technique which keeps the patient's body at 32-36oC for 24-72 hours after successful first aid for cardiopulmonary arrest. It helps to protect brain cells from damage.

After 24 hours, the machine warms up the patients using a strict procedure that gradually raises the temperature by 0.25oC an hour until the patient has a normal temperature.

After intensive resuscitation and the 24-hour hypothermia procedure, the patient's cardiac rhythm improved, the pupils shrank, and he had clear reflexes.

On the fifth day of treatment, the patient limbs responded when stimulated with pain, and his blood pressure became almost stable again. After seven days, the patient could open his eyes when asked.

Dr Vu Hai Vinh, head of the Intensive Care Department, said that cardiac arrest is a phenomenon of many different diseases.

Many patients suffer from severe neurological sequelae after cardiac arrest, including brain damage, heart damage, and other harmful inflammatory reactions, leading to brain edema, inflammation and necrosis, which can cause brain death and mortality.

The doctors therefore chose to use hypothermia to save the patient. Research has shown that the technique reduces the mortality rate to 14 percent.

The golden time for applying the technique is no more than six hours after cardiac arrest, an expert said.

Nguyen Lien

Stem cell transplants provide hope for blood cancer patients Stem cell transplants have created a revolution in the treatment of blood diseases at the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT).
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With the surge in the number of Covid-19 cases in the national capital, Delhi Congress chief Chaudhary Anil Kumar on Saturday said that the party will collect plasma from its workers to help the coronavirus patients in need.

Speaking to media here, Kumar said that the Covid-19 cases in Delhi has taken a form of monster and Delhi government and the central government are proving to be completely unsuccessful in controlling it.

He said that the plasma bank started by the Arvind Kejriwal-led government in Delhi is seen only in advertisements and Covid patients are not getting any help in this disaster.

The Congress leader said that today when patients in Delhi are in need of plasma, they have to run from pillar to post but the government is consistently failing to provide plasma.

"In order to provide plasma to help the corona patients, Delhi Congress has requested all its workers to donate plasma," he said.

He said that the Delhi Congress is preparing a list of such activists and supporters of the party workers or their families who had recovered through Covid-19 three months ago and can contribute to this noble cause by donating the plasma.

"The Delhi Pradesh Congress office will gather information of all such people so that plasma services can be provided to the needy patients," Kumar said.

He also appealed all the party workers to come forward, so that someone's life can be saved.

On Friday, Delhi has recorded almost 20,000 fresh cases of Covid-19 in last 24 hours.
There was never any real doubt as to whether or not Kyrgyz voters would approve a new constitution, proposed by the countrys president Sadyr Japarov, in a referendum on April 11. But will it bring stability? As Emerging Europe writes, there was little suspense, and few Kyrgyz voters would have stayed up until late at night on April 11 to find out if the country had approved, via a referendum, a new constitution. The result was a formality: over 79 per cent of those who voted did so in favour of the constitutional changes. More important was turnout, but at 36.7 per cent, it was comfortably above the 30 per cent threshold required to make the referendum legally-binding.

The outcome is a key victory for the countrys populist leader Sadyr Japarov, who since re-emerging on the political scene in late 2020 has consistently called for an overhaul of the countrys constitution. Critics however warn that the new constitution erodes checks and balances and hands too much power to the president.

They city most frequently Article 70 of the new constitution, which grants the president the power to initiate and veto laws and referendums, actions which had previously been limited to parliament. The president also now has the right to name a prime minister, although nominees will require approval by parliament.

Other provisions of the constitution allow the president, again with the support of parliament, to strip MPs of their immunity from criminal prosecution. Human Rights Watch has claimed that such a provision can lay the ground for the politically-motivated prosecution of parliamentarians who may be critical of the new president. The number of MPs is set to be reduced anyway, from 120 to 90.

Kyrgyz presidents will now be able to serve two five-year terms, as opposed to a single, six-year term. The new constitution also grants power to a new body of government  the national kurultai, a traditional Turkic council of elders or elites with representatives from every part of the country. The kurultai is meant to have a guiding and supervisory role in government, with the authority to suggest removing members of the cabinet and to propose new laws.

An end to instability?

While there were some small-scale protests at polling stations on referendum day, with critics branding the new constitution a khanstitutsiya, a mixture between the words Khan (a title given to rulers in Central Asia) and the Russian word for constitution, the scale of the victory demonstrates that for many Kyrgyz, the transition to a presidential system is seen as a way of ending the political instability which has plagued Kyrgyzstan since independence from the Soviet Union.

Since 2005, there have been three major periods of political unrest = all of which led to the downfall of a government. In the 31 years since independence, Kyrgyzstan has had no fewer than six presidents and 34 prime ministers.

But this is not the first time Kyrgyz have raised the hope of ending instability.

The 2005 Tulip Revolution which ended the autocratic rule of Askar Akayev also brought about widespread optimism for change. However, these hopes were quickly dashed as the government which replaced Akayev succumbed to the same old trappings of corruption, incompetence and economic mismanagement.

In 2010, there was another revolution, which led to the resignation of then-president Kurmanbek Bakiyev and a summer of brutal communal violence between ethnic Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbeks in the south of the country.

The 2010 revolution begat a new constitution which created a mixed parliamentary-presidential system Kyrgyz have now rejected.

However, this system led to political paralysis and a complete lack of progress on any of the major pressing issues faced by the majority of Kyrgyz  such as unemployment and the rising cost of living.

Edil Baisalov, Kyrgyzstans ambassador to the United Kingdom, who participated in drafting the 2010 constitution, laments that [The 2010 constitution] did not work, it did not deliver. It is our greatest and my personal disappointment that this Kyrgyz dream of building parliamentary democracy failed. It was proven that we are not ready for this.

Such sentiment reflects the fact that many in Kyrgyzstan believe only strong rule can overcome the tough challenges the country faces.

Critics of the new constitution have also expressed worries about the character of President Japarov.

A Central Asian Trump?

Branded as a Kyrgyz Donald Trump, he had two stints in prison in the 2010s, first for his role in a political rally which turned violent, and second for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping of a state governor. Both incidents were related to Japarovs campaigns against the Canadian owners of the Kumtor mine, Kyrgyzstans largest gold mine.

Furthermore, Japarov has been accused of being close to Kyrgyz nationalists. He was present in Osh during violent sectarian riots in 2010 and some accuse him of actively encouraging ethnic Kyrgyz to attack Uzbeks. Japarov denies these accusations, claiming that he had been in Osh at the time only to defuse tensions.

Despite his imprisonment, Japarov retained widespread popularity. In Kyrgyzstans most recent revolution last October, where protesters rejected the results of parliamentary elections, he was broken out of jail by loyal supporters while serving his 11 and a half year sentence on kidnapping charges.

In January 2021, Kyrgyzstan held early presidential elections following the resignation of Sooronbay Jeenbekov. Japarov won a landslide, claiming 79.2 per cent of the votes (very close, coincidentally no doubt, to the percentage of voters who approved the new constitution).

April 11s referendum confirms Japarovs popularity and gives him a mandate to implement his plans. A recent poll by the International Republican Institute found that 70 per cent of people surveyed between February and March believed Kyrgyzstan was headed in a positive direction, compared to just 41 per cent who said the same thing last August, before the latest revolution.

It remains to be seen whether their faith in Japarov will pay off. Although the revolutions of 2005 and 2010 ended in disappointment  both in terms of securing economic prosperity and establishing western-style liberal democracy  Kyrgyz appear to be more optimistic than ever.

For most politicians, such optimism is priceless. Japarov would do well not to spend his political capital too quickly.
Demand for private jets is soaring as super-rich holidaymakers spend vast sums to avoid busy travel routes and delays.

One travel firm said its millionaire clients were willing to pay up to 200,000 for a week at Europes most sought-after destinations.

Roland Dangerfield, who books private planes for clients including hedge fund managers and bankers, said enquiries from new customers had jumped by 150 per cent since February, after it was announced that international travel could possibly restart from May 17.

Demand for private jets is soaring as super-rich holidaymakers spend vast sums to avoid busy travel routes and delays

He said they were looking to fly to low-risk green countries such as Israel, Gibraltar and Malta. Other popular destinations this summer are Spain, Greece, Portugal and Sardinia, where clients stay in luxury villas or charter yachts.

Return flights to Europe on a private jet cost between 15,000 and 30,000 on average, and rise to 100,000 for long-haul flights.

Mr Dangerfield, who runs Sentinel Aviation consultancy, said his clients were prepared to pay top prices to avoid lengthy queues at airports, instead flying from small private airfields such as Biggin Hill in Kent.

Passengers arriving at Heathrow face six-hour queues to pass through immigration due to Covid checks, but private jets can fly to more than 3,000 small airports in Europe, and passengers are sped through the terminal in under six minutes.

Roland Dangerfield, who books private planes for clients including hedge fund managers and bankers, said enquiries from new customers had jumped by 150 per cent since February, after it was announced that international travel could possibly restart from May 17 (stock image)

Mr Dangerfield said: Travelling privately, you have less exposure to other people. Youre not getting on to an aircraft with 180 other people  youre in your own party. The total average price for his clients holidays, including flights and VIP catering, is 50,000, but the cost can rise to hundreds of thousands.

His most expensive booking was 200,000 for a week-long yacht-based holiday in the Med. It is a different world, he said.

But, he added, he faces the same challenges as the rest of the travel industry as private jets have been subject to the same restrictions as commercial airlines. Enquiries are one thing, bookings are another, he said. I am in a similar position to any other travel agent. Everyone is praying that things can come off.
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  I came for an interview eight years ago bearing a grocery bag of books my children had long outgrown for a little girl with a love of reading.

It was at the Joy Junction homeless shelter, and I can still remember the 6-year-olds eyes widening and her smile spreading, revealing the recent loss of a front baby tooth, when she saw what was in the bag.

I can still remember her joyful squeal as she reached in for a book, clambered into her mothers arms and drifted away into whatever world that book took her.

My interview with her was over at that point. She was too busy reading.

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But I could still interview her parents, who told me how they and their two young daughters had come to be homeless, how they had lost everything  including their daughters, then ages 2 and 1  because of their meth addiction.

Books, the girls mother told me, helped her oldest daughter escape the harshness of their lives. It helped develop language, listening and writing skills, engaged her creativity. It taught her things, took her to faraway places, told her that a bigger, better world awaited her.

Those who work with young children know the value of books. The single most significant factor influencing a childs educational success is an early introduction to books and being read to at home, according to the National Commission on Reading.

But in some homes, books are luxuries, oddities. In those magical years when a childs cognitive processes are developing rapidly, a lack of access to books is like keeping some pages of the brain blank.

Thanks to a partnership between Youth Development and the Jennifer Riordan Foundation, some of those homes will be receiving a book selected not just to instill a love of reading in a child, but also to continue Riordans legacy of kindness, caring and sharing.

The partnership comes as YDI celebrates its 50th year of providing preschool and child care, prenatal care, alternative education, job training employment assistance, mental and behavioral health services, homeless assistance, emergency housing, mentoring, family development services, family counseling services and supervised visitation across 16 counties in New Mexico  everything from Neutral Corner to Amistad Crisis Shelter.

Put another way, if its a program aimed at helping disadvantaged youth and families get a footing in a bigger, better world, chances are its a YDI program.

YDI operates 30 Head Start centers in Bernalillo County and northern New Mexico that provide free early childhood education, child care and family development services for children birth to age 5  the magical years.

More than 1,100 copies of the book are being distributed to those children because of the foundation, which carries on the lifes work of Riordan, who championed the cause of kindness and caring before her death two years ago today (April 17, 2018) in a bizarre midflight accident.

The book seems one Riordan would have approved of because she lived it.

The Jennifer Riordan Foundation had been looking for a book partner for a few months, said her husband, Michael Riordan. When YDI approached us wanting a book for younger kids, we stepped up the effort and found this great book Kindness Starts with You by Jacquelyn Stagg. We reached out to her with the project and she could not have been more supportive. We are all so excited to be part of these amazing acts of kindness.

The book teaches how easy it is to show kindness  saying please and thank you to Mom, asking the school bus driver how his day is going, inviting a classmate alone in the cafeteria to sit with you, taking turns on a playground swing, etc.

On each page comes the reminder: This is what I would want someone to do for me.

Thats a pretty big lesson for the little ones  and for all of us.

When Manuel Casias, YDIs vice president of development and annual giving, contacted me about the books and the partnership, I admit I didnt think it was enough to make into a column.

But then I remembered that little girl in the homeless shelter, and she reminded me of the power of books.

The Riordans reminded me that kindness is the most powerful thing we can teach our children.

So, here we are.

That little girl, by the way, appears to be doing quite well, from what Ive been able to sleuth. Shes 14 now and her parents have pulled themselves from the depths of their addictions, and now hold good jobs and provide what appears to be a good home for their daughters.

I hope its full of books.

UpFront is a front-page news and opinion column. Reach Joline at 730-2793, jkrueger@abqjournal.com, Facebook or @jolinegkg on Twitter.

More information

Youth Development Inc.: ydinm.org.

To support YDI during its 50th anniversary: Contact Manuel Casias at mcasias@ydinm.org or 505-450-2277.Jennifer Riordan Foundation: thejenniferriordanfoundation.org
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-18 05:45:48|Editor: huaxia

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QUITO, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Ecuador reported 2,193 cases and 103 more deaths from COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases to 358,157 and the death toll to 12,677, the Ministry of Public Health reported on Saturday.

The province of Pichincha continues to be the epicenter of the virus in the country, with the capital city of Quito reporting the most cases.

According to authorities, the country is facing a spike in cases due to citizen indiscipline, and 11 of the 24 Ecuadoran provinces have reported a high incidence of infections, leading the government to implement restrictions on mobility, particularly in larger cities like Quito and Guayaquil.

The government has asked the population to continue to be cautious, as the health system is currently overwhelmed caring for COVID-19 patients. Enditem
Creators of the AMC drama Better Call Saul had an almost impossible task. Not only did they need to create an intriguing series that fans would love, but because it was a prequel, they had to make it live up to the original. And with 16 Emmy wins and 58 nominations, Breaking Bad created some huge expectations.

Better Call Saul also needed to stick to a specific timeline that made sense to the overall story. And on top of that, it needed to maintain certain elements while being set in 2002. That meant no new iPhones for the characters, for example.

Writers and directors did an excellent job sticking to the plan. But they did miss one inconsistency that fans pointed out about how people speak in Albuquerque.

Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul werent meant to be in Albuquerque

Bryan Cranston | Ursula Coyote/AMC

Its hard to picture Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul having a different location than Albuquerque, a setting which became a central focus of both stories. But it turns out showrunner Vince Gilligan hadnt planned on basing the story there and only did so by happenstance.

The decision came down to cost. Before picking Albuquerque, the show was written with a setting of Riverside, California.

They said New Mexico has a tax rebate for film and television production, and its a pretty substantial one, Gilligan told Slant Magazine during an interview.

And really, its a hard [carrot] to turn down  and so New Mexico very quickly became the place we decided to shoot our show for strictly financial reasons. We wanted our limited production budget to go that much farther, he explained.

Characters on Better Call Saul have a unique way of discussing highways

RELATED: Better Call Saul Star Bob Odenkirk Points Out 1 Major Difference Between Breaking Bad Heisenberg and Saul Goodman

Language customs vary from region to region in the United States, like how some areas call carbonated beverages soda and others call it pop or Coke. The same goes for other nouns, like highways.

And this reality is where moving the setting of Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad from California to New Mexico made a difference. In the show, characters refer to the local highway as, the 40 which is normal for California. But many New Mexico residents are more likely to call it 40 or I-40 without the word the.

Its no surprise that California based writers wouldnt even notice this colloquialism or realize it was regional. Still, its funny for some actual Albuquerque residents.

Vince Gilligan thought breaking bad was a common phrase

The highway reference is rather miniscule compared to the name of the original series. Apparently, AMC execs tried to get Gilligan to change the name of the show, saying no one would know what it meant. But the showrunner was convinced breaking bad was a more widely used phrase than it really is.

I come from Virginia and its very much a Southern regionalism, but I thought everybody knew, Gilligan told AFI. It means to raise hell. So like, I was out the other night at the bar and I really just tied one on, and I really broke bad. I just really, oh man, I wound up in the back of a squad car.

He continued: So I named it Breaking Bad. And when the first script went out, either people were too polite to question it or something. I remember the head of Sony said, Cant you think of a better title? and said, Well I kind of like this one. And he said, I dont know what the hell it means. But I didnt realize it was as regional an expression as it is.

Good thing everyone figured it out eventually.

[Correction: An earlier version referred to Arizona instead of New Mexico.]
ASHLAND, Ore.  The ACLU says that it has filed a lawsuit against the City of Ashland for the arrest of former Oregon Shakespeare Festival actor Tony Sancho in 2019. The organization said in a statement released Thursday that it had given the City a choice  work with Sancho on changes to its policing, or argue the matter in court.

According to a follow-up statement from the ACLU, Ashland "refused that offer" on Friday morning.

The citys decision is disappointing but not unexpected. Since the moment Ashland police approached our client walking home from a night out two years ago, they have had the opportunity to do the right thing every step of the way and they continue to choose otherwise," said attorney Matthew Rowan, one of the lawyers representing Sancho. "They have turned what could have been a simple welfare check that night into a traumatic event for Mr. Sancho and his family, and now civil rights litigation.

The suit was filed in Jackson County Circuit Court, naming the City of Ashland, Police Chief Tighe O'Meara, and the four police officers involved in Sancho's arrest.

In April of 2019, Ashland Police officers approached Sancho in downtown Ashland after he left a bar, visibly intoxicated. The ACLU has said that Sancho was only a few blocks from where he was staying, and intended to walk home. After speaking with Sancho for some time, the officers handcuffed him and took him into custody  booking him into the Jackson County Jail.

The City of Ashland declined to prosecute Sancho's case, and the charge under which he was booked, Resisting Arrest, was dropped.

"The city and police department could have been, and still could be, collaborators for true change and accountability in Ashland. But we are happy to pursue justice with the full force of the legal system," said ACLU of Oregon cooperating attorney Christopher Lundberg. "The law is on our side: The Ashland Police Department had no legal basis to arrest Tony Sancho and send him to jail.

Oregon law prohibits the adoption or enforcement of regulations against public intoxication, drunk and disorderly conduct, and similar charges  driving under the influence representing a notable exception. The ACLU has argued that Sancho's arrest was illegal on these grounds.

Sancho sued the Jackson County Sheriff's Office last July, alleging that he was subjected to excessive force by Jackson County Jail staff in a cell following his arrest in Ashland. A video of three JCSO officers forcibly subduing Sancho and attaching his handcuffs to the urine grate of his cell was released by Sancho's attorney at the time.
World renowned choreographer Liam Scarlett has died aged 35, a year after he was suspended from the Royal Ballet amid allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

He joined the Royal Ballet Company in 2006 and retired from dancing in 2012 to focus on choreography.

The Royal Ballet ended its relationship with him in March last year after he was accused of sexual misconduct with students over a 10-year period.

Mr Scarlett was accused of encouraging Royal Ballet School students to send naked photographs, commenting on dancers' genitalia, touching their backsides and walking in on them changing.

But he was cleared following an independent investigation. Even so, The Royal Opera House refused to work with him - with several other theatres following suit.

The Royal Danish Theatre dropped all performances of his production of Frankenstein over allegations made between 2018 and 2019, just one day before he died.

A statement from his family yesterday said: 'It is with great sadness that we announce the tragic, untimely death of our beloved Liam.

'At this difficult time for all of our family, we would ask that you respect our privacy to enable us to grieve our loss.'

Royal Ballet choreographer Liam Scarlett (pictured) has died aged 35 after he was cancelled by Denmark's national theatre

He was cleared following an independent investigation. Even so, The Royal Opera House refused to work with him - with several other theatres following suit. Following Mr Scarlett's death, Royal Opera House said on its official Twitter: 'We are deeply saddened to hear the news of Liam Scarlett's death'

Last year an independent investigation into Mr Scarlett concluded there 'were no matters to pursue in relation to alleged contact with students of The Royal Ballet School'.

The artist-in-residence had been investigated over claims of sexual misconduct involving students.

Independent investigators had probed claims Mr Scarlett behaved inappropriately with Royal Ballet School students, including encouraging them to send naked photographs.

One former student told the Times he was coaxed into sending an intimate photo when he was 18 and alleged Mr Scarlett had shared sexual messages with around 10 male students over Facebook.

Mr Scarlett was the youngest choreographer to have a full-length ballet commissioned by the company and was described as 'potentially the greatest British choreographer since Kenneth Macmillan'

Liam Scarlett as Alain in the Royal Ballet's production of Frederick Ashton's La Fille Mal Gardee at the Royal Opera House

Another student alleged he would also comment on dancers' genitalia, touch their backsides and walk in on them changing.

He said: 'As a dancer you are trained to say yes to everything.

'Because it's so competitive you can't lose an opportunity, so when someone with a lot of power asks you to do something you are pre-programmed to do it.'

He claimed at the time he was speaking out to stop Mr Scarlett from working with students again.

The Royal Opera House previously said it was 'made aware of allegations relating to Liam Scarlett' in August 2019

Mr Scarlett (pictured meeting Prince Charles at the Royal Opera House) was the youngest choreographer to have a full-length ballet commissioned by the company

In March last year, the Royal Opera House said it would no longer work with Mr Scarlett - even though he was cleared of sexual misconduct by an independent probe.

The Royal Opera House runs the Royal Ballet.

Following Mr Scarlett's death, Royal Opera House said on its official Twitter: 'We are deeply saddened to hear the news of Liam Scarlett's death.

'Our thoughts are with his friends and family at this very sad time.'

The Royal Ballet School - an independent charity - was first made aware that the allegations involved some of its students in 2020.

The allegations sent shockwaves through the ballet world, with Australia's Queensland Ballet among those to cut ties with Scarlett.

Mr Scarlett was the youngest choreographer to have a full-length ballet commissioned by the company.

He was described as 'potentially the greatest British choreographer since Kenneth Macmillan', the producer who launched British ballet onto the world stage for a quarter of a century.

His works for The Royal Ballet include Despite, Vayamos al Diablo, Consolations And Liebestraum, Asphodel Meadows, Hansel And Gretel, Jubilee pas de deux, which was in celebration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, and a new production of Swan Lake.

The choreographer (pictured left with dancers) graduated from the school in 2005

His death comes a day after all performances of his production of Frankenstein were axed by the Royal Danish Theatre after allegations of misconduct between 2018 and 2019 were made by several members of the Royal Danish Theatre's staff.

Theatre director Kasper Holten said in The Times: 'Offensive behaviour is unacceptable at the Royal Theatre.

'The wellbeing and safety of our employees is a high priority for us.

'We therefore do not wish to perform the works of the choreographer in question until further notice and Frankenstein in the spring of 2022 has therefore been cancelled.'

A spokesman for the Royal Opera House, which funds Royal Ballet, last year told The Times: 'We were made aware of allegations relating to Liam Scarlett in August 2019.

'The individual was immediately suspended and an independent disciplinary investigation opened.

'The Royal Ballet Company has a code of conduct to ensure staff and visiting artists are always supported.

'As the process is ongoing, and as a duty of care to staff and artists, we are unable to comment further.'
KYODO NEWS - Apr 17, 2021 - 16:26 | World, All

BEIJING - China on Saturday expressed "strong concern and firm opposition" to a joint statement released after a U.S.-Japan summit in which they voiced anxiety over several matters related to Beijing such as Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the nearby waters. U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga at the summit on Friday agreed to further their cooperation across regional security, technology and other areas, committing to an alliance that will face up to the challenges posed by China.





"China will firmly safeguard its national sovereignty, security and development interests," the nation's embassy in the United States said, adding the joint statement has "gone far beyond the scope of normal development of bilateral relations."

Washington and Japan are "harmful to the interests of a third party, to mutual understanding and trust between regional countries, and to peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific," the embassy said.

In their first in-person meeting during the Biden presidency, the two leaders affirmed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, a reference that is certain to upset China which sees the self-ruled island as its most sensitive territorial issue.

The last time the United States and Japan mentioned the situation regarding democratic Taiwan in a joint statement following their summit was 1969.

As Biden, who took office in January, has put human rights promotion at the center of its foreign policy, the two leaders touched on China's alleged human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region and the crackdown on Hong Kong.

The latest joint statement also stipulated the U.S. commitment to defending the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which are claimed by Beijing.

"Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang belong to China's internal affairs. The East China Sea and the South China Sea concern China's territorial integrity and maritime rights and interests," the embassy said.

The leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping has been accused of mass detention of the nation's Muslim Uyghur minority who oppose growing state surveillance under a "re-education" campaign in the far western Xinjiang region.

China has consistently argued its detention camps are vocational training centers established to combat terrorism and religious extremism pre-emptively.

The mainland, meanwhile, lambasted Japan's recent decision to release treated radioactive water accumulated at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, drawing criticism from its neighbors including South Korea and Taiwan.

"The United States and Japan claim that they are prepared to address regional challenges, but the most pressing challenge to the safety and security of this region is Japan's unilateral decision to discharge Fukushima radioactive wastewater into the ocean," the embassy said.

"The decision is extremely irresponsible and will gravely damage the immediate interests of regional countries and peoples. It is also inappropriate for the U.S. to acquiesce," it added.

On Tuesday, Suga's government decided to begin releasing the treated water into the sea from the Fukushima plant in two years, a major development after years of discussions on how to deal with the water used to cool down melted fuel there.

Related coverage:

Biden, Suga commit to take on China challenges, affirm Taiwan stance
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By Sean D. Hamill, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)

Despite the devastation COVID-19 has wrought in Pennsylvania nursing homes over the past year, with thousands of residents dead and more than 14,000 staff members infected, nearly half the workers in those homes have not been vaccinated.

Just 53% of them have been fully vaccinated, along with 79% of residents, according to Pennsylvania Department of Health data released Thursday that also included vaccination rates for nearly all of the states 692 nursing homes. It was collected through a statewide survey begun last month.

Those low figures perplex experts and nursing home administrators alike  and are upsetting to family members.

How can we be living this and doing this every day and people still dont take this seriously? Marilyn Walsh, director of marketing for Baptist Homes, a nursing home in Mt. Lebanon, said Friday.

Baptist Homes suffered a COVID-19 outbreak over the winter that killed 32 of its nearly 100 residents. Despite that, only 123 of the homes 182 staff  or 67%  were vaccinated, even with Baptist Homes offering every staff member $50 to get vaccinated.

The state figures were lower than data on nursing homes released last month to the Post-Gazette by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That data showed 95% of residents and 67% of staff had been vaccinated in the federal pharmacy partnership.

The CDCs data did not include numbers from nursing homes in Philadelphia  which have a separate partnership from the rest of the state  or from about 40 other homes that did not participate in the partnership the state set up. It was not clear why the figures were so different, and the CDC did not respond to emailed questions.

The states data also was different than results from a survey of 83 nursing and personal care and assisted living homes conducted by the Pennsylvania Health Care Association, which represents many long-term care facilities.

The PHCAs survey results  released earlier this week  showed that in those 83 homes, 85% of nursing home residents and 97% of personal care home residents had been vaccinated, and about 63% of staff in both types of homes had received shots.

PHCA spokesman Eric Heisler said in emailed answers to questions that his organization saw problems with the states data, including some facilities with vaccination rates above 100%, and also a problem with the state not including numbers of staff or residents still seeking to be vaccinated.

What was not included in the states release of their data, nor was it answered during the press conference when asked, was how many residents and workers continued to need or are seeking access to the vaccine after the Federal Pharmacy Partnership program concluded, he wrote. We know the states survey specifically asked the question of providers, but the data was not shared. That was the primary reason we conducted our survey.

If the 27 facilities with more than 100% vaccination rates among residents were removed, the overall vaccination rate among residents drops to 76%. Only one facility had a vaccination rate over 100% for staff. In some facilities, there could be more than a 100% vaccination rate because of a change in the number of people living or working in the facility over time, or it could simply be a data-entry error.

Pam Walz, supervising attorney for Community Legal Services, a Philadelphia nonprofit that advocates for seniors, said she was pleased that the state released its figures because now residents and their families can know more about the situation theyre living in or considering.

If I were somebody who needed to go into a facility  maybe I had a stroke and needed rehabilitation in a nursing home  I would want to know if [staff] are vaccinated or not, Walz said.

She said residents should know which staff members have been vaccinated or not, though families that Community Legal Services has worked with have been told the information is private.

Certainly the residents themselves deserve to know in case they or a family member are going to be exposed to them, she said.

Jodi Gills father, Glenn is a resident of Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, which had one of the deadliest COVID-19 outbreaks in the state with at least 82 people dying during an outbreak last year. She was upset to learn that only 44% of Brightons 490 staff members had been vaccinated and just 67% of its 315 residents.

That is infuriating, she said Friday. To me, that goes to negligence. You have a duty [as a staff member] to protect your residents.

Moreover, she said, These are staff members [who didnt take the vaccine] who have told us about how devastating it was to see their residents die, and theyre not doing anything proactively to stop it.

Brighton officials did not respond to emailed questions sent Thursday about the nursing homes vaccination rates.

Walsh said she has heard from Baptist Homes staffers that some were afraid of the vaccine and others thought they had some immunity because they already had contracted COVID-19. In addition to 78 residents there becoming infected, 76 of the staff members did, too.

But as Walz said, the notion of not being able to be reinfected is not true: You can be.

Experts recommend that people should get vaccinated even if they had been previously infected with COVID-19.

Keara Klinepeter, executive deputy secretary of the Department of Health, said during a press conference Thursday to outline the states ongoing efforts to vaccinate staff and residents in long-term care facilities that the survey did not ask nursing homes why staff or residents did not take the vaccine.

Anecdotally, what we heard is there were a number of staff who didnt want to be the first to get vaccinated, she said. They wanted to see their colleagues, their families, get vaccinated, and then they were willing to get vaccinated.

The survey and collection of vaccination rates by facility was aimed at getting more of those staff and residents vaccinated, and figuring out the most efficient way to do that.

To that end, Klinepeter said, the state will help organize additional vaccination clinics at nursing homes, either through existing federal pharmacy partnership providers or by authorizing new pharmacies to do the clinics.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 22:25:57|Editor: huaxia

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A Lu (R), owner of a homestay, talks with a tourist outside his homestay in the Heqiao ancient town in Lin'an District of Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province on April 17, 2021. A Lu, a french man, opened the homestay early this year out of the love for the mountainous environment here. Heqiao is an ancient town located in western mountainous area of Zhejiang Province with abundant tourist resources. In recent years, the local government has been attaching great importance to talent fostering. Lots of young talents and makers have been cultivated here and introduced from other cities, becoming new power to advance the development of the ancient town. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)
The exercise bicycle company Peloton is in the news of late and we have a question for it: Will they make a special model for Joe Biden that c
Monica Gill - who teaches AP Government in Loudoun County, Virginia - told Fox News this week that the school district's push for 'inclusion' has ironically fueled further division in her upper-crust community

A public school teacher in America's wealthiest county is speaking out against critical race theory, claiming it is having a 'harmful' effect on her students.

Monica Gill - who teaches AP Government in Loudoun County, Virginia - told Fox News this week that the school district's push for 'inclusion' has ironically fueled further division in her upper-crust community.

Critical Race Theory (CRT) asserts that 'institutions are inherently racist and that race itself... is a socially constructed concept that is used by white people to further their economic and political interests at the expense of people of color', according to Texas A&M University professor Tommy Curry.

Numerous public and private schools across the US have recently opted to incorporate CRT into their teachings, but the decision has sparked fierce debate.

While Loudoun County Public Schools have not officially using CRT in their classrooms, they have pledged to push for 'equity' and have begun using many CRT 'buzzwords and concepts'.

Gill is fervently pushing back, telling Fox News: 'We're told that we're living in a county that's suffering from systemic racism and I think that that whole notion has done nothing but damage our community and our school since they began pushing equity'.

She told the network that teachers were told they needed to 'disrupt and dismantle this systemic racism.'

'I can tell you, one thing that's for sure, it has been disruptive because there are parents who disagree with this ideology, there are teachers who disagree with it, there are students who disagree with it  and it is harmful,' she stated.

Gill and other opponents of CRT believe that the framework's teachings actually encourage active racism against white people.

A Loudoun County Public School is pictured. Loudoun County is the richest county in the US with a median household income of $142,299. Public schools there have commenced a push for 'equity', which is dividing parents

Loudoun County, which comprises a significant part of the Washington, D.C. metro area, is the richest county in the US with a median household income of $142,299. The county is 69 percent white, 15 percent Asian and 7 percent black.

Like Gill, many parents in the county have started to push back against CRT.

Loudoun parent Scott Mineo has started the Parents Against Critical Race Theory website, which tracks the use of CRT in classrooms.

According to one post on the website, there is a slide available on Loudoun County Public School's Equity Partner's websites, 'Racial Equity Tools', which details characteristics of 'White Supremacy Culture'.

Characteristics include 'worship of the written word', 'paternalism', and 'either/or thinking'.

There is a slide available on Loudoun County Public School's Equity Partner's websites, 'Racial Equity Tools', which details characteristics of 'White Supremacy Culture'

However, there are numerous teachers, parents and school board members in the wealthy community who want to continue pushing for elements of CRT to be taught to kids in classrooms.

According to Fox News, School board members have been identified as members of the 'Anti-racist parents of Loudoun County' Facebook group.

There have been claims that one member of the group planned to dox parents in the community who were opposed to CRT by asking volunteers to help 'gather information' on them.

That claim has not been substantiated.

However, the Loudoun County Sheriff's office confirmed to Fox News this week that an investigation into various allegations of harassment between opponents and supports of CRT in the community's public schools.

Members of the 'Anti-racist parents of Loudoun County' have been branded 'chardonnay Antifa', with critics claiming they are pushing radical left theories while still remaining ensconced in their own wealthy neighborhood.

Meanwhile, Loudoun Public School held an equity meeting last week, during which local teacher Andrea Weiskopf implied that opponents of CRT were racist.

'Over the past few weeks, a small group of Loudoun residents have put their racism on display for the nation,' she stated.

'It is the duty of the school board to acknowledge such overt and blatant racism against the students under your care'.

Loudoun Public School held an equity meeting last week, during which local teacher Andrea Weiskopf implied that opponents of CRT were racist

Weiskopf appears unapologetic about her activism in the classroom.

Her Twitter photo features a quote from black historian Lerone Bennett Jr which states that 'An educator in a system of oppression is either a revolutionary or an oppressor'.

Loudoun County Public Schools is standing by its push for 'equity' despite the apparent cracks it is causing among members of its community.

In a statement last year they said: ''In addition to ensuring a racially-conscious, identity-affirming, and culturally responsive learning space for every student and employee, Loudoun County Public Schools is committed to decreasing disparities, increasing opportunities and participation outcomes for rigorous learning, dismantling barriers and interrupting the status quo for the development of stronger equitable practices.'
Theres a reason that many of the worlds most sought-after watches are made in Switzerland, that Paris is the center of haute couture and that Japan is top-of-mind for lacquer-ware: The craftsmanship that rests at the heart of each of these disciplines enjoys a long history in its respective region.

The same is true in Italy, where shipyards rely on the work of nearby furniture makers, tanneries and other artisans to ensure their cabins stand out. Its a tradition that has long differentiated Italian yachts from their global competitors. The reason why the Chinese and the Japanese [ship]yardsand they have great yards have never managed to break into the [yacht] market is because of the industrial ecosystem that you find mostly in the north of Italy, says Barbara Muckermann, chief marketing officer of luxury cruise line Silversea, which is based in Monaco. Its absolutely incredible, the kind of workmanship there. Nobody can really replicate it yet.

More from Robb Report

But while weve all heard of the Benettis and the Rivas of the world, many of the Italian artisans who make bespoke furniture and objects for these yachts are relative unknowns. Here, a look at four such producers. They may toil behind the scenes, but their work is nothing if not scene-stealing.

Yachtline 1618

The interiors firm Yachtline 1618 has two production sites on the outskirts of Pisa, both of which you are welcome to visit via helicopter. Our factories are equipped with helipads where our clients can land, says owner and CEO Fiorenzo Bandecchi. And theres good reason to make the trip: Yachtline creates a 1:1 replica of each boats interior at its facilities before shipping, so both yacht owner and shipyard know exactly what the final product will look like before everything is formally installed. They revolutionized the production method by reserving more than 16,000 square meters [173,000 square feet] of their facilities for mock-ups, says Vincenzo Poerio, CEO of Tankoa Yachts, who has collaborated with Yachtline on about 50 projects in the course of his career. In this way, the customer can check every single detail of the interior of his yacht.

Story continues

Yachtline is used to unusual requests: For one project with shipbuilder Perini Navi, the owner wanted a unique look, so he required that the interiors feature titanium, a metal commonly used for reinforcement in military vessels. Bandecchi and his team incorporated the strong material into finishes and furniture, from the ceilings and cabin doors to one of the dining tables. The final product, the nearly 230-foot Badis, is the largest sailing yacht ever made in Italy. Its unique oak, leather and titanium design earned it the Best Interior award at the Monaco Yacht Show. A significant accolade, but one that hasnt gone to managements head: For Bandecchi, Yachtlines work remains as straightforward a process as ever. The client comes with a design, and its our duty to make that into a reality, he says simply.

Rubelli

Theres careful record keeping, and then theres Rubellis textile archive. The company, which has been in the fabric business for over a century, maintains a collection of more than 7,000 historic samples, some dating to the late 15th century. Housed in Venice, this trove often serves as inspiration for new creations. We always start from something that machines cant craft, says Nicolo Favaretto Rubelli, the co-CEO. Maybe an antique fabric, maybe an artwork. It needs to have this artisanal, handcrafted effect. From there, technology takes over. Fabrics are made at Rubellis mill in Cucciago with electronic jacquard looms, which help speed up the process. But if youd prefer things done the old-fashioned way, that can be arranged: The company possesses four restored handlooms from the late 18th century.

Rubelli has worked with a long list of shipbuilders over the years, including Rossinavi, CRN and Overmarine, a resume that has led to quite the following. It is no coincidence that this brand is known abroad, because it is distributed in the most exclusive showrooms in European countries and beyond, says Sergio Buttiglieri, style director at Sanlorenzo Yachts. The great care it takes in processing its yarns makes Rubelli truly unique.

The firm is versatile in terms of what it can design, though in the yacht sector its best known for high-performance fabrics. Both beautiful and practical, these textiles, which are popular in blue to match the surrounding waters, can sometimes be used indoors and out. Rubelli also has its own furniture line, a catalog that includes chairs, tables, sofas and lighting. Or you can go completely bespoke, just as you would for your living room at homewhich, as it happens, Rubelli can also design for you. A yacht is considered a villa floating on the sea, says Marco Attisani, director of Studio Rubelli, the companys interior-design division. There is no substantial difference between the two.

RoyaLeather

You could say Giovanni Giuntoli has a genetic predisposition to working with rawhides. My father says my first three words were Mom, Dad and leather,  he says. It was, after all, the family business. I lived all of my life in a tannery. When I was a child, I would do my homework in my fathers office, and when I was a teenager, I started doing summer work for our company. In the end, though, he chose to strike out on his own. The family tannerys main clients were fashion brands, which demanded high volumes and quick turnover, a system that Giuntoli felt was not suited to the quality and durability that distinguish true luxury. He didnt want to take the easy route. I said, Okay, what is the most difficult market right now? he recalls. And it was yachting. Its like the F1 for carseverything has to be perfect.

In 2009, he set up RoyaLeather in Santa Croce sullArno, a Tuscan city considered one of the leather capitals of the world. Since then, the company has worked on wall coverings, flooring and furniture for a wide range of yacht clients.

One standout commission was for the interior walls of Cbi Navis Stella di Mare. RoyaLeather developed a custom-colored brown leather that was extremely durableessential because the owner, a parent of a seven-year-old, wanted a yacht that would be conducive to family life. What sets them apart is the beauty of their materials, their professionalism and the responsibility with which they approach a project, says Umberto Fossati, the interior designer who worked with RoyaLeather on Stella di Mare. Ive submitted special requests for some of my other projects to them, and to date my expectations have never been disappointed.

Giuntoli takes commissions in other industries as well, including aviation, automotive and, to a lesser degree than the old family business, fashion. No matter the sector, sustainable sourcing is top-of-mind. The companys hides are by-products of the food industry, so no animals are slaughtered for the sake of leather alone. We consider ourselves part of the chain, he says, recovering a precious material and giving it new life.

Paolini

You can ask Paolini for pretty much anything, even if the materials dont yet exist. Part artisan cohort, part science lab, the company specializes in combining its high-end woodworking with metalwork to create one-of-a-kind finishes and furniture. Its research division, which oversees this experimentation, is called gabbia di matti, or madhouse, a playful moniker that alludes to the consistently off-the-wall, boundary-breaking components created there. We produce new materials every day, new finishes every day, says founder Giorgio Paolini. Some need three, four years to develop. Others, in the morning we have an idea, and in the evening, we have the result. The studio has invented over 2,000 materials to date. Examples include a hand-carved yellow pine cast in silver and specially oxidized so that the deepest cuts are black in colorused on a 150-foot vessel from Wider yachtsas well as unique finishes in brass (for the main salon) and zinc (the central stairwell and elevator) for CRNs Voice. Paolini did several yachts for me, all of them unique, modern and innovative, says Giuseppina Arena, a designer and architect who collaborated with the firm on commissions from Pershing Yachts. Theyre very flexible and can create special products that perfectly match the styles of the interiors.

Paolinis work is part of a long tradition. Its two production sites are located outside of the small town of Narni in the Umbria region, an area with a metalworking history dating back thousands of years to the ancient Etruscan goldsmiths. Founded in 1980, Paolini and its work look quite modern in comparison to that of its forebears. One of its more contemporary, forward- thinking projects is esi, an anti-microbial material that Paolini developed and that was certified by the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. Esi, which can be applied to thin sheets of aluminum and placed under furniture and carpets, emits silver ions into the air, serving to constantly disinfect the environment, according to Paolini and the universitys virology laboratory. It has been proven to be 99 percent effective against viruses with structures similar to that of Covid-19. So far, the company has worked esi into a Ferretti yacht, and it recently developed a way to integrate it into furniture and objects more seamlessly. We have old artisan techniques and new technologies, Paolini says. Its necessary to develop both. It pulls them both forward.

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Chinese premier calls for unremitting efforts to ensure food safety

Xinhua) 13:32, April 17, 2021

BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has urged unremitting efforts to ensure food safety, highlighting its close relationship to people's health.

Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks on Friday in an instruction to a video conference commending model organizations and individuals for their work in the field.

Efforts should be made to improve the oversight mechanism, enhance punishments for illegal acts and strengthen the capacity to handle risks, according to Li.

Vice Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, attended the meeting.

Over the years, China has made steady headway in improving food safety, Han said, noting that the challenges facing the country remain severe.

To address the prominent problems in the field, the strictest standards and oversight measures should be adopted and the toughest punishments should be implemented, Han said.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Bianji)
You cant see algorithms, but they can impact huge parts of your life, from seemingly minor things like what video YouTube will queue up next to life-and-death issues such as whether or not you can get a COVID-19 vaccination. Its time we had a better idea of algorithms impact, particularly when the government is using them.

An algorithm is simply a set of rules used by a computer program to perform a task or solve a problem. While algorithms are coldly mathematical, they are created by humans who, like all of us, can have blind spots, biases or preconceptions. That can lead to algorithms that make bad decisions or even perpetuate racial and gender bias.

These algorithms feed into an artificial intelligence framework where machine learning makes decisions and predictions from data about people. According to PwC research, artificial intelligence could contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030.

The Greenlining Institute recently released an analysis, titled Algorithmic Bias Explained: How Automated Decision-Making Becomes Automated Discrimination, which included startling findings. The report reviews incidents that have made it into the media in which algorithms perpetuated discrimination based on race, gender or income  and those reports represent the tip of the iceberg, because most algorithms operate in the background.

Some disturbing reports have involved government programs, including an Arkansas Medicaid algorithm that wrongly cut off medical and nursing home benefits to hundreds of people. Another, used in Detroit, perpetuated old, discriminatory patterns of redlining by channeling community development funding away from the very neighborhoods that needed it most  literally a case of algorithmic redlining.

In February, the New York Times reported issues with an algorithm the federal government uses to manage COVID-19 vaccine allocations: The Tiberius algorithm calculates state vaccine allotments based on data from the American Community Survey, a household poll from the United States Census Bureau that may undercount certain populations  like undocumented immigrants or tribal communities  at risk for the virus.

Weve worked to develop legislation that will begin to bring transparency to the use of algorithms by government agencies in our state. If passed, Assembly Bill 13 would set forth criteria for the procurement of high-risk automated decision systems by government entities in order to minimize the risk of discriminatory impacts.

Specifically, the bill would require a prospective contractor to submit an Automated Decision System Impact Assessment to evaluate the privacy and security risks to personal information and risks that may result in inaccurate, unfair, biased or discriminatory decisions. It would require the contracting entity to produce an accountability report, after awarding the contract, which includes a mitigation plan for minimizing the potential for disparate impacts.

At their best, algorithms can do a tremendous amount of good. They have the potential to make decision-making faster, fairer and more data-driven. But weve ignored their dark side for too long.

Lets make sure that when government uses algorithms to make decisions on everything from health care to public benefits, we know whats happening and the process is accurate and fair.

Assembly Member Ed Chau, D-Monterey Park, represents Assembly District 49. Chau introduced AB13 and chairs the Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection. Debra Gore-Mann is president of the Greenlining Institute, which is sponsoring AB13. They wrote this piece for CalMatters.
Good morning!

Barber ministry:

CHICAGO  The good deed of one South Side barber has generated a buzz among city residents. On any given day, in the area of 63rd near Halsted in the citys Englewood neighborhood, locals may find David McDonald, a barber chair and clippers. The barber welcomes any in need of a haircut and spiritual guidance to sit in his chair for free. McDonald told WGN that he left a successful barbershop in West Palm Beach, Florida because God called him to Chicago to help the community. That is my heart, McDonald said. My heart is to help where other people may not want to venture into. Thats where I want to venture into. McDonald posts his barbershop sessions on Facebook Live, offering guidance and encouraging words while cutting hair. Hes a good man, said Englewood resident Joe Hobson. He has a conversation with you. Hes a good person. McDonald says he eventually plans to bring on other barbers and start his ministry in other cities.

An essay out of this world:

HONOLULU (KHON2)  Hawaii third-grader and Girl Scout Laurel wrote an essay that is literally out of this world. Laurel took part in the first-ever Making Space for Girls Challenge. [Hawaii news on the goLISTEN to KHON 2GO weekday mornings at 7:30 a.m.] Her essay  out of 700 entries  was one of 21 submissions picked to be included in a journey to the International Space Station. To do the essay, I thought about the stuff we could do in the future and what I think would be nice to have, says Girl Scout Brownie Laurel S. from Troop 861. It makes me feel like the essay was special, so they chose it for its creativity. Laurels submission included an essay and a Zoom interview. The topic? What space travel will be like in 10 years. My space dream is to take a car ship to Mars, says Laurel. We might also build an elevator into space. If we do, it will have to have bathrooms, beds, a kitchen, and a TV. This is because the elevator will take 10 days to get into outer space. I think its like a different dimension out there with other things that we can discover like new planets and new maybe sources of life. The mission of the Girl Scouts is to build girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place.

An essay about this world:

When President Ronald Reagan delivered his Farewell Address to the Nation in 1989, he called on his fellow citizens to be true to the purposes for which America was founded. To support his urgings, he cited a sermon preached by the Puritan leader John Winthrop in 1630. In that sermon, Reagan said, Winthrop, an early Pilgrim, an early freedom man, had used the Bibles city on a hill image to describe the America he imagined. Reagan was engaging in more than a little historical revisionism. For one thing, Winthrop was not a Pilgrim. He was a Puritan leader who had come to Massachusetts directly from England; he had no affiliation with the Pilgrim band of separatists who had left the Netherlands to settle in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. For another, Winthrops sermon had nothing to do with the vision of a nation that would have a special role in Gods providential plan for the world. Winthrop was simply using Jesuss words to his followers in Matthew 5:1416 to encourage his Puritan congregation to be the kind of God-fearing community that the Lord calls the church to be in all times and places. In his new book, City on a Hill, Abram Van Engen demonstrates convincingly that the practice of featuring Winthrops sermon in accounts of Americas origins is misguided. The sermon was just thata sermon. And as such it did not even stand out among the hundreds of other seventeenth-century sermons about Christian faithfulness. For that reason, as Van Engen points out, it was pretty much ignored for a couple of centuriesshowing up only in the occasional sermon anthology. In the nineteenth century it began to be referenced for its regional significance in the history of New England. But it did not come to be used as a founding document of the American nation as such until after World War II. The influential Yale historian Perry Miller figures prominently in the shift in how the sermon was understood. He insisted that the sermon is crucial for understanding the origins of the American nation. The title of Millers best-known book, Errand into the Wilderness, published in 1956, signals the parallel Miller drew between American beginnings and ancient Israels wilderness pilgrimage. Both nations, he argued, were on the way to establishing a state with a unique mission. Miller himself was an avowed atheist, but he admired what he saw as the fundamental intent of Winthrops city on a hill motif. He contended that without some understanding of Puritanism . . . there is no understanding of America.

Robert Chao Romero reflects on being a Christian and critical race theory:

I was once told by a colleague, Some students of this department dont like you because you are half-Chinese, some dont like you because you are a Christian, and some dont like you because your wife is white. Though painful to hear, this comment was true. And, it helped explain the animosity I experienced on the part of a small, but vocal contingency of students who sought to challenge my prospects for tenure at UCLA. Notwithstanding the challenge I received during the tenure process by this small group of student detractors, in many ways, Chicana/o Studies is a good intellectual home for me. For the most part, I am strongly supported by my colleagues and students with respect to my research in racial history and theory. My inter-disciplinary research project of Chino-Chicano, or, Asian-Latino Studies, has been strongly received both my department and the broader field of Chicano/Latino Studies. As a Chino-Chicano, whose parents hail from Chihuahua, Mexico and Hubei in Central China, I have come along and argued that the definition of Chicano must be broadened beyond the dichotomy of Spanish and indigenous to include the rich contributions of Asians to Mexican history, culture, and tradition. Chinese, Japanese, and other Asian groups have been meaningfully present in Mexico and Latin America since colonial times, and in the early twentieth century, Chinese immigrants were the second largest foreign ethnic community in all of Mexico. Quite sadly, they were also the victims of a virulent sinophobic campaign which culminated in the expulsion of most Chinese from the country in 1931. In light of this important history, I argue, we must incorporate the Chinese and other Asian communities into our understanding of Mexican racial formation or mestizaje. Almost without exception, my project of Asian-Latino Studies has been favorably received. As a professor, my greatest sense of alienation, however, has arisen from the sometimes subtle, and sometimes outright, rejection of Christianity by Chicana/o Studies and the broader field of Ethnic Studies. Along with many other professors and students of faith, I have lived much of my academic life in the spiritual borderlands of the academy and institutional religion. In the world of Chicana/o Studies and activism our faith is usually discouraged or criticized. We are told, You cant be a Christian and care about issues of racial and gender justice. Its the white mans religion and its a tool of colonization. Its racist, classist, and sexist. As a result of such hostility, many Chicanas/os keep silent about their faith in activist circles for fear of persecution or ostracization. Others lose their faith. Some tenuously cling to a personal relationship with God but abandon institutionalized Christianity altogether. In the words of Gloria Anzaldua, Christian Chicanas and Chicanos are left out or pushed out of existing Christian and Chicano categories.

A human chain of recovery:

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB)  Eight people may owe their lives to dozens of complete strangers who lent them a hand, quite literally, this weekend. Bystanders on Panama City Beach formed a human chain after swimmers became stuck in a rip current in the Gulf Saturday afternoon. It seemed very ok where me and my wife went out to, but a little ways out was two kids on the boogie board screaming for help and nobody was around, Brittany Monroe said Monday. Monroe and her wife Tabatha were visiting the beach from LaGrange, Georgia, and tried to swim over to help but got caught in the rip current themselves. Eight people ended up stranded in a rip current while trying to help. The more we tried to swim in, the further we went out, Monroe said. We went into panic mode. Others on the shore called 9-1-1. Panama City Beach Police responded to the beach while Florida Fish and Wildlife Officers were on the way in a boat. But onlookers took matters into their own hands. People on the beach began to link hands and form a human chain into the water. Photos show the chain get longer and longer until it reached the stranded swimmers, with those on the scene helping to pull every one of them out of the water, likely saving them from drowning. All grabbed arm to arm and got them out there to the kids. They got the kids in first then started working on them and getting everyone in, Monroe said. I felt like God heard our prayers and gave everybody strength to do it.

Idaho or Oregon, Idagon?

BOISE, Idaho (AP)  Idaho lawmakers appeared intrigued but skeptical on Monday when pitched a plan to lop off about three-fourths of Oregon and add it to Idaho to create what would become the nations third-largest state geographically. Representatives of a group called Move Oregons Border For a Greater Idaho outlined their plan to a joint meeting of Idaho lawmakers from the House and Senate on Monday. The Idaho Legislature would have to approve the plan that would expand Idahos southwestern border to the Pacific Ocean. The Oregon Legislature and the U.S. Congress would also have to sign off. Supporters of the idea said rural Oregon voters are dominated by liberal urban areas such as Portland, and would rather join conservative Idaho. Portland would remain with Oregon. Theres a longtime cultural divide as big as the Grand Canyon between northwest Oregon and rural Oregon, and its getting larger, Mike McCarter, president of Move Oregons Border for a Greater Idaho, told Idaho lawmakers. If everything falls in line with Oregon, supporters envision also adding adjacent portions of southeastern Washington and northern California to Idaho. Backers said residents in those areas also yearn for less government oversight and long to become part of a red state insulated from the liberal influence of large urban centers that tend to vote Democratic.

Great Reshuffling:
Canada's cumulative Covid-19 cases surpassed 1,100,000 as of Friday, with the total hitting 1,103,067, including 22,532 deaths, according to CTV.

Ontario, Canada's most populous province, reported 4,812 new Covid-19 cases Friday morning, breaking a record for the most daily cases, Xinhua news agency reported.

Ontario with a population of 14 million, has been under a province-wide lockdown for two weeks and stay-at-home order for one week.

Friday's report marks a new record for the province and an increase from yesterday's 4,726 cases, a record at the time. There were 4,156 Covid-19 cases reported on Wednesday, 3,670 on Tuesday and 4,401 on Monday.

Now, the cumulative total of Covid-19 cases in the province rose to 408,338, including 7,664 deaths and 360,742 recoveries.

Out of the 4,812 new cases, there were another 2,897 confirmed cases of the B.1.1.7. variant in lab-positive Covid-19 tests, as well as four cases of the B.1.351 variant and 11 of the P.1. variant.

In total, the province has recorded 30,175 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant so far.

In early April, the Ontario Covid-19 Science Advisory Table said that people who contract the Covid-19 variants have a 103 percent increased risk of ending up in an ICU and a 56 percent increased risk of death.

Up to date, more than 3.6 million people in Ontario have received a vaccine shot, while 341,933 people have received both doses and are considered fully vaccinated.

Canada reported 9,561 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, setting a new record for daily cases since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.

The country's national-level data show a seven-day average of 8,445 new cases daily on April 8 to 14, a 29 per cent increase compared to the previous seven days, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

--IANS

int/pgh

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Sounds reasonable, right? Yet sex education in this country is still one of the most divisive of issues, ground zero of the culture wars. During that postpandemic heyday of the 1920s, crusaders for contraception were threatened with fines and imprisonment under Comstock laws that labeled their instructional pamphlets as both obscene and encouraging promiscuity. By the 1970s, after the pill and legalized abortion decoupled sex from reproduction  making the notion of waiting until marriage, or even adulthood, obsolete  sex ed became a vector for conservatives anxiety about the erosion of traditional matrimony, the rise of womens rights, the growing acceptance of homosexuality, the potential dismantling of gender itself. In 1979, the Rev. Jerry Falwell created the Moral Majority, a forerunner of todays far right, in part to combat sex education, which he claimed was Soviet propaganda.

That organization was widely credited with helping deliver the presidency to Ronald Reagan. Two years later, Mr. Reagan signed the first law funding programs that promoted abstinence until marriage as the expected standard. More than $2 billion has since been shoveled into the maw of abstinence-only education (more recently rebranded sexual risk avoidance education), mostly funding programs that have been proved ineffectual at either delaying vaginal intercourse or reducing risky sexual behavior. You know what does both? Curriculums that are not only comprehensive but also pleasure-based: built on the premise that sexual activity should feel good for everyone involved, rather than casting it as inherently dangerous or wrong.

We get that everyone is sick of hearing about the Dutch, but their version of sexuality education remains the ideal. It starts in kindergarten, though at that age the conversation is about friendship, family and love, not sex. As they progress, students learn about anatomy, reproduction disease prevention, contraception and consent; they also discuss relationships, masturbation, oral sex, orgasm, gender identity and same-sex encounters. (Openly addressing gay sex practices is especially important to avoid marginalization and to reduce the disproportionate S.T.I. rates among men who have sex with men.) Not only do young Dutch women  controlling for demographic differences  report feeling happier than Americans with their early experience, but those who have vaginal intercourse do so later, have fewer partners and are exponentially safer. The rate of gonorrhea among Dutch teenagers in 2006, for instance, was about 14 per 100,000 adolescents, compared with our nearly 459. Their rate of chlamydia was about 150 per 100,000 adolescents; ours was nearly 2,863.

In this country, 39 states and the District of Columbia mandate some form of sex education; 18 dictate that such classes be medically accurate. Maine is the sole state requiring schools to teach actual skills in both communication and responsible decision-making regarding sexuality. Were sure those enlightened Mainers do their best, but its really too much to ask for them to be responsible for changing how young people nationwide navigate their sexual relationships.

As for the rest? Theyre left to their own devices  literally. A nationally representative survey released in January found that among 18-to-24-year-olds, the most-cited helpful source of information about how to have sex with a partner was online pornography. That came out ahead of actually talking to your partner, especially among young men. Now imagine the Venn diagram of that report and the C.D.C. data on the same age group.

Obviously, President Donald Trump was never going to enact his own agencys S.T.I. plan; his 2021 budget proposal included $75 million funding for those debunked sexual risk avoidance programs while eliminating all evidence-based teenage pregnancy prevention efforts. But maybe the Biden administration will do better, especially given its pledge to revisit its predecessors regulations on campus sexual misconduct: Among its other benefits, comprehensive sex education, when combined with instruction in refusal skills, appears to be significantly protective against assault in college.

Once the pandemic is finally behind us, Covid-driven funding for health department infrastructure and contact tracers should be maintained and redirected toward creating robust S.T.I. control programs in every state, including expanding access to publicly funded sexual health services. All of that would be politically contentious, but the alternative is to continue to sacrifice the health of tens of millions of young people: Untreated S.T.I.s can result in pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility and cancer, and increase the risk of acquiring and transmitting H.I.V.
New Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews says she is a problem-solver who acts on the evidence. She has plenty of experience outside of politics and showed in the days before her appointment that she has the courage to speak her mind, when she told journalists shed had a gutful of the way women were treated in politics. This is the sort of politician Scott Morrison needs in his cabinet to win back women voters and to advance the national interest.

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews says she wants to bring her economic credentials to the portfolio. Credit:Paul Harris

Andrews has made it clear the governments hardline asylum-seeker policy will not change with a new minister, but she says her focus will be on more pressing issues within her wide-ranging portfolio. If this shift in emphasis suggests a more nuanced and considered approach to Home Affairs policy, one that is less driven by headlines and winning votes, Australia will be the better for it.

The divisive stop the boats one-liner championed by Peter Dutton and Scott Morrison may have won the Coalition elections in the past, but in a world gripped by COVID-19 it is dated. The bigger issue for voters right now is not who might be sneaking into the country, but when they themselves can get out, given fears the governments bungled vaccine rollout will keep our borders closed for longer.
Polling for the 5th phase of Assembly elections began at 7 am in Bengal today. A total of 45 constituencies are going to polls today that will decide the fate of 342 candidates. With polling, the blame game also began in Bengal with TMC alleging violence in the Minakhan constituency.

The battleground in Bengal is expected to intensify and the security around polling booths has been beefed up with deployment of 1,071 companies of central forces. The polling will be held at 15,789 booths, 13 constituencies of North Bengal are going to polls in this phase, including 7 in Jalpaiguri, 5 in Darjeeling and 1 in Kalimpong. Todays polls are spread across Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling and a section of Nadia, North 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman.

Additionally, the state of Bengal reported 6,910 new Coronavirus cases and 26 deaths due to the virus in the past 24-hours. The total number of Coronavirus cases stands at 41,047 and the number of deaths has reached 10,506.

The people of Bengal have been witnessing high voltage political drama for the past few months, even before the polling began. The two big parties BJP and TMC have left no chance of levelling allegations against each other or campaigning for their star candidates. If people of Bengal chose BJP or TMC will be decided on May 2nd when election results are announced.

The next phase of elections in Bengal will be held on April 22. The first phase of Bengal elections was held on March 27, 2nd on April 1, 3rd on April 6 and 4th on April 10.
A woman dying of a rare form of blood cancer has a chance at life because of what happened in January after a letter arrived at a West Linn home, addressed to a someone who no longer lived there.

It is a journey full of flukes, long odds and what ifs, one that began four years ago at Oregon State University when Natalie Maestretti, then a student, happened to be walking through the Memorial Union Quad, the heart of the campus. She noticed people talking with students.

She stopped and heard these people asking students if theyd be potential bone marrow and blood donors. She decided she would. She signed up. Someone swabbed the inside of her mouth to gather her cells, and she was on her way in two minutes.

She graduated and her parents later sold the family home in West Linn. Now 24, Maestretti had moved to Portland to work as recruiter for a health care company when the letter, addressed to her, arrived at her old family home. The new homeowner wasnt sure what to do with it. She could toss it out, but contacted Maestrettis parents to make sure she got it. When she opened it, Maestretti found a letter and sheet of instructions that made her remember that stop on the Oregon State Quad.

The letter said Maestretti was a perfect match for a woman in her 30s who was dying. Was she still interested in donating her blood cells to save this womans life?

Of course, she said. It was surreal. Its crazy to think how interconnected we are in this world.

***

The people who had come to OSU in 2017 were affiliated with DKMS, a nonprofit bone marrow donor center based in Germany, with offices in the United States and cities around the world.

Each year, agency recruiters visit college campuses to educate and ask young people to register with DKMS, said Koren Karlovic, a Portland-based recruiter whose territory is college campuses west of the Mississippi River. Donors are eligible to be on the list at 18. And since donors stay on the list until they are 61, she said, college students are critical as they remain potential candidates for decades.

Last year was tough for us, she said. All the college campuses were closed because of COVID-19. We are hoping to get back as soon as they reopen.

People, she said, can go online at DKMS and learn how to be a donor. More than 11 million people  all willing to donate marrow or blood cells  are in the registry.

There are more than 75 diseases where bone marrow or stem cell transplants are necessary to save the patient, she said.

A patients doctor, she said, first tries standard medical procedures, chemotherapy and radiation. If that doesnt work, a stem cell or bone marrow transplant is the only option. A doctor first looks within the patients family, specifically, a sibling with the same genetic coding.

About 25% of the time they find a match, she said. When they dont, they have to look in the international pool of donors and they come to us from around the world.

The donors cells must be a match with the patients immune system, or the new cells will be rejected, she said. A computer system analyzes all 11 million potential donors, looking for protein markers in the donor that match, or closely match, markers in the patient.

If the patient receives an outside foreign element, the bodys immune system will reject it, she said. The match must be as close a match as possible for the body to accept it so healthy cells can form and take over.

The registry, when contacted, begins looking through all donors, seeking the closest possible match.

It truly is a needle in a haystack, she said. There is less than a 4% chance a donor will ever be contacted.

Natalie Maestretti was a match.

Maestretti underwent an extensive physical to make sure she was healthy while DKMS officials waited to hear from the patients doctor, who was working to get his patient, battling acute myeloid leukemia, in remission long enough to receive the new cells.

In late February  about a month after the letter arrived at her former family home in West Linn  Maestretti went to the hospital for a procedure called apheresis. IV lines were attached to both arms. One line extracted blood and sent it to a machine to separate the red blood cells, and the other line returned it to her body.

It was so easy, she said. It took almost nine hours. I had a choice to read or watch TV. I watched the whole first season of The Amazing Race. 

When she was done, her cells were frozen and flown overnight to the hospital where the patient received them the next day.

Maestretti knows only that the woman who received her cells is 32 years old and lives somewhere in the United States. Without those cells, the woman would die. The patients doctor will know by June if the cells were accepted by the patients body.

In the United States, a donor and a patient by law are not allowed to learn anything about each other for a year. After that, if both agree, DKMS officials provide each of them with contact information.

Id love to meet her, said Maestretti. I was able to be this persons second shot at life. It changed me. Its been one of those things that puts life into perspective. I feel very grateful.

-- Tom Hallman Jr; thallman@oregonian.com; 503-221-8224; @thallmanjr
Talks on Iran's contentious nuclear program have reportedly made progress, despite Tehran's announcement that it was increasing uranium-enrichment levels closer to weapons-grade levels.

The April 17 discussions, the second round of talks aimed at salvaging the Iran nuclear accord abandoned by the United States in 2018, were held in Vienna without the presence of a U.S. delegation because Tehran has refused face-to-face talks with Washington.

The talks were chaired by the European Union, which carried out shuttle diplomacy with U.S. negotiators located in a nearby hotel.

China, Russia, France, Britain, Germany, and Iran remain parties to the accord, which offered Iran sanctions relief in exchange for limits on the country's nuclear program. However, since the U.S. withdrawal from the deal, Iran has consistently breached restrictions imposed under the 2015 deal.

"Progress has been made in a far-from-easy task. We need now more detailed work," European Union envoy Enrique Mora said after the April 17 talks.

Chinese envoy Wang Qun said that "all parties have agreed to further pick up their pace in subsequent days by engaging [in] more extensive, substantive work on sanctions-lifting, as well as other relevant issues."

The talks have been complicated by Iran's recent announcement that it was enriching uranium to 60 percent, up from the 20 percent it had achieved previously.

The announcement came after an attack on its Natanz nuclear facility, which Tehran blamed on Israel.

U.S. President Joe Biden has called Iran's decision to increase uranium enrichment unhelpful, but has said the United States is pleased that Iran is still participating in indirect talks with Washington aimed at getting both countries back into compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters
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Two years after it was ravaged by a raging inferno, the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris has been virtually revived in beautiful three-dimensional images that will be used to help painstakingly resurrect the iconic building.

Standing on the Ile de la Cite in the middle of the River Seine, Notre-Dame is a medieval Catholic cathedral consecrated to the Virgin Mary that was constructed from 11631260 under the Bishop of Paris Maurice de Sully.

The limestone-fronted structed is considered to be not only a symbol of Paris but also one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture, resplendent with its colourful rose windows and pioneering vaults and buttresses.

However, its wooden roof and spire was razed after a fire  thought caused by an electrical malfunction or a lit cigarette butt linked to ongoing renovation work  took hold in the attic on the evening of April 15, 2019.

The fire was extinguished fifteen hours later. Although there were no fatalities as a result of the accident, three emergency service personnel were injured and some works of art within suffered smoke damage.

Fortunately, the cathedral's stone ceiling  above which the lead-covered wooden roof had stood  protected much of the interior, and Notre-Dame's altar, rose windows and pipe organs survived little-to-no damage.

The French authorities have pledged to return Notre-Dame to its former glory within three years, in time for the 2024 Summer Olympics, with the first mass to be held in the restored cathedral's nave on April 15, 2024.

Now, the public establishment dedicated to the conservation and restoration of Notre-Dame has signed a partnership with software company Autodesk and their digital 'Building Information Modeling' (BIM) systems.

Data on the structure collected using reality capture technologies both prior to the fire and in its aftermath has allowed for models to be built to help guide the restoration and digitally preserve Notre-Dame for posterity.

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Two years after it was ravaged by a raging inferno, the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris has been virtually revived in beautiful three-dimensional images (pictured) that will be used to help painstakingly resurrect the iconic building

The limestone-fronted structed (pictured in reality, left and digital reconstruction, right) is considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture  resplendent with its colourful rose windows and pioneering vaults and buttresses

Standing on the Ile de la Cite in the middle of the River Seine, Notre-Dame is a medieval Catholic cathedral consecrated to the Virgin Mary that was constructed from 11631260 under the Bishop of Paris Maurice de Sully. Pictured: Notre-Dame in 2017

Notre-Dame's wooden roof and spire (right) was razed after a fire (left)  thought caused by an electrical malfunction or a lit cigarette butt linked to ongoing renovation work  took hold in the attic on the evening of April 15, 2019

'I warmly thank Autodesk for supporting the rebirth of Paris Notre-Dame Cathedral,' said Army General Jean-Louis Georgelin, who is President of the public establishment dedicated to the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris.

'Using digital technologies designed for the supervision and management of the restoration site is essential for the public institution,' he continued.

'The use of cutting-edge design and construction technologies and BIM are being leveraged to help prepare for the reopening of the cathedral, and to once again welcome both pilgrims and visitors.'

'We are humbled to participate in the restoration and future preservation of the Notre-Dame Cathedral, a truly magnificent architectural wonder of the world,' said Autodesk vice president Nicolas Mangon.

'We have witnessed the destruction of many of the worlds most historic monuments through natural and human-created disasters.'

'As this project demonstrates, it is important to digitise these historic sites before an event occurs that may damage or destroy them completely.'

Fortunately, the cathedral's stone ceiling  above which the lead-covered wooden roof had stood  protected much of the interior, and Notre-Dame's altar, rose windows and pipe organs survived little-to-no damage

The public establishment dedicated to the restoration of Notre-Dame has signed a partnership with software company Autodesk and their digital 'Building Information Modeling' systems. Pictured: a 3D model of Notre-Dame and its surroundings

Data on the structure (left) collected using reality capture technologies both prior to the fire and in its aftermath has allowed for models (like that pictured right) to be built to help guide the restoration and digitally preserve Notre-Dame for posterity

'I warmly thank Autodesk for supporting the rebirth of Paris Notre-Dame Cathedral,' said Army General Jean-Louis Georgelin, who is President of the public establishment dedicated to the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris. 'Using digital technologies designed for the supervision and management of the restoration site is essential for the public institution,' he continued

'We are humbled to participate in the restoration and future preservation of the Notre-Dame Cathedral, a truly magnificent architectural wonder of the world,' said Autodesk vice president Nicolas Mangon. Pictured: the window on the west facade, seen both in reality (left) and the three-dimensional digital model (right)

'The pre-fire 3D model of Notre-Dame was created through unique scanning technologies, with Autodesk commissioning a team to deploy reality capture tools to digitally scan the building,' Mr Mangon continued.

'The team took tens of thousands of measurements and images of the monument, resulting in billions of data points on the exact specifications of the building.'

'All this information sits in a central 3D model that enables all project stakeholders to have access to the latest data and plans for the project.'

The French authorities have pledged to return Notre-Dame to its former glory (pictured) within three years, in time for the 2024 Summer Olympics, with the first mass to be held in the restored cathedral's nave April 15, 2024

'We have witnessed the destruction of many of the worlds most historic monuments through natural and human-created disasters. As this project demonstrates, it is important to digitise these historic sites before an event occurs that may damage or destroy them completely,' said Autodesk vice president Nicolas Mangon. Pictured: renovations to Notre-Dame de Paris

Standing on the Ile de la Cite in the middle of the River Seine, Notre-Dame is a medieval Catholic cathedral consecrated to the Virgin Mary that was constructed from 11631260 under the Bishop of Paris Maurice de Sully
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Global Building Panels Market Research Report  Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast Till 2026

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Source  https://www.industrynewsengine.com/2020/12/02/wood-based-furniture-panel-market-2020-covid-19-impact-analysis-report-2027/
Case numbers are also accompanied by disturbing pictures, with images going viral that show hospitals suffering from a lack of beds and crematoriums and graveyards unable to accommodate all the new dead bodies piling up. Authorities have stretched themselves greatly to deal with all the new cases appearing throughout the country.

With the sharpest ever single-day surge, Indias Coronavirus caseload has surged to 1.45 crore cases. For 3rd consecutive day, the national has recorded over 2 lakh fresh cases in a single day. 2,34,692 fresh infections 1,341 deaths have been reported in the past 24-hours in India.

Acknowledging religious gatherings that took place in the recent past days, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote in a tweet that the mega Kumbh Mela should now only be symbolic. Union Health Minister is also scheduled to hold a meeting at 11.30 a.m. today with 11 state Health Ministers to address the Covid-19 surge.

The coronavirus cases in Maharashtra and Delhi soar to higher numbers with every passing day, as Maharashtra suffers from 63,729 additional infections within just 24 hours, with its total cases since the start of the virus numbering at 37 lakh. Delhi, on the other hand, fares no better than Maharashtra as it too registered 19,486 news cases within 24 hours and registered 8 lakh overall cases. These numbers are also accompanied by disturbing pictures, with images going viral that show hospitals suffering from a lack of beds and crematoriums and graveyards unable to accommodate all the new dead bodies piling up. Authorities have stretched themselves greatly to deal with all the new cases appearing throughout the country.

Almost 12 crore people having been injected with the first dose of the vaccine and 1.5 crores of these are considered fully vaccinated, having been administered with the second dose as well. To keep up the rate of vaccinations, the government has taken several measures to ensure a constant supply of vaccines to hospitals and designated vaccination centres.

Also read: Bengal Assembly Elections LIVE Updates: TMC alleges violence in Minakhan constituency as phase 5 polling begins
An Offaly Covid-19 survivor has received her first dose of the vaccine.

Rose Mannion, originally from Cloghan and now living in Lorrha, was admitted to Portiuncula University Hospital, Ballinasloe just over 12 months ago on March 28, 2020, gravely ill with Covid-19.

Rose spent a total of 81 days in the intensive care unit between Portiuncula hospital and University Hospital Galway, much of that time in an induced coma and attached to a ventilator. She was discharged from hospital in July and has since continued her rehabilitation.

Recently, Rose received her first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine at the vaccination centre at Ballybrit Racecourse, Galway, almost 12 months to the day she was admitted to hospital.

Speaking to the 'Tribune', Rose said she was delighted to have been called for the first dose of vaccine. She received the text to attend on March 15. However, her initial appointment was cancelled due to the blood clotting issues that arose and it was later rescheduled for March 23.

I have to say I was rather nervous and reluctant despite my consultant's assurances that it was safe to have the vaccine. However, as I couldn't pick and choose what vaccine I could have opted for, and the only choice open to me was yes or no, I decided to go with it, she explained.

There were side effects though which luckily enough I was told could happen like tiredness, muscle pain, vomiting, headache, temperature and general flu-like symptoms. It took 28 hours before it all kicked in just when I thought I was fine. This lasted for just over three days, but sure thats a small price to pay compared to contracting Covid again I can assure you.

Rose's family were absolutely delighted that she has received the vaccine and were very supportive and encouraging that she take it. I must say we all view it as a step in the right direction. It wasnt just me, who suffered when I contracted the virus last year, but my family did too not knowing what news they were going to get every time the phone rang and then not being able to visit me in hospital was an added strain on them."

"Who would have thought this time last year that a virus would claim the lives of so many people around the world and bring us all to our knees? This time last year I was on a ventilator and in an induced coma which lasted for over two months. Nobody wants something like that to happen to them so I sincerely hope that everyone takes the vaccine. I do realise there are people who will be reluctant to take it and thats understandable, but I would hate to see anyone with bad Covid like what I had.

Speaking about her recovery, Rose said it has been painfully slow, unfortunately and has left her with some health issues and that itself is not only worrying going forward but also very difficult to cope with.

My consultant was hoping that given six to twelve months that I would be back to normal again and tearing around the place like what I was doing, but to be honest, I seriously doubt at this stage that I will ever get back to the same level of energy and physical strength that I enjoyed prior to Covid."

" I do of course realise that Im lucky to be alive given that I came so, so close to death. With the nature of this virus, the medical people are learning something new about it every day, but they still dont know enough about it to be able to assure patients of the future, so no one can tell what this virus will throw up in people in months or years to come, and thats frightening when youre told that.

Rose is currently participating in a research study on the role of immune dysfunction in sepsis and Covid-19 at Galway University Hospital where she spent some time during her illness. The study is spearheaded by Professor John Laffey and Dr Bairbre McNicholas, both ICU doctors in the hospital, who had attended to her while she was there.

The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of how the immune and musculoskeletal system affects recovery following sepsis and for changes that occur in muscle in response to sepsis and Covid-19 infection. They will examine the patients' blood samples and analyze the immune cells and learn how these cells change in response to sepsis. They are also looking at proteins, RNA and DNA in the blood as a measure of the patient's immune or muscle response to infection.

This is all very interesting and no doubt it will be of huge importance in helping the medical people understand a little bit more of the after-effects of this terrible deadly virus so Im delighted to be part of the study, Rose added.
A Punjab-origin man has said his niece was among those who were injured in a mass shooting incident at the FedEx facility in the US city of Indianapolis that left eight people dead, according to a media report.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) said at least eight people died and several others were wounded during the shooting on Thursday night.

The girl, who was not named, was sitting in her car in the driver's seat when the gunfire erupted, her uncle Parminder Singh told local WTTV.

"She called as I was asleep at home. She said there was a shooting in the FedEx. So we just drove from Brownsburg," said Singh, adding she got shot on her left arm. "She's fine and in the hospital now," he said.

IMPD said the shooting happened at the FedEx facility in the 8900 block of Mirabel Road. When officers arrived around 11 pm, they encountered an active shooter incident.

Also read: FedEx shooting: Four Sikhs shot, S Jaishankar assures victims' families of assistance

Also read: Gunman shoots 8 people, kills self at FedEx site in Indianapolis
Liberal arts institution Georgia Gwinnett College called on Rave Wireless' mobile phone application for faculty and students to use Sprint devices pre-loaded with the program provider's applications for communication, academic and safety purposes.

Rave Wireless is a member of the SunGard Higher Education Collaborative, a network of companies dedicated to helping colleges build and manage a unified digital campus by marrying the student information system with mobile devices.

"All of our faculty members have Rave-enabled phones, and having them integrated into every user's course and classmate information will jumpstart the learning experience," said Lonnie Harvel, chief information officer of GGC, Lawrenceville, GA.

The year-old GGC is the nation's first four-year public college founded in this century. It is also Georgia's first new public college in 100 years, offering baccalaureate degrees to students in the northeast Atlanta metropolitan region.

SunGard Higher Education provides consulting, technology and management services to colleges and universities.

Students make call

Through this tri-fold collaboration, GGC integrated every student's mobile device with course information from within SunGard's administrative system. As a result, students are armed with current courses and classmates in those courses.

"GGC is a brand new college in its first semester," said Robert Jones, director of marketing at Rave Wireless, New York. "Their goal was to create a university from the ground up, without past legacy concerns and they chose to have a technology-oriented school.

"Almost every student has a mobile phone," Mr. Jones said. "GGC decided that in order to avoid a communication gap with its tech-savvy students, it would approach them in ways that would resonate with them."

Mr. Jones estimated that GGC has approximately 500 students, one-fifth of whom purchased the Rave-enabled phone.

"We do expect that number to grow," he said.

Students can interact with one another, participate in course polls, facilitate study group interactions and communicate with faculty via their mobile phone.

Rave raves

Colleges and universities such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Colorado, New York's Mercer College and the University of South Florida use the Rave Alert emergency broadcast system. Rave Alert sends text alerts to students regarding any instructions in an urgent situation or crisis.

The Rave application enables course registration and add/drop alerts via the mobile phone. This eliminates long registrar lines. Students can even view their grade information and financial payment due dates right on their handset.

"GGC's students are predominantly commuters," Mr. Jones said. "GGC wanted to take these virtual on-the-go students and give them a sense of community and connection with the university, all by using a mobile device.

"Students and teachers are usually the first to dabble their feet in anything new," he said. "For example, they were the first to use instant messaging and then it slowly but surely moved into the workplace. I expect the same will be true for applications like the Rave Wireless."
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LONDON  Last week, MintPress exposed how the supposedly independent investigative collective Bellingcat is, in fact, funded by a CIA cutout organization and filled with former spies and state intelligence operatives. However, one part of the story that has remained untold until now is Bellingcats close ties to the Department of War Studies at Kings College London, an institution with deep links to the British security state and one that trains a large number of British, American and European agents and defense analysts.

A school for spooks

A prestigious university located in the heart of London, Kings College has, in its own words, a number of contracts and agreements with various departments within government, including the Cabinet Office, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the Ministry of Defence. Some of those contracts are up to 10 years long. The university has so far refused to elaborate on the agreements, telling investigative news outlet Declassified UK that doing so could undermine U.K. security services.

A 2009 study published by the CIA spoke approvingly of how beneficial it can be to use universities as a means of intelligence training, noting that, exposure to an academic environment, such as the Department of War Studies at Kings College London, can add several elements that may be harder to provide within the government system. The paper, written by two Kings College staffers, is essentially a request to the agency to send more of its recruits there, and boasts about how the departments staff have extensive and well-rounded intelligence experience and how their programs offer a containing space in which analysts from every part of the community can explore with each other the interplay of ideas about their profession.

In 2013, former CIA Director Leon Panetta took time out of his schedule as then-secretary of defense to visit the Department of War Studies, where he expressed his profound gratitude to the unit. I deeply appreciate the work that you do to train and to educate our future national security leaders, many of whom are in this audience, he said, before adding that it was those young leaders who must ensure that NATO had the creativity, innovation and the commitment to develop and share capabilities in order to meet future security threats, citing the need to expand into tech, surveillance and cyberwarfare.

It was this department that Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins joined in 2018 as visiting research associate, with Bellingcat maintaining a close relationship with it to this day.

After studying their writers backgrounds, MintPress can confirm that no fewer than six Bellingcat employees or contributors  including Cameron Colquhoun, Jacob Beeders, Lincoln Pigman, Aliaume Leroy, Christiaan Triebert and senior investigator Nick Waters  all pursued postgraduate studies within the department, the most popular being the Conflict, Security and Development degree overseen by Professor Mats Berdal.

For 13 years, Professor Berdal was employed by the Norwegian Defence University College, Norways version of West Point. Berdal is one of a host of Kings College War Studies academics who previously taught there, including one who continues to be an officer in the Norwegian Armed Forces, serving in multiple NATO conflicts in the Middle East.

While many in the West picture Norway as a peaceful, enlightened nation, the country is actually a key driving force within NATO; former Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg is the organizations current secretary general. Sending troops and other assistance, it was the U.S. partner in attacks on Kosovo, Afghanistan and Libya. Norway has among the highest per capita military spending in Europe and is one of the minority of NATO members to exceed the defense spending benchmark of 2% of GDP.

A network of pro-war think tanks

Before joining Kings College, Professor Berdal was Director of Studies at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), one of the worlds most influential think tanks. Also situated in central London, the organization is directly funded by NATO and its member states, as well as by major weapons manufacturers such as Airbus, BAE Systems, Boeing and Raytheon. In 2016, the IISS was the subject of a major scandal after it was found to have secretly accepted 25 million  around $34 million  from the government of Bahrain.

Founded in 1958, the IISS provided much of the intellectual basis behind the Cold War scaremongering around Soviet military capacity, thereby pushing NATO members to spend more on arms. On its advisory board are a former NATO secretary general, the former chief of defense intelligence for the Israeli Defense Forces, and, until recently, the CEO of Lockheed Martin. Today, the think tank is a major driver in the increasing hostility towards China, Russia and North Korea. A number of other current Department of War Studies academics have held positions at the IISS as well. Indeed, Kings College boasts that one of the key benefits of studying there is its established links with the IISS.

A second pro-war think tank with which Kings College prides itself on working closely is the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI). RUSIs funding comes from many of the same sources as the IISSs. Its senior vice president is retired American General David Petraeus and its chairman is Lord Hague, Britains secretary of state from 2010 to 2015.

A host of Kings College academics  including Jack Spence, Benedict Wilkinson, Brian Holden-Reid, Walter Ladwig, Thomas Maguire and Neil Melvin  have also held positions at RUSI. Perhaps the most notable Kings College-RUSI crossover is Professor Sir David Omand, who was formerly the think tanks vice president, as well as the head of GCHQ, Britains version of the NSA.

Bellingcat writer Dan Kaszeta is an associate fellow at the organization. Bellingcat, RUSI and Kings College often cite each other in papers and reports, providing something of a united front on controversial issues of statecraft.

One man who links the IISS and RUSI together is Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, a key member of the Department of War Studies who went on to become King Colleges vice principal. A powerful figure in British politics, Freedman contributed to Prime Minister Tony Blairs 1999 speech in which he established the Blair Doctrine, a maxim that NATO could and should militarily intervene anywhere in the world to stop human rights violations.

A rogues gallery

For an institution that prides itself on cultivating independent thought, there exists a remarkable overlap between the staff of the Department of War Studies and the innermost halls of power of the British state. Professor John Gearson, for example, was principal defence policy adviser to the Defense Select Committee at the House of Commons, a senior adviser to the Ministry of Defense, and taught terrorism and asymetric warfare to military officers at the U.K. Defense Academy.

Another professor, Michael Goodman, is a current British Army reservist and formerly the Official Historian of the Joint Intelligence Committee (a body that oversees Britains intelligence organizations).

Visiting professors include Paul Rimmer, who was deputy chief of defence intelligence until last year; Lord Robertson, who was secretary general of NATO at the time of the Afghanistan invasion; and Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the former minister of defense. The longtime cabinet member was the creator of the Rifkind Doctrine  the controversial British policy on nuclear weapons. Rifkind rejected the idea that the country should use atomic missiles only as a last resort after being attacked, insisting that he could also use them simply to deliver an unmistakable message of Britains willingness to defend her vital interests.

It is not just British officials who teach Kings College students, however. Christopher Kolenda, for instance, was commander of an 800-man strong U.S. task force in Afghanistan, where he pioneered innovative approaches to counterinsurgency according to his bio at the hawkish think tank the Center for New American Security (CNAS), where he is a senior fellow. CNAS recently released a report calling for more innovative use of what it called coercive economic statecraft, (i.e., sanctions) and continues to saber rattle against China and Russia.

Between 2009 and 2010, Kolenda was a strategic advisor to COMISAF, the Commander of International Security Assistance Force. In plain English, he provided some of the brains behind the occupation of Afghanistan. Before pursuing a role in academia, he was also a senior advisor to Undersecretary of Defense Michele Flournoy and three 4-star generals. Flournoy was President Joe Bidens first choice to run the Pentagon.

The department also contains a number of Israeli academics, including Vera Michlin-Shapir, a former official in her countrys National Security Council who worked in the prime ministers office. Meanwhile Ofer Fridman served as an officer in the IDF between 1999 and 2011, during which time it was carrying out some of its worst war crimes against Palestine and Lebanon. After leaving the IDF, Fridman became an arms dealer, becoming the head of non-lethal weapons at LHB Ltd., which describes itself as the leading company in Israel for security and defense advanced solutions. In 2016, Kings College also hosted a lecture by the former head of Shin Bet, the Israeli secret police force.

The department has links to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well, with one senior research fellow, Nawaf Obaid, a former special advisor to the Saudi Ambassador in the U.K. and Ireland and a consultant at the Royal Court in Riyadh.

Weapons spending good, Russia bad.

While the departments staff are concerning enough, much of Kings College academic output is even more troubling, and appears to be completely in line with that of NATO and weapons contractors. One study named A benefit, not a burden: The security, economic and strategic value of Britains defence industry, for instance, reads like a press release from Raytheon, extolling how many people the industry employs. The report claimed that remaining one of the worlds top arms manufacturers was crucial in build[ing] a secure and resilient U.K. and to help shape a stable world. Without a vibrant and thriving domestic defence industrial base, it warned, there is a risk that the U.K. will jeopardise its freedom to act in an unstable, fast-changing world, concluding that the government should protect or ideally expand its defense spending budget.

A report from last August also lobbied the government to invest in making the United Kingdom a leading nation for space. Investment in space surveillance capacity is key to seizing the commercial and diplomatic opportunities offered by space while defending U.K. economic and security interests, it concludes. Surprisingly, the report insists that it would take only a modest investment from the government to turn Great Britain into a leading force in a rapidly expanding market.

Kings College also published a study, titled The future strategic direction of NATO, advising that the organization urgently needs a coherent policy on China and that it must re-up its commitment to countering Russia. It recommends that the majority of member states increase their military budgets and that they must share the burden of responsibility on nuclear weapons by allowing the U.S. to store missiles inside their territories.

Meanwhile, their 2018 report Weaponizing news: RT, Sputnik and targeted disinformation analyzes Russian state-backed media outlets and accuses them of carrying out a campaign of information-psychological warfare over its coverage of contentious events such as the alleged Skripal poisoning and the wars in Ukraine and Syria. The report claims Russian media is turning news into a weapon by projecting an image of strength and stability while highlighting flaws in Western democracies. While praising the work of Bellingcat and disinfo outlet Prop or Not, it concludes by advising that the West must use technical means to prevent propaganda.

These technical solutions, we now know, have largely entailed NATO indirectly taking control of social media. In 2018, Facebook announced that NATOs cutout organization, the Atlantic Council, was becoming its eyes and ears, giving it significant control over curating its news feed, supposedly in an attempt to limit disinformation. Yet many of the most lurid stories around RussiaGate were started by the Council itself, which pumped out report after report accusing virtually every political movement in Europe outside the establishment beltway as being the Kremlins Trojan Horses.

Kings College staff have also been crucial in propagating the idea of Russian interference in American politics, with Professor Thomas Rid testifying before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on the dark art of Russian meddling, and condemning WikiLeaks and alternative media journalists as unwitting agents of disinformation. Rid previously described 2016 as the biggest election hack in U.S. history.

Earlier this year, Facebook also hired former NATO press officer and Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Ben Nimmo as head of its intelligence team. Meanwhile Reddit appointed former Atlantic Council Deputy Director of Middle Eastern Strategy Jessica Ashooh as its head of policy. And Eliot Higgins, of course, was a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council as well. In recent years, social media giants like Facebook and Google have radically altered their algorithms, demoting content from adversarial nations, but also attacking alternative media that challenge the power of NATO and the national security state.

Today, the Department of War Studies hosted an online seminar with two senior NATO officials who discussed what they saw as Russia and Chinas increasingly aggressive actions, as well as new ways in which NATO can secure its control over the internet.

Military-academic-journalistic nexus

What is being described is a network of military, think-tank and media units all working towards furthering the goals of the national security state. Bellingcat regularly holds seminars and courses at Kings College, teaching the next generation of state officials how to use big-data and surveillance tools.

While Kings College provides an academic veneer for the national security state, Bellingcat provides a journalistic one. This cluster of think tanks, academic reports, and newsy investigative articles all cite one another as credible, independent sources when, in reality, they are all part of the same network furthering an agenda. It should be noted that this was an investigation into just one department in one school in one college of the University of London. The links to the highest levels of power were so profound and so manifold that it often seemed harder to find someone in the department who was not linked to military or intelligence communities. Thus, one could be forgiven for mistaking the Department of War Studies for a department of war mongers.

Feature photo | Photo by Kings College. Editing by MintPress News

Alan MacLeod is Senior Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent, as well as a number of academic articles. He has also contributed to FAIR.org, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, and Common Dreams.
Dozens of traders and merchants demonstrated in the Colombian capital on Friday against a three-day lockdown ordered by the city's mayor.

Unemployment in Bogota has increased due to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to figures from the National Administrative Department of Statistics, the unemployment rate reached 18.2% in 2020, while it was 10.9% in 2019.

Many citizens complained that small businesses have been hit the hardest.

"If you see the only ones that can open are the big business chains, the big malls are the only ones that can open, the small businessmen that practically live from day to day can't work", said Jose Beltran, a mall administrator.

More than 2.5 million infections have been reported in Colombia, along with around 66,000 deaths.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
New Delhi, April 17: Tired and broken, the United States has announced its unceremonious exit from Afghanistan. The decision, in many ways, is a throwback to a similar moment in recent history-the pullback of the Soviet forces from the strife torn nation after Moscows ill-fated intervention in Afghanistan in 1979. The Soviet Union was then a superpower, although ailing, when it decided to move forces across the Hai ratan bridge now in Uzbekistan, only to face defeat in a country which has been well described as the "graveyard of empires".

After President Joe Biden's announcement of pulling out of Afghanistan by September 11, the US forces would be scurrying back to the mainland, without achieving most of their mission objectives as announced after the collapse of the twin towers in 2001. After the 9/11 terror attacks, the US had ousted Afghanistan's Taliban rulers, who were fully backed by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence. During their rule, the Taliban had sheltered the worst of the international terror groups in Afghanistan, headed by Al Qaeda.

But after 20 years of western intervention, and after copious drain of blood and treasure, the Taliban are back, now lying-in wait to make a full-fledged comeback in the badlands of the AfPak. And over the years, the Taliban have not severed their links with Al Qaeda and ISIS and ISKP, AQIS and the Haqqani Network.

With the exit of the western forces, regional powers in Afghanistan's periphery are set to fill the vacuum left behind by the vanquished western nations.

Acknowledging defeat, US President Joe Biden has personally pleaded for the regional countries to script Afghanistan's post-withdrawal future. "We'll ask other countries, other countries in the region, to do more to support Afghanistan, especially Pakistan, as well as Russia, China, India, and Turkey. They all have a significant stake in the stable future for Afghanistan," Biden said in his major speech announcing the closure of another infamous chapter in Afghanistan.

As regional powers realign ahead of the departure of western forces, what are India's options that would enable New Delhi to protect its core interests? Despite the overhang of regional powers over Afghanistan, it is important to note that there are significant fault lines among the local powers that will be in play once the Americans leave.

Among the regional powers, a new power cluster comprising China-Pakistan-Turkey is emerging which is working closely to exercise dominance inside Afghanistan.

As reported earlier by India Narrative, it is in Afghanistan that interests of Turkey, Pakistan, and China strongly converge. For Turkey, an entrenchment in Afghanistan will turn Kabul into a springboard for forays into broader Central Asia -- a resource rich region with which Ankara shares deep seated cultural and linguistic ties.

For Pakistan, Turkey's assistance is badly needed to re-acquire its "strategic depth" to counter India and Iran, and to seal a security threat from across the Durand Line.

For China, tighter control will allow the extension of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), to access Afghanistan's resources including lithium, the feedstock of Beijing's electric car revolution. It would also help prevent the seepage of Islamic extremists from Afghanistan into the Wakhan corridor, and help prevent the destabilisation of China's strategic Xinjiang region.

As regional powers realign ahead of the departure of western forces, what are India's options that would enable New Delhi to protect its core interests? For starters, India has to quickly and fundamentally readjust its strategic prism and look afresh at Afghanistan and its neighbourhood. With the US virtually out of the equation, New Delhi has no option but to find a powerful niche within the ambit of divided regional powers. For India, the key would be to re-bond with Russia and Iran, both regional powers and deep civilizational states, wedded to multipolarity.

While both countries have forged strong strategic ties with China, perceptible watchers of the region are fully aware that this was done not out of choice but out of compulsion. The imposition of crippling sanctions, in violation of the Iran nuclear deal of 2015, turned the Iranians away from the Europeans, their natural partners, in the direction of China. But becoming a satellite of China, is simply not in the Persian civilization's DNA. Consequently, the Iranians are bound to welcome the reforging of a historic relationship with Russia and India to balance their ties with China.Both Russia and Iran have already partnered with India to establish new trade routes that exclude China. India's much required Eurasian pivot can take wings with New Delhi's deeper commitment to the Iranian port of Chabahar, which starts from Mumbai and heads to Afghanistan, en route to the heart of Central Asia.

Russia too will welcome a further deepening of a time-tested strategic relationship with India. Despite their close ties with China, the Russians are banking on the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), which excludes China as the framework to re-stablish their influence in Central Asia, Caucasia and the Slavic core of Central Europe. India fits into this script perfectly. Keen to stem overwhelming Chinese influence in Central Asia, Russia along with Iran is inviting India to join new pan-Eurasian trade routes outside the framework of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Fully aware of the region's inner dynamics, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar last month called for the integration of the Chabahar route with the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which passes through Iran, Russia, and then threads through Caucasia towards the Black Sea coast, as a pan-Eurasian undertaking minus China.

In 2001, India, Iran and Russia held extensive consultations in Dushanbe, Tajikistan's capital to forge a pan-Eurasian response to address the fluidity of the post-9/11 situation in Afghanistan. Building on its "strategic autonomy" doctrine, and with Tehran and Moscow as the constants, it is not impossible for India to regain its centrality among the regional powers that are rushing in to fill the vacuum in Afghanistan ahead of the US withdrawal from Kabul.

(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative/
Guwahati/Agartala, April 18 : With the surge in the number of Covid-19 cases, several northeastern states have taken diverse steps, including imposition of night curfew and closure of educational institutions, to prevent the spread of the dreaded virus.

Assam Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday that the lower primary schools would be closed in the districts where 100 active Covid-19 cases are found in 10 days.

The state presently has 4,794 active cases, of which 360 are in Kamrup (Metro) district, which houses state capital Dispur and Guwahati.

Talking to the media, Sarma said that Covid neutral certificates from other states would not be accepted and all air and train passengers would have to undergo both Rapid Antigen and RT-PCR tests on reaching Assam. The reports would be available within 24 hour, till which time they should stay in isolation.

"Assam's Covid situation is mostly linked to people with travel history. There would be no night curfew and lockdown in Assam as the situation is under control," the minister said.

Sarma also said that during the recent three phases of Assembly elections, the state didn't witness a big surge in the number of Covid cases.

"Out of the 126 Assembly constituencies in the state, no new cases were found in around 100 constituencies," he said, adding that most of the recent cases are linked with travel history and have been reported from commercial and crowded areas like Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Jorhat, Tezpur and Cachar.

The health minister said that the state has a stock of 22,000 Remdesivir injections and the medicine would be provided at a concessional rate to the patients and free of cost to those living below the poverty line.

Stating that over 15 lakh people have received Covid vaccine so far, Sarma said that the state has the required stock of both Covaxin and Covishield vaccines.

Meanwhile, Arunachal Pradesh has made testing compulsory for all people entering the state.

The Manipur government on Friday imposed night curfew in the entire state as Covid-19 cases continued to rise in the state, while night curfew will continue in Meghalaya capital Shillong, Mizoram capital Aizawl and Sikkim capital Gangtok.

Tripura Education Minister and government spokesman Ratan Lal Nath said on Saturday that there will be no night curfew and lockdown in Tripura, but all educational institutions - primary to university level - would remain closed for an indefinite period.

However, the ongoing examinations would continue as scheduled.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Hitting out at 'Western countries', Pakistan PM Imran Khan on Saturday, clarified that his government had cracked down against Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) for its street violence. He told 'Western govts' to penalise those deliberately spreading their message of hate against Muslims by abusing Prophet Muhammed. Pakistan is currently witnessing massive anti-French protests by TLP seeking the ouster of French Ambassador to Pakistan & cutting off ties with France over 'insult to Prophet Muhammed'.

Imran Khan warns 'Western govts'

Let me make clear to people here & abroad: Our govt only took action against TLP under our anti-terrorist law when they challenged the writ of the state and used street violence & attacking the public & law enforcers. No one can be above the law and the Constitution.  Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) April 17, 2021

Anti-France protests in Pakistan

The TLP is protesting against the arrest of their leader Saad Hussain Rizvi, who was taken into custody earlier this week. The TLP opposes the 'blasphemous' caricatures of the Prophet published in France by Charlie Hebdo and French President Emmanuel Macron standing by the act. They have demanded that the Ambassador of France should be sent home and import of goods from that country banned, as reported by Dawn. According to media reports, the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government had signed an agreement with the TLP in November 2020, agreeing to expel the French Ambassador. The TLP had launched a massive protest in November last year against the cartoons but dispersed after the agreement with the government to expel the Ambassador by February and the deal was extended until April 20.

With the deadline nearing, TLP took to the streets blocking roads, beating up cops, forcing Pakistan Army officials to chant TLP slogans. On the recommendation of the Punjab (Pakistan) govt, the Pakistan Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed banned the TLP under Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997. This act renewed the violent protests which led to Pakistan Army's crackdown and govt's blanket ban on social media platforms including WhatsApp and Twitter amid mounting protests. TLP has been demanding action against France since a French middle-school Samuel Paty was beheaded by a Chechen Muslim terrorist for showing his students the Charlie Hebdo cartoon on the Prophet.

With Macron standing by Charlie Hebdo's 'freedom of expression', Imran Khan had condemned the cartoon calling it an insult to Islam. He had urged western govts to holocaust-like standards to crackdown on those who deliberately indulge in such abuse & hate under the guise of freedom of speech. Pakistan govt is already under severe pressure from the terror watchdog FATF which will meet in France in June 2021 and hence cannot anger the Macron govt, while appeasing its domestic partner - TLP - Pakistan's fourth-largest party in Parliament.
Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Dan Goldberg. Getty Images

Satellite broadband is becoming an increasingly popular way to connect to the internet.

Major space companies are offering super-fast internet, which beams down from satellites in orbit.

They have one thing in common - they're racing to become the biggest name in satellite broadband.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

SpaceX's Starlink

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Hannibal Hanschke-Pool/Getty Images

Out of all the companies, Starlink is the one that has launched the most satellites into orbit.

Elon Musk's space venture currently has more than 1,350 satellites in orbit, with plans to launch up to 42,000 by mid-2027. Eventually, Starlink  a subdivision of SpaceX  wants to wrap thousands of satellites around the Earth to build a global network.

Starlink's "Better Than Nothing Beta" test went live in October and has since gained over 10,000 users across six different countries.

Starlink's business model directly connects customers to the satellites  there are no telecommunications companies involved in between.

Users sign up to Starlink via its website. When the service is up and running in the area, subscribers receive an email to buy the kit. Starlink may even offer users $99 preorders, like it did in Australia, Mexico and parts of the US, where the network isn't live yet.

Once the order has been accepted, Starlink sends the kit, including a tripod, WiFi router and terminal to customers. Overall, this costs users $499 for the kit and $99 for the monthly Starlink subscription for up to 210 Megabits per second. Customers then set up the kit themselves.

Starlink is rapidly expanding  it plans on attaching antennas to moving vehicles to connect them to the satellite network.

Not everyone is fully on board with Starlink's dominance. Local internet service providers in the US say Starlink is using "unproven" technology with its satellite constellation. They have asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to look into its application for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, for which Starlink was awarded $885 million.

Story continues

Amazon's Project Kuiper

Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos. MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

Project Kuiper, a subsidiary of Amazon, came to light in 2018 when government filings revealed the tech giant was going ahead with building a global space-based internet service.

The project aims to blast 3,236 satellites to 630 kilometers in orbit, very close to Starlink's satellites at 550 kilometres.

In January, the FCC gave Project Kuiper regulatory approval to launch its satellite fleet into space by July 2029 and connect with antennas on the Earth to provide internet service.

50% of its satellites should be operational by July 30, 2026.

It's not yet clear what Project Kuiper's satellites will look like or which rocket they will be launched on, but Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin could send them into orbit via its New Glenn rocket.

Sources told Insider in 2019 that Project Kuiper's headquarters are a few miles from Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

ViaSat

The ViaSat logo is displayed on a smartphone. Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Californian-based ViaSat operates five GEO satellites around 22,000 miles above the surface of the Earth.

It's adding to this constellation at the start of 2022 by putting three "ultra-high capacity GEO satellites" into orbit, which will give global coverage by 2023, a ViaSat spokesperson told Insider.

ViaSat is also planning on putting 288 satellites into low-Earth orbit (LEO) by 2026.

Mark Dankberg, ViaSat's executive chairman and co-founder, told Insider on Thursday that having both GEO and LEO satellites complement each other.

He said ViaSat are trying to create a "multiorbital constellation where you use GEO satellites and LEO satellites in a way that look seamless to users."

Dankberg gave an example of the benefits of using different orbital satellites for videos online: The LEO satellites can offer the latency  the delay between a user's actions and the internet's response  and the lower cost bandwidth from GEO satellites.

In December, Viasat asked the FCC to study the potential environmental impacts of Starlink. In response, Musk tweeted: "Starlink 'poses a hazard' to Viasat's profits, more like it."

Dankberg said it's common for companies to become "frenemies" in the space industry. Despite having a launch contract with SpaceX, ViaSat is concerned about the thousands of satellites SpaceX is putting into orbit.

Launching more satellites leads to a higher chance of collision, resulting in more space debris which could be a "doomsday scenario for space," according to Dankberg.

Hughes Net

Hughes Jupiter 2 satellite team. Hughes Net

Hughes Net, the biggest satellite internet provider in the US, relies on satellites positioned 22,500 miles away in geostationary orbit to beam internet back down to Earth.

The main difference between the low-Earth orbit satellites and the bigger geostationary (GEO) satellites is that the latter are much further away in orbit and as a result can cause second-long delays in video calls and other technology.

But GEO satellites are in a fixed position, so unlike LEO satellites, they don't move around in orbit and target their internet service in one specific area.

Hughes, with more than 1.5 million subscribers, has six satellites in orbit, which cover various parts of North and South America and Canada, including Mexico, Brazil, and Chile.

Hughes Net spokesperson Sharyn Nerenberg told Insider the company is purely focused on providing internet to the Americas.

The last satellite Hughes launched was in June 2018 and it's aiming to send another one into orbit, named Jupiter 3, in the second half of 2022. Nerenberg said Jupiter 3 is going to be the largest commercial satellite ever launched.

Those who sign up for Hughes Net receive a kit through the post and get it installed by an outsourced company.

Costs for Hughes satellite service range from $59.99 to $149.99 per month for 25 Mbps download speeds. The kit is priced at $249.99 with a $199 installation charge, taking the total purchase price to $449.98  $50 cheaper than SpaceX's Starlink.

Nerenberg also said Hughes offers community WiFi hotspots via its satellite network to small rural areas in Latin America for those who can't afford a subscription.

The UK's OneWeb

A rocket with 36 OneWeb satellites onboard blasts off from a launch pad of Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia. Yuri Smityuk\TASS via Getty Images

OneWeb is a British-owned satellite broadband provider that currently has 146 satellites at 1,200 km in orbit and plans to have 648 satellites in total to offer a global network.

The firm was rescued from bankruptcy by the UK government and India's Bharti Group in November and now pledges to invest $1 billion in the company.

OneWeb wants to provide internet to the whole of the UK by June. Its most recent launch on March 25 will deliver internet coverage to the top of the globe down to the 50th degree latitude, covering countries such as Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Russia, the Nordic countries, and northern Europe.

The UK firm offers a business-to-business model, whereby it provides satellite internet to telecommunications companies, which then distribute the service to customers.

Chris McLaughlin, chief of government, regulation and engagement at OneWeb told Insider the company has had discussions with the government about becoming part of the UK's $6.9 billion Project Gigabit  just like Starlink.

OneWeb and Starlink satellites almost collided into each other in orbit on April 3 that could have sent thousands of debris pieces flying around space, adding to the space junk crisis.

McLaughlin told Insider on Monday it was "no one's fault but a big challenge" to avoid this from happening.

Eutelsat

Konnect satellite launch team. Eutelsat

Eutelsat is a European satellite operator that has 39 GEO satellites positioned at 36,000 kilometres away in orbit.

The company currently provides internet to parts of Europe and Africa, and plans to launch another satellite called Konnect VHTS, which will cover the rest of Europe.

Michel Azibert, Eutelsat's deputy CEO, told Insider on Friday: "Konnect VHTS will be a game-changer, enabling Eutelsat to provide powerful connectivity seamlessly to the end user at a price comparable to those of terrestrial operators."

Prices for Eutelsat's satellite company range between 30 and 70 per month for speeds between 30 and 100 Mbps, with an upfront fee between 49 to 149 depending on the market, Azibert said.

He said the pricing was "well below Starlink's and very well adapted to the rural markets that we are targeting in EMEA."

Eutelsat's satellites "are a reliable solution to cost-effectively address areas and regions where fiber will remain too costly to deploy," he added.

Eutelsat, founded in 1977, sends its satellites into space from various locations across the world. The first satellite it launched was in 1983.

Canada's Telesat

Satellite services operator Telesat CEO and president Daniel Goldberg listens during a session at the World Summit For Satellite Financing. ERIC PIERMONT/AFP

Telesat, headed by Dan Goldberg, already has 15 GEO satellites more than 35,000 km (22,200 miles) above Earth.

The Canadian company is also planning a LEO constellation called "Lightspeed"  the first batch of 298 satellites, built by Thales Alenia Space, are expected to be launched by early 2023. The goal is to provide full global service by 2024.

Manik Vinnakota, director, commercial and product development at Telesat, told Insider the satellites weigh around 700 kilos and have a 10-12 year design life.

But he added that "GEO will still be the most efficient way to deliver content to large geographic areas" with regards to broadcast video distribution.

The company provides its satellite internet to government, aviation, maritime and terrestial markets, Vinnakota said.

Goldberg confirmed during the Satellite 2021 LEO Digital Forum on April 6, per Space News, that Lightspeed would cost $5 billion. This much cheaper than SpaceX's and Amazon's projects which exceed the $10 billion mark.

He told Reuters on Sunday that Telesat is "in the sweet spot" with pricing.

In 2019, Telesat signed a launch deal with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin to use its rockets, such as the proposed New Glenn, to blast its LEO satellites into orbit.

David Wendling, Telesat's chief technical officer, told Reuters the company is in talks with three different launch providers but that they haven't made a final decision just yet.

Read the original article on Business Insider
LAFAYETTE, La. (KADN) - Two men have been arrested and police are looking for another in connection with a shooting at Bourgeois Park.

According to University of Louisiana at Lafayette Police, Jayvien Jawane James Mallery, 20, was arrested Friday by the St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office. He is charged with one count of principal to second-degree murder, three counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of carrying a firearm on school property.

A second suspect, identified as Zykeivrik Jaudan Narcisse, 21, was arrested Friday night by the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office. According to ULPD, he is charged with one count of accessory after the fact to second-degree murder and three counts of accessory after the fact to attempted first-degree murder.

Both Narcisse and Mallery were booked into the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center.

Police are looking for a third suspect, identified as Tyquan Trekel Marshall, 22. He is wanted on a count of second-degree murder, three counts of attempted first-degree murder and one county of carrying a firearm on school property.

The charges stem from the death of John Mitchell Sinegal, Jr. His body was found in the park on April 9.

READ MORE: Victim Dead in Bourgeois Park Shooting

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact ULPD Lt. Darren Zachary at (337) 296-4375.
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Pune, April 16, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Energy Efficient Building Market Analysis

Market Research Future (MRFR) expects the global energy efficient building market to register a 8.15% CAGR from 2020 to 2027 (forecast period).

The energy efficiency of a building is characterised as the rate at which energy is lost through the physical structure of the building and the rate at which energy is used to meet the energy requirements. The energy efficient buildings are providing the greatest potential for achieving significant GHG emission reduction at a low cost in developed and developing countries.

Green or sustainable structures, as opposed to conventional buildings, emit little to no greenhouse gases and play an important role in environmental preservation. Zero-energy buildings generate more energy than they consume, reducing reliance on nonrenewable energy sources and lowering carbon emissions.

The growing emphasis of governments around the world on energy conservation has resulted in high demand for energy efficient buildings. The popularity of energy efficient buildings has risen rapidly in recent years due to an increase in the number of initiatives undertaken by infrastructure and development organizations. This pushes manufacturers and building developers to prioritize green building projects. The global energy efficient building industry is expected to expand steadily due to a variety of factors, including a rise in the number of green buildings, an increased need for proper building energy management, and the adoption of smart building and sustainable solutions. Governments all over the world are now encouraging energy efficiency and resource conservation, which is propelling the market forward.





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Green building codes, policies, and programs are constantly tailored and updated to encourage the adoption of energy efficient buildings as well as the transformation of existing and newly constructed buildings. Increasing environmental issues, strict building code regulations, and a growing need to conserve natural energy are only a few of the factors that are providing lucrative opportunities to vendors operating in the global energy efficient building market.

However, the high operating costs of renovating the buildings could inhibit market development. Modernization in technologies, as well as government rules and regulations, creates new opportunities in demand for energy efficient buildings.

COVID-19 Impact on the Global Energy Efficient Building Market

The global outbreak of a new coronavirus pandemic is likely to trigger a small downturn in the industry. Owing to labor shortages, manufacturing activities have come to a halt. As a result, demand from end-use industries has decreased significantly.

Market Segmentation

The worldwide energy efficient building industry has been segmented based on building type and components.

By building type, the global energy efficient buildings market has been segmented into residential, commercial, and industrial. Because of the global expansion of the corporate sector, the commercial segment is projected to expand at the fastest pace in the worldwide market during the forecast period. In addition, commercial buildings are adopting the eco-building trend. Business owners are also centered on sustainability, which has further increased the demand for energy efficient buildings.

Based on components, the global energy efficient building market has been segmented into ventilation systems, lighting technologies, energy management systems, and controls. The energy management segment is anticipated to register the highest growth during the assessment period owing to the increasing demand for highly equipped systems from the end-users.





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Regional Analysis

Region-wise, the global energy efficient building industry has been segmented into five key regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East & Africa, and South America.

Europe and North America held large shares of the global market in 2019, owing to stringent energy efficiency regulations aimed at achieving sustainable development. Sustainable development in terms of energy efficiency is a top priority in these two countries, propelling demand for energy efficient buildings. Furthermore, the expansion of Europe's construction industry, which includes high-tech constructions and renovation activities, has generated a lucrative market for intelligent building solutions. This high rate of adoption can be linked to the rising per capita expenditure on energy prices for majorly in commercial and industrial buildings.

The Asia Pacific market is projected to rise at the fastest pace in the energy efficient buildings market during the forecast period. This is due to the high demand for energy efficiency in developing countries like China, India, and ASEAN.

Furthermore, large-scale construction activity in the Middle East and Africa is expected to help and significantly contribute to the regional energy efficient building market's development. The development of the market in the region can also be linked to the rising energy requirement. Furthermore, the growing number of construction activities is expected to increase the demand for energy efficiency.





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Key Players

Because of the involvement of many vendors offering a variety of smart building systems and services, the market tends to be highly fragmented. Vendors include a wide range of intelligent building systems as well as turnkey building solutions. The market is currently dominated by large players with a diverse product range of energy efficient building products that can be tailored to meet the needs of the client. The market is highly competitive, and the existence of well-established players makes it difficult for medium and small-scale vendors to develop a market presence.

The key players in the worldwide energy efficient building industry are Cleantech Group, Architectural Energy Corporation, Johnson Controls, Serious Energy Inc., Ameresco Inc., Knauf Insulation, and KMC Controls Inc.





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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-16 23:17:45|Editor: huaxia

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As Japan's decision to discharge nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean sparked an international backlash, Marine ecologists in Australia's university said that more scientific evidence are needed while judging the safety to dump the water into the ocean.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
The College of The Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri has filed a lawsuit in federal district court on Thursday to challenge the Biden administration for an LGBT Executive Order filed in February.

The Executive Order issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development prohibits individuals and institutions from discriminating against LGBT students in federally funded housing. Because colleges are federally supported through student loans, grants, and other contracts, they are obliged to comply with fair housing laws.

However, the College of Ozarks argues that the Executive Order tramples on the college's religious beliefs when forced to let biological males join females in dorms and bathrooms.

Evangelist and missionary Franklin Graham took to Facebook to share the news and condemn the Biden administration for its "government overreach" and applauded the "boldness" of College Of The Ozarks President Dr. Jerry Davis for pushing forward with the lawsuit that opposes forcing Christian schools to let biological makes join females in dorms and bathrooms.

"Religious freedom is under attack in America, and we won't stand on the sidelines and watch. To threaten religious freedom is to threaten America itself," Davis declared. "College of the Ozarks will not allow politicians to erode this essential American right or the ideals that shaped America's founding."

According to Forbes, the College Of The Ozarks and its 1,500 students are being represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a non-profit advocacy group for conservative legal causes whose headquarters are in Scottsdale, Arizona. In the Missouri college's lawsuit against the Biden administration, ADF hopes to "protect the school's ability to prevent transgender students from living in dormitories that align with those students' gender identity."

In 2018, the College Of The Ozarks was listed by Forbes as the 270th top college, with a 91% admissions yield higher than that of Harvard at 82%. Dubbed as the "Bible Belt Ivy'' and known as "Hard Work U," the college offers room and board for $7,900 a year. According to Springfield News-Leader, students who work on campus may also graduate free of debt.

While the lawsuit says that the College Of The Ozarks teaches its students that all individuals must be treated with dignity, grace, and love "whatever their sexual beliefs" and will allow students who have experienced same-sex attractions and relations to enroll in the school, the college argues that "sex as determined at birth is a person's God-given, objective gender, whether or not it differs from their internal sense of 'gender identity.'"

ADF Senior Counsel Julie Marie Blake, speaking up for the College Of The Ozarks, said "The government cannot and should not force schools to open girls' dorms to males based on its politically motivated and inappropriate redefinition of 'sex,'"

"Women shouldn't be forced to share private spaces-including showers and dorm rooms-with males, and religious schools shouldn't be punished simply because of their beliefs about marriage and biological sex," Blake added. "Government overreach by the Biden administration continues to victimize women, girls, and people of faith by gutting their legal protections, and it must be stopped."

The lawsuit filed by the College Of The Ozarks that protests religious freedom rights names President Joe Biden, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and its two officials, Marcia Fudge and Jeanine Worden. The Missouri college is demanding a jury trial and seeks costs and attorney fees as stipulated in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Equal Access to Justice Act.
On Saturday, during the televised funeral service of their grandfather, Prince Philip, all eyes will be on Prince Harry and Prince William. After Prince Harry's shocking tell-all Oprah Winfrey interview with his wife, Meghan Markle, last month, the estranged brothers have not seen each other face to face.

The brothers will both be on Saturday's funeral procession for the late Duke of Edinburgh, but they will not be standing next to each other, ET reported.

Prince Harry, Prince William will not stand next to each other

As a result, there will be no photos of Prince Harry and Prince Willian standing shoulder to shoulder during the service, which will take place at Windsor Castle's St. George's Chapel. For the solemn day, Peter Phillips, Princess Anne's son, will stand between Prince William and Prince Harry.

Comparisons to the sad scene in 1997 wherein the brothers walked behind Princess Diana's coffin at her funeral will undoubtedly be made as the brothers walk behind Philip's coffin. According to COVID-19 protocol, the private ceremony will have a limit of 30 guests, most of which will be immediate family members. Three of Philip's relatives from Germany have also been invited, according to ET.

Other royal guests include Philip's son, Prince Charles, and his wife, Camila, Kate Middleton, Prince Andrew, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, Prince Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, their husbands, and several others.

The royal family's young children are not supposed to attend. The royal family will be dressed in a day dress or morning coat with badges, while the congregation will wear masks. Military uniforms will not be worn.

After Prince Harry arrived in the United Kingdom, a source told ET that the brothers have been in contact by phone. Following his flight from Los Angeles, the Duke of Sussex is reportedly quarantined.

Prince Philip's Bond with Princess Diana, Including Exchange of Letters

Queen Elizabeth II orders Prince Harry and Prince William to be separated

In the funeral procession behind their grandfather Prince Philip's coffin, the Queen has demanded that Prince Harry and Prince William be separated. The brothers will walk side by side but will be separated by cousin Peter Phillips, who will stand between them.

The Queen has given her approval to the arrangements that will see Harry and William accompany Philip's coffin to St. George's Chapel, Mirror reported. She checked on "every single" aspect of her husband's funeral to ensure that his wishes are honored amid the pandemic. Nothing "should detract from what the day is about, commemorating her husband's remarkable life," Her Majesty was said to have insisted.

Meghan Markle Advised Not to Return to the UK; Prince Harry Risks Royal Divorce If He Returns Unapologetic

Why Prince Philip's funeral won't heal the Royal rift?

A royal author said Prince Harry and Prince William's royal feud stems from "very deep problems that cannot be settled" at Prince Philip's funeral. For the first time since Meghan Markle told Oprah Winfrey that an unidentified prince made racist comments about her unborn child's skin color, the bickering brothers would meet in person.

Though the mystery family member's name remains unclear, the Duke of Cambridge openly denied they were a racist family in the days after the interview. Some commentators had hoped that the sad event of their grandfather's death would provide the brothers with a chance to mend their strained relationship.

However, it has since been revealed that they would not walk side by side behind the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin, as per Newsweek. Instead, they will be separated by cousin Peter Phillips as the world sees Queen Elizabeth II bid her husband farewell.

Historian Robert Lacey's book, "Battle of Brothers," will be re-released later this year in a much-anticipated second edition, in which he will shed new light on the rift between Prince Harry and Prince William. Just days before his and Meghan's Oprah Winfrey interview on March 7, Harry officially lost his honorary military titles, including the prestigious rank of Captain-General of the Royal Marines.

Prince Harry arrived in the United Kingdom this week, just in time to quarantine before the funeral. And if he is allowed to leave his Frogmore Cottage home in the United Kingdom, it is unknown how much time he will spend with Prince William.

"It would be a visible example of how broken the brothers' bond is, and of how overblown was the talk of their grandfather's funeral heralding a rapprochement," former BBC royal reporter Peter Hunt wrote on Twitter.

It will be a visible reminder of how fractured the brothers relationship is and of how overblown was the talk of their grandfathers funeral heralding a rapprochement. #PrincePhilip https://t.co/78bndkNlfk  Peter Hunt (@_PeterHunt) April 15, 2021

@Twitter

"Even for just 8 minutes, neither was prepared to tolerate walking side by side. #PrincePhilip."

Even for just 8 minutes, neither was prepared to tolerate walking side by side. #PrincePhilip https://t.co/32tpJSVqA3  Peter Hunt (@_PeterHunt) April 15, 2021

@Twitter

Prince Harry had faced a dramatic public standoff with his brother on his last trip home in March 2020, but that time he was accompanied by his wife. Then, the cold atmosphere between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge was noticeable at a Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.

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.
Christina Castellanos felt increasingly alarmed as she read a letter she got in the mail.

It was from Dr. David Skillinge, president of Hunterdon Medical Group.

The letter said her doctor, plastic surgeon Andrea Strauss, had not followed protocol when using syringes, and that Castellanos, the patient, would need to be tested for HIV, hepatitis B and C and other bloodborne pathogens.

I opened that letter and my heart sunk, Castellanos says.

Nearly two years later, she is still fighting for answers.

Castellanos, an actor who grew up in Bridgewater and lives in Bound Brook, has had small parts and background work in series like Netflixs Orange is the New Black, Amazons Chase Street, NBCs Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Showtimes Ray Donovan and HBOs High Maintenance. She says she will also appear in Hulus Wu-Tang: An American Saga.

Dr. Andrea Strauss had operated on Castellanos in 2018, for her breast reduction surgery. The actor says she has had nothing but problems since, and has been hospitalized up to 30 times since the procedure as a result of recurrent infection.

Strauss, she says, is accused of reusing syringes. Castellanos is mystified as to why an experienced doctor would do that.

Multiple requests to Hunterdon Medical Center for her medical records have yielded nothing, she says, despite the letter, sent in 2019.

No one knows what happened to Dr. Strauss, says Castellanos, 37. After she was terminated its like she fell off the face of the earth.

In April 2020, she sued Strauss, Hunterdon Medical Center, Hunterdon Medical Group and Hunterdon Healthcare for assault and battery and infliction of emotional distress.

I would just like for them to just really take responsibility for what we went through, Castellanos says of her experience and those of others who were patients of Strauss. She says she has seen evidence of other patients having issues with the doctor in online posts about their treatment.

When you go to a doctor you want to be able to trust them, she says.

When the defendants did not respond, Scott Leonard, Castellanos lawyer, asked Judge Robert Wilson of Somerset County Superior Court to enter a default judgment.

Christina Castellanos, at right, in "Orange is the New Black."Netflix

According to a court filing, on April 7, 2021, Raymond Fleming, a lawyer for Hunterdon Medical Center, asked the judge to hold off on the default judgment, saying a response would be forthcoming.

However, Castellanos has long been dealing with health issues stemming from the breast reduction surgery with Strauss, she says. A few weeks after the surgery, she developed an infection in her breast. That wasnt the only issue.

It just didnt look right, she says. There was abnormal scarring, and Strauss had to redo the surgery in her nipple area because the left side was lower than the right. Castellanos attributes the outcome to Strauss failing to measure her breasts correctly before the surgery.

Later, when she went back to see Strauss to correct the surgery, something didnt feel right. The doctor performed the second surgery in her office, as opposed to a surgery center. She also noticed the absence of nurses.

That was a red flag that I felt but I missed because it was all new to me, Castellanos says, noting that the breast reduction was her first such procedure.

Castellanos was also not given sufficient anesthesia, she says.

I was wide awake, she says. It was horrific to see all that blood.

Months after the surgery, Castellanos had thick scars. Strauss tried to lessen the scarring with a series of injections. But nothing was working, Castellanos says.

My breasts were just horrible, she says. I was ashamed of my body.

She had her last such injection from Strauss in 2019.

Its been ongoing since this incident has happened, she says of medical issues that have hounded her over the years.

Castellanos has since seen another doctor for corrective surgery to redo the reduction. She will soon undergo what she is hoping will be her last related surgery.

She says the trauma caused by the first surgery, subsequent procedure and troubling letter from the medical center sent her into therapy.

Mentally it has taken a toll on me, she says.

The chronic health problems have affected her work as an actor, Castellanos says.

Im hoping that by me speaking up about it, (it) can also help other people to get the courage to speak up and that maybe Hunterdon can take some type of responsibility because this is just completely horrific, she says.

I wouldnt wish this upon my worst enemy. It was horrible. It was a nightmare that I still live to this day.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter.
NOT all artists are in favour of this Lockdown caper. I meet coves every other day and they slag me off for not taking to the streets with the other cranks and dissenters.

And after so many restrictions, Im beginning to, at least, hear them out.

I played Van the Mans subaltern songs last night  theres a man who has enough of it; his Covid songs are very funny, typically Van; his voice has somehow rejuvenated; but hes a conspiracy man, and thats a hard pill to swallow.

Sometimes, even rebels must take a Government line and I must throw down my subaltern cloak and honestly depose that our Government, with the exception of a few embarrassing hiccups has presented a fairly exemplary stand throughout this desperate time.

Some ministers really impressed me, like Paschal Donoghue. But the medical TV men were infused with negativity and despondency beyond resuscitation; Jobs comforters who railed at every little ray of hope on the horizon that the patient people of Ireland needed. I even heard one doctor say, decrying an essential natural necessity: We mustnt get comfortable.

It just wasnt in their hearts. The radio each day trades on fear and sensationalism, as sadly, such despondency and negativity seems to be what the people demand in contemporary Ireland. I want to hear people discussing Holy Wells, St Bridget; bees and traditional boats with red sails.

Like all of us, Im delighted to be allowed to travel around the Rebel County once more. Ill have some chance now in hearing the cuckoo next week in Cill na Martra or up in Kilworth.

I wrote this little ragtime song on Wednesday downstairs in the kitchen while Eve, my partner, laboured in the library upstairs writing a song about the original Eve, the mountain Mother of humanity. Two songs in one day from one house isnt bad.

My song was written that I might induce or encourage the folks to consider how marvellous Cork county is and to sing her praises in a new song.

THE REBEL

Dont venture out beyond the fold;

Dont be tempted, dont be bold.

Youll find delights a hundredfold

In The Rebel.

We have Beara Bay, Crosshaven too,

Forget Taiwan and Timbuktu,

Homely hearts are calling you

To The Rebel.





I hear theres mighty music in the sweet county Clare;

Take the road to Knocknagree,

Youll find sweet music there.

With a dolly-dowsy by your side;

She might turn out to be your bride.

Take her to the heartlands

Of The Rebel.





Dont go to Kerry, its no good,

Court her in Glenbower Wood

Decent like a Corkman should,

In The Rebel.





I hear theres mighty women in sweet Limerick Town

But the Belles of Cork ring sweeter

And beat em all hands down.

The Texas of sweet Erins Isle

No need to cross the county line,

The County Cork will do ya fine,

Shes the Rebel.

The scenes youll see will dim your eyes,

Remember theres a thousand miles

From Blackball Head to Dinish Isle

Round The Rebel.





When the ragtime babas sing The Banks

Bringing tears to my eyes,

And the misty Mother Lee runs by

Its sweet paradise.

So, hold your patience for a while,

Stay inside the county line;

Youre sure to have a mighty time

In The Rebel.





And when the world is sweet again,

Well venture out and venture in;

But youll find youll have more rapture

In The Rebel.




Ukraine Threatens To Create Nuclear Weapons Force If Its Not Brought into NATO

April 16 , 2021 (EIRNS)The Kiev regime has gone even further off the deep end in its desperate quest to trigger World War III on behalf of the dying British Empire. Ukrainian Defense Minister Andrii Taran, told Members of the European Parliament in Brussels that Russia was preparing to potentially store nuclear weapons in Crimea. Reuters reports, however, that Taran provided no evidence for his assertion, but said Russia was massing 110,000 troops on Ukraines border in 56 battalion-sized tactical groups, citing Kievs latest intelligence.

Tarans claim about Crimea attracted ridicule from Russian politicians. Taran should not go to the European Parliament, but to the office of a psychotherapist, said Duma member Andrey Kozenko, reported RT. Russia really has powerful military potential and, if it wanted to, it could deploy nuclear warheads in Crimea, and Kiev would be the last to know about it.

Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnyk went even further, openly threatening that unless NATO makes Ukraine a member, Kiev will pursue a nuclear weapons capability.

We must do everything possible to ensure that Putin will not attack us tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. The only possibility for this is for Ukraine to finally become a NATO member. If Ukraine were a NATO member in 2014 ... it would never have come to the annexation and this terrible war in the east,

he said in an interview with Germanys DLF Radio, reported Unian.

Otherwise, Ukraine has no other choice: Either we are part of an alliance such as NATO and are doing our part to make this Europe stronger, or we have the only optionto arm by ourselves, and maybe think about nuclear status again. How else can we guarantee our defense? Melnyk proclaimed.

The regime is also claiming, without evidence, that Russia plans to close the Kerch Strait, which provides passage from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov and the Ukrainian port of Mariupol. Though the Foreign Ministry in Kiev has issued a protest note, the claim appears to have originated with one Andriy Klymenko, the head of the Institute of Black Sea Strategic Studies. Who it will concern ... foreign warships and state vessels (i.e., does not apply to commercial shipping). However, for example, as for warships of Ukraine and ships of the Ukrainian fleet, they are mainly state-owned (mainly for this casetugboat), Klymenko wrote on his Facebook page, reported the 112 Ukraine TV channel.

Ukraine has the right to regulate navigation in these areas of the Black Sea. This step is a gross violation of the right to freedom of navigation guaranteed by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. According to the Convention, the Russian Federation must not obstruct or impede transit through the International Strait to ports in the Sea of Azov, 

the Foreign Ministry said in its protest note.

No statements by Russian officials nor any other evidence have surfaced confirming any Russian intent to close the Kerch Strait, but RT reports that Kievs claim came as the Russian Navy announced on April 15 that the Black Sea Fleet would be engaged in exercises, to include live firing at surface targets.
Russia has announced that it has expelled a Ukrainian consul in St. Petersburg, Oleksandr Sosoniuk, after detaining the diplomat on suspicion of trying to obtain classified information.

Sosoniuk, who was detained on April 17 before being released and returned to the consulate, must leave Russian territory by April 22, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in statement.

Russias Federal Security Service (FSB) accused Sosoniuk of attempting to obtain information from Russian law enforcement databases during a meeting with an unidentified Russian citizen.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, which protested its diplomat's detention as "illegal," said it had expelled a senior Russian diplomat in response, without identifying the individual.

"We totally exclude the charges pressed against the consular officer. Those actions of the Russian authorities grossly violate the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963 and again prove the policy of further aggravation with Ukraine chosen by Russia," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The developments come at a time of heightened tensions between the two countries, with Moscow amassing military forces near their mutual border and in the Russian-annexed Ukrainian region of Crimea.

Relations between Kyiv and Moscow have been strained since Russia annexed the Crimea region in 2014 and began providing military, economic, and political support to separatists in parts of eastern Ukraine. More than 13,000 people have been killed in the conflict in eastern Ukraine since April 2014.

More than 25 Ukrainian soldiers have been reported killed since the start of the year, compared with 50 in all of 2020, when fighting in the conflict subsided as a new cease-fire deal came into force in July.

With reporting by AFP, TASS, Interfax, and Reuters
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Slowly, ever so slowly, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is relaxing restrictions on bars and restaurants in New York.

What it looks more like is that the beleaguered governor, battered by scandal and with aides jumping ship from his administration, just cant bear to let go of one of the few things that he still has some control over.

Cuomo the other day decreed that bars and restaurants could stay open until midnight, beginning Monday. The previous curfew time had been 11 p.m.

The governor is not a scientist or physician, but hes somehow decided that New Yorkers are now no longer at risk from COVID-19 between the hours of 11 p.m. and midnight.

Much in the same way that he eventually decided that the 10 p.m. curfew wasnt keeping anybody safe either.

And why wait until Monday if the coast is clear? Why not put this into effect this weekend?

I suppose were supposed to stand up and cheer for Cuomo, to thank the governor for allowing us another hour of what used to be normal life.

You wont hear me applauding. Because none of this is based on science.

If people are in a bar or a restaurant at 11 p.m., they are at just as much risk as theyll be an hour later. Or theyre not at much risk at all.

At the same time he loosened the bar and restaurant curfew, the governor announced that catered events could now keep rolling until 1 a.m.

First of all, the only people who are left at a wedding reception or other party by that time are folks looking to hook up or those soaking up the free booze and leftover dessert. The rest of us have long gone home by then.

But more importantly, is Cuomo saying that Im less at risk at a wedding reception, where people from multiple households are drinking, sitting elbow-to-elbow, dancing in groups and expectorating spittle into the air while singing along to Dancing Queen, than I am sitting at a bar watching the Met game?

Thats not science either.

People concerned about the virus say we cant reopen too quickly. We need to be cautious. Were not out of the COVID woods yet. We need to take baby steps.

But we are taking baby steps.

Were still operating at reduced capacities. Were still not allowed to sit at an actual bar. We still need to have our temperature checked at the door. We still need to sign in for track-and-trace purposes.

Hardly irresponsible behavior thats going to put lives at risk.

We still have to ridiculously buy a bag of chips or a soft pretzel or some other food item when were drinking alcohol, as if a munchie is the thing thats going to save us from the virus.

And how much sense does it make to mandate that we have to wear a mask while entering the restaurant, but can dispense with it once were seated?

And whats the scientific foundation for the rule that we must wear a mask while walking across the room to use the bathroom, but not while were seated at table?

Never mind the fact that Cuomo allowed establishments in other parts of the state to re-open at greater capacities than what he permitted in New York City.

He said the five boroughs were more densely populated and thus at greater risk. As if other parts of the state werent crowded.

And all this is aside from the fact that Cuomos own numbers showed that households, not bars or restaurants, were the biggest breeding ground for the virus.

Enough.

The science doesnt support curfews.

Cuomo should stop pretending that it does.
NEW HAVEN  Clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines soon will be extending to infants and people with compromised immune systems, though the demand is high for people who want to enroll.

Dr. Onyema Ogbuagu, principal investigator for the Pfizer-BioNTech trials conducted at the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation, said a trial of that vaccine on children 6 months to 11 years old is in the first stage, in which researchers are determining the doses to use.

Theyre trying three different doses of the vaccine, he said. When they select the dose, will start to vaccinate 6 months to 11 years. He said he thought subjects would be called the first week of May.

However, the chances of getting into the trial now are slim.

We have a very long waiting list of parents and kids who are interested, Ogbuagu said. My initial target is at least to get 40 to 50 kids enrolled, but thats a tentative target.

The Pfizer vaccine is being given to millions of Americans age 16 and up, and the trial involving 12- to 15-year-olds, which Yale also participated in, has shown even better results, with 100 percent efficacy, according to Pfizer.

I couldnt even begin to imagine why it would be any different for younger kids, Ogbuagu said.

He said the 12-15 age group developed higher levels of antibodies that even exceeded those of younger adults.

Moderna

Yale also will begin a trial soon of the Moderna vaccine for ages 6 months to 12 years old.

Yale has not been part of the Moderna trial to date, Ogbuagu said. The protocol is going through our Institutional Review Board. Its really impending  which means anytime.

He said the interest in the Moderna trial far, far, far, by orders of magnitude, will exceed available spots for enrollment. As a result of the pause in administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to investigate blood clots in a small number of patients, Ogbuagu said, I think theres going to be renewed interest for the Pfizer and Moderna.  I think theres really going to be a rush.

Pfizer and Moderna are messenger RNA vaccines, which use a bit of genetic code of the coronavirus spike protein to stimulate antibody production. Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccines use adenoviral vectors, made with a different virus that enters cells and produces the coronavirus spike protein.

Previously, this type of vaccine has been used only for Ebola, Ogbuagu said. AstraZeneca has not received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. Ogbuagu said while we have options in the U.S. and can be cautious about using Johnson & Johnson, I dont think we should ban the vaccine outright.

In the case of the blood clots, the majority of them are in women and the vast majority are under 50, he said, leading to the possibility that female hormones play a role. Therefore, it may be possible to continue using the vaccine in men and post-menopausal women, he said, but even that may not be necessary. We have options in the U.S., he said.

Sanofi/GSK

Yale recently enrolled in the Sanofi/GSK trial. Its a dosing study as well but this is for adults 18 and over, Ogbuagu said. Were hoping by the first week of May  on or around  well have data to then be used in a Phase 3 trial.

He said Sanofi had conducted a trial with low doses of its vaccine, 1.3 and 2.6 micrograms, in people younger than 50, whose response to the vaccine was poor.  Now in the redo, theyre starting with 5 micrograms and testing 10 and 15 mcg as well.

He has been enrolling people with compromised immune systems, such as those with cancer or organ transplants who can have some diminished response.  They produce lower [numbers of] antibodies. Ogbuagu believes they will respond to the higher dose.

Sanofis vaccine, as well as one by Novavax, which has shown success in clinical trials, is a recombinant protein vaccine, like flu vaccines, which use a lab-generated protein similar to one in the virus that cannot cause the disease. But it also contains molecules called adjuvants that boost the immune system.

Referring to Novavax, Ogbuagu said, I actually was going to do that study, but when they started having manufacturing issues I lost faith in them, but since it has proven effectiveness, Im not exactly sure why its not being utilized, he said.

edward.stannard@hearstmediact.com; 203-680-9382
Roman Kemp has claimed Justin Bieber was the 'wildest' star to party with as he reflected on the 'really fun time' in a new interview.

The radio host, 28, admitted that the singer, 27, is a 'very different man now' due to being more 'serious and focused'.

During the interview, Roman revealed how they first met and began partying together as he described the experience as 'unbelievable' and 'on a different level.'

'Wild': Roman Kemp has claimed Justin Bieber was the 'wildest' star to party with as he reflected on the 'really fun time' in a new interview

Speaking to The Sun, he said: 'Without a doubt, he [Justin] was the wildest. He's grown into a very different young man now. He's a lot more serious and focused.'

According to Roman, they met around 2015 when Justin released his album, Purpose.

While presenting his radio show on Capital FM, the son of Spandau Ballet's Martin Kemp interviewed the American pop sensation.

Party: The radio host, 28, admitted that the singer, 27, is a 'very different man now' due to being more 'serious and focused' (pictured in February)

After their chat, he recalled that Justin invited him to go for drinks, so they traded numbers - and, according to Roman, they subsequently partied every single night for three weeks.

He continued: 'I think I was 24, he'd just turned 21 and I remember standing on a sofa in a nightclub looking up and every girl in that room was trying to get my eye to say, "You can come on to this table". It's [a] different world.

'I've seen the scandal he caused but he was a young guy and I was there for him. He's a lovely guy, he writes great music and it was a really fun time.'

Justin appears to have put his partying days behind him after he tied the knot with Hailey Bieber in 2018.

MailOnline has contacted Justin's representatives for comment.

Marriage: Justin appears to have put his partying days behind him after tying the knot with Hailey Bieber in 2018

Roman also claimed that another celebrity who is partial to a wild night out is Lewis Capaldi as he admitted he gets at least one drunk FaceTime call a week from the star at around 4am.

The radio host is based in London, a stone's throw away from Niall Horan, 27, and musician Lewis, 24.

He said that sometimes he joins the two stars for a drink at their local pub which he says they all love because it's 'comfortable'.

Roman is currently single and earlier this month, he ruled out dating Emily Atack on Celebrity Juice.

Emily made risque comments about his father Martin, 59, after host Keith Lemon suggested Roman should court Emily, 31, after learning his relationship status.

Chilled night out: Roman is based in London, a stone's throw away from Niall Horan, 27, and Lewis Capaldi, 24, (pictured in 2020) who he frequently meets for drinks at their local pub

Despite Emily's claims romance was off the cards as Roman referred to her as 'mate', Roman insisted it was down to racy comments the Inbetweeners star had made about his famous father in the past.

'I say that [mate] to everyone,' Roman insisted to Emily.

'It may be more to the fact that last time I came on here you said you wanted to w*** off my dad. Might be that,' he quipped as Emily burst into laughter.

Keith had insisted that Roman and Emily 'look good together'.

It was then that Emily goaded Roman's side-splitting response by saying: 'Roman does not fancy me, and I tell you why I know this, because he calls me mate when he says hello to me.'
New Delhi: Hours after PM Narendra Modis assurance that there wont be further scarcity of medical oxygen supplies, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla placed the third emergency order on behalf of the Centre on Friday.

"... medical oxygen is an essential public health commodity... impediment in supplies may impact management of COVID-19 patients... ensure (i) no restriction is imposed on movement of medical oxygen between states/ UTs... (ii) no restrictions shall be imposed on oxygen manufacturers and suppliers to limit supplies only to hospitals of the state in which they are located... (iii) free movement of oxygen carrying vehicles into the cities..." Mr Bhalla wrote in his order, NDTV reported.

With the coronavirus surge continuing unabated, the district administration in Ghaziabad on Friday (April 16) asked manufacturers to halt production of industrial-use oxygen and ramp up the supply for medical purposes, according to news agency PTI.

District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey said the administration also asked all hospital in the city to not deny treatment to a COVID-19 patients even if they have no beds. He said such hospitals can refer the patient to a dedicated COVID-19 facility after giving them preliminary treatment.

Additional Chief Medical Officer Sunil Tyagi has been instructed to monitor bed availability for COVID 19 patients, the DM said.

The state government has already imposed a night curfew in Ghaziabad to curb the rise in cases.

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Cindy Borchardt was barely 20 when she got her start in law enforcement.

Her father was a Hale County Sheriffs Department reserve deputy and she later met her future husband through the sheriffs office. Law enforcement was a natural fit for her. Thats how she found her place within the law enforcement family as a dispatcher.

I started out as a volunteer dispatcher for the Sheriffs Department, Borchardt said.

She covered the evening shift.

I just fell in love with the fact that I could help somebody, she said. I could make sure the officers were safe. I could answer the phone and get someone the help they needed at the time.

So she stuck around and took it on as a full-time career. Eventually she moved to help out in the jail but she always came back to filling in for dispatchers.

When she was ready for a change, she joined the Plainview Police Department as a dispatcher. Shes served citizens and the department as a dispatcher there for the last five-and-a-half years.

Borchardt is currently the departments dispatch supervisor and is one among eight certified to field calls to the 9-1-1 lines for the city.

On Thursday afternoon, Plainview Police Department personnel celebrated those dispatchers with a cookout at the station to express their gratitude during National Dispatch Appreciation week.

The dispatch team ranges in age from about 19 to 58, Borchardt said.

If you ask any one of them why they chose this career, youll likely hear the same answer.

To help out the community, said Presley Powers, who has been a dispatcher with the Plainview PD since February 2016.

Her dad and twin brothers received their paramedic certifications and have always been involved in the world of first responders. Like Borchardt, a career in dispatch became a natural fit for Powers.

Samantha Hernandez, a Plainview PD dispatcher since January 2018, was inspired to join as a dispatcher by a police officer who lived next door to her growing up.

He helped me through some hard times, she said, adding that she knew she wanted to do something in the field that could honor his memory.

Stephanie Debusk has been with the PD for 15 years. Shes the longest serving certified dispatcher, though that hasnt always been her primary job.

If you call 9-1-1 within the city of Plainview, it could be one of those ladies who takes your call.

Joining this profession is not for the faint of heart. Borchardt, Powers, Hernandez and Debusk each noted that thick skin, patience, level-headedness and compassion are key to coping with the calls you hear from people on their worst days.

We have to have a lot of great multi-tasking skills, Borchardt. We have to develop and learn split ear skills, talk on the phone, listen to the radio, acknowledge somebody in the room at the same time. We have to make sure we hear the officer that calls out. That may be the only moment or change he (or she) gets to say anything. It takes patience and empathy. It takes a lot of course to sit back there and know that youve got peoples lives in your hands.

The hard part, she said, is knowing you cant save everybody, no matter how much you want to.

Weve all heard peoples last words, Borchardt said. Weve all heard people cry from finding parents and children and things.

Theyre the first line of communication when theres trouble and theres a sense of duty.

At the end of the day, Borchardt said, we just have to keep going. Somebodys got to be there.
People arrived in Winnipeg from one COVID-19 hot spot  B.C.  just as another province with a massive outbreak  Ontario  said it would tighten its border with Manitoba, including to cottagers

People arrived in Winnipeg from one COVID-19 hot spot  B.C.  just as another province with a massive outbreak  Ontario  said it would tighten its border with Manitoba, including to cottagers

Passengers who landed in Winnipeg Friday after a flight from Vancouver  a hot zone for the vicious P.1 variant  said they knew about Manitobas mandatory 14-day self-isolation period and planned to abide by it. However, there's no mechanism to ensure that they do.

Manitoba confirmed its first case of the P.1 variant on Thursday. A resident of the Interlake-Eastern Health Region tested positive for the variant after returning from non-essential travel outside the province.

British Columbia has recorded 1,532 cases, two-thirds of which were found in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, which includes the Whistler ski resort  a hotbed of the P.1 variant.

Thats more than seven times the number reported in Ontario, the province with the next highest count of the P.1 variant.

The strain, first identified in Brazil, spreads more easily and is more likely to cause severe illness than the original strain of COVID-19, said Dr. Anand Kumar, a University of Manitoba professor of medicine.

On top that, he said it seems to be more resistant to vaccines.

"Thats not to say the vaccine doesnt work," he said. "It just doesnt work as well."

He said vaccines will still likely protect people from severe illness and, to an extent, from contracting COVID-19.

On Friday, Dr. Jazz Atwal, acting deputy chief provincial public health officer, would not say if Manitoba would put up information checkpoints on provincial borders to limit non-essential travel, as it had in the first few months of the pandemic.

Instead, a spokesperson for the province said in an email that "Manitobans are strongly discouraged from all non-essential travel," and "electronic signage is posted at major highway routes as travellers enter the province from the east, west and south."

Ontario announced Friday it would set up checkpoints at the Manitoba and Quebec borders to restrict movement to essential travel, but there would be exceptions for people who live and work on either side of the border. The orders made it clear that only people with a principal residence would be allowed in, meaning cottagers would be unable to travel to their property.

Ontario also gave police officers the authority to require anyone they stop to provide the reason for travelling.

The arrivals from Vancouver said theyd learned they needed to self-isolate when they got to Winnipeg, mostly by word of mouth from relatives or friends in the city.

Three signs painted onto pillars near the baggage claim and two electronic screens list Manitobas self-isolation requirements.

Tyler MacAfee of the Winnipeg Airports Authority said the airport tries to inform people who arrive in the city.

"We dont enforce the rules, because we have no mandate to do that," he said. "But we certainly see a place for ourselves on the education side."

A representative from Air Canada said passengers are reminded several times to check restrictions in place at their destination.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca
On 14 April, members of Congress took a landmark step closer towards a long-awaited national reckoning over the compounded, generations-long impacts of slavery  and whether the US will formally recognise the need to redress its legacy, and apologise for it.

HR 40  as in 40 acres and a mule, the false promise offered to formerly enslaved people in the Civil Wars wake by Union general William Tecumsah Sherman  would create a 13-member commission to study and hold hearings on the impacts of slavery and discrimination before issuing appropriate remedies to Congress, as well as the form of a national apology.

It will head to the full House for a vote. The milestone follows decades of support and several stalled legislative attempts, as well as the death of the US Rep John Conyers, who first introduced the measure in 1989.

But it also follows decades of organising and demands among Black Americans and the ancestors of enslaved people in dozens of cities, university campuses, seminaries and local governments to deliver reparations to communities across the US.

After building momentum for years, several cities and institutions are beginning to create a framework, or the creation of a task force or committee, or funding sources, to bring reparations to communities.

Reparations may be one of the most sensitive subjects in the nation, yet with increases in police killings and continual racial, social and economic injustices perpetrated on African Americans it has received a new energy of support, the National Coalition for Reparations in America said following the committee vote.

Last year, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a measure to create a task force to make recommendations for reparations, the first effort of its kind from a state government. The measure creates a nine-member task force to inform Californians about slavery and explore ways the state might provide reparation.

Also last year, Providence, Rhode Island Mayor Jorge Elorza signed an executive order to initiate a truth-telling and reparations process to demonstrate a commitment that were making to a process, he said.

The city of Burlington, Vermont also formed a task force in 2020 to study reparations for the descendants of enslaved people. It held its first meeting in November.

City officials in Durham, North Carolina and Washington DC have also urged the federal government to support reparations.

Other cities and institutions have issued more-focused efforts towards reparations, addressing the racist violence and systemic injustices in slaverys wake, but none have approached the scope of slaverys impacts.

In 2015, Chicago officials supported an ordinance to invest $5.5m for victims of police torture in the 1970s and 1980s.

Last year, Evanston, Illinois identified discriminatory housing policies in the 20th century as the strongest case for reparations in the form of a programme to support homeownership and mortgage assistance, not direct payments, with funding from $10 million in tax revenue from the sale of recreational marijuana following its legalisation in early 2020.

The city council of Asheville, North Carolina unanimously approved a reparations resolution for Black residents that formally apologised for its role in slavery and the systemic injustice, with investments in Black communities. Its the first measure of its kind for a southern state.

Efforts in Evanston and Asheville have also stirred debate over whether limited investments, rather than direct payments, provide the restorative justice sought by the advocates who have fought for decades to secure them.

The yearlong public reckoning on racism and systemic injustice  laid bare by the coronavirus pandemic and the high-profile police killings of Black Americans  also approaches the 100th anniversary of a racist massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a community that has also fought for reparations for the families of the hundreds of victims of an assault led by a mob of white Americans against a once-booming Black community, and whitewashed as riots in the aftermath.

Its legacy remains a dark stain in US history, following enslavement, Reconstruction and a Jim Crow-era marked by public lynchings and the beginnings of mass incarceration emerging from slavery.

During the House Judiciary Committee hearing on HR 40, US Rep Jamaal Bowman of New York said that the compounding effects of racism have created a dynamic where Black people today must not only grapple with living in a country built on our sustained oppression, but also observe the modern manifestations in our daily lives.

The centuries-long injustices of slavery and its legacy, fuelling the persistence of racial inequality today, remain largely unaccounted for, said Human Rights Watch racial justice researcher and advocate Dreisen Heath. As states, cities, and other institutions pursue reckonings, Congress should step up to lead the nation in accounting and atoning for the ongoing impact of slavery.

Lessie Benningfield Randle, a 105-year-old woman in Tulsa, and six other defendants have filed a lawsuit seeking accountability and restitution for the massacre on 1 June, 1921.

The city remains incredibly segregated  the northern part of the city holds 17 per cent of the citys population and 41 per cent of its Black residents. More than 35 per cent of north Tulsas population lives in poverty, compared with 17 per cent in the rest of the city, according to Human Rights Watch. Black residents are more than twice as likely to be arrested than white residents.

Tulsa is a case study in abusive, overly aggressive policing in the US, the organisation said.

The longer harms go unaddressed, the more difficult and complex it will be to develop adequate reparation mechanisms that are proportionate to the gravity of the crime and to the harm caused, the organisation said in its case for reparations.

In Elaine, Arkansas, a Fund for Reparations Now was established for the descendants of another racist massacre that led to the deaths of at least 200 Black residents in 1919.

Reparations proposed by several colleges and universities and seminaries that have benefitted from slavery have been at a forefront of more recent reparations efforts.

In 2016, Georgetown University acknowledged that the school has profited from the sale of people. Three years later, students there supported increasing tuition to benefit the descendants of 272 enslaved Africans sold into bondage by Jesuits who ran the school two centuries ago. The university also has sought to raise $400,000 a year though donations for the cause.

In 2019, the Virginia Theological Seminary dedicated $1.7m to pay reparations to descendants of enslaved people who were forced to work on the campus.

Princetons Theological Seminary pledged $27m  one of the largest sums yet  to various causes following its admission that it benefitted from slave labour.

A recognition for reparations at the federal level, rather than myriad community-driven efforts across the US, will face immense opposition among Republican lawmakers, who have insisted slavery remains in the past, or have proposed amendments to make Democrats pay for it, or called the idea of a commission evil in its intent.

Were asking for people to understand the pain, the violence, the brutality, the chattel-ness of what we went through, Rep Lee told the committee. Were asking for harmony, reconciliation, a reason to come together as Americans.
by Vladimir Rozanskij

Summer warming usually left moisture in the frozen ground; now droughts and forest fires are more likely. The Arctic Ocean could warm up more easily. Over the past 10 years, local temperatures have risen by 0.51 degree. In Russia, the greenhouse effect could be three times worse than in the rest of the world.

Moscow (AsiaNews)  The impact of the greenhouse effect on temperatures Russia is three times higher than in the rest of the world (0.51 degree higher in the last 10 years against 0.18). If the Russian government does not quickly adopt further measures, the disaster will be inevitable and imminent, this according to Vladimir Katsov, director of the Voeikov Main Geophysical Observatory in St Petersburg.

According to Katsov's data on the effect of global warming in Russia published on 15 April, in particular in relation to the Arctic region and Siberia, the ice cover on the North Sea route has been steadily shrinking since the 1980s, so much so that at the end of the summer it is open to navigation; in the past, icebreakers were needed.

On land, the warming process is thawing the ground in warm seasons while in the past, it remained frozen retaining moisture. Rapid thaw is likely to cause drought in the southern territories of the country.

Across Russia, particularly in the great expanses of northern Siberia, the usual snowy landscape lasts less and less; the thaw starts already in April, despite greater snow accumulations and earlier freezing of the large rivers, between October and November.

The end of the winter season in Russia is coming sooner and sooner, as a result of a process called arctic amplification; in the Arctic, many effects of warming are intensifying, said Polina Karkina, Greenpeace Russias coordinator for climate and energy.

Arctic snow has a great capacity to reflect sunlight. This prevents light from warming ocean waters. As snow melts, the dark surface of the seas is laid bare, absorbing light and heat. On land, this causes vast forest fires, which release greenhouse gases into the air, making the global process even worse.

Methane is released in the air, causing a negative feedback loop so that global warming develops in a non-linear way, first slower, then faster and faster, explains Karkina.

For noted climatologist Aleksey Kokorin, director of the WWFs climate programme, the northern hemisphere is warming much faster than the southern hemisphere.

In Russia the effect is particularly significant since its vast continental territory occupies one sixth of the earths land surface. Unlike Europe, the ocean does not remove heat from the mainland; therefore, temperatures are rising much faster, Kokorin adds.

In Siberia summers have never been so warm, but Russians should not rejoice. Global temperatures have risen by about 1 degree in the last 50 years, but in Russia they have gone up by 2 and a half degrees. According to experts, this trend will continue in the coming years.

For Kokorin, If humanity commits to reducing harmful emissions as announced, the rise in global temperatures will be limited to 2 degrees, but for Russia that will mean 5-6 degrees, a level that is just bearable, but still harmful to our infrastructure and agriculture.

If nothing is done, temperatures will rise by 10-12 degrees in a few decades, and that will be catastrophic. According to scientists, if temperatures rise by up to 4 degrees, the resulting changes will be difficult for humans to cope with.

As the ice melts, more and more water will evaporate, and there will be less and less drinking water. Global sea level will rise, and islands, like those the Caribbean, could disappear. Central Asia could be affected by droughts, which are already happening at present.

Many countries are implementing important steps; others are not. The gap between them could undermine the efforts of the most virtuous countries, which Russia would like to join.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  Theres lots new to see and eat at the Grand Rapids Brewing Company.

The brewery, located 1 Ionia Ave. SW in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids, reopened last month for in-person dining with a revamped game room and dining area, a reimagined food menu, and new beers and cocktails.

Shawn Blonk, vice president of operations at Project BarFly, the Grand Rapids-based hospitality company that owns the brewery, said the changes come after GRBC temporarily closed in November because of state restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Blonk and his colleagues took that time to re-envision GRBC, which first opened in 2012.

The industry was scaling back, and we decided to scale forward, he said. Everybodys trimming back their menus and simplifying things, and we decided to take a different look at it, and instead of giving the community less, giving them more. It just took us to be shut down a couple months to be able to hit the reset to do that.

Highlights of the menu include chopped steak melts, which feature two chopped 100% sirloin patties served between cheese and grilled Texas cut bread. There are four varieties of the steak melts: All American, Ham and Brie, Sweet and Salty, and Short Rib Philly.

Blonk said the Sweet and Salty is one of his favorites. It includes chop steak, swiss cheese, caramelized onion, banana peppers, pineapple with olive sauce.

If you look at it you might be like, Whoa, what is going on there, he said. But once it hits your taste buds it melts your mind.

Another new item: paratha tacos.

Blonk said paratha, a flatbread thats native to India, is formed into a taco shell, and that the result is a flaky and buttery exterior to the tacos. Blonk said there are three varieties of paratha tacos: Short Rib and Brie, Carnitas, and Mahi Mahi.

The Mahi Mahi tacos, which include blackened Mahi fish, Asian slaw and queso fresco, are one of the most popular varieties, Blonk said.

Its been our number one seller since we opened up, he said. I thought it was going to be the carnitas.

GRBC has also introduced stone-oven pizzas.

The 12-inch pizzas are served on an ultra-thin crispy crust, with GRBCs signature red sauce and three-cheese blend. Blonk said the pizzas  there are nine different varieties, including optional gluten-free crust  are great with beer and only take about six or seven minutes to cook.

The different varieties of the pizza include the Nashville Hot Pizza, which comes with Nashville hot chicken, garlic aioli, blue cheese, red onion, shredded pickles. Another is the Pear and Grape Pizza, which includes sliced pear, red grapes, garlic aioli, goat cheese, fresh basil and honey drizzle.

Typically, if you ask people if they want pear and grape, they say, No way, Blonk said. But then once they try it theyre hooked.

In addition to food, GRBCs menu also includes new beer and cocktails. One new beer is the Blonde Badger. Blonk said the beer is a mash up of GRBCs Rosalynn Bliss Blonde beer and Red Badger coffee from Ferris Coffee & Nut Co.

Its like a coffee blonde, Blonk said. Its really, really smooth.

The brewing company can be reached at 616-458-7000. Check out the full menu here.

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A large quantity of Remdesivir injections, which are in high demand for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, have been found to be "stolen" from the stock of the state-run Hamidia Hospital here in Madhya Pradesh.

I have received the information about the theft of the injections. This is a very serious matter. Divisional Commissioner Kavindra Kiyawat and Bhopal Deputy Inspector General of Police Irshad Wali have reached the spot and started investigations, MP Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang told reporters at the facility on Saturday.

Shortage of Remdesivir injections has been reported from various parts of Madhya Pradesh which are battling a surge in COVID-19 cases.

On April 16, Madhya Pradesh recorded 11,045 fresh cases, its biggest one-day spike so far, taking the state's infection count to 3,84,563, as per the state health department. The overall fatality count rose to 4,425 as 60 more patients succumbed to the infection.

Madhya Pradesh has recorded 89,052 new cases and 439 fatalities since the beginning of April.

(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.)
Dhaka, April 17 : Twenty-four more people have been arrested in Bangladesh in connection with the massacre by the militants of the militant outfit Hefazat-e-Islam. So far, 54 cases have been filed and 261 militants have been arrested over the violence.

On March 27, at least five persons were killed and around 50 others, including 25 policemen, injured in attack by the Hefazat militants and clashes between members of the law enforcement agencies and the militants at Nandanpur in Sadar upazila.

Vandalism by the militant outfit Hefazat-e-Islam was carried out in Brahmanbaria from March 26 to 31 March. The arrests were made from different parts of the district, according to the special branch of Brahmanbaria district police on Friday.

Around several hundred of the people of the militant outfit set fire on the central liabrary , legendary Artist Ustad Alauddin Khan Academy, Anandamoyi Kali temple, press club, railway station, police station, land office, ruling party Awami league office, AL president secretary and all other establishments of the district during the course of violence.

During Hefazat-called countrywide dawn-to-dusk general strike, the militants of the group in Chattogram and other districts set three buildings on fire, including the Railway station, land office in Brahmanbaria Sadar upazila, police station of all over Bangladesh including Hathazari upazila and other districts.

The militants had also attacked a Chittagong-bound train at Talshohor Rail Station in Brahmanbaria town.

Also, the Hefazat supporters vandalised several private and government establishments, including the municipality building, District office, mural of Bangabondhu and Foirtala Bus Stand in B'Baria Sadar upazila.

They had also attacked Brahmanbaria Press Club and confined some journalists to the premises.

Earliar, special investigation team Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) has submitted a report accusing 43 leaders of the militant outfit Hefazat-e-Islam including its top leader (amir) Junayed Babunagari in a case filed over the alleged murder of the organization's former chief Shah Ahmad Shafi.

Banaj Kumar Majumder, deputy inspector general (DIG) of police and chief of PBI, has confirmed the matter to the Chattogram Judicial Magistrate Court.

He told IANS that an enquiry report has been submitted to the magistrate court accusing 43 people under the penal code section 304.

According to PBI sources, apart from Junayed Babunagari, the accused also includes the names of organising secretary Azizul Haque Islamabadi, assistant organising secretary Mir Idris, assistant secretary general Habib Ullah, Hefazat leaders Nasir Uddin Munir, Ahsan Ullah, Zakaria Noman Fayezi, Abdul Matin, Shahidullah, Rizwan Arman, Jafar Ahmad, Enamul Hasan Farooqi, Anwar Shah and Shafiul Alam.

Meanwhile, Hefazat-e Islam's central assistant secretary general Mufti Sakhawat Hossain Raji was arrested from his house in the capital on Wednesday evening.

Another leader of Hefazat Islam, the preacher Rafiqul Islam Madani currently in jail. According to the cases against him, Rafiqul directly called for armed jihad and incited terrorism through his videos on YouTube, Facebook, and other social media websites.

Police found the evidences of many destructive attacks on temple, police and ruling party offices and state owned establishments were carried out in various places, including Dhaka, Narayanganj, Brahmanbaria and Chittagong, following Rafiqul's provocative statements.

Rafiqul Islam Madani has been accused of spreading negative and provocative remarks against the state and police by the name of Islam, through his YouTube channel, which created hate in the minds of the people and disrupted law and order, police said.
Married At First Sight's Bryce Ruthven has confirmed he is still very much with his partner Melissa Rawson.

Posting to his Instagram on Saturday, the 31-year-old shared a playful photograph alongside his TV bride.

'Positive vibes only on a weekend!' he captioned a selfie of the couple as they enjoyed a night out at a bar.

Still together! Married At First Sight 's Bryce Ruthven has confirmed he is still very much with partner Melissa Rawson. Posting to his Instagram on Saturday, the 31-year-old shared a playful photograph alongside his TV bride. Both pictured

Meanwhile, on Friday night, Melissa, 31, shared a smiling photo of the pair, captioning it: 'Date night selfie.'

It comes days after Bryce was awkwardly called out by Today Extra host David Campbell during a tense interview.

On Thursday, the drama started when the radio presenter, who was being interviewed with Melissa, accidentally admitted that he was enjoying the publicity that came from the show.

'It's disappointing that gossip pages just want to gossip about our relationship, but hey, it's kind of nice at the same time too because all they're doing is building our profiles for when we finish the show, so thanks guys,' Bryce said.

Date night: Meanwhile, on Friday night, Melissa shared a smiling photo of the pair, captioning it, 'Date night selfie'

Melissa immediately shook her head in disbelief at Bryce's bold statement, before Today Extra hosts David and Belinda Russell jumped in.

'Is that why you're in this though, it's all for publicity?' said a shocked Belinda.

'A flustered Bryce responded: 'Well that's the thing, if they're gonna keep doing it, they're just helping us [with] whatever we wanna do in the future.'

'Are you in this for publicity?' David then asked Melissa. 'Are you here for infamy and fame?'

Oops: This comes days after Bryce was awkwardly called out by Today Extra host David Campbell during a tense interview when he said he was 'building his profile' thanks to the show

The workplace trainer insisted that she wasn't after a career as an influencer, before Bryce said that he had only been joking with his publicity comments.

'I'm still working full time and at the end of this, I never anticipated coming on and looking at that type of life because I came on and I got what I wanted with Bryce,' she said.

Melissa went on: 'It's like they think that we are gonna become these influencers. They think that we're gonna be the next Cam and Jules or Martha and Michael, and that's just not the case, it's not who we are.'

Damage control: Melissa insisted that she wasn't after a career as an influencer, before Bryce said that he had only been joking with his publicity comments

Melissa currently has close to 70,000 Instagram followers, while radio presenter Bryce has around 52,000.

During their time on the show, it was claimed that Bryce was only using the platform to further his media career.

However, he has strongly denied this and insisted that he joined the social experiment to find love.
More details have emerged about the teenage gunman who opened fire at a FedEx site killing eight people.

The 19-year-old gunman, who opened fire at the FedEx site in Indianapolis in the US state of Indiana, was a former employee with a history of mental illness that led to his detention by law enforcement last year, police and FBI officials said on Friday.

The incident  the latest in a spate of at least seven deadly mass shootings in the United States over the past month  unfolded at a FedEx operations centre near Indianapolis International Airport after 11pm (local time) on Thursday, police said.

Brandon Hole, 19, has been named as the man responsible for the FedEx shooting. Source: ABC

It lasted only a couple of minutes and was over by the time police responded to the scene, Craig McCartt, the Indianapolis police department's deputy chief, told a news briefing on Friday.

Crucial question after horrific shooting

Witnesses described a chaotic attack, as the gunman opened fire with a rifle in the parking lot before entering the facility and continuing to shoot, leaving victims both inside and outside the building.

Officers found the suspect dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

A FedEx spokeswoman and police identified the gunman as Brandon Hole, a former employee at the facility.

Deputy Chief McCartt told reporters the suspect was believed to have last worked at the plant in the fall of 2020.

Asked what brought him back to the facility on Thursday night, McCartt replied: "I wish I could answer that."

Eight people died after a man opened fire at this FedEx facility. Source: AAP

Mum's concerns about son

The FBI said the suspect had been placed under a temporary mental health detention by Indianapolis police in March 2020 after his mother contacted law enforcement to report he might try to take his own life.

A shotgun was seized from his residence then, and based on "items observed in the suspect's bedroom at that time," he was interviewed by the FBI in April 2020, FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Paul Keenan said in a statement.

"No racially motivated violent extremism ideology" was identified during that assessment, and no criminal violation was found, but the shotgun was not returned to the suspect, Mr Keenan said.

Story continues

Family members wait to hear news about their loved ones after the shooting. Source: Reuters

The massacre is the most recent in a series of US mass shootings that has again pushed the issue of gun violence to the political foreground.

Indianapolis  the capital of the Midwestern state of Indiana  alone has seen two mass shootings this year.

In January, police say a teenager shot and killed four family members and a pregnant woman.

Thursday's gun violence at the FedEx centre was the second mass shooting in recent weeks targeting workplaces employing a high concentration of people of Asian descent.

Although none of the victims in Indianapolis have been formally identified, members of the Sikh community, whose religion originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, were among the dead and wounded, according to a New York-based advocacy group called the Sikh Coalition.

A body is taken from the scene on Friday. Source: AAP

Separately, an Indianapolis Star reporter wrote on Twitter that the city's police chief was told by the Sikh community that the majority of employees at the FedEx site are Sikh.

The coalition, which describes itself as the largest Sikh civil rights organisation in the United States, said it expected authorities to "conduct a full investigation  including the possibility of bias as a factor".

The coalition's executive director, Satjeet Kaur, said more than 8,000 Sikh-Americans live in Indiana.

The recent surge in US mass shootings began on March 16 when a gunman shot eight people to death, including six Asian woman, at three Atlanta-area day spas before he was arrested.

That rampage heightened tensions already brewing over a rise in hate crimes and discrimination directed at Asian Americans in recent years, stoked in part by racially inflammatory rhetoric about the coronavirus pandemic's origins in China.

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New Delhi, Apr 17 (UNI) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday filed charge-sheet before Jammu NIA Special Court against seven people, including a resident of Punjab, in a narco-terrorism case related to proscribed terror outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI).

Officials in the agency said the case was related to the seizure of 61 kilograms of heroin, 1.2 kilograms of opium and a number of arms and ammunition smuggled from across the International Border in the RS Pura sector in Jammu last year.

A charge-sheet was filed against seven narco-smugglers associated with the BKI including Gurpartap Singh, Sham Lal, Ajeet Kumar alias Kala, Bishan Das alias Raju, Jasraj Singh, Subhash Chander and Gurbaksh Singh in a NIA special court, Jammu, the probe agency said.

Besides Gurpartap Singh, a resident of Tarn Taran in Punjab, the rest are from Jammu, the NIA officials said, adding that the accused persons have been charged under sections of section 8 read with sections 21, 23, 25, 27 and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, Section 120B of Indian Penal Code and sections 17, 18, 38, 39 and 40 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

The case was registered at the Arnia police station following the recovery of the narcotic substances along with two pistols, three magazines and 100 rounds during a search operation at the International Border near RS Pura in Jammu on September 20, 2020, the officials said.

The investigation in the case has revealed that the seven accused persons were part of a narco-terrorism module of the BKI, and the prime objective of this module was to raise funds for the terror outfit through proceeds of narcotics, they said.

Each member of this module had a unique role and responsibility in execution of this conspiracy. The modus operandi involved smuggling of narcotics and arms and ammunition from across the International Border into the Jammu region and further supply and sell the same in Punjab, a senior NIA official said, adding that the proceeds of the sale were used for funding terrorist activities of the BKI.

The arms so smuggled were to be used by members of the BKI for violent terrorist acts, the another official in the agency said, adding that after arrest of the accused persons, further searches were conducted at different places, which led to the recovery of drug proceeds of Rs 9,06,300 along with some more arms and ammunition and other incriminating materials.



UNI AKS SHK2030
Uttar Pradesh on Saturday reported 120 deaths, its largest one-day toll from the pandemic pushing the fatality count to 9,703, while 27,357 fresh COVID-19 cases raised the infection tally to 8,21,054, according to an official statement.

Of the new fatalities linked to the virus, 36 were reported from state capital Lucknow, followed by 15 from Kanpur, eight from Varanasi, four each from Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar and Jaunpur among other districts.

Lucknow accounted for 5,913 of the fresh COVID-19 cases, Allahabad 1977, Kanpur 1826 and Varanasi 1,664, the UP government said in a statement issued here.

So far, 6,41,292 COVID-19 patients have recovered from the disease in the state, it said.

The number of active COVID-19 cases stands at 1,70,059 in Uttar Pradesh, the statement added.

In the past 24 hours, over 2.15 lakh samples have been tested for COVID-19 in UP, while so far more than 3.80 crore samples have been tested in the state,it said.

Meanwhile, chairing a review meeting virtually, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said every hospital should have an oxygen backup of 36 hours.

He said in order to improve medical oxygen supply in the state, 10 new oxygen plants will be established, and the DRDO is extending help in this regard.

"For the establishment of an oxygen plant, the plot of land should be identified today itself, and work should begin on war-footing," the chief minister said.

Uttar Pradesh Health minister and Medical Education minister have been asked to continuously monitor this, Adityanath said.

The Chief Minister said the HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) has proposed to set up a dedicated COVID hospital in Lucknow using its CSR fund. He directed the health department to coordinate with the HAL.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi: The 59-year-old Tamil actor Vivekh or Vivekanandan breathed his last on April 17, 2021, Saturday. The Padma Shri actor-comedian was rushed to SIMS hospital, Chennai after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Last night hospital released Vivekh's health bulletin which mentioned that the actor underwent Emergency Coronary Angiogram followed by Angioplasty. He was in a critical condition on ECMO in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

The 59-year-old comedian had taken the COVID vaccine on Thursday following which he complained of chest pain and fainted.

However, the official health bulletin on Vivekh suggested that his medical condition (acute coronary syndrome with cardiogenic shock) may not be due to the COVID vaccination. It read, "This is an acute coronary syndrome with cardiogenic shock. This is a separate Cardiac event. It may not be due to COVID vaccination."

Several of his fans and industry celebrities expressed shock at his demise and mourned his untimely loss:

What a shock in the morning ! @Actor_Vivek is no more Cannot believe it! No words #RIPVivek pic.twitter.com/MvCEYbxtTj  sridevi sreedhar (@sridevisreedhar) April 17, 2021

OMG..cant believe I woke up to this Shocking news abt Legendary @Actor_Vivek sir Heartbreaking.. Greatest Comedian of our Times who always incorporated a Social Message into his COMEDY I hav always been his diehard FAN U wl live in our Hearts forever dear Sir#ripvivek pic.twitter.com/4ferfSsgDm  DEVI SRI PRASAD (@ThisIsDSP) April 17, 2021

Shocking news to start the day! Actor #Vivek @Actor_Vivek sir passes away. He was 59 Amazing actor who entertained us for so many decades with his cracking comedy, thoughtful msgs for the society, propagating Abdul Kalam's messages, planting trees & lot more. RIP sir #RIPVivek  Kaushik LM (@LMKMovieManiac) April 17, 2021

Can't believe.. He was on TV day before yesterday, telling people to be careful during the pandemic.. Two days later, he is no more.. Life is so cruel.. At a loss of words.. #RIPVivek pic.twitter.com/tkgVR4lLft  Ramesh Bala (@rameshlaus) April 17, 2021

Can't believe the news #RIPVivek Sir .. Your thoughts about society will remain with us always .. pic.twitter.com/KAfOmwKuMM  Sakshi Agarwal (@ssakshiagarwal) April 17, 2021

A comedian who always injects intelligence into his humor! Sir you will be greatly missed #ripvivek #thankyou pic.twitter.com/Yo8d304rSP  MANGOBRIYANI (@dasxtej) April 17, 2021

A Padma Shri recipient, actor Vivekh has worked with the likes of megastar Rajinikanth, Vijay and Ajith Kumar. He has also appeared as the lead artiste in a couple of movies and has been involved in social causes including afforestation.

Vivekh has featured in movies such as Run, Saamy, Perazhagan, Unnaruge Naan Irundhal, Parthiban Kanavu, Anniyan and Sivaji to name a few. He has acted in more than 220 films.
The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada (all times Eastern):

The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada (all times Eastern):

7 p.m.

Following Ontario's announcement today of checkpoints to prevent non-essential entry from neighbouring provinces, the Quebec government has announced it will close the border with Ontario on its side as of Monday.

Quebec deputy premier Genevieve Guilbault tweeted that the province would institute a "tight control" on travel between the provinces to limit the spread of variants.

She called it "a question of safety" and said Quebec is discussing the details with Ontario.

6:15 p.m.

British Columbia is reporting 1,005 new COVID-19 cases as hospitalizations continue to rise.

The latest numbers bring B.C.'s total to 117,080.

The province says 425 people are currently hospitalized as a result of the virus, surpassing a record broken earlier this week.

There have also been six new deaths from the virus, for a total of 1,530.

5:55 p.m.

British Columbia's health minister says news about Moderna delaying shipments of its COVID-19 vaccine is "disappointing."

Adrian Dix says the sooner people are able to receive vaccines, the better.

He says B.C. appreciates the federal government's offer to send more of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in May and June to compensate, but increased deliveries this month would be more helpful.

More than 1.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C.

5:45 p.m.

Alberta is reporting 1,616 new cases of COVID-19.

The province says 898 variant cases have also been detected in the last 24 hours.

There are no new deaths from the virus.

Health officials say there are 423 people in hospital because of COVID-19, and 93 are in intensive care.

4:30 p.m.

Ontario's solicitor general says the province is giving police sweeping new powers to enforce public health orders.

Sylvia Jones says officers will have the authority to ask anyone why they are out of the house, and ask for their home address.

She says police will also be able to pull over vehicles to check that occupants are only out for essential purposes.

Jones says the new authority will last for the duration of the stay-at-home order.

4:15 p.m.

Ontario is imposing stricter public health measures to control the spread of COVID-19.

Premier Doug Ford says a state of emergency is being extended for an extra two weeks, and outdoor gatherings will be limited to only members of the same household.

The province is also setting up checkpoints to restrict interprovincial travel.

Big-box stores will also have their capacity capped at 25 per cent, down from the current 50 per cent.

4:15 p.m.

Saskatchewan is reporting 221 new cases of COVID-19.

There have also been two additional deaths linked to the virus.

The province says there are 190 people in hospital due to COVID-19, and 44 are in intensive care.

3:30 p.m.

Health officials on Prince Edward Island are reporting the province's first hospitalization related to COVID-19.

Chief medical officer of health Dr. Heather Morrison did not disclose the age of the patient, who recently travelled domestically outside of Atlantic Canada.

The province reported no new cases today and has seven active cases of COVID-19.

It has had 167 positive cases since the onset of the pandemic.

2:35 p.m.

Federal Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller says a COVID-19 outbreak in Iqaluit and other areas demonstrates why public-health measures need to stay in place.

Nunavut's capital of 8,000 people is reporting 13 active cases.

Miller says Indigenous communities are crushing the curve of COVID-19, but the spread of more infectious mutations of the virus is concerning.

He says as of yesterday, nearly 300,000 vaccine doses have gone into the arms of people living in around 600 Indigenous communities.

2 p.m.

Health officials in New Brunswick are reporting nine new cases of COVID-19 today.

Two of the cases are in the Moncton region, one is in the Saint John area and six of the cases are in the Edmundston region in the northwest of the province, where part of the region is under a lockdown.

Officials say two previously reported cases in the Edmundston region were actually false positives and have been removed from the list of confirmed cases.

There are now 141 active cases in the province and 20 patients are hospitalized, including 12 in intensive care.

1:40 p.m.

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey says hes happy to offer Ontario personnel and extra equipment, but not offering vaccines.

In a statement Friday, Furey says its only fair for the countrys vaccine distribution to continue with the per capita model, as things could change in any province at any time.

Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting three new cases of COVID-19, all related to travel within Canada.

There are now 18 active reported COVID-19 infections in the province, and one person is in hospital because of the disease.

1:35 p.m.

Manitoba is reporting 127 new COVID-19 cases and no additional deaths.

Health officials say they are seeing more cases involving variants of concern and more cases involving younger people from their teens to their 40s.

Dr. Jazz Atwal, the deputy chief public health officer, says he is seeing more large gatherings and new restrictions could be imposed in the coming days.

He says the third wave has arrived in Manitoba and could become severe.

1 p.m.

Ontario's science advisers are calling for the stay-at-home order to last six weeks.

The COVID-19 Science Advisory Table says the extended shutdown combined with a vaccination rate of at least 100,000 doses per day is the only way to flatten the curve of new infections.

They say that without stronger measures, the province could see 20,000 new daily cases by the end of May.

The province is seeing record-high COVID-19 hospitalizations, and has requested that other provinces send any health-care workers they can spare.

12:55 p.m.

Manitoba is expanding eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines among the general public.

The minimum age has dropped by two years -- to 37 and up for First Nations persons and 57 and up for others.

Health officials are also finalizing a plan announced earlier to start prioritizing firefighters, police officers and some front-line workers.

They say details will come next week.

12:30 p.m.

The federal government has secured eight million additional doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, to be delivered by mid-summer.

Procurement Minister Anita Anand says the first additional four million shots will arrive in May, followed by two million in June and another two million in July.

Anand said the company will also move another 400,000 doses from the third quarter into June.

Canada's initial shipment of approximately 300,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will arrive during the week of April 27, Anand said, to be delivered to the provinces at the beginning of May.

11:11 a.m.

Quebec is reporting 1,527 new COVID-19 cases today and seven more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus, including one in the past 24 hours.

Health officials say hospitalizations rose by three, to 664, and 167 people were in intensive care, a rise of eight.

The province says it administered 74,927 vaccine doses on Thursday, a single-day record.

Quebec has reported a total of 334,071 COVID-19 infections and 10,785 deaths linked to the virus.

11:05 a.m.

Procurement Minister Anita Anand says Canada's incoming vaccine supply from Moderna will be slashed in half through the rest of April.

Anand says in a statement that Moderna will ship 650,000 doses of its vaccine to Canada by the end of the month, instead of the expected 1.2 million.

Moderna said the limited supply is due to a "slower than anticipated ramp up" of its production capacity.

Anand says the company also told Canada that one to two million doses of the 12.3 million scheduled for delivery in the second quarter may be delayed until the third quarter.

Anand adds the federal government will continue to press Moderna to fulfill its commitments.

10:50 a.m.

Police in a city east of Montreal say they are investigating an alleged attempt to illegally gain access to COVID-19 vaccines at a pharmacy.

Repentigny, Que., police say they were told of an incident at a Jean Coutu pharmacy that took place on April 11 where someone allegedly impersonated a vaccine inspector.

Several media reports cite an internal Jean Coutu memo saying a man presented himself to one of the companys pharmacies pretending to be a security firm representative and asking to inspect the vaccines. His attempt was rebuffed by staff.

A spokeswoman for Groupe Jean Coutu declined to comment and Repentigny police say they took statements and are reviewing surveillance footage.

10:40 a.m.

Ontario is reporting 4,812 new cases of COVID-19 today, reaching a new peak for a second day in a row.

It's also reporting 25 more deaths related to the virus.

The province could announce more public health measures today in an effort to rein in surging infections.

Yesterday's tally also marked a new record, at 4,736 cases.

10:05 a.m.

Nunavut is announcing 12 new cases of COVID-19 today, all in Iqaluit.

On April 14, the city of about 8,000 people announced its first case since the pandemic began.

The city is under a strict lockdown, with all non-essential businesses, government offices and schools closed.

There are 13 active cases of COVID-19 in the territory, all in Iqaluit.

9:30 a.m

The Canadian Medical Association is calling for "extraordinary" measures to address the COVID-19 crisis unfolding in several provinces.

The CMA says it wants the federal government to consider re-prioritizing its vaccine distribution strategy to focus on urgent areas instead of distributing to provinces on a per-capita basis.

The organization also says provinces should be sharing their health-care resources with areas that are especially hard-hit, including Ontario and Quebec, where intensive care capacity is overwhelmed.

The CMA says further restrictions "must also be considered" in provinces experiencing rapid rates of COVID-19 transmission.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2021.
Big League Politics.com is reporting:

The rising star in North Carolina GOP politics is undoubtedly Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the gun rights activist who defeated the political establishment to obtain his position as the first black Lt. Governor in the state.

Big League Politics has reported on how Robinson has fearlessly called out the Left on their racism against the black community. He is being suggested frequently among the conservative grassroots as a likely candidate for governor in 2024. This has the North Carolina RINO brigade panicking and scrambling to derail Robinsons momentum.

Enter Congressman Ted Budd, who is now rumored to be running for the U.S. Senate next year, aiming to replace the retiring Sen. Richard Burr. He put out feelers in an email released to supporters on Friday teasing a potential run.

A lot of folks in North Carolina have asked me if I will run for the U.S. Senate seat in 2022. I believe we need more leaders in Washington who arent afraid to stand up to the radical Left or protect our conservative values, Budd wrote in an email, adding that his family is thinking and praying about this decision.

Budds entry into the race would all but surely split voters away from conservative favorite, former Congressman Mark Walker. Walker has been campaigning for the U.S. Senate since officially announcing his candidacy in Dec. 2020.

With Budd splitting conservative votes away from Mark Walker, the stage would be set for a third candidate to come up the middle, and walk away with the mere 30 percent required to take the Republican primary.

Enter former Governor and establishment favorite Pat McCrory.

This divide and conquer strategy has been used in the past with great effectiveness by political consultant Paul Shumaker, whose plotting helped to put not only Burr in office, but also RINO Sen. Thom Tillis.

Shumaker worked with Robin Hayes, a former N.C. Republican Party chairman who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in a bribery case, on a similar plan during the 2014 Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

Grassroots conservative favorite Dr. Greg Brannon had his hopes dashed after Pastor Mark Harris entered the race as a spoiler, splitting the conservative vote and thereby giving the nomination to Tillis.

Now, Shumaker and the Republican establishment in North Carolina appear poised to execute this strategy once more, to the benefit of Pat McCrory, and at the expense of conservative voters.

McCrory is considered a RINO who duped tea party constituents on the campaign trail in order to ride that wave into office; only he failed completely to live up to this conservative mandate before ultimately being rejected by the voters.

McCrory lost a state-wide race to Roy Cooper in 2016 by a narrow margin and the state GOP still has not recovered.

During his time as Mayor of Charlotte, McCrory supported massive spending increases on transportation boondoggles and massive corporate welfare spending under the guise of economic development. His critics blame McCrory for ruining the GOP in the city forever, disenfranchising countless conservatives with his poor leadership.

McCrory did more to damage the Republican brand than any politician thats ever been in Charlotte, said former Charlotte city councilman Don Reid. He joined the Uptown crowd and did their bidding. When he took over as mayor, he had a Republican majority, and he drove that right down the drain.  During his terms in office, the Uptown business interests took control, and Pat McCrory was their main helper. Everything had to be downtown; heck, theyd move the Whitewater Center downtown if they could shift the river.

Even though he changed his tune a bit after the tea partys sudden and unexpected insurgency within the GOP, McCrory governed the same way in Raleigh as he did in Charlotte.

McCrory pushed for a massive $2 billion bond after touting his record as a fiscal conservative with ties to the Koch Brothers on the campaign trail. He protected Common Core by appointing globalists to a state-mandated council reviewing those troublesome standards.

McCrory implemented an unpopular toll road boondoggle, dooming his re-election chances and hurting Republican candidates across the state. He also joined liberals in slamming the Confederate Flag, which set the stage for Black Lives Matter marxists to gain momentum in their revolution against the Bill of Rights and Constitution.

McCrory is long-time political crony of Tillis, who was one of former President Donald Trumps worst enemies in the senate.

While Budd possesses an ostensibly conservative voting record, his ties to Tillis crony circle are also extensive. Budds gushing over Tillis, calling him a great conservative voice for North Carolina after years of publicly opposing Trump, in a recent Zoom call tells the whole story.

Budd lied to voters last year on the campaitrail by claiming that Tillis was a strong supporter of President Trump and will always have the back of North Carolina families.

He even offered up his wife to shill for Tillis as the latter struggled to win re-election after years of terrible votes. The groveling intensified throughout the campaign and Budd worked overtime on behalf of one of the states most despicable anti-Trump RINOs.

Budds odd path to Congress in 2016 may explain his motives. He won the Republican primary with only 20 percent of the vote as one of seventeen candidates, narrowly beating proven conservative state legislator John Blust. This is when the NCGOP establishment swooped in and cultivated Budd as an asset.

Hayes, the aforementioned former NCGOP chair turned felon, was an early supporter of Budd, giving his campaign thousands of dollars, holding a fundraiser on his behalf and undoubtedly working his deep special interest connections to benefit his candidacy.

Sources within the North Carolina GOP have informed Big League Politics about a plot to run Budd as controlled opposition in the Senate race in order to thwart two constitutional candidates.

The plan, were told, is to run Budd in a doomed U.S. Senate race in order to increase his statewide name recognition and sabotage Walkers chances in the primary, allowing McCrory to be the GOPs hand-selected Senate contender in 2022.

Having just spent a year and a half campaigning across the state, Budd would then be the establishments pick for governor in 2024, thwarting Lt. Gov. Robinsons potential run for the spot.

This scheme is what sources allege is being hatched to keep the party under RINO control, disrupting the America First uprising among their ranks, even if it means losing more winnable races to Democrats.

Why else would Budd give up a safe seat in Congress to launch an extremely competitive bid for U.S. Senate, in a crowded field, which includes a conservative Congressman who has been campaigning for months, as well as a former governor likely jumping in the mix?

If this sort of scheme seems far-fetched, just consider what the NCGOP has done to derail upstart anti-establishment Republicans in recent years.

In the not-too-distant past, the NCGOP destroyed a rising black political superstar, damning the party among minority voters, and giving ammo to the liberal media to paint the GOP as racists. All to keep their stranglehold over power.

This was the case with Hasan Harnett, former NCGOP chairman. Like Robinson, he defeated the political establishment, but was then sabotaged, and subsequently booted from his post against the will of the Republican delegates.

The state GOPs Executive Committee met in private and booted Harnett months after he was elected fairly by Republican delegates to serve as party chair. They ousted Harnett while he was out of town and unable to defend himself.

This was the culmination of a diabolical sabotage campaign that was hatched on the day Harnett won election. Harnetts push to lower registration fees to open up conventions to more Republicans was picked, framed and polarized to promulgate the phony crisis needed to get rid of Harnett.

The establishment then installed one of their own as Harnetts replacement, none other than one of Ted Budds earliest financial benefactors, Robin Hayes. This conspiracy against Harnett was spearheaded in many ways by former NCGOP executive director Dallas Woodhouse. Interestingly, Woodhouse recently promoted Budds possible candidacy in the Carolina Journal, firing up the rumor mill and the aforementioned email from Budd to supporters on the same day.

Although the rise of Donald Trump as the unquestioned leader of the GOP has glossed over much of this ugliness, the North Carolina Republican establishment is working to backslide into the good ol days of Bush-era, where leaders are selected, not elected. As such, this upcoming Senate race will ultimately determine whether or not the NCGOP is America First or under the thumb of self-serving RINOs.
On Monday February 15th we woke up to a once in a lifetime winter storm with snow, loss of power, and a clean water crisis. Once again, the citys canyon of a digital divide was exacerbated by another disaster. Luckily, before the bad weather I had an opportunity to join the Senior Planet San Antonio team as a technology trainer. The Senior Planet team of trainers and community outreach coordinators live in several different neighborhoods. All but one of us was experiencing power outages and an off and on patchwork of internet connectivity. I was one of the fortunate ones. I still had power, and intermittent internet access. I worked every day during the snowy weather to cover my colleagues online classes. Programming for older adults had to continue.

The first class I covered for a co-worker was at 10 a.m. Only two students showed up. We used the time to socialize, and check in on one another. One of the students told me her power had been out all morning. She chose to keep her camera off to save battery power, and because she was trying to stay warm under her blankets. Her tablet was connected to a wireless connection. The other student had power coming on and off while we were online. I used the time together to share what broadcasters were saying about the rolling blackouts, and the days of severe weather we were about to further experience.
Vietnamese nationals living in the US say although they are concerned about the increase in the amount of attacks on Asians, they are doing their best to maintain normality.

People attend a rally against racism and violence on Asian Americans in Flushing of New York, the United States on March 27, 2021. Politicians in America voted on Wednesday on a plan to advance legislation to strengthen federal efforts to address hate-crimes that are directed at Asian-Americans. Xinhua/VNA Photo

On Wednesday, politicians in America voted on a plan to advance legislation to strengthen federal efforts to address hate-crimes that are directed at Asian-Americans.

The bill is sponsored by Senator Mazie Hirono, Democrat of Hawaii, and Representative Grace Meng, Democrat of New York.

It would create a new position at the Justice Department to speed up the review of hate crimes that are deemed related to the coronavirus pandemic.

On the same day, President Joe Biden named a liaison from his administration to the Asian-American Pacific Islander community.

Attacks targeting Asians living in the US have increased by almost 150 per cent in the past year, many against women and the elderly.

Non-profit organisation Stop Asian American and Pacific Islander Hate, completed a study last month that revealed there were 3,800 incidents reported over 12 months during the pandemic.

It showed that women reported twice as many complaints as men.

Findings revealed that Chinese are the largest ethnic group (42.2 per cent) that report experiencing hate, followed by Koreans (14.8 per cent), Vietnamese (8.5 per cent), and Filipinos (7.9 per cent).

On March 16, 2021, a series of mass shootings took place at three massage parlours in Atlanta, Georgia. Eight people were killed, six of whom were Asian women, and one other person was wounded.

The suspect, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, was taken into custody later that day and claims he acted not because of race hate.

Also in March, an 83-year-old man of Vietnamese origin living in San Francisco needed hospital treatment after he was attacked while shopping.

But despite the rise in attacks, Vietnamese nationals told Viet Nam News they are doing their best to keep up their normal routines and not let the increase in attacks affect their daily lives.

Nguyen Thuy Duong lives close to where one of the spa shootings took place.

She said: I found out about the news on the internet and on Facebook and Instagram also. At first I felt very sorry to hear the sad news and also felt sorry for the victims and their families. And then I felt worried and concerned a bit.

Its near the park where sometimes I visit with my family. Its quite near where I live in the US, so thats why I said Im a bit concerned and worried.

Bui Do Thanh Phuong is studying in Boston, Massachusetts. She said she has not experienced any forms of racism during her time in the US, although she knows Asian people who have.

Ive joined a group on Facebook for international students and they also discussed it, said Phuong.

They didnt discuss the shooting but the racism experiences in their lives. So theyve also faced discrimination in their schools as well.

I just feel scared when I read about it, but actually I didnt experience anything.

Duong also said she believes there are many good people in America, and she has many American friends who have offered support during these troubled times.

She said: In general I think American people are friendly and nice, and I also have some American friends here, and theyre also very kind and helped me a lot and helped my family a lot when I first came to the US.

They all say they always stand by Asian people. So I believe them and I hope, greatly hope everything is going to be OK, going to be alright soon.

Although Pham Thi Thu Trang lives in New York, she travelled to Georgia after the shootings and said she was surprised to see support and solidarity from a wide variety of nationalities.

She said: When it happened in Atlanta I had to go to the Union Square in Georgia to see how people see it, and surprisingly not only Asian people were there but all diverse groups of people.

That means a lot to me about solidarity, because I feel we need to be together because this is a problem of the racism structure. Its already in the structure. Its not only one person making it up.

On Wednesday, the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act cleared a motion to proceed with an overwhelming 92 Senators voting in favour, and now will move forward to debate and possible amendments.

Bui Do Thanh Phuong, Boston, Massachusetts

Bui Do Thanh Phuong.

"I didnt feel scared or anything like that. I maintain my daily activities. I still go outside. To be honest, where Im living now in Boston I dont feel any racism.

"My friends and I also discuss it but we didnt care much.

"I feel safe now. I dont need to repair any protection in my house. I used to think I should learn how to use a gun or how to get a license to buy a gun and put it in my house when I heard about the shooting, but after that I feel that everything is just normal.

"I think in their minds they didnt distinguish. They think that all Asians are Chinese. Sometimes they say Im Chinese, and I always have to say no Im not Chinese, Im Vietnamese. And because of COVID-19 they lose their jobs, they lose their income, so they think all the reasons that cause those things come from the Chinese, the Asians."

Nguyen Thuy Duong, Atlanta, Georgia

Nguyen Thuy Duong.

"Actually it hasnt affected (my life) much. I still go out to do something needed and go shopping normally. However I avoid going to crowded places and the downtown area of Atlanta and anywhere that I feel not safe.

"Everything is still normal to me. The way people look at me and talk to me has not changed, nothing different at all.

"Where I live in the US I think is quite safe and peaceful. And the people who live around here are very friendly and nice. So I dont think I should prepare something like a weapon.

"I think there are bad people and good people at the same time everywhere, not only in the US but other places all over the world. And I still believe that the good people are more than bad people out there.

"After the incident happened, I know there are many people, American people, American brands and companies who have spoken up and stood up for Asian people. And they said they want to protect Asian people living in the US. And they also dont agree for those kind of incidents to happen, attacking Asian people."

Pham Thi Thu Trang, New York

Pham Thi Thu Trang.

"When I read the news and especially in my field - I'm a professional activist and social activist - so I have to be aware of that and I have to understand what happened and why it happened. Because as a professional I have to look at why. First as a human being we have to make sure we are safe then immediately as an activist I have to be on the field to see it before I criticise peoples thinking.

"So most people feel theres more discrimination, but I feel this is an opportunity for me to show up and stand up. Because if not wed just stay in our bubble to be safe, or to be scared. And I dont feel that being safe and scared is enough. We need to speak out and we have to stand up. When I speak out in different forums and communities I found out I was in tears myself because it made everybody to dare for us. But we dont speak out so nobody really knows what we need.

"Two days ago I decided to take the subway from my office home at 9.30-10pm. Of course I had to make sure I was safe so I made sure I was accompanied by somebody.

"I have to have in my purse just something like a scissor, to make sure that Im prepared. I have to have my hair made, and if any attacks happen to me, I have to have the skills.

"I feel a mix between being scared and wanting to defend people. But at the same time I also feel supported a lot."

VNS
They soared to fame on the reality series Made In Chelsea.

And sisters Lucy and Tiffany Watson looked stylish as they stepped out for dinner at Italian restaurant La Famiglia in London on Friday night.

Tiffany, 27, looked effortlessly chic in a white knee-length dress which she paired with round-toed khaki boots.

Stylish: Made In Chelsea sisters Lucy and Tiffany Watson looked stylish as they stepped out for dinner at Italian restaurant La Famiglia in London on Friday night

The reality star kept off the chill with a stylish leather jacket and accessorised with a simple circle charm necklace.

She wore her blonde shoulder-length tresses in loose waves that fell naturally around her face.

The bombshell accentuated her natural beauty with subtle makeup, including an application of bronzer.

Cheerful: Tiffany, 27, looked effortlessly chic in a white knee-length dress which she paired with round-toed khaki boots

Meanwhile, Lucy, 30, looked chic in a large padded Pangaia jacket and a black beanie hat.

The vegan influencer wore her glossy locks in big bouncy waves beneath the hat and emphasised her eyes with lashings of mascara.

She paired her cosy coat with a pair of pin-striped trousers and some chunky black boots.

And the sisters appeared to be in good spirits on the night out as they pouted at the camera on Tiffany's Instagram story.

Fun: And the sisters appeared to be in good spirits on the night out as they pouted at the camera on Tiffany's Instagram story

Stylish: Meanwhile, Lucy, 30, looked chic in a large padded Pangaia jacket and a black beanie hat

No strangers to doing things as a pair, Tiffany and Lucy got some sister time in the sunshine when they jetted to Barbados for a festive getaway in December.

During the trip, Tiffany proved she and her sister were closer than ever as dedicated one of her Instagram posts to Lucy.

The blonde bombshell sweetly wrote on one snap: 'My sister and my best friend rolled into one. I got lucky'.
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.
Yves here. Synchronicity strikes! Lambert and I were discussing some of the extreme views expressed in comments yesterday. He attributed it to hysteria in the zeitgeist finally getting to the site. And now we have a theory as to why! Its a neoliberal infestation.

By Marc Schuilenburg, assistant professor at VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Originally published at openDemocracy

In 1980, hysteria died. That was the year it was removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) handbookand ceased to be considered a medical condition. But we need only look around us to see that hysteria has never been more alive  just consider the run on toilet paper at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Or the consumer hysteria every Black Friday, or the overheated discussions taking place on Facebook and Twitter every day.

We all recognise hysteria  the display of over-the-top emotions  when we see it. In fact, no sooner than it left the DSM handbook, hysteria seems to have migrated to every other sphere of our lives. No longer a medical condition, it is our eras defining sociological phenomenon. What lessons can hysteria teach us about the societies we live in today?

Sociological Key to the World

Medical and historical researchers, psychoanalysts and philosophers, religious and gender studies scholars, as well as painters and writers, have all grappled with hysteria and tried to unravel its mysteries. From ancient Egyptian times until deep into the 18th century, hysteria was diagnosed as a convulsive disorder affecting women, caused by a wandering womb, which was believed to move freely through the body all the way into the head, emitting toxic fumes that led to hysteria.

Sigmund Freuds work popularised the study of hysteria from a psychoanalytic perspective. Ideas like the Oedipus complex  in which hysterical behaviour is caused by a girls guilty feelings about her sexual attraction to her father  have become irrelevant. But a theory of Freuds that still resonates is that hysteria is caused by traumatic events that cannot be put into words and are expressed instead through bodily complaints.

In the 1970s and 80s, feminist thinkers such as Helene Cixous and Luce Irigaray turned sexist views of hysteria on their heads, rebranding hysteria as a female system of meaning outside official languages and cultural conventions. They considered hysterical symptoms to be a rebellion against the social and institutional order that restricts womens freedom.

Although there are countless possible explanations for hysteria, we tend to ignore the sociological link between individual stories and the big picture. Yet hysteria has as much to do with wider political, economic and cultural changes as it does with the individual. Examining the hysteria we are seeing now and how it is being fuelled by societies that not only encourage and enjoy but also abuse and reward it, can tell us something about why people seem increasingly to fall prey to it.

A Black Plague of Degeneration and Hysteria

In 1892, the Austrian physician Max Nordau wrote in his book Entartung(degeneration) that the growing number of cases of hysteria were down to exhaustion caused by the rapid development of modern society. He argued that Western society was haunted by a black plague of degeneration and hysteria.

Nordau described an unhealthy fin-de-siecle (end of an era) feeling marked by the acceleration of technological change. Age-old traditions and stories were being pushed out by new media such as the telephone and the telegraph, which brought together people who had previously been far apart. Daily life was further intensified by the invention of the steam train, the gramophone and film, as well as the spectacular growth of cities, all of which put people in touch with new sounds, images and worldviews.

Everything that had once been small and familiar became large and overwhelming, creating a void of security and belonging, against which the body revolted through hysteria.

Who Am I, Where Do I Belong?

We are again seeing a steep decline of a primal sense of security, the social glue of society. Globalisation has cranked the speed of life into a new gear. In many countries, Anglo-Saxon neoliberalism has replaced social democracy since the 1970s, leading to a loss of solidarity and over-individualisation, raising questions such as: who am I, where do I belong, how important is my culture?

At the same time, there is ever less space in our societies for community or communal identity. Corporate chains have replaced social meeting places, ranging from public libraries to corner shops. These palaces for the people, as sociologist Eric Klinenberg calls them, reinforce public familiarity in a neighbourhood by allowing people to make connections, help one another, and offer refuge to those who feel excluded or diminished elsewhere.

The lack of a sense of belonging  often accompanied by feelings of fear, frustration and anger  is a recurrent factor in outbreaks of hysteria. In that respect, life has arguably returned to how it was in late-19th-century Europe. Not that society is the same as it was at the time of Nordau  too much has changed since then  but there are undoubtedly some very striking similarities.

Twitter Goes Bankrupt Without Hysteria

Where hysteria used to be a medical condition, we can now think of it as our eras business model. It works by playing on these feelings of lack and insecurity. Social media is probably the most obvious case in point. Facebooks business model is focused on offering a platform to frustration and anger, emotions that are infectious and in combination with uncertainty often lead to extreme reactions. The more hysterical your post, the more clicks and views you generate and the greater the advertising revenue for Facebook. This also goes for other social media including Twitter, which would surely go bankrupt tomorrow without hysteria.

Facebook and Twitter are increasingly viewed as addictive, and with good reason. Research shows that the chemical dopamine, also known as the happy hormone, is released in our brains when we are successful on social media. Getting lots of likes or followers activates the reward circuit of the brain, while uncertainty strikes when we are unfollowed on social media, making us feel empty.

War on Everything

The same is true for politics. We might not think of politics as having a business model as such, but politicians constantly draw on societys potential for hysteria, selling citizens both the hysteria itself and their solutions to it.

Take the issue of public safety. Citizens are liable to get incredibly worked up about the issue of security and respond with vehemence to what is seen as a non-committal attitude to crime characterising their country. As a consequence, political discussions about public safety tend to end in the unanimous conclusion that more decisiveness is needed to solve all problems for good.

Such policies are spoken of in hysterical terms and with a preference for a macho military vocabulary: war on coronavirus, war on drugs, war on terror. Former President Donald Trump threatened to send in the militaryto quell the unrest in American cities sparked by the brutal killing of George Floyd by police officers on 25 May 2020.

Once the diagnosis of a law and order problem has been made, we are flooded by a veritable tsunami of new punitive measures  only for the cycle to be repeated. Any politician suggesting that crime rates in Western countries have fallen spectacularly for years or that it is impossible to create a risk-free society, is accused of looking the other way.

The Experience Economy

Its possible that a void, or a feeling of lack, is inherent to the human condition. Indeed, its this sense of lack that has driven human development, bringing us wealth and progress. But the market economy thrives off and magnifies this feeling of a void in our existence that cries out to be filled. Nothing is ever enough: four words that summarise todays neoliberal economic order.

The experience economy, which is based on the premise that reality is the way people perceive it, expertly deploys advertising and exposure to stimulate consumers desires by creating a feeling of need. The launch of every new iPhone sends us running to Apple Stores in a crazed frenzy, even though everyone knows the difference between the old and new versions in no way justifies the expense.

I cant get no satisfaction, as a wise man once said. Even if we obtain the thing we desire it will only satisfy us temporarily because no single object, experience or person can fully satisfy the lack that lies at the root of our desire, which is constantly recreated in the consumer economy.

Getting Hysterical About Hysteria

When exploited as a business model, hysteria brings misery. But hysteria can also have the power to turn the world upside down, just as the hysterical, uncontrolled laughter of the Joker in Todd Phillips film becomes a call to finish off todays rampant neoliberalism after the Joker loses his medication and counselling because of budget cuts.

In the 19th century, women started politicising their bodies to revolt against the suffocating conventions of the Victorian era. While this hysteria led to many of its sufferers being institutionalised, it also produced social reforms aimed at giving women the same rights and opportunities as men. The tightly laced corset disappeared, making space for more liberal views on marriage, sexuality and the right to work.

This is not hysteria in its most destructive, sinister form, in which people tear off their clothes and pull out their hair. I am talking about a constructive hysteria which sets things in motion. Constructive hysteria is an engine for change, a way of making a contribution to the world. It acts for the greater good rather than out of self-interest.

House on Fire

It seems to me that certain issues should be treated with a little less hysteria, while others could do with some more. No one is raising the alarm over the fact that 14.3 million of the UKs 66.4 million inhabitants live in destitution, including 4.6 million children. Nor does anyone seem too worried about a large part of this group being homeless.

At the same time, eco-barbarism is running rampant. Roughly 1,000,000 of the estimated eight million plant and animal species on Earth are threatened with extinction, in many cases within a time frame ranging from a few years to a couple of decades. As journalist David Wallace-Wells puts it in his bestseller The Uninhabitable Earth, Here, the facts are hysterical.

While the planet is hurtling towards its demise, the debate about global warming revolves around how much it will cost to go on living the way we are now, and includes painstaking calculations of exactly how much money needs to be spent on measures to preserve the planet as well as our lifestyles. This reduces an ecological issue to a bookkeeping problem, to be resolved by a flight tax here, an energy subsidy there. The real issue, that we need to develop a completely new ecological awareness as well as a new and more inclusive understanding of such matters as damage, care and responsibility, is not addressed.

You could argue instead that the sheer scale and disastrous effects of both issues should justify a hysterical gesture  one fueled not by profit and power but by the human need for survival and togetherness. Silence and inaction are no longer options. We do, after all, live in a hysterical world  and we know it.

This article is adapted from the new book Hysteria: Crime, Media, and Politics (Routledge 2021)
The extradition of a billionaire diamond tycoon from Britain to India over an alleged 1.3billion fraud has been approved by Home Secretary Priti Patel.

Nirav Modi, 50, whose jewels have adorned Hollywood stars such as Dakota Johnson and Kate Winslet, fled India before details of his alleged involvement in the country's biggest bank fraud became public in 2018.

Punjab National Bank alleges that two jewellery groups headed by Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi had committed fraud by raising credit from other Indian banks using illegal guarantees.

Both men have denied wrongdoing.

Nirav Modi, 49, (pictured) whose jewels have been worn on the Oscars red carpet by Kate Winslet, has been in Wandsworth prison, south-west London, since his arrest in March 2019

New Delhi has been working since 2018 to extradite Modi back to the country to face charges for the $2.2million fraud, which has dented confident in the state banking sector.

Modi, whose wealth was once calculated by Forbes magazine as 1.5billion, was arrested in the UK in March 2019, and detained in Wandsworth prison, south-west London.

He now has 14 days to appeal to a higher court in Britain against the decisions of the district court and Home Office.

Zulfiquar Memon of Indian law firm MZM Legal, which is representing Modi in his case said the team is in the process of challenging the order.

He added that this 'may happen anytime soon.'

A spokesperson for the Home Office confirmed in a statement on Friday that the extradition order was signed on April 15.

The ruling at Westminster Magistrates Court has been signed off by Home Secretary Priti Patel (pictured)

India's Ministry of External Affairs has yet to comment on the order.

Vijay Mallya, another fugitive Indian business tycoon, was ordered to be extradited by the Home Office in 2019, but has since appealed and continues to fight his case in London.
ALBANY  Police Chief Eric Hawkins on Friday shared officers body-camera footage from this weeks Black Lives Matter protest, showing clips that provided more insight into how police wound up deploying pepper spray and how a window was broken by some protesters  actions that have come amid rising tensions in the wake of recent police killings of Black people across the country.

In a press conference also attended by Mayor Kathy Sheehan, both city officials sounded agitated as they played clips obtained by officers at the scene and by security cameras situated at the South Station building, and discussed the protest.

Warning: This video contains strong language and racial slurs

It was only after the protestors were banging on the doors, trying to get in, breaking a window, all of that done by protesters, not by police, by protesters  in a scene that was eerily familiar to us and reminded me of what we saw at the Capitol on Jan. 6, Sheehan said of Wednesdays protests, comparing the breaking of a window and banging of the South Stations doors to Januarys storming of the United States Capitol, in which five people died, including a Capitol Police officer.

The new footage shows at least two protesters banging the door with their feet, and one police officer saying, The guy with the black hoodie just broke the window.

That man with the black hoodie was a white protester. An officer in the video also says the window was broken with a bottle.

The footage shows three protesters shouting racial slurs at the Black police officers guarding the entrance at separate moments throughout the demonstration.

A vast majority of the protesters were shouting chants associated with anti-racist protests and demonstrations, such as, No justice, no peace, and, This is what democracy looks like.

Police were originally outside South Station on the entrance ramp leading to the doors as protesters concluded their march, which began at Townsend Park. The march across the city was peaceful, with 18 police officers stopping traffic, according to Hawkins, as protesters knelt on cross streets, raising their fists and shouting Black Lives Matter.

When the protesters first arrived at the South Station, most were yelling chants and shouting at the officers. Around a dozen protesters were standing close to the railing, footage showed. One demonstrator shined a bright light at the officers faces. Hawkins said the light can cause damage to our officers.

Then officers went back inside and chained the entrance door with a pair of handcuffs. Hawkins said they went back inside in order to ease tensions.

But after the window was broken by the protester wearing a hoodie and sunglasses, an officer can be heard saying, Were taking it outside. I cant deal with that.

Before officers stepped back outside, one is heard saying in body-camera footage: Were not going to escalate this.

As the officers step outside, the protesters can be seen standing on the ramp that leads to the buildings entrance, and there is no immediate shoving or clash; one man is seen with his arms crossed, others can be seen shouting as they lean against the railing. No protester can be seen in the footage physically attacking or confronting an officer. Many were yelling at the officers, and one woman can be seen doing so through a megaphone.

Officers are heard telling individuals to clear the ramp.

Body-camera footage from the commander at the scene shows him reaching for the womans megaphone and snagging it, causing the woman to fall on the ground.

Hawkins paused the video after this moment was shown at the press conference and said that at that point during the protest, the station was under siege, and there were extremely violent behaviors being displayed. But footage doesnt show aggressive shoving or any physical altercation initiated by the protesters when officers walked back outside. The window was already broken before officers walked back out.

There is an imminent threat to our station, imminent threat to police officers. In order to minimize those threats, we have to deal with the distractions, Hawkins said, citing the high-powered light and megaphone as examples of such distractions. Officers have to reclaim this space. And they have to address the threats as they are reclaiming this space.

Numerous protesters at the scene told the Times Union that protesting is inherently about being loud and that officers had no right to take a megaphone away from a woman who was protesting, injuring her in the process.

Footage taken by the Times Union shows that after the officer grabbed the womans megaphone, another protester climbed over the railing that surrounds the ramp leading to the station's entrance, and an officer pepper-sprayed him in the face, while at least two other officers began to push other protesters away from the entrance, sending them to the ground. A 14-year-old girl was among those injured by the pepper spray.

More pepper spray was again deployed as some protesters approached the entrance.

No more pepper, an officer can be heard yelling in body-camera footage.

Sheehan said she was unhappy with news organization's coverage of the protests at the South Station, saying news outlets left out key details, such as the breaking of the window. Numerous news outlets, including the Times Union, reported that damage had been done to the building.

Sheehan said on Thursday that she had not seen the video of the confrontation between police and protesters, but on Friday, she said: I have now seen the video; I understand why our officers acted the way that they acted. I commend them for the constraint that they showed.

This is a department that is trained and that has my complete confidence, Sheehan said.






Kolkata, April 17 : Launching a blistering attack on chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that the Trinamool Congress supremo has an old habit of doing politics with dead bodies and she is trying to do the same with the unfortunate death of five people at Sitalkuchi in Coochbehar on April 10.

"She has an old habit of doing politics with dead bodies and has been trying to politicise the "unfortunate" death of five people at Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar district on April 10. The truth is that Didi thought of her own political gain from the death of people in Coochbehar; she has an old habit of doing politics with dead bodies," the Prime Minister told this during a rally at Asansol on Saturday.

The Prime Minister was perhaps referring to the audio clip that the BJP released on Friday that had an alleged 'conversation' between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress candidate of Sitalkuchi Partha Pratim Ray, where a female voice, purportedly of the chief minister, is heard asking "Partha" to "keep the bodies so that the party could hold a rally with the dead". It is then heard asking the Trinamool candidate "to tell the families not to take the bodies home".

Later, at a rally in Gangarampur, giving a detailed chronology of the abuses the chief minister has used against him, PM Modi said that the Trinamool Congress chief's politics is not limited to just "protests, but it has crossed a dangerous limit of vengeance. After four phases, TMC is broken to pieces and 'Didi, bhatija' will be vanquished after eight phases of elections (are completed)," he said.

The Prime Minister further asserted that the BJP government, if voted to power, will work for the aspirations of the people of Bengal. He alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has stood as a wall between West Bengal's people and central welfare schemes, depriving them of benefits.

Modi also slammed Banerjee for skipping several meetings called by the Centre to discuss many key issues, including two recent meetings over the emerging Covid-19 situation in the country. "The Central government has convened meetings to discuss several topics many times, but didi does not attend these meetings citing some or the other reason," he said.

"This region has the potential to become the industrial centre of India for a long time. From cycle to rail, from paper to steel, from aluminium to glass - people come from all across India to work in these factories. People used to come here for employment but today people from here are migrating. Didi, who speaks of Ma Mati Manush, has spread 'mafia raj' here," he said in Asansol.

Speaking in Gangarampur he said, "After May 2, I assure that all the farmers would get their dues. The farmers were deprived of their legitimate claim because 'Didi' stopped us from giving your due. Once we come to power, we will send 18000 rupees to the accounts of the famers. We will make every effort to make this place an international trading hub," he added.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Families of most of the 29 men who died following a series of explosions at the Pike River Coal mine in November 2010 are continuing to demand a thorough underground investigation of the disaster, in opposition to the Labour Party-Greens governments attempt to shut it down.

After more than a decade, no one has been held responsible for the disaster, despite a royal commission in 2012 finding overwhelming evidence of unsafe and illegal practices by the company, which put production and profit ahead of workers safety. The police, state regulators, the courts and successive governments have shielded those responsible from accountability.

Dean Dunbar in 2016 at the families blockade on the road to Pike River mine

The former National Party government planned to seal the mine forever, preventing any investigation or recovery of bodies. It was forced to back down after protests in 2016 and 2017 by the Pike River families demanding justice gained widespread support.

The current Labour-led government of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced last month that it would end funding for the investigation inside the mine. The re-entry, which began in 2019, was a major election promise by Labour, the Greens and the NZ First Party, which formed a coalition government in 2017. All three parties pledged to do everything possible to recover the miners bodies and crucial physical evidence of what caused the explosions, in order to prosecute Pike River Coal chief executives, managers and directors.

From the Labour Partys 2014 election policy

Now this promise is being brushed aside. The minister in charge of Pike River recovery, Andrew Little, declared last month that it was too expensive to proceed into the mine workings beyond a roof-fall at the end of the drift, the mines 2.3 kilometre entry passage. He falsely claimed that the government never made any commitment to explore beyond the drift.

In a meeting with 45 family members from 17 families on April 7, Little repeated that there was no money to expand the re-entry. Carol Rose, whose son Stuart died in Pike River, told the World Socialist Web Site that after Little left, an overwhelming majority of those in attendance voted in favour of pursuing an independent feasibility study to continue exploring beyond the roof-fall. She has since received statements of support from 23 of the 29 families.

Electrical engineer Richard Healey, and Tony Forster, who has worked as chief inspector of mines in both New Zealand and New South Wales, both attended the meeting and spoke in support of the feasibility study. Both have carried out extensive technical investigations of Pike River. They have criticised the government for providing no evidence in support of its claims, and for misleadingly saying that it was not possible to go beyond the roof-fall.

Rose explained that Andrew Little was quite adamant that the government is not budging, but the feasibility study is well underway. The international mining fraternity has stepped forward and said: how can we help you? Tony Forster is inundated by amazing international mining experts.

The whole world is watching this, Rose said. The whole world knows that if you go to New Zealand you can get away with multiple murders. Its just wrong.

Rose and several families are part of the Pike River Family Committee, a democratic body that the families themselves established in December 2010, independently of all political parties and the unions. The committee unified the overwhelming majority of families to fight against the National governments plan to seal the mine, Rose explained, so by the time we had the change of government, the mine was still open and we had managed to hold them off. It was a big achievement.

How the Labour Party promoted the Pike River Recovery Agency in 2017

The Labour government, however, had divided the families by establishing the Family Reference Group (FRG), which is now supporting the governments plan to end the underground investigation. Several media outlets falsely reported last month that the families agreed with the governments decision, based on a statement by the FRG. The FRG is an unelected body, attached to the governments Pike River Recovery Agency. It consists of three family members and two advisors, who are both close to the Labour Party and the union bureaucracy.

Bernie Monk, whose son Michael was killed in the disaster, told the WSWS: Weve got a right to challenge the government, and theyre not listening to us. [Little] treated us with no respect at all in that meeting. None. The families are still very strong and were going to challenge them right to the end, were not going to let them get away with it.

Bernie Monk (standing, centre) and other family members and supporters

He explained that the mine recovery workers were probably 30 metres away from crucial evidence: the underground fan which is thought to have sparked the explosion, which is blocked by the roof-fall. Unlike virtually every other coal mine in the world, Pike River had its main ventilation fan installed underground, without any proper risk assessment.

You cant judge a roof-fall until you stand in front of it, Monk said. However, according to official cabinet papers, the government had already decided in March 2020 not to proceed beyond the roof-fall, because it was supposedly too expensive, but at the time the re-entry had only explored about 400 metres of the drift.

Monk said the Labour Party had lied to the Pike River families. We were part of their election victory and now theyve done an about-turn. We are astounded at the lengths the crown will go to in terms of impeding access to the truth and to justice. The trust I have in the government and institutions has evaporated.

Healey told the WSWS that Littles claim that the mine was too unstable near the roof-fall was unsubstantiated and false. He pointed out that there had been no further roof fall in 10 years.

Healey said in the April 7 meeting: Little was very clear: this is just about money. There was no discussion about evidential sufficiency and whether or not were going to get an outcome out of this I never expected to hear a Labour minister say they were going to abandon an investigation into something like this, an industrial accident that resulted in the deaths of 29 miners, simply on the basis of cost.

As of last September, the government had spent $36 million on the re-entry, which, divided by 29, is below the average cost of a homicide investigation. While Little claims there is no more money, the government still has endless money for handouts to the corporate elite. Yesterday, for example, the government confirmed that Amazon, one of the worlds richest companies, would be eligible for a $160 million rebate for producing a TV series of Lord of the Rings in New Zealand.

Healey also said it was outrageous that Little was attempting to intimidate the families into not pushing for further discovery of evidence. In a meeting last month called by the FRG, Little told those in attendance that he found it annoying that families were speaking against the government. In a recording leaked to the media, Little claimed that people going around and saying [the official investigation is] not good enough has a real potential to undermine the prosecution case.

Ardern was forced to contradict Littles blatantly false statement, telling Newshub: I cant see any reason why families pushing to go further could jeopardise a prosecution.

Little was leader of the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU), which had about 70 members at Pike River, when the disaster happened. The EPMU, now called E tu, never spoke out about unsafe conditions at Pike River before the disaster. It ensured there was no interruption to production at the mine.

Little initially defended the company, telling Radio NZ on November 22, 2010, three days after the first explosion: Every mine on the West Coast takes great care when it goes into production and I dont think Pike River is any different to that. Theyve had a good health and safety committee thats been very active. So, theres been nothing before now thats alerted us to any greater risk of this sort of incident happening than at any other time. These false statements underscored the unions support for big business and its complicity in the disaster.

The determined stand of the Pike River families has now brought them into conflict with every party in parliament, as well as the union bureaucracyall of which defend the ruling elites policy of class justice that has protected Pike River CEO Peter Whittall and others in the companys leadership for more than 10 years.

The WSWS and Socialist Equality Group (NZ) again urge working people, in New Zealand and internationally, to support the Pike River Family Committees fight for an exhaustive underground investigation and for justice for the 29 men.
Eritrea has acknowledged its troops are participating in the war in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region but has vowed to pull them out amid mounting international pressure.

The first explicit admission of Eritrea's role in the fighting came in a letter posted online Friday night by the country's information minister, written by its UN ambassador and addressed to the Security Council.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops into Tigray in November to disarm and detain leaders of the region's once dominant political party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

For months the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments denied Eritreans were involved, contradicting testimony from residents, rights groups, aid workers, diplomats and even some Ethiopian civilian and military officials.

Abiy finally acknowledged the Eritreans' presence in March while speaking to lawmakers, and vowed soon after that they would leave.

Friday's letter from Eritrea said that with the TPLF "largely thwarted", Asmara and Addis Ababa "have agreed -- at the highest levels -- to embark on the withdrawal of the Eritrean forces and the simultaneous redeployment of Ethiopian contingents along the international boundary."

On Thursday UN aid chief Mark Lowcock told the Security Council that despite Abiy's earlier promise, there had been no evidence of a withdrawal of Eritrean troops from the region.

He also said aid workers "continue to report new atrocities which they say are being committed by Eritrean Defense Forces."

Eritrea's information minister, Yemane Gebremeskel, said on Twitter Saturday that Asmara had summoned the UN's resident coordinator in Eritrea and the local head of the UN humanitarian coordination office to protest "wayward practices and fallacious reports... on basis of opaque networks/affiliations with TPLF."

Tigray residents have repeatedly accused Eritreans of mass rape and massacres, including in the towns of Axum and Dengolat.

Story continues

Both Eritrea and Ethiopia blame the conflict on TPLF-orchestrated attacks on federal army camps in early November and describe it as a campaign to restore law and order.

Eritrean UN ambassador Sophia Tesfamariam reiterated this position in her letter Friday.

"We are indeed appalled by attempts to blame those who were forced to resort to legitimate measures of selfdefense that other countries would have done under similar circumstances," she wrote.

"The allegations of rape and other crimes lodged against Eritrean soldiers is not just outrageous, but also a vicious attack on the culture and history of our people."

- Hunger 'crisis' fears -

Abiy declared victory in Tigray in late November after federal forces took the regional capital Mekele, but the TPLF vowed to fight on and fighting has continued.

The conflict arrived in the middle of the harvest in Tigray and for months humanitarian access was greatly restricted, prompting fears of widespread starvation.

In his comments Thursday the UN's Lowcock said he had received a report of 150 people dying of hunger in one area of southern Tigray, calling it "a sign of what lies ahead if more action is not taken".

Ethiopian state media on Friday night aired a report denouncing the claim as "false" and "aimed at tarnishing the image of the country."

"The humanitarian assistance being provided in the Tigray region is going well and so far, no life has been lost due to hunger," Mitiku Kassa, head of Ethiopia's national disaster commission, was quoted as saying.

Yet earlier Friday Abadi Girmay, agriculture chief of Tigray's Abiy-appointed interim administration, warned of a hunger "crisis" if farming activities don't resume.

"If we don't start getting harvest starting from this year, a very tough problem may come about that could last from three to five years," Abadi told state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate.

"If famine also sets in, a tragic history may come about that has never been seen before in this country."

rcb/np/lc
Eritrea: 13 Christians remain imprisoned after 2 raids on prayer meetings

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Thirteen Eritrean Christians remain imprisoned after authorities raided two separate prayer meetings last month where 35 people were taken into custody, including several women.

Twenty-two of the 23 Christians who were arrested at a prayer meeting in the capital of Asmara last month, most of whom were women, were released from the Mai Sarawa prison last Sunday, while of all the 12 Christians who were arrested in the city of Assab, 660 miles southeast from Asmara, remain in Assab prison, where conditions are known to be harsh, the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern reported.

The ICC, which released its report based on information received from Release International and Barnabas Fund, said the arrests were carried out by members of the Eritrean Army late last month.

It's not yet clear why only one of the 23 arrested in Asmara hasn't been released, the groups said, adding that they're also working to find out if those who were freed are in good health.

Since last September, at least 160 Christians have been released from prisons in that country, but the latest arrests dampened hopes that the government was easing its harsh repressive policy against Christians, Barnabas Fund said.

In Eritrea, citizens have a duty to report anything untoward happening in their community, Release International added. This can turn ordinary neighbors into spies. In some cases, their own family members have reported Christians.

Eritreas President Isaias Afewerki is a member of the Eritrean Orthodox Church in Asmara  belonging to the largest among the only three Christian denominations allowed to function in the country.

Afewerki, 75, who's the leader of the ruling Peoples Front for Democracy and Justice Party, also has a reputation of being an alcoholic and a ruthless autocrat. Afewerkis policy of restrictions is more about his fear that religion will mobilize people as a political force than religion itself.

In February, 70 Christians from evangelical and Orthodox backgrounds, including women, were released from three prisons in Eritrea, some after being held without charge for more than a decade.

The release of Christians could be an attempt to distract the international community's attention from Eritreas role in the ongoing war in the Tigray region in neighboring Ethiopia, the U.K.-based group Christian Solidarity Worldwide reported at the time.

When arrested, Eritreas persecuted Christians often disappear without a trace, leaving their loved ones with no information on their whereabouts or safety. Prison conditions are some of the harshest in the world, with inmates kept in shipping containers and believers often tortured in an attempt to get them to renounce their faith.
More details are being released about a mass shooting at a FedEx warehouse in Indianapolis where eight people lost their lives on Friday, including members of the Sikh community.





The details: Eight people were fatally shot, four inside and four outside the warehouse, while five others were injured and rushed to the hospital, according to the Associated Press.







The shooter, identified by authorities as Brandon Scott Hole, 19, also died by suicide.

Police searched the home of the former FedEx employee and seized evidence, but a motive has yet to be uncovered.

"There was no disturbance, there was no argument. He just appeared to randomly start shooting, Deputy Police Chief Craig McCartt said.

Police Chief Randal Taylor pointed out that a "significant" number of employees at the facility are members of the Sikh community, but its unclear if that played a role in the shooting.

We are deeply saddened to learn that Sikh community members are among those injured and killed by the gunman in Indianapolis last night," Sikh Coalition Executive Director Satjeet Kaur said in a statement.





Witnesses: A witness told WTHR that he heard the first shots while working inside the FedEx facility and he went into survival mode.







I see a man come out with a rifle in his hand and he starts firing and he starts yelling stuff that I could not understand, Levi Miller said. What I ended up doing was ducking down to make sure he did not see me because I thought he would see me and he would shoot me.





FedEx and White House: A FedEx spokesperson told Business Insider the company is now reconsidering its no-phone policy during work hours, which has frustrated families waiting for information at a nearby unification center.







It is hard because if my friend had a phone, he would be able to contact me right away, said Jose Lopez, who has worked at the facility for about six months, according to USA Today. Even if its a message with one letter, you know he is living.

President Joe Biden addressed the shooting on Friday and called gun violence an epidemic, urging Congress to pass commonsense gun violence prevention legislation.

McCartt added authorities are still identifying the victims.



Feature Image via Getty

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Man faces charges after traffic stop

POTTSVILLE  A Donaldson man is facing charges by state police at Schuylkill Haven after a traffic stop at Tremont and Donaldson roads in Tremont Township around 9:40 a.m. Tuesday.

Police said they stopped a 2007 Volkswagen driven by Kenneth Myers, 37, for an expired inspection sticker and during a subsequent search found him to be in possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia.

The investigation is continuing, police said.

Police investigate theft by deception

CRESSONA  State police at Schuylkill Haven are investigating a theft by deception report that was received on Monday.

Police said a 69-year-old Cressona man reported he was giving money to a woman he met on dating site who claimed she was from Malaysia and needed money to get her inheritance.

The man finally realized he was being deceived when the woman began using his information to apply for unemployment, police said.

Woman not injured after going off roadPINE GROVE  A Pine Grove woman escaped injury when the 2009 Toyota Corolla she was driving crashed in front of 301 Tremont Road in Pine Grove Township around 9:35 a.m. Sunday.

State police at Schuylkill Haven said Jamie Readinger, 45, was driving south on Tremont Road, Route 125, too fast for the rainy conditions when her car began to hydroplane, causing her to lose control.

The car went off the road and hit a traffic sign and then a guy-wire to a utility pole, police said.

Readinger was cited for driving at an unsafe speed as a result of the crash, police said.

Police: traffic stop to lead to charges

POTTSVILLE  A Pottsville man was charged with possession of a controlled substance by state police at Schuylkill Haven after the 2006 Jeep he was driving was stopped for a violation at East Railroad and Atlantic streets around 11:10 p.m. April 6.

Police said during the stop they found Kyle Imschweiler, 35, in possession of methamphetamine,

Police said charges against the man will be filed in district court and that their investigation is ongoing.
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EUGENE, Ore. -- According to the Oregon Health Authority, nearly one million people across the state are now fully vaccinated. And more than 500,000 Oregonians have received their first dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

Starting Monday, every Oregonian 16 and older will be eligible to schedule a vaccine appointment.

"I miss everything being back to normal and hopefully that will kind of jump start that," Eugene resident Sean Paranuk said.

But the pause in Johnson & Johnson vaccines is causing some setbacks, according to OHA Director Patrick Allen.

WATCH: GOV. BROWN HOLDS PRESS CONFERENCE

"We expected the Johnson & Johnson manufacturing shortfall would result in an eight or nine day setback in having enough doses to vaccinate all eligible Oregonians," Allen said. "Now, we're holding off on our projections of Johnson & Johnson vaccines for the next month until we know more."

Allen said this could also impact Oregon's vaccine supply.

"That continued shortfall means as many as 70,000 fewer doses a week," Allen said.

This comes at the same time as a statewide surge in new cases.

"We have seen 20-plus percent increases in our cases for three weeks running, eclipsing even the most pessimistic scenario in our COVID-19 modeling," state epidemiologist Dr. Dean Sidelinger said during a press conference this morning.

Sidelinger said the actions of the community over the next few weeks will determine the fate of the state's fight against the virus.

"We also know what Oregonians do when faced with this virus -- they fight it by wearing our masks, keeping our distance, and limiting high risk, indoor gatherings and now by getting vaccinated," Sidelinger said.
Irans decision to start enriching uranium to 60% is not conductive to talks about the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Islamic Republics nuclear program, US President Joe Biden said on Friday, TASS reports.

"We do not support and do not think its at all helpful that Iran is saying its going to move to enrich to 60% It is contrary to the agreement," Biden said at a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

Commenting on nuclear deal consultations that the five negotiators (Germany, France, the United Kingdom, China and Russia) are conducting with Iran in Vienna, the US leader said: "I think its premature to make a judgement as to what the outcome will be, but were still talking."

So far, the US delegation has held meetings with all participants of the negotiation process, except Iran.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 00:36:35|Editor: huaxia

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CAPE TOWN, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Western Cape province, a top tourism destination in South Africa, saw an increase in domestic travel over the Easter weekend, as it seeks to attract travellers to save jobs and rebuild the economy, the provincial government said Friday.

The increase, which was recorded across the province, especially in small towns, reflects the "pent-up" demand by travellers looking to take advantage of the long weekend and explore family-friendly, wallet-friendly and world-class experiences in the Western Cape, it said in a release.

Over the Easter weekend, the occupancy rates of accommodation establishments reached to at least 70 to 80 percent, in which camping and self-catering establishments were most popular, said the government, adding that outdoor activities and experiences such as farmers markets, cycle and hiking routes, nature parks and beaches were well supported.

However, the tourism sector also experienced a "notable increase" in last-minute cancellations and bookings as a result of uncertainty brought by COVID-19 and possible stricter restrictions, according to the government.

Figures from Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) showed that the domestic terminal at Cape Town International Airport, located in Western Cape's capital city, received over 61,000 passengers for the Easter weekend, reflecting a 65 percent recovery compared to the 2019 Easter weekend.

According to the release, international arrivals continue to be affected by global restrictions on travel, which will continue to have a significant impact on the tourism and hospitality sector in the Western Cape.

Western Cape's coastline stretches over 1,000 kilometers, the longest in South Africa's provinces, which includes sandy beaches with rocky to steep and mountainous features in places.

Twenty-eight of the 44 beaches in South Africa that are recognized as Blue Flag beaches are in the Western Cape.

It is also famous for its touring routes for wine farms, as well as wildlife sanctuaries, nature reserves and national parks. Enditem
LISBON: The Portuguese government has announced a Recovery and Resilience Plan with USD19 billion of European Union funds to re-emerge the economy after the Covid-19 crisis.

The Portugal government will infuse directly 5.1 billion euros in companies, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said in a statement on Friday after introducing the plan to President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, reports by Xinhua.

Municipalities, institutions of social and solidarity economy, research centres, and institutions of higher education will also be included in the plan. The plan, with an execution period of three years, also provides subsidies for the purchase of affordable housing and social intervention in the most disadvantaged areas, he said.

Global Covid-19 Report: The overall global Covid-19 caseload has topped 139.6 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 2.99 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University. In its latest update on Saturday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 139,670,541 and 2,997,062, respectively.

The US is the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 31,575,138 and 566,212, respectively, according to the CSSE.

WHO chief says, Global COVID-19 infection rate approaching highest

Turkish president, NATO chief hold discussion on regional issues

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A new bill U.S. Sen. Bob Casey introduced in Congress would allow more people to save money for disability-related expenses.

The current Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act, which Casey pushed through Congress in 2014, allows people to save money without losing Social Security and Medicaid benefits if their disability began before they turned 26 years old.

So if they are 27 (or older), and they acquire the disability, theyre not eligible, Casey said.

Casey wants to amend the law to raise the age limit to 46. He introduced the bill Feb. 22, but gathered with bill supporters during an online news conference call Friday to celebrate the state ABLE system surpassing $50 million in savings. The supporters included state Sen. Lisa Baker, R-20, Lehman Twp., Luzerne County, and state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, also a Republican. Casey is a Democrat, but the bill has several Republican senators as co-sponsors.

ABLE, available in Pennsylvania since 2016, and in 42 other states and the District of Columbia, allows disabled individuals to save up to $15,000 a year and up to $100,000 total without losing Social Security supplemental income benefits. It also allows saving an unlimited amount without jeopardizing Medicaid benefits. The savings may be used for home modifications, education, transportation and technology that helps deal with a disability.

Garrity urged residents to lobby their legislators.

We all have a responsibility to make sure this legislation gets passed, she said.

Sara Wolff, 38, the Moscow woman who urged Casey to pass the original bill, said the law has helped her significantly. ABLE has given me and my family the comfort and (knowledge) that I am prepared to support my needs independently in the future, she said.

About 4,800 Pennsylvanians, including many veterans, have created ABLE accounts, Baker said.

She said the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the benefits of saving money for an emergency.

Clearly, the solid track record of ABLE more than justifies the expansion that is contemplated, Baker said.
Given the emotional drama and outpouring of sympathy for the families in this case, it wouldn't really be appropriate to add snarky headlines to these stories. Instead, we simply share info and links in order to point readers to some of the better stories in this week's double murder decision.



Jury Recommends Life In Prison For Kylr Yust, Convicted Of Killing Two Kansas City-Area Women Jurors have recommended that Kylr Yust receive the maximum sentences for his convictions in the deaths of Jessica Runions and Kara Kopetsky. The jurors said Yust should serve life in prison for second-degree murder in connection with the death of Runions and 15 years for voluntary manslaughter in connection with the death of Kopetsky.

'No more I love yous': Jessica Runions' father tells jurors during emotional statement HARRISONVILLE, Mo. - "Disbelief." Jessica Runion's father summed up his feelings about the day he learned his daughter disappeared in one word for jurors Friday morning. John Runions followed up with many more words and thoughts as he shared memories with jurors during the sentencing phase of Kylr Yust's trial.

"She was everything to me." Family of Kara Kopetsky, Jessica Runions give emotional testimony during sentencing phase CASS COUNTY, MO (KCTV) -- Prior to a jury recommending Kylr Yust be sentenced to life in prison for the death of Jessica Runions and 15 years for the death of Kara Kopetsky, their parents offered emotional testimony.

'Seven months we searched': Jessica Runions' family speaks on tragic loss at Yust sentencing HARRISONVILLE, Mo - It was an emotional day at the Cass County Courthouse as the family of Jessica Runions told the jury how the young woman's disappearance and death has affected them. Runions' disappeared in September 2016 after leaving a party with Kylr Yust.

Belton reacts to verdicts in Kylr Yust case BELTON, MO. (KCTV) -- For 14 years, the Belton community has waited for the killer of Kara Kopetsky to be brought to justice. That day was on Thursday when a jury found Kylr Yust guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the death of Kara Kopetsky and second-degree murder for the death of Jessica Runions.

'10-year nightmare': Kara Kopetsky's family expounds on anguish of her loss at Kylr Yust's sentencing HARRISOVILLE, Mo. - The sentencing phase of Kylr Yust's trial on Friday included victim impact statements from the families of Kara Kopetsky and Jessica Runions, who told the jury how their losses devastated them. Family members took the stand, directly telling the jury about their grief before the members considered the length of Yust's sentences for second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter .

Mothers of Kara Kopetsky, Jessica Runions express thanks KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The mothers of Kara Kopetsky and Jessica Runions spoke outside the Cass County Justice Center Friday afternoon, moments after learning the man convicted in their daughters' deaths will spend years in prison.

Developing . . .
Patna, April 17 : Former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav is likely to walk out of prison soon. The Jharkhand High Court on Saturday granted him bail in connection with withdrawal of Rs 3.5 crore from the Dumka treasury, in connection with a case linked to the multi-crore fodder scam.

Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, granted bail to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader during the hearing on Saturday.

The former Bihar CM has been convicted in wrongful withdrawal of money to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore from Dumka, Chaibasa and Deoghar treasuries and the special CBI court at Ranchi has already granted him bail in two cases registered in Chaibasa and one in Deoghar.

After the bail granted in Dumka treasury case, he is likely to be released from jail soon.

During 1991 to 1996, officials of animal husbandry department of Bihar government allegedly drew money from Dumka, Chaibasa and Deoghar when Yadav was the chief minister of Bihar.

Jharkhand attained statehood in 2000 and became a separate state.

At present, Yadav, 72, is recuperating from severe illness in AIIMS Delhi. He has already completed a 42-month jail term.

He is reportedly suffering from 16 diseases including severe infection in kidneys and water accumulation in the lung.

Earlier, serving a prison term in Ranchi's Hotwar jail, he was shifted to Delhi AIIMS after doctors informed the court about 75% of his kidneys not functioning. On this ground, the high court has granted permission to shift Lalu Prasad Yadav to Delhi for better treatment o January 23 this year.

After the bail, the party released a statement in which it thanked the court. The top leadership of the party has appealed to supporters to celebrate his bail by following Covid protocol. "Our countrymen are undergoing a tough period due to pandemic. Hence, we have to follow covid protocol. No one must come to 10 circular road, the official residence of former CM Rabri Devi for celebrations. Bail to our leader has spread great enthusiasm among party supporters and leaders," the statement said.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Washington, April 17 : The White House has walked back from keeping the current cap of 15,000 annual refugee admissions set by former President Donald Trump, hours after the decision evoked widespread backlash from Democratic lawmakers and civic groups.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement on Friday that President Joe Biden would announce a new, higher ceiling by May 15, reports Xinhua news agency.

"For the past few weeks, he has been consulting with his advisors to determine what number of refugees could realistically be admitted to the US between now and October 1.

"Given the decimated refugee admissions program we inherited, and burdens on the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), his initial goal of 62,500 seems unlikely.

"While finalising that determination, the President was urged to take immediate action to reverse the Trump policy that banned refugees from many key regions, to enable flights from those regions to begin within days; today's order did that.

"With that done, we expect the President to set a final, increased refugee cap for the remainder of this fiscal year by May 15," Psaki said.

Earlier on Friday, Biden signed an order keeping the country's fiscal year 2021 refugee admissions at 15,000, a historical low cap set by Trump.

In response, Democratic House lawmaker Ilhan Omar, who came to the US as a Somali refugee, called the decision "shameful".

Indian-American House Representative Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, slammed the decision "simply unacceptable and unconscionable".

The State Department said in February it was planning to raise the ceiling of refugee admissions to 62,500 in the fiscal year ending September 30.

The Biden administration's recent budget proposal requested $4.3 billion for ORR, while setting a goal of 125,000 refugee admissions in 2022.

The ORR's 2020 budget was $1.3 billion.
YEREVAN, APRIL 17, ARMENPRESS. The security system of the Republic of Armenia is based on the Armenian-Russian strategic-military-political alliance, ARMENPRESS reports Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said during the meeting with the citizens in Rind community within the framework of his visit to Vayots Dzor region.

"They say, how are we going to protect the security of our country?' The security system of our country is based on the Armenian-Russian strategic and military-political alliance. For purely security reasons, we have a joint military group with Russia, a joint air defense system in the Caucasus region. And the logic of those agreements is the following: an attack on Armenia means an attack on Russia. And we have a common security system here," Pashinyan said.

Answering the questions why that system did not work the way the people wanted during the Artsakh war, the Prime Minister answered that there was a simple reason for that. He stressed that, in fact, this security system extends to the borders of Armenia, which Armenia itself has defined by the 2010 Law on Administrative Territorial Division.
Last months publication of the Governments latest rural development initiative has been broadly welcomed, particularly by those for whom the Covid-19 emergency has done away with long hours in morning and evening traffic.

The plan envisages 400 remote-working hubs nationwide, to enable more people to live and work in rural communities.

It aims to move 20% of those working in the public sector to remote working this year, with further annual increases over the next five years.

Legislation will provide employees with the right to request remote working.

Also, as part of Budget 2022, the coalition has committed to reviewing the tax arrangements for remote working for both employers and employees.

This measure hasnt been welcomed in all quarters.

Marian Ryan, consumer tax manager with Taxback.com, says that the current working from home tax allowances and rebates were to have been reviewed in this years budget.

As it stands, you can claim 30% of broadband costs for days worked at home, together with other vouched expenses, where they are wholly, exclusively and necessarily part of your work, Ms Ryan says.

Also, you can only claim for these expenses if your employer does not already make a payment towards them.

These allowances will remain in place for the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the announcement, any tax incentives for 2022 are unlikely to be announced until October, well after all previously city-based employees will have to decide whether theyre coming back to live in Dublin.

Many employees have incurred extra expenses as a result of remote working.

The existing tax incentives are hardly worth writing home about.

If you go to the bother of collecting your receipts and claiming them, you will net somewhere between 20 and 60 a year, depending on salary and other factors.

We know that some workers are feeling the pinch financially, as a result of the extra expenses incurred working from home, says Ms Ryan.

In a survey we conducted half way through 2020, 86% of people working from home believed that remote working will remain a dominant feature of their working arrangements, to some degree, into late 2021, while 89% said their household expenses have, and will, increase as a result.

So, anything the Revenue or government can do to give a little back to these workers has to be welcomed, Ms Ryan says.

Flat-rate expenses

An earlier survey by the company found that only 5% of employers of Irelands remote workforce are paying the tax-free expense of 3.20 per day.

This allowance covers any additional costs that arise as a result of working from home. Its tax-free, which means employers dont have to deduct PAYE, PRSI, or USC from that amount. But it isnt a legal obligation to pay it.

The solution, Ms Ryan says, is the introduction of a new, flat-rate expense category for remote workers.

Flat-rate expenses  or FREs  represent an allowance for costs incurred in performing your employment duties, costs that are directly related to the nature of that employment.

Typically, if you encounter a legitimate expense relating to work, you retain the receipt and claim at the appropriate time. FREs were introduced to streamline this process and grant unvouched, flat-rate allowances to a long list of employees who encounter these expenses every day.

Agreed deduction

The amount of the deduction is agreed between Revenue and representatives of groups or classes of employees, usually trade-union officials.

All employees of the class or group in question can then claim the agreed deduction in their own tax credits.

So, for example, electricians can claim 153 per year, head waiters can claim 127, and fishermen can claim 318. The list is long and quirky.

Cosmetologists, who must supply and launder their own uniforms, get 160 per annum, Church of Ireland clergymen get 127, and bookbinders (hand) get 109, while bookbinders (other) get only 97.

Its also pretty antiquated. Female cardiac technicians get 212, while males with the same job are entitled to only 107.

This type of relief is already embedded in our tax system, says Ms Ryan, so its roll-out could be relatively straight forward.

Essentially, it would mean that people would wind up with significantly more money in their pockets.

"Our estimates suggest the difference could be anywhere from 100 to 200 or more.

Introducing a flat-rate expense equivalent to this 3.20/day payment would really give a welcome capital injection to an employees finances and would take the pressure off employers.

As it stands, however, these allowances  even if increased substantially  are unlikely to be claimed.

Why? Because as many as two-thirds of taxpayers in Ireland dont claim the tax reliefs and refunds theyre already owed.

Entitlements

This was one of the primary findings of another Taxback.com survey.

The research, which polled 3,200 taxpayers, found that the biggest reason for not submitting a claim was that people didnt think theyd be entitled to anything (29%), while 20% said they thought the process would be too complicated and/or time-consuming.

Almost half of all respondents to the survey said they feared that by submitting a claim, they might discover that they owe Revenue money, rather than the other way round.

Ms Ryan says that the number of cases in which this happens is minute.

And if there is ever a case where a person ends up owning money, this is usually offset by the refund that theyre due.

If you pay for a GP visit just once in the year, you will be owed a tax refund, Ms Ryan says.

Its really a case that people simply arent aware of their entitlements.

"There are so many different tax reliefs out there, its often the case that people can avail of refunds on transactions or services that they would never expect.

These can range from more common tax expenses, such as medical and doctors fees, or tuition fees, right through to flat-rate expenses, relief on IVF treatments, the home-carer tax credit, and overpaid USC.

The survey found that in the last five years, theres been a jump in the number of people saying that they want to pay their fair share in taxes.

While theres no way of knowing for sure what accounts for this movement, says Ms Ryan,

"Perhaps what we have all experienced over the course of the last 12 months might have a role to play  the payment of wage supports from exchequer funds has kept people and households afloat, when they might otherwise have been in dire financial straits, so perhaps more people now acknowledge the importance of taxes.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 17) The Health Department on Saturday said it plans to meet with the OCTA Research group soon to reconcile the varying COVID-19 data they recently released to the public.

This comes after the DOH announced that the coronavirus case fatality rate or CFR in Metro Manila as of April 15 stands at 1.46%, lower than the 5.36% OCTA reported for the same week.

"Ang ginawa po namin noong nakita po natin itong difference na ito, we reached out to OCTA," Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said during the government's Laging Handa briefing.

"Nai-forward na namin sa kanila iyong aming katanungan as to how they have computed that and we intend to meet with them, with our experts and our epidemiologists para po magkaroon ng unified messaging," she added.

[Translation: When we saw this discrepancy, we reached out to OCTA. We already forwarded to them our questions as to how they have computed that and we intend to meet with them with our experts and our epidemiologists to have a unified messaging.]

Vergeire further explained there are sometimes "differing opinions" among epidemiologists when it comes to computing the data.

"So iba-iba iyong ginagamit na (So we sometimes use different) numerator and denominator and that is something that is commonly heard from epidemiologists," she said.

In its April 14 report, OCTA attributed the spike in the fatality rate to the "overwhelmed" healthcare system as well as the presence of the more contagious coronavirus variants in the country.

RELATED: OCTA raises concern over higher COVID-19 fatality rate among senior citizens in NCR

COVID-19 cases in the Philippines jumped to 926,052 on Saturday, with the DOH tallying 11,101 new infections. The death toll climbed to 15,810 while recoveries stood at 706,532.
President Joe Biden, accompanied by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, walks from the Oval Office to speak at a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House, Friday. AP-Yonhap



U.S. President Joe Biden said Friday that he and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga had reaffirmed their commitment to jointly face challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, including China and a nuclear-armed North Korea.



Suga said they were also committed to the complete, irreversible and verifiable dismantlement (CVID) of all weapons of mass destruction in North Korea.



"We committed to working together to take on the challenges from China and on issues like the East China Sea, the South China Sea, as well as North Korea to ensure a future of a free and open Indo-Pacific," the U.S. president said in a joint press conference that followed his summit with the Japanese leader in Washington.



"Japan and the United States are two strong democracies in the region, and we're committed to defending, advancing our shared values, including human rights and rule of law," added Biden.



The meeting at the White House marked Biden's first in-person summit with a foreign leader since taking office Jan. 20. The U.S. leader is set to hold a summit with President Moon Jae-in, also in Washington, next month.






The Texas House on Thursday gave an initial OK to a bill that would allow handguns to be carried without a permit, marking a win for gun rights activists who have for years pushed the measure at the Legislature but a blow to El Paso Democrats who have been fighting for gun safety measures since the 2019 massacre in their hometown.

The 84-56 vote came after several hours of some of the most emotionally charged debate yet this legislative session, with Democrats pleading to their colleagues to reconsider their position on the legislation.

RELATED: Texas Republicans say this year is their best chance to push for 'constitutional carry' of guns

House Bill 1927, spearheaded by state Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, would nix the requirement for Texas residents to obtain a license to carry handguns if theyre not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a gun. Texans under current state law must generally be licensed to carry handguns, either openly or concealed.

This bill should be called common-sense carry, Schaefer said as he laid out the bill Thursday. He described a scenario in which two women  one who had time and resources to obtain a license to carry and another who did not  went for walks in different neighborhoods, arguing that the latter did not feel safe or well-equipped to protect their family.

Seven Democrats voted for the bill, according to an unofficial vote total: Terry Canales of Edinburg, who was a joint author; Ryan Guillen of Rio Grande City, another joint author; Harold Dutton of Houston; Richard Pena Raymond of Laredo; Tracy King of Batesville; Leo Pacheco of San Antonio and Eddie Morales Jr. of Eagle Pass. One Republican, Morgan Meyer of Dallas, voted against it. State Rep. Angie Chen Button, R-Richardson, was present but not voting.

Early on in Thursday's debate, state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, who serves as speaker pro tempore, pushed an amendment to the bill that would have effectively killed the legislation.

Moody, surrounded by other El Paso lawmakers at the House floors front mic, recalled the day of the El Paso massacre in August 2019, when a gunman killed 23 people. Moody said there has been no action in the wake of that mass shooting and others to prevent future tragedies.

After those shootings ... there were roundtable discussions and stakeholder meetings and a lot of promises  and I was hopeful, members, even knowing the political realities, I was hopeful, Moody said. Members, Im so tired of doing nothing.  When are we going to do something?

Moodys proposed change to the bill failed, 63-79. Nearly two dozen other proposed tweaks to the bill to the bill, many authored by Democrats, also failed.

SENATOR FIGHT: Ted Cruz, California Senator Alex Padilla have twitter feud over gun control

The House will need to give a final stamp of approval to the legislation before it heads to the Senate, where the bills fate is less clear. Permitless carry measures have been filed in the typically more ideologically conservative Senate, though that legislation has not yet advanced.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who heads the Senate, has previously expressed hesitation over the measure, saying in a 2017 radio interview that, with all the police violence today we have in our state  law enforcement does not like the idea of anyone being able to walk down the street with a gun and they dont know if they have a permit or not.

In the days leading up to Thursdays debate, some law enforcement officers and license to carry instructors voiced opposition to the legislation, citing safety concerns. A group of faith leaders and veterans have also criticized the measure.

During Thursdays debate, state Rep. Jeff Cason, R-Bedford, offered an amendment that would have lowered the minimum age for permitless carry from 21 to 18 years. Schaefer and other Republicans voiced opposition to the proposal, and Casons amendment failed overwhelmingly, 12-121.

Two Democrats  Diego Bernal of San Antonio and Rafael Anchia of Dallas  tried unsuccessfully to amend Schaefers bill to bar domestic terrorists, or violent white supremacist extremist[s], as defined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from carrying a handgun without a permit.

I think its always the right time to be talking about denouncing white supremacists and preventing guns from falling into their hands, Anchia said before his proposed amendment failed.

Soon after, freshman Democrat Jasmine Crockett of Dallas, delivered a tearful speech before laying out an amendment that would have carved out courthouses from the legislation. Other House Democrats rushed to Crocketts side as she stood at the Houses front mic.

As the only new Black member of this body, I must say some of the discussion today has not only been eye-opening, but hurtful, Crockett said. When I got here, the one thing everyone told me  is that we arent D.C.  we didnt do partisan politics.  Can we truly consider some of these amendments and not make them so partisan?

Her amendment failed, 59-80.

Gun rights activists, faith leaders and gun violence prevention activists sat in the chamber for parts of Thursdays debate, watching as lawmakers on the floor considered the legislation.

After state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, raised a point of order against Schaefers bill, which temporarily paused debate but ultimately was overruled, a group of activists wearing all-white began singing Amazing Grace. They were quickly escorted out of the House gallery.

Sami Sparber contributed to this report.

The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans  and engages with them  about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
A Chinese policeman stands guard outside Zhongnanhai, the central headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party and living quarters for the top CCP officials, in Beijing in a file photo. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)

What Provoked the Downfall of Yet Another Corrupt CCP Senior Official?

Commentary

On April 12, Shi Wenqing, former vice chairman of the Standing Committee of Jiangxi Provincial Peoples Congress (SCJPPC), was arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes, according to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) media. What actually provoked Shis downfall?

Shi served in the National Peoples Congress, the Inner Mongolia region, and the provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang. He was transferred to Jiangxi province in 2007 and held various positions, including deputy governor of Jiangxi province, member of Jiangxi Provincial Party Standing Committee (JPPSC) and secretary of Ganzhou Municipal Party Committee (GMPC), and vice chairman of SCJPPC. He retired in January 2018, was investigated on Sept. 21, 2020, and was expelled from the CCP and transferred to the judiciary authorities for review on March 28, 2021.

While serving as a member of JPPSC and secretary of GMPC from October 2010 to July 2015, Shi was at the peak of his power and of his greed for money and sex.

Greed for Money

At the end of 2019, three entrepreneursZeng Yiping, Wen Hekui, and Wang Yufeireported to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection under their real names that Shi had extorted huge amounts of money from them, including 20 million yuan ($3.1 million) worth of gold and 132 million yuan ($20.2 million) in cash transferred to the designated accounts. The letter was accompanied by invoices or transfer records. The whistleblowers signed each page of the letter in their own handwriting with their fingerprints.

In March 2011, Zengs father was arrested by local police while doing rare earth business in Ganzhou. Afterward, Shi asked Zeng to meet him in Beijing, where Shi said, Your father has got himself in such a big trouble that it takes 50 million yuan ($7.7 million) to set things right. Zeng said he had just started his job and needed to wait for his father to get out to raise money, but could not raise that much. Shi was silent for a while and said, Then let your father out first, but at least 20 million yuan is needed.

By selling their family assets and raising debts all over the place, the Zeng family finally raised 20 million yuan, which was given to Shi in the form of gold.

Zengs father was then released but was given a suspended sentence. Shi had promised to return all the seized rare earth assets but ended up only returning half, making the other half worth 30 million yuan ($3.6 million) gone without a trace.

The whistleblower Wang Yufei said Shi subsequently extorted 13 million yuan ($2 million) from him.

Another whistleblower, Wen Hekui, said, I did not use his power to make a penny, but was extorted more than 100 million yuan ($15.3 million) instead. There were at least 100 people in his interest group. For all that much land in Ganzhou during his tenure, basically, several million yuan per acre must be paid to his interest group members, plus additional money paid for large and small projects. Shi amassed for himself at least tens of billions of yuan.

The amount extorted from the above three people alone added up to more than 170 million yuan ($26 million). For the nearly six years Shi was in charge of Ganzhou, how many people were blackmailed, and how much money was extorted by him? What all the CCPs corrupt officials have in common is that they get themselves promoted regardless of how corrupt they are. How much did Shi extort and accept bribes along the way from Jilin to Jiangxi province?

Lustful

Shi also has a unique sexual obsession. According to mainland media reports, Shi repeatedly raped his own niece, who had worked in his house since she was 16, during his tenure in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province. He also raped one of his brothers daughters. Shi had sexual relationships with his wifes two nieces, Yang Yuhua and Yang Yurong, who then became his full-time mistresses. In addition, Shi had numerous part-time mistresses, kept several stewardesses, and fathered a few illegitimate children.

One person who knows what it was like during Shis tenure in Ganzhou said, In southern Jiangxi province, his girlfriends are everywhere  He is interested in not only female cadres but also the wives of male cadres. He likes to say to the county governors and county party secretaries below him: bring your wives along to dine out together. There are indeed male cadres who desperately want to get promoted and really let their wives serve Shi. There used to be a county party secretarys wife who had been seen walking with Shi daily.

Another person commented that generally no matter how sexually motivated officials are, they usually have at least three bottom lines: the first is no offense against their relatives; the second is no transgression against their friends wives; the third is for political securityno offense against the wives of their colleagues. However, Shi held no bottom lines.

The relatives of Zhong Bingming, the former party secretary of Dingnan county in Ganzhou, repeatedly said in an interview with China Economic Weekly, I cant express in words how vicious he is; this is a person who is worse than an animal.

Dictatorship

According to China Economic Weekly, a person familiar with Ganzhous political situation said that when Shi was the party secretary of Ganzhou city, he was like an emperor of the city, requiring everyone to be absolutely obedient to him. Anyone who did not obey him would be punished severely. All officials felt like under a white terror in Ganzhou.

Shortly after Shi took office in Ganzhou, he had the deputy directors of the five main bureaus in the city write out the five favorites and the five most hated by the former party secretary. Afterward, he drew a clear line by excluding and suppressing all his predecessors old cronies.

In addition, Shi instructed Ma Yufu, the head of Ganzhous Political and Legal Committee, to spend more than 30 million yuan ($3.6 million) on listening devices to surveil key officials under his command, including the then-mayor of Ganzhou, Leng Xinsheng.

According to Ganzhou officials, Shis tyranny reached an outrageous level, turning southern Jiangxi province into a kingdom of his own.

Groveling to Power

While Su Rong was Secretary of Jiangxi Provincial Party Committee from 2007 to 2013, Shi served as vice governor of Jiangxi province among other positions.

According to the Chinese outlet Honesty Outlook, Shi was so determined to climb up the ladder that he strove to please his boss Su and became the cash cow of the Su family. Under the protection of Su, Shi lived a life like a king of southern Jiangxi.

For example, according to jiemian.com, Sus son at one time approached the governor of Shangyu county through Shi, and explicitly requested that the countys land consolidation project be given to Jiangxi Hengfan Land Development and Consolidation Company. After the deal was closed, the company gave Sus son 12 million yuan ($1.8 million) in return.

In another example, in 2012 Sus wife wanted to buy a molybdenum mine from a private mine owner in Anyuan county of Ganzhou city at a significantly low price. Shi instructed Kuang Guanghua, then party secretary of Anyuan county, to help close the deal, which eventually fell apart because the gap in price was too great to bridge between the two sides.

Shi was very displeased with Kuang over his failure to close the deal. As a result, he accused Kuang of illegally participating in rare-earth mining and accepting huge bribes, and told him to either crash himself into a wall and die, or run away, or be jailed for life.

10th Senior Official of Jiangxi Gang Arrested

Jiangxi is the home province of Zeng Qinghong, a former member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the CCP and vice chairman of the State Council. Zeng is considered to be the chief leader of the Jiangxi Gang of the CCP.

Su Rong, Shis boss and then-secretary of the Jiangxi Provincial Party Committee, was promoted by Zeng himself. On Jan. 23, 2017, Su was sentenced to life in prison for taking more than 116 million yuan ($17.7 million) in bribes and another 80 million yuan ($12.2 million) in property that could not be accounted for. All 14 members of Sus family were involved in the case.

Following Sus fall, at least nine provincial level officials close to him fell, including Chen Anzhong, former vice chairman of SCJPPC; Yao Mugen, vice governor of Jiangxi province; Li Yihuang, vice governor of Jiangxi province; Zhao Zhiyong, member of JPPSC and secretary general of Jiangxi Provincial Party Committee; Liu Lizhu, vice chairman of Jiangxi Provincial CPPCC; Xu Aimin, vice chairman of CPPCC; Pan Yiyang, a former member of JPPSC and former secretary of GMPC; and Shi Wenqing, who served as vice governor of Jiangxi province, member of JPPSC, vice chairman of SCJPPC, and secretary of GMPC.

As the chief gang leader, who the 10 senior officials of the Jiangxi Gang all relied on, is Zeng Qinghong a chief corrupt official himself?

Lets take a look at just one revealing example.

On March 7, 2008, Zeng Wei, son of Zeng Qinghong, bought a mansion in Australia for 250 million ($38.2 million). At the time of the transaction, there was no loan and it was paid in full in one lump sum. Afterward, Zeng Wei applied to the Sydney city government to spend another 38 million yuan ($5.8 million) to knock down the mansion and rebuild it. The purchase and renovation of this one mansion alone would cost a total of 288 million yuan ($44 million). Has Zeng Wei used his fathers powerful position to make his unlawful fortune funding his lavish spending?

Since Xi Jinping began his anti-corruption campaign against the CCPs high-ranking corrupt officials in January 2013, more than 500 senior officials at the deputy provincial level and above have been investigated and punished, most of whom were promoted by Jiang Zemin, the former CCP head, and Zeng Qinghong, Jiangs chief crony. It is perfectly safe to say that they both are the root cause of the CCPs most serious corrupt elements.

Does Xi dare to punish both Jiang and Zeng by bringing them to justice?

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.
Burma Fighting Continues Between KIA, Tatmadaw in Northern Myanmar

KIA soldiers are seen on the front line near KIA headquarters in Laiza in 2012. / The Irrawaddy

Fighting broke out in multiple locations between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Myanmar military in Kachin State on Friday night and Saturday morning amid the regimes moves to reinforce its troop presence in ethnic areas.

At around 7 p.m. on Friday, the KIA attacked military (or Tatmadaw) troops near the Hpung Ing-Woi Shi area in Kachins Sumprabum Township, in the northernmost part of the country.

There were at least 30 soldiers from the Myanmar military on the Sumprabum-Myitkyina Highway. Five soldiers from the military side were killed and some were injured in the attack, a KIA officer on the ground said.

However, the officer declined to reveal casualty figures for the KIA.

The KIA also attacked a Tatmadaw convoy in Hpakant Township as it was conducting a security check on Friday evening afternoon at around 1 p.m. The KIA said that it used mines against the convoy and one truck went up in flames, resulting in three regime troops being killed.

Early on Saturday morning, a clash broke out between the KIA and Tatmadaw at a security checkpoint jointly guarded by the military, police and immigration officers in Waimaw Township in the southeast of the Kachin capital.

The KIA said it arrested three soldiers during the clash. All the security guards ran away from the security outpost after the KIA launched an attack on the checkpoint, it said.

A resident of Waimaw told The Irrawaddy the fighting lasted from 5 a.m. to 8:40 a.m. after a military column approached a village where a KIA base is located.

The KIA instructed villagers around the area to stay at home until next Tuesday and not to go outside even to tend their farms and fields, the resident said.

After the KIA retreated from the checkpoint, Myanmar soldiers returned. Now, they are conducting intensive security checks on all civilians, the resident added.

Military tensions have risen since late March, when the KIA seized from the Tatmadaw a strategic base in Alaw Bum near the Chinese border. The military launched several airstrikes to try and recapture the base from the KIA. However, the KIA still occupies the base and nearly 100 Myanmar military troops including a battalion commander have been killed during heavy fighting.

Clashes were also reported in Manton Township, northern Shan State on April 15. Fighting has intensified across Kachin State and northern Shan State since March 11, following the KIAs refusal to recognize the military regime.

The regime has been reinforcing its troops in Kachin and Shan states after the armed group warned of a resumption in fighting if the Tatmadaw did not stop killing peaceful anti-coup protesters in the country.

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The Friendship Bridge is to be built over the Debed river flowing through the main border crossing at Bagratashen-Sadakhlo. It currently has a single narrow bridge constructed in Soviet times.

The Armenian and Georgian governments signed a deal on the new bridge in late 2014 two years after the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) pledged to finance the project with a loan extended to Armenia.

Work on the bridge was originally due to start in 2017 and last for two years. However, the Armenian government completed an international tender for the right to build the bridge only in 2018. An Iranian construction firm, Ariana Tunnel Dam, won the tender with a $9 million bid.

The Armenian Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures announced the impending start of the construction on Friday after a virtual meeting of a Georgian-Armenian task force dealing with the project.

A ministry statement said the working group gave final approval to the architectural design of the planned bridge which is due to be 386 meters long and have two sections with a total of four traffic lanes. It also approved a simplified procedure for construction workers access to the border area.

The new bridge will be used for Armenias trade with not only Georgia but also Russia, its number one trading partner. Much of Russian-Armenian trade, worth almost $2.2 billion in 2020, is carried out by heavy trucks passing through the Bagratashen-Sadakhlo crossing.

Armenian passport control and customs facilities at Bagratashen were expanded and modernized in 2016 as part of a $65 million program mostly financed by the European Union.

The session of the Georgian-Armenian task force coincided with President Armen Sarkissians official visit to Tbilisi. Meeting with Georgian parliament speaker Archil Talakvadze, Sarkissian said the two neighboring states should encourage the implementation of joint projects now that their economies are reeling from recessions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Department of Primary Industries has warned a plan to allow new housing developments to be built on more than half of Hurlstone Agricultural Highs farmland could prove smelly, hazardous and disruptive for both the schools students and their future neighbours.

The proposed homes are too close to the schools dairy, crops and livestock, and there has been no risk analysis of the potential odour, noise, or other consequences of land-use conflict, it said. They include dust, chemical use, spray drift, stray animals and effluent management.

Tiarna Scerri, Taylor Scerri and Sylvia Nanziri. A big chunk of Hurlstone Park Agricultural High School is being sold off for development and the money is being used to fund an upgrade of the school. Many students and alumni are against it. Credit:Rhett Wyman

The government wanted to sell off almost all the 160-odd hectares of farmland adjacent to the 114-year-old Hurlstone Agricultural High School in Glenfield in the south-west, one of the citys fastest-growing corridors. It is next to a train station, close to the planned Western Sydney Airport, and worth at least $200 million.

However, it ceded to public pressure in late 2019 and instead decided to sell 88 hectares to developers, and use some of the proceeds to upgrade a downsized, 50-hectare farm on the schools site. It will add a new dairy, sheep and cattle sheds; a new milking parlour; and aquaculture would be added to the hydroponic facility.
There wont be an America First Caucus after all. At least for now. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene accused the media of making a big deal about something that wasnt even a reality yet and aides said she wasnt starting any new group. The Congresswoman wants to make clear that she is not launching anything. This was an early planning proposal and nothing was agreed to or approved, Nick Dyer, Greenes spokesperson, said. Greene also sent a series of tweets Saturday claiming the document that outlined the platform for the caucus was from an outside group that I hadnt read. She also accused the media of focusing on race and using it divide the American people with hate through identity politics. But the words marked quite a change from a day earlier, when Dyer had said that the caucus would be launched very soon.

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The apparent backtracking came as Washington was in an uproar this weekend over reports that far-right Republicans in the House of Representatives, including Greene and Rep. Paul Gosar, were seeking to set up an America First Caucus that would push a nativist agenda. The group would call for respecting Anglo-Saxon political traditions, according to an early draft of the groups policy platform that was first reported by Punchbowl News. The platform warned that mass immigration threatened the long-term existential future of America as a unique country with a unique culture and a unique identity.

The draft platform of the group, which vowed to follow in President Trumps footsteps, ws filled with nativist language. History has shown that societal trust and political unity are threatened when foreign citizens are imported en-masse into a country, particularly without institutional support for assimilation and an expansive welfare state to bail them out should they fail to contribute positively to the country, reads the document.

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The group was still in planning stages and the document was supposed to be the starting off point for a discussion and nothing has been finalized, a source told Politico. Still, the mere reports of the caucus immediately led to outrage, including by some Republicans, amid claims that the group amounts to the latest example of how some lawmakers are embracing racism as an electoral strategy. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy sent a thinly veiled tweet that didnt mention any names but left no doubt about what he was referring to. America is built on the idea that we are all created equal and success is earned through honest, hard work. It isnt built on identity, race, or religion, McCarthy tweeted. The Republican Party is the party of Lincoln & the party of more opportunity for all Americansnot nativist dog whistles. An aide to McCarthy confirmed to the Associated Press that he was referring to the new group.

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House GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney also sent a thinly veiled message against the caucus. Racism, nativism, and anti-Semitism are evil, she tweeted. History teaches we all have an obligation to confront & reject such malicious hate. Cheney has openly talked about how Republicans need to reject white supremacists from their ranks and the criticism from party leaders comes as the party is struggling to find a way forward after Trump.

Several other Republicans also spoke up against the new caucus, including Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who said that anyone who join should be punished by the GOP leadership. I believe anyone that joins this caucus should have their committees stripped, and the Republican conference should expel them from conference participation, Kinzinger tweeted. While we cant prevent someone from calling themselves Republican, we can loudly say they dont belong to us. Rep. Ken Buck tweeted that the hatefulness expressed in the document is only surpassed by its ignorance of American history and values.

Amid the criticism, at least two Republicans publicly said theyd consider joining the new caucus. Rep. Matt Gaetz said he would be proud to be a member of the group that will end wars, stop illegal immigration & promote trade that is fair to American workers. Rep. Louie Gohmert told reporters hes considering joining. Gohmert said the caucus seeks to get our own country in order and insisted its not supposed to be about race at all.

*This post has been updated with new information since it was first published.
Mentor boosts retention of autistic students at Coleg Cambria  and numbers are set to increase

A mentor has helped to improve retention and the social and wellness journey of autistic learners at Coleg Cambria.

Josh Roberts joined the college 12 months ago, as the Coronavirus pandemic was taking hold in the UK.

It made his new role as an ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) and Support Mentor more challenging, as he was initially unable to meet face to face with students and ease their transition from secondary school to further education.

But with regular online sessions and virtual communication, Cambria provided a successful, bespoke transition into college for many autistic learners, and they are currently working with many more ahead of the next academic year.





The move from school to college is daunting, and even more daunting for students with autism as they are so used to routine and the same environment that theyve been in for five or six years at school, said Josh, from Dwygyfylchi, near Conwy.

So, we have made it clear we are there for them, been active in getting their thoughts and empowering them as to how we can help.

As a result, all 47 ASD learners who required a bespoke transition in September are still with us, and we have over 80 joining us in the next academic year who are being offered similar transitional support.

Josh, 31, is the first to hold this position at the college  which has sites in Deeside, Northop, Llysfasi, and Bersham Road and Yale in Wrexham  and said there are discussions ongoing over possible expansion of the team.

The feedback weve had has been so positive, its heartening so many students with autism want to be a part of the Coleg Cambria experience, he said.

We have tried to make that transition process welcoming and less intimidating, and that appears to be working well. By just offering a friendly face and being the first port of call to deal with any issues makes a difference.

Josh added: Some students I speak to daily, some are independent, and others only need help now and again.

As numbers grow then our team will as well, because we are focused on maintaining and even improving on our levels of care and support, for all learners, especially those who may have anxiety or mental health issues.

There is no one size fits all approach to ASD, everybody is different, and we do not label people or their condition, we are just here when they need us  for the majority of students and their families that is a very big thing.

Coleg Cambrias Inclusion Manager Lizzie Stevens praised Josh for his positivity and warmth in supporting learners with autism throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

Historically it has been a challenge to retain ASD learners because there is such a difference between school and college and that proves too much for them to cope with, she said.

But our new approach is already making a difference, ensuring that transition is as smooth as possible and being there as a constant source of support, not just when the students arrive but throughout their time at the college.

Josh has had such a positive effect and as a result our retention levels have never been higher, so as our numbers grow then we will grow with them and continue to deliver first class care and learning.

For more information, email learning.support@cambria.ac.uk or visit the website.
Vadodara:

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday targeted the RSS and BJP alleging that they did not give any importance to women and asked how many of them were seen attending the Sanghs shakhas.



He said in contrast, women work at every level in the Congress.



The BJPs thinking is that till women are silent they are good, when they start speaking up they try to shut them (women) up, Gandhi said at a gathering of students here on the second day of his election campaign in Gujarat.

Read | Modi in Vadnagar: 'I will go back with your blessings and assure you that I will work even harder for the nation'



Their organisation is the RSS. How many women are there in the RSS... Have you ever seen any woman in shakhas wearing shorts? he said in a sarcastic tone.



In the Congress you will see women at every level in the organisation, he said.



Khakhi shorts were a trademark of RSS volunteers which they used to wear during their drills in the past, before they changed to full pants over an year back.



Gandhi also said that if his partys government comes to power in Gujarat, it will give importance to women and try to resolve their issues.



The Congress leader began his second day of Navsarjan Yatra in central Gujarat region from Vadodara by addressing the students.

Read | Rahul Gandhi attacks Modi, says PM's Gujarat model has failed



He addressed 10 meetings yesterday and offered prayers at the famous Santram Temple in Nadiad.



In the first leg of the Navsarjan Yatra last month, Gandhi had travelled in the Saurashtra.

Inki (BJP) thinking ha jab tak mahila chup rahe, kuch bole na tab tak mahila theek hai jaise hi mahila ne muh khola usko chup karvao: RG pic.twitter.com/9io8Nf3vQP  ANI (@ANI) October 10, 2017

Inka (BJP) main sangathan RSS hai. Kitni mahila hain usme, kabhi shaakha mein mahilaon ko dekha hai shorts mein? Maine to nahi dekha: RG pic.twitter.com/cAxxmDqdw8  ANI (@ANI) October 10, 2017

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A digital version of Albert Einstein with a synthesized voice that has been recreated using AI voice cloning technology has been released by a startup company called Alforithmic.

Alforithmic's AI Einstein voice

The company behind the audio deepfake of Einstein stated that the digital Einstein is intended as a showcase of what will soon be possible with conversational social commerce, as seen on its YouTube trailer.

This means that deepfakes can make historical figures alive again and may be used by different industries soon.

The video engine powering the 3D character rending components of the digital version of Einstein is from another synthesized media company called UneeQ, which is hosting the interactive chatbot version on its website.

Also Read: Why Deepfakes Are Evolving and Its Effects on Your Business!

Alforithmic stated that it sees educational potential in bringing famous, long-deceased figures to interactive life.

The company added that it worked with an actor to do voice modeling for the chatbot, so there is more than artificial intelligence that is going on behind the scenes.

Matt Lehmann, the COO of Alforithmic, told TechCrunch that this is the next milestone in showcasing the technology to make conversational social commerce possible.

Lehmann added that there are still more than one flaws to iron out and tech challenges to overcome but overall they believe that this is a good way to show where this technology is moving to.

Alforithmic wrote in a blog post about how it recreated Einstein's voice the startup. He said in the blog post that progress is made on one challenging element associated with the chatbot version.

The company stated that it was able to shrink the response time between turning around input text from the computational knowledge engine to its API being able to render a voice response.

It was down from an initial 12 seconds to less than 3. But it is still enough of a lag to ensure the bot can't escape from being a bit tedious.

Protection from deepfakes

Laws that protect people's data and their image present a legal and ethical challenge to creating digital clones of living humans, at least not without asking first.

Historical figures are not around to ask questions about the ethics of their likeness being appropriated for selling stuff. Though licensing rights may still apply, and do, in fact, in the case of Einstein.

Before fessing up to the artist license element of the Einstein voice cloning performance, Lehmann stated that Einstein's rights lie with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who is a partner in the project.

Lehmann added that they didn't actually clone Einstein's voice but found inspiration in original recordings as well as in movies. The voice actor who helped them modeling Einstein's voice is a huge admirer himself, and the actor's performance captivated the character Einstein very well.

It turns out that the truth about high-tech has a lot of layers. But with deepfakes, it is not the sophistication of the technology that matters so much as the impact the content has and that is always going to depend upon context.

However well or badly the faking is done, how people respond to what they see and hear can shift the whole narrative.

Related Article: Deepfake Propaganda That Creates Fake Videos and Spread Misinformation, May Be Rampant Soon

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Sieeka Khan

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Over 18,000 Pentagon contractors remain in Afghanistan, while official troops number 2,500. Joe Biden will withdraw this smaller group of soldiers while leaving behind US Special Forces, mercenaries, and intelligence operatives  privatizing and downscaling the war, but not ending it.

(This article was originally published at CovertAction Magazine.)

On April 14, President Joe Biden announced that he would end the U.S.s longest war and withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan on the 20th anniversary of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Over 6,000 NATO troops will also be withdrawn by that time.

War in Afghanistan was never meant to be a multigenerational undertaking, Biden said during his remarks from the White House Treaty Room, the same location from which President George W. Bush had announced the war was beginning in October 2001. We were attacked. We went to war with clear goals. We achieved those objectives. Bin Laden is dead and al Qaeda is degraded in Afghanistan and its time to end the forever war.

Bidens claim that he is ending the forever war is misleading. As The New York Times reported, the United States would remain after the formal departure of U.S. troops with a shadowy combination of clandestine Special Operations Forces, Pentagon contractors and covert intelligence operatives. Their mission will be to find and attack the most dangerous Qaeda or Islamic state threats, current and former American officials said.

The Times further reported that the United States maintains a constellation of air bases in the Persian Gulf region as well as in Jordan, and a major air headquarters in Qatar, which could provide a launching pad for long-range bomber or armed drone missions into Afghanistan.

Matthew Hoh, a disabled combat veteran who resigned from the State Department in 2009 in protest of the war, stated that a genuine peace process in Afghanistan is dependent upon foreign forces leaving Afghanistan.

Further, Hoh said that, Regardless of whether the 3500 acknowledged U.S. troops leave Afghanistan, the U.S. military will still be present in the form of thousands of special operations and CIA personnel in and around Afghanistan, through dozens of squadrons of manned attack aircraft and drones stationed on land bases and on aircraft carriers in the region, and by hundreds of cruise missiles on ships and submarines.

Mercenaries R Us

The meaninglessness of President Bidens announcement becomes apparent when we consider that the Pentagon employs more than seven contractors for every serviceman or woman in Afghanistan, an increase from one contractor for every serviceman or woman a decade ago.

As of January, more than 18,000 contractors remained in Afghanistan, according to a Defense Department report, when official troop totals had been reduced to 2,500.

These totals reflect the U.S. governments strategy of outsourcing war to the benefit of private mercenary corporations, and as a means of distancing the war from the public and averting dissent, since relatively few Americans are directly impacted by it.

Most of the mercenaries are ex-military veterans, though a percentage are third-country nationals who are paid meager wages to perform menial duties for the military.

One of the biggest mercenary companies is DynCorp International of Falls Church Virginia, which as of 2019 had received over $7 billion in government contracts to train the Afghan army and manage military bases in Afghanistan.

From 2002 to 2013, DynCorp received 69 percent of all State Department funding. Forbes Magazine called it one of the big winners of the Iraq and Afghan Wars  the losers being almost everyone else.

A blueprint for U.S. strategy in Afghanistan is the 1959-1975 secret war in Laos, where the CIA worked with hundreds of civilian contractors who flew spotter aircraft, ran ground bases, and operated radar stations in civilian clothes while raising its own private army among the Hmong to fight the pro-communist Pathet Lao.

The CIA and Special Forces have again attempted to recruit tribal elements in Afghanistan and, like in Laos, have become enmeshed in inter-tribal and sectarian feuds.

For years, U.S. Special Forces operatives have also been training Afghan security forces as a proxy army and running Phoenix-style snatch and grab and assassination missions, which are poised to continue  despite the formal troop withdrawal.

US Special Forces in Afghanistan dress in traditional clothing and try to recruit locals for anti-Taliban operations "

What Uncle Sam really wants in Afghanistan

Republican hawk Jim Inhofe lambasted Bidens withdrawal plan, stating that this was a reckless and dangerous decision. 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.

Inhofe it should be noted is a war profiteer. He invested in the stocks of leading arms manufacturer Raytheon at the same time he was calling for an increase in the defense budget as Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Inhofes assessment is flawed because, among other reasons, the U.S. has not made much progress in 19 years of war (the Taliban, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, is stronger than at any point since 2001 and controls about one-fifth of Afghanistan), and Afghanistan was never really a breeding ground for international terrorists.

The 9/11 hijackers mostly came from Saudi Arabia, and the Taliban agreed to turn over Osama Bin Laden to an international court after the 9/11 attacks, which they never supported.

The Afghan War will go on indefinitely not because of the threat of terrorism  which is accentuated by the U.S. military presence  but because the United States will not concede ground in the region.

The U.S. has announced intentions to retain at least two military bases in Afghanistan after the official troop drawdown, and set up over 1000 bases during the war.

Uncle Sam also covets Afghans mineral wealth. A 2007 United States Geological Service survey discovered nearly $1 trillion in mineral deposits, including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold, and critical industrial metals like lithium, which is used in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and blackberries.

An internal Pentagon memo stated that Afghanistan could become the Saudi Arabia of lithium.

In 2001, when the U.S. first invaded Afghanistan, it was in the process of expanding its military infrastructure in Central Asia. Afghanistan provided a key way-station to this new oil dorado, which holds as much as 200 billion barrels of oil  about 10 times the amount found in the North Sea, and a third of the Persian Gulfs total reserves.

Afghanistan was further valued at the time as a key location for an oil pipeline that would transport Central Asian oil to the Indian Ocean while bypassing Russia.

Oil/gas pipeline plans through Afghanistan "

In the 1990s, the Southern California oil company Unocal began taking steps to build the pipeline, even courting the Taliban. In 2018, ground was broken on a new pipeline project backed by the United States that will carry oil from Turkmenistan to northern India.

The U.S. ruling establishments greatest fear is that a complete U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan might result in the U.S. losing a strategic foothold to its main geopolitical rivals, China and Russia, in Afghanistan

China has recently increased its trade and investment in Afghanistan  with which it shares a border  and has sought to cultivate better relations with the Afghan government and Taliban.

Russia, meanwhile, reopened a cultural center in Kabul in 2014, rebuilt an abandoned Soviet friendship center, expanded its embassy staff, boosted economic investment, and provided 10,000 Kalashnikov rifles to the Afghan government.

Moscow also supported Afghan housing projects and took advantage of contacts in Kabul to renew ties with ethnic power brokers in the North while quietly courting the Taliban.

As a previous CovertAction Magazine article documented, the current Afghan government led by Ashraf Ghani is largely a creation of the United States. Its military is funded by the United States at a cost of around $4 billion per year. This support is going to continue  unless Congress cuts it off  alongside large-scale U.S. foreign aid programs that amount to nearly $1 billion per year.

The U.S. wants to keep Ghani in power, or replace him with another proxy that can help it win the geopolitical competition with Russia and China, which is little different from the 19th century great game between Great Britain and Russia.

As long as the U.S. empire remains intact, the war as such will go on, and on  and on.
New Delhi, April 17 : The BJP on Saturday sought a thorough enquiry into the purported audio clip between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress candidate Partha Pratim Roy on Sitalkuchi violence.

A BJP delegation, comprising Swapan Dasgupta, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Shishir Bajoria and Shoumendu Mukherji, met the Chief Electoral Officer in Kolkata.

"It is apposite to mention that Banerjee has been repeatedly making statements to divide the electorate on religious lines. on Friday, an audio conversation surfaced in the public domain. The video has been made viral intentionally by fellow party men of Banerjee.

The intent is to secure their political interest by polarizing the votes of a particular community on religious lines," the BJP said.

They also alleged that the release of private conversation between the two individuals shows a deep rooted conspiracy.

"The time of release of the alleged audio is significant. Further, the admission regarding the authenticity of alleged audio in the AITC press conference reflects their intent," the saffron party said.

The BJP mentioned that the perusal of the audio reveals that statements are made to incite and aggravate the differences between two communities on religious lines.

The saffron party urged the poll body to conduct in-depth investigation to unearth how and by whom the alleged audio has been made viral.

"The conduct of Partho Pratim Roy (TMC candidate) pertaining to his communications with his associates is also required to be investigated. The identification of people involved in hatching this conspiracy is to be ascertained. Therefore, it is imperative to constitute an SIT team by the Commission," the BJP demanded.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
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.
In this 1902 photo provided by York Museums Trust, men survey the devastation of the landscape following eruptions of La Soufriere, a volcano on the island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean. On April 9, 2021, La Soufriere once again started spewing hot torrents of gas, ash and rock, forcing thousands to evacuate to government-run shelters and private homes. (Tempest Anderson/York Museums Trust via AP)

A group of nervous fish sellers got very close to La Soufriere, the volcano on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent, on the morning of May 7, 1902.

"The top of the mountain was covered in mist, and the foremost of them followed the path up to the base of the summit cone," according to a written account of their experience. "Some went up to quite near the lip of the crater, or possibly even to the actual edge. What they saw there was enough to dismay the stoutest hearts.

The volcano was about to erupt explosively, devastating swathes of the island. Last week, La Soufriere once again started spewing hot torrents of gas, ash and rock, forcing thousands to evacuate to government-run shelters and private homes.

Things look bleak, even if there are no reported casualties. Crops, fishing and other livelihoods are in peril. The pandemic was already battering the economy, including tourism. Still, regional aid is arriving, the United Nations plans to help, and the 1902 catastrophe is a reminder that St. Vincent recovered from massive eruptions in the past.

Recovery this time could take years, requiring sustained support from around the Caribbean and beyond, said Jenni Barclay, a volcanology professor at the University of East Anglia in Britain who co-authored a study on the impact, relief and response of the 1902-3 eruptions.

"The most important thing is making effective use of the resources that they do have, some of the resources that are actually just the ingenuity and the resilience of the people on the island," Barclay said.

St. Vincent is the biggest of the islands forming St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which gained independence from Britain in 1979 and has a population of about 110,000. In 1902, the warnings of the fish sellers who experienced the volcano up closethe thick steam, the scorched vegetation, the sulfurous smell, the constant shakingwere at first dismissed.

They were received with incredulity, and when they came to Georgetown they were scoffed at as fools and cowards, according to an account of the disaster commissioned by the Royal Society of London and published in 1903. The authors were Tempest Anderson, an ophthalmologist deeply interested in volcanoes, and geologist John Flett.

The names of the fish sellers are not included in the report about what happened on St. Vincent, where a white minority dominated a population that included the descendants of Indigenous inhabitants and enslaved Africans.

In this 1902 photo provided by York Museums Trust, the seared landscape is seen following the eruptions of La Soufriere, a volcano on the island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean. The 1902 catastrophe is a reminder that St. Vincent recovered from massive eruptions in the past. (Tempest Anderson/York Museums Trust via AP)

Clouds and a poor line of sight to the volcano top from the sugar cane plantations and places like Georgetown on the eastern side of St. Vincent contributed to uncertainty about what was happening. To the west, people had no doubt. They prepared to flee while watching an enormous column of vapor billow into a mushroom-shaped cloud, accompanied by showers of black, heavy material, and lightning and thunder.

(On April 8 of this year, the government ordered an evacuation of the 20,000 people living in the northern "red zone near La Soufriere following increasing volcanic and seismic activity. The explosive eruptions started the next day).

In the 1902 climax, a Great Black Cloud raced down the volcano's slopes, swept over homes and farms and surged out to sea, raining scalding ash, stones and sulfurous fumes on boats of people rowing furiously away.

On the east of St. Vincent, plantation workers gazed in amazement as the implacable black curtain descended toward them, then rushed indoors or died in the open. At Orange Hill, dozens crammed into a rum cellar.

One man stood by the door holding it ajar, to admit any who fled from the huts in the village. Forty were in the cellar, and all were saved. Thirty were in the passage leading into the cellar, and they were all killed, Anderson and Flett wrote.

An estimated 1,600 people died, though that cataclysm was eclipsed by eruptions, the worst on May 8, at Mount Pelee on the nearby French-held island of Martinique. At least 29,000 people died there.

Most of St. Vincent's casualties were in the east, possibly and partly because workers on large plantations were less able to make an independent decision to flee, according to the study that Barclay co-authored.

La Soufriere's continuing explosions hampered British-led recovery efforts for months, said the study, published in 2018. The eruptions accelerated the decline of the sugar industry, but other commodities recovered within a year or two, it said. New plants, including cacao, nutmeg and coffee, were introduced. Experimentation led to agricultural innovation.

The volcanic ash, which then and now spread as far as Barbados, about 110 miles (180 kilometers) away, nourished the soil. On Sunday, the Seismic Research Centre of the University of the West Indies posted a photo of St. Vincent coconut trees, fronds drooping under ash.

In this 1902 photo provided by York Museums Trust, residents are seen outside their home following explosive eruptions of La Soufriere volcano, in Chateaubelair, St. Vincent. Most of St. Vincent's casualties from the volcano in 1902 were in the east, possibly and partly because workers on large plantations were less able to make an independent decision to flee, according to Jenni Barclay, a volcanology professor. (Tempest Anderson/York Museums Trust via AP)

The impact on vegetation is devastating in the short term but beneficial in the long term, the group said.

The British navy delivered aid in 1902. The USS Dixie also brought relief, along with scientists and newspaper correspondents. In an account of the eruption build-up, The Boston Globe reported ''a noise like the monster guns of the world's navy in perpetual action.''

In recent days, a navy ship from Venezuela, a nation long in the grip of shortages, delivered water and other supplies to St. Vincent. Caribbean island nations are sending aid.

The 1902 and 2021 eruptions are ''possibly on a par'' in power and intensity, but it's difficult to make a ''direct comparison'' because a deep crater lake existed at the time of the earlier one, Barclay said.

When flowing magma hit the lake, vaporization created ''a huge additional extra energy and it generated pyroclastic density currents that were very fast-moving and deadly, early on in the eruptive sequence,'' she said.

Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe, is the purported writer of an account of an explosive eruption at La Soufriere in 1718, when Indigenous inhabitants effectively controlled the island. An 1812 eruption killed dozens, mostly enslaved Black people. Prior to this month, the last big eruption was during Easter 1979, causing mass evacuations but no deaths.

La Soufriere's history could inform St. Vincent's residents as they recover. In the meantime, unlike their ancestors, they are getting continual updates and guidance.

On Wednesday, emergency officials warned people not to play in volcanic ash covering St. Vincent. The ash contains tiny shards of rock and glass.

"Though ash may fall like snow,'' they said, ''it is deadly.

Explore further UN warns that impact of Caribbean volcano could affect other islands

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
While Pastor James Coates and GraceLife Church continue to fight for their right to congregate, other groups are cheering city authorities in their move against to totally shut down the church.

Protestia, a media outreach of Fellowship Baptist Church in Sidney, Montana, reports that "reverend" Gregg Latz, indicated in the press release as minister at Knox United Church, commented that it took long for the Alberta Health Service to enforce restriction orders on GraceLife.

"It took nearly four months for AHS to enforce orders that have been flagrantly, arrogantly, and repeatedly ignored by the church. This delay put hundreds if not thousands of lives at risk," he wrote.

Latz states in his argument that GraceLife Church has used "religious freedom" to exempt itself from public health regulations and even went to the extent of ignoring the "biblical imperative to obey governing authority."

In an interview, Latz said that it's important to cooperate with the government and to follow its public health orders.

"I think that when a church takes an anti-government stance or an anti-science stance or an anti-medicine stance, it's really putting its own members at risk and it's putting order in society at risk as well," he told CTV News.

Also displeased with the Knox United minister for expressing glee at GraceLife Church's closure, Protestia dug what they can about Latz and his church.

In Knox United's website, it described the church as an "affirming congregation in the United Church of Canada." The "affirming" means they celebrate people who are lesbian, gay, bi, trans, two-spirited, queer, and/or straight. The church's Twitter account also highlighted ''affirming" as its primary hashtag.

Protestia claims that Latz and the members of his church "hate God, hate Christ, and hate the bible."

"Any press release they issue condemning a faithful, biblical Church like GraceLife will simply heap more condemnation upon them," said its correspondent.

Protestia also noted how Knox United Church proudly uses a "gay unicorn" for its logo.

The church media outlet had also been covering news about discriminations on Christian churches. In a separate report, Protestia questioned the police and Alberta Health Services' partiality in their restriction orders when it comes to the Islamic community.

"Despite the prohibition on Christian Churches, these mosques have gone unmolested by police despite so many congregants. The person filming even notes that the place is "packed packed packed" and that there are school busses there, which they use to bus in participants and those who can't make it on their own," reports the outlet.

The embattled GraceLife Church continues to hold worship services according to several reports. The location was not disclosed for their protection.

But while the members congregate somewhere safe, a large group of people expressed their support. On Sunday, around 400 individuals gathered outside the church's property to protest the deemed tyranny. Many of them came from out of town with some from as far away as Grande Prairie and Lethbridge, reports Edmonton Journal.

"Grace Life Church appreciates the public outpouring of support to fully open churches in Alberta," said Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedom on behalf of their client.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-18 01:59:24|Editor: huaxia

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TUNIS, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Amid the surge of COVID-19 cases in Tunisia, Tunisian authorities on Saturday announced new measures to curb its spread.

"These measures will be applicable from April 18 to April 30," Hasna Ben Slimane, spokesperson of the Tunisian government, said during a press conference held at the government's headquarters.

The decision put a ban on all vehicles from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. local time, on top of the existing curfew which forbids people leaving their homes from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

"All businesses that do not respect the health protocol or the curfew hours will be closed immediately," Slimane warned.

Moreover, the country also decided to close all schools except the kindergartens and put a compulsory quarantine for all inbound travelers.

Describing the pandemic situation in Tunisia as "very critical," Nissaf Ben Alaya, director-general of the National Observatory of New and Emerging Diseases, said a new variant of the virus "is becoming the dominant strain circulating in the country." Enditem
2 1 of 2 Courtesy of Fresno County Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Courtesy of Fresno County Show More Show Less



One man was killed and two others were seriously injured in a shooting at a Fresno County vineyard early Friday morning, authorities said.

A group of about a dozen farm workers were pruning grapes at an undisclosed vineyard northwest of Huron when a disagreement broke out among the workers and two men opened fire around 7:30 a.m., said Tony Botti of the Fresno County sheriff's office. The men fled the scene by car, he said.
Carlil Pittman knows trauma firsthand.

As the co-founder of the Chicago-based youth organization GoodKidsMadCity-Englewood, he grieved the loss of Delmonte Johnson, a young community activist, more than two years ago to the very thing the teen fought fiercely against: gun violence.

Hes also been angered and frustrated by the onslaught of stories of Black Americans killed at the hands of police across the nation throughout the past year.

First, there was Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was fatally shot in her Louisville, Kentucky, home last March. Then there was George Floyd, whose Memorial Day killing by a Minneapolis officer sparked global protests. Just this week, Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was fatally shot by a police officer during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota  just minutes from where Floyd died. And on Friday, Pittman spent much of the day planning a demonstration with other Chicago organizers to protest the police killing of 13-year-old Adam Toledo, who was Latino.

Were constantly turning on the TV, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and seeing people that look like us who are getting murdered with no repercussions, said Pittman, an organizer for A New Deal for Youth. Its not normal to see someone get murdered by the click of a video on your phone, yet it has become the norm for our people, our Black and brown communities.

Many Black Americans are facing a collective sense of grief and trauma that has grown more profound with the loss of each life at the hands of police in America. Some see themselves and their children reflected in the victims of police violence, heightening the grief they feel. That collective mourning is a great concern to experts and medical professionals who consider the intersectionality of racism and various forms of trauma impacting communities of color a serious public health crisis facing America.

The racial trauma impacting Black Americans isnt new. Its built upon centuries of oppressive systems and racist practices that are deeply embedded within the fabric of the nation. Racial trauma is a unique form of identity-related trauma that people of color experience due to racism and discrimination, according to Dr. Steven Kniffley, a licensed psychologist and coordinator for Spalding Universitys Collective Care Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

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A lot of cities across the country are realizing that racial trauma is a public health issue, Kniffley said, citing health concerns such as increased rates of suicide among Black men, a life expectancy gap and post-traumatic stress disorder. Theres no other way that we can explain that except for the unique experiences Black and brown folks have based on their identity, and more specifically, when they encounter racism and discrimination.

Kniffley said each generation of Black Americans since slavery has faced its own unique iteration of racism and discrimination, which has manifested into a form of intergenerational trauma.

Weve essentially handed down 10 or 15 generations worth of boxes of trauma that have yet to be unpacked, and thats whats contributing to a lot of those biological and mental health related issues that were having, Kniffley said, noting the trauma extends beyond police violence.

In a 2018 study examining the mental health impact of police killings on Black Americans, researchers found exposure to police killings of unarmed Black Americans had adverse effects on mental health among Black people. Nearly half of Black Americans who responded said they were exposed to one or more police killings of unarmed Black Americans in their state of residence  either through word of mouth or the media.

That effect was found only in Black (Americans), said Dr. Atheendar S. Venkataramani, one of the authors of the study and a physician at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia.

Rashad Robinson, the president of Color of Change, said the trauma has also created generations of Black Americans who have valid mistrust of law enforcement agencies. And many are experiencing further mental anguish while watching the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who pressed his knee into Floyds neck.

We have a whole set of folks with badges and guns who are supposed to protect and serve and they do neither, Robinson said. "In order to survive, we have to integrate into a system in a structure which is brutal  brutal to our lives, our dignity, our health. It has collective and long-term impact.

While much of the media spotlight on police killings impacting Black Americans is focused on Black men, experts say its important to also highlight misogynoir  misogyny directed toward Black women. Black women experience misogynoir in various aspects of their lives but also in connection with police violence. The #SayHerName campaign was launched in 2014 to bring awareness to the lesser-known stories of Black women and girls who have been victimized by police. The hashtag flourished again after Taylor's death, prompting accusations of delayed justice in her case.

As a mom, Im constantly in fear for my son and my heart is broken by this country over and over again, said Aimee Allison, who leads She the People. It really calls into question how Black women in particular, whove sacrificed so much to serve this country in terms of democracy and bringing voters to the polls, upholding a vision of peace and justice for everyone else, how much more can we take?

Chicago resident Erendira Martinez said the Little Village community, a Chicago neighborhood with a majority Latino population, is also hurting, not just from Toledos killing but also from the trauma of losing other children to gun violence.

On Thursday night, just hours after the video of Toledos death was released, a 17-year-old girl was shot and killed in the same neighborhood. Martinezs own teenage daughter was shot and killed in Little Village in December.

We had just buried my daughter, and a month later, were burying this kid that grew up with my daughter," she said. "No mother should bury their child.

Some community organizations are working to address the trauma, said Aswad Thomas, chief of organizing for Alliance for Safety and Justice, who runs Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice, a network of more than 46,000 crime survivors from mostly Black and Latino communities. The group is releasing its first-ever National Crime Victims Agenda next week to address collective trauma.

The tragic truth is that police violence is the most horrific, visible symptom of a larger systemic problem of how our public safety system is designed and we need to address that head-on, Thomas said. But while also investing in the mom and pops who are on the front lines to violence, hosting the community vigils and interventions groups.

Uzodinma Iweala, CEO of The Africa Center, based in New York, said sometimes the thought of what he and so many other Black Americans have experienced is rage-inducing. He thinks of the times he and his brothers have been stopped by police. Or the time his uncle was called a racial slur by an officer. And how in each instance they prayed they would make it out alive  experiences he thinks some white Americans willfully ignore.

Were going to need a real fundamental examination of the roots of what America is, Iweala said. America refuses to acknowledge that America is not a country without the labor of and the blood, sweat and tears of Black people. Until America values those contributions, it will never value Blackness as a life form.

___

Stafford reported from Detroit. She is a national investigative writer with The Associated Press Race and Ethnicity team. Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Kat__Stafford. Noreen Nasir, a Chicago-based member of the Race and Ethnicity team, and Drew Costley in Arlington, Virginia, contributed.
The paper has been there for the opening of Customs House and Government House in 1845, St Marys Cathedral in 1882, Queen Victoria Building in 1898, Australia Square in 1967, Sydney Opera House in 1973 and Stadium Australia in 1999. While not usually as colourful as de Groots scene-stealing on the bridge, hundreds of events covered by the Herald have proven to be significant - and sometimes controversial - chapters in the citys history. According to University of Queensland emeritus Professor Peter Spearritt, author of such books as Where History Happened and The Sydney Harbour Bridge: A Life, a major factor in the citys growth has been the development of the public transport system from the late 19th century on. Sydneys first tram ran along Pitt Street in 1861. Credit:Fairfax Media While often overshadowed by the billions poured into the WestConnex motorway network and a new airport and aerotropolis in the south-west, the expansion of public transport has continued with light rail in the city, eastern suburbs and Parramatta and plans to extend the metro rail system.

But way back in September 1855, the Herald reported with some pride on the colonys first railway: a train weighing 200 tons had traversed the line from the Sydney station to Parramatta, signifying the passing from the iron to the golden era. The scene at the station was exciting, the story went. People of many climes, of all ages, and representing every class of society, congregated to witness the opening of the colonys greatest work. Once the official party had taken their seats in the vice-regal carriage and ticketholders jammed in wherever they could fit, the train set off to a 21-gun artillery salute and the waving of flags, hats and handkerchiefs. Leaving what was called Cleveland Paddock, it passed what the Herald called the village of Camperdown, the township of Cheltenham, Homebush Race Course then timber and thick scrub to reach a station just outside the township of Parramatta, which could be reached by free-of-charge omnibuses. End of an era: passengers cram into the last tram to La Perouse on February 25, 1961. Credit:Fairfax Media

Thousands who before were adverse to railways, thousands who sneered in their ignorance of the advantages they offered, thousands who were timid as to the capabilities and safety of a colonial line now became staunch friends of the railway enterprise, the Herald declared. That was the first step towards what Professor Spearritt calls the citys single most significant infrastructure achievement: electrifying the suburban railway lines. Until mass car ownership in the late 1950s and early 1960s, most of the population lived within 10 or 15 minutes walk of a train station or tram stop. It now seems strange that Sydney once had the worlds second most extensive tram system - behind only London - before it was dismantled as cars and buses took over. Just before Christmas in 1861, the Herald reported the first tram had started running along Pitt Street. It was drawn by four horses and carried passengers from Circular Quay to Redfern railway station in less than 10 minutes. The novelty of the sight attracted numerous groups - and in some places large crowds - of persons to the pavement to watch the progress of the strange looking conveyance, the paper said. The motion of the car is extremely easy and comfortable and passengers accustomed to the rattling and the jolting of the buses will appreciate the means now afforded of entirely escaping from those annoyances.

Steam and cable trams followed before the citys famous network of electric trams carried passengers to work, social occasions, the beach, the zoo and sporting events for 80 years. Then, in February 1961, a staff correspondent reported on the end of the electric tram era. With the last service pulling out of the city for La Perouse, Sydneys most characteristic, most criticised and most loved form of transport will have disappeared forever a hundred years after it started. The trams themselves, at least the best known - the toast-rack variety  were noisy, draughty and cumbrous, neither particularly attractive nor particularly comfortable, the paper reported. Yet they were homely and dependable and, in an age before the streets were being slowly strangled to death by private cars, reasonably punctual. Ferries are another much-loved part of the citys transport system, with a history dating back to when one plied a route between Sydney Cove and the new community at Parramatta in the early days of white settlement. Significant landmark: the main concourse at Central Station, in 1906. Credit:Fairfax Media

In August 1842, the Herald reported on a long-planned steam ferry punt taking a trial voyage across the Harbour: She steamed up Cockle Bay against a headwind and we are informed that the machinery worked admirably. It is expected that she will commence running in the course of a fortnight. While there are certainly more famous buildings, Peter Poulet, professor of practice architecture at Western Sydney University, believes Central Railway Station has played a significant role in the citys growth. As well as being part of what he calls the golden sandstone story, it became an architectural bookend so the CBD could expand from Circular Quay. When Premier Joseph Carruthers opened the station in August 1906, the Herald recognised that it was an auspicious event. The party gathered in the great booking hall, and Mr Oliver, Chief Commissioner for Railways, presented the Premier with a golden key wherewith to open the door of the ticket office, the paper reported. The Premier said he had very great pleasure in accepting the key. Silhouetted against the floodlit wall of Warragamba Dam, a surveyor sights his theodolite to check any movement of the wall in February 1960. Credit:Fairfax Media

He could only say that when he opened the door and declared the new building open for traffic, he hoped it would be associated with a continued era of prosperity in connection with the great railway system of the State. The official party sent off the first train to Parramatta in front of a large crowd: The train, driven by D. Moore and in charge of G. Douglas, the oldest driver and guard respectively in the service, then drew out from the station, amid much cheering. Queen Elizabeth II, Duke of Edinburgh, Sir Roden Cutler and Lady Cutler and Sir Robert Askin and Lady Askin at the Opening of the Sydney Opera House on October 20, 1973. Credit:Fairfax Media At a lunch in the refreshment room, the Premier noted in a speech that there had been differences of opinion about where the station should be located but they had to be sunk now. Professor Spearritt believes the construction of Warragamba Dam, with almost four times the capacity of five previous dams, was another milestone for the city for providing a reliable source of drinkable water, even if it has become the subject of controversy over whether the wall should be raised after flooding last month.

Opening the dam in October 1960, the Herald reported Premier Bob Heffron was almost spellbound by its size and had noted the city had come a long way since the water supply was from the Tank Stream. He unveiled a plaque in memory of the 10 men who had lost their lives building it. Loading When Mr Heffron and other official guests made an official inspection of the dam, the four radial crest gates were opened releasing great streams of roaring water, the paper reported. When Queen Elizabeth opened the Opera House in October 1973, an estimated one million spectators crammed into the harbour foreshores and city streets. She launched the giant ship of sail amid the greatest festivities in the nations history, the report went.
The emails sent by David Cameron in which he lobbied on behalf of Greensill Capital were revealed last night for the first time.

In a message in April 2020 to Matthew Gould, head of NHSX, the health service's digital arm, Mr Cameron described Greensill as 'the UK's leading fintech firm'.

The lender fell into administration in March.

Mr Cameron lobbied Mr Gould, who previously worked for him in government, about 'one of the businesses I now work with'  Greensill Capital, whose Earnd app was being piloted in several NHS trusts, the Sunday Times reported.

He also offered to introduce Mr Gould to Bill Crothers, previously one of Britain's most senior civil servants who, it emerged last week, took a job with Greensill while working in Whitehall.

The message raised further questions for Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, as Mr Cameron wrote to Mr Gould to say that the Health Secretary was 'extremely positive about this innovative offer'.

Last week it emerged Mr Hancock met Mr Cameron and Mr Greensill for a 'private drink' in 2019 to discuss a new payment scheme for the NHS.

Mr Cameron (pictured) lobbied Mr Gould, who previously worked for him in government, about 'one of the businesses I now work with'  Greensill Capital, whose Earnd app was being piloted in several NHS trusts, the Sunday Times reported

Senior Tory Sir Bernard Jenkin (right) appealed for Boris Johnson (left) to get a grip after a slew of revelations in the wakes of Greensill Capital's collapse into administration

Hunt for Labour 'moles' in government A network of Labour Party 'spies' is operating at the heart of Whitehall, feeding secret information to Sir Keir Starmer's team to destabilise the Government, senior Tory sources claim. The moles  Labour-sympathising civil servants  are believed to have played a key role in triggering the lobbying scandal which has allowed Sir Keir's party to construct a narrative of 'Tory sleaze' by leaking details of David Cameron's contacts with Ministers and officials. They are also suspected of using leaks to try to 'sabotage' the Brexit withdrawal negotiations last year, and to provide advance notice to the Labour leader about Government policies in the pipeline  giving him time to structure his responses. The Tory spy-hunters believe a 'cell' of Labour supporters, centred on the Cabinet Office, was activated last year after Dominic Cummings, Mr Johnson's former senior adviser in No 10, declared that a 'hard rain' was coming for the Civil Service as part of planned reforms to break up Whitehall's grip on the establishment. Mr Cummings is a long-standing critic of the Whitehall establishment, describing the permanent Civil Service as 'an idea for the history books' and proposing the abolition of senior civil servants' roles. Advertisement

The 2020 email to Mr Gould read: 'Greensill have recently launched a digital solution (recently rebranded from Greensill Pay to Earnd) which helps with one of the SOS's [Secretary of State's] and your key priorities: helping all NHS employees' welfare, morale, and wellbeing.'

The former Prime Minister asked NHSX to grant it access to the data of NHS employees.

Within months, Earnd announced a partnership to deliver rapid payment to up to half a million NHS staff, having secured deals to get access to the sought-after data.

A spokesman for Mr Cameron told the Sunday Times: 'These discussions were about the mechanics to ensure Earnd was delivered for NHS workers in an efficient way.'

Boris Johnson was today warned failure to tackle the 'shameful' lobbying storm could cost him votes as a crucial round of elections loom.

Senior Tory Sir Bernard Jenkin appealed for the PM to get a grip after a slew of revelations in the wake of Greensill Capital's collapse into administration.

Unless he is more 'transparent' the row could hit the 'Red Wall' support that delivered Mr Johnson's historic 2019 majority, Sir Bernard said.

The scale of damage could become clear within weeks, with a wave of elections on May 6 including councils, mayors and a by-election in Hartlepool - a seat traditionally held by Labour but within the grasp of the Conservatives if their working-class surge continues.

Mr Johnson has ordered a Cabinet Office probe overseen by a legal expert as he scrambles to defuse the lobbying row.

The saga deepened last week after it emerged the former head of government procurement, Bill Crothers, took a part-time position with the firm while in his Whitehall post.

In the latest revelations today:

A procession of former PMs are expected to give evidence to a Parliament inquiry into lobbying;

Environment Secretary George Eustice confirmed the official probe by Nigel Boardman will not make recommendations about tightening rules;

Mr Johnson is set to name a new adviser on ministerial interests tomorrow after the dramatic departure of Sir Alex Allan over his Priti Patel report;

Tories are hunting for a suspected group of Labour moles in government thought to have been leaking damaging stories;

Mr Cameron is facing calls for an investigation into a meeting with Philip Hammond amid suspicion that he may have used it to urge Government to support a 700million UK-China investment fund.

David Cameron's wife Samantha accompanied him on the trip to China where she attended a banquet to welcome her to China with fashion entrepreneur Wendy Yu (Samantha and Wendy pictured together)

Commons standards chief calls for probe into suspicion David Cameron lobbied Philip Hammond to back investment fund set up by friend Lord Chadlington

An inquiry into lobbying by David Cameron should also examine a meeting that the former Prime Minister had with Philip Hammond amid suspicion that he may have used it to pressure the Government into supporting a lucrative 700million UK -China investment fund, according to the Chairman of the Commons Standards Committee.

As PM, Mr Cameron  the subject of an independent inquiry by lawyer Nigel Boardman over his lobbying of Ministers and Whitehall officials on behalf of loans firm Greensill Capital  hailed a 'golden era' in trade relations between Britain and China.

After leaving Downing Street, he seemingly hoped to cash in with a new private equity fund proposed by his friend Lord Chadlington, who had donated thousands of pounds to his Tory leadership campaign.

By January 2018, Mr Cameron was back in Beijing, this time for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping (pictured together) about the initiative which could potentially net him millions

Mr Cameron flew to Beijing in September 2017 to discuss the plan with China's Vice Premier Ma Kai.

In October that year  15 months after stepping down as PM  he met with Mr Hammond, the then Chancellor, and two months later the Treasury gave its crucial support for the fund for which Mr Cameron was to be Vice-Chairman.

By January 2018, Mr Cameron was back in Beijing, this time for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the initiative which could potentially net him millions.

'Excellent meeting & enjoyable dinner with President Xi Jinping in Beijing, to talk about the 'Golden Era' in UK-China relations & plans for the new UK-China Fund,' he tweeted at the time.

Mr Cameron's office last night said his meeting with Mr Hammond had been only to seek Government support for the 'concept of a bilateral fund' and he had not lobbied Ministers on behalf of the fund's investors or partners.

He informed the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), which advises former Ministers and civil servants on outside employment, about the meeting, his representatives added.
Hong Kong: Parkes Building virus case probed

(To watch the full press briefing with sign language interpretation, click here.)

The Centre for Health Protection today said it is conducting an on-site investigation at the Ramada Hong Kong Grand in Tsim Sha Tsui to follow up on a confirmed local COVID-19 case involving the N501Y mutant strain.

The male patient arrived in Hong Kong from Dubai on March 19 and underwent quarantine at the hotel before moving to his friends place at Parkes Building in Jordan.

At a press briefing this afternoon, the centres Controller Dr Ronald Lam said the centre has not ruled out the possibility that the hotel was the source of the patients infection.

According to the law, he had to be quarantined in a designated hotel for 21 days. During that 21 days, he stayed at the Ramada Hong Kong Grand in Tsim Sha Tsui. We could not find the source of infection at this stage, but there are three possibilities.

One of the possibilities is that there could be a lapse in infection control in the Ramada Hong Kong Grand in Tsim Sha Tsui.

We need to see if that is a possibility, so the Centre for Health Protection Infection Control Branch, together with the Governments designated hotel team and also the Electrical & Mechanical Services Department and the Buildings Department are conducting an on-site investigation, looking at the ventilation as well as the drainage pipes and also the infection control practices of the hotel.

The on-site investigation is still ongoing. But preliminarily, for the room where he stayed, we have not found any problems with the ventilation as well as the drainage pipes.

Dr Lam said the centre will make public the findings once the investigation is complete.

Apart from this hotel, we would also conduct investigation at other Ramada hotels as well, he added.

This story has been published on: 2021-04-17. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
New dashcam footage shows the shocking moment a gunman with an AK-47 walked up to a patrol car and opened fire on the cops after a high speed chase.

Pier Shelton, 28, was killed after shooting and injuring the three officers in the early hours of Monday morning on an empty street in Carroll County, Georgia.

The incident began after police attempted to pull over a speeding car, which then set off a high speed chase with a suspect shooting at the officers from the passenger side window.

When the car crashed near a school, Shelton, armed with the AK-47, walked up to the patrol car and started shooting.

Dash cam video captured the moment Shelton appears and fires at least three rounds at point-blank range at the car.

One of the gunshots hit Carroll County Sheriffs Deputy Jay Repetto in the arm, injuring him, while another disabled the patrol vehicle.

Multiple gunshots can then be heard before the video comes to an end, with two deputies firing upon Pier.

Newly released dashcam video shows the moment a suspect fired upon Georgia police

Pier Shelton is identified as the shooter in the video, who is later killed by police

The video shows the patrol car approaching the suspects after they crashed their car

When they reached the suspect, however, he opened fire on the police car with an AK-47

Shelton was killed during the incident, while his cousin, Aaron Shelton, 22, who had also been in the car, was arrested and charged with five counts of aggravated assault and three counts of aggravated battery.

Aaron Shelton is being held without bond.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigations did not identify which of the Birmingham, Alabama natives was the shooter in the video, but WJCL reports the shooter was Pier, who was quickly killed.

The incident began around 3:34am on Monday, when a Georgia State Patrol trooper caught a 2015 Nissan Sentra driving 111mph down Interstate 20.

Aaron Shelton, 22, faces numerous charges in the exchange that resulted in his cousin's death

Rob Holloway needed to be airlifted to a hospital after being shot in the head. Chase Gordy was struck twice during the shooting, but was later released from the hospital

The driver stopped when a traffic stop was initiated, but proceeded to speed off when officers approached.

According to the GBI, the trooper was able to do a 'precision immobilizing technique' - where the officer slams their front bumper into the back bumper of a vehicle to force it off the road.

But the attempt was unsuccessful.

Jay Repetto was hit in the arm during the shooting, but quickly released from the hospital

When the trooper attempted a second maneuver, the passenger of the Nissan Sentra began firing at the car.

The Carroll County Sheriffs Office, Carrollton Police Department, and Villa Rica Police Department all joined the pursuit at that point.

The passenger continued firing at the police, hitting Carrollton Police Department Sergeant Rob Holloway, who ultimately crashed his car into a utility pole.

The Nissan Sentra eventually crashed near Ithica Elementary School, which is when Shelton began shooting.

Villa Rica Police Officer Chase Gordy was shot twice at some point following the crash.

The suspects then exchanged fire with Repetto, who was hit in the arm, and Carroll County Corporal Jamison Troutt, who was not injured and whose vehicle was the origin of the dashcam video.

Troutt was following the chase when Holloway was shot and injured and chose to continue chasing the suspects while other officers rendered aid.

Repetto was treated and released for his injury immediately, while Gordy and Holloway were transported to another hospital.

'We are thankful to our community for the outpouring of support for all involved and we continue to ask for your thoughts and prayers for those injured and affected by this horrific incident, the Carroll County Sheriff's Office said on Facebook.

Pictured: Police officers stand at the scene following the wild chase on Monday morning

Pictured: Law enforcement working the scene following the deadly incident

'I have seen a lot in my years,' spokesperson Ashley Hulsey said, according to 11Alive. 'Watching this video sent chills up my spine.'

Gordy, the officer who was struck twice, was later released from the hospital, while Holloway needed to be airlifted to an Atlanta hospital after being shot in the head, where he remained as of Wednesday.

'He is able to move both hands and feet and hold a cup and drink through a straw on his own,' Sgt. Meredith Browning said, according to WSB-TV.

'All of his scans came back with positive news. No evidence of spine injuries nor broken bones. His color and vital signs are 'perfect.''
Auburn trustees voted Friday to freeze undergraduate tuition for the first time in 30 years.

Students and parents continue to face financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the university said in a news release, and a bump in state appropriations for the upcoming fiscal year allowed the school to consider the move.

Undergraduate tuition will remain at $5,898 per semester for Alabama residents and $15,978 for out-of-state students, spokesman Mike Clardy confirmed after the vote.

Trustees typically approve a roughly 2% bump each year, about in line with rising tuition costs elsewhere in the country.

The university did decide to increase a mental health fee slightly by $5, as a result of more students using resources on campus. Officials say the additional fees may fund two new staff members who can help provide mental health services.

Auburn, which modified its fall offerings but returned to a mostly in-person spring semester, has nearly 31,000 students.

The Board of Trustees also agreed to a $30 increase in the student services fee, which is currently $858, as well as a 2% increase in housing rates at Auburn and AUM.

Auburn last increased its housing rate in fall 2020 and AUM last did in fall 2015, according to the school.

The University of Alabama System is expected to consider its tuition rates at its June meeting. The system earlier this month approved slight increases for some of its medical professional programs.

Get in-depth education news and follow The Alabama Education Lab by signing up for its newsletter, Ed Chat. See recent stories here.
Launching a blistering attack on chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that the Trinamool Congress supremo has an old habit of doing politics with dead bodies and she is trying to do the same with the unfortunate death of five people at Sitalkuchi in Coochbehar on April 10.

"She has an old habit of doing politics with dead bodies and has been trying to politicise the "unfortunate" death of five people at Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar district on April 10. The truth is that Didi thought of her own political gain from the death of people in Coochbehar; she has an old habit of doing politics with dead bodies," Prime Minister Narendra Modi told this during a rally at Asansol on Saturday.

The Prime Minister was perhaps referring to the audio clip that the BJP released on Friday that had an alleged 'conversation' between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress candidate of Sitalkuchi Partha Pratim Ray, where a female voice, purportedly of the chief minister, is heard asking "Partha" to "keep the bodies so that the party could hold a rally with the dead". It is then heard asking the Trinamool candidate "to tell the families not to take the bodies home".

Later, at a rally in Gangarampur, giving a detailed chronology of the abuses the chief minister has used against him, PM Modi said that the Trinamool Congress chief's politics is not limited to just "protests, but it has crossed a dangerous limit of vengeance. After four phases, TMC is broken to pieces and 'Didi, bhatija' will be vanquished after eight phases of elections (are completed)," he said.

The Prime Minister further asserted that the BJP government, if voted to power, will work for the aspirations of the people of Bengal. He alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has stood as a wall between West Bengal's people and central welfare schemes, depriving them of benefits.

Modi also slammed Mamata Banerjee for skipping several meetings called by the Centre to discuss many key issues, including two recent meetings over the emerging Covid-19 situation in the country. "The Central government has convened meetings to discuss several topics many times, but didi does not attend these meetings citing some or the other reason," he said.

"This region has the potential to become the industrial centre of India for a long time. From cycle to rail, from paper to steel, from aluminium to glass - people come from all across India to work in these factories. People used to come here for employment but today people from here are migrating. Didi, who speaks of Ma Mati Manush, has spread 'mafia raj' here," he said in Asansol.

Speaking in Gangarampur he said, "After May 2, I assure that all the farmers would get their dues. The farmers were deprived of their legitimate claim because 'Didi' stopped us from giving your due. Once we come to power, we will send 18000 rupees to the accounts of the famers. We will make every effort to make this place an international trading hub," he added.
The three bovine escapees are seen in the middle of their big breakout.
PARIS  The highest court in France has ruled that the man who killed a Jewish woman in 2017 in an anti-Semitic frenzy cannot stand trial because he was in a state of acute mental delirium brought on by his consumption of cannabis.

Kobili Traore, who has admitted to the killing and is in a psychiatric institution, beat Sarah Halimi, 65, before throwing her out the window of her Paris apartment to cries of Allahu akbar, or God is great, and I killed the devil.

Mr. Traore, who was 27 at the time, had been troubled by Ms. Halimis mezuza, which amplified the frantic outburst of hate, according to one psychiatric report.

The verdict, more than four years after the killing, ended judicial proceedings in France for the case. The verdict came after a lower-court ruling rejected a trial, and the Halimi family appealed. President Emmanuel Macron made an unusual personal intervention by calling for the case to have its day in court. Outrage in the large French Jewish community has accompanied the long failure to try Mr. Traore.
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THIS couple had initially planned a wedding with 200 guests, but ended up having only 19 due to Covid  but that didnt dull the sparkle of their special day.

Clare Moran (nee OKeeffe), of Ballincollig, and Cian Moran, from Galway, who now live in Carrigaline, originally met on Tinder  however, it turned out they had mutual friends.

Clare and Cian getting a guard of honour outside the church in Ballincollig

Clare said: Im in the army band, and Cians in the navy, and one of my friends from the bands fiancee was in Cians cadet class in the navy. So we had the connection there.

They got engaged at the start of August, 2020, in Morocco, on the rooftop terrace of their Riad.

They were married on December 5 in the church of St Mary and St John in Ballincollig.

Clare and Cian first met on Tinder, but had mutual friends in common.

Cian wore his navy uniform, and Clare had a princess style dress. She did her own make-up on the day, but Aisling Kelleher (Polkadotdreaming) did her hair.

Clare said: Thankfully, all of my family were able to make it to the wedding  my parents, my two brothers, my two sisters, my brother and sister-in-law, and my two nieces and nephew.

"Unfortunately, only Cians parents and one of his brothers were able to come, as his sister, Caoimhe, works with the NHS in Manchester, and his brother, Eoghan, and sister-in-law, Audrey, live in Corsica, and with the restrictions, they werent able to make it over. They watched the live stream from the church though.

The couple with their wedding party.

Clare said the ceremony was so special for a few reasons.

Because of the lockdown, it was the first time any of us had seen each other for a long time, so it was amazing to see mine and Cians family and friends when I walked in.

I also had my two-year-old niece, Aoibhin, as a flower girl, and shed grown so big since Id last seen her.

Hand in hand.

My brother David and my friend Carol played the music for the ceremony, as they are both professional musicians. Im so lucky to have such talented friends and family!

They had the reception in the Oriel House afterwards, which they said was amazing and nothing was too much trouble.

Their First Dance was Your Song from Moulin Rouge. Clare is a big musical fan.

Cutting the cake.

As to the most memorable thing about the day?

They said: Having most of our closest friends and family around us, having not seen them for so long.

"We had initially planned for a big wedding with 200 guests, but because of the restrictions, we only ended up having 19. With the exception of some of Cians family and his groomsman not being able to make it, it really was the perfect day, and we couldnt imagine it being any different.
Cheong Wa Dae announced its latest Cabinet reshuffle Friday. From left are nominees to join the Moon Jae-in government: Kim Boo-kyum, a former four-term lawmaker with the DPK and a former minister of interior and safety, as new prime minister; Noh Hyeong-ouk, former chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination as land minister; Moon Sung-wook, deputy head of Office for Government Policy Coordination as minister of trade, industry and energy; Lim Hye-sook, chief of the National Research Council of Science Technology as science minister; An Kyung-duk, a standing member of the Economic, Social Labor Council as minister of employment and labor; and Park Jun-young, vice minister of oceans and fisheries as the new minister of oceans and fisheries. Yonhap



Moon replaces prime minister, five Cabinet members



By Jung Da-min



President Moon Jae-in announced a Cabinet reshuffle, Friday, widely seen as being focused on ensuring stability rather than pushing a reform drive in his fifth and final year in office, according to political watchers the same day.



They also said the shakeup was aimed at bringing new momentum to his leadership following the crushing defeat of the ruling party in the April 7 by-elections.



In the by-elections, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea lost in both mayoral elections in the nation's two largest cities of Seoul and Busan to the main opposition People Power Party amid growing public anger against the Moon administration's failed real estate policies and a snowballing land speculation scandal involving employees of the state-run Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH).



In the reshuffle, which could be his final one before leaving office in May 2022, the President nominated Kim Boo-kyum, a former four-term lawmaker and minister of interior and safety, as his new prime minister to replace Chung Sye-kyun, who resigned to prepare for a presidential bid.



After being nominated, Kim told reporters that he will devote his strength to helping the country overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and restore the people's livelihoods after his appointment following a parliamentary confirmation hearing.



Kim in particular pledged to "place greater effort towards cooperative governance, inclusion and national unity." He added, "I won't hesitate to ask for cooperation from the opposition party."



Along with the prime minister, Moon replaced five Cabinet members, including Land Minister Byeon Chang-heum, who has been under fire for speculative land deals involving civil servants at LH, which he formerly headed.



The other nominees are Lim Hye-sook, chief of the National Research Council of Science Technology, as science minister; Moon Sung-wook, deputy head of Office for Government Policy Coordination, as minister of trade, industry and energy; An Kyung-duk, a standing member of the Economic, Social Labor Council, as minister of employment and labor; Noh Hyeong-ouk, former chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, as land minister; and Park Jun-young, vice minister of oceans and fisheries, as the new minister.



"The fact that most of the minister nominees have bureaucratic experience shows that Moon's Cabinet reshuffle is not focused on bringing about new policy reform drives, but on stabilizing state administration to appease public opinion," said political commentator Lee Jong-hoon.



Another political commentator Park Sang-byoung said Moon's pick of minister nominees consists of insiders who have already been verified, rather than bringing in talented figures from outside. He added that this was because Moon did not want to risk pushing ahead with other policy reforms and was more focused on completing the rest of his presidency in a stable manner.



"When new figures from outside join the administration, public officials at government departments feel nervous as they have to work to adjust to the new leadership. But when those from inside become the new heads of government departments, the officials and the new leaders can work as one team until Moon's presidency ends," Park said.



Meanwhile, Moon also replaced five senior officials, including naming former lawmaker Lee Cheol-hee as the new senior presidential secretary for political affairs and former lawmaker Park Kyung-mee as the new presidential spokeswoman.



The prime minister and minister nominees are subject to a National Assembly confirmation hearing.


A network of Labour Party 'spies' is operating at the heart of Whitehall, feeding secret information to Sir Keir Starmer's team to destabilise the Government, senior Tory sources claim.

The moles  Labour-sympathising civil servants  are believed to have played a key role in triggering the lobbying scandal which has allowed Sir Keir's party to construct a narrative of 'Tory sleaze' by leaking details of David Cameron's contacts with Ministers and officials.

They are also suspected of using leaks to try to 'sabotage' the Brexit withdrawal negotiations last year, and to provide advance notice to the Labour leader about Government policies in the pipeline  giving him time to structure his responses.

Tory spy-hunters believe a 'cell' of Labour supporters was activated last year after Dominic Cummings, Mr Johnson's former senior adviser in No 10 (pictured together in September 2019), declared that a 'hard rain' was coming for the Civil Service

The Tory spy-hunters believe a 'cell' of Labour supporters, centred on the Cabinet Office, was activated last year after Dominic Cummings, Mr Johnson's former senior adviser in No 10, declared that a 'hard rain' was coming for the Civil Service as part of planned reforms to break up Whitehall's grip on the establishment.

Mr Cummings is a long-standing critic of the Whitehall establishment, describing the permanent Civil Service as 'an idea for the history books' and proposing the abolition of senior civil servants' roles.

Soon after entering Downing Street in 2019, he became embroiled in a power struggle with Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill, which eventually led to Sir Mark being replaced by the Duke of Cambridge's former private secretary, Simon Case.

Deputy Cabinet Secretary Helen MacNamara also left, along with two other departmental permanent secretaries reportedly on a Cummings 'hit list'  Sir Philip Rutnam at the Home Office and Sir Simon McDonald at the Foreign Office.

These Whitehall wars were being fought as the story broke about Mr Cummings' infamous 260-mile trip from London to his parents' home in Durham during lockdown, leading some sources to speculate at the time that 'dark forces' had been behind the expose.

Disruptive leaks from inside No 10 soon started appearing in sympathetic media outlets  such as the revelation in the Financial Times last September that the Government was planning legislation which would breach international law by letting the UK unilaterally rewrite parts of the Brexit departure agreement.

A network of Labour Party 'spies' is operating at the heart of Whitehall, feeding secret information to Sir Keir Starmer's (pictured) team to destabilise the Government

The story wrought havoc with Downing Street's negotiation strategy just as the Brexit talks were entering a critical stage.

Mr Cummings was himself ousted from No 10 later in the year amid the fallout from an internal power struggle with the Prime Minister's fiancee, Carrie Symonds; but by then, 'the well had been poisoned', according to one source.

The revelations about Mr Cameron  that during his time as Prime Minister, he appointed Greensill Capital founder Lex Greensill as an unpaid adviser and that after leaving office, Mr Cameron was employed by the company and lobbied Ministers for access to Government-backed loans  has mushroomed into a much wider scandal which has shone a light back on to the Civil Service's own murky practices.

Informed sources say this is not an accident. Tory officials caught up in the row are out for revenge on the civil servants they believe have been undermining them.

In addition to texting Chancellor Rishi Sunak's private phone, it was revealed that just hours after Greensill's bid for emergency loans was rejected, Mr Cameron sent a message to No 10 adviser Sheridan Westlake, telling him the decision was 'nuts'.

It is understood Mr Cameron first tried to lobby Mr Westlake by phone. Aware of the unconventional nature of the approach, Mr Westlake told him to put his points in writing and send it to his official No 10 email address.

Mr Westlake then forwarded the email to civil servants in No 10 and the Treasury  which is where the leak is thought to have come from.

Within days of the contents of the email being revealed last week, Lord Pickles, who vets Ministers and mandarins' new jobs as chairman of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), revealed that Bill Crothers, a senior civil servant, had been allowed to work for Greensill Capital without being vetted.

The revelations about David Cameron (pictured) has mushroomed into a much wider scandal which has shone a light back on to the Civil Service's own murky practices

Lord Pickles said he was 'very worried' by conflicts of interest in Whitehall. Mr Westlake is a former special adviser to Lord Pickles from the Acoba chairman's time as a Cabinet Minister, and the two men have been close political allies for more than a decade.

Last night, a senior Tory source said: 'It is very unusual for civil servants to leak material directly to the media, but it is less unusual for them to pass it to political parties.

'They can then disseminate it in order to cause maximum damage. 'Labour also seem to know a lot about what is being discussed inside No 10 on issues such as vaccine passports before we have announced anything.

'But the lobbying row could end up consuming civil servants as well. What Pickles did looked a lot like revenge.'

There are now a total of seven inquiries into the fallout from the lobbying scandal, including a lawyer-led probe ordered by Mr Johnson, a Whitehall review by Mr Case, and a review by the Committee on Standards in Public Life.

Mr Case is also yet to reveal the conclusions of his investigation  launched six months ago  into the identity of the 'chatty rat' who effectively bounced the Prime Minister into announcing the second lockdown in November by releasing details of a meeting attended by just four Cabinet Ministers.

Mr Cameron's lobbying activities were yesterday revealed to have extended to the German Government, with the former PM making representations to the German ambassador in November on behalf of a Greensill subsidiary and pushing its case to win a contract from the German civil service.

With Mr Cameron said to be 'pretty depressed' about the damage caused to his reputation, a source close to the former Prime Minister said he was preparing for a fightback.

The source said: 'There are a lot of misrepresentations he is keen to clear up: he was not employed as a lobbyist by Greensill, and he only did so because of the fraught economic situation and the proposals for small businesses, which he thought had merit.'
We've heard the announcement by the Tourism Ministry that cultural workers are to get priority access to vaccines and travel exemptions.
Where do we as creatives draw the line between art and filth? "Them" would fall under the latter.

"Them," Amazons newest horror series, which was released this past Friday, stands as a large reminder of the way "people of color sometimes participate in their own degradation," per Angelica Jade Bastien at Vulture.

OTHER TERRIBLE CINEMA: Netflix's 'Two Distant Strangers' is more triggering than thought-provoking

I should've known that the show would be utter bulls--- when I realized that Lena Waithe  the woman behind "Queen & Slim" was also behind the foolishness that is "Them."

There's this notion, in Hollywood and beyond, that having Black artists behind the lens will somehow change the narrative of the content we see onscreen. Sometimes, it's just the opposite and seemingly worse. Black people can never just exist in film, there always has to be some type of pain or struggle. Created by our own, Black pain and struggle portrayals are that much more degrading, and it shows in series like "Them."

Created by Black writers and producers, "Them" is not only a flagrant copy of Jordan Peele's cinematic creativity, but a violent display of racism and horror.

For the show to be created by African American people, the subject matter itself is vigorously anti-Black. The imagery throughout the series is nothing short of horrific, and not in a way that would keep you wanting more  the show gets so graphic, it makes you want to turn it off completely.

The show spans over 10 days in the year 1953, following the Emory family and their journey from North Carolina to Compton, Los Angeles. The show chronicles the difficulty of a Black family moving into an all-white neighborhood, and the terrorism they face on a daily basis. The terrorism the Emory family faces isn't mild or bearable enough for television  the show includes golliwogs hanging from nooses along the Emorys porch, supernatural undertones, rape and even the death of a newborn baby via a game of "cat in the bag." Why would this need to be on TV?

Courtesy Amazon Prime

The show is so visually terrible, I couldn't stomach watching the entire series. By the fifth episode I was completed disgusted.

Black directors and producers need to rid themselves of the notion that content like this is "pushing the envelope"it's just bad television. Black people are surrounded every day by the trauma of Black death, especially recently with cases like Daunte Wright and George Floyd. But shows like "Them" only aggregate that trauma.

BLACK PAIN IN FILM: 'Judas and the Black Messiah' is a one-watch cinematic masterpiece

Circling back to my initial point of people of color inflicting pain on their own, it's very scary to think about the mind of the Black person who created such a show.

We have to get rid of the idea that this type of content makes for good television or that it's even digestible for their audience. It's just bad television all around.

"Them" isn't as thought-provoking as the creators may think it is. The show is despicable and should've never been created.
BRIDGEPORT  Army veteran. Steelworkers union representative. State senator.

Ed Gomes accomplished so much in 84 years before his untimely death last year from injuries sustained in a car crash.

But one thing he didnt live to see was the revival of the Greater Bridgeport Black Democratic Club he had been instrumental in forming earlier in his life.

A group of activists is picking up the effort, forming a club in Gomes name to identify and support potential candidates and advocate for causes that ensure equity, justice and parity for the Black community, which is too often marginalized and disenfranchised, they announced in a press release.

When he retired it was one of his goals, Nichola Hall, the clubs chairperson, said during an interview. When he passed unfortunately he hadnt gotten a chance to start it. We thought this would be a great idea to make sure that his legacy lives on, to make sure that his presence is still felt in the community. He played such a pivotal role in so many peoples lives.

Hall recalled countless meetings of community organizations where Gomes would appear and instantly be treated with so much respect and admiration, befitting his role as a towering figure in city politics for decades.

Despite that, he would put audiences at ease with anecdotes, stories, and political lessons.

It was almost like you were at a campfire, Hall, assistant director of the Bridgeport school districts food and nutrition program, said. I was always enamored by him. The folks that are part of this group, the club, thats what we want to hold on to. And we hope to be able to follow in his footsteps.

First Vice Chair Emma Brooks, a Stratford resident and former Town Council member, agreed.

Anything Ed Gomes supported I supported wholeheartedly, primarily because of his integrity in a world where that seems non-existent in many cases, she said. Any time you talked to Ed on the political level he would mention the Black Democratic Club of old. He would always say we need to get that back together again.

Beyond identifying potential candidates, Hall and Brooks mentioned issues like school funding and the questions looming over Bridgeports Water Pollution Control Authority as issues the club will be more involved in.

Other officers include Michelle Bradshaw of North Haven, treasurer, and Ronelle Swagerty of Bridgeport, secretary. Founding members also represent the towns of Shelton and Trumbull.

State Sen. Marilyn Moore, D-Bridgeport, whose district includes Trumbull, serves as the clubs adviser.

Moore ran a mayoral campaign against incumbent Mayor Joe Ganim that came close to defeating the citys political machine in a September 2019 primary, with the mayor relying on absentee ballots to eke out a victory.

Moore claimed fraud in the citys absentee ballot process. An investigation by Hearst Connecticut Media Group revealed a system rife with irregularities  including voters who said they were pressured to vote for the mayor and received ballots despite not requesting them  but Ganims victory was upheld in court.

Hall and Brooks said that they didnt form the club as a direct challenge to Ganim, or Mario Testa, the longtime Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee chairman and close Ganim ally. But they are challenging the status quo  and said local politicians should get onboard.

Hall said the group has a core of educated black women  she has a masters in human resources and is pursuing her doctorate  who have a mission, and the mission is to make some changes here in Bridgeport.

She said the club will get behind anything that garners change, especially for Black and brown people. And open and transparent discussions about what has to happen. Were well overdue.

I dont want to wait 400 years for changes to happen, Hall said. I would love to see small, progressive changes. I would love for Bridgeport to be part of more positive news.

We havent seen great results, Brooks said. Our quality of lives havent improved in years. But our focus is preparation, recruitment, knowledge, empowerment.

For more information about the Greater Bridgeport Ed Gomes Black Democratic Club, email blackdemocraticclub@gmail.com or call 475-282-1982.
CANONSBURG, Pa.  Every year, Eric Miller brought his son Aidan to the famous Fourth of July parade in Canonsburg, an hourslong procession that draws tens of thousands of spectators, with lawn chairs set out along the route days ahead of time.

Since Aidan was 5, he felt the stirrings of patriotism and yearned to put on a uniform. Mr. Miller did not want his son to enlist. He worried as only a parent can that Aidan would be sent to a combat zone.

But straight out of high school, Aidan fulfilled his dream in this patriotic town south of Pittsburgh, where there are crisp American flags around memorials to veterans in front of the municipal building. Today, Aidan is 20 and stationed with the Army in Kentucky. And this past week, his father exhaled in profound relief when President Biden announced that American troops would be coming home from Afghanistan.

Im not a Biden fan but Im for that, pulling the troops out of there, said Mr. Miller, 46, a salesman. He dismissed the arguments of some Republican officials and military leaders that Taliban extremists would overrun the country once Americans left. We cant babysit everybody, he said.
Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

A few clouds. A stray severe thunderstorm is possible. Low 66F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds. A stray severe thunderstorm is possible. Low 66F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.


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Susan Graham, a retired nurse who lives in Houstons Near Northside neighborhood, was bemused as she recalled the beginning days of the Stop TxDOT I-45 group, which she cofounded a couple of years ago.

Back then, she says, she just loaded up her Kia Soul with yard signs and waited outside community meetings on the subject with an email sign-up list and a Mason jar for donations.

Her neighborhood, she knew, might not suffer the worst direct impacts from the Texas Department of Transportations $7 billion plan to rebuild and expand I-45  the North Houston Highway Improvement Project, as its officially known. But it would be indirectly affected by noise and air pollution. Even worse, the I-45 expansion plan would displace hundreds of families and businesses in the direct pathway of the plan. It could also create scary conditions for children at Bruce Elementary School, which is in the shadow of several major arteries as it is.

At the very beginning of this fight, we heard so many people say to us, You cant fight TxDOT. You cant do it, Graham told me Friday morning, as we picked our way through the puddles on Jensen Drive, to take a look at the streets that would be affected by the the I-45 rebuild if it goes forward as planned.

What I would like Houstonians to hear is that we can have input  not control, I dont think  but we can have input and impact on how our city is designed and what our priorities are for what we want our city to look like. We can have that voice, and we can make a change.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Supporters of I-45 widening say pause puts promises of relief on hold, too

Just a few months ago, that might have sounded like an overly optimistic view. But theres a new sheriff in town. A new secretary, to be more precise.

When President Joe Biden tapped former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg to lead the Department of Transportation, it was an indication that the department would have an unusually high public profile in Bidens administration.

Buttigieg, 39, had made a vivid impression on voters during the course of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, notably edging U.S. Sen Bernie Sanders to win the Iowa caucus before dropping out and throwing his support to Biden on the eve of the all-important Super Tuesday contests. A veteran, a Millennial, and the first openly gay Cabinet member to be confirmed by the Senate, Secretary Pete brings a youthful verve as well as big plans to DOT.

Some of those plans, we now know, have to do with Houstons roads. Last month, Achille Alonzi of the Federal Highway Administration sent a letter to James M. Bass, executive director of TxDOT, asking the state agency to pause its plans for the I-45 expansion, pending its own review of letters from U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Air Alliance Houston, and Texas Housers on the subject. The letters raised concerns under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as well as environmental justice issues.

To allow FHWA time to evaluate the serious Title VI concerns raised in the letters referred to above, we request that TxDOT pause before initiating further contract solicitation efforts for the project, Alonzi wrote.

This request, is just that: a request, not a demand wrapped in the bland euphemisms of bureaucracy. Still, it sends a pretty clear signal that the administrations priorities are aligned with local leaders including Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo.

Several days after the Federal Highway Administration sent its letter to TxDOT, Harris County filed suit against TxDOT under the National Environmental Policy Act, asking a judge to put the states plans on hold pending a more thorough environmental review.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Harris County sues to stop I-45 rebuild plans by TxDOT

Neal Ehardt, a software engineer and another member of the Stop TxDOT I-45 group, who lives in Fourth Ward, told me hes pretty ecstatic about these developments.

I see it as a movement about complete streets  about providing pedestrian access first, followed by bicycle access, followed by car access, with mass transit provided to most people who want it, he said, adding a question for another day: Why is there a freeway here at all?

Adrian Garcia, Harris County Commissioner for Precinct 2, said he hopes all of this will help create a conversation, if not about the necessity of the I-45 rebuild itself, then about how the current plans might be retooled for the greater good.

The singular approach here in Harris County seems to be widen and add more concrete, Garcia said. We obviously well know enough the ramifications of what expanding and adding more concrete has done to this community. Its created flooding; its displaced people, mostly of color; and its invited more traffic.

He added that it puzzles him that the discussion over the I-45 expansion has remained essentially static since his years on Houston City Council, more than a decade ago. Plenty has changed in the transportation world, after all, from the imminent advent of new technology such as autonomous vehicles to the giant question mark that the COVID-19 pandemic has created around the future of commuting.

Look, were in the 21st century. Hello, were landing things on Mars!, Garcia said. So why do we have a highway system that is rooted in the 50s and 60s?

A good question. And the broader conversation is one that supporters of the I-45 expansion plan, as well as its opponents, should welcome.

If you really want to live in the suburbs, thats OK. Thats a choice, Graham said. But when you make that choice you have to understand that you cant do that at the expense of the city that sustains you.

erica.grieder@chron.com
Panaji, April 17 : The Goa government on Saturday banned the export of oxygen cylinders outside the state because of an increase in the requirement of the same to treat the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the state, said state Health Minister Vishwajit Rane.

"In view of the rising Covid-19 cases in Goa, the requirement for oxygen has gone up. Export of oxygen cylinders outside the state, therefore, has been banned with immediate effect. All industrial oxygen requirements will be diverted towards the health services, GMC and Covid hospitals," Rane tweeted.

"Necessary directions have been issued to the state Health Secretary to coordinate with the respective collectors to issue an order under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, in public interest and to save people's lives," the Minister said.

Goa registered a record 927 cases in 24 hours on Friday, taking the count of total active cases in the state to 6,321.
Police: Fatal stabbing might have been result of 'robbery gone wrong'

A stabbing victim taken to a Berkeley County hospital Friday night died. Police think the stabbing might be the result of a 'robbery gone wrong.'
New Delhi, April 18 : Hours after warning of shortage of beds and oxygen amidst exponential surge in Covid-19 patients in the national capital, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said he has apprised the Union Health Minister about the situation.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Kejriwal said that coronavirus is spreading exponentially and nobody knows when it would reach its peak. "I spoke to Union Health Minister and told him that there is now a huge shortage of beds, oxygen, Remdesivir, and Tocilizumab, which must be made available by the Central government for adequate treatment of Covid-19 patients," Kejriwal said.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister also pointed about shortage of beds for Covid-19 patients in two main Central government-run hospitals - AIIMS and Safdarjung hospitals. "In AIIMS, there are a total 11,62 beds of which only 23 have been reserved for the Covid patients while Safdarjung hospital has around 2,900 beds out of which only 204 have been reserved for Covid patients," Kejriwal claimed.

He said, "I requested the Union Health Minister to reserve at least 50 per cent beds for Covid patients. Similarly, ICU beds should also be provided." Kejriwal stated that, in November, the Central Government had allotted around 4,100 beds in its hospitals when Delhi was facing the third wave of coronavirus and the highest daily tally was 8,500. As of today, the Centre has provided only 1,800 beds in its hospitals while the daily Covid-19 cases have crossed 24,000 on Saturday.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Prosecutor Generals Office asked to check correctness of forensic examination in Cherkalin case

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

18:44 16/04/2021

MOSCOW, April 16 (RAPSI) - The Prosecutor Generals Office and the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation have received complaints about the unreliability of the forensic examination on the assessment of the market value of 49% participation interest in Yurpromconsulting LLC, and a statement on initiation of a criminal case against the investigators.

Both appeals are related to the episode in the high-profile case against FSB Lieutenant Colonel Kirill Cherkalin, the victims in which are businessmen Igor Tkach and Sergey Glyadelkin.

Position of defense

"The essence of the complaint is simple. The investigation had the company's accounting and financial statements, but did not hand them over to forensic experts. They did not take into account any debts of the company, overestimating its value, in a such extent that the resulting negative value became positive. To reach the estimate of 600 million, the experts were also not being given a loan agreement for 1.9 billion rubles ($60,9 million on the valuation date), the debt under which is reflected in the company's accounting and financial statements, as well as in many other independently available documents. Taking into account just this debt makes the company's value negative: not plus 637 million rubles as experts believe, but less than minus 637 million rubles," says attorney Viktoria Burkovskaya of 'Egorov, Puginsky, Afanasiev and Partners' bureau.

She draws attention to the fact that the criminal case for the 12 billion rubles (about $187,5 million on the date of arrest) found in Cherkalins apartment was not even initiated.

"Introducing himself in court as deputy chairman of the board of directors of 'Avenue Management' company, Igor A. Tkach had failed to mention the fact that he had been one of the key public officials of the construction authorities of the Moscow Government for 3 years and has managed on a co-investment agreement between Moscow Government and Yurpromconsulting on behalf of the city for more than 2 years. In relation to Tkach, petitions had been also sent to the Prosecutor's Office of Moscow and the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for Moscow area in order to initiate criminal proceedings against him in connection with his secret participation in the commercial activities and management of various companies,(non disclosure and conflict of interest), while he held senior positions in the Government of Moscow, including in Ecostok LLC, which owned 49% participation interest in Yurpromconsulting.

Now, according to SPARK Interfax, 'Avenue Management' company has debts for the payment of taxes for over 13 million rubles, on 13 enforcement proceedings on unpaid tax bills, and operations on its accounts have been suspended by the Federal Tax Service. The company is owned by Glyadelkin and Tkach. After leaving the public civil service in the summer of 2011, Tkach, according to the Austria company registry, acquired 27% share in Glyadelkin's Avenue Holding GmbH, net assets of which exceeded 100 million euro, for just 50 thousand euro. The growth of the company's net assets from almost zero to 100 million coincides with the period of Tkach's public civil service," the attorney claims.

In 2009, the Moscow Government decided to terminate the urban development project in the Levoberezhny microdistrict, in which Yurpromconsulting participated as one of the co-investors. At the end of November 2011, the Russian Parliament has adopted a law on the immunity of the City of Moscow under the any contracts with the city before January 1, 2011, according to which the recovery of damages from the city in case of termination of co-investment or investment contracts with the city became completely impossible.

Cherkalin case

In addition to the bribe of 850,000 US dollars, Cherkalin is charged with involvement in fraudulent actions, which the investigation considers to be providing Glyadelkin and Tkach with deliberately false information "that unknown officials of the Mayor's Office are aiming to stop the investment project of Yurpromconsulting" in January 2011, and based thereon recommended to sell the pledged 49% participation interest in the company that were a security for a loan of 1.9 billion rubles. The investigation never established who these officials were.

The project was managed by Mosnadzor as the legal successor of the Department of Investment Construction Programs of Moscow. In 2008, due to changes in the Russian Budget Code, the centralized investment budget fund of Moscow, which financed the project, was liquidated, there were changes in the land laws and regulations, and non-competitive allocation of land plots for construction with participation of private companies has become impossible. Therefore, the city had no legal grounds to proceed with the project, which was stated in numerous administrative acts of the Moscow Government.

Cherkalin's confessionary statements that Glyadelkin was allegedly threatened with a criminal case against him were not confirmed, this hypothesis was not included in the pre-trial agreement, and was excluded from the indictment. Since Glyadelkin was a participant in the sting operation of the FSB, accordingly, he could not be brought to criminal liability.
Imperial County Board of Supervisors Approve New River Pollutant Monitoring Project

Imperial, California - On Tuesday, the Imperial County Board of Supervisors, sitting as the Air Pollution Control Board, approved an agreement with Sonoma Technology, Inc. (STI) for carrying out the New River Pollutant Monitoring Project in Calexico, in the amount not to exceed $335,322. This project will assist the Imperial County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) in satisfying a key goal of its Community Air Monitoring Plan (CAMP) for the AB 617 Program Community Corridor of El Centro-Heber-Calexico. STI was recommended for approval by the AB 617 Community Steering Committee (CSC) at their February 10, 2021 meeting for being the most cost-effective choice and satisfying all necessary requirements.

Through this project, STI will collect high quality measurements of various air pollutants for a duration of six month at one location within Calexico in proximity to the New River. In addition, STI will perform data analysis, draft a final report, and present a summary of findings to the CSC. Contingent on the findings and actions recommended by the CSC, the APCD will determine the next steps on addressing this potential emissions source that is a concern of the community. The project is expected to begin data collection in August of this year and conclude January of next.

I thank our Board of Supervisors for supporting this project that will benefit the community of Calexico and our Imperial Valley said Matt Dessert, Imperial County Air Pollution Control Officer and co-chair of the AB 617 CSC, Id also like to commend our AB 617 Community Steering Committee for their hard work and collaboration in identifying this project and seeing it come to fruition.

Chairman of the Board and District 3 Supervisor, Michael W. Kelley, stated, The Board of Supervisors applauds these efforts by our dedicated community members of the AB 617 steering committee. Through AB 617 and the work of our APCD, the County is committed in supporting whatever actions necessary to make cleaner air a reality for all those within our county.

As part of the AB 617 program, the APCD collaborates with Comite Civico del Valle and community members to develop air monitoring and emissions reductions plans designed around local air quality concerns. The program was established in the El Centro-Heber Calexico community corridor in 2018.

The New River Pollutant Monitoring Project is funded through the AB 617 California Air Resources Board Community Air Protection Program and will have no impact to the County General Fund.

For more information, please visit the El Centro-Heber-Calexico AB 617 website at www.icab617community.org.
Israel turns 73 years old this week. But the Jewish National Funds free annual party, Breakfast for Israel, will be Sunday April 18. Its a virtual breakfast with fascinating special guests--- the stars of smash hit TV series (now on Netflix) Fauda. The title is Arabic for chaos, the aptly named thriller set amid the collision of Israeli and Palestinian politics.

Its a nationwide event; the breakfast begins here in New York at 1:30 p.m.

Breakfast for Israel started in 2003; we didnt know if anyone would still be interested in attending without the lox and bagels, Jewish National Fund communications director Stefan Oberman said. Not only did we see record numbers attend our last Breakfast  we also realized people relished the opportunity to be on a video call and speak to so many other people from their community who they hadnt seen in many months.

Oberman said JNF aid helps build medical centers in the Negev Desert and Galilee, creating playgrounds and supporting the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, which boasts on its website that it is dedicated to preparing future leaders from Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and around the world.

The Jewish National Fund-USA named Albanys Lauren Iselin to be local chairwoman of Women for Israel. Shes also been a leader at Beth Emeths congregation. She is proud that JNF funds ag-tech education including a program that invites farmers from developing African nations and Southeast Asia to come to the Negev Desert for classes in sustainable farming and environmentalism.

We then provide grants to the farmers when they return to help them implement their learnings, Iselin explained. She adds that JNF supports young people in Israel with intellectual disabilities by offering them experiences such as what its like to pilot a Boeing 737.

The kids got to pilot a fully-operational flight simulator big enough to allow for wheelchair access.

I think this is a world first, Iselin said.

She added that JNF supported development of water saving technologies that allowed Israel to recycle 90 percent of its water for use in agriculture.

In comparison, the U.S. recycles approximately 1 percent of its water, she said. We invite the entire Capital Region community to join our free virtual breakfast for Israel on April 18.

For those who havent binge watched Fauda, the series kicks off with Israeli agents chasing a Palestinian terrorist they thought was dead. Its been called the Israeli version of the HBO series, Homeland which often sparked vehement reactions.

Palestinian journalist Yasmeen Serhan wrote in The Atlantic that Fauda is told from an Israeli viewpoint focused on Israeli characters yet Fauda doesnt ignore the Palestinian perspective. The shows creators avoid portraying Palestinians as some homogenous Other, dedicating much of the second season to highlighting intra-Palestinian political disagreements, which divide even members of the same family. The show also highlights the inherent power imbalances between Israelis and Palestinians.

For a chance to hear more from Faudas stars, visit the JNF website and register for the breakfast.
Delhi Friday recorded the biggest single-day jump of 19,486 fresh COVID-19 cases and 141 deaths due to the disease, according to data shared by the health department. On November 18 last year, the city had recorded 131 COVID-19 deaths, which was the highest single-day fatality count in Delhi till April 15 since the start of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the government has also issued an order "reiterating the guidelines of COVID-19 dead body management to ensure better management of dead bodies of COVID positive/suspect persons at the mortuaries of various hospitals" under the Delhi government.

On Thursday and Wednesday, the city had recorded 16,699 and 17,282 cases respectively. This is the fifth record daily rise in cases in the national capital in the last six days. The positivity rate fell marginally to 19.69 per cent from Thursday's 20.22 per cent, the highest so far. With the fresh cases, the national capital's cumulative tally has risen to 8,03,623. The death toll stands at 11,793, according to the latest bulletin.

A total of 98,957 tests, including 64,939 RT-PCR tests and 34,018 rapid antigen tests, were conducted the previous day, the bulletin said. So far, over 7.3 lakh patients have recovered in Delhi, it added.

The number of active cases in the city increased to 61,005 from 54,309 the day before, the bulletin stated. The number of people under home isolation increased to 29,705 from 26,974 on Thursday, while that of containment zones mounted to 9,929 from 8,661 the day before, it said.

The Delhi government has also issued an order for linking of public and private sector diagnostic labs to ensure timely processing of samples for COVID-19 test, the authorities said on Friday. Also, Delhi Health Minister chaired a meeting with all heads of departments of Maulana Azad Medical College and LNJP Hospital on COVID-19 situation, they said. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Jain visited GTB Hospital on Friday and reviewed its patient admission system.

"Met some of the patients and also interacted with the Doctors. I would like to thank the medical staff who have been working round the clock and saving people from Corona," Sisodia tweeted. They also visited Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital on Friday.

Delhi MLA and chairman of LNJP Hospital's Rogi Kalyan Samiti, Raghav Chadha inspected the triage and casualty area of the LNJP Hospital, along with the medical director and his team. Ironing out the kinks with the objective of ensuring "hospitality at the hospital" and to boost ease of admission for patients is the government's aim, officials said.

Also read: Weekend lockdown in Delhi: No dine-out; malls, gyms, spas, markets closed
Newly released body camera footage shows 13-year-old Adam Toledo in the final moments of his life, running from police down a Chicago alleyway at 2:38 a.m.

An officer, sprinting after him, can be heard on his body camera video yelling, "Stop, right f***ing now." As Toledo stops and turns to the officer with his hands raised, the officer opens fire. Police said a gun was found a few feet away from the teen. An attorney for Toledo's family said he wasn't holding a gun when he was shot, but an attorney for the officer says Toledo was armed.

Toledo's shooting  which occurred after a police foot chase, a practice the Department of Justice says can be dangerous and lead to compromised judgment  places new scrutiny on the department's history of using force after chasing suspects.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has called for a review of the city's foot pursuit practices, a request that advocates and oversight groups have recommended for years.

Sarah Yousuf, associate director of city and county policy for the Community Renewal Society, said, "Words don't really describe how horrific it is that now, a 13-year-old has lost his life, despite the fact that organizations such as ours have been advocating and fighting for just a policy like a foot pursuit policy which CPD has resisted."

Frank Chapman, the executive secretary of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, said, "I think that Lightfoot is late." He advocates for greater accountability and civilian oversight of policing and noted that Toledo's death draws parallels with prior Chicago police killings of Black and brown teenagers who were running from police.

A rally in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood over the shooting death of 13-year-old Adam Toledo on April 16, 2021. / Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski / Getty

Dakota Bright, a 15-year-old freshman at Robeson High School, was killed while running from police in 2012. An autopsy found that a police officer shot him in the back of the head.

The city's Independent Police Review Authority determined the shooting was "unprovoked and unwarranted" and recommended the officer be fired. The Chicago Police Board, however, cleared the officer of wrongdoing and approved him to return to work.

Story continues

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that after that decision was issued, Bright's mother, Panzy Edwards said she broke down crying. She told the publication her first thought was, "My baby died in vain."

Chapman said that when such similar incidents repeat, "It feels like injustice. It feels like police crimes perpetrated against us with impunity."

A 2017 report from the Department of Justice found that foot pursuits are "inherently dangerous" and pose risks to both officers and the public because officers can experience fatigue or adrenaline, which can compromise their ability to make sound judgments or use less force as the threat diminishes.

The report wrote of Chicago police, "We found that officers engage in tactically unsound and unnecessary foot pursuits and that these foot pursuits too often end with officers unreasonably shooting someoneincluding unarmed individuals."

The Justice Department opened its investigation into the Chicago Police Department after the 2014 death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who was shot and killed by Chicago police officers after running from police who chased him in their cars. Video of the incident shows police shooting McDonald, who was carrying a knife in one hand as he walked down the street.

In 2017, the state of Illinois filed a lawsuit against the city of Chicago, saying they wanted to prohibit Chicago police "from engaging in a repeated pattern of using excessive force, including deadly force, and other misconduct that disproportionately harms Chicago's African American and Latino residents."

The suit argued that Chicago police officers engaged a "repeated pattern of using deadly force against suspects fleeing on foot who pose no immediate danger to anyone."

As part of that lawsuit, a judge ordered the city to comply with five years of monitoring by an independent group. The monitoring group said that last year, Chicago police issued a training bulletin and retrained its officers on preferred tactics for foot pursuits.

The monitoring group said that while the training bulletin met requirements, "interviews with officers continue to demonstrate there has not been the requisite buy-in, particularly with officers who have served for longer periods of time." The monitoring group wrote, "There is a sense that these concepts go against the culture of the organization and will take reinforcement at all levels of the organization."

The monitor also determined on March 5 that in addition to training, the department should adopt a foot pursuit policy  a recommendation that echoed one made four years ago by the Justice Department.

In its 2017 report, the Justice Department wrote, "CPD has long had detailed policies regarding vehicle pursuits. It does not have a foot pursuit policy. It should. In addition to not having a policy, CPD has not taken corrective action to address problematic foot pursuits. This puts officers and the public in danger and results in unreasonable uses of force."

The Chicago Police Department's audit division found that the department conducted on average about seven foot pursuits each day. From March 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020, Chicago police took part in 1,301 foot pursuits, 29% of which resulted in a use of force, the independent monitor found. Of those foot pursuits, 20 resulted in the use of deadly force.

After the independent monitor released its most recent report, the Chicago Police Department said in a statement that while "much work remains to be done," the department has implemented significant reform measures, including additional in-service training.

The statement said, "The City and CPD remain committed to fulfilling not only the requirements delineated by the consent decree, but to going above and beyond what is outlined toward making the Department a true leader in police reform."

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SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Congregation Shaara Tfille and The Jewish Community Center will offer a private, virtual tour of The Jewish Museum in New York City at 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 27.

The tour will center on the theme of "Exploring Identity at The Jewish Museum: The Language of Art." Attendees will be led through a selection of artworks from the museums collection of 30,000 paintings, sculpture and ceremonial objects demonstrating how artists addressed themes of immigration and identity.
Overseas holidays finally beckon for Australians trapped at home for 13 months with the New Zealand travel bubble launching on Monday.

Airlines scheduled hundreds of flights to Australia's closest neighbour within minutes of the announcement and have huge promotional deals on offer.

But with the constant threat of borders being slammed shut by even one Covid case on either side of the Tasman, many are understandably wary of being stranded.

A travel expert has revealed the five things Australians should know before jetting off to New Zealand

Immanuel Debeer, from travel advice company Flight Hacks, urges Australians to book their flights anyway - but take steps to avoid disaster.

The first and most important thing is to know your airline's terms and conditions so there are no nasty surprises should you have to abruptly cancel.

'On launch day we will have access to Qantas and Air New Zealand with Virgin Australia not joining the party until later this year,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'Depending on where you live, it may make more sense to go with one over the other if they offer direct flights to your intended location.

'While both airlines have flexible policies, only Qantas will guarantee you a full refund in case of a cancellation.

'Qantas offers to either rebook you at no additional cost or a full refund, but Air New Zealand will rebook you but fare differences might apply and only a voucher is given as a means of refund.'

Flight Hacks Founder Immanuel Debeer (pictured) has offered five travel tips for New Zealand-bound holiday makers

Mr Debeer said those seizing the opportunity to venture overseas also need to be prepared for the possibility of borders closing suddenly, leaving them stranded or facing quarantine upon return.

This means knowing your travel insurance coverage and ensuring you have funds to support an extended trip if needed.

Arrangements also need to be made to ensure you can work remotely, if possible, should you be forced to quarantine on return or be stuck in NZ.

'Politicians tend to freak out even when there's only one case. It's important you know this might happen in which case you might get stuck for a few weeks or face quarantine on your return,' Mr Debeer said.

'I wouldn't go unless I had the funds to stay longer than I anticipated. Check with your employer if there is work from home flexibility in case something happens.'

Mr Debeer said now is an ideal time to book accommodation and tourist activities as prices are low but are bound to surge once the industry begins to bounce back. Pictured: Tourists paragliding in Queensland

Qantas and Air New Zealand will be the first airlines taking part in the trans-Tasman bubble, but difference cancellations policies apply for each carrier

Most insurers will cover traditional travel policy items, such as cancellations or medical costs, but he is yet to find a provider that will pay out if a government implements a travel ban.

Should either government reintroduce mandatory isolation requirements, you will not be covered for the cost of quarantine and will have to foot the bill.

For those wishing to escape Australia to travel somewhere other than New Zealand, the new-found tourism bubble is the perfect chance.

Although Australians are not permitted to leave the country without a legitimate excuse, New Zealand does not have restrictions on outgoing passengers.

'In Australia you need to have a valid reason to travel abroad, such as professional or compassionate grounds, and a lot of evidence is required. You have to apply and your case gets assessed,' Mr Debeer said.

'If you wanted to bypass these regulations, you could fly to New Zealand then to where ever you want to go.'

Mr Debeer said airlines will be running frequent flyer promotions during the early stages of the trans-Tasman bubble but they are likely to peter out as international travel picks up

But do not expect a smooth return home.

'Just keep in mind that upon your return, you will face an expensive 14 days in quarantine and potentially lengthy delays as spots on flights are extremely limited,' he said.

'There are also lots of chances your flights will get cancelled because there are only limited arrivals each week.'

Mr Debeer's fourth tip is to seize the opportunity to use 'book now, cancel later' options as accommodation and activity providers' low fees and policies will soon change as tourism picks up.

'If one positive thing has come out of this whole mess it's the fact that lots of businesses have extremely generous and flexible policies when it comes to cancellations,' he said.

'There's a good chance the Aussie influx of tourism will eventually push prices higher for things such as car rentals, hotels, and flights so if you've been eyeing up a ski trip to Queenstown, get onto it now and make up your mind later.'

Flight Hack Founder Immanuel Debeer's five tips for New Zealand-bound travellers 1. Know your airline terms and conditions Qantas and Air New Zealand will be the first to run flights across the Tasman, with Virgin Australia joining later this year

Qantas will guarantee you a full refund in case of a cancellation and offer to either rebook you at no additional cost

Air NZ will rebook you may need to pay fare differences and only a voucher is given as a means of refund 2. Accept the fact you might get stuck Borders restrictions may change while you are overseas

Be prepared by ensuring you have flexible work arrangements, adequate insurance, and enough funds to support yourself if your stay is extended or you are forced to quarantine 3. If you want to escape Australia, you can Australians must apply to leave the country (to places other than New Zealand) and must have a legitimate excuse

Once in New Zealand, Aussies can travel to other nations as there are no restrictions on outbound passengers

However, those who leave will struggle to secure a flight home and will be forced to quarantine upon return in Australia 4. Book now; cancel later A lot of tourism business have discounted rates and flexible policies due to the industry down turn amid the pandemic

There is a good chance this will soon change as tourism starts to pick up

That means now is a good time to lock in deals and cancel them later if you change your mind 5. Points are priceless Frequent Flyer points seats will be more accessible during the early stages of the travel bubble as airlines offer promotions

Now is a good time to dip in and redeem some for a ticket to New Zealand Advertisement

The final hack to keep in mind before booking a trip is how to best maximise frequent flyer points to score a cheap fare.

Airlines usually reserve frequent flyer tickets to a limited number of seats, but Qantas will be running flights with all seats bookable using points.

'Now's a good time to dip in and redeem some for your next getaway. The first three days, Qantas flights are running points planes and flyers will be able to use their frequent flyers,' Mr Debeer said.

'Air New Zealand used to be a unicorn when it came to using frequent flyer points, but there are now many seats opening up to frequent flyers. '

'The beautiful thing about frequent flyer points is that you can cancel or change your flight with very little notice (perfect these days) and cost to you.

'And you can redeem them for business class flights to New Zealand without spending the big bucks.

'I myself booked a return business class flight with Air New Zealand on their B787 Dreamliner from Perth to Auckland for just AU$167 return, not a bad deal.'

The long-awaited trans-Tasman bubble will kick off on April 19, giving Australians the chance to venture abroad for the first time in more than 12 months. Pictured: A tourist admires marvelous clay cliffs in Omarama, in the southern end of the Mackenzie Basin in the North Island

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern last week announced the trans-Tasman bubble, which will allow travellers to fly without needing to quarantine, would begin this month as both countries enjoy low Covid-19 cases.

But the Kiwi leader warned that with the pandemic still wreaking havoc in many other parts of the world the rules could be subject to rapid change if an outbreak occurs in either country.

Australians heading to New Zealand will be kept separate from other international arrivals who are still required to go into mandatory hotel quarantine for 14 days.

Ms Ardern has said there will be no vaccine requirement when travelling in the trans-Tasman bubble, but strict Covid protocols will still be carried out.

Passengers will be required to undergo random temperature checks, wear facemask during the flight and must download New Zealand's Covid Tracer app.

All travellers on board a 'green zone flight' must also have been in Australian for at least 14 days before departure.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

MINSK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th April, 2021) Belarus Health Minister Dmitry Pinevich received a shot of the first locally produced Sputnik V vaccine, the ministry press office said on Friday.

On Wednesday, Belarus approved Sputnik V vaccines manufactured by state-run Belmedpreparaty enterprise. The company is the first local producer of the Russian made vaccine, with its manufacturing started in February.

"Health Minister Dmitry Pinevich has been inoculated with the first Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 produced by RUE 'Belmedpreparaty,'" the statement, published in Telegram, said.

The minister said that "it could be officially stated that the batch has entered mass circulation."

According to Belarusian state newspaper SB.BY, hospitals will start vaccination campaign on Monday after earlier receiving the vaccines manufactured by Belmedpreparaty.

Pinevich added that Minsk continues working on the full localization of Sputnik V production, citing plans to create own vaccine.

Belarus was the first country following Russia that registered Sputnik V vaccine for mass vaccination in December.
Its layers of earls and marquises, dukes and barons are what make England England. But theyre not my cuppa tea. Once, the aristocracy paid for its privileges by riding into battle alongside their king. The cannon and machine gun ended that trade-off. Now a title simply marks someone who has been raised to think he is entitled to it.
Amid coronavirus restrictions, Britain has had to adjust how it grieves over the past year. And with current rules allowing for just 30 people at funerals, the royal family scaled back plans for the service for Prince Philip.

A select handful of his closest family members were the only ones allowed in St. Georges Chapel. They were required to wear masks, follow social distancing guidelines and refrain from singing, Buckingham Palace has said.

So who were those 30 people?

First, of course, there is Queen Elizabeth II. Like the rest of the family, she wore a face covering and had to sit at least six feet from other attendees.

Several family members took part in a procession behind Philips coffin before entering the chapel. The custom-built hearse was followed by his daughter, Anne, the Princess Royal; and by his son Charles, the Prince of Wales. Directly behind them were their younger brothers, Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex; and Prince Andrew, the Duke of York.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (April 17, 2021) reviewed the availability and supply of ventilators, oxygen and medicines as the number of COVID-19 cases surged to a record high.

PM Modi said there is no substitute for 'testing, tracking and treatment', and that early testing and proper tracking remain key to reducing mortality.

"Together India had defeated COVID-19 last year and India can do it again, with the same principles but faster speed and coordination," he said.

The meeting chaired by the PM reviewed the preparedness to handle the COVID-19 situation, PM Modi said local administrations needed to be proactive and sensitive to people's concerns.

Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said, "Reviewed preparedness to handle the ongoing COVID-19 situation. Aspects relating to medicines, oxygen, ventilators and vaccination were discussed. Like we did last year, we will successfully fight COVID with even greater speed and coordination."

Reviewed preparedness to handle the ongoing COVID-19 situation. Aspects relating to medicines, oxygen, ventilators and vaccination were discussed. Like we did last year, we will successfully fight COVID with even greater speed and coordination. https://t.co/cxhTxLtxJa  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 17, 2021

The prime minister called for utilising the entire national capacity across private and public sectors to produce vaccines, amid concerns in various states about lack of these essentials to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

ISSUE OF REMDESIVIR SHORTAGE

On the issue of shortage of nit0viral drugs Remdesivir, an official statement released n=by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said he was briefed on the actions taken to address the issue of the availability of Remdesivir.

"Through the efforts of the government, capacity and production augmentation for manufacturing of Remdesivir has been ramped up to provide around 74.10 lakh vials/month in May while the normal production output in January-February being just 27-29 lakh vials/month," it noted.

The prime minister directed that the use of Remdesivir and other medicines must be in accordance with approved medical guidelines and that their misuse and black marketing must be strictly curbed.

Supplies have also increased from 67,900 vials on April 11 going up to over 2,06,000 vials on April 15 which are being particularly focused on states with high caseload and high demand.

SUPPLYING VENTILATORS AND OXYGEN

On the issue of the supply of medical oxygen, PM Modi directed that the installation of approved medical oxygen plants should be sped up. According to the statement, 162 PSA oxygen plants are being installed in 32 states and UTs from the PM CARES fund.

The statement issued by the PM o stated that PM Modi is in constant touch with 12 high burden states in assessing the current and future requirement of medical oxygen. PM Modi was informed that one lakh cylinders are being procured and will be supplied to states soon.

Reviewing the status of availability and supply of ventilators, PM Modi noted that a real-time monitoring system has been created, and directed that state government concerned should be sensitized to use the system pro-actively.

INDIA REGISTERS RECORD HIGH COVID-19 CASES

India on Saturday recorded a record single-day rise of 2,34,692 cases and 1,341 fatalities takign India's COVID-19 caseload to 1,45,26,609 and the death toll rose to 1,75,649. The number of active coronavirus cases in the country has also surpassed the 16-lakh mark.

The number of active coronavirus cases in the country has also surpassed the 16-lakh mark accounting for 11.56 per cent of its total caseload, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has dropped to 87.23 per cent.

The prime minister has been holding meetings with chief ministers and officials on a regular basis to discuss the situation and take measures to curb the pandemic.

The Cabinet Secretary, Principal Secretary to PM, Union Home Secretary, Union Health Secretary and the Pharmaceutical Secretary, among others while Dr V K Paul, Member, Niti Aayog, was also present at the review meeting.
Northwest Side Ald. Nick Sposato, 38th, said the officer did the best he could in a chaotic situation. People say it seems like the kid threw away the gun, sure, maybe you can say that now when you see it on the video, but when he turned around theres no way that officer could have known that. From everything I hear, hes a good cop. You can see him doing everything he can on the video to help the kid. Stay with me, stay with me. In my mind, the officers actions were totally justified.
New Delhi: A Delhi court has granted bail to actor-activist Deep Sidhu, who was arrested in connection with the Red Fort violence on Republic Day.

Special Judge Neelofer Abida Perveen granted the relief to the accused on Friday on a personal bond of Rs 30,000 and two sureties of a like amount.

Deep Sidhu

Sidhu was arrested on February 9 in connection with the Red Fort violence on January 26 during a farmers' tractor parade against the Centre's three new agriculture laws.

Thousands of protesting farmers, who reached ITO from the Ghazipur border, clashed with police, the agency claimed in its FIR registered in connection with the Republic Day violence, adding that many of the farmers, driving tractors, reached the Red Fort and entered the monument, where a religious flag was also hoisted.
Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili.

Market Research Future Published a Half-Cooked Research Report on Global Microcrystalline Cellulose Market.

Market Definition:

Microcrystalline cellulose is a partially depolymerized, naturally occurring cellulose form wood pulp. It has properties such as anti-caking, bulking, and texturizing that are majorly required for keeping processed food fresh. The unique properties such as powder porosity, moisture sorption, and swelling capacity. Being a chemically inert substance, it has very less absorption capacity and does not dissolute during digestion. Due to this reason, it is highly used in excipient production in pharmaceuticals and is the major driver of the global microcrystalline cellulose market. The other driver for the global market growth is it being a fat substitute, primarily used in low-fat processed food.

Market Scenario:

The increasing demand for pharmaceuticals with the growing population consumes a major quantity of microcrystalline cellulose followed by food and beverage industry. The global Microcrystalline Cellulose Market Size growth is also driven by the cosmetic and personal care industry. The unique properties of extender, binder, and texturizer are extensively used in personal care products. The growing demand for personal care products with the concerned grooming and self-care population is expected to increase the market growth.

Competitive Analysis

Some of the prominent players of the microcrystalline cellulose are: FMC Corporation (the U.S), Mingtai Chemical Co. Ltd. (Canada), DFE Pharma (Germany), Dupont (the U.S.), Avantor (the U.S.), Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (Japan), Asahi Kasei Corporation (Japan), Blanver (Brazil), JRS PHARMA (the U.S.), FrieslandCampina (the Netherlands), Accent Microcell Pvt. Ltd (India), Sigachi Industries Pvt. Ltd. (India), Libraw Pharma (India), Huzhou City Linghu Xinwang Chemical Co., Ltd (China) and Shandong Xinda Biotechnology Co., Ltd (China) among others.

Market Segmentation

The global microcrystalline cellulose market is segmented as per the raw material, end-user, and region.

There are only two raw material sources available, namely wood based and non-wood based. Out of these, the non-wood based raw material source is likely to dominate the market due to the excessive demand for synthetically produced and cheap products.

Based on end-user, the market is segmented into pharmaceuticals, food & beverage, cosmetic & personal care, and others.

Regional Analysis

The global microcrystalline cellulose market is segmented into five key regions namely North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. North America is the major contributor to the market growth due to the increasing food & beverage industries. The increasing number of pharmaceutical and food & beverage industries in this region in expected to fuel the market growth in near future. The regulatory association named the U.S Pharmacopeial Convention has identified microcrystalline cellulose as an excellent excipient, which has propelled the market growth. The U.S contributes significantly to the market share in terms of revenue followed by Canada. Europe is another substantial region contributing to the market growth owing to the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries in this region. Asia Pacific is expected to hold a considerable share of the market in coming years. Countries such as China are concentrated to the production of microcrystalline cellulose due to the low raw material and labor cost. The U.S is the major producer of microcrystalline cellulose followed by China.

In Latin America & Africa, the growing medical support and availability of pharmaceutical at ease is expected to fuel the market growth during the forecast period. However, poor health and safety standards may hinder the market growth in this region.

BROWSE RELATED REPORT @

https://www.abnewswire.com/pressreleases/fiber-optic-sensor-market-size-and-global-trends-2020-covid19-business-impact-industry-analysis-sales-revenue-opportunities-top-leaders-and-regional-forecast-to-2022_505731.html

https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/fiber-optic-sensor-market-size-and-global-trends-2020-covid-19-business-impact-industry-analysis-sales-revenue-opportunities-top-leaders-and-regional-forecast-to-2022-2020-09-07

http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/4797814

https://www.wboc.com/story/42598499/fiber-optic-sensor-market-size-and-global-trends-2020-covid19-business-impact-industry-analysis-sales-revenue-opportunities-top-leaders-and-regional-forecast-to-2022
For South Carolina charities focused on serving the state's older adults, nothing looks quite the same as it did before the pandemic.

Meals on Wheels programs set social distancing rules, with face-to-face handoffs being replaced, in some cases, with a bag of food hung from the doorknob or left on the porch.

Some free ride programs put car trips on pause and instead picked up the phone to check up on their clients' well-being.

Most senior centers closed at least temporarily, but expanded home deliveries, bringing more food to more people, often more frequently.

And, for any in-person interactions that did happen, mask-wearing and other precautions had to be strictly enforced: They're working with the most vulnerable population in the state.

For these nonprofits, the COVID-19 pandemic created conditions that made their services more needed than ever. But actually delivering those services safely was harder than it's ever been.

Now, more than a year after COVID hit, some groups are still serving a higher-than-normal number of seniors, which could continue even after the threat of virus wanes.

Andrew Boozer, director of Senior Resources in Columbia, said their meal delivery and other food-related services, the largest of which is Meals on Wheels, have continued to operate at a heightened level. Meal deliveries about doubled at one point. Now, he estimates it's 30 percent more than pre-COVID levels.

Thats on par with what Meals on Wheels has reported nationally. About 79 percent of the programs saw their need at least double during the pandemic, and demand was still up by 37 percent from pre-pandemic levels as of mid-February, the organization reported.

And most Meals on Wheels programs worry there will be a post-pandemic mismatch in need versus resources. About three-fourths of the programs are concerned they'll lose the financial support they gained during the pandemic but retain the higher number of clients.

Boozer said he thinks the increased need is here to stay. The volume of people his group helps has grown. Whether thats the result of a change of life circumstances caused by COVID or because COVID-related outreach helped reach people who had been slipping through the cracks  or if it's a combination of the two  the end result is still more people to serve, more food to buy, more meals to deliver and more people needed to do the work.

In some cases, finding those people is a challenge.

At TriCounty Family Ministries in North Charleston, the largest program specific to seniors is a monthly distribution of USDA commodity boxes in partnership with the Lowcountry Food Bank.

Another local site that had been distributing the boxes was having trouble getting volunteers and had to shut its program down, said director Kara Stewart. That meant TriCounty Family Ministries took on about 25 more seniors in addition to the 30 already on its list.

The need increased, and the number of people available to help is still low, Stewart said.

Meals on Wheels of Charleston, which serves most of Charleston County, has been delivering about 720 meals a day lately, up from about 500 to 550 at the very beginning of the pandemic, said Donna Cook, executive director of the nonprofit Charleston Area Senior Citizens.

The good news for Charleston, though, is that no one is on the waitlist for its Meals on Wheels program. Cook said that, in her years with the group, it's been normal to have upward of 250 people on the waitlist, but thanks to CARES Act COVID relief funding, they're able to pay for meals for all the clients who had been on their list  at least through the current budget cycle, which ends in the summer.

Initially, when they realized they could afford to bump up their meal count, the "biggest stress" was if they could find people to help.

Cook's group put out a call for volunteers, and people stepped up.

"We've been able to manage it, so far," Cook said.

The federal COVID relief packages have included increased funding for senior nutrition, including President Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan passed in March, which earmarked $1.4 billion in funding for the Older Americans Act, $750 million of which is specifically for nutrition services.

The move was praised by organizations like Meals on Wheels, which described the level of funding as "historic."

Boozer of Senior Resources said it's too soon to know how and when that money will be seen by local charities.

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Its still a very unstable funding situation on the local level," Boozer said. "We think help is on the way for a finite period of time, but we don't know how much or for how long."

Especially now that they and other groups are serving more seniors than they were pre-pandemic, donations "are huge," Cook said.

"The worst phone call that we have to make is to tell a client, 'Sorry, we ran out of money, and we can't continue to deliver this hot meal to you.' Those are the most horrific conversations to have to have with anybody," she said.

Those deliveries have always been more than the meal itself. Part of the value is in the social interaction, and that's been truer than ever during the pandemic, Cook said, even if it's meant having a conversation with a client through a screen door while wearing a mask.

Combating social isolation among seniors is a core goal for most charities that count elderly adults among their main clientele.

Nonprofit leaders will point out that isolation isn't just a mental health issue. It's physical.

AARP has frequently cited a Brigham Young University study that concluded chronic loneliness can be as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

But, during the pandemic, the physical health risks of social isolation were at odds with the very real threat that vulnerable older adults could contract coronavirus, and many nonprofits had to find new ways to interact with and check up on the seniors they serve.

Neighbor to Neighbor in Myrtle Beach is traditionally known for coordinating free transportation for seniors, but, when COVID hit and everyone had to stay at home, it started a program to try to mitigate isolation remotely.

Volunteers would call seniors and do regular wellness checks. At the end of the call, they would always ask, Would you like us to continue to call you? Some would say no. But others needed and wanted the interactions.

Its amazing the types of things some people will share, just by calling to say, Hey, how are you doing?' said Joe Kunkel, executive director of Neighbor to Neighbor.

One silver lining that Boozer of Senior Resources said he hopes to see is more empathy for what many older seniors, especially those who are homebound, experience on a regular basis  pandemic or no pandemic.

"Some people are really 'sheltering in place' every day," Boozer said.

When whole communities were on lockdown, more people understood that experience firsthand.

"There was a personal and tangible understanding of what isolation feels like," Boozer said.

Seniors 70 and older in South Carolina have been eligible for COVID-19 vaccines since mid-January, and now that a greater share of the state is getting vaccinated, battling that social isolation should get easier.

Some senior centers, like Dorchester Seniors' facility in Summerville, are open again for some in-person meals and activities.

As early as last summer, the Summerville center started hosting some exercise classes. Capacity was "very limited," masks were required and seniors were spaced 12 feet apart during class, said director Jean Ott.

Since then, more activities were gradually brought back, and their April calendar has everything from line dancing to woodcarving to Bible study.

"It's good to see the calendar back up," Ott said. "A year ago, we didn't need to print a calendar."

While Ott said they're excited to eventually increase capacity again at some point, there may be some COVID-era changes that stick around for the long term.

"I think we are going to be more conscious of sanitation. I think we're going to be more conscious of how things are caught," Ott said, and so, in that way, there may not be a 100 percent "return to normal," with the intent of better protecting seniors' health.

Another silver lining Cook of Charleston Area Senior Citizens hopes to see from the pandemic is a broader understanding that the issues that have been exacerbated by the pandemic for seniors  like food insecurity and social isolation  are not new.

The pandemic may have put them "out front," she said, but they're not going away.
India Inc has assured government its support in ramping up supplies of medical oxygen, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray's office said in a press statement on Saturday.

Thackeray interacted with CEOs and representatives of industry bodies CII and FICCI who also agreed to set up Covid-19 testing and vaccination centres in industrial areas.

The interaction was held today in the backdrop of spurt in Covid-19 cases in the state. Maharashtra, which accounts for over 60 per cent cases in the country, is the worst affected Indian state and has imposed restrictions on industrial activities among others.

To overcome the crisis, Thackeray sought help of industrialists to increase availability of beds, medicines and oxygen. He also requested them to help state government scheme of providing free meals as a part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities.

The chief minister urged the industry bodies to adopt safe work practices, which would allow them to continue production in case the state faces third wave. The government will also set up a task force which will address concerns of industries during the pandemic, he said.

"We can't predict how many more Covid-19 waves will come but we must remain prepared to face them," Thackeray said while asking the industries to adopt safe work practices in their premises.

Industry leaders, including Kotak Mahindra bank managing director Uday Kotak, RPG group chairman Harsh Goenka, Infosys CEO Salil Parekh, real estate developer Niranjan Hiranandani and others participated in the interaction.
(Newser)  A Florida woman whose husband is incarcerated apparently shared a little too much with him and is now in legal trouble herself, accused of threatening to kill Vice President Kamala Harris. Per a criminal complaint filed earlier this month in federal court, Niviane Petit Phelps allegedly sent videos and photos to her spouse, held at the Wakulla Correctional Institution in Crawfordville, via JPay, a computer app that facilitates the sharing of money, music, and media between inmates and loved ones, reports CNN. In those videos, according to the Secret Service agent cited in the complaint, Phelps ranted in general about Harris, as well as President Biden, but it was death threats against Harris that especially caught the agent's attention. "Kamala Harris, you are going to die. Your days are numbered already," Phelps says in a video dated Feb. 13, per the complaint.

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The complaint adds that in another video from the next day, Phelps warned she was going to the gun range, and that in a video from Feb. 18, she noted, "50 days from today, mark this day down. ... You gonna f---in die." A photo was also seen that showed Phelps at the gun range on Feb. 20, smiling in front of a target riddled with bullet holes, per the complaint. The agent notes that on Feb. 22, he learned Phelps had applied for a concealed weapon permit. When the agent spoke in person with Phelps on March 6, he says she admitted she'd been angry about Harris being elected VP but was "over it now" and "past it," and that she'd gotten "a lot of anger out at the gun range." Phelps also told him she didn't think Harris was really Black. NBC Miami reports Phelps is a nurse who's worked for the Jackson Health System for 20 years, though that job is about to come to an end. "She has been suspended without pay while we process her employment termination," the hospital system says in a statement. (Read more Kamala Harris stories.)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 07:40:26|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The Security Council on Friday called on parties to the Yemeni conflict to negotiate a nationwide cease-fire and a political settlement.

In a press statement, the members of the Security Council welcomed the announcement of Saudi Arabia on March 22, supported by the Yemeni government, to end the conflict in Yemen and reach a comprehensive political solution. They welcomed Oman's mediation efforts between the key stakeholders and encouraged continued engagement in the region.

The council members called on all parties to engage constructively with UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths and negotiate, without preconditions, an immediate nationwide cease-fire and a Yemeni-owned, inclusive, political settlement.

They condemned the ongoing escalation in Marib, which exacerbates Yemen's humanitarian crisis, places over 1 million internally displaced persons at grave risk, and threatens efforts to secure a political settlement.

They expressed concern that the military escalation in Marib could be exploited by terrorist groups like al-Qaida to expand their presence in Yemen. They called on the Houthis to end their escalation in Marib and condemned the cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia.

The council members also expressed concern about military developments elsewhere in Yemen and stressed the need for de-escalation by all parties.

They condemned the recruitment and use of children, including in Marib. They called for accountability for human rights violations and abuses, and violations of international humanitarian law. They reiterated the need for all the parties to the conflict to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law, including those related to humanitarian access and the protection of civilian objects and civilians, and the protection of humanitarian and health personnel and their facilities.

The council members expressed grave concern about the dire economic and humanitarian situation, including prolonged starvation and the growing risk of large-scale famine, and emphasized the importance of facilitating critical commercial imports and humanitarian assistance.

They called on the Yemeni government to facilitate regularly, without delay, the entry of fuel ships into Hodeidah port to ensure the delivery of essential commodities and humanitarian aid, and underscored that fuel that arrives through Hodeidah port should not be used for personal profit or to fund escalation of the conflict. They called on the parties to adhere to their commitments under the Stockholm Agreement to use the revenues from Hodeidah port to pay civil servant salaries.

The council members emphasized the grave threat posed by the Safer oil tanker, whose dire and dilapidated condition risks an environmental, economic, maritime, and humanitarian catastrophe to Yemen and the region. They stressed Houthi responsibility for the situation and called for their urgent facilitation of unconditional and safe access for UN experts to conduct an essential assessment and repair mission.

The press statement came after Thursday's Security Council meeting on Yemen. Enditem
In 1932, when the college was established, the elite were the nations aristocracy but the next seven years marked a crucial shift in demography and the elite became the Nazi High Command.

Comedian Eddie Izzard came up with this curiosity in the British coastal resort of Bexhill-on-Sea, which once housed the Augusta-Victoria College for Girls, a finishing school for the daughters and god-daughters of Germanys elite.

Izzard and the films co-writers and producers have taken this as a cue for a spy movie set against the seemingly idyllic background of a seaside village. The schools pupils begin their day with a morning swim and its principal and co-founder, Frau Rocholl, a committed Nazi in real life, has been made over into the very English Miss Rocholl, played as a female Mr. Chips by a silver-haired Judi Dench in funereal black. Devoted to the welfare of her girls, she refuses to believe that England and Germany cant still be friends and looks on Sieg Heil as an all-purpose victory salute which just happens to be German.

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Izzard, unfortunately miscast as the hero, enters the picture as Thomas Miller, a British agent working undercover as the schools new English teacher. Millers predecessor wound up murdered and the main task is to find out who did it. But first, Miller must get to know how the school works. There are 20 girls and just one other teacher  Miss Keller (Carla Juri), a lissome swimming champion who almost made the Berlin Olympics and now teaches German and physical culture. But Astrid (Maria Dragus), the head girl, is the colleges most forceful presence, a formidable Germanic version of a Hollywood high school mean girl.

Director Andy Goddard (Downton Abbey) has made something determinedly old-fashioned out of all this while Izzards attitude to the role could be summed up as: when in doubt, do nothing. Izzards expression rarely alters even when dodging bullets  or searching for a public telephone, an equally stressful activity in this setting. To amp up the performance when the going gets really tough, Izzard just looks forbearing, relying on the visible bruises for extra impact.
By Vinny Vella, The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)

A top Bucks County prosecutor who was demoted last month after his supervisors discovered he was moonlighting as a DoorDash driver on county time has resigned.

Gregg Shore, 49, stepped down from his position as a deputy district attorney Tuesday, according to county officials. He did not return a request for comment.

District Attorney Matthew Weintraub, in announcing Shores demotion, said his conduct was indefensible, thoughtless, selfish and so stupid. But Weintraub didnt fire Shore, noting his decade of service to the county, including the high-profile prosecution of Cosmo DiNardo and his cousin Sean Kratz for a series of 2017 murders in Solebury Township.

I believe in second chances, I preach redemption, and I believe people can be better after learning from their mistakes, Weintraub said. Its now incumbent upon me to practice what I preach.

Weintraub removed Shore from his position as first assistant  essentially the second-in-command of the District Attorneys Office  cut his salary by $22,000, and required him to forfeit vacation time to pay back the hours he spent working for DoorDash.

After the demotion was announced last month, Shore, who was paid nearly $130,000 a year as a prosecutor, said in an interview that personal circumstances forced him to work the second job. He drove for the food delivery service mostly on nights and weekends, but said he sometimes made the incredibly poor decision to do so during the workday.

By doing so, I betrayed my colleagues, my boss and the citizens of Bucks County, Shore said.

Weintraub promoted Jennifer Schorn, a veteran prosecutor in his office, to the first assistant position.

More:

Pa. drug dealer used Uber to pick up heroin and crack: police

Retired sheriff and his tiny K-9 partner die the same day
Update 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Apr. 17, 2021 - Action News Now received new numbers from the Fire Victim Trust on Saturday and we have added them to this story.

As of Apr. 15, 2021, the following numbers are valid, according to the Trust.

Number of Claims Questionnaires Submitted: 39,889

Number of Individual Claims: 248,376

Number of Claimants (multiple claimants in a household can share one claim questionnaire): 70,280

Amount of Preliminary Payments: $112.9 million

Number of Claimants Who Have Received Preliminary Payments: 8,676

Amount of Pro-Rata Payments: $54.7 million

Number of Claimants Who Have Received Pro-Rata Payments: 160

Total Amount Paid to Claimants to Date: $167.7 million

Total Number of Claimants Who Have Received Any Type of Payment to Date: 8,721

---

CHICO, Calif. - The Fire Victim Trust, set up through the bankruptcy court for survivors of several Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) caused wildfires, has again responded to questions concerning the details of the operation of their claims and payment processes.

Trust Administrator Cathy Yanni spoke with Action News Now digital editor Lorraine Dechter on Friday to clarify the process further. The entire Friday interview with Yanni is attached to this article.

A recent seven-page letter to survivors from Judge Trotter, another administrator of the Trust, provided answers to several questions asked by Action News Now on behalf of the 70,280 claimants working through the Fire Victim Trust process.

The Fire Victim Trust cannot pay people their entire claim amounts, at least at this point, because there are still 478 million shares of PG&E stock that need to be sold. Since it is unknown how much the stock will sell for, it is possible the Trust will end up underfunded, meaning claimants with approved offers will only receive a percentage of their offers.

Some first "pro-rata payments" have been going out recently which are paying 30 percent of approved claim amounts. In this video interview Administrator, Yanni explains why the percentage paid on the initial pro-rata payments was set at 30 percent.

Several elderly people have expressed concern about the timeliness of payments, wondering if they would see any money at all because of their age. It is expected that payments could take up to three years for fire survivors, however, some have received 30 percent of their approved claims already. Judge Trotter said in his letter to survivors that it will be "months, not years," before people can find out how much they are being offered on their claims.

Yanni assured Action News Now that attorneys can ask for a "hardship" and have their case assigned to a "triage team" at the Trust, which will speed up their payments.

Other fire survivors with Fire Victim Trust claims have asked for more details on how payments are structured for children. There is a Trust that will be set up for minors to access upon their 18th birthdays, but Yanni also describes during the interview the process a parent must go through if funds are needed by a family sooner, in case funds are necessary for the safety and well-being of the minor.

Yanni also responded to explain a frequently asked question by fire survivors. If she, as administrator, has to personally review each and every claim (248,280 claims as of Friday spread over 70,280 claimants' cases), how can that be done to meet the Judge's statement that offers would be made in "months, not years."

Yanni said she recently hired another twenty claims reviewers to speed up the process. She said she also recently hired more people to do the quality assurance of the claims.

Watch the whole interview with the Fire Victim Trust Claims Administrator posted with this story to get the most current information available on the claims process and Trust procedures.
Apr. 17An attorney is calling for the California Attorney General to investigate the March 28 officer-involved shooting of a Lompoc transgender male because of officials' alleged conflicts of interest in a letter sent to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office, the District Attorney's office and the Lompoc Police Department.

Krys Brandon Ruiz, 26, died from a fatal gunshot wound following an altercation with Lompoc Police officers minutes after they received a report of a person walking northbound on H Street with a handgun shortly after 8 p.m., according to Capt. Kevin Martin.

The case was turned over to the office of Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown, who was the Lompoc police chief from 1995 to 2006 before becoming Sheriff.

Bill Schmidt, a Fresno-based attorney representing Ruiz's family, cited as a foundation for the request Government Code 12525.3, which deals with police shootings of unarmed people, and AB 1506, a law approved by the governor on Sept. 30, 2020, that requires a state prosecutor to investigate when police use deadly force.

"Bill Brown oversaw the recruitment and training of that city's police officers," Schmidt wrote in the April 7 letter addressed to the sheriff's office and the attorney general's office. "Sheriff Brown is not only the county's top law enforcement officer, he is also the coroner, charged with determining the manner and cause of death in this and similar cases."

Additionally, Schmidt said the Attorney General should investigate because District Attorney Joyce Dudley helped develop statewide deadly force training and has never prosecuted an officer involved in a deadly shooting.

Dudley confirmed receipt of Schmidt's letter on Friday, but did not offer comment and referred to the sheriff's office, which responded to an emailed inquiry, but did not provide comment.

Neither the Lompoc Police Department nor the attorney general's office responded to requests for comment on Friday.

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An hour before the shooting, Ruiz was dropped off at his apartment by his mother after dinner, blocks away from the shooting location, according to Schmidt, adding Ruiz wasn't intoxicated or agitated.

"We don't know what happened, whether they were trying to take him into custody for some reason, but we believe that it was virtually impossible that he had a gun, as far as we know," Schmidt said. "The reality is that the police control all of the evidence and all of the information."

Schmidt believes the shooting involved poor training standards, although he added that has yet to be seen. He filed a records request Thursday with Lompoc Police to release information about the incident, including all video recordings.
The U.S. intelligence community has developed new information about Konstantin Kilimnik, whom they call a Russian spy, that leads them to believe the associate of ex-Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort passed internal Trump campaign polling and strategy information to Russian intelligence services, two U.S. officials say.

On Thursday the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Kilimnik and for the first time said he passed along the data to Russian intelligence services.

That new detail, part of a factsheet released by Treasury, was not included in the 2019 report by special counsel Robert Mueller, who was tasked with investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Image: KONSTANTIN VIKTOROVICH KILIMNIK (FBI)

Mueller's team said in its report that Kilimnik was believed to have ties to Russian intelligence, and that Kilimnik had received the Trump campaign information from Manafort, but did not say what he did with it after receiving it.

A bipartisan report by the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2020 said coordination between the Trump campaign and a Russian operation to hack and leak Democratic emails may have existed through Kilimnik but could not be established with certainty. The report drew no conclusions about what the Russians ultimately did with the data.

The officials did not disclose when or how the U.S. came into possession of the new intelligence about Kilimnik, including whether or not the information was developed during the Trump or Biden administrations. The officials did not identify the source or type of intelligence that had been developed.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Treasury declined to comment.

Image: Paul Manafort (Jose Luis Magana / AP file)

In 2019, Muellers team authored a report that detailed the connection between Kilimnik and his former employer in Ukraine, Paul Manafort. Manafort was the Trump campaign chairman from the spring of 2016 until August 2016, when multiple press reports about his work in Ukraine and money he received there led to him stepping down. Manafort was working for the Trump campaign without pay.

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Manafort was indicted by Muellers team and pleaded guilty in federal court to obstruction of justice and conspiracy. A judge found he had broken his plea agreement by lying to investigators on several issues, including his contacts with Kilimnik. He was convicted of additional charges in a separate case. He later received a presidential pardon from Trump.

According to Mueller, Manafort met with Kilimnik in New York on Aug. 2, 2016 and months before that meeting, Manafort had caused internal polling data to be shared with Kilimnik, and the sharing continued for some period of time after their August meeting.

Court documents show that some of that information was shared through former Manafort business partner and member of the Trump campaign, Rick Gates.

Ultimately, the Mueller report concluded, because of questions about Manafort's credibility and our limited ability to gather evidence on what happened to the polling data after it was sent to Kilimnik, the Office could not assess what Kilimnik (or others he may have given it to) did with it.

The Senate report released last August said Kilimnik is a Russian intelligence officer who may have had links to the hack-and-leak operation of the GRU, Russia's military intelligence agency, which hacked the emails of prominent Democrats and provided them to WikiLeaks in 2016.

The report includes three bulleted items that were redacted before release. The report says the redacted information "suggests that a channel for coordination on the GRU hack-and-leak operation may have existed through Kilimnik, [but] the Committee had limited insight into Kilimnik's communications with Manafort and [REDACTED], all of whom used sophisticated communications security practices."

So far, U.S. officials have not said publicly  or said if they know  what Russian intelligence services did with the data they received, or if the information provided had any impact on Russias attempts to interfere in the 2016 election.

Monica Alba reported from Washington, D.C.
" " Hestia was responsible for controlling the hearth fires, important for both cooking and warmth, of both Mount Olympus and the homes of ordinary Greek citizens. HowStuffWorks

In 2020, as the world sheltered in place, many of us suddenly found ourselves obsessed with kitchen life. From sourdough starters to baking experiments, our ovens were working overtime as we all adjusted to fully homebound lives. But before Martha Stewart and Ina Garten became the domestic goddesses so many of us look to for inspiration, there was an actual domestic goddess presiding over the heart of the home: Hestia.

"Hestia oversees the single most important part of any pre-modern house  the hearth, the source of heat for warmth and fire for cooking," says Richard P. Martin, the Antony and Isabelle Raubitschek professor in classics at Stanford University, in an email interview. "In the case of ancient Greek houses, the hearth was also the place for domestic sacrifices (which then become meals  cooking and sacrifice are totally wrapped up together in Greek religion). And the hearth is a place where you would pour libations of wine or milk or honey, as a way of paying homage to the gods, especially before and after meals."

Born to parents Kronus (sometimes spelled Cronus) and Rhea, Hestia was the sister of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter and Hera. The Greek goddess of architecture, family, and the state, in addition to the hearth, home and family, Hestia presided over bread baking and meal prep, but, as Martin mentions, she also oversaw the sacrificial flame and received a share of every sacrifice to the gods. "You would call on her at the top of the list of recipient divinities whenever sacrifices were being made, and even 'give' her the first part of the meat or other offering," he says. "So she was regulating or guaranteeing proper ritual behavior  if you remembered her, and made the right offering, you were doing things right and maintaining order in the larger world."

Considered a protector of the family and political community, Hestia played an integral role in both private and public affairs and she continues to be celebrated as a queen of hospitality. Here are five facts to know about the gracious goddess:

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1. Hestia's Domain  the Hearth  Was the Ultimate Safe Space

" " This statue of a seated woman about to rise, from the east pediment of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, is thought to be Hestia, goddess of the hearth. Universal History Archive/Getty Images

The hearth was a big deal in the Greek home, representing the center of the household and symbolizing its heart and soul. In addition to cooking, the hearth was the setting for birth and death ceremonies, and the place to introduce new brides. It was considered such a sanctuary, even authorities couldn't cross it.

"The hearth  her special realm  was where people on the run, maybe for crimes they committed elsewhere, or people who were innocent and looking for refuge, perhaps for political reasons, would come to seek asylum," Martin says. "It was considered sacrilegious to drag anyone from an altar, and the hearth basically was goddess, fireplace and altar all in one. It was the ultimate safe space."

An excerpt from Homer's "The Odyssey" illustrates the sanctitude of the hearth. "There is a scene where the hero, in a new strange land, on the island of the Phaeacians, after years of wandering the seas, enters the palace of the local king and goes right to the central hearth," Martin says. "He sits down in the cold ashes and from there begs the royal family to send him home to Ithaca. Ritually, getting down in the ash of the hearth is a way of signaling your lowered status in the situation, your pure need, and your dependency as an outsider on the family who owns the hearth. And it also plays on the idea that by entering Hestia's realm, you are going straight to the symbolic center of the whole community. They really can't reject you, without paying the price in angering the goddess."

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2. She Was in Charge of Kicking Off New Colonies

Any time a new Greek colony was established, residents took fire from the hearth in the prytaneion (otherwise known as the town hall) and brought the flames back to their new locations.

"When an overflowing population led people to move outward from central Greece around the 8th to 6th centuries B.C.E. and to establish new settlements all over the Mediterranean (even as far west as Marseilles), the new settlers took the fire from their home city-state (the "metro-polis"  literally "mother city"), carefully guarded the glowing coals, and lit the fires of their new homes from the original hearth back where they came from," Martin says. "There can hardly be a better image of the continuity they were aiming for  the daughter-city was like a spark from the mother's hearth."

According to Martin, in all 800 or so ancient Greek city-states, there was a central, civic "hearth" which served as a shrine to Hestia and helped make "the entire community basically into one big family."

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3. She's One of Three Virgin Goddesses

Along with Athena and Artemis, Hestia is a virgin goddess. She remained celibate throughout her lifetime, despite the " amorous attentions" of gods like Apollo, Poseidon and the fertility god himself, Priapus.

"An ancient poem called the 'Hymn to Aphrodite' tells it best," Martin says. "When the rival gods Poseidon and Apollo were both seeking to wed Hestia, she stubbornly refused. She touched the head of Zeus (her brother, but also the head of the 'family' of Olympian gods) and swore an oath to remain a virgin all her life. Again, we are dealing with a powerful set of symbols: Hestia is totally devoted to patriarchal power. In any culture where the new bride comes to live with the husband's family ('patrilocal' as the anthropologists say), Hestia represents the rootedness of the ancestral husband's home."

According to ancient Greek practices, young brides left their original homes (where they were under their father's guardianship) to move to their husband's home and " pass into his control and guardianship." Martin explains that because of Hestia's central role as the heart of the home, she couldn't leave quite so easily, so she was unable to get married at all. "We hear stories about all the other gods and goddesses leaving Zeus' palace temporarily, for instance, to go view events in the Trojan War or to help or harm mortals on earth," he says. "But Hestia always stays home."

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4. Her Father Swallowed Her

Hestia's dad, Kronos, had something of a strange complex about his legacy: He feared his children would dethrone them, so, well, he ate them. But don't worry  as far as gruesome Greek myths go, this one has some semblance of a happy ending (for the children at least).

"Hestia was the first-born child of Kronos and Rhea  parents of the Olympian gods  but her father swallowed her (as he did all the rest) because he was afraid a child would come to overthrow him," Martin says. "Then his wife Rhea tricked Kronos, gave him a rock to eat instead of the latest kid  Zeus. Kronos swallowed the rock and vomited up all the other children he had eaten in reverse sequence  first in, last out. Therefore, Hestia, the 'oldest' (born first) was also the youngest (ejected last from Kronos' gullet and thus re-born)."

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5. Hestia's Roman Counterpart Is Vesta, Which Makes Perfect Sense

Hestia's Roman equivalent is Vesta, which according to Martin, makes perfect sense. "The 'Vestal Virgins' in Rome were priestesses of Vesta, who was the Roman goddess of the hearth," he says. "In fact, the names Vesta and Hestia come from the same ancient root, dating back to a time when Greek and Latin were more or less dialects of the same now-lost mother language (which we call 'Indo-European' today). The Vestals' job was to see to the sacred fire in a shrine in the middle of the Roman Forum, keeping the flame alive (which they managed to do even up to the 4th century C.E.)."

According to Martin, the importance of virginity in ancient times is crystal clear in the case of the Vestals. "With the Roman priestesses, you see the importance of being a virgin (which in the case of Hestia seems to be mainly a matter of myth) played out in real social terms," he says. "They were chosen from high-born families, between the age of 6 and 10, and then they had to remain chaste for 30 years, after which they could marry."

Rumor had it that not abiding by those societal expectations meant facing devastating consequences. "The Romans told stories about the few Vestal Virgins who failed to keep their vows  how they would be buried alive or at least put into an isolated room, after being caught, and allowed to starve to death," Martin says. "Most likely these were myths meant to scare people into complying with the rules and at the same time aimed at impressing everyone with the seriousness of the symbolic virginity of the office Vestal."

Now That's Interesting While "The Odyssey" may help illuminate the importance of the hearth in ancient Greek culture, Homer omitted any reference to Hestia in that epic poem, as well as "The Iliad."
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have received a lot of negative attention in recent months and years for their absolutely staggering energy consumption. Bitcoin alone consumes approximately the same amount of energy the Netherlands thanks to the extremely energy-intensive mining process in which miners hook up computers--in some cases entire warehouses full of them--to solve complex computational puzzles to verify transactions (a process known as proof of work) in the public blockchain ledger on which the cryptocurrency system depends--a job for which they are rewarded with small amounts of Bitcoin. As such, the more computers that are busily contributing to the blockchain, the more (crypto) money is produced, incentivizing ever greater amounts of energy-sucking computational power as the price of Bitcoin skyrockets.

This considerable drawback to what many believe to be the dawn of the cryptocurrency era has created some extremely outspoken opponents and critics of Bitcoin and other e-currency companies. One such naysayer is none other than Bill Gates, who has publicly warned that Bitcoin is bad for climate change. "Bitcoin uses more electricity per transaction than any other method known to mankind, Gates was quoted by the New York Times last month, before going on to call himself a "Bitcoin skeptic."

Gates is not the only high-profile Bitcoin skeptic. Analysts representing the Bank of America wrote in a note on Wednesday the cryptocurrency is "not good news for the environment, before detailing that "Bitcoin's estimated energy consumption has grown over 200% in the past two years, creating large environmental risks," in no small part thanks to the fact that so much of Bitcoin mining happens in China, where coal is still a massive part of the domestic energy mix. According to the IEAs most recent data, most of Chinas energy is sourced from coal, which accounts for about 58% of the total energy mix.

Proponents of Bitcoin, however, say that Bitcoin is much more eco-friendly than those figures would lead you to believe. A September 2020 report from Cambridge University found that an estimated 39% of the crypto-asset industrys proof-of-work mining is actually powered by renewable energy, primarily hydroelectric. (We also have China to thank for much of that hydropower). While is this certainly reassuring for many climate-activists-cum-Bitcoin-skeptics, its actually a major step down from a previous study that Bitcoin defenders had previously turned to make the claim that 76% of mining was done with renewable sourced energy and which has since been debunked.

Still, 39% is nothing to scoff at, and some Bitcoin advocates say that the cryptocurrency can actually help catalyze the development of new renewable energy technologies in the future by enabling rapid returns on climate-conscious investments. Mike Coyler, CEO of Foundry, one of North Americas biggest cryptocurrency mining companies, told Markets Insider that he believes that Bitcoin can serve as "a bridge between our current energy production and this future world of renewable energy production." He bases this argument on the fact that the rise of renewables, which are by nature variable according to weather patterns and other environmental factors, sometimes leading to energy oversupply. Putting a Bitcoin mining operation next to renewable energy production sites can provide a use for this energy overflow, thereby incentivizing further development of clean energy technologies and infrastructure.

"It allows for a faster payback on those solar projects or wind projects, which means more of them can be built faster in regions where before it was not attractive, because they would produce too much energy for the grid in that area," Coyler was quoted.

If this theory proves to be true, it could have major implications, as a way to take the edge off of cryptos massive and growing carbon footprint escalates as the cryptocurrency industry continues to go gangbusters. Just this week cryptocurrency Coinbase went public in an IPO that pushed the total cryptoasset exchange market value to a staggering $85.8 billion.

By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 18:19:28|Editor: huaxia

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ADDIS ABABA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The Office of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced on Friday it has formed a National Election Security Committee (NESC) to ensure the upcoming sixth general elections are peaceful and legitimate.

"The National Election Security Committee comprising members of the Federal Police, the Attorney General Office, the National Intelligence and Security Service, the Ministry of Defense as well as regional representatives has been established by the government to ensure a peaceful and legitimate election," said the office in a statement.

"Special measures are being taken by the NESC to identify areas where there is a risk ... To deal with any election related grievances, the Federal Supreme Court has set up dedicated electoral dispute adjudication benches," the statement added.

The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia has tentatively set June 5, 2021, as the date for the sixth general elections in the east African country.

In March, the electoral board announced around 8,209 candidates have registered for the upcoming elections.

Around 50 million Ethiopians are expected to cast votes for candidates vying for federal parliamentary seats as well as regional councils' seats. Enditem
The only mission of the OSCE Minsk Group is to "force Armenia to fulfill the points of the trilateral statement." This is noted by deputy speaker Ali Huseynli of the Azerbaijani parliament.

According to him, the mission of the Minsk Group has ended as a format for settling the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) conflict, as "there is no more conflict; it was resolved as a result of a counter-offensive operation by Azerbaijan."

"The conflict is no more, Azerbaijan has secured its territorial integrity, there are a number of issues that need time to be addressed. The only useful activity of the OSCE Minsk Group today is to force Armenia to fulfill the points of the trilateral statement," Huseynli said.

To note, however, Armenia has carried out all the points which Azerbaijan refuses carry out. Baku not only does not comply with the point on the return of Armenian POWs, but, also, has opened criminal cases against them, which is a violation of international humanitarian law.

A conflict is not considered resolved in accordance with international law until the signing of the respective peace treaty. Therefore, all citizens of the conflicting parties who end up in the territory of the other party are considered POWs.

The Armenian side does not consider the conflict resolved and demands the de-occupation of the territories of Artsakh and the clarification of its status.
In a letter to the leadership of the Armenian parliament posted on Armlur.am, Gasparian cited the need to answer many questions about the outcome of the six-week war and ease political tensions in the country.

The appeal came two days after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian blamed former Presidents Serzh Sarkisian and Robert Kocharian for Armenias defeat in the war stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire on November 10.

Addressing the National Assembly, Pashinian also attacked Gasparian, who was sacked as chief of the Armenian armys General Staff after initiating a February 25 statement by the army top brass that demanded the governments resignation.

The embattled premier denied Gasparians December claims that three days after the outbreak of the 2020 hostilities he warned Pashinian that Armenia and Karabakh are heading for defeat and that the fighting must be stopped as soon as possible. He insisted that Gasparian made a statement to the contrary at a September 30 meeting of his Security Council.

Gasparian stood by his claims and accused Pashinian of shamelessly distorting facts.

Andranik Kocharian, the pro-government chairman of the Armenian parliament committee on defense and security, spoke out against the formation of an ad hoc parliamentary commission proposed by the general.

Kocharian argued that the commission would have no time to conduct such an inquiry because the current parliament is expected to be dissolved in June. Only the next National Assembly can properly investigate all circumstances of the war, he said.

One of the two parliamentary opposition parties, Bright Armenia (LHK), already demanded such a probe in December. The parliaments pro-government majority objected to the idea.

During Wednesdays parliament debate, LHK leaders accused Pashinian of trying to dodge responsibility for the outcome of the war which left at least 3,600 Armenia soldiers dead and led to sweeping Azerbaijani territorial gains.
The crash in the eastern coastal city of Hualien on April 2 was Taiwan's worst rail disaster in decades. Photo by AFP/Sam Yeh.

Taiwan prosecutors on Friday charged a truck driver with negligent homicide over his role in the island's worst rail disaster in decades that left 49 dead and over 200 injured.

The April 2 crash was caused by a railway maintenance truck that slid down an embankment moments before a packed train came down the line in the eastern coastal city of Hualien.

The vehicle had been stuck in bushes on a nearby road before it rolled down the slope, and prosecutors said driver Li Yi-hsiang and his Vietnamese assistant tried to free it with a rope tied to a backhoe.

"Instead of seeking professional help to free the vehicle, they recklessly tried to pull it with the wrong method, which caused the vehicle to roll down the incline," said the Hualien district prosecutors office.

"They failed to immediately alert the authorities after the incident, which led to a tragedy... that caused massive damages and shocked the international community."

Li, 49, was part of a contracted railway maintenance team that regularly inspects Taiwan's mountainous eastern train line for landslides and other hazards.

His assistant, an undocumented migrant worker identified only as Hwa, and two Taiwanese supervisors of a construction site near the track were also charged with negligent homicide.

The offense is punishable by a maximum of five years in jail, prosecutors said.

Li faces an extra charge of fleeing the scene after the incident, which is punishable by a maximum of seven years in prison, they added.

Taiwan's transportation minister Lin Chia-lung has tendered his resignation over the train crash, which plunged the island into mourning.

The last major train derailment in Taiwan was in 2018 and left 18 people dead on the same line. The train driver was later charged with negligent homicide.

Taiwan's most deadly rail disaster on record was in 1948 when a train caught fire and 64 people perished.
New Delhi, April 17 : Hours after the weekend curfew began in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday appealed to the citizens to follow the guidelines imposed by the state government to win the war against Covid-19.

The weekend lockdown came into force from 10 pm on Friday. This is for the first time this year the national capital will witness strict prohibition on weekend and is likely to be extended if cases continue to rise.

"in view of the Covid-19, a curfew has been imposed in Delhi on Saturday and Sunday. Please follow it. We all have to defeat the pandemic together," Kejriwal tweeted.

With the alarming situation due to the exponential rise in Covid-19 cases in the national capital, the state government has on Thursday announced to impose weekend curfew (from Friday 10 pm to Monday 5 am), while the other restriction will continue till April 30.

Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has already made it clear that only essential services are exempted from the restrictions. Interstate transport will continue uninterrupted.

There will be no restrictions on movement for medical purposes and home delivery of food will be allowed.

All markets, malls, gyms, spas, auditoriums, and swimming pools will be closed. No dining-out in restaurants. Only home delivery food services will be allowed during the weekend lockdown.

Delhi has been reporting over 10k new cases daily for the last nearly one week. A total of 19,484 fresh Covid-19 cases were reported in Delhi on Friday night, the highest single-day spike in the capital so far.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today, Bright Machines, a full-stack technology company offering a revolutionary approach to software-defined manufacturing, announced a new partnership with Anstar Corporation. a leading provider of metal cutting, fabrication and automation capital equipment, Anstar Corporation will now include among its offerings Bright Machines Microfactories, which combine intelligent software with adaptive hardware to automate repetitive assembly & inspection tasks.

As we continue to expand our footprint, both geographically and into new sectors, we remain focused on helping manufacturers digitize their factories, said Steve Heinzen, Business Development Director, Bright Machines. Were confident Anstar Corporation will prove to be a valuable part of our partner ecosystem as it brings next-generation automation to a new array of manufacturers.

The technology that Bright Machines develops has potential to radically transform the operations of the companies we work with, who are looking for more consistent output, more resilient operations in the face of supply chain and labor issues, and more dynamic processes, said Chuck Anderson, founder and CEO, Anstar Corporation. Were looking forward to working with Bright Machines as they deliver results for our clients on all those fronts.

About Bright Machines

Headquartered in San Francisco, Bright Machines is an industry leading, full stack technology company that offers a revolutionary approach to intelligent, software-defined manufacturing. It leverages computer vision, machine learning, 3D simulation, and adaptive robotics to fundamentally change the flexibility, scalability, and economics of production. With more than 500 employees worldwide, Bright Machines operates R&D centers in the U.S. and Israel, with additional field operations in the U.S., Mexico, China, and Poland. In 2019, Bright Machines was named a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum and one of Americas Most Promising Artificial Intelligence Companies by Forbes.

Bright Machines is reimagining the way products can be designed and produced, in order to address the realities of today and the future ahead. Rethink everything you ever knew about manufacturing. Visit www.brightmachines.com.

About Anstar Corporation

From the heartland of America, in the Midwestern States of Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North & South Dakota you'll find ANSTAR CORPORATION supporting your company with its advanced machine tool resources. Delivering precision machine tools, is only part of what we offer. ANSTAR CORPORATION also provides applications engineering, and training support. After the sale, we have the expertise you need, to continue being productive and profitable, providing you with preventative maintenance programs, value added service and spare parts support.

With over twenty years in the CNC machine tool industry, ANSTAR CORPORATION has developed a commitment to excellence and has emerged as an aggressive supplier in CNC machine tool distribution and brokerage. We represent only the finest builders of world class CNC machine tools, designed for high accuracy, high productivity, and a long useful life. These products are field proven and meet the needs of a wide range of metalworking applications, supported by the service, you have the right to expect.

Visit www.anstarcorp.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210415005213/en/

Justine Crosby, Justine.Crosby@brightmachines.com

Source: Bright Machines
People who have lost loved ones to OxyContin leave pill bottles in protest outside the headquarters of Purdue Pharma, owned by the Sackler family. Photo: Jessica Hill/AP/Shutterstock/Jessica Hill/AP/Shutterstock

In the annals of Americas worst families, there are horrors to behold. Everyone knows the Trumps, and maybe the Mercers, who funded Breitbart News and Parler, the app where planning for the Capitol riot took place. Stephen Miller seems determined to compete with them. They must all make space for the Sacklers, whose role in Americas opioid crisis ranks them among historys most notable entries. For all the attention the Sacklers have garnered, however, their history as a family remains under-scrutinized. From afar they resemble a collective entity, not a grouping of individuals responsible for individual misdeeds. That will soon change.

Empire of Pain, Patrick Radden Keefes new history of the Sackler clan, does not locate a moral conscience anywhere in the family at all. Certainly not in Richard Sackler, who once suggested that the familys company, Purdue Pharma, hammer on OxyContin addicts in any way possible. Not in Arthur Sackler, who died before OxyContin hit the market, and whose descendants have tried to claim a form of innocence. Arthur, the mind behind the aggressive marketing of Valium, devised the very techniques Purdue would use to sell OxyContin directly to doctors, as Keefe, a writer for The New Yorker, shows.

Some ground may be familiar to those who have followed news of the Sacklers and Purdue over time. As Keefe notes, other reporters have covered the opioid crisis at length. Western Virginias legal war on Purdue features in journalist Beth Macys 2018 book, Dopesick, for example. Empire of Pain differs from other books in the genre because it is principally a family history  one the Sacklers took care to avoid. In Keefes account, they resurface as individual characters, with biographies and motivations and feuds. The result will undo decades of philanthropic effort to link the Sackler name with public good.

The truth can be an ugly, violent thing. No Sackler emerges fully unblemished from Keefes able dissection of the family fortune. Keefe is a precise chronicler. From the brilliant first generation to the what, me worry? attitude of the youngest Sacklers, he depicts a family responsible for suffering on an incredible scale. They remain purposefully oblivious and then, whenever confronted with the fruits of their genius, react with defensive fury. The original three Sackler brothers combined a sincere belief in the power of medicine to relieve agony with an equal dedication to the free market, a libertarian hell brew that eventually destroyed thousands of lives. All the while, they pursued a different kind of investment: philanthropy, mostly in the biomedical sciences and the arts.

What Arthur Sackler truly craved, one of his ex-wives mused to Keefe, went beyond mere financial gain. His obsession with art, especially with the collection thereof, rested with its ability to outlive him. To Sackler, art represented the possibility of immortality, she said.

Mortality is harder for others to escape. While the Sacklers amassed an almost unimaginable fortune, people began to die. The CDC says overdose deaths from prescription opioids have been increasing since at least 1999, three years after OxyContins introduction to the market. Though the drug isnt solely responsible for the increase, theres significant evidence that Purdue, and the Sacklers, knew OxyContin was more potent than other drugs on offer. And the failsafes didnt work. Each OxyContin pill was coated in a controlled-release material meant to reduce the potential for addiction. Purdue believed theyd hacked opiums natural properties, Keefe wrote, and told the FDA and prescribing physicians the same. It was fairly easy, however, to hack the hack  to crush the pill, and snort it. That fancy coating didnt guarantee 12-hour pain relief either. Purdue knew from its own research that many patients needed another dose well before 12 hours expired, which increased the amount of OxyContin they had to consume for relief.

Purdue knew, also, that people were dying. So did the Sacklers, who not only owned the company but intervened regularly in its affairs. It was Richard Sackler who urged, repeatedly, the aggressive marketing of OxyContin; all Sacklers involved would insist on the innocence of the drug. But the sales reps had told them the score. Their reports began flooding in from West Virginia, and Maine, and western Virginia. In rural areas already depleted by decades of extractive capitalism and industry decline, OxyContin was kerosene. People were overdosing, at rates that increased exponentially over time. I grew up in rural southwestern Virginia, and when I left for cities far afield, pills seemed to be all anyone knew about the place I was from, a fun-house mirror image of home. I could not escape the Sacklers, or their legacy. I despise them.

A worker removes a sign that includes the name Arthur M. Sackler at an entrance to Tufts School of Medicine, in Boston. Photo: Steven Senne/AP/Shutterstock/Steven Senne/AP/Shutterstock

In 2001, western Virginia tried to defend itself. John Brownlee, the U.S. Attorney for the region, told his deputies Rick Mountcastle and Randy Ramseyer to investigate Purdue. They subpoenaed documents on the marketing of OxyContin, preparing themselves for a battle they knew they were unlikely to win. (My childhood home isnt far from the courthouse where Purdue executives would eventually plead, and my family attended church with Mountcastle for a few years.) They uncovered a now-familiar fact. What the investigators discovered, as they pored over this material, was that nearly every major element of the story that Purdue had been telling about its own conduct was untrue, Keefe writes.

Then, despite the evidence, the Bush Justice Department declined to support felony charges against three Purdue executives. Instead, they pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in 2007 while the Sacklers survived unscathed. Three years later, Purdue introduced a reformulated version of OxyContin, designed to be safer and impossible to crush. Purdue had not discovered altruistic qualities in itself  the patent on original OxyContin was about to expire. Reformulation allowed Purdue to extend the patent and make more money. In doing so, Purdue helped launch another wave of overdose deaths, as people with prescription drug-use disorder turned to heroin for relief.

Nothing seemed to damage The Family, as Mountcastle called them. The Sacklers maintained their innocence, and opened their pocketbooks, and the world looked away.

By the time I moved to New York City in 2016, the Sackler family had practically painted my new home with its name. The Brooklyn Museum is home to the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. (Elizabeth, a descendant of Arthur, routinely insists that she has not directly profited from the sale of OxyContin. Others argue persuasively that all Sacklers are complicit in the opioid crisis.) There is a Sackler wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, whose origins Keefe examines at length. Arthur Sacklers relationship with Met began with an unusual arrangement: a family enclave in a public space. This arrangement subverted the original mission of the Met  in Keefes words, that it would be free and open to the public, but subsidized by gifts from the rich  and the museums staff originally had no access to the enclave. Sackler even installed a lock to keep them out.

As atypical as his early agreement with the Met might have been, Sackler understood something profound about the nature of philanthropy. It is distinct both from charity and from welfare. Arthurs own attorney, Michael Sonnenreich, is quoted bluntly articulating its real qualities: If you put your name on something it is not charity, its philanthropy. You get something for it. If you want your name on it, its a business deal. A person does not have to be a committed political observer to hear something of Trump in the statement, even though Trump himself is no philanthropic giant. Under capitalism, everything can be business. Philanthropy embraces this fact, promising wealthy men like Arthur Sackler the immortality they crave.

Philanthropys proponents argue that the public receives a good deal in return for massaging a few wealthy egos. Its thanks to Arthur Sackler that the Temple of Dendur sits on the Upper East Side, not Egypt. And if the rich dont step in, who will? The U.S. government invests very little in either the creation or preservation of art. Trump and Ronald Reagan both tried to kill funding for the National Endowment for the Arts; the Heritage Foundation even calls the NEA an unwarranted extension of the federal government into the voluntary sector. The arts are properly the realm of philanthropists, this logic argues, and the government should stay out. For cultural workers like my parents, who eke out a living teaching classical music to children in the same place the Sacklers scavenged for profit, philanthropy offers hope in an underfunded world. They would also say that this is only true of philanthropy because the government abandoned its responsibilities to the public. They would say that art is good for everyone, and must be available to everyone, and that the future of art cannot depend on the whims of wealthy men.

A protest against Richard Sackler at the Guggenheim Museum in 2019. Photo: THE NEW YORK TIMES/The New York Times/Redux

There is a price to giving families like the Sacklers the public-relations boost they desire. With time, the universities and museums that once gladly took Sackler money learned exactly how high that price would be. Nan Goldin taught them. The artist, who says she became addicted to OxyContin after a doctor prescribed it to her for wrist surgery, forced the art world to reckon with the Sackler legacy. With PAIN, her collective, she took the fight directly to the museums and galleries that still took Sackler money and put the Sackler name on the walls. Temple of greed! Temple of Oxy!, PAIN once activists shouted inside the Met. Arthur Sackler may have won his bid for immortality. The Sackler wing even still bears his name. His legacy, though, will be quite different from what hed dreamed.

Spare a brief thought for the Sacklers: No fortune is innocent. There could be a hundred books like Empire of Pain, each scrutinizing the coffers of a different super-wealthy family, and the revelations would be sordid. The opioid crisis makes unique monsters of the Sacklers, but they arent the only ghouls around. Labor exploitation and unsavory connections to the business right are profitable, and they frequently lay the foundation for great familial wealth. This country concluded long ago that it would trade the public good for whatever largesse its tycoons would shed. Through philanthropy, the Sacklers took advantage of all that capitalism could offer.

To focus exclusively on the Sacklers, or hold them up as unprecedented American monsters, would be an error. People made a similar mistake with the Trumps. Both families are easy to hate; I maintain thriving hobbies in this area. But the Trumps and the Sacklers are only what America allowed them to become. An entire rotten structure lurks behind the Sackler name. They are not the first family to escape serious prosecution for wrongdoing. They arent the first to route a fortune offshore. They are certainly not the first to use philanthropy as misdirection. Philanthropy merely reinforces the greatest sins of capitalism. It asks no questions of a fortune and offers much by way of reward. Only over the last few years have universities begun removing the Sackler name; only recently have museums stopped taking Sackler money. It took Goldin and PAIN, and years of dogged reporting from Keefe and many others, to finally turn the screw. Even now, the Sacklers could get away with it  most of it.

Weeks before the presidential election, the Trump Justice Department announced a global settlement with Purdue Pharma, ending its criminal and civil investigations into the company and the Sacklers. The Sacklers would pay a small fine relative to their fortune, which is worth billions; they would also admit no wrongdoing. Purdue has filed for bankruptcy, and hopes to restructure itself independent of the Sacklers. Keefe observes that in an effort to shield their fortune, the Sacklers have reversed themselves. While they once insisted that they and Purdue were separate entities, they are now arguing the opposite: that lawsuits against Purdue are, in effect, lawsuits against the family.

The slow gears of the law still grind, but public opinion moves at a different pace. Nobody really doubts now that Purdue and the Sacklers were one and the same, and Empire of Pain reinforces that perception with reported facts. In this way, Keefe has accomplished something similar to what Nan Goldin and PAIN have done, what attorneys have been trying to do for over a decade. He forces The Family into the light.
Chennai, April 17 : Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Ltd was fined Rs.10 lakh by the insurance regulator for violation of the Insurance Act and its Motor Insurance Service Provider (MISP) guidelines.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) in its order has said Bajaj Allianz General had solicited 2,214 motor insurance policies between November 2017 - January 2018 involving a premium of about Rs 1.44 crore.

The regulator had said the company had sold the policies through 90 unregistered entities.

Exercising its powers under Section 105C of the Insurance Act the IRDAI levied a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on Bajaj Allianz General.

According to IRDAI, the penalty should be paid online after debiting the company shareholder's account.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Qualitys Take Care of Texas program announced on Thursday the winners of its seventh-annual K-5 art contest.

Natalia Saenz, a student at Matias De Llano Elementary School, won the first-grade level of a statewide art contest. Meanwhile, Noel Palomo, a student at Freedom Elementary School, won the third-grade category.

Saenz and Palomo will each receive a tablet donated by the Texas Chemical Council.

Students were asked to submit artwork demonstrating how they help keep the air and water clean, conserve water and energy, and reduce waste.

TCEQ Staff selected winners from each of the more than 3,000 entries.

All of the winning students artwork can be viewed on the Take Care of Texas website.

The winning pieces will also be showcased on the Take Care of Texas and TCEQ websites, newsletters and social media.

Take Care of Texas is a statewide campaign from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that encourages all Texans to help keep our air and water clean, conserve water and energy, and reduce waste.

Follow Take Care of Texas on Twitter @TCEQ and @TakeCareOfTX.
Prude family lawyer Elliot Shields said it was upsetting to confirm his suspicion that prosecutors had undermined their own case by calling Vilke.

"It's obvious that they didn't even try," Shields told The Associated Press.

He criticized prosecutors for calling as a witness someone he said should have been an expert for the defense at trial. He called Vilke's assertion that restraining Prude was safer "outrageous."

"They hired him so that he would come in and they could have cover and say, 'Well, we tried.' Well no you didn't," Shields said. "You tried to make sure these officers got off scot-free."

Prosecutors from the state attorney general's office sought no other charges. They told grand jurors that they could choose not to indict if they believed the use of force was justified. Five jurors indicated they would have voted to indict at least one of the officers.

"You are not an arm of the prosecution and you are to draw no conclusions about, quote, unquote, we think, feel or anything else," Jennifer Sommers, the deputy chief of Special Investigations, instructed the grand jury, according to the transcripts. "You are an independent body."
The Bia West District Assembly in the Western North Region has recorded a total of 33 new HIV/AIDS cases in the first quarter of 2021.



Of the figures, 11 are males and 22 females.



This brings to a total of 819 positive HIV/AIDS cases made up of 598 females and 221 males recorded in the District as at the end of March this year.



This was made known at the end of the first quarter stakeholders meeting and review of the District HIV/AIDS response activities.



Mr Obed Anhwere, Bio-statistician at Essam Government Hospital, who is in charge of Anti-Retroviral Therapy, (ART) appealed to persons diagnosed to be HIV positive to seek early treatment by visiting the unit for anti-retroviral drugs since that was the only way to go.



He advised residents to go for voluntary counseling and testing to enable them to know their HIV/AIDS status.



Mr John Koah, District Chief Executive of Bia in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, (GNA) expressed worry about the situation and called on residents especially the youth to change their sexual behavior so as not to contract the disease.



He announced that the Assembly, together with the District Health Directorate had set up a committee to educate students in the various senior high schools, visit funeral grounds, mosques, churches and lorry stations to educate people on the high prevalence rate of HIV/AIDs cases in the District.



HIV/AIDS cases in Bia West District is serious and we must not joke about it.

Source: GNA









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New Delhi:

The Adityanath government has proposed to build 100 metres Lord Rams statue on the banks of the Saryu River in Ayodhya. The state tourism department has already made a presentation to governor Ram Naik in this regard.

The construction will start once it gets the approval of National Green Tribunal (NGT).

"The statue will be installed only after clearance from the National Green Tribunal," Principal Secretary Tourism Awanish Awasthi said.

According to a press communique from Governor office, Awasthi had met with the Governor and made a presentation under Navya Ayodhya plan.

Also Read: Uttar Pradesh govt to start Pink Bus service exclusively for women

The presentation also included the programme of Diwali celebration which will be held on October 18. Union tourism minister KJ Alphons and cultural minister Dr Mahesh Sharma will grace the occasion.

Also Read: UP CM Yogi Adityanath says love jihad a dangerous thing

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
It was dark by the time the 41-year-old woman was able to start the long drive from her fathers apartment in Washington, D.C., to her home in Westchester County, N.Y. She was eager to get back to her husband and three children. Somewhere after she crossed the border into Maryland, the woman suddenly developed a terrible itch all over her body. Shed been a little itchy for the past couple of weeks but attributed that to dry skin from her now-faded summertime tan. This seemed very different: much stronger, much deeper. And absolutely everywhere, all at the same time.

The sensation was so intense it was hard for the woman to pay attention to the road. She found herself driving with one hand on the steering wheel and the other working to respond to her skins new need. There was no rash  or at least nothing she could feel  just the terrible itch, so deep inside her skin that she felt as if she couldnt scratch hard enough to really get to it. By the light of the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel she saw that her nails and fingers were dark with blood. That scared her, and she tried to stop scratching, but she couldnt. It felt as if a million ants were crawling all over her body. Not on her skin, but somehow under it.

The woman had gone to Washington to help her elderly father move. His place was a mess. Many of his belongings hadnt been touched in years. She figured that she was having a reaction to all the dust and dirt and who knows what else she encountered while cleaning. As soon as she got home, she took a long shower; the cool water soothed her excoriated skin. She lathered herself with moisturizer and sank gratefully into her bed. But the reprieve didnt last, and from that night on she was tormented by an itch that no scratching could satisfy.

A Year of Unrelenting Agony

After two weeks, she went to an urgent-care center. There didnt seem to be a rash or bites, the doctor told her, but her skin was so red and scratched up that he might not be able to see if there was an allergic reaction or bites from bedbugs or fleas beneath it all. He started her on a two-week course of prednisone; that should calm your itch, he told her, no matter the cause. She took it faithfully. It didnt help.
Po-po offer a peek at the rules they're playing by even if the current epoch in American history has taught us that RULES DON'T ALWAYS APPLY.



Still, we appreciate any effort to better inform the public and the nod to an ancient piece of paper even if the current Prez tells us that "no Amendment is absolute" and faith in American Constitutional rights has never been weaker in the modern era.

Read more . . .



KCPD Chief's Blog: New First Amendment policy responds to community requests

On March 23, our Board of Police Commissioners approved a policy that we have been working toward since early last summer: the First Amendment Protected Activities Policy.



This was a reform requested by our community. The new policy establishes guidelines and procedures for department members when engaging with individuals participating in First Amendment-protected activities.



We take an oath to uphold the Constitution, to include the First Amendment. Protecting everyones right to expression is integral to our mission.



The department did extensive legal research and looked into best practices nationwide to draft the new policy. Members met with community stakeholders, city leaders, prosecutors and others to create the policy that addresses community concerns. As the policy was being created, we revised it multiple times in response to their suggestions.



The new policy directs members to minimize displays of force. It states, The display of armored vehicles, personal protective equipment or other displays of force will be minimized to the extent safely possible.



It also states, Members will make all reasonable efforts to allow law-abiding individuals to continue to exercise their First Amendment protected rights, and will focus efforts on those individuals in the active assembly who violate the law.



The First Amendment Policy explicitly prohibits officers from using less-lethal weapons and munitions  other than chemical agents  to disperse crowds in the event of an unlawful assembly.



We have listened to the changes the community wanted to see, and we have implemented them. We are here to support and protect the exercise of First Amendment rights. More times than I can count, officers have risked their personal safety to shield a demonstrator from violence by a counter-protestor or something similar. We have blocked streets to protect marchers from vehicles on numerous occasions, as we have also protected drivers.



We ask that participants do their part, as well, by respecting the safety and property of others, as the law requires at all other times. It is our duty to balance the freedom of expression with public safety. We are willing to work with any group or individual to coordinate the successful exercise their constitutional rights.



We are working hard to support First Amendment rights, and we look forward to the community supporting the rights of everyone to be safe and secure, as well.

#######################

Developing . . .


Calls have been made for the Minister for Culture to investigate if traditional turf cutting practices can be protected under EU or international conventions.

Independent TD for Laois Offaly, Carol Nolan, has said she has written to the Minister for Culture Catherine Martin in an effort to investigate if traditional turf cutting practices can be protected under EU or international conventions. Deputy Nolan said that she would be making the move following increasing concerns that those who had engaged in turf cutting for home heat and cultural reasons were effectively being subjected to a process amounting to creeping criminalisation.

We all know that over the last number of years the EU, in the form of the Habitats Directive, has introduced robust laws around what can and cannot be done in rural Ireland. But we also know that there are other international conventions such as the Council of Europe Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society, or the Faro Framework.

This Convention explicitly calls on states to recognise that rights relating to cultural heritage are inherent in the right to participate in cultural life, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

For the purposes of that Convention cultural heritage is defined as a group of resources inherited from the past with which people identify, independently of ownership, as a reflection and expression of their traditions.

It is also quite clear that a heritage community consists of people who value specific aspects of cultural heritage which they wish, within the framework of public action, to sustain and transmit to future generations. 

I would be suggesting that there is a great degree of overlap between what the Convention says and what those who engage in traditional turf cutting have always done.

Of course, there is the home heating, energy supply side of this debate and that is crucially important. But the cultural and heritage angle to this issue is often overlooked. Turf cutters deserve the full protection of the law, both domestic and international. That is something I will be working to achieve on their behalf, concluded Deputy Nolan.
Chants of Black Lives Matter were heard again in downtown Raleigh and Durham on Friday evening, as people condemned police shootings of young men of color around the country.

The gatherings were small compared to those that coursed through Durham and Raleigh last May after the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis.

A few dozen came together outside the Executive Mansion in Raleigh, before marching through the streets of downtown.

People are dying, and the governor needs to address it, said Vicki Brent, an 18-year-old student at Millbrook High School.

In Durham, more than 100 gathered at the corner of Dillard and Mangum streets near the county courthouse.

Among them was Kaleb Graves, 23, a Baptist minister studying at Duke Divinity School, who said he came out because the country has a problem with systemic racism.

People of color are disproportionately affected, and that is a sin, Graves said.

The protests were prompted in part by two recent cases of white police officers fatally shooting young men of color: 13-year-old Adam Toledo in Chicago and 20-year-old Daunte Wright in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center. Durham marchers also called attention to the death of Jaida Peterson, a Black transgender woman who was found dead in a Charlotte hotel room April 4.

A Chicago police officer fired a single shot that killed Toledo in the early morning hours of March 29. The officer had responded to a report of gunfire and chased Toledo down an alley, yelling at him to stop and drop a handgun that prosecutors say he was carrying.

A video from the officers body camera released Thursday shows Toledo stopping, turning and raising his empty hands as the officer fired. Police say they found a gun a few feet away. Toledo was a seventh grader at Gary Elementary School.

Wright was killed by a single shot from one of three officers who had pulled him over for having an expired registration and something hanging from his rear-view mirror. The officers subsequently learned that Wright had an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in court.

Story continues

After initially getting out of his car, Wright struggled with the officers and attempted to drive off. Officer Kimberly Ann Potter, a 26-year veteran of the police department, threatened to tase Wright with a stun gun but actually fired a single shot from her handgun.

Potter and the city police chief resigned two days later. The next day, Potter was charged with second-degree manslaughter.

Dante Mobley, a student at Enloe High School, said he joined the Raleigh protest to demand justice.

Justice is a living breathing Adam Toledo, he said. Justice is a living breathing Daunte Wright.

Taking the bullhorn, Brent, the Millbrook student, told the Raleigh crowd that the goal of the protest, and others like it, was to fight white supremacy.

This is not just a cop problem, she said. Its an America problem.

This is a developing story and will be updated.
The Jharkhand High Court granted bail to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president and former Chief Minister of Bihar Lalu Prasad Yadav in the Dumka Treasury case. The Dumka Treasury case is linked to the multi-crore fodder scam.

The court had rejected Prasad's bail as he fell short by 1 month and 17 days to complete half of his sentencing. After completing the prescribed period in jail, the RJD supremo sought bail once again in court. Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh of the Jharkhand High Court granted him bail.

The court has directed the politician to neither leave India without permission nor change his address and mobile number during the bail period. The septuagenarian politician has been convicted in four out of five cases related to the fodder scam. Prasad has already got bail in three other cases of the fodder scam.

Earlier, he was granted bail in the Chaibasa Treasury case which involved the excess withdrawal of Rs 37.7 crore. This was followed by his bail in another case pertaining to excess withdrawal worth Rs 79 lakh from the Deoghar Treasury. He also secured bail in a third case pertaining to excess withdrawal worth Rs 33.13 crore from the Chaibasa Treasury.

The politician got bail on the grounds of having served half the sentence of the total term that was awarded to him.

Edited by Mehak Agarwal

Also read: 'Kumbh Mela should now only be symbolic,' says PM Modi

Also read: COVID-19 second wave in India: 10 worst affected states with highest number of coronavirus infections
They welcomed their second child - a daughter Kaori Mai - last October.

And Kevin Hart and his wife Eniko took some time off parenting duties as they stepped out for dinner together at Soho House in Malibu on Friday night.

The pair both dressed down in casual ensembles and donned black face masks as they left the swanky members club to head home.

Quality time: Kevin Hart and his wife Eniko took some time off parenting duties as they stepped out for dinner together at Soho House in Malibu on Friday night

Kevin, 41, looked relaxed in light blue jeans and a white jumper and completed his low-key look with green trainers.

Meanwhile Eniko, 36, was showing off her trim figure in tight grey jeans and a black hoodie.

She added a touch of glamour to her outfit with snakeskin heels and carried a quilted black bag in her arms as she stepped out.

Low-key: The pair both dressed down in casual ensembles and donned black face masks as they left the swanky members club to head home

Kevin and Eniko celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary last August and welcomed their second child in October.

Along with Kaori, the Harts are also the proud parents of son Kenzo, who turned three last November.

The Ride Along actor also has a daughter Heaven, 15, and a son Hendrix, 12, from his previous marriage to Torrei Hart.

Stepping out: Kevin looked relaxed in light blue jeans and a white jumper and completed his low-key look with green trainers

On the work front Kevin has been busy filming Netflix's eight-episode limited series True Story in Los Angeles.

Independent Spirit Award nominee Wesley Snipes also has a role in the show portraying Kid's (Hart) wayward big brother Carlton in the fictionalized drama based on his rise as a comic.

True Story marks the Philadelphia-born 41-year-old's TV drama debut as part of his lucrative four-picture deal with the streaming giant.

Growing family: The Harts, who celebrated four years of marriage last August, are also the proud parents of son Kenzo, who turns three in late November; the comedian and actor also has a daughter Heaven, 15, and a son Hendrix, 12, from his previous marriage to Torrei Hart

'It's pretty dope!' Hart - who boasts 204.2M social media followers - marveled last month about the production.

True Story will also feature Black Lightning's William Catlett, Star Trek: Lower Decks' Tawny Newsome, Titanic alum Billy Zane, and Ghosts of War's Theo Rossi.

Watchmen director Stephen Williams helms the first four episodes while Star Trek Picard director Hanelle Culpepper will helm the final four episodes, according to Deadline.
MANILA, Philippines (AP)  Philippine troops killed a suspected Egyptian would-be suicide bomber and two local Abu Sayyaf militants in what military officials said Saturday was a setback that would make it harder for gunmen linked to the Islamic State group to stage suicide attacks.

Army troops gunned down the three militants in a 10-minute firefight Friday night near a hinterland village off the mountainous Patikul town in southern Sulu province. They also recovered three assault rifles and bandoliers of ammunition, army brigade commander Col. Benjamin Batara Jr. said.

Military officials did not indicate how the three were tracked down but military chief Gen. Cirilito Sobejana suggested that troops were helped by intelligence provided by villagers. The support of the public in our peace and security operations is much, much needed, Sobejana told The Associated Press.

The Egyptian, who was identified by the military only as Yusop, was the son of an Egyptian militant Reda Mohammad Mahmud who used the nom de guerre Siti Aisyah and was killed when she detonated a bomb and was shot by troops two years ago at the gate of an army detachment in Sulus Indanan town. His Egyptian stepfather was killed in a gunbattle with troops at a military checkpoint in Indanan, also in 2019, the military said.

This is one less suicide bomber, army Maj. Gen. William Gonzales said. Without them, the possibility of another attack is slimmer.

Gonzales said without elaborating that the killing of the Egyptian would cut off foreign financial support to the Abu Sayyaf. The small but violent group has long been blacklisted by the United States and the Philippines for ransom kidnappings, beheadings of hostages and deadly bombing attacks.

Aside from Yusop, troops also killed suspected bomb maker Abu Khattab Jundullah and another still-unidentified militant.

They belonged to an Abu Sayyaf faction led by Mudzrimar Sawadjaan, who has been blamed for a series of suicide attacks, including the January 2019 bombings by an Indonesian militant couple of a Roman Catholic cathedral in Jolo town in Sulu that killed 20 people and wounded more than 100 others, Batara said.

Story continues

Gonzales said troops were hunting down the remaining militants and expressed optimism that Sawadjaan, one of the most wanted Abu Sayyaf commanders, will soon meet his end.

Military intelligence indicates there may be four remaining foreign militants with the Abu Sayyaf group in Sulu, a poverty-wracked Muslim province, including an Egyptian and two Indonesians, the militarys Western Mindanao Command said.

Abu Sayyaf, one of a handful of small but violent militant groups aligned with the Islamic State group, has been considerably weakened by battle setbacks, surrenders and factionalism but remains a national security threat.

From hundreds of armed fighters in the 1990s, only about 60 to 70 Abu Sayyaf combatants remain in Sulu and outlying island provinces. Since January, about 60 Abu Sayyaf militants have surrendered, seven captured and three killed in military offensives in Sulu, where thousands of troops have been deployed in recent years, military officials said.

Despite considerable setbacks, desperate Abu Sayyaf militants could be looking to take new hostages, simply out of financial straits, according to the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict, which assesses insurgencies and other violent conflicts in the region. The Jakarta-based think tank said a likely target are Indonesian-crewed Malaysian fishing vessels plying across the Sulu Seas richest fishing areas where Abu Sayyaf group kidnappers lie in wait.
Washington: The number of new coronavirus cases around the globe has almost doubled over the past two months, an alarming increase that the World Health Organisation said on Friday (Saturday) was nearing the pandemics peak infection rate.

Around the world, COVID-19 cases and deaths are continuing to increase at worrying rates, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a briefing on Friday.

A health worker collects nasal swab samples at a COVID-19 testing center in Hyderabad, India. Credit:AP

This is approaching the highest rate of infection that we have seen so far during the pandemic, he said. Some countries that had previously avoided widespread COVID-19 transmission are now seeing steep increases in infections.

Case numbers have spiked in nearly all regions, with larger outbreaks gripping Brazil, India, Poland, Turkey and some other countries. In the seven days ending April 11, global cases rose by 11 per cent compared to the previous week, according to the WHO.
Then U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) shakes hands with China's leader Xi Jinping (R) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 7, 2016. (Nicolas Asfouri - Pool/Getty Images)

Xi Jinping Back in Public, CCP Again Abuses the United States

Commentary

On April 16, Chinese leader Xi Jinping finally appeared in the media and held a video meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, ending eight days of apparent invisibility. The last time Xi Jinping showed up was in a tree-planting event on April 8, but then he disappeared from public view. The headlines in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) media could only cover his whereabouts with his books, articles, instructions, calls, letters etc.

Xi Jinpings invisibility once again sparked speculation from many sources regarding his health, safety, and party infighting. Even the media softened the tone by publicizing premier Li Keqiangs remarks on April 13 in a video conversation with the American business community when he said that decoupling is not good for anyone.

However, as soon as Xi Jinping appeared on April 16, the CCPs media outlets were fully firing. The spokesperson from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zhao Lijian, also returned to his old posture as a so-called wolf warrior.

The Strangeness of the Climate Change Talks

On April 7, Xi had a telephone conversation with Merkel, reported briefly by Xinhua News. Nine days later, Xi once again had video talks with Merkel and Macron.

In a short report from Reuters it was stated, The leaders of Germany and France welcomed Beijings aim to reach climate neutrality in its carbon dioxide emissions before 2060 in a video conference where Merkel, Macron, and Xi exchange[d] their views on climate protection ahead of a virtual climate summit which the United States will host on April 22 and 23.

According to this report, Xi Jinping merely repeated his previous promises. Who would really believe what the CCP promised 39 years from now? The Sino-British Joint Declaration also promised that one country, two systems would remain unchanged for at least 50 years after 1997. As a result, it became an outdated document by the CCP in 23 years.

Xinhua, on the other hand, reported the meeting in a high profile piece that stated, the leaders of the three countries had an in-depth exchange of views on cooperation in tackling climate change, Sino-European relations, anti-pandemic cooperation, and major international and regional issues.

Other than Xis usual rhetoric, the focus of the article was probably Xi saying, We must firmly grasp the general direction and main tone of the development of China-EU relations from a strategic height.

Accompanied by Yang Jiechi, the CCPs most senior foreign policy official, and Wang Yi, the CCPs foreign minister, Xi had his moment to show the world that he is not isolated and he has the capital to compete with the United States.

The U.S. presidents special envoy for climate change, John Kerry, has arrived in China, but when asked if Xi would meet with Kerry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Zhao Lijian referred to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment for the answer.

The CCP has hoped for a dialogue with the United States, and even stated willingness to cooperate on climate action. Now that the American climate envoy has arrived, the CCP has deliberately lowered the standards for his reception, and Xi does not seem to be ready to meet him. The CCP put aside the visiting American climate envoy, but made a climate commitment to the French and German leaders. Is this the way to improve Sino-U.S. relations, or is it decoupling itself?

I wont rule out that Yang Jiechi may meet Kerry privately, but the CCP media has also set off a new wave of offensive propaganda vilifying the United States.

A New Anti-American Propaganda

On April 16, the article Examples of U.S. Violations of International Rules was published in a prominent position on the homepage of Xinhua. This long article of more than 5,000 words has five subheadings, namely: Interference in other countries internal affairs and infringement of the sovereignty of other countries; trampling on international rules and threatening peace and security; unilateral bullying and sanctions in an attempt to cover the sky single-handedly; pursuing the United States first by abandoning commitments and obligations; notorious for double standards for human rights, brutally trampling on human rights.

This article is worthy of the U.S. governments thorough research to learn how the CCP views the United States.

Another article published by Xinhua, A sharp comment on the world: Human rights model? Stop the five shame!, mainly in the form of an illustration, lists the five sins of the United States, including: colonialism, racism, export unrest, interventionism, and double standards. The article ended by calling the United States to Stop the shameless five!

I wonder how President Joe Biden and his staff would feel about such an article. Now the CCP is not only scolding outgoing Trump administration officials, but the entire U.S. government.

Zhao Lijian, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also quickly returned to his original wolf warrior role. Xinhua quoted him at a press conference that day and issued a third report, Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Japan and the United States must not engage in small circles against China. Zhao insisted that the CCPs position on Taiwan, Hong Kong, the South China Sea and [the disputed islands] Diaoyu Dao is consistent and clear.  The United States and Japan should take Chinas concerns and demands seriously  refrain from forming a clique targeting China  [and] China will make necessary reactions as the situation evolves.

After being held back for several days, Zhao Lijian finally got approval to draw a red line against the United States and Japan. It is not difficult to see that after eight days of invisibility, Xi made a new decision to continue to confront the United States. The media and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately implemented the order without any hesitation.

High-Profile Propaganda Indicates Differences Between US and Russia

Zhao not only directly targeted the United States and Japan again aggressively, but also talked about the latest U.S. sanctions against Russia. Xinhua also reported on the same day: To wantonly resort to unilateral sanctions or the threat of sanctions in international relations constitute power politics and hegemonic bullying. Such behavior is being rejected more and more by the international community.

Xinhua also published a commentary article, Where will the United States lead U.S.-Russian relations while talking and suppressing at the same time? The article quoted analysts as saying: When the leaders of the two countries talked on the phone a few days ago, the United States also proposed to hold a summit to discuss bilateral relations, but now it is quickly changing faces and brandishing a big stick of sanctions against Russia. In addition, the two sides have obvious differences on many issues. The ossified relationship between the United States and Russia in recent years will only become hopeless, and even worsen in the future.

The CCP is obviously happy to see the deterioration of U.S.-Russian relations. Hoping to form an alliance with Russia, the CCP is trying to provoke Russia to retaliate against the United States. Russia nominally claims that it is a strategic partner with the CCP, but has always been reluctant to form a military alliance with the CCP. It just wants to push the CCP to the forefront of confronting the United States. Russia has tried its best to avoid direct conflict with the United States.

Now, the CCP seems to see an opportunity. Of course, although the chaos will serve the CCP better, the CCP is at least not isolated. France and Germany will not form an anti-American alliance with the CCP; Russia is also unlikely to form an anti-American alliance with the CCP. The CCP continues its dream by making noises just so that its not so lonely.

I only hope the international community can see clearly the ugly and evil nature of the CCP. I also hope to further remind the Chinese people to recognize the shameful acts of the CCP and how the CCP is ruining the reputation of Chinese descendants.

Zhong Yuan is a researcher focused on Chinas political system, the countrys democratization process, human rights situation, and Chinese citizens livelihood. He began writing commentaries for the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times in 2020.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
The U.S. has administered more than 202 million coronavirus vaccine doses since the start of its inoculation campaign, with nearly 4 million vaccinations reported on Friday alone, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Why it matters: The numbers indicate Biden is on track to fulfill his promise of 200 million vaccinations within his first 100 days in office. The president set a new goal late last month after it became clear the U.S. was outpacing his initial goal of 100 million doses.

By the numbers: 49.1% of U.S. adults have now received at least one dose.

64.6% of people in the country ages 65 and older are fully vaccinated.

of people in the country ages 65 and older are fully vaccinated. 38.5% of the total U.S. population has been vaccinated with at least one dose.

The big picture: Health officials continue to warn Americans to remain vigilant as dangerous coronavirus variants spread.
WASHINGTON  Afghanistan has a complicated relationship with time. And America has a complicated relationship with revenge.

Between these two truths, tragedy blossomed.

Awash in grief and anger, we invaded Afghanistan after 9/11 to hunt down Osama bin Laden and punish the Taliban for letting him turn a maze of caves into a launching pad to attack America.

But, despite the lessons the Soviets learned in 10 hard years there fighting ghostly warriors who disappeared into the mountains, American officials and generals never absorbed this simple fact: Even the battles we won, we lost in a way. As we grasped for our own revenge, what kind of revenge quest did we inspire in those who watched daisy cutter bombs rain hellfire or a wedding party disintegrate in a flash from an American airstrike? How many enemies have we spawned trying to help Afghanistan?

Taliban leaders say Americans have all the clocks, but they have all the time.

The Bush administration was arrogant and ignorant about occupying this medieval moonscape. Officials thought they could bomb the bejesus out of the people who hated us, so that they would never look at us cross-eyed again. We would be the swaggering hyperpower. Even Barack Obama, once so prescient on the futility of invading Iraq, was suckered by the military into a pointless surge in Afghanistan, a near tripling of troops, in 2009.
After nearly two decades of Australian troops presence in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced their complete withdrawal from the country. As with any community  especially one as diverse and opinionated as the Afghan-Australian population  there are vastly differing views on the multinational intervention into Afghanistan following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

An Afghan boy sits with Australian Reconstruction Task Force soldiers during a meeting with local leaders in Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan. Credit:Corporal Neil Ruskin

Most from Afghanistans ethnic and religious minorities, and especially Afghan women, welcomed the intervention and applauded Australias role in removing the Taliban regime. It was notorious for its suppression of minorities and womens rights.

Even for Afghans who opposed the intervention, the fall of the Taliban and the prospect of a new democratic Afghanistan instilled renewed hope that it could become a stable democracy, where human rights, justice and accountability would prevail. This newfound optimism relied on the promises offered by the members of the international coalition, including Australia, who assured Afghans at every opportunity that their presence was to protect them and to promote democratic freedoms, human rights and the rule of law.

In August 2005, while dispatching Australian special forces to Afghanistan to fight an insurgent Taliban, our then prime minister, John Howard, told the departing soldiers that the embrace of democracy by the people of Afghanistan must be protected and that: Its fundamental to the war against terror that Afghanistan be given the opportunity of fully embrace democracy, and if that happens and democracy takes root in that country, that is protected, then a massive blow is struck in the war against terrorism.
THE Henley summer hanging baskets scheme is going ahead to help celebrate conquering the coronavirus crisis.

Residents and businesses have until May 14 to order their baskets from the town council.

Windowflowers, which is based in Burnham, will supply and install the baskets at the end of May and beginning of June as usual.

Managing director Miles Watson-Smyth said the baskets would be bright and provide resources for pollinating insects.

He said: The planting will be designed to maximise the floral impact for as long a period as possible with the aim of improving air quality in Henley and also providing resources for bees. We usually use a mix of two to three different colours.

Were using bright colours to make them shout in the street so people really notice them  subtlety is not our aim. Each basket costs 64, including VAT, which includes maintenance and watering.

Deputy Mayor David Eggleton, who chairs the town councils Henley in Bloom committee, said he hoped as many baskets as possible would be sold. The record number in a year was 241, which was set in 2016.

Councillor Eggleton said: Its all going ahead this year as we come out of covid and I urge everybody to get involved. Let us give Henley a lift as it has been a bit doom and gloom over the last year.

I think its going to be amazing this year and lets see if we can break the record.

Helen Barnett, the Henley town and community manager, said: Henley is a beautiful town made more aesthetic by the hanging baskets put up by businesses and residents. We are very grateful to everyone for their support  the flowers really do make a huge difference.

To order a basket, complete and return the form printed on page 20 of this weeks Henley Standard or email Trish Rae at t.rae@henleytowncouncil.

gov.uk
Having recently gotten my second COVID-19 vaccination, I looked forward to the freedom of returning to my old Charleston haunts.

After the events of the past few weeks in Atlanta and Boulder, Colorado, however, I realized that I was premature in my belief that the country was again open to me.

I now understand the importance of the phrase wrong time, wrong place in conducting my daily routine.

I am a supporter of the right to personal gun ownership. What I do not support are state and federal laws that put the population in jeopardy, no matter what their beliefs.

As a result, we are left at risk of becoming a statistic while in our grocery stores, houses of worship, nightclubs, schools, workplaces and government buildings.

Weak background check laws, and soft restrictions on gun ownership and where guns may be legally carried, are leading us to a place where guns are fast becoming a new version of weapons of mass destruction.

It is time for us to come together to promote the general welfare by supporting and electing lawmakers who will make this nation one that is truly for the people.

CYNTHIA STETZER

Sea Cotton Circle

Charleston

Waitstaff shortage news

Wednesdays Food & Dining section did a great job of highlighting the problem of restaurant staff shortages.

Even my mother, who lives at Franke at Seaside, says that management has been serving dinners in the dining room instead of waitstaff, which they cannot find.

The only problem with todays restaurant shortage information is that it needs to be front page, above the fold.

Even people who dont subscribe to The Post and Courier would see the headline and understand the seriousness of the problem, especially in Charleston, a tourist mecca that relies strongly on this hospitality arm.

Maybe just seeing the headline from a newsrack could make people more tolerant of the longer wait times and offer a little more patience and understanding of the situation.

PAMELA SUBJEK

Oak Mill Court

Mount Pleasant

Haley waffles on Trump

Former Gov. Nikki Haleys recent comments about former President Donald Trump are strong competitors for Sen. Lindsey Grahams level of hypocrisy and sycophancy.

Compare Haleys comments on Monday with those she made in Politico Magazine earlier this year.

Speaking about Donald Trump shortly after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, Haley told Politico: We need to acknowledge he let us down. He went down a path he shouldnt have, and we shouldnt have followed him, and we shouldnt have listened to him. And we cant ever let that happen again. ... I think hes lost any sort of political viability he was going to have.

She then predicted Trump would not run for federal office again, saying: I dont think hes going to be in the picture. I dont think he can. Hes fallen so far.

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Yet in a news conference Monday, Haley proudly proclaimed her support of Trump and pledged her support if he runs again.

Haley and Graham have made such irreconcilable, two-faced statements that their credibility lies in ruin.

J.ANDERSON BERLY III

Royall Avenue

Mount Pleasant

Kindness of strangers

When I ventured out after spraining my ankle recently, four strangers came to my aid within 45 minutes.

I was hobbling to put gas in my car when a young man got out of his vehicle and volunteered to pump for me while I sat in my car.

While on a motorized cart in the grocery store, a middle-aged woman saw that I could not reach something and came over to get it for me. And, a senior couple put the groceries in my car and returned the cart to the store front.

In my experience, kindness knows no distinction between age, race or gender. With all the disturbing news these days, these four people have restored my hope for humankind.

LINDA BERGMAN

Willowick Court

Mount Pleasant

Protect voting rights

What a fine line we draw when trying to comply with the most sacred of all our civil rights: that all eligible citizens will have the right to voice his or her choice for the government they want.

Most important is the premise that eligible citizens are the only ones who will determine our elections.

Today we are engaged in a great question of how far to go to ensure the integrity of our process.

The issue for fair elections is not one of racism or partisan politics.

First and foremost, are we confident that only eligible citizens are determining our future?

Second, do all eligible citizens have equal access to vote?

The rub comes when making it too easy to vote undermines the election integrity where only eligible citizens vote.

And thats the dilemma facing those to whom we have entrusted our future.

JAMIE GOUGH

Camp Road

Charleston
Motorcyclist killed in Friday night wreck north of Aberdeen

A 27-year-old man died Friday night when his motorcycle and a pickup collided north of Aberdeen, according to the SD Department of Public Safety.
The basic maintenance coverage promises to help drivers keep their new Hyundai running at its best while saving some cash along the way.

Mountain View Hyundai, a dealership serving Chattanooga, Tennessee and the whole surrounding area from its cozy home base in Ringgold, Georgia, is currently providing three years of complimentary basic maintenance on new 2020 and 2021 Hyundai vehicles. The complimentary maintenance coverage applies to normal, factory scheduled maintenance intervals occurring for the duration of three years or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first.

The basic maintenance coverage promises to help drivers keep their new Hyundai running at its best while saving some cash along the way. Benefits covered by the Hyundai Complimentary Maintenance provision include:



Engine oil and filter changes

Tire rotations

Multi-point inspection

Hyundai genuine oil filters and Hyundai recommended oil

Extended Hyundai Protection Plans available for severe usage intervals or extended terms

Prospective buyers should note that more frequent maintenance due to severe driving or conditions is excluded.

Mountain View Hyundai services the automotive needs of the entire Chattanooga region with help from its extensive selection of new Hyundai vehicles, all of which can be perused with ease through its website. The dealership also provides in-house financing to customers through its financing center. Maintenance procedures such as those referenced above are performed by a service team that consists of trained specialists.

Those intrigued by the complimentary maintenance provided on new Hyundai vehicles are encouraged to head to the Mountain View Hyundai website at http://www.mvhyundai.com. The dealership can also be contacted by phone by dialing 706-671-2581. Finally, those who wear a mask and follow social distancing guidelines can head to the dealership location itself at 7154 Nashville St., Ringgold.
Police stand near the scene where multiple people were shot at the FedEx Ground facility early Friday morning, April 16, 2021, in Indianapolis. AP Photo/Michael Conroy

A gunman opened fire in a FedEx facility Thursday, killing eight people in total.

At least four victims have been identified as members of the Indianapolis Sikh community.

Police have not yet identified a motive for the shooting, and an investigation remains ongoing.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

At least four out of the eight victims of the mass shooting at the FedEx facility in Indianapolis were members of the Sikh community.

The Sikh Coalition said in a statement published to Twitter that the four victims, killed Thursday, belonged to the Indianapolis Sikh community.

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"The Sikh Coalition is deeply saddened to learn that Sikh community members are among those injured and killed by the gunman in Indianapolis" on Thursday, the statement said.

The suspect in the shooting, 19-year-old Brandon Scott Hole, opened fire in a parking lot outside the FedEx facility before going inside, police said Friday.

In total, eight victims were pronounced dead at the scene.

Police on Friday identified the victims as 32-year-old Matthew R. Alexander, 19-year-old Samaria Blackwell, 66-year-old Amarjeet Johal, 64-year-old Jaswinder Kaur, 68-year-old Jaswinder Singh, 48-year-old Amarjit Sekhon, 19-year-old Karlie Smith, and 74-year-old John Weisert.

Several other people were injured.

Hole "appeared to randomly start shooting," said Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Deputy Chief Craig McCartt during a Friday press conference. He died by suicide.

Police have not yet identified a motive for the shooting, and an investigation remains ongoing.

The attack in Indianapolis was just the latest in a series of mass shootings that have rocked the country since the start of 2021.

Mass shootings in the US this year have so far increased by about 73%, compared to the same range of time last year, Insider's Haven Orecchio-Egresitz and Hannah Beckler previously reported.

Between January 1 and April 16 of this year, there have been 147 mass shootings in the US. Last year during the same time period, there were 85.

Story continues

Experts who spoke with Insider said the rise isn't surprising, as some research says violent events like mass shootings spread like a contagion.

"We know historically there is a strong copycat phenomenon with high-profile mass shootings," said Dr. Jonathan M. Metzl, Director of the Center for Medicine, Health, and Society at Vanderbilt University, Nashville. "And so when there's one in the news it tends to spur a number of copycat events, so people feel a contagion effect. One leads to another, leads to another."

Have a news tip? Reach this reporter at ydzhanova@insider.com

Read the original article on Insider
MUSKEGON, MI  At 141-years-old, Wassermans Flowers and Gifts is a Muskegon institution, serving the community through two world wars, the Great Depression, a recession and now a global pandemic.

Most companies probably cant say theyve gone through too much turmoil, said Angie Nelund, who owns the familys legacy shop with her brother, Troy Wasserman.

The siblings great, great grandparents founded Wassermans Flowers and Gifts after emigrating to Muskegon from Germany in 1880. The business is now in its fifth generation of owners, being handed down from parent to child.

Wassermans operated out of a storefront in downtown Muskegon for 93 years before moving to its 1595 Lakeshore Drive location when the Muskegon Mall was built in the 1970s.

The family business has ties to pieces of Muskegon history, like selling vases of flowers to Charles Hackley and Thomas Hume.

Its just unique being a part of a community for that many years, said Wasserman.

Wasserman's Flowers and Gifts has a collection of old receipts dating back over a century when they sold bouquets to Charles Hackley and Thomas Hume. (Photo of receipt by Rose White | MLive)

After surviving for 141 years, Wassermans faced a new challenge when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Like many businesses, the shop needed to pivot and adapt to the quickly changing landscape. But Wasserman said unlike some other small businesses, it has been a busy year trying to provide flowers for the community.

The supply is so low for the demand right now, said Nelund.

The pandemic disrupted the global supply chain for growers, wholesale distributors and florists, the business owners said.

Wassermans faced a similar supply issue during World War II, according to Nelund. When her grandfather was stationed on the east side of Michigan, he stopped at every greenhouse on his weekend drives back to Muskegon to keep the shop stocked.

History kind of repeats itself in some ways, she said.

Related: Urban farms offer Muskegon community fresh, locally grown produce

Despite the challenges, Wassermans has persisted in delivering flowers to the Muskegon communitys weddings, funerals, birthdays, and anniversaries.

The family credits its commitment to customer service as the key to longevity.

We have a lot of customers and were on a one-on-one basis with the majority of them. They come in, they know us, we know them, said Wasserman.

A lot has changed over the years with each generation leaving its mark  from the business buying its first electric cooler to the store getting a delivery horse and buggy.

Related: Local Eats: 6 restaurants to visit in Muskegons bustling Lakeside neighborhood

When Nelund and Wasserman took over about a decade ago from their father, Dennis Wasserman, they expanded the product line to include a collection of unique gifts and remodeled the shops interior and exterior.

The pair said they arent sure if their children will end up taking over the reins.

As the oldest family-run business in the city, Wassermans also partners with community organizations.

During the month of April, the florist is donating proceeds from featured bouquets to go toward an annual fundraiser for Every Womans Place, a Muskegon County nonprofit that provides support for survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

Were kind of like the forefathers of Muskegon, so we need to make sure we set a good example for new upcoming businesses, said Wasserman.

More on MLive:

Michigan Irish Music Festival cancels 2021 event due to ongoing pandemic

Horses killed in car crash credited with saving girls lives

Hudsonville school officials held an in-person meeting. They werent prepared for 100 people to show up.
Lee (53) is serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence for bribing ex-President Park Geun-hye and embezzlement. He was sent back to jail in January when his final appeal failed.

Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong was rushed to hospital with appendicitis over the weekend.

He complained of severe abdominal pain last Friday night, was diagnosed with appendicitis by a prison doctor and taken to Hallym University Medical Center in Pyeongchon, Gyeonggi Province.

He was then transferred to Samsung Medical Center in Seoul for surgery as an emergency room doctor in the Pyeongchon hospital worried that his appendix could rupture.

Court hearings on a Samsung Biologics accounting scandal were scheduled to begin later this week, but they could be postponed due to Lee's health. The bio-contract manufacturing company is suspected of hiding debts to inflate its value to help Lee assume control through the conglomerate's Byzantine holding structure after his father fell into a coma in 2014.

"The accounting case will take at least five years, which means that Lee could be 60 years old before he is free of his legal woes," a lawyer predicted.

That is not all. Lee is also under police investigation over a tipoff that he took the faddist knockout sleeping drug propofol illegally last year. Similar accusations were made early last year, but he denied them, saying he took the drug that notoriously killed Michael Jackson for medical purposes.

Lee completes his prison term in July next year since time served was taken into account.
Singapore: An Australian publisher who was sentenced to 13 years in jail in Myanmar on drugs charges has been released after less than three years behind bars, his ex-wife said on Saturday, after the countrys military regime announced a mass pardon of more than 23,000 prisoners.

Ross Dunkley, who co-founded The Myanmar Times in 2000 was convicted of drug offences in 2019 after police discovered heroin, crystal methamphetamine and marijuana at his house.

Ross Dunkley was arrested in Myanmar in 2018 for drug possession. Credit:AP

The prison term was later reduced to seven years, with Dunkley serving his time in Yangons notorious Insein Prison, built in the 19th century during Britains colonial rule over the former Burma.

However, he was released on Saturday, his ex-wife Cynda Johnston told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, as the junta that seized power on February 1 announced it had pardoned 23,047 inmates including 137 foreigners.
THE phrase soap opera is almost as old as Queen Elizabeth II.

It was coined in the 1930s, to describe serial radio dramas, many of which were sponsored in the U.S by soap manufacturers.

The phrase entered the mainstream in the latter part of the 20th century, when soap operas dominated TV in the era when we only had a handful of channels.

These days, they are as popular as ever, but with one big difference. They are no longer necessarily fictional.

Thanks largely to the internet, thousands of real-life soap operas play out all around us on a minute by minute basis  from the worlds of music to film, from fashion to, ugh, social influencers.

Once you appear on Love Island or date a Kardashian (neither a Dolan stronghold), you become a character in a rolling soap opera, your private life becomes public, your every utterance is parsed, your every move documented: Youre walking, talking click-bait.

The British Royal Family were the original real-life soap opera, and remain for many the biggest draw of all. And as the latest chapter in their enduring story plays out in public on Saturday, many of us will be looking on agog, like we used to do when Glenroe or EastEnders were in their prime.

Prince Philips funeral will be given the most solemn and sombre of British TV treatments, and every move the Royal Family make will be scrutinised across both mainstream and social media.

Is the Queen, a week short of her 95th birthday, bearing up well after losing her husband of 73 years? Which of her children are comforting her? Does her son Andrew look a bit shifty?

And most scrutinised of all will be the princely siblings, William and Harry... are they avoiding each other? Is there warmth between them, or frost?

Many of us will be glued to our TVs at 2.45pm, when we get our first glimpse of the royal cortege as its follows the coffin carrying the Duke of Edinburgh to St Georges Chapel in Windsor, just to see the body language of William and Harry.

They were once the closest of buddies, but any hope of a reconciliation between them since the dramatic Oprah Winfrey interview seems bleak, given the evidence of the past week.

There has apparently been an unseemly dispute behind the scenes over what they will wear  and they wont even walk side by side in the procession on Saturday, both separated instead by their cousin. Are things that bad? What message does that send to the world about their relationship?

Its apt, given that Harrys actress wife Meghan made her name in a TV drama called Suits, that the tension between William and Harry in the lead up to the funeral surrounded male apparel.

Its tradition for the royal men to wear military regalia to royal funerals, but since Harry has turned his back on royal life, and lost his military titles, that meant he would have to wear a plain old suit.

How that idea must have rankled: The thought of his brother and father, Charles, whom Harry has also fallen out with, parading in full military regalia, while he tagged along in a suit. Oh, the ignominy!

This left the poor old Queen in a bit of a dilemma, at a time when she was mourning the man who had been by her side for her whole adult life. She could have allowed Harry to don the military uniform too, an act that could have been seen as an attempt to reconcile the rogue Harry back into the Royal fold. An extension of the regal hand of friendship, a magnanimous gesture, in the finest traditions of soap operas, where many of the best scenes play out at occasions dripping with emotion, such as weddings, birthday parties, and funerals.

If the Queen did not do this, Harry would stand out like a sore thumb, in a common, if undoubtedly very pricey, suit, and no doubt barely able to hide that trademark scowl of his.

So, the Queen stepped in and defused the situation by insisting all the men wear suits. How Charles and William feel about that we can only guess...

Suffice to say that the episode does not bode well for a reunion of the warring brothers.

As for Harry, St Georges Chapel was where he wed the glamorous Meghan less than three years ago, in a glorious exhibition of multi-culturalism that included a storming fire-and-brimstone sermon that had certain royals clutching their pearls in surprise!

I wonder what Harry will be thinking on Saturday, as he gazes around the hallowed hall where his big day played out. Will he recall the huge crowds of well-wishers outside the church and watching at home that sunny day, none of whom displayed a scintilla of racism to him and his smiling bride? Will he have any regrets about the course his life has taken since? Will he glance at his father and brother and wonder about his future relationship with them?

What we can be sure of is that both princes will be thinking of their grandfather, Prince Philip, and remembering him in their very own distinct way.

One will be saluting the Prince of Duty, for whom devotion to royal life and the family was paramount, and will be resolutely determined to replicate that.

The other will be saluting the Prince of Informality, who spoke his mind, broke with tradition, and lived his own life, and will be determined to replicate that.

These contrasting views were summed up by separate tributes they released this week, William pointing to Philips life defined by service, and Harry unregally recalling his grandfather as a legend of banter, cheeky, beer in hand.

Both princes, in recalling very different facets of the same man, are choosing to remember him in their own way, and neglecting to see his other side. In doing so, they provide a clue that they are irrevocably drifting further apart.

The hoo-hah over what they will wear, and the fact they will stand apart on Saturday, hints at a continuing, perhaps terminal split.

And so the soap opera rolls on...
New Delhi, April 17 : Coming down hard on the narco smugglers, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday said that it has arrested two people including one Pakistani national in a joint operation with the Border Security Force (BSF) and recovered 20.57 kg of heroine.

NCB Deputy Director General of North India Gyaneshwar Singh said that the drug-law enforcement agency is working round the clock to tackle the menace of drug trafficking especially across the border.

Gyaneshwar Singh said that in another example of combating drug trafficking, the 14th Batallion of the BSF on April 7 at BOP in Punjab's Ferozpur busted the international racket.

He said that during the operation, BSF officials had intercepted one Pakistan national Amjad Ali a.k.a. Majid Jutt, a resident of Lahore and from his possession 20.570 Kg Heroin was recovered.

He said that during the search operation, other incriminating documents, equipment used for drug trafficking and electronic devices were also recovered i.e Mobile, one power bank, 1 PVC Pipe (Appx 13 feet long) and cloth (16 Feet long).

Gyaneshwar Singh said that in the recent past operations conducted in respect of inter border drug trafficking, he is the only Pakistani national who has been arrested alive.

The NCB official said that during further search, few documents of his Indian associate identified as Jarnail singh a resident of Ferozpur was also recovered.

He said that arrested Pakistani national Ali was put to sustained interrogation, which led to unearthing of whole new drug syndicate, which is being controlled by two Pakistani nationals, residents of Lahore and Kasur district of Pakistan.

"Indian side receivers have also been identified. Raids were conducted at possible hideouts at Punjab and Gujarat, of Indian national involved in the drug trafficking with this syndicate," he said.

The official said that on April 17, Jarnail Singh, receiver of the drug consignment has been arrested from Vadodara in Gujarat by the NCB.

Currently questioning of Jarnail Singh is underway to bust the complete syndicate, the NCB official said.

He said that the NCB will also raise this issue at appropriate international forums and will also seek assistance in arrest of the Pakistani nationals who are involved with Ali in drug trafficking.




Haiti - News : Zapping...





Two young men killed in Delmas 32

Thursday April 15 at Delmas 32, two young boys whose identities have not been communicated were shot dead by unidentified individuals for unknown reasons...



Saint-Pierre Church : Denial of the PNH

The National Police of Haiti (PNH) denies the allegations according to which it would have used tear gas inside the Saint-Pierre church (Petion-ville) during a mass for the religious victims of the kidnapping in the Ganthier area. The police officers of this jurisdiction reacted instead against acts of vandalism perpetrated by activists who disrupted the conduct of mass, provoked the police and set fire to a vehicle parked in front of the town hall.



Warning strike in fundamental classes

The Fundamental Teachers' Group for Renewed Education through New and Solidarity Actions (REFERANS) announces a warning strike from April 19 to 23, 2021, to condemn acts of criminality. This strike will affect the fundamental classes of the Basic School of Application and Pedagogical Support Center (EFACAP) and of the national schools in particular.



Japan : Screening of the film "Ti Toya"

As part of the celebration of the month of La Francophonie 2021 honoring Francophone women, the Embassy of the Republic of Haiti in Japan screened the short film "Ti Toya" by Haitian director Michel Dessources Jr. This film highlights the resilience and courage of Haitian women in a cinematographic epic, in memory of a mythical character in the history of Haiti, "Grann Toya", grandmother of Jean Jacques Dessalines, the father of the Haitian Nation.



The Ministerial cabinet unchanged

"The Ministerial cabinet has not changed, all the members of the resigning Government are only liquidating current affairs, pending the arrival of a new government team resulting from the dialogue initiated by the Head of State with political actors;" Frantz Exantus Secretary of State for Communication



Security: The new PM ai heads his first CSPN Council

Prime Minister a.i, Claude Joseph, headed his first Superior Council of the National Police (CSPN) on Thursday. Growing insecurity, especially kidnappings, the main concerns of the population, and the urgent measures to be taken to deal with them quickly and effectively, were at the heart of the Agenda



HL/ HaitiLibre


















(Newser)  Blood tests show indicate Alexei Navalny is likely to die in the next few days unless he receives medical attention, doctors said Saturday. A group of physicians has asked prison authorities to allow them to treat the Russian opposition activist, the BBC reports. "His condition is indeed critical," said a representative of the Doctors Alliance trade union, a group that the Russian government considers an opposition organization. Anastasia Vasilyeva, Navalny's personal physician, said in the letter that the blood tests showed his potassium had reached the point where kidney failure and cardiac arrest "can happen any minute." She said union members hadn't examined Navalny but had received the tests from his lawyers, per Reuters. One of the doctors posted a photo of the results online.

story continues below

Navalny has been on a hunger strike at the prison in Pokrov for more than two weeks, seeking to be allowed medical attention for back and leg pain. Prison officials say that they've offered Navalny proper treatment but that he has refused it, wanting to be treated by an outside doctor. That request has been denied. He said Friday that he had been threatened with being put in a straitjacket and force-fed. JK Rowling and Salman Rushdie were among about 80 leading writers, actors, historians, directors, and journalists who sent an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, asking that Navalny receive proper care quickly. The letter was published on The Economist's website. (Read more Alexei Navalny stories.)
NORWALK  Two years ago, Mike Michaud didnt know if he would have a safe place to sleep at night.

But Michaud, who is disabled, was able to find a new home with Pacific House, a Stamford-based nonprofit that provides assistance to people experiencing homelessness.

They rescued me, Michaud said. They gave me a roof over my head.

Michaud now lives at a Pacific House-owned property in South Norwalk where he is provided daily meals, offered an array of support services and is assisted by a team of case managers.

Later this spring, Michaud may be one of the first residents to move into Pacific Houses newest property  a recently renovated 12-unit building not far from the nonprofits existing building in South Norwalk.

Dubbed Parkview North, the 5,400-square-foot, two-story house is expected to open to a dozen residents in late May or early June, according to Pacific House Executive Director Rafael Pagan.

Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media

The way we measure success is to the extent that we keep people housed, and not going back into homelessness. Thats really the core of whats driving our mission, Pagan said at a ribbon cutting on Friday that featured several city and state officials, including Mayor Harry Rilling and state Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff.

The building, which was originally built in 1920 and was previously used as a halfway house, recently underwent more than $1 million in renovations. The bulk of the funds were provided by the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority in the form of state tax credits.

The freshly painted property features a dozen single-occupancy rooms, four bathrooms, three sets of washers and dryers, a kitchen, a computer room and a first-floor gathering space. The building sits just a few dozen feet from a public park and a community center.

Were firm believers in developing housing that doesnt look institutionalized, Pagan said.

The completion of the home marks Pacific Houses 14th development in the last 10 years. The fast-growing nonprofit, which aims to help homeless individuals and those with special needs secure stable housing, manages 189 units of temporary shelter and permanent housing in Stamford and Norwalk.

Parkview North reminds us that even in these dark times, good work continues to be done and theres people out there who continue to look out for those who are most in need, said Chris Tate, the chairperson of the Pacific House Board of Directors.

Michaud says he intends to stay with Pacific House for at least another year to save up enough money for an apartment of his own. He hopes to continue to live in Norwalk, a city he has grown fond of during his time with the nonprofit.

Ive had bad things happen in my life, he said, but being over here has really helped me.
Melbourne's Swinburne University of Technology has taken a month to issue information about the leaking on the Internet of personal data over seven years.

In a statement issued on Friday, Swinburne said it had been advised in March about the leak of data which it said was event registration information from 2013 onwards.

Names, email addresses and phone numbers of about 5200 of its staff, 100 students and what it called "some externals"  roughly 200 other people  were exposed on the Internet.

In 2019, the Canberra-based Australian National University suffered a much bigger data breach, with personal details of staff, students and visitors over the previous 19 years exposed.

"We took immediate action to investigate and respond to this data breach, including removing the information and conducting an audit across other similar sites," the university said in the statement.

"Our investigation showed that the source of the data was an event registration Web page that is no longer available. The information made available was name, email address and, in some cases, a contact phone number.

"We sincerely apologise to all those impacted by this data breach and for any concerns this has caused.

"We are currently in the process of contacting all individuals whose information was made available to apologise to them and offer appropriate support.

"We are also contacting around 200 other individuals not connected to Swinburne who had registered for the event and whose information was also made available.

"We have reported the breach to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, followed by the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency and the Victorian Education Department."
Domino's Pizza Group faces a shareholder revolt at its annual meeting on Thursday after two City advisers panned its executive pay.

Both Glass Lewis and ISS have now red-flagged the chain's plans to give chief executive Dominic Paul and finance chief Neil Smith 'significant' pay rises.

Paul, who was hired last May after running Costa Coffee, is paid a base salary of 750,000  more than 40 per cent higher than that of retired boss David Wild.

Glass Lewis and ISS have red-flagged the chain's plans to give bosses 'significant' pay rises

Smith, who joined last April, receives a base salary of 430,000  almost a third on top of that received by David Bauernfeind, who died in 2019 while snorkelling in Mauritius.

ISS said the fees were 'exceptionally high' for a FTSE 250 firm. Glass Lewis said it viewed high fixed pay rises with 'scepticism' as the remuneration 'may serve as a crutch when performance has fallen below expectations'.

Domino's said it needed to pay more to attract 'higher calibre talent'. Paul was paid 73.4 per cent of his maximum bonus last year, taking his total pay to 1.08million.

The fee for new chairman Matt Shattock is 109 per cent higher than previously at 480,000.

For three months of last year directors gave 20 per cent of their pay to their employee hardship fund. Last year, 7 per cent of shareholders voted against Domino's remuneration report.

Other listed firms expecting shareholder unrest over pay include Foxtons and British American Tobacco. Power giant Drax faces criticism for a lack of women on its board.
Model and activist Chrissy Teigen returned to Twitter Friday, three weeks after quitting the social media platform because of negativity.

I choose to take the bad with the good!!, she tweeted to her nearly 14 million followers. Turns out it feels TERRIBLE to silence yourself and also no longer enjoy belly chuckles randomly throughout the day and also lose like 2000 friends at once ... Ive spent weeks just saying tweets to shampoo bottles.

Teigen had maintained her Instagram account, which has 34 million followers.

Last year, Teigen used Twitter to reveal that she and her husband, musician John Legend, had lost their child following pregnancy complications.

While her openness was praised in some corners, others were less-than-kind to her on social media.

On Twitter, Teigen is well-known for her candidness, sharp wit and frequent putdowns of Donald Trump, who once described her as Legends filthy mouthed wife.

Related content:
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 17)  Health Undersecretary Rosario Vergeire refuted claims that the government is "threatening" private hospitals to expand their capacity for COVID-19 patients.

In a virtual briefing on Saturday, Vergeire said private hospitals have a mandate under the law.

"Actually hindi ho kami nananakot no, there is no threatening part there," she said.

"Ito po ay nasa batas, we are just enforcing and implementing," she added.

[Translation: Actually we are not threatening, there is no threatening part there. This is in the law, we are just enforcing and implementing.]

RELATED: Hospitals urged to increase dedicated beds amid rising COVID-19 cases

RELATED: DPWH eyes up to 4,000 more beds in COVID-19 isolation facilities by May

Vergeire said private hospitals must improve capacity by "as much as 30%".

Under DOH Administrative Order 2020-016, private hospitals should allot at least 20% of bed capacity for COVID-19 cases.

Vergeire in a media forum in December said private hospitals must increase COVID-19 bed allocation by another 10% in case of a virus surge.

"Naiintindihan ho natin ang mga ospital, hindi naman ho talaga ganoon kadali para mag-expand ka ng capacity mo. Kailangan mo ng healthcare workers, kailangan mo ng mga iba pang pangangailangan. Kaya nga po kapag ganitong mayroon ho tayong ini-enforce, tayo naman po ay tutulong kung ano po ang magiging pangangailangan para lang makapag-expand tayo ng mga kama," she said.

[Translation: We understand them, it's not really that easy to expand your capacity. You need healthcare workers, you need other things. That's why when we enforce something like this, we will help whatever the need may be, just so we can expand the bed allocation.]

RELATED: Dozens of medical workers from Cebu, Eastern Visayas to assist NCR vs. COVID-19

RELATED: DOH to source equipment from other regions if NCR hospitals run out of devices

Metro Manila and four surrounding provinces are under hard lockdown since March 29 in response to the infection surge that has nearly overwhelmed the health care system.
Citigroup to withdraw retail banking division from 13 markets, including Vietnam

Citigroup  the parent firm of Citibank  has announced that it would withdraw its retail banking division from 13 markets in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, including Vietnam.






Ida B. Wells, born into slavery in 1862 and orphaned at 16, rose to fame as a journalist by shining light on things we didn't want to see  in particular, the horror of lynching. Five thousand Americans were lynched over 90 years, three quarters of them black. The numbers don't account for the notoriety of the practice; rather, the demonic zeal of its practitioners does. Even reading about it will turn your stomach. Do not look at the photos they displayed with pride of charred bodies. Lynch mobs spread terror among non-white people and those who would defend the rule of law.

Ida B. Wells proposed a solution. "A Winchester rifle should have a place of honor in every black home," she wrote, "... for that protection which the law refuses to give." "The only times an Afro-American who was assaulted got away," Ida noted, "[were] when he had a gun and used it in self-defense."

Translated for today, Wells's proposal will sound radical to some. The Civil War began with muzzle-loading muskets but ended with breech-loading rifles firing modern cartridges. The Winchester lever-action debuted in 1873. The gun that won the West" was a repeating rifle that stored as many as a dozen cartridges in a tubular magazine fitted under the barrel. Someone armed with a Winchester could fire as fast as he could work the cocking lever and pull the trigger. Fans of old westerns like The Rifleman recognize the gun. It allowed an individual a new level of self-defense against multiple attackers. Atticus Finch used it to face down the mob in To Kill a Mockingbird. No one improved on it until 1905, when the self-loading, or semi-automatic, rifle made the lever unnecessary  its more advanced action loads a fresh cartridge from a magazine each time the trigger is pulled.

When Wells was writing, the Winchester, battle rifle of the U.S. military, was state-of-the-art. Wells wanted one in the hands of every black family. Its modern civilian counterpart is the AR-15.

Wells was a Republican. The lynch mobs were Democrats; the KKK, the paramilitary arm of the Democratic Party. A friend once asked me whether a black female journalist like Wells would be Republican today. If she wanted civilians to have access to that sort of firepower, she sure as hell would be. That's heresy now among Democrats.

Wells understood that all guns are designed to kill. Aside from hunting and shooting sports, they have one legitimate purpose: to defend the innocent from harm. They also have a non-legitimate purpose: harming the innocent. For which are they most used? Exactly as Ida intended: many, many times more often to prevent crimes than to commit them. Democrats want to stop that by ending private ownership and use of firearms as quickly as they can. Their intent is to enforce unacceptable law through lawless mob rule, just as they did when Ida was alive.

Like it or not, America can be a violent place  not El Salvador or Venezuela, but not Japan or Switzerland, either: 20,000 homicides a year. Fifteen thousand involve guns, 97% of them handguns. Insane killers bent on mass destruction typically use semi-automatic rifles, but more people are beaten to death each year than murdered with rifles of all kinds. Thugs, gangs, and career criminals don't need rifles. Cheap black-market pistols are their weapons of choice. Any cop can tell you which brands. Rifles are overwhelmingly used by the law-abiding, in defense of life and property.

It's important to understand that firearms employed in self-defense are seldom actually fired. It isn't necessary to kill, or even shoot, to deter criminals. They're looking for a victim, not a challenge. Merely showing the gun often is often enough. The more intimidating the weapon, the greater its deterrent power. Those on guard during riots, whether the 1986 Rodney King version or today's, carry AR15s. Their deterrent power is high.

The left wants to take our AR15s. Legislation is already proposed to ban sales of them, as was done 19942004 with no effect on crime, or confiscate them. Australia confiscated all semi-automatic rifles in 1996. That also had no effect on crime, which was falling already, and continued to, as in neighboring New Zealand, which enacted no ban. For now, Democrats don't have the 19th-century Winchester in their sights. They will. It's already illegal to own, let alone carry, any defensive weapon in our most dangerous cities. All are Democrat-run. The left won't rest until everyone, everywhere, is defenseless.

Ida B. Wells's American South didn't benefit from effective local policing. We do, but we won't for much longer. Leftist city councils are quickly defunding and depleting the ranks of police departments. Soros-sponsored prosecutors negate the efforts of law enforcement with catch-and-release criminal justice. When politicians order police to stand down, someone fills the authority vacuum. The process is well underway.

For the brief time CHAZ and CHOP ruled part of Seattle last summer, that six-block nation was the most murderous in the world. In a small Virginia city last summer, a mother trapped in her car with a terrified three-year-old during a BLM takeover of downtown pleaded in vain with 911 for help. "The event was approved by the city. We can do nothing." In April, a Black Panther honcho intimidated a Milwaukee business into shutting down over some perceived slight. Police took his side  with great deference. The Washington BLM contingent routinely harasses curbside diners; in Dallas, a mob invaded a restaurant, kicking over patrons' tables while chanting, "Who burns s--- down? We burn s--- down." Last week, an illegally masked Antifa mob again attempted to burn ICE officers alive by barricading them inside a building they torched. They didn't have the success the KKK once had, but they channeled its methods. The mask laws now ignored by Democrat mayors were, ironically, enacted long ago to limit the terror of the Klan.

We've seen the tactic many times. PostCivil War Democrats used Klansmen. Nineteen-thirties European fascists used brownshirts and blackshirts. Venezuelan communists use motorcycle-mounted colectivos. When police are hamstrung by leftist politicians and the people are made helpless by the criminalizing of self-defense, rule by mob and gang is inevitable. If Derek Chauvin, or any officer they condemn, is sentenced to one day less than the mob decrees, its wrath will be poured out. For now, the mob's weapons are largely improvised, but these people will soon take up the firearms denied law-abiding people.

This is not a side-effect of the actions of Democrat legislators. It is the intent. Democrats in boots will enforce the tyranny of Democrats in suits.

Ida B. Wells went to her reward in 1931, the most famous black woman in America. If she were still with us today, she'd be warning us about the mob mayhem to come  again. I'll do that on the great woman's behalf.

Image via Pexels.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
For four days, ever since the Seacor Power lift boat capsized in the Gulf of Mexico, people across the tiny town of Gilbert, population 504, have been on edge.

They were waiting to hear news about James Tracy Wallingsford, a crane operator on the jackup barge. Thats because everybody in Gilbert, and across Franklin Parish, seemed to know Wallingsford and his family: his late father, James, known to everyone as Pop; his mother, Betty; and sister, Reba.

But when people mention Tracy Wallingsford, the next person they mention is always Shelia, his wife of almost 30 years.

They were just a beautiful, beautiful couple. One of those made-in-heaven relationships that everyone envies. Just a remarkable love story, said Rev. Kevin Bates, who was with the family at a motel in Golden Meadow on Saturday when they got word that Wallingsford had not survived.

The tragic news spread quickly across Franklin Parish, down Gilberts main drag, U.S. 425, from Boones Grocery and Bait on the south side to Ezell One Stop on the north. In a small community like ours, it affects everybody, Bates said.

Bates phone rang almost nonstop, as neighbors tried to figure out what they could do to help and to reminisce about their friend.

Wallingsford was remembered as a handsome, physically striking man: tall and slim with a mustache, eyeglasses and a head full of dark hair. Beautiful inside and out, Bates said.

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Over and over, people who called Bates used the same word to describe Wallingsford: Gentle.

Thats his resounding attribute, Bates said. He was such a gentle and kind soul. Here he was a hard-working mans man who worked in the oil business. But he wasnt gruff. He was a kind and gentle soul to everyone, someone who had almost a permanent smile on his face.

Although he spent almost half of his time working in the Gulf of Mexico, Wallingsford, when he came home, spent all his time with his wife and the couples only child, daughter Dakota Nielson, 23. In recent years, he had been doing his best to spoil his two grandsons, her sons, ages 3 and 5.

In the summer, that meant regular camping trips. Nielson and husband have an RV; so do her parents. They would often meet up at RV parks for mini-vacations.

Nielson is expecting another child, who wont growing up accustomed to the big hugs of his gentle grandfather.

Its just heartbreaking, it really is, Bates said.
Robert De Niro's lawyer said on Friday that his estranged wife's extravagant spending habits and demands, which are "filled with indulgence," would exhaust the star.

Caroline Krauss, De Niro's solicitor, said during a divorce hearing that her client, who is 77, is breaking his back trying to pay for Grace Hightower's shopping: "While he loves his craft, he should not be forced to work at this prodigious pace because he has to."

Hightower reportedly spent an average of $215,000 a month on credit cards and $160,000 in cash on a monthly basis. Krauss said that the actor is running out of funds as a result of the financial pressure.

"When does he get the chance to not take every project that comes along and not work six-day weeks, 12-hour days so he can keep up with Ms. Hightower's appetite for Stella McCartney?"

Hightower bought a $1.2 million diamond ring in 2019, according to Krauss. The actor was hit with a $6.4 million tax lien by the federal government in 2015.

READ ALSO: COVID-19 Movie? Robert De Niro Wants To Play As Andrew Cuomo

Kevin McDonough, Hightower's counsel, countered that De Niro is the one who is wasteful, spending millions on numerous home renovations and lavish trips. "When Mr. De Niro goes to brunch Sunday in Connecticut, he charters a helicopter up there," McDonough said.

According to McDonough, De Niro has reduced her monthly allowance from $375,000 to $100,000 after the couple filed for divorce in 2018. The couple signed a prenuptial agreement in 2004, but they are still fighting over the terms of the divorce, especially alimony payments.

According to Krauss, De Niro does not want Hightower and their two children to have to leave their Manhattan apartment as per the prenuptial agreement, which calls for the former couple to sell the $20 million pad, split the profits, and then have him buy a new $6 million home for the family.

De Niro is expected to pay McDonough before the prenuptial agreement takes effect, so she can "maintain the status quo" lifestyle she had when they were together, according to McDonough, who also slammed Krauss' rumors that De Niro is in financial trouble.

READ MORE: Robert De Niro Has Some Harsh Words For President Trump At Tribeca: 'Our Lowlife-In-Chief

See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles
Japan's Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has addressed Indo-Pacific security in remarks to a US think tank. Suga referred to China's increased assertiveness in the region and said Japan will not concede on universal values such as democracy and human rights.

Suga spoke online at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The speech followed his in-person summit on Friday with US President Joe Biden.

Suga said the regional security environment has become more severe as China continues its attempt to alter the status quo in the region, including the East China Sea.

He suggested China's rise has led to a changing power balance in the Indo Pacific, and also attributed the increased uncertainty to a prevailing unilateralism in responses to the coronavirus pandemic.

Suga noted China is rapidly increasing its political, economic and military influence. He stressed Japan has no intention to concede in matters related to sovereignty, or fundamental values such as democracy, human rights and rule of law.

He said Japan's basic policy on pending issues caused by China is to firmly assert what needs to be stated and strongly request China take specific actions.

Suga also said Japan must work to establish a stable and constructive relationship with China while maintaining a close relationship with the United States and other like-minded nations.
As the Nigerian government gives its component states a condition to halt new COVID-19 vaccinations, only about 50 per cent of eligible Nigerians have been vaccinated, an official said. Those vaccinated are, however, less than one per cent of the countrys estimated 200 million population.

The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, said on Friday that only about half of the eligible Nigerians have been vaccinated with the Oxford- AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

Mr Shuaib, while speaking at a press briefing, said the number represents 1,071,346 people considered eligible to receive jabs of the vaccine.

As of today, April 16, 1,071,346 representing 53.2 per cent of the eligible persons targeted with the AstraZeneca vaccine have been administered their first dose in this vaccination phase, he said.

These are the people who have their information already uploaded on our database, while others are awaiting upload, potentially due to network problems and the high traffic of those coming in to take their shots at the same time.

Having received 3.94 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines in early March, Nigeria commenced vaccination beginning with healthcare workers who are often at the risk of exposure to infections being the first responders to patients.

The 3.94 million doses is part of an overall 16 million doses planned to be delivered to Nigeria in batches over the next months through COVAX, a UN-backed effort that promises access to free vaccines for up to 20 per cent of participating countries population.

Nigeria on March 21 received another 300,000 doses of the same vaccine from telecom giant, MTN. On Tuesday, April 6, the government of India also delivered 100,000 doses of Covishield COVID-19 vaccines to Nigeria.

The COVISHIELD is a brand of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

To achieve herd immunity against COVID-19, Nigeria had set an ambitious goal of vaccinating 40 per cent of its over 200 million population before the end of 2021, and 70 per cent by the end of 2022.

Health authorities said only eligible population from 18 years and above will be vaccinated in four phases.

According to Nigerias plan, the vaccine roll-out will be in four phases, starting with health workers, frontline workers, COVID-19 rapid response team, laboratory network, policemen, petrol station workers and strategic leaders.

Phase 2  Older adults aged 50 years and above. Those with co-morbidities aged 18  49 years of age.

Phase 3  Those in states/LGAs with high disease burden and who missed phases 1 and 2.

Phase 4  Other eligible population as vaccines become available.

Mr Faisal, however, said inoculation of frontline health workers in some states is completed, and attention has shifted to older adults, aged 65 and above.

We have been careful to ensure that only those who are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in the current phase are being vaccinated.

These include health workers and their support staff, other frontline workers, strategic leaders and in the last few days, we have also included those who meet the age requirements, he said.

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Meeting its target

A check by this newspaper shows that less than a million people received their first dose of the vaccine exactly one month after the country commenced vaccination, indicating a slow start to the process.

Going by the current pace of vaccination, less than nine million people would have been vaccinated in Nigeria by the end of 2021. The figure is less than 40 per cent of Nigerias population that was targeted by the end of this year.

Health analysts say they expected a rush in the first phase of the rollout considering that the priority groups  health workers and other frontliners  can easily be located.

With only about 4.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines available to the country, Nigeria is still far from having enough vaccines to meet its target.

Due to limited doses of vaccine availability, the Nigerian government recently directed states to halt new vaccination once they use half of the doses allocated to them.

The Minister of State for Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora, said the directive became necessary since the country was not sure when the next batch of AstraZeneca vaccines would arrive in the country.

We believe that in a situation where we still cannot specifically determine when the next batch of AstraZeneca vaccines will arrive, then I think wisdom only dictates that it is better for us to vaccinate people fully, Mr Mamora said in Abuja penultimate Tuesday.

And so that we can say that we have a pool of citizens that have been fully vaccinated since this vaccination comes in two doses.

Mr Shuaib said there is a global shortfall of production of COVID-19 vaccines largely due to the manufacturers not meeting their projected targets.

These developments have now necessitated that we reassess our vaccine supply forecasts and take the decision to ensure that everyone who has taken the vaccine in the current phase gets the second dose before the next consignment is delivered to Nigeria, he said.

Adverse events?

Mr Shuaib said 52 moderate-to-severe cases of adverse reactions following immunization have been reported, including fever, vomiting, diarrhoea headaches, dizziness and allergic reactions.

He noted that 8,439 mild cases have been reported, with the highest numbers in Kaduna, Cross River, Yobe, Kebbi and Lagos.

Five states have the highest records of Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) namely; Kaduna (970) Cross River (859), Yobe (541), Kebbi (511), and Lagos (448).

According to the agencys head, no death has been recorded from the administration of the vaccine.

We have also not diagnosed any case of blood clots related to the administration of the vaccines, he said.

READ ALSO:

Reports of an unusual blood clotting disorder especially among few European recipients has continued to raise safety concerns.

Several European countries had suspended the distribution of the Oxford vaccines in March, following reports that some people had developed blood-clotting disorders after receiving the jab.

However, a review of the cases by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) could not say definitively whether the reported cases were linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine and concluded that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh any risk. Many of the countries have since reversed the suspension.

Meanwhile, global health bodies have warned health authorities to be on the lookout for the clotting disorder in vaccine recipients and report them.
Apr. 17WASHINGTON  The Biden administration drew intense criticism from Northwest refugee advocates when it announced Friday the president had decided to preserve the Trump administration's historically low limit on the number of refugees allowed into the United States.

Two hours later, the White House reversed course, with Press Secretary Jen Psaki claiming the earlier announcement had been "the subject of some confusion."

"I was shocked and deeply disappointed," said Mark Finney, director of the Spokane office of World Relief, a Christian group that helps resettle refugees in their new homes. "Biden had very clearly stated his intentions for the refugee program."

President Joe Biden announced in February he planned to raise the ceiling on refugee admissions to 125,000 in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, and would increase the current fiscal year's limit to half that amount, 62,500.

But a presidential determination issued Friday afternoon said the limit for the current fiscal year would remain at 15,000, its lowest level since the U.S. refugee program was created three decades ago. Amid backlash from aid groups and congressional Democrats, Psaki said in a statement the president will set a higher cap by May 15.

Despite efforts to cut off refugees by former President Donald Trump, whose tenure saw admissions drop more than 82%, the country is on track to see its lowest level of refugee resettlement under Biden. Just 2,050 refugees entered the United States between last October and the end of March, the first half of the fiscal year.

"The current rate of admissions will make President Biden the president that resettles the lowest number of refugees in U.S. history," said Georgette Siqueiros, community engagement coordinator at the Boise office of the International Rescue Committee, another resettlement organization.

"We know that there are many people who are currently vetted, cleared, have passed security clearance and have just been waiting for the piece of paper to be signed," she said. "And now that it's signed, it's just not what we were expecting, after all the promises from the Biden administration."

Story continues

The previous year saw the U.S. welcome a total of 11,814 people who fled danger in their home countries, a historic low. In the last fiscal year of the Obama administration, that number was nearly 85,000, and reached higher than 132,000 under President George H.W. Bush.

"Idahoans are ready and willing to welcome refugees again and we are disappointed that the Biden Administration is allowing this historically low cap to stand," said Tara Wolfson, director of the Idaho Office of Refugees, a nonprofit responsible for refugee services in the state.

"Refugees are part of the fabric of our communities in Idaho and they contribute in numerous ways, bringing new ideas, skills and traditions to our state, boosting the economy and working in many essential jobs, from medicine to manufacturing to tech and agriculture."

In Spokane, a man who arrived Friday from Ukraine was just the 12th refugee since last October to be resettled by World Relief, which is affiliated with the National Association of Evangelicals. In fiscal year 2016, the organization welcomed nearly 600 people, Finney said.

A spokesman for Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers said the 5th District Republican continues to support a refugee admissions cap of 75,000, roughly the average level during the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

"We have the community partners and the capacity to continue to provide that level of support to persecuted families and individuals," Finney said, "if the federal government would simply raise that cap and let us do our job."

The White House has blamed the low number of arrivals since October on a range of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Trump administration's efforts to minimize the number of refugees allowed into the country. Psaki also said in a news conference Friday that the increase of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, including unaccompanied children, "is a factor."

"The other piece that has been a factor," Psaki said, "is that it took us some time to see and evaluate how ineffective or how trashed, in some ways, the refugee processing system had become. And so we had to rebuild some of those muscles and put it back in place."

Mark Greenberg, who oversaw the refugee and unaccompanied children programs at the Office of Refugee Resettlement during the Obama administration, said it is unclear how the influx of asylum seekers at the southern border would slow the refugee program, which operates separately and vets immigrants overseas before they can come to the U.S.

"Normally, most staff are working on one or the other," said Greenberg, now a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute. "I don't know to what extent staff have had to be reassigned, given the urgency of the unaccompanied children issues, and the many challenges of the current situation are surely placing huge stress on the office overall.

"I'm hoping they will come forward with additional detail to explain what the issues are and how they can be addressed in a way that can let the administration meet the commitment it previously made to 125,000 admissions for next year."

While the White House did not raise the overall refugee limit Friday, it did change a set of categories put in place by the Trump administration that restricted the number of refugees from many of the nations most devastated by violence. In the first half of the fiscal year, just 37 Somalis and 42 Syrians were admitted as refugees, while 524 arrived from Ukraine and 555 from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"The primary reason that we weren't going to be able to achieve even the extremely low number of 15,000," Finney said, "was that Trump had changed the categories for eligibility and made it next to impossible for folks to get through the refugee program."

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Seattle Democrat who headed the immigrant advocacy organization OneAmerica before she entered Congress, credited the administration for changing the restrictive categories but slammed the decision not to raise the cap.

"While this administration inherited a broken immigration system that was gutted and sabotaged by the previous president, it is on all of us to fix it  quickly," Jayapal said in a statement. "A critical step to doing so is reversing the attack on the refugee resettlement program. I appreciate that President Biden eliminated geographic allocations, but this is not sufficient."

While the White House's reversal late Friday may satisfy refugee advocates, Finney said the initial decision was a reminder that refugees are too often forgotten.

"I think it's a classic example of how refugees always end up getting the short end of the stick," Finney said. "I think this policy decision reflects the fact that they're not a priority for this administration, just like they weren't for the previous one. And that's just deeply disappointing, because we're all humans, and we all have the same value."

------

Orion Donovan-Smith's reporting for The Spokesman-Review is funded in part by Report for America and by members of the Spokane community. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor.
Chandigarh, April 17 : With a view to inspire the younger generation about the glorious historical and cultural heritage of Punjab, senior Advisor to Chief Minister Lt Gen (retd) T.S. Shergill on Saturday virtually released documentary 'The Bathinda Fort' amidst the presence of its Director Harpreet Sandhu.

The advisor said that the documentary film depicts Bathinda Fort, the magnificent historic monument of national importance and the oldest surviving fort in India built around sixth century.

He said the fort has historical relevance as it is related to the first woman Empress of India, Razia Sultan, who was kept as a prisoner in this fort, later she escaped by jumping from a balcony.

"This three-storied structure has been designed purely in Mughal design and is worth paying a visit," said Lt Gen. Shergill, adding the fort is also known as Govindgarh Fort, having a historical relevance with the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, who visited this fort in 1705.

Lt. Gen Shergill, after watching the preview of documentary film, urged people to must watch the documentary that would definitely help boosting tourism as most of people are still unaware of this heritage site in Bathinda town.

Lauding the dedicated efforts of Director Harpreet Sandhu, he said that it is very heartening to see the legal luminary being passionate about helping the state government in promoting history and culture of the state, thus inspiring the youth to get connect with their roots.

Sandhu thanked Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Lt Gen Shergill for encouraging him to follow his passion to promote heritage and cultural grandeur of Punjab for the sake of posterity.
Community News Editor / Librarian

Jeannie Maschino is community news editor and librarian for The Berkshire Eagle. She has worked for the newspaper in various capacities since 1982 and joined the newsroom in 1989. She can be reached at jmaschino@berkshireeagle.com.
A man who attacked a long-standing friend after a night out and then tried to get into the River Liffey has received a fully suspended sentence.

Colin Doyle (26) and Tiarnan Ollry had been walking home when a conversation between them became heated.

Garda Emma Gleeson told John Berry BL, prosecuting, that Doyle turned to Mr Ollry and said hit me and Ill put you to the ground. Mr Ollry later told the gardai he recalled replying Id love to but I wont before he came to on the ground.

He then spotted Doyle with one leg over the quay wall on his way into the River Liffey and asked a passer-by to help his friend. He was taken to hospital by ambulance and Doyle was helped by a passer-by and put into a taxi.

Gda Gleeson said Mr Ollry initially told gardai that he didnt want to make a complaint about the assault or identify his attacker because he didnt want to get him into trouble. He later contacted gardai and made a formal complaint.

Doyle was arrested and was remorseful and co-operated with the garda investigation. He admitted punching his friend and said he thought he kicked him. He saw blood and wanted to jump into the river because he couldnt believe what he had done.

Gda Gleeson said Mr Ollry was discharged after an overnight stay in accident and emergency but returned a few days later when he had to undergo surgery to repair damage to his face. He had multiple facial fractures and his nose had to be re-set.

Doyle of Woodview, Lucan, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing harm in Dublin City Centre on May 10, 2019.

Judge Melanie Greally had adjourned the case having first heard evidence last March. She ordered a report from the Probation Service to determine if Doyle would be a suitable candidate for community service and restorative justice.

The judge said at that hearing that the injuries suffered were very serious and the impact on Mr Ollry severe but said there was an abundance of mitigation from the accuseds point of view.

It is a very difficult case, she said.

On Thursday she said the wider implication of the assault was the disintegration of the social circle which both Doyle and Mr Ollry were central to and the estrangement of their respective families.

Mr Berry told the court that the victim no longer wishes to engage in any restorative justice scheme.

Judge Greally sentenced Doyle to three years imprisonment, but suspended the sentence in its entirety on strict conditions including that he not come into prolonged and deliberate contact with Mr Ollry.

She also ordered that 10,000 which was offered by the accused as a token of his remorse be handed over the the injured party.

At the previous sentencing hearing in March, Gda Gleeson accepted that Doyle has no previous convictions and is otherwise a person of good character.

In a victim impact statement Mr Ollry said he needed an operation after he got punches and kicks to the head. He has since suffered short term memory loss and experiences mood swings. He finds himself more irritable and distant.

He said his quality of life has been heavily impacted as he has fallen out with friends, is depressed and feels isolated.

Mr Ollry said he has seen Doyle a few times in the local area and claimed that the man never said anything to him. He said he can still see a spot in his left eye which is a constant reminder of what happened.

I still dont know why he did that to me, Mr Ollry concluded in his statement.

Gda Gleeson agreed with Rebecca Smith BL, defending, that this is genuinely a once off incident for Doyle and he always made it clear he was going to plead guilty. She acknowledged that he has written a letter of apology and is remorseful.

Ms Smith handed in various reports and testimonials that speak of his good character.

She said her client had saved half of the 10,000 himself by putting money away every week because he always intended to cover the medical bills.

Ms Smith said Doyle has since suffered panic attacks and no longer drinks alcohol. He still doesnt know why he did what he did. He acknowledges that he lost his best friend, counsel continued.

She said Doyle felt he could not speak to Mr Ollry when he met him in the local area because of the ongoing proceedings.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-18 06:14:21|Editor: huaxia

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PRAGUE, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The Czech Republic is expelling 18 Russian embassy staff from the Russian embassy in Prague, said Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis on Saturday.

The expelled, who were allegedly "identified as members of the Russian secret services", will have to leave the Czech Republic within 48 hours, said Czech Interior Minister and also acting Foreign Minister Jan Hamacek.

According to local media reports, the move comes in response to evidence obtained by the country's security services which suggests Russia's involvement in two ammunition depot explosions in 2014 in the Czech Republic which killed two people.

In response to the Czech decision, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was quoted as saying on Saturday by TASS news agency that "Prague is well aware what follows such 'tricks'." Enditem
House Bill 4029, Legalize stun guns: Passed 78 to 32 in the House

To repeal a ban on the sale, possession or use of "stun devices" by adults, defined as a device that is capable of creating an electro-muscular disruptioncapable of temporarily incapacitating or immobilizing an individual by the direction or emission of conducted energy." This does not include a launchable device, which means Tasers would still be prohibited.

95 Rep. Amos O'Neal, D - Saginaw, N

96 Rep. Timothy Beson, R - Bay City, Y

97 Rep. Jason Wentworth, R - Clare, Y

98 Rep. Annette Glenn, R - Midland, Y

99 Rep. Roger Hauck, R - Mount Pleasant, Y

House Bill 4568, Push back tax deadlines in epidemic: Passed 108 to 1 in the House

To push-back the April 15, 2021 deadline for filing 2020 individual state income tax returns and payments, and the April 30 deadline for corporate income tax filers. The new dates for 2021 only are May 17 and June 1, respectively. This is part of a legislative package that also places in statute delays to city income tax and other 2021 tax deadlines, after the IRS pushed back federal tax filing deadlines in March.

95 Rep. Amos O'Neal, D - Saginaw, Y

96 Rep. Timothy Beson, R - Bay City, Y

97 Rep. Jason Wentworth, R - Clare, Y

98 Rep. Annette Glenn, R - Midland, Y

99 Rep. Roger Hauck, R - Mount Pleasant, Y

House Bill 4055, Revise details of certain state scholarships in epidemic: Passed 107 to 3 in the House

To expand the eligibility standard in the 2020-21 school year for a competitive state merit award scholarship, so that students would be eligible if they get a high grade point average, class rank, or other measure of academic success. Under current law the eligibility threshold for these scholarships is a score of at least 1,200 on the SAT test, but most students will not have the opportunity to take that test due to school lockdowns and restrictions.

95 Rep. Amos O'Neal, D - Saginaw, Y

96 Rep. Timothy Beson, R - Bay City, Y

97 Rep. Jason Wentworth, R - Clare, Y

98 Rep. Annette Glenn, R - Midland, Y

99 Rep. Roger Hauck, R - Mount Pleasant, Y

House Bill 4343, Mandate public schools give excused absence for playing Taps at military funeral: Passed 105 to 5 in the House

To add a provision to Michigan law requiring that if a public school student who is absent for a day because he or she is playing Taps at a military funeral it is considered an excused absence.

95 Rep. Amos O'Nea,l D - Saginaw, Y

96 Rep. Timothy Beson, R - Bay City, Y

97 Rep. Jason Wentworth, R - Clare, Y

98 Rep. Annette Glenn, R - Midland, Y

99 Rep. Roger Hauck, R - Mount Pleasant, Y

Source: MichiganVotes.org, a free, non-partisan website created by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, providing concise, non-partisan, plain-English descriptions of every bill and vote in the Michigan House and Senate. Visit www.MichiganVotes.org.
Here's the best story hipsters wrote this week . . . A worthwhile sign that this cowtown isn't willing to sacrifice our neighbors to garbage partisan politics.

Read more . . .

The Atlanta shootings last month joined a list of 3,794 other instances of violence against Asian Americans within the last year, leaving many Asian-owned businesses to face what that means for them. // Image courtesy of Sura Eats In March of 2020, when COVID-19 became a new and increasingly evident threat in the United States, chef Keeyoung Kim faced a...
He was one of a handful of top federal health officials at the House hearing who implored Americans to get vaccinated and sought to reassure the nation that all three federally authorized vaccines are safe. They said little about restarting Johnson & Johnson shots, which the Food and Drug Administration paused to examine a rare blood-clotting disorder.
The cargo ship Ever Given is seen on March 29 after running aground in the Suez Canal in Eygpt six days earlier. Photo: VCG

Chinese companies with goods on the Ever Given are facing mounting losses due to even longer delays getting their shipments delivered after Egyptian authorities seized the giant cargo vessel and demanded almost $1 billion in compensation for blocking the Suez Canal for about a week.

Setting out from Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan, the now freed container ship made stops at ports including Qingdao, Shanghai and Ningbo, with estimates that over 80% of the goods aboard are from Chinese companies, according to data from freight logistics platform Yunquna. The data showed that the Ever Given was loaded with 18,300 containers carrying goods worth about $3.5 billion.

The Ever Given blocked maritime traffic in both directions for about a week through the Suez Canal, which carries about 12% of global trade, after running aground at the end of last month. The UK P&I Club, an insurer for Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd., the Japanese owner of the Ever Given, said in a statement Tuesday that the owners of the vessel on April 7 received a $916 million claim from the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), which operates the waterway.

The P&I aspects of the claim are relatively modest, with the exception of a claim for loss of reputation, which is disputed, the U.K. insurer said. The compensation demanded by the SCA includes $300 million for loss of reputation. However, the ship owners and the SCA have yet to reach a consensus on the claim, and the SCA on Tuesday impounded the ship and detained its crew.

Read more

Cover Story: How a Gigantic Ship Shows the Fragility of Global Trade

A representative from a Chinese trade company, which has goods filling three containers on board the Ever Given, told Caixin that the firm is incurring huge losses as it cant secure final payment, which accounts for about 30% of the total, from its European buyers until the goods arrive in the port of Rotterdam.

Taiwans Evergreen Marine Corp., the vessels operator, said in a statement Wednesday that it is urging all concerned parties to facilitate an agreement, and that it is investigating the scope of such a court order and studying the possibility of the vessel and the cargo on board being treated separately.

Evergreen has previously said that its not responsible for delays of any cargo as agreements with clients dont guarantee arrival times.

There is almost no chance that we will be sought to pay compensation, Evergreen Marine President Eric Hsieh said earlier this month at a briefing in Taipei.

Contact reporter Timmy Shen (hongmingshen@caixin.com) and editor Flynn Murphy (flynnmurphy@caixin.com)

Download our app to receive breaking news alerts and read the news on the go.

Follow the Chinese markets in real time with Caixin Globals new stock database.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)  It all started with a hunch by a central Florida prep school teacher about who had launched a politically motivated smear campaign against him, falsely alleging he was racist and in a sexual relationship with a high school student.

Investigators say fingerprints on an envelope used in the smear campaign against Brian Beute led them to a local tax collector, Joel Greenberg. That investigation subsequently led to Greenberg's friend, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, who is now the subject of a probe into whether the congressman and tax collector paid women or offered them gifts in exchange for sex and whether one of them was underage.

Gaetz has denied the allegations and insists he will not resign his seat in Congress. Greenberg has pleaded not guilty to 33 charges, though his attorney and prosecutors said last week they are working toward a plea deal. He's uniquely situated, said Fritz Scheller, Greenberg's attorney.

The friendship between the congressman and the tax collector was one built on undying support for former President Donald Trump, selfies outside the White House, interest in cryptocurrency and a talent for shocking critics with their outrageous actions. Both were scions of wealthy Florida families.

Even before his arrest, Greenberg, 36, was a lightning rod for controversy.

With no previous political experience, Greenberg was elected Seminole County's tax collector in 2016, promising to be a breath of fresh air against an incumbent who had been in office for almost three decades.

Months after taking office in 2017, he started allowing employees to carry guns openly, even though then-Attorney General Pam Bondi's office would say later in an informal, nonbinding opinion that they shouldn't openly carry firearms in their jobs since they aren't law enforcement officers.

In late 2017, wearing cargo shorts and a ballistic-style law enforcement vest, Greenberg pulled over a driver for speeding while wearing a tax collector badge that resembled a police shield. Local prosecutors declined to file charges of impersonating an officer. Not long after that, Greenberg was pulled over for speeding and asked not to be issued a ticket out of professional courtesy. The officer declined.

Story continues

In 2018, Greenberg was widely criticized for making an anti-Muslim tweet.

An audit released last year said Greenberg wasted more than $1 million on questionable contracts and spent more than $380,000 on purchases of body armor, weapons, ammunition and a drone. Greenberg paid $15,000 to install sprinklers outside a branch office that could be remotely operated to aim at people gathered outside, though Greenberg claimed the sprinkler system was old and needed to be replaced, according to the audit.

In 2019, Greenberg set up a company, at a cost of $65,000, that would allow taxpayers to pay their bills with cryptocurrency. No payments were ever processed through the company. About $90,000 in public funds was used to install server equipment in a room in Greenberg's private office that only the tax collector and a vendor had keypad access to, the audit said.

The equipment was moved last year to a branch office where it caused a power surge, creating a fire that resulted in $6,700 in damage that wasn't covered by insurance, the audit said.

Greenberg's legal problems began last summer when he was arrested on charges of stalking Beute, who had publicly criticized Greenberg's behavior and said he planned to run against the tax collector. Greenberg mailed fake letters to Beutes school signed by a nonexistent very concerned student who alleged the opponent had engaged in sexual misconduct with another student, according to an indictment from last June.

The former tax collector also used his opponents name and photo to create a fake Twitter account on which he posted statements in favor of white supremacy and created a fake Facebook account in which he posed as a very concerned teacher who repeated the allegation about sexual misconduct with the student, the indictment said.

Beute told detectives he believed possible suspects could be Greenberg, Republican lobbyist Chris Dorworth or conservative political blogger Jacob Engels, who has ties to Roger Stone. Beute had led a citizens group that defeated a controversial proposed housing development in a rural area that had been championed by Dorworth.

Earlier this month, Dorworth resigned from the Tallahassee lobbying firm led by Republican Party fundraiser Brian Ballard. He had been working there since losing a Florida House race in 2012.

Fingerprint results on an envelopes containing the fake letters about Beute led to Greenberg. In August, Greenberg was charged with more serious crimes. An indictment alleged that Greenberg gained personal information from motor vehicle records to engage in commercial sex acts and accessed personal information to engage in sugar daddy relationships, including with someone who was between the ages of 14 and 18.

Shortly after his initial arrest, Greenberg diverted more than $400,000 in public money from the tax collector's office into a private bank account and into a business he set up to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, according to new charges filed several weeks ago.

Greenberg was returned to custody in March for violating the terms of his release on bond. When deputies showed up to bring him back to jail, Greenberg refused to come out of his house for several hours. He made suicidal comments, said he had improvised explosive devices and told deputies he had hidden several items in his anal cavity, according to a sheriff's office report.

Investigators have been examining Gaetzs ties to other Florida political figures, including Dorworth; Halsey Beshears, the states former top business regulator; and Jason Pirozzolo, a hand surgeon and Gaetz campaign donor who served on the board of the Orlando Airport Authority.

One person familiar with the federal probe has said investigators are looking at trips Gaetz and other men took and whether women were paid or received gifts to have sex with them or later received government jobs.

Most troubling for Gaetz is the fact that prosecutors and Greenberg's attorney told a judge last week that they expect him to accept a plea deal.

I am sure Matt Gaetz is not feeling very comfortable today, said Scheller, Greenberg's attorney.

Greenberg has only one way to escape the full weight of the 33 charges against him by cooperating and providing information to federal prosecutors, said David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor.

Are you the big fish? Are you going to take us to someone bigger than you? Weinstein said.

___

AP writers Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Fla., Terry Spencer in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Bobby Caina Calvan in Tallahassee, Fla. contributed to this report.

___

Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP
At a time when Covid-19 pandemic has impacted small businesses, Nandan Nilekani, founding architect of Aadhaar and co-founder of Infosys, said that India needs to create jobs at scale. This can be made possible by millions of small businesses in the country, which are the future of India and engines of economic growth and job creation, he said.

There is also increasing adoption of digitization by small businesses including accounting systems, point of sale systems and return of GST (goods and sales tax) online. This is going to generate a wealth of data, which can then be used to offer them better services like lending, Nilekani added.

I think small businesses are being brought into a digital world, getting access to markets, and can now start leveraging their own data for the future, said Nilekani. I strongly believe that if every small business creates one or two jobs more, that may mean 50 to 100 million new jobs. This is very important.

Nilekani said this at a conversation with Amazons senior vice president, Russell Grandinetti and Mahendra Nerurkar, CEO, Amazon Pay India, at the e-commerce firms flagship event Smbhav.

What Amazon is doing in India is very important. And I would like you to think in terms of how many million jobs you are enabling because that is the future, said Nilekani.

For example, if there are 5 million suppliers on the marketplace, and each of them creates 5 million jobs, thanks to the market expansion one is offering them, then collectively, the potential to create 25 million jobs, he said.

And I think that is the point you have to emphasize, Nilekani told Grandinetti and Nerurkar. Because what India needs most now is job creators, and you have a chance to create jobs at scale."

Grandinetti has been a 23-year-old Amazon veteran who joined the company when it was a small bookstore in the United States and has seen it grow into a household brand name worldwide. Grandinetti, who had also led Amazons Kindle business, said one could see how dramatic some of the shutdowns were in India due to the pandemic. He said online became important as a lifeline even for businesses that had been entirely offline before. Amazon sprang up with new programmes. This included local shops designed just to help offline retailers build an online presence for their business. It has brought online 50,000 such businesses so far.

And our goal over the next five years is to make that number a million, said Grandinetti. Even thats a small portion of what we just talked about in terms of the long-term opportunity but has to happen because all businesses ultimately are going to miss an opportunity if they dont find a way to be online.

During the pandemic, for Indian customers, paying became difficult. With Amazon Pay, the firm created Pay Later, which gave eligible customers instant access to credit. They could pay later when the act of paying had become more complicated.

So big changes for us around the world. And big changes for us in India, said Grandinetti. I am very proud of the way our team rallied, and our selling partners gave customers what they needed (via) e-commerce, which is even more important than it was before.

India Stack, the ambitious project of creating a unified software platform to bring India's population into the digital age is playing a key role. Over the last decade, India has rolled out a lot of the pieces of digital infrastructure at a population scale. Aadhaar for 1.27 billion people is using more than a billion authentications a month for all kinds of purposes, e-KYC (know your customer), which allows people to open an instant bank account. The Aadhaar-based payment system allowed the government to do direct transfer into peoples bank accounts in real-time.

UPI (unified payments interface) which Im sure (is used) in Amazon Pay is one of the worlds best real-time payment systems, doing 2.3 billion transactions a month expected to go to 1 billion transactions a day, said Nilekani, who is an advisor at National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) which built UPI platform.

GST also benefits small businesses as they learn how to file tax returns electronically. They can have digital streets that are authenticated by the government, which they can use to get credit and other services. There is an account aggregator programme, which allows businesses to access and use their own data for their future. For instance, an Amazon supplier or Amazon on the behalf of the supplier can combine not only the data that it has about the company, but also their bank statement, or their tax returns, to get a better deal for them from a lender.

I think the lending boom that is going to happen to small businesses in the coming years is going to be a key driver of growth, said Nilekani. In India, most of the credit has gone only to large businesses, because it is very difficult for banks to really assess the creditworthiness of small 

Now digital signatures are free in India. One can sign documents and agreements, electronically. Face authentication (not face recognition) which allows the use of Aadhaar, where one compares the photograph, is also going to make it easier to go online for many use cases. The digital locker has also become successful in India. Here businesses can keep the documents electronically in the DigiLocker. These may include digital certificates for vaccination.

When you vaccinate yourself in India, you get an image of a digital certificate, which is encrypted and signed with a QR code and that is stored on your behalf in a locker, which you can pull out (on phone) anytime you want, said Nilekani. All this is at population scale, that means 1.3 billion people can use it. This can be dramatically used by small businesses to provide a more efficient system and deliver more to the consumers, increase sales and create jobs.

Grandinetti said he has the privilege of managing Amazons business in over 20 countries around the world, across Europe, Japan and Latin America. I can tell you that both from a business standpoint, and in the governments, we work with around the world, the India stack and UPI are models, that everybody does not just marvel at, but I think in some way (are) seeking to emulate, said Grandinetti.

The future of an identification system and ease of payment is the digitization of payment. And the standardization and scalability of government services is the proper way for a country at any scale to operate.

So, I can just tell you, as a non-Indian, who does have a pretty broad perspective on the world that Nandan (Nilekani), and everybody who has helped make this possible have a lot about which they can be very proud, said Grandinetti. This is not just doing good for India, but setting an example that a lot of the world is seeking to follow.
KALAMAZOO, MI  Protesters peacefully marched through downtown Kalamazoo chanting Black Lives Matter on Friday night.

Approximately 80 people gathered at 7:30 p.m., April 16, in front of the Kalamazoo County Courthouse, five days after Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was fatally shot by a white police officer during a traffic stop April 11, in suburban Minneapolis.

We are so tired, Ryan Singleton (who goes by King Ryan) said. We are mourning, and you cant tell us how to mourn. We are mourning to be Black in America and to be constantly be in a state of mourning.

Protesters marched down West Michigan Avenue and through the Kalamazoo Mall, chanting Black Lives Matter, No Justice, No Peace, No racist police.

The protesters ended their march at the intersection of West Michigan Avenue and North Rose Street, chanting Whose Streets? Our Streets, in the same area people were tear gassed while lying on the ground last summer.

Protesters also gathered in front of the courthouse Monday, April 12, to mourn Wright. City officials joined them.

Related: Kalamazoo activists, officials gather to denounce fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright

Non-Black people need to do more than just post messages of support on social media, Singleton said Friday night. He said people should make sure they speak up when they see something wrong and work to help others.

What are you doing when theres not one single Black person in the room? Singleton said. What do you let go on in your presence? Show is now in your words. Dont post about it on Facebook.

The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety routed traffic away from the protesters. Chief Vernon Coakley, Deputy Chief Dave Boysen, and Public Information Officer Ryan Bridges attended the protest. Kalamazoo City Jim Ritsema also attended.

I love my community, Coakley said. Its important for our community to come together.  All of us together to make change. I cant make every demonstration. I cant make them all. But the ones I can make, I want to make sure theres a presence. That they see their police chief present, that he cares about this city.

The protesters cleared the streets and sidewalks around 9:15 p.m., without any issues with police.

Think about all those Black names, think about all the Black bodies, the lives that have been lost, Singleton said. This aint fun for us. Understand that.

The Brooklyn Center officer who shot Wright, Kim Potter, resigned and now faces manslaughter charges. The shooting occurred while another former Minnesota police officer, Derek Chauvin, is on trial charged in the May 2020 death of George Floyd.

More from MLive:

Portage man, arrested after downtown crash, arraigned in Kalamazoo shooting case

Gilmore Car Museum show will highlight Mustangs in honor of late local restorer David Beeke

Police look for man wanted in Allendale apartment complex shooting that injured four
The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has nearly touched 12 crores as part of the world's largest vaccination drive, the Union Health Ministry has informed on Saturday.

According to the ministry, a total of 11,99,37,641 vaccine doses have been administered through 17,37,539 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today.

These include 91,05,429 healthcare workers (HCWs) who have taken the first dose and 56,70,818 HCWs who have taken the second dose, 1,11,44,069 frontline workers (FLWs) (1stdose), 54,08,572 FLWs (second dose), 4,49,35,011 1st dose beneficiaries and 34,88,257 2nd dose beneficiaries more than 60 years old and 3,92,23,975 (firstt dose) and 9,61,510 (second dose) beneficiaries aged 45 to 60 years.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare further said over 30 lakh vaccination doses were administered in the last 24 hours on April 17.

"As on Day-91 of the vaccination drive on April 16, a total of 30,04,544 vaccine doses were given. 22,96,008 beneficiaries were vaccinated across 37,817 sessions for 1st dose and 7,08,536 beneficiaries received 2nd dose of the vaccine," the ministry mentioned.

Meanwhile, India's daily new cases continue to rise. A total number of 2,34,692 new cases were registered in the last 24 hours.

Ten states including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan reported 79.32 per cent of the new cases.

Maharashtra has reported the highest daily new cases at 63,729. It is followed by Uttar Pradesh with 27,360 while Delhi reported 19,486 new cases.

India's total active caseload has reached 16,79,740. It now comprises 11.56 per cent of the country's total positive cases. A net incline of 1,09,997 cases recorded from the total active caseload in the last 24 hours.

The five states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala cumulatively account for 65.02 per cent of India's total active cases. Maharashtra alone accounts for 38.09 per cent of the total active caseload of the country.

The cumulative recoveries stand at 1,26,71,220 today. The National Recovery Rate is 87.23 per cent. A total of 1,23,354 recoveries were registered in the last 24 hours and 1,341 deaths were reported during the same period.

Ten states account for 85.83 per cent of the new deaths. Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties (398). Delhi follows with 141 daily deaths.

Nine states/Union Territories have not reported any COVID-19 deaths in the last 24 hours. These include are Ladakh (UT), Tripura, Sikkim, Mizoram, Manipur, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Arunachal Pradesh.

(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.)
Srinagar, April 17 : A woman was injured after a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) party fired at a vehicle on Saturday after the vehicle hit a policeman and jumped the checkpost in J&K's Awantipora area.

The police said that a Maruti Wagon R car with the registration number JKO1J 8038 was signalled to stop by constable Nasrullah at the Awantipora chowk at about 3.40 p.m. on Friday, but the driver hit the constable and escaped.

"The vehicle was again signalled to stop at the Padgampora bridge, but it didn't stop. The CRPF personnel deployed at the checkpost then fired warning aerial shots, but the driver remained defiant.

"Thus, due to the suspicious act of driver, the vehicle was fired upon by the CRPF party, resulting in tyre burst and also in the ensuing incident, one lady, namely Jaisi Parvaiz Sheikh, who was travelling in the said vehicle, sustained bullet injuries in her right arm," officers said.

They added that the driver of the vehicle, identified as Junaid Tarir, son of Tariq Ahmed Dar of Bedalpora, Handwara, has been arrested and the vehicle has been seized.

"The injured lady was taken to the sub-district hospital (SDH) in Awantipora by the police from where she was shifted to the Bone and Joint (B&J) Hospital in Srinagar for further treatment. Her condition is reported to be stable by the doctors," officials said, adding that the injured police constable is also stable and a case under relevant sections of the law has been registered.
Close to 100 people gathered in front of the Greater Houston Partnership building downtown on April 17, urging the citys business community to speak out against the voter bills being considered in the Texas legislature.

It was cold and windy on Saturday morning, but the crowd huddled together with signs that read Say No to Jim Crow 2.0 and Kick Voter Suppression out of Austin with a picture of a Texas flag-adorned cowboy boot. The occasional passing car honked in support, prompting cheers and raised fists from the protesters.

House Bill 6 and Senate Bill 7 propose a slew of new election restrictions, although the bills are different and would need to be reconciled and passed before being sent to Gov. Greg Abbotts desk for signing. Both bills could make it a felony for election officials to send unsolicited absentee ballot applications, and to bar partisan poll watchers from observing election proceedings.

Additionally, SB 7 would ban voting after 9 p.m., drop boxes for absentee voting, and drive-thru voting locations like ones used in Harris County during the 2020 elections. It also requires even distribution of early voting sites within a county, reducing the number in populous, sometimes minority-dominated districts.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Texas voting bills target Democratic strongholds, just like Georgia's new laws

This is racist legislation, said Indivisible Houston co-founder Daniel Cohen, who organized the protest along with a dozen other grassroots groups. Decreasing the polling locations in Black and brown neighborhoods and leading to longer lines, allowing provocateurs and operatives to intimidate and harass Black and brown voters.

Hosting a protest specifically directed at the Greater Houston Partnership was strategic. Cohen says the group has some of the biggest corporations in the world as member companies.

Theyre powerful, he said. If anything is going to put (the issue) on the map, its institutions like GHP coming out.

Cohen says the Greater Houston Partnership has made statements on public policy and in favor of racial equity in the past, but hasnt yet released any on the voter bills.

A recent statement from the partnership said: It is essential that our elections be open to and readily accessible by all, while maintaining confidence in the electoral process itself. We encourage our elected leaders, on both sides of the political aisle, to balance these two ideals, strengthening all Texans right to vote in free and fair elections.

A handful of speakers addressed the crowd, with organizers leading chants in between. Lydia Nunez of Gulf Coast Adapt, a disability justice advocacy group, spoke about the proposed bills, which she calls patronizing and exclusionary. She was involved in a Department of Justice suit years ago to make the polls more accessible, and now she is fighting this new legislation.

Theyre purposefully targeting people of color and disabled people, said Nunez. Its already hard for us as it is, we dont have a good public transportation system in Houston.

Being able to vote by mail and having a drop box location close to home is crucial for people with disabilities, she said.

Theyre targeting Harris County, said Corisha Rogers of Texas Rising. Harris County had one of the most accessible voting methods in the state.

In the 2020 Presidential elections, County Judge Lina Hidalgo and County Clerk Chris Hollins, both Democrats, implemented 24-hour voting and drive-thru voting to expand options during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This resulted in the Texas Republican Party suing Harris County, citing election security and fraud issues. Many opponents of HB 6 and SB 7 see the new legislation as a continuation of this battle.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Texas Republican Party sues Harris County over drive-thru voting

Glenn R. Etienne, a presiding election judge at Fallbrook Church, said that safeguards are already in place in the election process to prevent fraud. He said the bills will end up hurting all voters.

This is about legislators who fear what the electorate will look like in the future, said Etienne. And they want to maintain power.

Christine Wehrli said the legislation is a direct response to increased voter turnout in recent elections, particularly from Democrats. You see it in Georgia, you see it in Texas, she said. Its fear.

Wehrli attended the protest with her friends Sarah Bronson and Justin Knight. The trio, who are Filipino-American, call themselves the Filam Squad. Since last summer, theyve been involved in voter registration, voter outreach and have been going to protests together. The 2020 election was a big motivator for them, but theyre still at it today. They may travel to Austin soon to protest the voter bills.

I want the fight to be a part of my life going forward, said Bronson. Because I know that there's so much left to do.

emma.balter@chron.com
MINNEAPOLIS, April 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 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.

SOURCE American Academy of Neurology

Related Links

http://www.aan.com


A fellow member of the Legislature accused Rep. Brad Witt, a Democrat from Clatskanie, of sexually harassing or similarly mistreating them on Monday, the House Committee on Conduct learned Friday.

The bipartisan committee unanimously declined an investigators recommendation that the panel require Witt to step down as chair of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee during an investigation, which is expected to take two weeks at most. But Witt volunteered to relinquish his chairmanship anyway until the investigation is complete, saying he does not want the committee member who complained to feel any discomfort during virtual committee meetings.

Witt said of Mondays incident, I believe 101% it will be found that there was no ill intent on my part whatsoever but rather an attempt to further the committee interests. He told the conduct committee he only learned of the complaint Friday morning and was surprised and shocked by it.

Acting Legislative Equity Officer Nate Monson told the committee that Witts alleged misconduct occurred Monday and the fellow lawmaker officially complained on Tuesday, submitting a signed complaint that they attested to under penalty of perjury.

Neither Monson, Witt nor the investigator said anything about the nature of the alleged misconduct. Witt did not immediately return a call Friday afternoon seeking comment.

On Thursday, Monson hired an outside firm to conduct the investigation, and investigator Sarah Ryan told the conduct committee of two Democrats and two Republicans, chaired by Rep. Ron Nobel, R-McMinnville, that she has already talked to both Witt and the lawmaker who filed the complaint.

The complaint came from a member of the 10-member House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee that Witt chairs.

Ryan, who led a protracted investigation into sexual harassment and hostile workplace allegations against then-Rep. Diego Hernandez that stretched for nearly a year and involved multiple women complaining of multiple instances of harassment, said she expects to complete the Witt investigation promptly and to file a report to lawmakers by the end of April.

Conduct committee co-chair Julie Fahey, a Eugene Democrat, told the panel she did not support requiring Witt to relinquish his chairmanship since he is presumed innocent until found otherwise and any interim safety measures are designed to protect the complainant and other people, not to punish Witt. Requiring him to give up his chairmanship seems punitive, she said.

Other conduct committee members signaled they agreed.

Ryan had explained her rationale for recommending Witt be temporarily removed as committee chair this way: I have no reason to believe there is any risk of physical harm, no reason to believe that at all. The complainant expressed a high level of discomfort in interacting at all with the respondent. That is why I recommended the temporary removal.

The committee voted to prohibit Witt and the lawmaker who complained from interacting in person, by phone or by email until the investigation is over.

House members have been meeting in person five days a week to debate and vote on bills, but all of them are never on the House floor at the same time in order to allow distancing amid coronavirus. Committees meet exclusively online.

This is not the first time Witt has faced a misconduct complaint. In 2019, a group of Slavic women complained that Witt discriminated against them on the basis of national origin when he complained that their opposition to immunization requirements was based on misinformation from Russian trolls. An investigation found he spoke to them harshly but did not engage in discriminatory conduct.

-- Betsy Hammond; betsyhammond@oregonian.com; @OregonianPol
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 17)  Vice President Leni Robredo said Saturday she is on quarantine after an exposure to a member of her security team with COVID-19.

In her Facebook post, Robredo said she canceled her trip to Bicol.

"I was all set to go. But just a few minutes ago, I received a contact tracing call informing me that my close-in security has tested positive," read her post.

"I was with him in the car, in the elevator, and in the office almost everyday this week," Robredo added.

She noted that she will have to take a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction or RT-PCR test after her quarantine.

Robredo's spokesperson Atty. Barry Gutierrez said the Vice President tested negative on Friday prior to her scheduled trip but will take another test after seven days.

"She is showing no symptoms and will continue to supervise all operations - including Bayanihan E-consulta and the Swab Cab - from quarantine," Gutierrez said.

"She is thankful to all those who have expressed their concern," he added.
Via Blois Olson on Twitter (below) and related stories, we have the letter of Hennepin County Sheriff Dave Hutchinson to Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliot, who has expressed nothing but scorn for law enforcement authorities seeking to protect the Brooklyn Center Police Department in the aftermath of the death of Daunte Wright. Here I am following Mark Freies report and Rose Semenovs FOX 9 story.

BREAKING: In letter @HennepinSheriff asks @mayor_elliott for clarification on mutual aid request and suggests city and Mayoral action has caused significant confusion. LETTER: https://t.co/gCS4wrJurw Cc: @wccoradio #mnleg  Blois Olson (@bloisolson) April 15, 2021

In his April 14 letter Hutchinson asked Elliott to confirm that the City of Brooklyn Center still desires mutual aid from the Hennepin County Sheriffs Office. Hutchinson writes, The Citys actions since Sunday have created significant confusion. In order to maintain peace and safety, it is critical that the City of Brooklyn Center communicate with its State, County, and local law enforcement partners regarding its ongoing need for mutual aid.

Elliott, by the way, has seized the moment to take control over the Brooklyn Center Police Department and fire Chief Tim Gannon. He is a proponent of the never let a crisis go to waste school of political science.

On Monday the Brooklyn Center City Council (of which Elliott is a member) passed a resolution banning police crowd control tactics such as rubber bullets, tear gas, chokeholds, and kettling (the crowd-control technique in which police corral protesters in order to arrest them).

On Tuesday, Elliot issued a Mayoral Emergency Proclamation authorizing law enforcement  including Brooklyn Center police officers as well as those responding from other agencies  to use the minimal level of force that is reasonable, necessary, and appropriate to respond to the civil unrest. On Wednesday, however, Elliott expressed his concerns about law enforcement tactics used to control crowds outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department. When you come right down to it, Elliott would prefer that the authorities employ a defensive crouch.

Its difficult to keep up. At 12:20 a.m. this morning the Operation Safety Net team that was formed to protect infrastructure in the wake of the Derek Chauvin verdict held a news conference to discuss the events of last night. I have posted the video above. We were advised as usual not to discuss the time or location of the briefing. The briefing proper begins at about 2:00. They advise that the situation in Brooklyn Center deteriorated last night.

The authorities have redeployed Operation Safety Net forces from the Chauvin trial mission to Brooklyn Center. This week the OSN team jumped into Phase 3 (of 4) of their plan  the one that was intended to kick into effect during jury deliberations. Hutchinson speaks at about 8:00. At about 12:30 Minnesota State Patrol Chief Matt Langer pleads for help. At about 15:00 Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington cites evidence in support of my theory that we are in the revolution for the hell of it phase of events. The video of the briefing is actually worth your time if you want to understand the challenge that law enforcement faces in seeking to protect and secure Brooklyn Center.

So what was Elliotts response to Hutchinsons letter? Damned if I can find the answer. In search of plausible deniability, Elliott must have whispered something in Hutchinsons ear.

LETTER: Brooklyn Centers  by FluenceMedia
China's top legislature schedules standing committee session

() 13:34, April 17, 2021

Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, presides over the 91st meeting of the Council of Chairpersons of the 13th NPC Standing Committee in Beijing, capital of China, April 16, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) will convene its 28th session from April 26 to 29 in Beijing.

The decision was made on Friday at a meeting of the Council of Chairpersons of the NPC Standing Committee, which was presided over by Li Zhanshu, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee.

According to the proposed agenda, lawmakers will review at the session draft laws on rural vitalization promotion, food waste prevention, data security, and personal information protection.

They will also deliberate draft laws on Hainan free trade port, supervisors, futures, and the protection of status, rights and interests of military personnel.

The lawmakers are expected to consider a draft revision to the Maritime Traffic Safety Law and draft amendments to the Education Law, the Road Traffic Safety Law and other eight laws, according to the agenda.

They will review reports on fighting pollution and two judicial assistance treaties with Iran, among other bills.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Bianji)
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.
Roger Stone, former adviser to President Donald Trump, speaks in front of the Supreme Court on January 05, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

DOJ Sues Roger Stone for Nearly $2 Million in Unpaid Taxes

The Department of Justice on April 16 filed a lawsuit against veteran political operative Roger Stone and his wife to recover nearly $2 million in unpaid taxes and interest.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The action was requested and authorized by the chief counsel of the Internal Revenue Service and commenced at the direction of Attorney General Merrick Garland.

According to the lawsuit (pdf), Stone and his wife, Nydia Stone, filed tax returns in each of the years 2007 through 2011 but didnt pay the amount reported as due. The non-payments, late payment fees, and interest amounted to $1,590,361, the government alleges. Stone also failed to pay $407,036 in taxes for the year 2018, the lawsuit claims.

Stone called the lawsuit politically motivated.

The Internal Revenue Service is well aware of the fact that my three-year battle for freedom against the corrupted Mueller investigation has left me destitute, Stone told The Associated Press. Theyre well aware that I have no assets and that their lawsuit is politically motivated. Its particularly interesting that my tax attorneys were not told of this action, filed at the close of business on a Friday.

The American people will learn, in court, that I am on the verge of bankruptcy and that there are no assets for the government to take.

The Stones also are charged with using an alter-ego entity, Drake Ventures, to funnel more than $1 million to outside bank accounts in an attempt to frustrate IRS collection efforts. According to the lawsuit, the Stones used the Drake Ventures bank accounts to pay for personal expenses, including groceries and dentist bills, as well as some $500,000 in tax liabilities.

Although they used funds held in Drake Ventures accounts to pay some of their taxes, the Stones use of Drake Ventures to hold their funds allowed them to shield their personal income from enforced collection and fund a lavish lifestyle despite owing nearly $2 million in unpaid taxes, interest, and penalties, the lawsuit states.

The Stones were in compliance with an installment payment arrangement with the IRS until March 28, 2019, when they failed to make a payment of $19,485. The IRS terminated its installment agreement thereafter. Two months prior to missing the payment, Stone was indicted in connection with the special counsels Russia investigation.

After Stone was indicted and prior to missing the installment payment, the Stones shifted money from Drake Ventures to another entity, Bertran Trust, and purchased a residence.

Stone was convicted of process crimes by special counsel Robert Muellernamely, lying to Congress, tampering with a witness, and obstructing the Houses Russia investigation. Trump commuted Stones sentence and eventually pardoned him. The special counsel investigation concluded finding no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ratings has affirmed Ltd's (FRL's) issuer default rating at 'C' and the rating on its $ 500 million 5.6 per cent senior secured notes due 2025 at 'C' while revising the recovery rating to 'RR5' from 'RR4'.

has also removed the rating watch positive, which had been placed on both ratings on September 2 last year after FRL's announcement it was selling its business to Reliance Retail and Fashion Lifestyle Ltd (RRFLL), an indirect subsidiary of Reliance Industries.

"The removal of rating watch positive underscores significant delay in completing the sale, contrary to our previous expectations, after a legal challenge to the deal by an entity controlled by Amazon.com Inc which indirectly holds 4.8 per cent of FRL," said

"FRL may also face more challenges in securing the required shareholder and creditor approvals for the sale. This is because the founding Biyani family's stake in FRL has been reduced following lenders' invocation of pledges on FRL shares."

FRL and other Future Group entities that are part of the sale are negotiating with the lenders under the Reserve Bank of India's August 2020 one-time restructuring framework that was introduced to help during the coronavirus pandemic.

Fitch said the sale will be credit positive if completed successfully, although it no longer remains the immediate rating driver due to the uncertainty over the timing of its completion and the potential downward rating implications from the debt-restructuring process in the very near term.

The revision in the US dollar notes' recovery rating reflects the lowering of recovery estimates after including in the waterfall analysis unpaid interest and accrued liabilities on onshore obligations from March 2020, when FRL opted for a debt-servicing moratorium, allowed by the central bank.

FRL's issuer default rating of 'C 'reflects its continued financial stress amid the prolonged impact of the coronavirus pandemic, particularly in its higher margin non-food business that faces more restrictions due to its classification as a non-essential category.

"The second wave of virus in India could further delay the recovery in FRL's cash flows during the financial year ending March 2022 (FY22) if the curbs are imposed more widely in the country," said Fitch.

"Failure to secure lenders' approval for the one-time restructuring scheme or a triggering of a change-of-control event on its US dollar bonds will also cause immediate liquidity pressure.
IF youre going to acknowledge the land you live and work and love on, you should also acknowledge the history of the people who have lived on it and the people who live on it now.

Opinion

IF youre going to acknowledge the land you live and work and love on, you should also acknowledge the history of the people who have lived on it and the people who live on it now.

When I see or hear someone say they dont care if a person is "purple" ("The view from behind the badge," March 27), it bothers me. There are no purple people. There is no purple community that is going to vilify anyone for shooting or breaking their purple mother, father, sister or brother.

I wish I was purple. Then my only fear would be the Purple People Eater.

But Im not purple. My mother and my sisters are not purple. We are Indigenous women from Treaty 5 territory living in Treaty 1 territory. My great-grandfather signed a treaty in 1909, which I assume he couldnt read because the treaty states it was explained to him and the other people who signed it.

I read it for the first time while preparing to write this. I learned Her Majesty the Queen pays me $5 annually to show her satisfaction "with the behaviour and good conduct" of her "Indians" just like me.

With absolute respect to Her Majesty, Santa Claus, the Easter bunny and the tooth fairy have shown more monetary appreciation of my behaviour and good conduct. Her Majesty has paid me about $180 in my lifetime, and Ive been pretty well-behaved and good. It seems like a bargain when I add it all up.

I guess I can tell myself its the thought that counts. A gift is a gift is a gift, after all.

I certainly didnt feel my good conduct was acknowledged by the RCMP officer who accused me of failing to stop at a stop sign about 10 years ago in Beausejour, a town where I was often one of four visibly Indigenous people living there.

I didnt appreciate when the officer told me there were better ways to kill myself without harming others. He suggested driving without wearing a seat belt. He let me off with a warning, and I certainly felt warned. I felt warned it was unsafe to be an Indigenous person driving a car in that town. I still do.

I am thankful I didnt follow his advice. It never would have occurred to me that I could kill myself that way without that officer counselling me to do so.

I wish it had been an isolated incident, but it wasnt. It was one of many that my sisters and my mother and I have had in that town over the years.

I picked my mother up this past Good Friday and took her "uptown" to Park Avenue in Beausejour to shop at a convenience store. Her purse strap had become tangled around her ankle, and she fell getting out of my car. I immediately felt awful and I immediately felt terrified. I looked in every direction to make sure the RCMP hadnt witnessed her falling on the ground.

I helped her up. I told her, "Theyre going to think youre drunk again." We laughed and went on with our day.

Four years ago, an RCMP officer thought she was drunk when she was on the ground on Park Avenue in Beausejour. She wasnt drunk. The hospital told my sister that there was absolutely no alcohol in my mothers system when she was arrested.

The reason my mother went to the hospital is because the arresting officer broke her arm. The report issued by the Independent Investigation Unit said that "the officer applied an arm bar  a wrestling hold  to the woman, trying to take her to the ground."

That amateur wrestler was never charged. My mom was 64 years old at the time. When interviewed by the IIU, she told them she had no memory of how or when her arm was injured. Thats not true. She remembers, as do I. I will always remember when it happened, how it happened, and where it happened.

The IIU never spoke to me. The RCMP never spoke to me. I would like to speak with them.

Fear and shame has kept me silent for years. I am silent no more.

The next time my mom falls down and Im not there, I hope someone has the decency to help her up if she needs help. Not because shes Indigenous or because shes my mom, but just because shes a person who needs help.

Michelle Melanson is an Indigenous woman living and working in Treaty 1 territory.
A service member of the Ukrainian armed forces points a weapon at fighting positions on the line of separation near the rebel-controlled city of Donetsk, Ukraine, on Apr. 16, 2021. (Serhiy Takhmazov/ Reuters)

Russian Security Service Briefly Detains Ukrainian Diplomat

MOSCOWRussias FSB security service briefly detained a Ukrainian diplomat in St Petersburg, Ukraines foreign ministry said on Saturday, in the latest flare-up of tensions between the neighboring countries.

Interfax news agency earlier reported the FSB as saying Oleksandr Sosoniuk was taken into custody when he tried to obtain classified information from Russian law enforcement databases during a meeting with a Russian citizen.

This activity is incompatible with the status of a diplomatic employee and is hostile to the Russian Federation. The foreign diplomat will be dealt with in accordance with international law, the FSB was quoted as saying.

Ukraines foreign ministry said Sosoniuk was held for several hours, but was now back at the countrys consulate in St Petersburg.

Tensions between Moscow and Kyiv have been rising amid a build-up of Russian troops along the border and clashes in eastern Ukraine between the army and pro-Moscow separatists.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday pressed for peace negotiations.

The Ukrainian side will soon decide how to respond to this provocation, taking into account current practice, Ukraines foreign ministry said of Sosoniuks detention.

By Polina Devitt in Moscow and Natalia Zinets in Kyiv
Members of the Balearic government have been beating a path to Alcudia in order to celebrate the building of the new primary school. Not so long ago, the education minister, Marti March (brother of former Pollensa mayor and leader of Junts Avancam, Miquel Angel March) went to the site and joked that it should be known as the Nordic school. This is because it lies between the avenues Norway and Sweden.

This week it has been the turn of the president herself. Francina Armengol marked the occasion by observing that education is the most powerful tool with which to grow and to change the world. With schools like this, we improve the future of what we love the most: our children. An historical claim by families in Alcudia was being met. Next month, the first of 450 pupils will arrive at the school, which has been built according to sustainable criteria and with a budget of 4.3 million euros.

The president went on: Today we show that, with political will and commitment, words translate into facts. I want to thank Alcudia town hall for its generosity; the families for their patience; and the educational community for its effort. Our commitment to education is firm. Between 2015 and 2021 we will have invested 88 million euros to increase, improve and expand 85% of the schools on the islands.

So there we were. A spot of still-distant election campaigning perhaps, with the president in good company alongside fellow PSOE member, the mayor of Alcudia, Barbara Rebassa, as well as minister March. The school will actually open on May 4. Ninety-five of the eventual 450 pupils are transferring from three other schools - Hort des Fassers, Norai and Albufera. The sustainable criteria, which the president was keen to highlight, include solar panels for electricity generation and natural gas for the heating.

The play areas have parasols of the reed variety to be found on the beach. Are these new and dedicated ones or has Domingo Bonnin, the councillor for beaches, lent them for now? They arent all needed, as sunlounger capacity is down by around two-thirds. And talking of lending, the town hall generosity that the president mentioned equates to the budget of 4.3 million euros. The town hall has paid for the school, when payment for such things is the governments responsibility.

The loan of 4.3 million will be repaid over time. Alcudia can at least afford to make such a sizable loan, given all the cash the town hall has sloshing around in the bank. One does wonder, though, why it was necessary for the town hall to have to lent the government the money. Was it solely to guarantee that the school did get built, as had been promised for so long, and that the president could announce the governments commitment? It does seem a little odd, given that the governments education budget is so vast - around 1,000 million euros a year.

Might the town hall be asked to dig into its pockets for another school? This could depend on whether the school finally gets built or not. In February 2019, the government declared that the site for the long-anticipated School of Hospitality and Tourism was in the regional communitys interest. A technical move, this meant that permissions and processing would not be held up by the usual laborious bureaucratic procedures. Two years on, and there is still no movement.

The site is what is being used as a parking area and where the Feria de Abril has been held. It is off the Calle Pollentia, more or less opposite the Hort des Fassers primary school; near to the post office and Mercadona therefore. While the declaration of community interest does allow things to proceed rapidly, there are two issues. These are caused by where the site is - next to a green zone and an archaeological zone that is part of the Pollentia Roman town excavations.

Mayor Rebassa says that alteration to urban planning regulations is complicated. As a result, the area to be used for the school has to be diligently plotted and marked out to ensure there is no interference with the two zones. Where this particular school is concerned, it is the ministry for the economic model, tourism and employment which has the responsibility. It has admitted that there is a problem with the planning, despite the declaration of community interest, and that there is no schedule for when the school might be built.

At present, the secondary school in Puerto Alcudia provides courses related to hospitality and tourism, but it doesnt have anything like the necessary facilities. There is also the agreement with Iberostar to use the Ciudad Blanca hotel. This agreement, which has existed for years, comes to an end in 2021. The ministry says that it is finalising agreement with another hotel. How long will this need to last? The School of Hospitality and Tourism has been demanded for years and years.
Biden changes plans on refugee cap after swift condemnation from progressives, Christian groups Reversal comes after criticism over executive order to keep Trumps refugee limit at 15,000

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The White House said late Friday that President Joe Biden will increase the cap on refugee admissions for the rest of this fiscal year by May 15, following backlash from progressives and Christian groups after it was first announced that his administration would keep the resettlement cap at 15,000.

Christian groups strongly condemned the Biden administration Friday after it was announced that he would maintain the refugee resettlement cap at 15,000 people, matching former President Donald Trumps historically low admissions goal and going back on his promise to raise the number to 125,000.

The White House announced midday Friday that Biden had signed a revised Presidential Determination for Refugee Resettlement, eliminating restrictions the Trump administration had put in place concerning the qualification for refugees, while keeping the number of admissions at 15,000 for the year ending Sept. 30, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Before the reversal was announced, Christian refugee resettlement group World Relief said in a statement, "While Bidens revised PD does make important and long-awaited changes to regional admissions categories, the decision to keep the refugee cap at an all-time low represents a stunning betrayal of the presidents previous commitment.

The revised PD means that the U.S. would admit only 4,100 refugees this fiscal year, which is already at the halfway point, the Evangelical Immigration Table noted in a statement, adding that Biden's refugee numbers would be the lowest level in the U.S. refugee resettlement programs history.

Rhetoric is no refuge for the persecuted  we need action, said Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.

The ceiling, Moore added, should be raised immediately so our nation can welcome those we already vetted.

The refugee program is distinct from other paths of immigration and unrelated crises should not distract us from doing whats right for refugees, he continued. We know the program is a secure and thorough process by which America can serve as a beacon of freedom and safe harbor for the oppressed, including persecuted Christians and other imperiled religious minorities.

Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, said evangelical Christians commitment to refugees is rooted in the biblical belief that each of these individuals is a person made in the image of God with inherent dignity, whose lives are worth protecting.

World Relief President Scott Arbeiter remarked, At a time when refugees and immigrants need American leadership more than ever before, President Biden is refusing to take action.

After the backlash, the White House said Biden will increase the cap on refugee admissions for the remainder of the fiscal year by May 15, but it did not disclose what that number might be.

In February, Biden said in a speech at the State Department, which runs the refugee program, that he was approving an executive order to raise the refugee admissions ceiling to 125,000 "for the first full fiscal year of the Biden-Harris administration. And Im directing the State Department to consult with Congress about making a down payment on that commitment as soon as possible."

At that time, it was decided that the Biden administration would raise the cap through the rest of this fiscal year to 62,500. The cap pertains to the number of refugees who are allowed to enter the U.S. in a fiscal year. However, approvals can exceed that number.

Last November, in a video message to the Jesuit Refugee Service in honor of the organization's 40th anniversary, Biden, who was the presumptive president-elect at the time, spoke of his plans to raise the refugee resettlement ceiling to the highest numbers ever.

The United States has long stood as a beacon of hope for the downtrodden and the oppressed, a leader in resettling refugees and our humanitarian response, Biden said.

I promise, as president, I will reclaim that proud legacy for our country. The Biden-Harris administration will restore Americas historic role in protecting the vulnerable and defending the rights of refugees everywhere and raising our annual refugee admission target to 125,000.

Salguero noted, however, that months after informing Congress of an emergency need to raise the refugee ceiling to 62,500 for the remainder of the federal fiscal year, the ceiling remains at the historically low level of 15,000.

As a direct result, more than 700 individuals approved for resettlement have had their already booked travel plans canceled, he lamented.

Some will not be allowed to travel immediately even once the ceiling is signed, because required health and security screenings will have expired and need to be restarted, further delaying reunification with family in the U.S. in many cases.

In October 2020, many humanitarian groups, including the Evangelical Immigration Table, had expressed concerns over Trump's decision to lower the refugee cap.

In recent years ... the United States has not lived up to its ideals as the number of refugees welcomed into our country has plummeted due to policies that diminished the resettlement process, they stated at the time. The United States cannot ignore the needs of displaced people around the world. We urge the Administration to return the refugee resettlement limit to historical levels so America can continue to be the beacon of liberty for all.
The President of Uzbekistan has signed a decree on the establishment of the countrys diplomatic mission in Sweden, Trend reports citing Kun.uz.

The embassys activities will be aimed at developing bilateral relations and practical interaction both with Sweden and the rest of the Scandinavian states.

The priority tasks have already been identified  strengthening partnerships and building up trade-economic cooperation, attracting innovations, investments and technologies from leading European companies, as well as in-depth study and development of recommendations for the implementation of advanced Scandinavian experience in education.

The topic of opening an embassy in Sweden was also discussed at the meeting of the President with the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden Ann Linde.

Confidence was expressed that the establishment of a diplomatic mission of the republic in Sweden will allow realizing the existing potential and broad opportunities for interaction both between our countries and with the Scandinavian states in general.
Prime Minister urged people to vote in large numbers in the fifth phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections on Saturday.

He also appealed to first-time voters to exercise their franchise.

"Urging all those voting in today's fifth phase of the West Bengal elections to vote in large numbers. First time voters in particular should exercise their franchise," the Prime Minister said in a tweet on Saturday.

West Bengal is undergoing the fifth phase of the Assembly election today. The first four phases were held on March 27, April 1, April 6 and April 10 respectively. The sixth phase of the state assembly polls is scheduled for April 22. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Monaco, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Apr, 2021 ) :Monaco announced on Thursday that it was easing health restrictions, without resolving the thorny dilemma of whether fans would be allowed at its Formula 1 Grand Prix next month.

"Monaco is taking its decisions in the light of its own situation, in full sovereignty but also in mutual agreement with France," the principality's Minister of State Pierre Dartout told a press briefing.

He said that from Monday, the curfew would move to 9:00pm (1900 GMT) and there would be a controlled reopening of restaurants in the evening. The provisions extend to May 2, three weeks before the Monaco Grand Prix is scheduled for May 23.

"It is not a question of complacency, but a certain number of favourable developments have taken place," Dartout said, saying an infection rate of the virus had fallen to 80 per 100,000 on Wednesday.

The health crisis has wiped out two years of growth in the principality, halving turnover in the casino, hotel and restaurant sectors but the biggest blow in 2020 was the cancellation of the Grand Prix, which usually generates around 100 million Euros ($120 million) in revenue.

Three motor races cancelled last year, are back on the Calendar this year: the Monaco Historic Grand Prix on April 25, the E-Prix on May 8 and the main event, the F1 Grand Prix.

For the Historic Grand Prix, there will be a closed practice session on Friday but a crowd, limited to local residents and employees, will be allowed for qualifying on Saturday and for the race on Sunday, the government announced.

For the Grand Prix at the end of May, Monaco has not yet given any public indication of whether fans would allowed to watch from the stands, terraces and balconies, or whether the traditional influx of visiting fans would be permitted.

According to the generally well-informed weekly Monaco Hebdo, "the closed-door system has been ruled out for the moment" and "several scenarios are being studied by the authorities. Among them, a 30 percent to 50 percent rule seems to be favoured".

From Monday, the curfew in Monaco will move back an hour shifted by one hour and applies from 9:00pm to 6:00am.

Restaurants, which have been able to open only at lunchtime, may serve customers in the evening until 9:30pm but they are not allowed to play music and customers must return home by 10:00pm with a certificate from the restaurant owner.

Monaco has reported 2,387 cases of coronavirus and 31 deaths to date.
Political activists and civic organisations sponsored by the MDC Alliance to engage in illegal demonstrations dubbed The Winter Jest over the Independence Day weekend have been told that security services are on high alert and will enforce all the laws, including the Covid-19 anti-gathering health regulations.

Some local and international organisations are reportedly providing funds through individuals and the civic organisations to cause disturbances during this years 41st Independence anniversary.

Speaking in Harare yesterday, Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe urged the public to ignore messages circulated by the MDC Alliance that call on people not to celebrate and observe the countrys independence.

All gatherings for the anniversary in excess of 50 people have already been banned as part of efforts to control Covid-19 infection rates.

My ministry has directed the Commissioner-General of Police (Godwin Matanga) to take action on some political activists, individuals and civic organisations being fronted by the MDC Alliance and have openly threatened to engage in a series of illegal demonstrations dubbed The Winter Jest, said Minister Kazembe.

The police and other security services will be on high alert and ready to defend the countrys sovereignty and territorial integrity. May I warn those who are planning and coordinating these illegal demonstrations that the law will take its course.

Local and internationally based organisations who are providing funding through individuals and the so-called civic organisations proxies are duly warned to stop fomenting disorder in the country and will be held accountable for any criminal acts perpetrated by groups who are obviously bidding for opposition political parties in the country.

Police are already monitoring the venues where secret meetings are being held to mobilise for illegal demonstrations. The peace and safety of all citizens was guaranteed as Zimbabwe celebrates its 41st Independence Day tomorrow, said Minister Kazembe.

He said people were free to conduct all lawful activities in a peaceful manner and taking into consideration the Covid-19 prevention measures.

Covid-19 knows no boundary, creed, status or religion, he said. In this regard, Zimbabweans should observe and comply with the Government of Zimbabwes Covid-19 health and safety protocols.

We can only fight this invisible enemy if we remain united as a people. May I reiterate His Excellency, President E.D Mnangagwas message that no gatherings will be allowed during this independence holiday.

The public should continue prioritising the wearing of face masks, practicing social distancing and sanitisation at all times. Social gatherings, which include churches and funerals, should strictly observe the stipulated maximum of 50 people. Police have been challenged to ensure that all the Covid-19 regulations were complied with.

Government is concerned that some church and funeral gatherings are openly exceeding the stipulated number of 50, with some gatherings going beyond 1 000. Some church congregants and mourners were clashing with police officers on enforcement duties.

These are a conduit for Covid-19 super-spreaders, said Minister Kazembe. The law will take its course without fear or favour on such errant gatherings which expose the public to Covid-19 pandemic.

Zimbabwe celebrates the 41st Independence on the background of a successful agricultural season, as well as rapid infrastructural development projects implemented by the Second Republic towards industrialisation and economic transformation. Herald
Jerry Garcia, leader of the Grateful Dead, died over 25 years ago and with him died a phenomenon. Legions of his fans, called Dead Heads, would travel with the band, moving from town to town, setting up a community at each venue. Once the show was over, the Dead Heads would pack up and move to the next concert location, re-creating the community once again.

That is the ambiance Holistic Industries and Jerrys daughter, Trixie, are hoping to replicate as they launched Garcia Hand-Picked brand cannabis on the East Coast Saturday. Garcia and Holistic executives opened the doors on the Easthampton Liberty cannabis shop on Northampton Street.

Im realizing that its all an effort for me to re-create my childhood, Garcia said of the launch event. It is really about re-creating the atmosphere, bringing together of the people and the good times. Theres a lady outside blowing bubbles and someone is selling burritos. Its that spirit.

Buying, selling and sharing marijuana was a big part of the Dead Head culture of the time, and even if cannabis was not Jerry Garcias drug of choice, he was a long-time advocate for the legalization of marijuana, Trixie said.

He wasnt a serious stoner, you know, smoke all day stoner, but he did love to pass around a joint.

Garcia said she is happy with the familys partnership with Holistic.

We launched the Garcia Hand-Picked brand a year ago and it is working on the West Coast. Before that, we searched around for the best possible partner for nearly eight years. We were looking for a long-term partnership, she said.

Liberty Easthampton is one of three retail cannabis shops across Massachusetts that represent Holistics retail outreach. Liberty shops in Springfield and Somerville are also opening their doors. Among the largest cannabis producers and retailers in the country, Holistic Industries owns shops and processing facilities in 17 states.

The marijuana sold under the Garcia Hand-Picked brand comes in three strains: Sativa, Indica flower and a Sativa hybrid, said vice president of retail Ella Wagge. All three are grown, processed and packaged in the companys Monson facility and include flower, pre-rolled, vape and edibles. The stores also carry other brands of cannabis such as Cresco Labs, Green Thumb Industries and 253 Farmacy.

The group had planned on launching the partnership last year during the summer concert season but the pandemic put those plans on hold, until now.

This is our first real solid launch, Garcia said of Saturdays event. Because of COVID we havent been able to do it. I am astounded by the number of people who came, who are fans of my fathers music and are also cannabis smokers.

Outside the Liberty shop hundreds of people, both Grateful Dead fans and fans of cannabis, mingled and shopped the booths set up, just like at a Dead concert back in the day.

Stan McCoy said he was invited by Holistic to display his organic goat milk soaps and creams from his nearby Sage Meadow Farm. Kathleen McKinnon said her Alternative Wellness in Hadley offers cannabis medical certification and CBD massage, while glass artist Madeline Stewart of Sun Song Studios created pipes, bongs and paraphernalia. And, the lady with the bubble net that fascinated Trixie, Melissa Bornmann of Lowell, created cascades of bubbles for the crowds.

While legions of Dead Heads who traveled with the band for many years may have passed on, at least one relic of the time will continue. A tricked-out Airstream travel trailer named Bertha, after the opening track of the Deads 1971 Skull and Roses LP, now a retail store for all Jerry Garcia-related merchandise, will travel the byways of America with a website tracking her every mile.
New Delhi:

The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Wednesday gave two weeks time to CBI to file elaborated status report on Kotkhai minor rape and murder case. The court will take up the matter for next hearing on October 25.

A class X girl had gone missing on July 4 while she was returning from the school. Her parents lodged a complaint with the police after her body was found in the Haliala forest two days later.

The student was raped and murdered after she took a lift in a vehicle driven by one of the accused Rajender.

In July, a Nepalese labourer accused in the case was killed allegedly by another accused in the Kotkhai Police Station.

Himachal Pradesh HC gives 2 week time to CBI to file elaborated status report on Kotkhai minor rape & murder case. Next hearing on 25 Oct,  ANI (@ANI) October 11, 2017

Later, the state government had ordered a CBI probe into the matter.

Also Read: Shimla gangrape case: CBI arrests 8 policemen for custodial death of accused

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-18 01:21:49|Editor: huaxia

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LUSAKA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Despite increased information on the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine and repeated assurance that Zambia will only accept proven vaccines, skepticism has continued with people expressing reservations on whether to take it or not.

On Wednesday, April 14, the government officially launched the vaccination program in which it targets to vaccinate about 8.3 million of the eligible population from 18 years and above.

The program is being undertaken in a phased manner on a voluntary basis with the first phase targeting health workers and other people the most at risk.

The first pillar is under the COVAX Facility consisting of 228,000 doses of AstraZeneca manufactured in India while other vaccines are expected to come from government collaboration with cooperating partners and the private sector.

The government has since come up with a communication strategy aimed at creating awareness of the exercise.

Despite government assurance that the program is voluntary as well as assuring the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, a cross section of people are still skeptical and unwilling to take up the vaccine.

This has mainly been fueled by myths surrounding the vaccine being peddled on social media that the vaccine is dangerous.

"They will have to drag me to the health center if they want me to be vaccinated, otherwise me and my family will not take part in this program. With all these stories we are hearing, it is only safe to stay away," said Charles Malanga, a resident of Lusaka, the country's capital.

He added that it is difficult to trust the programs coming from the west because "there is no smoke without fire."

His views have been supported by his colleague Leonard Nkhata who feels that he is not comfortable taking the vaccine despite assurances from the government that it is safe.

Zambians have since taken to social media to express their views on the vaccination program, with some people supporting it while others expressing misgivings.

Facebook enthusiast Mulenga Bwalya said it is too early for him to get vaccinated, adding that he will wait to see what will become of those that have been vaccinated.

"I will give those who were tested 3-5 years and see if no one will kick the bucket," he wrote.

Mutinta Haimbe wondered how the COVID-19 vaccine has been found within a short period of time when there is no vaccine for HIV/AIDS which has been around for years.

"If the virus is mutating, why rush for the vaccine now? In my opinion, it is important first to really get to know this virus well. As it is now, it is very clear that the scientists have not yet known what surrounds the virus," she said.

Others, however, have supported the vaccination program, saying it will go a long way to prevent the spread of the pandemic.

"That's a good step in the right direction. The vaccine will help prevent the spread of the pandemic," Aaron Mwaba said on Facebook.

Zachariah Mwamba, a resident of Lusaka, feels that the vaccination program should be supported by everyone as it will help to prevent the spread while Mercy Sakala says the government needs to do more to raise awareness on the importance of being vaccinated.

The government says it will enhance its awareness drive so that a good number of eligible people to be vaccinated are reached.

Minister of Health Jonas Chanda said the launch of the vaccination program signifies the government's commitment to fighting the pandemic.

A communication strategy launched will be rolled out to all parts of the country as the vaccination program spreads to all districts, said the official, stressing that there have been no adverse effects from people who have so far been vaccinated since the launch of the vaccination program in the country.

The Zambian minister, who was the first to take the vaccine as a medical doctor, said only a few reports of common side effects with other routine vaccinations such as headaches and pains at the point of injection have been noted.

He said in a statement that a surveillance system has been put in place to tackle any concerns that might occur as the country rolls out the vaccination program.

He reiterated that the government was aware of the negative reports concerning the vaccines but assured that the vaccination program is being done in a cautious manner and that only vaccines that have been authenticated as safe will be allowed in the country.

Churches Health Association of Zambia (CHAZ) Executive Director Karen Sichinga said people should trust the vaccines because they are meant to save lives.

She encouraged citizens to take the vaccine as the government has done its homework before launching the program. Enditem
Brittney Fyfe was enjoying her first dinner out since suffering a concussion from a jujutsu class when she was suddenly struck in the back of the head by a stranger.

The 20-year-old from Hastings in New Zealand received the first severe head knock back in August, which left her unable to work in her job as a hospital laboratory technician.

Then in early December, after enduring months of terrible pain and trying to recover at home, she was encouraged by doctors to see if she could handle a dinner out with her boyfriend and his family.

But on her first public outing since her injury, the last thing she expected was to suffer a second blow to the head - one that left her knocked out cold.

'I felt this massive strike on the back of my head which pushed me about a metre forward,' Ms Fyfe told Daily Mail Australia.

Brittney Fyfe has been left physically and mentally traumatised after suffering a second concussion when she was attacked by a stranger

'My partner caught me and I lost consciousness for a couple of seconds and then I span around to look at her and she was just standing there waiting to look me in the eyes.'

The woman who hit her was with a friend at the time and the pair both fled the area.

The woman involved cannot be identified and pleaded guilty to common assault. She is due to appear in court again for sentencing in June.

For Ms Fyfe, who was also volunteering for St John's Ambulance and was nearly a qualified first responder, the effects of suffering two concussions in six months was devastating.

'All I've ever done my whole life is look after other people and this is what I've ended up with,' she said.

She said because she is unable to work or study is in a state of 'limbo' while still dealing with the trauma from her attacks.

Pictured is the 20-year-old after she was attacked in December last year. She is still unable to work from the extent of her injuries

'I never know what tomorrow's going to be like for me,' the 20-year-old said. 'I have really bad days where I can't even get out of bed.'

She can't spend extended periods of time looking at screens and even fluorescent lights make Ms Fyfe feel severely unwell.

The 20-year-old said she suffered a migraine for nine weeks after her first injury in August, and due to the trauma and memory loss from her head knock she was unable to realise the pain was related to the jujitsu incident.

She said it wasn't until about a month later after seeing a chiropractor that she was able to piece it together.

On the day of her assault, the 20-year-old said she'd been excited to be out for the first time in months.

'I was having a good day for the first time in a long time. I obviously wasn't drinking alcohol and had to take myself out to the car a few times to give myself a break,' she said.

While in hospital, Ms Fyfe's partner brought along one of their pet dogs to visit the 20-year-old

She and her partner had been paying for their food when she was suddenly struck.

Now months after the assault, Ms Fyfe is still attending concussion therapy and seeing a psychologist frequently.

She has only recently been able to start driving and even then she can only manage for short periods of time.

'The first couple of weeks after [the attack] I found it really hard to say family members' names,' she said.

'Because this was basically a compilation of concussions, the effects were really bad. The second one was really scary, I even found it hard to string sentences together.

'I lost my balance terribly and was in bed for weeks. I felt like my whole life had been tipped upside down.'

While she still has a long road of recovery ahead of her, Ms Fyfe is focusing on the little things she's slowly been able to do again.

Recently she was able to fundraise for St John's Ambulance - a cause dear to her heart - for a few hours at her local supermarket.

'I'm just trying to focus on things that keep me happy for me in the meantime,' she said.

The lawyer representing the woman who assaulted Ms Fyfe applied for a discharge without conviction ahead of her next court appearance.

This could mean she may not receive a criminal record if it's granted.

The court is yet to hear Ms Fyfe's victim impact statement.
(Newser)  Peloton is waging a behind-the-scenes fight with a federal agency to avoid issuing a safety recall of its treadmills. Or at least it was the behind-the-scenes until the Washington Post reported on it Friday. The Consumer Product Safety Commission wants the company to recall its $4,300 Peloton Tread+ after the death of a child and "dozens" of other incidents involving children and pets. Bloomberg, for example, reported that a 3-year-old suffered what the CPSC calls a "significant brain injury." The company, however, says no recall is necessary because the product is safeprovided people follow instructions. "We are disappointed that the CPSC is mischaracterizing the situation," the company tells the Verge. "As a reminder, the Tread+ is not for children under 16 and children, pets, and objects need to be kept away from the Tread+ at all times."

story continues below

The Post reports that Peloton refused to provide details about the accident resulting in a death to the CPSC until the agency took the unusual step of issuing a subpoena. The newspaper quotes an anonymous person familiar with the dispute who says what's happening with the Peloton treadmillsreports of victims getting pulled under the machineseems to be unique. This doesnt happen with other treadmills, says the insider. It is a different hazard pattern than is typically seen. Peloton says it has issued multiple safety warnings to customers, and CEO John Foley wrote a public letter after the child's death stressing the safety precautions. The CPSC, meanwhile, is expected to post a new safety warning about the treadmills soon. (Read more Peloton stories.)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers a statement as he meets with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels, Belgium, on April 14, 2021. (Johanna Geron/Reuters)

US Imposes Visa Curbs on Those Who Undermined Ugandan Elections

WASHINGTON/KAMPALAThe United States is imposing visa bans on Ugandan government officials accused of human rights violation and repressive acts that tainted the January election, putting pressure on longtime Western ally President Yoweri Museveni.

The visa restrictions will apply to those believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic process during the Jan. 14 election and its preparations, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

There are consequences for interfering in the democratic process, Blinken wrote later on Twitter.

The statement did not name those targeted. The Ugandan government rejected the allegations and accused the United States of acting on lack of information, lack of knowledge (and) ignorance.

We are not going to lose sleep over this, Okello Oryem, state minister for foreign affairs, told Reuters.

Museveni,76, in power for 35 years, was declared winner of the election with 58 percent of the votes, potentially extending his rule to 40 years.

His main opponent, lawmaker and pop star Bobi Wine, rejected the results alleging widespread rigging that included ballot staffing, intimidation and falsification of vote tallies.

Wine, 39, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, galvanized his support especially among young voters. He has frequently criticized the government.

During campaigns police and the military unleashed a crackdown on his supporters included detentions and the breaking up of rallies with teargas and beatings.

In November, at least 54 people were killed as the military and police battled to quell a protest that erupted after Wine was detained as he campaigned, on allegations of violating anti-coronavirus measures.

Wine and his party, the National Unity Platform (NUP), have said security forces have continued to detain their supporters even after the election, with some released after being brutally tortured.

This electoral process was neither free nor fair, Blinken said.

By Susan Heavey, Jan Wolfe and Elias Biryabrema
Embattled steel mogul Sanjeev Gupta was paying 100,000 a month for a luxury Belgravia residence during the pandemic at the same time as issuing a public plea to the Prime Minister for cash.

Gupta was not even inhabiting the extraordinary property, which has a basement swimming pool, as he was asking for more public money, according to documents seen by The Mail on Sunday.

In a bizarre twist, the Indian tycoon had to give up the property after paying out 1.8million in rent because he revealed in a newspaper article that he was living in his Welsh estate  despite claims he was in London.

Plush: Sanjeev and Nicola Gupta had to give up the property after paying out 1.8million in rent

The extraordinary story has emerged in High Court documents that detail how Gupta found himself at the centre of a battle between his landlords and their mortgage lender over a 24million loan.

The saga sheds fresh light on the private life of a man who has risen from anonymity to lead a global steel empire and his sprawling private property portfolio.

This includes the Welsh country estate Wyelands, near Chepstow, boasting a Grade-II listed Regency villa, a 114,000-acre Scottish estate and a colonial era mansion in Sydney, Australia.

Gupta has come under close scrutiny because his Liberty Steel group, which employs 5,000 British staff, is threatened with collapse. In a national newspaper column in April last year, Gupta lobbied Boris Johnson to provide financial help for the UK's steel industry.

Gupta wrote: 'The incumbent of Downing Street has shown he is willing to think big about the future of Britain. That must include a vision for the future of steel.'

It later transpired that, around the same time, Gupta gained access to about 400million in loans from the British Business Bank via Liberty's largest lender Greensill Capital.

Greensill Capital filed for insolvency last month, adding to the financial pressure on Gupta's steel conglomerate.

Luxury: The five-storey flat, with a three-storey extension, boasts four en-suite bedrooms, several large reception rooms, staff accommodation, a pool, Jacuzzi and treatment room.

The relationship between Greensill Capital and Gupta's GFG Alliance, Liberty Steel's parent group, has since been the subject of widespread scrutiny and criticism.

It has also landed former Prime Minister David Cameron, an adviser to Greensill Capital with share options in the lender, in an increasingly toxic row after it emerged he lobbied Chancellor Rishi Sunak to help Greensill Capital access Government-backed loans during the pandemic.

High Court documents show that Gupta was locked in a dispute of his own  with Luxembourg-based lender SF Addison  over the Eaton Square property as the pandemic unfolded.

The five-storey flat, with a three-storey extension, boasts four en-suite bedrooms, several large reception rooms, staff accommodation, a pool, Jacuzzi and treatment room.

According to court documents, the property was used by Gupta, his wife Nicola, three children and two nannies. Gupta had taken out a three-year tenancy with Thai landlords Achara and Chatchai Tripipatkul for the apartment, paying 100,000 a month, with a year up front and another 600,000 due after six months.

Gupta rented the flat, which has a basement swimming pool, from Thai landlords Achara and Chatchai Tripipatkul

However, what Gupta did not know was that there were legal charges over the property following the landlords' decision to take out a 24million loan from a sister company of SF Addison in October 2017.

Invariably a lender's consent is required to rent out a property and in this case there was no consent, the documents say. The court papers state that in September or October 2019 the landlords asked for consent to grant a tenancy but were turned down by Addison.

In December Addison called in the receivers after the landlords 'failed to repay the sums due under the mortgage'. But when 'the receivers attended the property on December 17, 2019, 'they discovered it was occupied by the defendant, his wife, three children and two nannies'.

In late March 2020, Gupta's solicitors wrote to the claimant's solicitors stating their client is 'unable to vacate the property due to the Government's restrictions on movement'.

But a month later Gupta 'wrote an article in which he said 'I've been working from home at my house in a village on the Welsh borders'. In July 2020, a High Court consent order was granted, with Gupta 'surrendering' his tenancy of the property.

Such is the wealth of Gupta that he and his wife then bought a six-storey Belgravia townhouse, which was once owned by English aristocracy, to add to their collection.

A spokesman for Gupta declined to comment but a source said he was unaware the landlord could not rent out the property and had 'agreed to surrender' his tenancy.

A spokesman for Addison declined to comment. The Tripipatkuls are now pursuing a separate legal action against Addison.
Omaha, Nebraska  Jamie Bright brings her own entrepreneurial spirit and experience to her duties as SourceLink Nebraska Network Navigator.

Bright renovated a barn on the edge of the village of Bushnell, Neb., where her parents lived, transforming it into a used book store and coffee shop called The Sisters Grimm, which opened its doors in June 2011.

To start her business, Bright was able to call upon the support of othersher parents experience with small business paperwork (they are both writers and performers), her stepfathers experience as owner of a handyman business, and help with a business plan from the local volunteers at SCORE.

She says she could have utilized more resources to support her efforts, but at that time wasnt aware of the services available statewide. That is where SourceLink Nebraska would have made a difference.

There were many times where SourceLink Nebraska would have been beneficial, helping me find information online and who to talk to for sales tax information, health licensing information, business structure guidance and more, she says.

Well-established elsewhere but in its infancy here, SourceLink Nebraska is a statewide platform that connects key service providers and resources supporting economic and community development.

Similar to NetWork Kansas (a rural platform) and KC SourceLink (an urban platform), SourceLink Nebraska will increase efficiency and allow for broader statewide strategies to expand entrepreneurial and economic impact. NBDC serves as its host. My goal as the SourceLink Nebraska Network Navigator is to help other entrepreneurs access resources easily, to find the right resource at the right time, particularly to allow those in rural areas to have access to the same guidance as those who live in urban areas, Bright says. Boosting our state economy one business at a time, revitalizing our small towns, will help to grow Nebraska exponentially.

Scott Asmus, the SourceLink Nebraska Network Builder, says Bright adds a unique perspective as SourceLink Nebraska Network Navigator.

Its one thing to understand processes and barriers for Nebraska entrepreneurs and business owners, but it is completely different knowing personally what it is like, Asmus says. Jamie can truly relate to being an entrepreneur in rural Nebraska and the challenges faced each day.

Asmus says the SourceLink Nebraska team is driven to make connecting more efficient for both businesses and resource partners.

Nebraskas economic and community development ecosystem has a wealth of resources and top-notch professionals statewide to assist entrepreneurs and business owners, he says. Jamie can assist in creating connections and reduce obstacles.

Bright grew up in Nebraska, moved to Colorado Springs for college and then moved to Chicago after graduating. She worked in the Pritzker Legal Research Center, then moved closer to home due to her mothers health.

I completed a year of service with the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps, where I was based in Denver but traveled across the country tackling disaster relief and service projects, she says. I then decided to stay in the nonprofit/service space for another year, taking an AmeriCorps VISTA position in Casper, Wyo., working with a literacy program. At the end of my year with VISTA, I was considering graduate school in library science, but wasnt really sure what I wanted to do with my life.

Rather than studying library science, she decided to move back to Bushnell and begin a new chapter by opening a bookstore.

Most recently, she has worked to further the goals of SourceLink Nebraska by becoming involved in economic development networks and organizations throughout the panhandle region.

SourceLink Nebraska will be tremendously helpful pulling all these resources together for entrepreneurs here in the state and those outside Nebraska interested in starting a business here, Bright says. I want to do all I can to help guide these new businesses on a course for success.
A NUN who for the past 39 years has overseen a County Limerick rehabilitation centre that has treated thousands of people suffering with addictions, has been named the Limerick Person of the Month.

Cuan Mhuire in Bruree is synonymous with the name Sr Agnes.

Sr Agnes Fitzgerald started working in the County Limerick facility in 1982. The Bruree centre is one of five treatment centres under the Cuan Mhuire name which was founded by Sr Agnes' sister, Sr Consilio, in 1966.

Cuan Mhuire is Irelands largest voluntary provider of addiction treatment services and residential rehabilitation.

Sr Agnes, 87, has devoted much of her life to the rehabilitation of people who have lost their way in life due to a dependency on alcohol or drugs or indeed having become addicted to gambling.

At the Bruree centre, Sr Agnes and her staff of around 40, support those suffering from addiction, and their families, as they progress through a systematic 12-week programme for alcohol and gambling, and a 20-week programme for substance misuse.

According to Sr Agnes who hails from Brosna, County Kerry, the expansion of the centre and the facilities it boasts today would not have come to fruition without the support of the public and the JP McManus Foundation.

When we started off we treated alcohol addiction only but since then the place has developed very much thanks to the generosity of the public and the benevolence of JP McManus, says Sr Agnes who accepted the Limerick Person of the Month award on behalf of all the staff who have assisted in the rehabilitation of people over the past four decades.

We now have a separate drug unit. We have a new unit that we built this year thanks to Mr McManus - for male drug addiction. We have a separate ladies unit for alcohol and drugs. We have a separate detoxification unit, and a treatment unit for men.

Sr Agnes recalls that when she began in Cuan Mhuire, Bruree, there was no necessity for a drugs unit.

Now you have heroin and cocaine and any kind of street drugs. It is a major problem - we have a very long waiting list for our drug programme. Most of the people seeking help with drugs would be in their late teens and 20s, male and female. You would get older too.

In the beginning it was cannabis use and then more drugs came along over the years - there was quite a lot of addiction to Benzos (Benzodiazepines which are used to treat severe anxiety or if you are very distressed).

Alcohol addiction, she says, is as predominant as ever - we dont see any lessening in the demand for places.

A recent survey in Ireland showed that three in every four Irish people know at least one person with a gambling addiction.

Gambling has increased down the years in men and women but particularly men. Now they are gambling online whereas long ago they had to walk to the bookie office - now its on the phone, Sr Agnes points out.

A knock-on effect of the pandemic is that people suffering with addiction have been forced to wait much longer periods for a bed in a treatment centre.

The past year, you couldn't compare it with anything because all treatment centres were closed for about 10 weeks, Sr Agnes explains. We continued to work in the centre and look after the people who had been admitted, but there were no new admissions which meant that there were people being added on and added on to the waiting list. At another stage later on we were closed for another four weeks so we really took no admissions for one third of last year.

Where we had double ensuite bedrooms, now they have to be single because of Covid. If we didnt have the Covid restrictions we could take in excess of 140 patients at any one time.

The Cuan Mhuire programme is based on the philosophy of total abstinence and strives to restore the confidence, self-respect and sense of responsibility of all participants.

I dont think you can say for certain why some people go down the road of addiction, Sr Agnes points out. I think that there are some people who inherit something that predisposes them but I also think that it can be to do with the environment in which a person grows up in.

The whole goal of Cuan Mhuire, Sr Agnes says, is to get the people to be the people they were created to be.

You are hoping that when they do the programme that they begin to see their own goodness and their own self-worth and that they begin to become the people they were really created to be.
The condition of the New Jersey man hospitalized with COVID-19 about a month after getting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has worsened, his daughter told the New York Post.

Francisco Cosme, 52, of Edison, is now on a ventilator, his daughter, Michelle Torres said.

He isnt conscious, were just looking at him, Torres told the Post.

New Jersey Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli previously said catching the virus after being vaccinated is rare, but could still happen. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the J&J vaccine was 66.3% effective in clinical trials at preventing illness and had high efficacy at preventing hospitalization and death in those who did get sick.

It will happen, Persichilli said recently at a COVID-19 briefing. The efficacy could be close to 100%, but there are also a percentage of cases that are either (they) contracted COVID-19 before they got vaccinated or were exposed afterward and will fall ill.

Attempts to reach Cosmes family by phone were unsuccessful Saturday morning.

The CDC said this week there were reports of 5,800 breakthrough infections out of the nearly 77 million people in the United States who had been fully vaccinated. Those breakthrough infections would represent 0.007% of those who are vaccinated. Seventy-four people died after getting the vaccine, the CDC said.

Gov. Phil Murphy said earlier this week theres no data to support that cases like Cosmes were the norm.

There are so few cases in Jersey, in the country, in the world where someone has been infected after the vaccine, he said. I would just not want anyone out there to assume that thats the norm, because it isnt. Theres no data at all that suggests that.

Cosme, who is reportedly diabetic, got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on March 6 and was rushed to the John F. Kennedy Medical Center, his family told the Post. He started having symptoms on April 1.

The CDC said no one who got COVID-19 at least four weeks after receiving the J&J vaccine had to be hospitalized in clinical trials. People had the most protection two weeks after getting vaccinated.

New Jersey stopped administering the J&J vaccine on Tuesday after federal health officials recommended doing so. The decision came after six women developed blood clots six to 13 days after getting the J&J vaccine.

The governor said about 235,000 doses of the J&J vaccine were administered in New Jersey and none were reported to have similar adverse effects. Medical experts say that while the cases should be investigated, the risks still appear to be low.

Local journalism needs your support. Subscribe at nj.com/supporter.

Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com.
CONWAY  Long constrained by their legal status, the Waccamaw Indian People want to make themselves whole again.

The Waccamaw, who have sought federal recognition for 30 years, have sponsored a task force designed to influence the way public school students learn about Native Americans. By improving public awareness, the tribe hopes to win support for its cause.

Sara Rich, a professor of art history and archaeology at Coastal Carolina University, is among those volunteering to tackle items on a Waccamaw to-do list. She's helping to complement the states education standards with information that better represents the Waccamaw and all of South Carolinas indigenous people.

That task force is preparing materials educators can use to tell a fuller, more equitable story. They want to make it easy  turnkey, really  so teachers already burdened with responsibilities dont need to do the research themselves, Rich said.

The effort to revise school curricula coincides with a separate legislative initiative sponsored by U.S. Rep. Tom Rice, R-Myrtle Beach, to grant federal recognition to the Waccamaw and Pee Dee tribes. Two bills were introduced in the House by Rice on March 16.

Meanwhile, Coastal Carolina students under the supervision of Carolyn Dillian and Katie Stringer Clary are organizing a special exhibition about the Waccamaw to open April 27 at the Horry County Museum in Conway.

Its all part of what Native leaders say is a long-overdue reckoning with the role indigenous people have played in the Carolina territories over the course of nearly four centuries, plus the discrimination and marginalization they have experienced and the cultural richness they celebrate.

'Not on my watch'

Rich said her early investigations have revealed woeful gaps in educational materials.

First, I researched how indigenous people are being represented in textbooks, she said. It was pretty deplorable.

Native perspectives are almost completely overlooked, Rich said. The textbooks mention the Trail of Tears, a result of President Andrew Jackson's 1830 Indian Removal Act, and thats about it. They mention the Cherokee and Catawba tribes, both federally recognized, but none of the many other Native American communities in South Carolina.

The general impression among students (and many adults) is that Native Americans were relocated to reservations out West and thats that, Rich said.

The states social studies education standards were updated in 2019 to be more inclusive, said Chris Judge, an archaeology professor at the University of South Carolina Lancaster who was part of a review team.

The subcommittee I served on examined the K-12 standards considering Native American perspectives, he wrote in an email. Instead of using the 2011 versions tribal names  Catawba, Cherokee and Yemassee (which only names three of the many tribes that called South Carolina home, the latter of which only occupied South Carolina for 30 years), more inclusive terms such as 'indigenous' and 'marginalized peoples' were used in the 2019 version.

This made it easier to recognize other minority groups, he wrote.

Each year, educators can provide new information or recommendations. Already, the S.C. Department of Education discourages teachers from having their students dress up as Pilgrims and Indians at Thanksgiving, according to Judge. The agency already has incorporated recommendations of the special task force that was formed late last year, and which benefits from the participation of Anne Pressley, the Education Departments director of standards and learning.

Now that we have representation from SCDE on the task force, this should prove to make the next round of standards even better when they are revised sometime around 2026, Judge wrote.

Cheryl Sievers Cail, vice chief of the Waccamaw, said she will no longer tolerate what she considers the deliberate erasure of her cultural heritage and the contributions made by her people.

Its not going to happen on my watch, she said.

Cail has been consulting the documentary record, talking with historians and researching her own genealogy. She includes among her ancestors John Dimery, a free person of color who in 1813 purchased land that quickly became known as the Dimery Settlement  todays Waccamaw tribal land.

The federal census did not categorize non-reservation Native people as Indian until 1870. They were often labeled mulatto or black or free persons of color, emphasizing race and helping to shape views of Native people as other, Cail said.

Its time to recognize Native communities for the help they provided settlers, showing them how to navigate the rivers and creeks, plant successful crops, avoid poisonous plants, and hunt game, she said. Native people participated in the fur trade and other economic activities that strengthened colonial settlements and enabled cities such as Charleston to emerge as important urban centers.

But Native Americans had no concept of land ownership, nor the bureaucratic means to secure legal rights to property. They were susceptible to diseases carried by White settlers, and corrupted by alcohol, Cail said. Some assimilated into African American or White communities, losing touch with their cultural traditions.

'I am Indian'

Browning Michael Neddeau, a professor of American Indian studies and elementary education at California State University in Chico, sits on the Waccamaws education task force and shares with colleagues in South Carolina his experiences out West.

Neddeau is a member of the federally recognized Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Hes involved in two tracks of reform, one to bolster ethnic studies at the college level and another to introduce it to K-12 students.

Traditionally, he said, educators have determined curricula without much input from indigenous communities, but thats changing in California and in South Carolina where Native people now have a seat at the table.

The Waccamaw people are involved, and its at the very beginning, he said. Its a good thing. Part of telling stories is that we have tellers and listeners. Its interactive. We have to have both.

A big challenge is to acknowledge the histories and contributions of tribes that are not federally recognized, Neddeau said.

As Native people, we are citizens of our tribe, and of the U.S., regardless of federal status, he said. Native people dont consider members of unrecognized tribes less Indian, Neddeau added. But thats something the federal government has done, going back to bloody bloody Andrew Jackson.

Federal acknowledgement can be obtained in two ways: by petitioning the Bureau of Indian Affairs (and submitting sufficient documentation to show that the tribe has achieved a certain status), or by finding a lawmaker to sponsor legislation.

Federal recognition enables tribes to apply for government funding, but perhaps more importantly, it grants tribes a certain political sovereignty, allowing them to negotiate on a government-to-government basis.

This autonomy comes with new rights, such as greater freedom of religious expression, the ability to reclaim tribal human remains and objects, and the chance to determine how those objects are treated.

The Waccamaw dont have those rights. But Rices bill could change that.

I was proud to introduce in Congress H.R. 1942, The Waccamaw Indian Acknowledgement Act, which would give well-deserved federal recognition to the Waccamaw Indian people, Rice said in a statement. Congresswoman (Nancy) Mace joined me in this effort. Ive had many conversations over the years with Chiefs (Harold "Buster") Hatcher and (Pee Dee Indian Tribe Chief Pete) Parr about the importance of this status. I stand ready to be a partner to both the Waccamaw and Pee Dee tribes in their decades-long endeavors to gain recognition.

Rich said students who are not members of a federally recognized tribe sometimes fail to win the acknowledgement they deserve.

There have been multiple instances when Waccamaw kids in the classroom say, I am Indian, but the tribe is not in the textbook, so theres a lack of awareness. Its Catawba and Cherokee and thats it.

That's one reason why she and the rest of the team are creating instructional resources that inform the standards.

But if we provide materials in a passive way, they are unlikely to be put to use, she said. So were also providing training. And theyre seeking strategic partners, such as SCETV, to help distribute the information.

Later this year, the educational materials will be available to all online, and a social media campaign will raise awareness, she said.

'Very fired up'

At the Horry County Museum in Conway, Dillian, her colleague Clary, and their Coastal Carolina students are preparing the Waccamaw exhibition, which opens April 27 and will remain on view for about a year.

Its the result of years of research, interviews and coordination with Hatcher, Cail and other members of the tribe, who have made guest appearances in the classroom, and who have hosted students on Waccamaw tribal grounds.

Students often get very fired up, Dillian said. They want to know what they can do to help. Few had learned anything previously about the Waccamaw or other state tribes.

The exhibit is meant to raise awareness, but also to bolster the Waccamaws petition for federal recognition, Dillian said.

We wanted the message to be: These are our neighbors, colleagues, coworkers, friends  modern people who happen to retain cultural traditions that people dont know about. We didnt want to other them, she said.

With help from the tribe, students collected a variety of artifacts, personal belongings and narratives to include in the museum show.

The timing of this was just perfect, Dillian noted, referring to Rices bill on behalf of the Waccamaw. This is great way to educate the community about the Waccamaw Indian People and heighten their visibility. ... Part of what you need for federal recognition is to have that kind of visibility.

The students have invited members of the House of Representatives to see the exhibit, Dillian said.

So when the bill crosses their desks, they can say Ive heard of this.

Cail said recognition without empowerment is little more than a gesture.

Native people have coped with a long history of discrimination and marginalization, and too often they have been stymied when asserting their cultural identities.

They are behind economically, endure problematic health disparities, and lack sufficient agency, she said. Yet their history is worthy of pride and celebration.

You cant understand today unless you look back, Cail said. The truth is kind of ugly.
New York, April 16, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Vaccine Contract Manufacturing Market - Global Outlook and Forecast 2021-2026" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06063357/?utm_source=GNW

13% during the period 20202026.



The global vaccine contract manufacturing market has experienced radical transformations after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been a massive health catastrophe. Vaccine CMOs have gained significant attention as the virus starts spreading far and wide. A new era of vaccine and biological drug development has prevailed since the advent of the COVID-19 virus. The global pandemic has fueled vaccine innovations with the rapid acceleration of RNA-based COVID vaccines. Contract manufacturing companies are working to increase the availability of COVID-19 vaccines across the globe.



The vaccine manufacturing landscape has changed dramatically over few decades. Almost three-fourths of pharma and biotech companies have entered into mergers and agreements with contract manufacturers to develop COVID-19 vaccines. Outsourcing has gained high significance as it offers significant advantages such as end-to-end manufacturing solutions and expertise in vaccine manufacturing. A high level of capital expenditure combined with complexity for manufacturing has limited the entry of new players. With maturing pipelines of vaccine products, biotech companies face decisions to partner with existing manufacturers or contract manufacturers or develop in-house manufacturing capabilities.



The following factors are likely to contribute to the growth of the vaccine contract manufacturing market during the forecast period:

 Global COVID-19 Vaccination Programs

 Manufacturers focus on Scale-up Vaccine Production

 Growing Agreements between Vaccine Developers and Contract Manufacturers

 Vaccine pipeline boosting demand for Contract Manufacturing



The study considers the global vaccine contract manufacturing markets present scenario and its market dynamics for the period 2020?2026. It covers a detailed overview of several market growth enablers, restraints, and trends. The report offers both the demand and supply aspects of the market. It profiles and examines leading companies and other prominent ones operating in the market.



GLOBAL VACCINE CONTRACT MANUFACTURING MARKET SEGMENTATION

The global commercial vaccine contract manufacturing market accounted for over 64% in 2020. There has been a high demand for contract manufacturing services due to the growth in infectious diseases and the onset of endemics and pandemics worldwide. North America expects to contribute maximum revenue to the commercial vaccine market due to the increased focus to prevent deaths caused by vaccine-preventable diseases. The emergence of the RNA platform has accelerated the vaccine development process.



The clinical vaccine contract manufacturing market is expected to witness an incremental growth of over USD 492 million during the forecast period. The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in 2019 and the Ebola and Lassa fever epidemics in Western and Southern Africa demonstrate an urgent need for vaccines and therapeutics against emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. Several serums are in the pipeline for wide-ranging contagious diseases and COVID-19, which are likely to boost the market growth. The preclinical segment accounted for a share of 13% of the global vaccine contract manufacturing market in 2020. Growing populations, healthcare awareness, demand for newer vaccination products, increasing global vaccination coverage are also some of the factors for the increased need for immunizations globally.



Sub-unit vaccines accounted for a major share of approx. 34% in 2020, and they are likely to witness the highest incremental growth of over USD 633 million during the forecast period. Growing infectious diseases leading to endemic/pandemics, majorly due to decreasing immunization coverage in many regions, have made national and international bodies implement vaccination programs strictly, allowing more people to get vaccinated. This is likely to increase the demand for vaccine production and benefit CMOs expertise in the manufacturing services. Contract manufacturing service agreements are high for recombinant vector COVID-19 vaccines.



The fill/finish services market expects to grow at a CAGR of approx. 13% during 2020-2026. Fill/finish services are subject to extreme scrutiny by regulatory agencies and tend to be costly in the manufacturing process. Hence, vaccine manufacturers outsource these services to CMOs, which help them meet unexpected demands, source policies or better matching scales. Moreover, biopharmaceutical companies outsource fill-and-finish needs to gain access to specialized technology. CMOs are extremely helpful in meeting balanced production volumes and commercial validation of manufactured products. Hence, the growth in biopharmaceuticals is likely to fuel the demand for fill-and-finish contract services.



The analytical and QC studies services market is expected to observe an incremental growth of over USD 322 million by 2026. An increase in product-pipeline manufacturing requiring both method development and method validation drives several biopharmaceutical companies to opt for analytical method development services. CMOs perform method development, method validation, manufacturing support, release testing, and stability. Hence, the demand for analytical and QC studies services expected to grow in biopharmaceutical companies.



Scale of Operation

 Commercial

 Clinical

 Pre-clinical



Vaccine Type

 Sub-unit

 Live Attenuated

 Inactivated

 RNA

 Others



Services

 Fill/Finish

 Analytical & QC Studies

 Cell/Virus Banking

 Others



INSIGHTS BY GEOGRAPHY



North America has the most widespread contract manufacturing organizations, with nearly 40 CMOs present at several US locations. The US accounted for over 90% of the North American vaccine contract manufacturing market share. The increasing trend of outsourcing is benefitting contract manufacturers in the region. Regulations related to vaccine manufacturing, especially in the US and Canada, are boosting the market growth. The prevalence of infectious diseases and the increasing number of deaths due to vaccine-preventable diseases has increased the need for manufacturing.

Europe accounted for the second-highest share of 26% in the vaccine contract manufacturing market in 2020. The increasing elderly population, prevalence of bacterial and viral infections, increasing demand of new vaccinations, and expanding biopharma and biotech industry are major factors contributing to the growth of contract manufacturing in the Europe region. APAC witnesses growing market demand mainly due to a large and growing population which increases the access to vaccines. In APAC, various opportunities associated with the growing vaccine pipeline, rise in outsourcing of vaccine manufacturing services, implementation of novel and innovative technologies are expected to have a significant influence on the future of the vaccine contract manufacturing market.



Geography

 North America

o US

o Canada

 Europe

o UK

o Germany

o France

o Italy

o Spain

 APAC

o China

o India

o Japan

o South Korea

o Australia

 Latin America

o Mexico

o Brazil

o Argentina

 Middle East & Africa

o Saudi Arabia

o Turkey

o South Africa



INSIGHTS BY VENDORS



Ajinomoto BioPharma, Albany Molecular Research Institute, Catalent, Cytovance Biologics, Emergent Biosolutions, Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, and GlaxoSmithKline are a few vendors accounting for the global vaccine contract manufacturing market share. Established players are entering into strategic alliances and co-marketing agreements to elevate the market competitiveness and penetration. They also make long-term relationships with distributors and suppliers for scale-up production and expand geographical presence in the market. North America offers a high quantity of contract manufacturing services. Europe and APAC have a few prominent players and several small and mid-sized vendors. Emerging economies, including China, India, Brazil, and Mexico, are likely to offer significant growth opportunities for vendors. Vaccine contract manufacturing companies in India are show promise as the two biopharmaceutical companies - Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech- have also received emergency approvals for their serums.



Prominent Vendors

 Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma

 Albany Molecular Research (AMRI)

 Catalent

 Cytovance Biologics

 Emergent BioSolutions

 FUJIFILM

 GlaxoSmithKline

 IDT Biologika

 Lonza

 Merck KGaA

 Pfizer

 Recipharm

 Serum Institute of India

 Siegfried Holding



Other Prominent Vendors

 Cobra Biologics

 Baxter BioPharma Solutions

 Goodwin Biotechnology

 KBI Biopharma

 Sanofi

 BioMARC

 Bavarian Nordic

 Charles River Laboratories

 Boehringer Ingelheim

 Samsung Biologics

 Meridian Life Science

 Wacker Biotech B.V

 Jubilant HollisterStier

 AbbVie

 Novasep

 Kemwell Biopharma

 Northway Biotech

 Midas Pharma

 Alcami

 Cambrex

 Asymchem

 Pharmaceutics International Inc. (Pii)

 Sharp

 Singota Solutions

 Thermo Fisher Scientific

 Kaneka Eurogentec

 Richter-Helm BioLogics

 Ology Bioservices

 Corden Pharma

 Cerbios Pharma

 BSP Pharmaceuticals

 JOINN Biologics

 Eurofins Scientific

 ProBioGen

 Esco Aster

 Genovior Biotech

 AGC Biologics

 EirGenix

 Amaran Biotech

 Eden Biologics

 Abzena

 Aldevron

 Cell Culture Company

 Taron Solutions

 MabPlex

 Axcellerate Pharma

 WuXi Biologics

 Therapure Biopharma



KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED:

1. How big is the vaccine contract manufacturing market?

2. Which segment is likely to generate the largest revenue during the forecast period?

3. Which region has the largest number of vaccine manufacturers?

4. Who are the top vaccine manufacturers?

5. How has COVID-19 pandemic affected contract manufacturing companies?

6. What limitations are associated with the supply of COVID-19 vaccines for CMOs?

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06063357/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________
The Opec Fund for International Development has announced the signing of a $50 million term loan agreement with Acwa Power to support the construction and operation of a 1.5 gigawatt (GW) combined cycle gas-turbine power plant in Sirdarya, Uzbekistan.

The new plant, located near the border with Tajikistan, will replace an ageing, less efficient thermal power facility, resulting in lower operating costs and a significant reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, said the statement from the Opec Fund.

The Fund and Uzbekistan have been development partners for more than two decades. The organisation has, to date, committed funding to various sectors including but not limited to the banking, agriculture, transportation and education sectors to support Uzbekistans development priorities.

On the deal, Opec Fund Director-General Dr Abdulhamid Alkhalifa said: "We are pleased to contribute to Uzbekistans massive efforts to upgrade and modernise the countrys power generation capacity with reliable and efficient infrastructure."

"Private sector participation in the energy sector will expedite this process and landmark projects such as Sirdarya will pave the way, setting examples of great cooperation among governments, development finance institutions and the private sector," he added.

The Opec Fund was established in January 1976 by the then 13 member countries of the oil producing nations; including the UAE. It is the development finance institution established as a channel of aid to developing countries.-TradeArabia News Service
OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of aa- of Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. (IA) (Quebec). Concurrently, AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings (Long-Term IR) of IA. Additionally, AM Best has affirmed the FSR of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICRs of a of IAs U.S. life insurance entities within the IA American Life Group. (See below for a detailed listing of companies.) AM Best also has affirmed the FSR of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICR of a+ of Industrial Alliance Pacific General Insurance Corporation (IAPG) (headquartered in Vancouver, Canada). In addition, AM Best has affirmed the FSR of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICR of a of Dealers Assurance Company (DAC) (Columbus, OH). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings of IA reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, favorable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). The companys Canada operations continue to have favorable risk-adjusted capitalization, supported by retained earnings and long-term investment repositioning to reduce risk, but offset partially by dividends. Financial leverage remains within tolerances. IAs strong operating performance is driven by favorable profitability and top-line trends, with premiums growth within individual wealth management and group savings and retirement sectors. The ratings also recognize IAs diversified business profile and continued growth organically and through acquisitions. IAs ERM practices reflect a developed risk framework and formalized risk appetite, as well as its focus on strong risk governance throughout the organization.

The ratings of IA American Life Group reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its marginal operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate ERM. The ratings also recognize the support it has received from IA through capital contributions and synergies from home office management of its actuarial reserves and investment portfolio. AM Best views the IA American Life Groups core focus on individual life insurance favorably in the United States, with support from its parent that included a $40 million contribution in 2020.

The ratings of IAPG reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile, appropriate ERM and the implicit and explicit support it receives from its parent company. Solid risk-adjusted capitalization, prominent market presence and favorable operating performance are offset partially by non-operationally based capital fluctuations, as well as elevated expenses experienced over the prior five years.

The ratings of DAC reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate ERM. The company continues to report profitable underwriting and operating results. In addition, solid surplus growth over the prior 10-year period, tight risk management practices and a competent management team help to offset a concentrated product profile.

The FSR of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICRs of a have been affirmed with stable outlooks for the following entities of the IA American Life Group:

IA American Life Insurance Company

American-Amicable Life Insurance Company of Texas

Pioneer Security Life Insurance Company

Pioneer American Insurance Company

Occidental Life Insurance Company of North Carolina

The following Long-Term IRs have been affirmed with stable outlooks:

Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc.

-- a on CAD 250 million 2.64% subordinated debentures, due 2027

-- a on CAD 400 million 3.30% subordinated debentures, due 2028

-- a- on CAD 125 million 4.60% non-cumulative perpetual preferred shares, Series B

-- a- on CAD 250 million 4.30% non-cumulative perpetual preferred shares, Series G

-- a- on CAD 150 million 4.80% non-cumulative preferred shares, Series I due 2023

The following indicative Long-Term IRs on securities available under the shelf registration have been affirmed with stable outlooks:

Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc.

-- a+ on senior unsecured debt

-- a on subordinated debt

-- a- on preferred shares

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Bests website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Bests Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Bests Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Bests Credit Ratings and AM Best press releases, please view Guide for Media - Proper Use of Bests Credit Ratings and AM Best Rating Action Press Releases.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright  2021 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210416005562/en/

Bruno Caron

Associate DirectorL/H

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5144

bruno.caron@ambest.com

Brian Lynch

Financial AnalystP/C

+1 908 439 2200, ext.

brian.lynch@ambest.com

Christopher Sharkey

Manager, Public Relations

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159

christopher.sharkey@ambest.com

Jim Peavy

Director, Communications

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5644

james.peavy@ambest.com

Source: AM Best
The Independent

Donald Trump is set to give a rare speech to the Republican Party of North Carolinas annual convention on Saturday evening. The former president will appear at the event in Greenville, North Carolina, as he is said to be urging friends to push a bizzare theory that he will be reinstated to office in August.
The pause in the rollout of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine following concerns of rare instances of blood clots is raising some providers' worries about getting inoculations into communities that need them most.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration put a hold on the Johnson & Johnson-made vaccine. Reports indicate six women developed blood clots after taking the company's shot. One of the women has died.

Given that 7.7 million Americans have been dosed with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, investigators are trying to determine if there is a link between the rare cases of clots and the shot.

Of all the South Carolina residents who have received at least one vaccine shot, just 6 percent received the Johnson & Johnson version.

The vast majority of shipments to the state have come from either Pfizer or Moderna. But hopes were high that the single dose would be easier to deliver to the state's rural and underserved areas.

Ann Lewis, CEO of CareSouth Carolina, a community health center that serves the Pee Dee region, said people seem much more interested in receiving the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

"We're facing a hard time not having the Johnson & Johnson and it's created even more hesitancy," she said.

Lewis made the comments April 16 during the first of regional meetings planned by DHEC and intended to address gaps in access to vaccines across the state.

Providers across the country are awaiting word from federal health officials on when they can resume administering the Johnson & Johnson dose.

CareSouth has administered about 17,000 vaccinations, the majority of them made by Moderna, said Joe Bittle, chief of community health at CareSouth Carolina. The primary care network has locations in Marlboro, Lee, Chesterfield, Dillon and Darlington counties  areas of the state that are hard for the health care system to reach.

Bittle said after a rush of initial interest in the vaccine in CareSouth's service area, the health network's events are no longer filling up. Bittle said the organization wished interest in events with the one-dose option would be higher.

"We have great hopes this is just a pause," Bittle said.

CareSouth planned to host a Johnson & Johnson vaccine clinics April 13 and 14 in Society Hill, according to the organization's website. Both in the Darlington County town of less than 1,000 people had to be repurposed; CareSouth turned the Tuesday event into an opportunity to hand out food boxes.

Dr. Brannon Traxler, public health director at DHEC, said there have not been reports of other serious side effects with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and the pause "should not significantly impact" the state's supply.

She said there is no longer a shortage of doses available to residents who want one.

Dr. Jane Kelly, assistant state epidemiologist at DHEC, said the pause is a "sign of the system working" but doubts federal health officials will lift the hold soon. Kelly urged people to get one of the two other manufacturers' shots.

"I hope that nobody delays getting vaccinated because they're waiting for Johnson & Johnson," she said.

Statewide numbers

New cases reported: 847 confirmed, 401 probable.

Total cases in S.C.: 474,358 confirmed, 92,919 probable.

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Percent positive: 4.4 percent.

New deaths reported: 2 confirmed, 0 probable.

Total deaths in S.C.: 8,195 confirmed, 1,114 probable.

Percent of ICU beds filled: 72 percent.

How S.C. ranks in vaccines

South Carolina ranks 42nd in the nation regarding the number of vaccines administered per 100,000 people as of April 15, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hardest-hit areas

In the total number of newly confirmed cases, Greenville County (97), York County (79) and Richland County (75) saw the highest totals.

What about tri-county?

Charleston County had 58 new cases on April 16, while Berkeley had 26 cases and Dorchester had 32 cases.

Deaths

Both of the new confirmed deaths reported were patients age 65 and older.

Hospitalizations

Of the 556 COVID-19 patients hospitalized as of April 16, 144 were in the ICU and 70 were using ventilators.

What do experts say?

Anyone who wants a COVID-19 vaccine can walk in to a special mass vaccination site at the Columbia Place Mall in Columbia that opened April 14.

The Pfizer vaccine is available at the site for anyone 16 and older with both walk-in and drive-thru options. No appointment is needed. Doses are coming to the site separate from the rest of South Carolina's federal allocation, with the goal of vaccinating 7,000 people at the site each week.

"There are more opportunities than ever before for getting vaccinated," Kelly, of DHEC, said.
Geneticists have never found any special streak of violence in Bengali genes. Then why has Bengal witnessed so much poll violence?

Fifty years ago, such incidents were widespread in North India where the upper castes used to stop Dalits and OBCs (other backward classes) from visiting the booths. Twenty-five years ago, violence was still rampant in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Kerala and Bengal.

But times have changed. Now, the savage behaviour of people, particularly in rural areas, is noticed only in Bengal. During the ongoing election season, even women candidates were attacked by men.

The question is: Why does it happen only in Bengal? The answer is simple. Unlike in other states, the elections in Bengal engulf the vested interests of a large number of people dependent on the ruling party for their livelihood, legal or illegal.

Read | Of poll-bound states, only Bengal saw violence: Adhir

Lets see how wide and deep the rot is.

In Bengal, people not loyal to the ruling party wont be enrolled in the rural job scheme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act or MGNREGA (hundred days work). And those who are active workers of the party may get half the wages (with the other half going to the party) even without toiling in the project.

Again, the benefits of government schemes are unlikely to reach those who are known to be supporters of Opposition parties. The money for housing will go to a core supporter who may have a good shelter, but not to those without a proper roof over their heads, if they are marked as opponents.

Forget government schemes. Those living in rural or semi-urban areas  a daily wage earner like a hawker or a vegetable vendor, a schoolteacher or a professor or an ordinary farmer  will face different troubles if they are supporters of the Opposition party.

They face harassment while trying to obtain necessary certificates from the panchayat or the MLA. If a disaster strikes, say a flood or a cyclone, relief materials are first distributed among party supporters (even if they are not impacted), and the remaining will go to passive supporters.

To run such a system of absolute control, the ruling party of the state (or, at times, the party that controls the district panchayat or the block panchayat) needs a network of cadres in every neighbourhood.

Read | 'Removing violence, corruption key to WB's revival'

How is it arranged? First, by distributing favours, and second, by employing harmads (armed criminals).

In several states, jobs such as that of teachers, professors and government employees are sold for money. In Bengal, one cannot just buy a job by paying bribes.

Here, most of the jobs are distributed among active workers of the ruling party and their children. The rest of the cadres survive on money collected mostly illegally and often through coercion.

Across the state, there are lakhs of such political parasites whose survival depends on the return of the ruling party to power. They often take the help of seasoned criminals to silence and terrorise Opposition supporters.

The situation is unlikely to change. The seeds of this system were sown during the days of Siddharta Shankar Roy, the last Congress chief minister (1972-1977) of Bengal.

Left Front rule

But it grew to a menacing proportion in the last 20 years of the Left Fronts 34-year (1977-2011) regime, which was then taken forward by the Trinamool Congress (TMC), ruling the state for the last 10 years.

The irony is that such a system cannot satisfy the majority of people, which results in some always revolting against it. When the number grows to a dangerous level, the ruling partys well-oiled mechanism takes recourse to violence and terrorisation of people.

Such violence was noticed in the last 10 years of the Left Front government, and is being seen now in the last three years (from the time of panchayat elections of 2018, when the polls were reduced to a farce) of the present TMC regime.

When the disgruntled section veers around the Opposition, a section of the cadres, particularly hooligan elements, breaks ranks to join the Opposition party stronger in the region. But the process becomes intense when the index of voters polarisation towards a single Opposition force throughout the state goes up. And it becomes a do-or-die situation for both the main rivals. This type of vested interest does not exist in any other state, which is why they could get rid of political violence and killings.

The situation is unlikely to change if the BJP comes to power in Bengal. The party, too, will be happy to continue with the system, for the deep and wide rot is an easy recipe for clinging on to power.

(The writer is a Kolkata-based journalist and author of the recently published detective novel Mirchi Memsaabs House of Faith)
California expanded vaccine eligibility to all residents 16 and over this week, and millions of people are now scrambling to find appointments.

You may have heard finding an appointment can be tricky. While health care providers, pharmacies and counties are continually opening appointments daily, they go fast.

Since the start of the rollout, we've been hearing from readers who snagged appointments, and below, we share their experiences with securing slots to provide tips for others navigating a system that is confusing and overwhelming. Responses have been condensed and edited for clarity in some cases. Some of these stories were included in previous articles.

Here's how SFGATE readers found vaccine appointments

"I live in Contra Costa County and am 42 years old. I was able to get vaccinated last week (first Pfizer shot). I'm already signed up to get the second shot in two weeks. I signed up by calling the Contra Costa Health general COVID number for the county [833-829-2626]. I think I got lucky as I tried for a few days without connecting. They also sent me an email link to sign up using MyChart and look for appointments via their mobile app. I first had to fill out their online form. I also noticed that by using the Walgreens mobile app, I was able to find a bunch of appointments for various Walgreens pharmacies in Contra Costa. The Walnut Creek Walgreens on North Main had many appointment slots for this week."  Luis A.

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"I was able to book a shot on findashot.org, and then using findashot.org and vaccinefinder.org, I was able to book my second (long story, but I got them in two separate counties). Findashot.org is great. I am oddly addicted to it, even after it served its purpose for me!"  Lisa Fredsti

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"After trying many sites for many days over the last few months, I was able to get an appointment for the Pfizer vaccine in Albany using https://curative.com/sites/25054#9/37.8675/-122.2969. Later I was able to set up an appointment for my wife, too. Quite well run. You don't have to get out of your car. I checked it just now and it shows nothing available. But that can change at any moment, and it helped to check at all hours of the day and evening."  Alan Winson

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"I just started looking yesterday [April 1] as I had assumed our doctor at UCSF would let us know when our turn would come up. But I was told by a friend it was every man (or woman) for himself during this pandemic so mother-in-law told me to go to VaccinateCA, which I did. It showed a list of places where to go, but they were fully booked. However, I kept scrolling down the site and San Francisco State University came up and they had appointments for the vaccine for my husband (55) and me (59). Honestly, I felt kind of guilty because I keep hearing that people are having trouble getting appointments and we got in right away."  Mallory Graf

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"On Wednesday, March 17, my former colleague of Livermore texted me that there were vaccine appointments available at the CVS located in Hanford. I quickly went onto the CVS website, saw that most locations were totally full, except Hanford. When I navigated through the CVS website, not only did I find many open appointments, I was able to schedule the same time as my friend on March 21. CVS also automatically scheduled the second appointments exactly three weeks from the first appointment. During our second visit on April 11, they noticed many appointments still open.

"Both round trips, Montara to Hanford via Livermore, yielded 952 miles. We both felt lucky to have been able to obtain these appointments and grateful to the nurses and staff at the CVS located at 574 W. Lacey Blvd., Hanford." Alan Joss, Montara

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"Please inform your readers that scheduling an appointment at MyTurn.CA.gov can be a bit tricky. When I looked for an appointment I scrolled all the way to September and nothing was available. Then I scrolled back to April and the information had downloaded. It seems the pages need time to load. I was then able to schedule two appointments for the next day."  Sylvia Hays

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"About 10:30 a.m. this morning (not 2 a.m., not 3:17 a.m., but in the middle of the freakin' morning), I optimistically searched for 'COVID vaccine santa clara county' using 'the search engine whose name we dare not speak,' and managed to score appointments for my wife and me (we're just now eligible) that are  get this  at the same place, close to our home, and at 'back-to-back' convenient time slots. If we actually are vaccinated without a hiccup, we'll go straightway to buy lottery tickets."  Tony S., San Jose

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"I noticed in the paper that Contra Costa County was opening vaccine sign-ups to anyone over 50 that lived or worked in the county. I work at the old Ford Factory on Harbour Way South. The day of the announcement, I went to the county website to sign up, but was not able to do so since I did not fall in any of the eligible categories. It appears the website was updated to allow for over 50 sign-ups the next day. That was Tuesday, March 24. On Thursday night, March 26, I received a text with a link to the sign-up website. I chose a few locations near my workplace and scheduled an appointment at one of them. I received the first shot by Pfizer on April 1st. While waiting during the observation period, I received a text with my second appointment, scheduled for April 26th."  David Taylor

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"I guess its pure luck. I am 50-plus and live in Contra Costa County, Walnut Creek to be exact. I went to the MyTurn website at 6:30 p.m. on April 2 and scored the 4:20 p.m. appointment on Sunday, April 4, at the Oakland BART Coliseum site. By the way, five minutes later those appointment slots were completely gone. There is really no special skill involved, just keep trying at different times, I had tried it at 1 a.m., 11 a.m., 3 p.m.  during lunch break at work, between watching episodes on Netflix. The process is no different from looking for work (something Id done a lot last year), you have to be persistent and not get discouraged."  Tom Lim

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"After constantly refreshing what seemed like all the vaccine sites to no avail, by luck yesterday evening I saw a timely tweet by @CovidVaccineBA that the Oakland Coliseum had appointments for the Johnson & Johnson shot. I jumped on that and booked my appointment for this Sunday through MyTurn.CA.gov."  Denise Iwamoto

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"I guess I got really lucky. I'm 73 and live in Richmond. In early January, I signed up for notification on Contra Costa County's COVID website. In mid-January, I received an email that because I was over 65, I could make an appointment through My Chart. I made an appointment for Jan. 28 at Richmond's City Auditorium. About a week before my scheduled appointment, the county backtracked to 75-plus but honored appointments already made. I got my first shot on Jan. 28 (Pfizer) and then got my second shot on Feb. 19. The county was very organized and getting an appointment online was easy. Meanwhile, Sutter Health, of which I am a member, was either not taking appointments or canceling 95,000 existing appointments. It's now reported that Contra Costa County has surplus vaccine. Go figure!"  Karen Kempler

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"I'm retired and live in Healdsburg. I'm 64 with no severe underlying health conditions so I didn't qualify until April 1 when the state opened up vaccinations to people 50 and over. I went on my Kaiser Permanente account and tried to book an appointment. No luck anywhere close to home. The closest Kaiser location with availability was in South Sacramento, an over two-hour drive one way. Kaiser also requires you to return to the same location for the second dose. Being a retired I.T. guy, I sat in my easy chair with my laptop for several hours refreshing the screen hoping for a cancellation. I found one in Santa Rosa for three weeks from now. I went on Nextdoor and posted my experience. I tried the MyTurn web portal. It's a complete joke. Using my ZIP code, it came up with two vaccination sites with openings. Both were in Lake County and both required Lake County residency. One of my neighbors on Nextdoor posted there were spots available at a certain link. It's right here in town at Healdsburg High School administered by Alliance. I secured an appointment for this coming Tuesday. As of right now, there are still appointments available. It's word of mouth and lots of luck to secure a vaccination appointment."  Dana Hom

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"I am under 65 and received a phone call six weeks ago from the Veterans Affairs to schedule my COVID vaccine. They were running ahead of schedule I guess, or maybe I was phoned because I am a sole caregiver for an elderly parent and I have pre-existing conditions. I was not looking to book an appointment as I was not 65 or older, so their call caught me by surprise. At any rate, they offered an appointment for two days later. "  A. Farley

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"It took me half a day to find an appointment. I started at 4 a.m. and found one at 1 p.m. There were no appointments available in San Francisco. All I did was refresh, check, refresh, check. I used VaccineFinder, MyTurn, Walgreens, CVS, RiteAid, medical health centers, UCSF and Kaiser  and hit the jackpot with Sutter Health. It was so frustrating, but I felt an urgency. I knew it would become harder when they opened up to everyone. I had to drive to Great America Parkway, but it was worth it. Sutter was very organized and quick. There was even parking."  Tracy Silva

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"A neighbor that's a yoga teacher-caterer told me he just walked up to S.F. General and got in line. After realizing that I was eligible, I walked over and talked to a nurse. 'If you come early there's a line, but around 11 a.m. it thins out,' the nurse told me. Sure enough, the next day at 11 a.m., there was no line and I was in and out in under a half-hour. There are many places that take walk-ups (here's a link to some in San Francisco) and it's a lot easier than clicking refresh or logging on at 3 a.m. to find an appointment. Sometimes the easiest solution isn't the most obvious one  clicking around for hours allows you to book an appointment from your couch, but just showing up guarantees you a spot in the line. Many seniors don't have the internet so this is great for them."  Andrew Lawrence

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"We got an appointment for my wife, age 64, from Kaiser via their website on Wednesday night about 9:30 p.m. Closest location was 30 miles and first time was eight days hence. I'm 71 and had already been poked; the drive was 45 miles each way, two times. By the way, I photocopied by vaccination card, reducing it to 80%, and then laminated the copy and cut it down to the exact size of my driver's license to carry in my wallet. Keep the original with other important papers. I've asked a few people if they wanted to see my Fauci Card. Nobody's been interested. I show them anyway."  Tom Ruppel, Dixon

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"I am a USMC veteran OIF/OEF, and I am conservator for my little brother who has Down syndrome. I am fortunate to have many resources including the Veterans Affairs to help me in my search for scheduling a COVID-19 vaccination appointment. But like most in the Bay Area, I have also been calling every number, emailing every address provided to me from over seven different agencies, some of these including federal. And I also have been stonewalled every time. Anyway to make a long story short, after almost two weeks straight of calling everyone and emails, I finally just took a chance, contacted our basic health care provider Kaiser and went on their website at KP.org. Yesterday at around 16:30 hours, I called the 800-number provided and was put on hold. I stayed on hold for exactly 57 minutes and 43 seconds. I know this because I had reached my level of patience and had my fiance record me saying I would only wait on hold for another few minutes, making it exactly one hour on hold time. Then I would hang up. But just as soon as I was about to give up, I was greeted by an agent and she was able to schedule me and my brother for vaccination shots. But the catch was they were nowhere close to home, and also sort of an inconvenience with most social family holiday gatherings because our appointments are scheduled for this Sunday, on Easter, all the way in Stockton."  Matt Katovich

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"The right time to check for the vaccine appointments is 12 midnight to 3 a.m. I was able to help my friend find an appointment just now at 12:30 p.m. at CVS. And a couple days ago [at 2 a.m], I was able to help another friend find an appointment at Safeway. That was my first try. Also, Nextdoor has been helpful  neighbors have been sharing tips on how they are getting vaccine appointments. This evening, I was not able to find any vaccines for my friend, and I was monitoring [the] CVS, Rite Aid, and Safeway websites. And finally, at 12:30 p.m., appointments pulled up on the CVS website: I saw three locations suddenly open up with appointments."  Amy Kona

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"I enrolled in Sutter Health around 5 a.m. Thursday and began searching Sutter, all California locations. Sacramento appointments showed up (April 8) with quite a few time slots and I grabbed a morning appointment. I was planning to drive to Sacramento. But then later I tried UCSF Health for an appointment. I hit the lottery! An available time slot came up and I grabbed it. So definitely worth checking vaccine sites every hour or even more often."  Christopher Wong, San Francisco

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"I was able to book a vaccine appointment for myself and my husband today. From about 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., I continually refreshed the Rite Aid site and finally found two appointments, both near our home. One is scheduled in San Rafael and one in Corte Madera."  Jeanne Lavin, Kentfield

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One SFGATE reader wasn't finding appointments through his provider, pharmacies and MyTurn. Then he discovered the site vaccinespotter.org, which tries to track all available appointments statewide.



"An appointment in San Mateo  I live in Milpitas  popped up at a Rite-Aid pharmacy. But when I clicked through to their site, they let me pick any Rite-Aid location and I got an appointment for April 7, not far from where I live."  Joel Ransom

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"At 9:20 this morning, April 1, I was able to use MyTurn to secure two appointments at the Oakland Coliseum for tomorrow afternoon. The times kept disappearing as I clicked, but I kept clicking and it finally worked. It was just lucky timing, I guess. (Our ages are 52 and 54.) I entered Oakland as my location."  Joanne Miller
What is required on the part of the leaders is a genuine concerted effort, serious hard work and a lasting commitment to severe the leash on the beast and inspire its return to the old glory. Its only by doing so that our region will be ready to put on notice those who have been holding the tiger by its tail.

Even though one was not privy to the discussion held at the Owerri summit of the Southe-East governors, it was not lost on me why Agu (insert your choice of tiger, Lion or Leopard) would become the favoured totem for the regional security outfit. Every serious student of Igbo culture knows too well that there is a special place for the wild cat in the peoples mythology.

Agu is powerful, brave, undaunted and approaches life without fear. Which is why its not uncommon among Ndigbo to hear a praise name such as Omekagu (one-who-acts-like-the-tiger), Isi-Agu (the traditional outfit so-called because of the tiger head pattern on the fabric) and Agu na eche mba (the mighty tiger that watches over nations and tribes). In fact, a good number of the people even bear Agu as their surname.

But there is also the other aspect of the tiger that offers a little window into a crucial lesson in understanding the Igbo mindset and moral philosophy of life. No matter the economy of the jungle, Agu must not just live but thrive. In Igbo folklore, the daring exploits of the big cat is so often eulogised and his premier status guaranteed as the undisputed king of the wild. That said, there is a crucial distinction to me made between the revered king of the jungle and his caged brothers, who live at the mercy of the zookeeper.

A caged tiger is timid, powerless and stays conquered. Without being rescued, he may likely spend most of his life in captivity. He belongs in the clan of the captured and can no longer lay claim to his old glory. He has so lost his place in the jungle that even his cubs would not dare venture out to rummage for food. In place of his famed bravery is now the mortal fear of falling victim to a highly resourced predator.

In April 2016, an intelligence report warned that Fulani herdsmen were seen grouping at neighbouring Odolu in Kogi State in preparation for an attack on a border community in Enugu State. The State governor summoned a security meeting, with both the Commissioner of Police and the GOC 82 Division of the Nigerian Army in attendance. His Excellency was told that the situation was under control and that there was nothing to worry about. Of course, the reassurance came after the security chiefs had received all the needed logistics from the government.

But that was not what happened in the early hours of April 25, 2016. Tragedy struck. Fulani herdsmen, numbering over five hundred, turned Nimbo, a small agrarian community in Uzo-Uwani local government area, into a theatre of bloodbath. By the time they were done, the entire community was littered with the bodies of more than forty dead. Their throats were slit and bodies dismembered. In fact, the entire landscape was covered in a sea of blood. Blood of pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, children and old men who couldnt run fast enough to escape the horror of that day.

There have been a lot of theories about why the South-East governors are so reluctant in seriously addressing the most crucial part of their jobs as the chief security officers of their states. Of course, we already know that most of their actions are filtered through the prism of future political interests.

When the security chiefs were later asked to clarify what happened and why there was such a monumental security breach, they made it clear that they were only answerable to the man in Abuja. A few months down the line, we were told that some of the ringleaders of the murderous gang were later identified but none, to our knowledge, was finally brought to justice.

History kept repeating itself and two weeks ago, it was Ebonyis turn.

Herdsmen killed no fewer than 20 persons and destroyed property worth millions of naira in Egedegede, Obegu and Amuzu communities in Ishielu Council Area of Ebonyi State.

In all these attacks, the governors felt weak, incapacitated and helpless. The irony of it all was that the man in charge at Abakaliki had been known to go above and beyond to court the friendship of the Fulani power structure. The attack was a sad reminder that those who decide to seek power by riding on the back of the tiger will end up inside the belly of the beast. But that statement is only true to the extent that one believes that the many innocent lives brutally cut down, were worth more than his Excellencys political future.

More than twelve months ago, with the increasingly dire security situation throughout the country and the inability and in some cases, apparent lack of interest on the part of the federal security apparatus, to protect lives and property, a few regional joint security outfits were born. The South-West governors first founded the Western Nigeria Security Network codenamed Operation Amotekun on January 9, 2020. A coalition of northern groups followed suit and inaugurated the Northern Nigeria Security Initiative known as Shege-Ka-Fasa. Despite the clamour for such an outfit in Igboland, the South-East governors held multiple talks and made empty promises. They continued to prioritise politics over the lives and wellbeing of their subjects, who not only suffer the incalculable loss of economic livelihoods but are daily brutalised and murdered by marauding foreign savages.

Following a meeting between the governors and the then Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, in early 2020, news filtered out that the police chief literally bullied them into ditching the idea of a regional outfit. The big question asked at the time was why the Federal Government of Nigeria felt so confident in browbeating the South-East into submission, which was something they couldnt do with the North or South-West regions of the country.

There have been a lot of theories about why the South-East governors are so reluctant in seriously addressing the most crucial part of their jobs as the chief security officers of their states. Of course, we already know that most of their actions are filtered through the prism of future political interests. A future that desperately needs a heavy dose of blessing from their ogas at the top. But there is more to that. Its no secret that a good number of the governors were not duly elected in free and fair elections and so do not owe their positions to their people. Many are products of fraudulent electoral processes and were only able to survive post-election litigation on the strength of the intervention of northern oligarchs. To continue to enjoy the trappings of power illegitimately acquired, they become willing victims of unending blackmail. Of course, with the monumental graft under their watch, the fear of EFCC is the beginning of wisdom.

Since issuing the communique announcing the establishment of the joint regional security outfit, many Igbo intellectuals have expressed strong reservations about the real intentions of the governors in this regard. Many are worried that the touted ban on open grazing will end up being another political stunt

On Monday April 5, a group of heavily armed gunmen, wielding all kinds of sophisticated weapons including machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, and improvised explosive devices, blasted through the gates of Owerri prison facility. According to a press release by the Nigerian Correctional Service, the massive jail break saw to the escape of 1,844 inmates from custody.

In another related development, the Imo State headquarters of the Nigeria Police Force was also attacked and the bandits attempted to gain access to the police armoury but were successfully repelled. They, however, succeeded in burning down multiple police patrol vehicles. They also made an attempt on the Government House, located just about 200 metres away from the prisons and left after about two noisy hours without suffering any casualty. They would later attack police stations in Mbaitoli, Orlu, and Ehime Mbano, and other local government areas of the State.

For the Imo State government, this was one attack very close to home and just a little over one week after, the South-East governors suddenly felt the urgency to converge in Owerri for an all-important security summit. Ebube Agu was born. The big question is: Why did it take this long?

Since issuing the communique announcing the establishment of the joint regional security outfit, many Igbo intellectuals have expressed strong reservations about the real intentions of the governors in this regard. Many are worried that the touted ban on open grazing will end up being another political stunt, given that the legal framework to back it up is non-existent. Unlike solid steps taken by Governor Ortom in Benue, there was no mention of the individual state Houses of Assembly passing an anti-grazing law, which will ensure that anyone who runs afoul of it would be criminally liable. The people view Ebube Agu as just another attempt by the governors to appear serious in order to deflect a mounting political pressure, while they continue to dance to the whims of Aso Rock.

While those are legitimate concerns, I think the people should be patient enough to wait and find out if indeed solid steps and concrete actions would be taken in the next few weeks to achieve the stated objectives. We should for a moment surrender our doubts and let hope triumph over past experiences. We do hope that the Owerri incident will serve as a pivotal lesson to all that no one, no matter how highly placed or heavily guarded, is totally immune from the failure of his society.

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As Ndigbo prayerfully await an end to the void of leadership, the South-East governors should not expect us to just rest our hopes in the glory of a caged tiger. They had spent years clipping his paws and now it carries on like a neutered caricature. What is required on the part of the leaders is a genuine concerted effort, serious hard work and a lasting commitment to severe the leash on the beast and inspire its return to the old glory. Its only by doing so that our region will be ready to put on notice those who have been holding the tiger by his tail.



Osmund Agbo, a public affairs analyst is the coordinator of African Center for Transparency and Convener of Save Nigeria Project. Email: eagleosmund@yahoo.com
German Chancellor received on Friday her first dose of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, she announced via government spokesman Steffen Seibert on Twitter.

"I am delighted to have received my first vaccination with AstraZeneca today. I thank everyone involved in the vaccination campaign -- and everyone who gets vaccinated. Vaccination is the key to overcoming the pandemic," Merkel was quoted as saying, Xinhua news agency reported.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is now only recommended for people aged over 60 in Germany. Its use for younger people remained optional at doctors' discretion for people without an increased risk of blood clots. The chancellor is 66 years old and thus falls into the group of those eligible for AstraZeneca vaccine in Germany.

Over three and a half months after the start of the Covid-19 vaccination program in Germany, more than 5.3 million people had been fully vaccinated as of Thursday, bringing the country's vaccination rate to 6.4 percent, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the federal government agency for disease control and prevention.

As of Thursday, a total of 20,744,105 vaccine doses had been administered in Germany as the country recently stepped up its vaccination campaign. Starting from last week, vaccine shots are not only administered at national vaccination centers and by mobile teams, but also available at general practitioners (GPs).

--IANS

int/pgh

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Gardai have launched an investigation after a van was set on fire on the outskirts of a Limerick village.

The incident happened near Croom - on the Ballingarry Road - at around 9 o'clock on Friday night.

One unit from Rathkeale fire station attended the scene after the alarm was raised and it's understood the van was extensively damaged in the blaze.

It has since been removed for a technical and forensic examination.

A garda spokesperson has confirmed to the Limerick Leader that the incident is under investigation and that it is believed the van was deliberately set alight.

"Gardai are investigating an incident of criminal damage that occurred in Croom, County Limerick on Friday, April 16. A van was observed on fire in the area and the incident was reported to gardai at approximately 9pm," she stated.

Investigations into the incident are continuing but, to date, no arrests have been made.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-16 23:52:47|Editor: huaxia

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DAR ES SALAAM, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa on Friday announced measures aimed at improving the investment environment in the country, including overhauling of investment laws and policies.

"The government will also review various conditions given to investors, including easing issuance of work permits," Majaliwa told the parliament in the capital Dodoma.

He said the government will review the 1996 Investment Policy and the 1997 Investment Act with a view to improving them.

The premier announced the measures when he was winding up debate on his office's budget proposals for the 2021/2022 financial year which starts on July 1.

Majaliwa said President Samia Suluhu Hassan has directed the Prime Minister's Office in which the investment portfolio is operating to remove all hurdles facing the investors.

He told the House that such hurdles included complaints over payment of taxes, red tape in issuance of valid permits, and corruption.

Majaliwa said the government has already prepared an electronic system through which investors will be able to submit their complaints, adding that investors will also be able to air their grievances through the Tanzania National Business Council. Enditem
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Even after recent dramas  #OscarsSoWhite controversies and the fiasco when La La Land was wrongly named best picture  an Academy Award remains the ultimate prize in the movie industry. Its a validation of excellence that comes with more than 90 years of history, celebrity and glamour  as emotional as winning an Olympic gold medal for everyone from famous directors and actors to unknown visual effects technicians, make-up artists and the creators of animated shorts. How do you win one of these? Credit:AP Part of the cachet is mixing with the movie elite at a ceremony in Los Angeles every February or March (moved to April this year because of the pandemic). But Oscars are also famously hard to win. Some of the worlds greatest filmmakers  Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Howard Hawks, Ingmar Bergman, Akira Kurosawa  have never won best director. And while it might change this year, American director Kathryn Bigelow is the only woman to have won. To win an Oscar, you could rely on decades of dedication to your craft, hard work, smart career decisions, industry connections and plain good luck  but there are ways to boost your chances. You could direct a movie for Pixar, for example, given the studio has won best animated feature 10 out of the past 17 times. You could become a key member of a sound team on a big war, action, sci-fi or music movie, given those genres have dominated.

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If youre an actor, find a story about the struggles of someone famous and, ideally, beloved. The long list of winners in this category recently include Renee Zellweger as Judy Garland, Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury and Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill. Or, if you are wealthy enough, you could position yourself as a Hollywood producer delivering finance to prestige movies  a route that has led to much disappointment and diminished bank balances over the years. Laura Dern, left, and Renee Zellweger with their Oscars after winning last year. Credit:Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Winning best picture at the Oscars, though, is like winning the lottery. It can be highly rewarding but you have to beat the odds against thousands of movies released around the world every year. How does a movie get to be considered? Who votes for the winner? Is there a type of movie that usually wins best picture? And whats in with a chance this year? How do movies qualify for best picture? Given the awards take place in Los Angeles, a movie traditionally has to have at least a seven-day run in the county in the previous calendar year  at least three times a day including once at night  to qualify.

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The best picture award goes to the producers of a movie, who oversee the production, rather than the director, who is the main creative force. Given there are often many producers, executive producers and co-producers, only the key ones are included. That meant some big names missed out this year: Margot Robbie, who is a producer on Promising Young Woman, and Brad Pitt and Steven Yeun, who were executive producers on Minari. Movie professionals who are members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences all get to vote firstly for the nominees then the winner. Six years ago, there were 6261 members but, after repeated controversy about the lack of diversity, the Academy has expanded its membership to more than 9900 members. There was a time when box-office hits such as The Godfather, Titanic and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King won best picture. But when prestige independent movies began dominating, the Academy expanded the number of nominees from five. Now, after some tweaking, there can be up to 10 nominees but each one has to get at least 5 per cent of first-place votes to qualify. As with Australian elections, the winner is determined by preferential voting. To get a movie in front of voters during Hollywoods awards season, which traditionally starts in November and finishes with the Oscars, a distributor or streaming service will often premiere it at a major festival in September  Venice in Italy, Toronto in Canada and/or Telluride in Colorado. While well-funded marketing teams will coyly advertise movies for your consideration, most campaigning takes place behind the scenes. How much does campaigning matter?

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While the Oscars has always seemed more serious and upstanding than the Hollywood Foreign Press Associations Golden Globes  Ricky Gervais regularly joked about its ethical standards during his years as host  aggressive lobbying has sometimes crossed the line and has led to the tightening of campaign rules. The now-disgraced producer-distributor Harvey Weinstein ran what he called guerilla campaigns that Forbes magazine has calculated resulted in 341 nominations and 81 wins from 1990 to 2016, including best picture for The English Patient, Shakespeare In Love, Chicago, The Kings Speech and The Artist. The now disgraced Harvey Weinstein, second left, celebrates alongside Gwynneth Paltrow after Shakespeare in Love won the best picture Oscar in 1999. Credit:Monica Almeida Vulture has reported that Weinsteins campaign tactics included paying veteran publicists who were Academy members to schmooze other prominent members, spending $US5 million to campaign for Shakespeare in Love at a time when studios were spending $US2 million, running smear campaigns against rivals such as A Beautiful Mind, The Pianist and The Hurt Locker, and getting a publicist to write an opinion piece praising Martin Scorsese for Gangs of New York in the name of Sound of Music director Robert Wise. So is campaigning all above board now? Certainly, there are strict rules but an Australian Academy member in the US says a limit on wining and dining voters seemed to be regularly breached before the pandemic and has been wound back only since nominations were announced this year. Pre-COVID, Academy members could count on at least two months  four days a week  of lavish dinners at exclusive restaurants with the cast and director following a cinema screening of a contending movie, the member says. With the pandemic, the dinner comes to your house, with Netflix offering $US100 vouchers for UberEats plus care packages such as very expensive whisky along with two crystal glasses and special chocolates.

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Loading Another Australian member, based in Sydney, says there has been an awful lot of online lobbying plus double copies of movies on DVD and Blu-Ray and up to three postcards a day reminding voters how great certain movies are ... but no gifts or food delivery vouchers. Netflix, which leads the Oscar nominations with 35 this year, has become the new campaigning heavy-hitter. Even though an executive denied a report that it spent more than $US100 million campaigning last year, it is widely believed the streaming service at least matches other studios $US5 million to $US20 million per movie and has more in contention. As well as extensive advertising  TV, print, online and billboards  awards campaigns traditionally include screenings, parties and travel for contenders to events and festivals both in the US and internationally. In more conventional marketing terms, they will craft narratives that will appeal to voters, such as detailing the extreme measures that Leonardo DiCaprio took to shoot The Revenant or why Laura Dern was overdue to win for Marriage Story. For a filmmaker, a win can open up well-paid future opportunities. Distributors hope a win makes money for them from sales for streaming, television and other platforms. Streaming services want to attract new subscribers and keep existing ones. Jean Dujardin, left, and Berenice Bejo in The Artist. Credit:Roadshow What type of movies win?

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A policy pamphlet for a group of pro-Trump House Republicans explicitly calls for respecting white traditions, according to a document obtained by Punchbowl News.

America is a nation with a border, and a culture, strengthened by a common respect for uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions, the document, titled the America First Caucus Policy Platform, says.

A group of pro-Trump Republicans are working to form the new caucus, led by representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona. The Platform, however, does not list any authors.

Punchbowl News, which first reported on the document on Friday, said it contains some of the most nativist stuff weve seen.

History has shown that societal trust and political unity are threatened when foreign citizens are imported en-masse into a country, the pamphlet says, particularly without institutional support for assimilation and an expansive welfare state to bail them out should they fail to contribute positively to the country.

The document also goes on to demand that any new American infrastructure reflects the architectural, engineering and aesthetic value that befits the progeny of European architecture.

Democrats condemned the platform.

This document is nakedly racist and disgusting, tweeted Rep Peter Welch of Vermont. This supposed caucus and its members represent a dangerous nativist perspective that hurts our country, but sadly is not surprising.

As an immigrant, I served on active duty in the US military to defend your right to say stupid stuff, Rep Ted Lieu of California wrote in a tweet addressed to Ms Greene and Mr Gosar. What makes America great is that we dont judge you based on bloodline, we look at your character. So take your nativist crap and shove it.

Despite such criticism, some House Republicans have already expressed interest in joining the new caucus. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida has announced hell be a member, and Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas said he was looking at joining.

The caucus says in its introduction that it seeks to follow in President Trumps footsteps. Unsurprisingly, the first area of policy it addresses is Election Fraud.

We will work towards an end to mail-in voting, implementation of national voter ID and substantive investigations into mass voter fraud perpetrated during the 2020 election, the document says.

In reality, no substantial fraud was ever uncovered in the 2020 presidential election, despite the dozens of lawsuits brought by former president Trumps campaign.

One of the longest sections of the document is devoted to immigration. That section is where the Anglo-Saxon comment comes up, but it includes several other controversial statements as well.

An important distinction between post-1965 immigrants and previous waves of settlers, the document says, is that previous cohorts were more educated, earned higher wages, and did not have an expansive welfare state to fall back on when they could not make it in America and thus did not stay in the country at the expense of the native-born.

According to the Pew Research Center, immigrants to the United States before 1965 were significantly more white.

This is not the first time Congresswoman Greene has been accused of racism. In February, the House of Representatives voted to strip her of her committee positions as punishment for what critics call her hateful and conspiracy-mongering comments on social media. All Democrats in the House voted for the measure, with only 11 Republicans joining them.

Ms Greenes office did not immediately respond toThe Independents request for comment.
A group of protesters in downtown Portland lit fires, smashed the windows of businesses, a church and the Oregon Historical Society, and caused other various damage during a destructive demonstration Friday night and early Saturday.

Someone also fired several gunshots from a car traveling a block away from the protest crowd early Saturday. No one was hurt.

Police declared the demonstration a riot late Friday, marking the third time in five days the bureau had made such an announcement. Officers arrested at least four people amid the melee that had drawn several hundred people, the Portland Police Bureau said in a statement just before 2 a.m. Saturday.

Our community has made it clear that it will not tolerate wanton violence and destruction, Acting Chief Chris Davis in the statement. None of this destruction tonight has anything to do with the important work of racial justice and reconciliation our community and our nation need at this critical time in our history.

The downtown damage also came on the heels of a fatal police shooting earlier Friday in Southeast Portland but was carried out as part of a previously scheduled autonomous demonstration in the name of people killed in recent police shootings nationwide, including Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old killed last month by Chicago police.

The left-wing protesters began by marching from Director Park through downtown, smashing glass storefronts at locations including the Nike store near Pioneer Courthouse Square, the Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chao, a Verizon business and a bank.

Some of the demonstrators broke windows at the Oregon Historical Society, whose entrance was previously shattered by protesters who had declared an Indigenous Day of Rage in October. Police also said protesters damaged the nearby First Christian Church, which serves meals to the homeless and has long welcomed those who identify as LGBTQ.

We love our neighbors: Immigrant, LGBTQ, of color, with disabilities, of all faiths, read a sign in the window of the church next to several cracked window panes.

Police announced a riot about 9:50 p.m., telling the crowd to disperse, and protesters arrived at the Multnomah County Justice Center and adjacent federal courthouse soon thereafter.

A standoff ensued between at least 100 protesters and at least 30 police officers.

Some protesters dismantled pedestrian traffic signals at Southwest Fourth Avenue and Salmon Street shortly before 11 p.m. and threw them into the intersection. A bonfire was lit at the intersection, and a dumpster fire was set nearby.

During this time, Portland police said there were 79 outstanding calls for service across the city, including reports of shots fired, burglaries and a hit and run.

Police resources were stretched across the City to manage the calls for emergency calls for service and the riot, the bureau said in its statement.

Shortly before midnight, protesters overturned plastic barriers filled with water outside the Apple store. The water doused the street around the dumpster fire.

Some in the group appeared to try to break into Pioneer Place. And some protesters lit portable toilets ablaze near the Apple store. Flames traveled to a building, causing significant damage, and firefighters extinguished the blaze.

The sound of gunfire erupted about 12:15 a.m. Saturday, before and as a car traveled through the intersection of Third Avenue and Yamhill Street.

ADDITIONAL DEMONSTRATION

A separate group of more than 150 demonstrators also gathered Friday night at Salmon Street Springs on the downtown waterfront. The group listened to several Black and Indigenous speakers before marching to the Hawthorne Bridge and turning back toward the waterfront.

Demetria Hester, an activist who has been a frequent presence at Portland protests, called on white protesters in the crowd to dismantle white supremacy with their own actions  standing up for Black people and other people of color instead of being complacent and trying to go back to normal.

More than 100 protesters also gathered earlier in the day at Lents Park in Southeast Portland after Portland police shot and killed a man about 9:30 a.m.

The downtown riot declaration marked Portlands third such announcement in five days, as police also declared riots amid events that brought raucous crowds to the Penumbra Kelly Building on East Burnside Street and Portland Police Association building in North Portland earlier in the week.

Both those protests were held over the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright, a Black man in Minnesota.

Police reported shortly before 10 p.m. Friday that protesters had been seen trying to burglarize businesses. The Oregonian/OregonLive could not independently confirm that report.

Jayati Ramakrishnan; @JRamakrishnanOR

Dave Killen; @KillenDave

Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; @Shanedkavanaugh
The Australian Defence Force is war-gaming what its combat role would be in a potential military conflict with China over Taiwan, sources have revealed.

Military officials in Canberra have been planning out 'worst case' scenarios in which Collins-class submarines and Super Hornet fighter jets would be deployed to the Taiwan Strait to assist the United States and other regional strategic allies.

Pressure is mounting on Australia and fellow 'Quad' members - Japan, India and the US - to keep Beijing's forces at bay as tensions continue to soar over the disputed territory.

China has become increasingly aggressive in the region, stamping out pro-democracy groups in Hong Kong and cracking down on Muslims minorities in Xinjiang.

It is now feared the authoritarian state will turn its military might to Taiwan as it looks to re-unify the island under President-for-life Xi Jinping.

China has repeatedly incurred on Taipei's maritime borders and air space and this week it sent a record 25 military aircraft into the defence 'identification zone'.

The Australian Defence Force is war-gaming what its combat role would be in a potential military conflict with China over Taiwan, sources have revealed. Pictured: Australian Super Hornet aircrew get ready to take off

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

'There is a lot of development and scenario planning going on,' a diplomatic source told the Australian Financial Review.

'It is intended to signal you are not going to blink. It is intended to demonstrate you don't lack commitment.'

Taiwan, 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 freedom and independence in Hong Kong.

But the island nation remains an important ally of western democratic countries for its close proximity to China and because it produces a significant supply of semiconductor microchips at a time when there is a major global shortage.

In the event that China follows through on the rhetoric of its 'Wolf Warrior' diplomats and attempts to annex the island, it's possible the Quad could come to their aid.

A former defence official said Australian maritime assets like Air Warfare Destroyers and Collins-class submarines could be deployed in such an event to 'bottle up' the Chinese navy.

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

In the event that China follows through on the rhetoric of its 'Wolf Warrior' diplomats and attempts to annex the island, it's possible the Quad could come to their aid. Pictured: Australian troops line up in Townsville

But he admitted there would be great hesitation in doing so as it would put the vital military vessels and their crews at great risk.

He said it's more likely Canberra would send 'maritime surveillance aircraft, air-to-air refuellers, the Wedgetail airborne radar plane and Super Hornet fighter jets, operating from US bases in Guam or the Philippines'.

ADF chief Angus Campbell has said conflict over the island of Taiwan would be 'disastrous' for the people of the region and should be avoided at all cost.

But as China becomes increasingly belligerent on the world stage - carrying out a fatal border conflict with Indian last year and encroaching on Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam and Brunei in the South China Sea - some believe conflict may be inevitable.

Former Defence Minister Christopher Pyne, who served under Malcolm Turnbull, said last week things may well get a whole lot worse as Beijing looks to poke and prod its Asia Pacific neighbours.

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

Australian Army soldier from the 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment in Queensland (pictured) amid warnings that Australia could 'be at war with China' within years

'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.

'This isn't rhetoric. This is something that you and I may well have to confront in the next five to 10 years.'

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.

Pressure is mounting on Australia and fellow 'Quad' members - Japan, India and the US - to keep Beijing's forces (pictured) at bay as tensions continue to soar over the disputed territory.

Former Defence Minister Christopher Pyne, who served under Malcolm Turnbull, said last week things may well get a whole lot worse as Beijing looks to poke and prod its Asia Pacific neighbours. Pictured: A US-made F-16 jet fighter lands on a runway in Taiwan
CBA quarterfinal field completed as Zhejiang, Qingdao advance

Xinhua) 10:08, April 17, 2021

Hamed Haddadi (R) of Sichuan Blue Whales competes during the 1st round playoff match between Qingdao Eagles and Sichuan Blue Whales at the 2020-2021 season of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league in Zhuji, east China's Zhejiang Province, April 17, 2021. (Xinhua/Jiang Han)

ZHUJI, China, April 17 (Xinhua) -- CBA quarterfinal berths were confirmed after the Zhejiang Lions rallied past the Jilin Northeast Tigers 105-88, and the Qingdao Eagles edged the Sichuan Blue Whales 93-91 here on Saturday.

Falling behind by five points in the first half, Zhejiang outscored Jilin 74-52 coming back from the locker room. Hu Jinqiu recorded a double-double of 26 points and 17 boards. Zhao Yanhao and Kay Felder contributed 21 and 19 points respectively.

Zhejiang head coach Wang Bo admitted the game was tight, especially in the first half.

"I tried to make my players feel relieved at the break. We scored 40 points in the third quarter, which boosted the team's morale," he said.

Zhejiang was clearly aware of Dominique Jones' role for Jilin, using a double team on him after the tip-off. Jones, who averaged 38.2 points in the regular season, was restrained to six points in the opening quarter, but his teammates stepped up as Jiang Weize bagged five points in a row to pull it back at 16-19 when the quarter time ran out.

In a defense-oriented first half, Zhejiang only scored two points in over six minutes from there. Sun Minghui ended their scoring drought with a layup, and Hu followed with a second chance basket and a pair of free throws.

Despite a 36-31 halftime lead, Jilin suffered a scare as Jiang Yuxing injured his waist and was helped off the court with 3:10 to play in the second quarter.

Jiang returned after the intermission, but failed to provide much help for his team. Li Jinglong connected on three 3-pointers, preceding Zhejiang's 9-0 surge early in the third quarter.

Jilin center Li An, who hauled down 15 rebounds, fouled out with four minutes remaining, giving Zhejiang a huge advantage in the paint. Hu scored 10 points afterwards as Zhejiang had a nine-point advantage going into the last quarter.

Dai Huaibo and Jiang Weize continued to contribute from the 3-point range, helping Jilin cut the deficit to 77-73, but Zhao and Felder combined for the next eight points and Zhejiang widened their margin to as many as 20 points after Zhao's free throws.

Jones finished with a game-high 30 points along with eight rebounds and 12 assists. Jiang Weize went 7 for 12 on 3-point attempts to nail 25 points.

"We executed defensive tactics well in the first half, but didn't have a good job in defensive rotation and left their shooters open in the third quarter," said Jilin head coach Wang Han, while expressing his satisfaction with the result and the team's fighting spirit.

The game between Qingdao and Sichuan was an intense one. With Qingdao leading by two points going into the final minute, Lin Weihan made a steal and drew a foul, but he missed the ensuing two free throws, giving Sichuan a chance of tying the game. However, rookie Zhu Songwei saw his pass intercepted by Qingdao guard Zhang Chengyu as the game came to an end.

Qingdao bounced back from an early 7-2 deficit with six straight points. Zhang led the way off the bench, as Qingdao went ahead 21-18 at the conclusion of the opening quarter.

With big man Hamed Haddadi sitting on the bench, Qingdao's Dakari Johnson, Wang Qingming and Liu Chuanxing constantly attacked the basket, before Sichuan answered with six points in a row. Wang scored the next five points, and Darius Adams added two baskets, helping Qingdao to a 44-38 lead at the halftime.

The two teams went back and forth in the third quarter. Marcus Hunt managed a four-point play to move Sichuan up 67-66, but Johnson's buzzer-beating second chance basket earned Qingdao a 70-69 advantage after three quarters.

Sichuan used an 8-0 surge to turn the table, but Adams and Liu led Qingdao back into contention. Back-to-back turnovers towards the end of the game cost Sichuan's chance of continuing their campaign.

Qingdao had five players score in double digits. Liu scored 20 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. Adams had 11 points and dished out 13 assists.

Hunt, Chen Chen and Han Shuo scored 15 points apiece for Sichuan.

Zhejiang will face the Liaoning Flying Leopards, and Qingdao will take on the Zhejiang Golden Bulls on Monday.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Bianji)
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Tehran, April 17 : Some officials in the Iranian city of Abadan pushed their way to the front of a Covid-19 vaccination programme, prompting criticism on Saturday.

They were given vaccines that were originally intended for waste collection workers, reports dpa news agency.

Health Minister Saeed Namaki has demanded immediate dismissals and legal action against all officials involved in the scandal, according to local media reports.

According to the reports, some high-ranking officials even dressed like rubbish collection workers to get the jab.

The municipality argues that the officials only wanted to make the employees less fearful of the vaccination.

Vaccinations are off to a slow start in Iran, a country of 83 million that is in an economic crisis because of US sanctions.

That is why only 2 million doses of vaccine have been imported from China, Russia and India so far.

For the time being, priority for vaccination is given to doctors, nursing staff, people in care homes and waste collection workers.

On Friday, 6 million doses of the Sputnik V were ordered from Russia, but it is unclear when they will arrive in Iran.

It is also unclear when the locally developed vaccines, which are still in the testing phase, can be used.

Mass vaccinations are scheduled to begin in mid-September.

In the meantime, the fourth coronavirus wave has broken out in Iran. The numbers of victims and new cases are rising dramatically.

On Friday, the Ministry of Health again recorded over 320 deaths and more than 25,000 new infections.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic almost 14 months ago, more than 66,000 people have died in Iran, and almost 2.2 million have been confirmed infected with the virus.
Six New Projects

For years, the city of Philadelphia, Penn., has worked to foster innovation among government agencies to facilitate delivery of improved services. A key factor in this effort has been the Innovation Management Team (IMT), which uses the Innovation Fund (IF) to create low-barrier opportunities for city departments to test fresh ideas through pilot programs.Since 2015, the IF has successfully funded 29 projects through five grant cycles, according to Eliza Pollack, director of innovation. Whats unique about IF projects is they're not necessarily chosen with cost savings or ROI in mind. While there are still grant reports and a support system, the IMT takes a hands-off approach with these projects once they're funded.Not all IF projects have any clear or measurable outcome, but rather reflect the holistic goal of empowering employees to pursue promising ideas. According to Pollack, the projects communicate an important narrative to residents and communities: The government is striving to make changes for the better.Over the course of the IFs existence, IMT has continually refined how grant recipients are determined. Pollack said the goal is to prioritize projects that seem unique or creative and have the most potential to positively impact government services. Projects might follow the lead of initiatives of other cities or feature wholly original concepts.While there is a grant application that includes standard questions about budget, stakeholders and other aspects of a project, IMT strives to make the IF very accessible. In other words, a lack of grant-writing experience doesn't exclude a department from applying for and receiving funding, Pollack said.The IF receives support from the Mayors Fund for Philadelphia , an independent nonprofit looking to improve quality of life for Philadelphians. Notably, 2021 marks the first time the IF received a private-sector donation, with Verizon contributing to the fund. Pollack suggested the partnership with Verizon has started a new narrative about what municipal innovation can look like.I think that this year has really highlighted the true potential of the public sector, Pollack said. Its really exciting to see if we can continue to build relationships and build investments with the public sector, and what that does with our capacity to try new things.Most recently, the city announced a wave of six pilots funded by the IF. The projects vary considerably in their aims, but each seeks to add something new to Philadelphia and the way departments serve citizens.Two projects selected in this cycle were presented by Philadelphia Parks and Recreation. One project centers on the creation of Rec Radio, a free-to-listen radio station to inform and entertain the community. The other project is an urban wood design competition, where local youth organizations will use salvaged park wood to create furniture prototypes.A pair of workforce-related projects have also received funding and were conceived thanks to realizations brought about by COVID-19. The Philadelphia Department of Commerce's Office of Workforce Development is piloting The Achievers Initiative, a free educational program that prepares individuals to receive a high school equivalency credential and provides a financial award to program completers. The Philadelphia Fire Department, meanwhile, will pilot remote training for its workforce.Another project in this cycle involves meal delivery kits, an idea from the Philadelphia Department of Prisons (PDP). Produce grown in PDPs orchard will be distributed to formerly incarcerated individuals in reentry programs.The final, and arguably most interesting, project is the Equitable Community Engagement Toolkit, which will be developed by the Mayors Office of Civic Engagement and Volunteer Service (MOCEVS) in equal partnership with the Service Design Studio in the Chief Administrative Office.The inspiration behind this project is simple: Vulnerable individuals living in historically underinvested communities were hit harder by the effects of the pandemic, so the need for equitable engagement has increased over the past year. The toolkit will provide resources, training and tools to teach best practices to those working in underinvested neighborhoods so that community members can be reached more effectively.The logic behind the toolkit is simple: Barriers to engagement can cause missteps among practitioners working to bring programs to underinvested communities, said Amanda Gamble, the citys chief service officer and the driver of the toolkit project. For example, if a department is offering a program in a community experiencing a digital divide, and the department only posts about the program on social media, it may not reach the community at all. Another example Gamble provided was the failure to translate materials for community members who speak a language other than English.The toolkit project will seek feedback from both employees and community members in order to develop more all-encompassing solutions, according to Gamble. To compensate community leaders who engage with the program and offer feedback, MOCEVS will offer financial compensation.Its really important that youre meeting people where they are and understanding the ways to connect to these underinvested communities, Gamble said.
A Christian organization is providing faith communities with worship resources in hopes of fostering greater understanding and engagement with Indigenous land and water defence movements.

A Christian organization is providing faith communities with worship resources in hopes of fostering greater understanding and engagement with Indigenous land and water defence movements.

Christian Peacemaker Teams is encouraging churches to use the resources during Sunday morning worship on April 25 as a response to calls for support from water defenders who are organizing against the Enbridge Line 3 crude oil pipeline replacement project.

The Love, Truth and Action resources include sermon ideas, prayers, litanies, songs, childrens stories and artwork.

Allegra Friesen Epp, a Winnipeg-based intern with CPTs Turtle Island Solidarity Network, has played a key role in compiling and promoting the resources.

She says its been a unique opportunity to build bridges between the on-the-ground work that CPT does with congregations that support CPTs work.

"I think its been an exercise in recovering the best of what the Christian tradition  and in my case, the Anabaptist tradition  has to offer, and drawing from that as we heed the cries of Indigenous land and water defenders," Friesen Epp says.

Founded in the mid-1980s by Mennonite denominations and the Church of the Brethren, CPTs mission is to build partnerships to transform violence and oppression.

The organization has head offices in Toronto, Ont., and Chicago, Ill., with teams working in Colombia, Iraqi Kurdistan, Palestine and Turkey.

Additionally, CPTs Turtle Island Solidarity Network is a network of CPT reservists across North America who are engaged in Indigenous solidarity and decolonization.

CPT has prepared its resources for April 25 because its a Sunday that falls in the middle of the Easter season, the time of year when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

"I think its important that as we talk about resurrection, we also stand with those that are currently defending Mother Earth," Friesen Epp says. "Its our intention that engaging with the resources that weve provided for that Sunday can be a hope-filled action."

The resources were inspired by 1 John 3:18, which reads, "Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action."

Love, truth and action are intertwined in important ways, says Weldon Nisly, CPTs outreach associate for congregational engagement.

"Love without action is heartless, action without love is cold-hearted and true love in action is the way of the heart," says Nisly, who lives in Seattle, Wash. "In offering these resources, its a way of doing worship and praying for whats happening, but also offering an invitation and a call for action in response."

One of the resources Friesen Epp is most excited about is a video of author Carole Lindstrom reading her childrens book, We Are Water Protectors.

"Its a book that explores Indigenous-led resistance to pipeline projects and to other things that threaten the waters," Friesen Epp says. "Its a beautiful story made available for all ages that helps make the issue accessible to a younger audience as well."

In addition to offering Sunday morning resources, CPT is inviting people to participate in a meet-and-greet event on Zoom on April 25 at 2 p.m. It will be an opportunity to reflect on the mornings learnings and insights with church leaders and members from across Canada and the U.S.

Nisly says providing the resources for April 25 aligns with CPTs mission to build partnerships to transform violence and oppression. In this case, the organization is responding to calls for support and solidarity from Indigenous groups in Minnesota that are critical of Line 3.

He points to a quote attributed to Lilla Watson, an Indigenous artist and organizer from Australia: "If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together."

"The hope is that members of congregations truly feel the risen Christ has meaning for us today," Nisly says. "The Jesus uprising is real. It wasnt just something that happened 2,000 years ago. It has context in the world in which we live."

Friesen Epp points out that the resources were prepared with an ecumenical audience in mind, and that they can be used by churches after April 25.

"My hope is that it will mobilize faith communities to stand in solidarity with those who are fighting on the ground for justice," she says. "I hope it will provoke discussions about ongoing support, rather than it being a one-time engagement."

"There are things we can do," Nisly adds, "no matter who we are or where we are."

Visit cptaction.org/love-truth-action for more information.

aaron.epp@gmail.com
Unloading ships in Fusan (Busan) harbor in 1903. Robert Neff Collection



By Robert Neff



The Japanese enclave of Fusan (now part of Busan) in the spring of 1877 was a vibrant and bustling commercial center. The 700 to 800 Japanese men there (there were only about 30 women) were mainly employed in one of the 200 Japanese firms represented at the port. Trade was good  in fact, in the beginning, it was fantastic and many of the companies reported huge profits.



An examination of the custom reports for November 1876 reveal that the Japanese merchants purchased 5,127 ox hides (each hide was about 1 yen 4 sen), 631 dog pelts (6 sen each), 8,460 eggs (17 eggs per sen), 1,328 fans (2 sen each), peony bark, mountain berries, bones from oxen and whales, shark fins, seaweed, dried sardines, and raw silk. The following month trade increased with the addition of gold, ginseng, cotton cloth, etc., but, some prices began to fluctuate. Just over 9,160 ox hides were sold but they commanded less than a yen per hide; and dog pelts had fallen to just under 6 sen; while eggs, on the other hand, greatly increased in value  5,160 eggs were sold at 2.5 eggs to a sen. The change in prices might be attributed to the severe famine that the country was facing at the end of the year.



The Japanese merchants mainly imported large amounts of rice and wheat  which they purchased cheaply in Japan and sold for a large profit in Fusan  as well as cloth and dyes. They also brought 120 cotton umbrellas and 159 round umbrellas; 20 expensive saddles (they each cost 8 yen in Japan), and, to help see the items, 100 lanterns and 240 pairs of spectacles. There were also the typical comfort items  15 cases of colored-soap, tobacco (with matches) and 42 casks of sake supplemented with 30 sake heating pots.





Watching a ship being unloaded in the harbor in 1903. Robert Neff Collection



Considering the famine, the 4,000 boxes of confectionery (and 120 toothbrushes) seems somewhat galling when you read this description from one of the merchants that appeared in Japanese newspapers:



"It appears that [the famine] has now grown much more severe, the streets are full of corpses of people who have died of starvation, and one cannot bear to look on the appearance of so many people who have not tasted food for seven or eight days. Truly this is the worst famine that has ever been known."



Others wondered why the Korean population did not rise up  armed with bamboo spears  and put an end to the government officials who "pretended to be glad that the people were enjoying the blessings of peace, [while] patting [their] well-filled bellies."



Some destitute Korean men (women were not allowed in the enclave) resorted to begging for food when they could not find employment. Sometimes, when it was given, the Japanese complained the Koreans muttered no words of appreciation  they merely ate what they received.



Of course, unsurprisingly, some people became desperate and resorted to acts more unspeakable than begging.





A street in Fusan (Busan) in 1903. Robert Neff Collection



A Korean father approached a crew of Japanese sailors and offered to sell his seven-year-old son to them for a string of Korean cash (probably less than a yen in value). The sailors, thinking he was joking, countered with a bid of 500 cash (10 sen). The father thought about it for a few minutes and then readily agreed. The astonished sailors declined to buy the boy and instead bought him and his father a meal and gave them 100 cash (2 sen). I like to think the father's desperate act was an effort to ensure his son had a better life  away from the famine of the port.



Some people resorted to theft. One troubled merchant complained the number of thieves had grown to an unacceptable level due to the famine  his worst offenders were shoplifters. According to him, "[Koreans] will take a pen in the right hand, and put down the language of the most honoured sages, while with the left they are practicing the style of Little-boy Rat." He also added that the Korean shoplifters' skill surpassed that of "Little-boy Rat" and that "one has to keep a sharp lookout."



Many of you are probably wondering who was Little-boy Rat? He was Nakamura Jirokichi (1797-1831)  popularly known as Nezumi Kozo (Rat Boy)  and is one of Japan's most legendary thieves. A mild-mannered commoner by day but a master burglar at night he was said to have robbed the homes of over 100 samurai. One popular explanation for his nickname is that he would carry a bag of rats with him when he burglarized a home. Once inside, he would release these rats and the sounds of their scurrying about would help disguise any noise he made while looting the house. If any of the residents of the house awoke, they would assume the sounds they heard were merely the nocturnal pursuits of the rats.





Bundles of dried fish in 1903. Robert Neff Collection



It seems somewhat ironic the Japanese merchant would compare the Korean shoplifters to Nezumi Kozo because, as popular legend claims, prior to his capture and subsequent execution (beheading) he gave away the money he stole from the rich to the poor. He was the equivalent of England's popular hero  Robin Hood.



Considering the Japanese merchants were buying a koku (5 bushels) of rice in Japan for under two yen and reselling it in Fusan for 13 yen, perhaps labeling a starving Korean shoplifter as Nezumi Kozo was somewhat appropriate  at least from his point of view.





A Korean gentleman walking through the streets in 1903. Robert Neff Collection
CHICAGO  Another killing by a police officer. Another emotional mayor trying to soothe the city. Another burst of protests, vows for change, pleas for calm.

To Kristian Armendariz, a resident of the neighborhood where 13-year-old Adam Toledo was fatally shot in an alley in March, Chicago is living through a nightmare on repeat.

This has been going on for decades, he said. This thing is going to keep happening.

Chicagoans reacted with horror and grief to body-camera video released on Thursday that showed the killing of Adam Toledo in the early-morning hours of March 29. In the video, Adam is chased down an alley by a police officer, who orders him to stop and show his hands. An analysis of the video, slowing down events that took place in the space of a second, shows the teenager then appearing to toss a handgun nearby and raise his hands in the air, just before the officer shoots him in the chest.

Adam, a seventh grader from Little Village, a neighborhood on the citys West Side, was one of the youngest people killed by the police in Illinois in years.
BGEA, Scottish church sue charity over 'anti-religious discrimination' for canceling event

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The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and a Scottish church have sued one of Scotland's largest charities, alleging discrimination because of their religious beliefs.

Stirling Free Church and BGEA have sued The Robertson Trust over its decision to cancel a contract with the evangelical entities for the use of its Barracks Conference Centre for a Sunday worship service and a training session.

The plan was to host an event at The Barracks Conference Centre to train churches for an outreach program known as the Graham Tour U.K., but the Trust canceled the agreement.

The litigation is being coordinated by The Christian Institute, based in England, with the case scheduled to be heard in Glasgow Sheriff Court next week.

Robert Chilvers, BGEAs U.K. director of Training and Church Ministry, said in a statement emailed to The Christian Post that this was anti-religious discrimination, plain and simple.

If the Barracks was a religion or belief organization, the law would allow it to be selective in not hiring out its premises to groups that dont share its beliefs. But the Barracks is not a religion or belief organization, Chilvers told CP. It is a neutral space, offered to the public at large. You cant have a situation where religious groups are banned from hiring neutral spaces. That is not a free society.

Gerry McLaughlin, a spokesperson for The Robertson Trust, said in an emailed statement to CP that the board of trustees' vice chair said the claims of discrimination were completely unfounded.

The decision to cancel the hire of The Barracks Conference Centre by the Free Church of Scotland at Stirling and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, was based entirely on our policy  which states that we do not fund or support projects and activities which incorporate the promotion of political or religious beliefs, McLaughlin said.

On discovering the breach to our policy, the trustees took immediate action to cancel the booking and reimburse the heavily subsidized charity rates that had been offered in error to the Free Church of Scotland at Stirling and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, he added.

In an interview with the Times of London, Chilvers of the BGEA disputed the Trust's claims that they were unaware that the organization is Christian.

We made it clear to the venue at the time of booking that we are a Christian organization, Chilvers said. It was only later that they came back and said they were canceling our booking because of our religion. You cant have a situation where religious groups are banned from hiring neutral spaces. That is not a free society.

The Rev. Iain Macaskill of Stirling Free Church, told the Times that they were being discriminated against because of their belief that marriage is a union between one man and one woman.

We were shocked to be told we could no longer use the Barracks for our Sunday services, Macaskill said. We had negotiated with the trust in good faith and their contract expressly refers to us using the premises for religious worship."

McLaughlin contended to CP that the Trust is proud of its work with faith-based organizations, with whom we work closely to address the issues of poverty and trauma in communities across Scotland.

In the last six years, the Trust has funded over 130 religious organizations for their inclusive community projects where promotion of religious beliefs or worship was not core to delivery, providing over $3.4 million (2.5 million), he added.
Kolkata, April 17 : Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha has asked for an immediate, high-level and independent enquiry into the 'audio clip' released by the BJP IT cell claiming it contained a phone conversation between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and a party candidate.

Sinha, who recently joined the Trinamool Congress, told IANS in an exclusive interview that the union government has "very strict rules" on authorisation of wire tapping and eavesdropping on telephone conversations.

"There is a clear list of categories whose phones can be tapped for reasons of national security -- terrorists, smugglers, suspected foreign espionage agents and the like," said Sinha. "I can say with the authority of experience that phones of Chief Ministers cannot be tapped." He insisted that tapping phones of Opposition leaders without authorisation should not only merit stringent legal action but was tantamount to denial of privacy and political rights in what is still a democracy.

The audio clip has a female voice which claims to be Mamata Banerjee and the male voice on the other side is claimed to be that of TMC's Sitalkuchi MLA candidate Partha Pratim Roy.

It claims that Mamata Banerjee is asking Partha Pratim Roy about those killed in the Sitalkuchi firings during the fourth round of West Bengal assembly polls. "Keep the dead bodies so that the party could hold a rally with the dead," the female voice is heard saying.

Sinha told IANS only national security agencies have the wherewithal to wire-tap phones and eavesdrop on telephone conversation.

"We need an enquiry where these agency heads must be summoned to depose about whether they have been tapping a sitting chief minister's phone and if so, who has authorised the tapping," Sinha said.

If it is found they did not do it and the audio clip is fake, the BJP has a huge explanation to make, said Sinha.

"How can the BJP release a fake audio a day before the polls! Is it not an effort to unfairly influence the elections! Will the Election Commission take cognisance of it?" Sinha told IANS.

The veteran former BJP leader, now in Trinamool Congress, said the BJP is now caught between the "rock and the hard place." "If the audio clip is genuine, it is obvious the central agencies are behind the wiretap. If that is true, how is it possible they are releasing the material to the IT cell of the ruling party. Also the question of who authorised the wiretap as the Intelligence Bureau is under the Home Ministry," said Sinha, adding the Home Minister Amit Shah has to come clean on the issue.

"If the audio tape is fake as Partha Pratim Roy has already denied any such conversation took place, Mamata Banerjee can sue the BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya for criminal defamation and the Election Commission will have to take cognisance of its illegal activities," Sinha said.

"The activity of the BJP IT Cell reminds of Goebbels propaganda department in Nazi Germany. The country should know where it is heading," Sinha told IANS.

BJP leaders are accusing Mamata Banerjee of "playing politics over dead bodies." Bengal BJP leader and sitting MLA Samik Bhattacharya latched on the part of the audio clip where the lady is saying "SP, IC, Commandant... could be transferred." "That shows the condition of law and order in West Bengal," he told mediapersons.

But Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray warned the BJP of 'walking into a pit.' "Does the BJP IT Cell chief realise his action points to telephone surveillance of a Chief Minister! The Home Minister has categorically claimed in parliament, I repeat Parliament, that no Chief Minister is under telephone surveillance," Ray told mediapersons.

"We will expose these lies politically," he said.

The BJP IT cell before a previous round of Bengal polls had released select portions of a conversation between Mamata Banerjee's leading political strategist Prashant Kishor and some journalists, claiming even he had acknowledged the BJP was headed to win the state polls.

Kishor dared the BJP IT Cell to release the whole interview and denied predicting a BJP win. He stuck to his previous prediction that the BJP's tally 'will not cross double digits'.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
BOSTON SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION INITIATED by Former Louisiana Attorney General: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Investigates the Officers and Directors of Boston Scientific Corporation - BSX

Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF"), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX).

On November 17, 2020, the Company announced a global recall of all unused inventory of its LOTUS Edge Aortic Valve System, due to "complexities associated with the product delivery system," and that "[g]iven the additional time and investment required to develop and reintroduce an enhanced delivery system, the company has chosen to retire the entire LOTUS product platform immediately."

Thereafter, the Company and certain of its executives were sued in a securities class action lawsuit, charging them with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws, which remains ongoing.

KSF's investigation is focusing on whether Boston Scientific's officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to its shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws.







If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of Boston Scientific shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn (lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-bsx/ to learn more.

About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients - including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors - in seeking to recover investment losses due to corporate fraud and malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California and Louisiana.

To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210416005595/en/
Over the years, Lee Min Ho's popularity has grown both locally and internationally and is now considered as one of the brightest Hallyu stars.

The South Korean heartthrob managed to captivate the hearts of fans with his stunning visuals and boy next door vibe.

Since his breakthrough performance as Gu Jun-Pyo in the popular 2009 KBS drama "Boys Over Flowers," the 33-year-old actor has landed some of the most remarkable Korean dramas.

This includes the action romance series "City Hunter," followed by the hit drama "The Heirs," and 2016 the fantasy romance "The Legend of the Blue Sea" opposite Jun Ji Hyun.

Lee Min Ho's Instagram Reached Over 20 Million

Aside from his ton of drama list, the "Pachinko" star is the first-ever Korean actor to score more than 20 million followers on both Instagram and Facebook, making him earned the title of most-followed Korean actor on social media.

He surpassed the previous title holder, the "Doctor Stranger" star's Lee Jong Suk, who currently has 18.5 Instagram followers.

As of this writing, Lee Min Ho's Instagram has 23.4 million followers, while his official Facebook account has 24 million.

With his massive social media followings, let's take a look at the award-winning actor's most swoon-worthy Instagram photos to date.

READ MORE: Lee Min Ho Graces the Cover of GQ Korea

Louis Vuitton's New Ambassador

There's no denying that with his impressive visuals, the Baeksang Arts winner can surely ace any photoshoots.

The 33-year-old actor proved this during his recent campaign shoot for Louis Vuitton's Tambour Street Diver launch as he wowed the fans with his mysterious yet edgy look donning the French luxury brand's newest accessory collection.

The Face of Fendi

Another photoshoot that could surely make everyone's heart melt is his campaign shoot with Fendi. Over Lee Min Ho's Instagram, he shared the official photos wearing the fashion house' Fall/Winter 2021 collection.

Lee Min Ho Welcomes 2021 with a Bang

Lee Min Ho Gets Candid with Fans

The "City Hunter" star greeted his fans with his dapper look as he welcomed the new year. Although Lee Min Ho's Instagram caption doesn't state much, it appears that he is getting ready for a special event as the actor wore formal attire donning a black suit and trousers as he capped off the look with a bow tie and sleek hair.

One of the reasons why the A-lister has a huge army is fans is because of how he shows his appreciation for them.

In his post dated May 22, 2020, the Hallyu actor casually spends time with his fans in what appears to be a set of his drama. "I took a picture with the kids," Lee Min Ho's Instagram caption reads, alongside the series of photos of the actor alongside a group of young fans.

Lee Min Ho's Cartier and L'officiel Hommes Korea Collab

Last on the list is his video campaign with L'officiel Hommes in Collaboration with Cartier.

In the 35-second clip, fans can witness Lee Min Ho's oozing charm, showcasing Cartier Juste Un Clou jewelry collection.

IN CASE YOU MISSED: Lee Min Ho is the New Face of This French Luxury Brand

KDramastars owns this article.

Written by Geca Wills
CRESCO, Iowa  A guilty plea in a Howard County knife attack results in probation.

Marckus Allen Nelson-Timm, 21 of Lime Springs, pleaded guilty to willful injury for the incident on September 18, 2020. Nelson-Timm was accused of cutting a man on the arm with a knife after a fight at KCDs Bar and Grill.

Nelson-Timm has been ordered to spend one year at a residential treatment facility and given two to five years of supervised probation.
China's centrally-administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) saw robust growth in their profits in the first quarter of 2021, the country's state asset regulator said Friday.

The combined net profits of central SOEs expanded 220 percent year on year to 415.29 billion yuan (about 63.6 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three months, an increase of 31.1 percent over the same period in 2019, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of the State Council told a press conference.

As of this March, monthly net profits of China's central SOEs have exceeded 100 billion yuan for the 11th consecutive month to a record high of 180.79 billion yuan, a 350 percent expansion from a year ago, the SASAC said. The figure is also 26.3 percent higher than that of March 2019.

The country's 97 central SOEs raked in 7.8 trillion yuan in combined revenues during the January-March period, up 30.1 percent year on year. In March alone, revenues of central SOEs jumped 34.6 percent from a year earlier to 3 trillion yuan, setting an all-time record.
Moscow, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Apr, 2021 ) :Russia said on Friday it would ban a string of top officials from US President Joe Biden's administration from entering the country.

Attorney General Merrick Garland, Biden's chief domestic policy advisor Susan Rice and FBI chief Christopher Wray would be barred, the foreign ministry said.

Also on the list were Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons Michael Carvajal, Donald Trump's National Security Advisor John Bolton and ex-head of the CIA James Woolsey.

The ministry said the officials had "participated in the anti-Russian push" of US politics.

Lists of officials banned from entry are usually kept secret, but the ministry said it was revealing the Names due to the "unprecedented nature" of the current tensions with Washington.
Actress Helen McCrory arrives at the British Academy Television Awards in London, May 8, 2016. McCrory, who starred in the television show "Peaky Blinders" and the "Harry Potter" movies, has died. She was 52 and had been suffering from cancer. Her husband, actor Damian Lewis, said Friday that McCrory died "peacefully at home" after a "heroic battle with cancer." AP-Yonhap



British actor Helen McCrory, who starred in the television show ''Peaky Blinders'' and the ''Harry Potter'' movies, has died, her husband said Friday. She was 52 and had been suffering from cancer.



Her husband, fellow actor Damian Lewis, said McCrory died ''peacefully at home'' after a ''heroic battle with cancer.''



''She died as she lived. Fearlessly,'' Lewis wrote on Twitter. ''God we love her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. She blazed so brightly. Go now, Little One, into the air, and thank you.''



McCrory was one of Britain's most respected actors, making her mark by playing a succession of formidable and sometimes fearsome women.



She played the matriarch of a crime family on ''Peaky Blinders'' and the scheming Voldemort ally Narcissa Malfoy in the ''Harry Potter'' movies.



Cillian Murphy, who plays the central role of gangland boss Tommy Shelby in ''Peaky Blinders,'' set in the early 20th-century English underworld, said he was ''broken-hearted to lose such a dear friend.''



''Helen was a beautiful, caring, funny, compassionate human being,'' he said in a statement. ''She was also a gifted actor  fearless and magnificent.



''She elevated and made humane every scene, every character she played,'' Murphy said. ''It was a privilege to have worked with this brilliant woman, to have shared so many laughs over the years. I will dearly miss my pal. My love and thoughts are with Damian and her family.''



McCrory also starred as a human rights lawyer dragged into international intrigue in the TV thriller ''Fearless,'' played lawyer Cherie Blair, wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in the 2006 movie ''The Queen,'' and had roles in Martin Scorsese's film ''Hugo'' and the James Bond thriller ''Skyfall.''



Actor Michael Sheen, who played Tony Blair in ''The Queen,'' said McCrory was ''so funny, so passionate, so smart and one of the greatest actors of our time.''



''Harry Potter'' author J.K. Rowling tweeted that she was ''devastated to learn of the death of Helen McCrory, an extraordinary actress and a wonderful woman who's left us far too soon.''



Onstage, McCrory's roles included the vengeful Greek heroine ''Medea'' at the National Theatre in 2014. At the same theater, she excelled as a woman caught between a dull husband and a feckless lover in Terence Rattigan's ''The Deep Blue Sea'' in 2016.



While many performers struggle to find meaty female roles in film and television, McCrory played a string of them.



''Having said that, there are a lot of things I turn down,'' she told The Associated Press in 2016, describing the sort of roles where ''all your lines are 'But what did you do at work?' 'That's so clever, darling.' 'How did you do that?' 'And then what did you do?'''



''Of course, there's so much sexism within the profession,'' McCrory said. ''But I think you approach it in different ways, and my approach is just to forge forward.''



Others remembered McCrory for her charity work, including on FeedNHS, a campaign to provide meals for frontline health care workers during the coronavirus pandemic.



''Helen McCrory will be remembered not just for her remarkable stage and screen performances, but also for her selflessness and generosity,'' comedian Matt Lucas tweeted. ''She and Damian were the motor driving FeedNHS, working tirelessly during the pandemic to raise millions for others. What a tremendous loss.''



McCrory and Lewis, star of the TV series ''Homeland'' and ''Billions,'' married in 2007 and had two children. (AP)


EDWARDSVILLE  Edwardsville and Glen Carbon police chiefs attended Madison County States Attorney Tom Haines cross-river task force last Friday.

Madison County States Attorney Thomas Haine said a new Cross-River Crime Task Force would create a united effort to address complaints of criminals coming over from Missouri, committing crimes, and then heading back across the river  many times before victims realize the crimes have been committed.

Auto thefts and burglaries have been very common, but there have also been retail thefts, strong-arm robberies, shootings and murders.

I understand his concerns and am always open to ideas to address crime, Edwardsville Police Chief Jay Keeven told the Intelligencer Tuesday. I agree with the concept of sharing resources to address crime that impacts the citizens of numerous communities within Madison County.

Keeven said he has volunteered to be part of the data/planning working group. One of the things to come out of the April 11 meeting are two different working groups. One will focus on data collection and developing a plan to combat the criminals. The other will focus on the efforts organization, structure and funding.

We have not yet met, but as I understand it, our mission will be to identify crimes common to all of our communities and share ideas for addressing these crimes.

Several communities and other entities in the area are adding license plate reader (LPR) cameras on area roads, particularly near interstate interchanges. SIUE has at least two near its southern entrance, north of Interstate 270; Glen Carbon is preparing to install two on the south side of the 270-Route 157 interchange with two more planned on Route 159 north of 270; and Edwardsville seeks to add two such cameras on 157 on or near Sunset Hill.

LPR technology is useful in tracking stolen vehicles and the movement of individuals using these vehicles to traverse our highways, Keeven said.

A chunk of Haines presentation at the Madison County Administration Building on April 9 discussed criminals crossing the Mississippi River from St. Louis.

I am aware of two homicides and numerous vehicle thefts and burglaries, which occurred in Madison County, where those suspected of the crimes were from North County/St. Louis, Keeven said. I have not tracked the amount of time our officers work cases by the state of residence of the suspect. We could identify state of residence when we have either made an arrest or identified a lead suspect, but any unsolved cases may skew those numbers.

For Glen Carbon Police Chief Todd Link, he and his department stand ready to help Haines office.

I believe States Attorney Haine is committed to preserving and enhancing public safety, Link said. I fully support his efforts to address and reduce cross-river crime. I am not assigned to either committee, but my staff and I may take on tasks at a later time, should States Attorney Haine ask us to do so.

Link believes there is no question Missouri criminals target Madison County.

While I do not have exact numbers of incidents yet, I know Glen Carbon PD has responded to a higher number of crimes involving suspects from Missouri than in years past. This has been especially true in regard to property crimes like stolen motor vehicle incidents and incidents involving burglaries to motor vehicles.

Edwardsville and Glen Carbon have been hotspots for vehicle burglaries and thefts in the past six to 12 months, as have other suburbs and towns in the metropolitan area  Kirkwood, Webster Groves, Lake St. Louis, St. Peters and others. Each of these crimes has had a common denominator.

At the most basic level, we need our residents to be vigilant about their personal safety and protection of their property, Link said. The simplest way to do this is to lock all vehicles and secure all valuables, keys and key fobs away from the vehicles. This one quick and simple action would eliminate 100 percent of our stolen motor vehicle incidents over the last year and nearly 100 percent of our burglaries to motor vehicles over the last year.

The Glen Carbon Police Department depends on our residents to help us solve crime problems and this increase in cross-river crime is just one more crime problem that can be solved, he said.

Reach reporter Charles Bolinger at 618-659-5735
April 17, 2021 Biden's Russia-China Tactic Is To Wage War AND To Ask For Cooperation. It Will Fail. The policies of the Biden administration towards Russia and China are delusional. It thinks that it can squeeze these countries but still successfully ask them for cooperation. It believes that the U.S. position is stronger than it really is and that China and Russia are much weaker than they are. It is also full of projection. The U.S. accuses both countries of striving for empire, of wanting to annex more land and of human rights violations. But is only the U.S. that has expanding aspirations. Neither China nor Russia are interested in running an empire. They have no interest in planting military bases all over the world. Though both have marginal border conflicts they do not want to acquire more land. And while the U.S. bashes both countries for alleged human rights issues it is starving whole populations (Yemen, Syria, Venezuela) through violence and economic sanctions. The U.S. power structures in the Pentagon and CIA use the false accusations against Russia and China as pretense for cold military and hot economic wars against both countries. They use color revolution schemes (Ukraine, Myanmar) to create U.S. controlled proxy forces near their borders. At the same time as it tries to press these countries the U.S. is seeking their cooperation in selected fields. It falsely believes that it has some magical leverage. Consider this exchange from yesterday's White House press briefing about Biden asking for a summit with Putin while, at the same time, implementing more sanctions against Russia: Q What if [Putin] says no, though? Wouldnt that indicate some weakness on the part of the American administration here? MS. PSAKI: Well, I think the Presidents view is that Russia is on the outside of the global community in many respects, at this point in time. Its the G7, not the G8. They have  obviously, weve put sanctions in place in order to send a clear message that there should be consequences for the actions; the Europeans have also done that. What the President is offering is a bridge back. And so, certainly, he believes its in their interests to take him up on that offer. The G7 are not the 'global community'. They have altogether some 500 million inhabitants out of 7.9 billion strong global population. Neither China nor India are members of the G7 nor is any South American or African country. Moreover Russia has rejected a Russian return into the G7/8 format: Russia is focused on other formats, apart from the G7, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a brief statement .. Russia has no interest in a summit which would only be used by the U.S. to further bash Russia. Why should it give Biden that pleasure when there is nothing that Russia would gain from it. Russia does not need a 'bridge back'. There will be no summit. Biden also called for a climate summit during which he hopes to show 'American leadership' and to dictated to other countries, especially China, how much they will have to reduce their output of climate changing gases: The Biden administration is nearing agreements with Japan, South Korea and Canada to bolster carbon emission reduction targets in all four countries ahead of a closely watched summit of global leaders on Earth Day, April 22. But in the latest sign of how difficult it will be for President Biden to make climate change a core part of his foreign policy, similar deals with China, India and Brazil, economic powerhouses that together produce more than a third of global emissions, remain elusive. John Kerry, Mr. Bidens global climate envoy, is preparing to make a last-minute trip to China and South Korea ahead of the summit, which Mr. Biden will be hosting. China however does not agree with U.S. 'leadership': China has demonstrated its ambition in global climate governance, and also sent a signal to the US that climate negotiations between the two countries are on equal terms, and that China is not and won't be the "attendant" of US-centered climate campaign, Chinese observers commented on Wednesday.

...

Chinese observers called Washington's move as "trying to form a US-centered climate cooperation circle" in order to shore up its leadership on global issues. However, China has now shouldered the responsibility of global climate governance, as the US' frequent departure and then return to global cooperation on this issue has marred global cooperation and diminished other countries efforts, said Li. Kerry is now in China where he had hoped to have top level meetings. But China's Chairman Xi has shown him a cold shoulder. The day before Kerry arrived Xi held is own climate summit with the German Chancellor Merkel and the French President Macron. It was the top news in Chinese media while Kerry's gig was hardly mentioned:

bigger Chinese President Xi Jinping attended a video summit with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Beijing on Friday. The leaders of the three countries exchanged in-depth views on cooperation in coping with climate change, China-Europe relations, anti-pandemic cooperation, and major international and regional issues.

...

The three leaders agreed that it is necessary to uphold multilateralism, fully implement the Paris Agreement, and jointly build a fair, reasonable, cooperative, and win-win global climate governance system, and promote this summit to achieve positive, balanced, and pragmatic results. Kerry in contrast only met a Chinese climate envoy and had a virtual meeting with Vice-Premier Han Zheng. No new commitments were made to him. Biden's and Kerry's exhorations about climate issues are also extraordinary hypocritical as the U.S. is currently attacking China's solar industry in Xinjiang with baseless allegations of labor abuse. If Biden wants cooperation with Russia or China he needs to reign in the hawks and stop his attacks on those countries. As he is not willing or capable of doing that any further cooperation attempts will fall flat. The U.S. has to learn that it is no longer the top dog. It can not work ceaselessly to impact Russia's and China's military and economic security and still expect them to cooperate. If it wants something it will first have to cease the attacks and to accept multilateral relationships. Posted by b on April 17, 2021 at 17:53 UTC | Permalink Comments next page  next page 
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 07:09:21|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on April 8, 2021 shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said President Joe Biden would announce a new, higher ceiling by May 15 after an earlier decision on annual refugee admissions drew criticism.

WASHINGTON, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The White House on Friday walked back from keeping the current cap of 15,000 annual refugee admissions set by former President Donald Trump, hours after the decision evoked widespread backfire from Democratic lawmakers and groups representing refugees.



White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement that President Joe Biden would announce a new, higher ceiling by May 15.

"For the past few weeks, he has been consulting with his advisors to determine what number of refugees could realistically be admitted to the United States between now and October 1. Given the decimated refugee admissions program we inherited, and burdens on the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), his initial goal of 62,500 seems unlikely," Psaki said.

"While finalizing that determination, the President was urged to take immediate action to reverse the Trump policy that banned refugees from many key regions, to enable flights from those regions to begin within days; today's order did that," Psaki said. "With that done, we expect the President to set a final, increased refugee cap for the remainder of this fiscal year by May 15."

Earlier on Friday, Biden signed an order keeping the country's fiscal year 2021 refugee admissions at 15,000, a historical low cap set by Trump.

In response, Democratic House lawmaker Ilhan Omar, who came to the United States as a Somali refugee, called the decision "shameful".

House Representative Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, slammed the decision "simply unacceptable and unconscionable" in a statement released on Friday.

The State Department said in February it was planning to raise the ceiling of refugee admissions to 62,500 in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.

The Biden administration's recent budget proposal requested 4.3 billion U.S. dollars for ORR, while setting a goal of 125,000 refugee admissions in 2022. The ORR's 2020 budget was 1.3 billion dollars. 
The day after changes to Manitobas COVID-19 vaccination strategy was announced, vaccine team medical co-lead Dr. Joss Reimer gave a more thorough update during a Friday morning media briefing.

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The day after changes to Manitobas COVID-19 vaccination strategy was announced, vaccine team medical co-lead Dr. Joss Reimer gave a more thorough update during a Friday morning media briefing.

On Thursday evening, Reimer and Health Minister Heather Stefanson revealed to participants attending a telephone town hall on the vaccination effort that first responders, people with public-facing jobs and all residents older than 18 in communities disproportionately affected by the virus would soon get access to vaccines.

"We have made good progress immunizing those who we knew were most at-risk," Reimer said Friday. "However, this is the beginning of the third wave of COVID and the variants are becoming more prevalent and we know they are more contagious and more severe, even for younger people. So we do need to continue to adapt, with more details coming next week."

Those details yet to be provided include which communities will benefit from this new approach and which public-facing jobs will be targeted. So far, teachers are the only profession known to be included.

Reimer promised these details would be announced during Wednesdays regularly scheduled vaccination update.

"What weve seen as far as disease transmission in some way or another will be one of the factors, but I suspect there will be other factors as well," Reimer said.

As for why police and firefighters are being included, Reimer said the decision was based on guidance from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, though she didnt comment on the scientific reasons for the move.

Since details surrounding this announcement are scarce, the Sun asked Reimer why the province didnt wait until plans were firmed up before bringing them to the publics attention.

"I think we wanted to give Manitobans the information about what we were planning as soon as we knew what our plan was," Reimer said. "We committed to sharing what we know with Manitoba, so I want to be as transparent as I can be and as soon as I know what direction something will be moving and things are clear at least in the direction, I want Manitoba to know that."

The idea of targeting areas the province considers more at-risk came up earlier this week, when Reimer and her vaccine task force co-lead Johanu Botha said that recently cancelled pop-up vaccination clinics would be redirected to Winnipeg once Moderna supplies are reestablished, given recent increases in daily case numbers in the capital.

Despite injections of AstraZeneca being paused for some age groups due to concerns of rare side effects, Reimer said there is no immediate worry the doses Manitoba has on hand will expire without getting injected, as the earliest expiry date is at the end of May.

Moderna announced Friday morning more its vaccine shipments to Canada would be reduced by half from 1.2 million to 650,000 because of production issues.

Later in the morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government had reached a deal with Pfizer to increase its vaccine shipments to Canada by eight million by the end of June.

The province also announced on Friday that vaccination eligibility had been dropped to 57 years or older for the general population and 37 years or older for First Nations people.

Reimer said she and her colleagues would be on a federal call later Friday to discuss the Moderna news and the vaccine implementation task force would then start to work out how exactly that would affect Manitoba.

 cslark@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @ColinSlark
PARIS: The French parliament has adopted legislation that characterises sex with a child under the age of 15 as rape and punishable by up to 20 years in jail, bringing its penal code closer in line with many other Western nations.

While the age of consent was previously 15, prosecutors in France used to be required to prove sex was non-consensual to obtain a rape conviction.

"This is a historic law for our children and our society," Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti told the National Assembly after the legislation was adopted on Thursday (April 15, 2021).

"No adult aggressor will be able to claim the consent of a minor younger than 15-years-old."

The vote in favour of the bill was unanimous at its final reading, the Assembly said on Twitter.

A lunanimite les deputes ont adopte une proposition de loi pour proteger nos enfants des violences sexuelles. Avant 15 ans, plus aucun adulte agresseur ne pourra se prevaloir du consentement dun mineur. Cest une etape historique que nous franchissons.pic.twitter.com/z4IMw8Jonv  Eric Dupond-Moretti (@E_DupondM) April 15, 2021

There had been concerns from some lawmakers that an age of consent below which sex automatically constituted rape might criminalise a consensual sexual relationship between a minor and a person only a few years older.

As a consequence, a "Romeo and Juliet" clause allows for sexual relations between a minor and an individual up to five years older. The clause will not apply in cases of sexual assault.

The legislation also considers incestuous sex with a minor under 18 to be rape.

In a country that has long cherished its self-image as the land of seduction and romance, sexual abuse against women and children for years went undetected or undeclared in the upper echelons of power and within celebrity circles.

But there has been much soul-searching in recent years.

The #MeToo movement that swept around the world after numerous women in 2017 accused U.S. movie producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault proved a turning point in France. So too did the fall from grace in 2020 of a French writer who had written openly about his paedophilia.

France had already toughened its sex crimes laws in 2018 when it outlawed sexual harassment on the streets, leaving cat-callers and aggressively lecherous individuals facing potential on-the-spot fines.
WERE doing everything on Zoom at the moment so we may as well get married on it too!

Thats exactly what Robert OMahony, aged 30, and Tamara Rodriguez, 27, did. And they highly recommend it to other Covid couples who have had wedding plans dashed once, twice, maybe three times.

With the assistance of Limerick documentary wedding photographer Jamie Gillies, the couple from Cork city and Alicante in Spain say they still had the happiest day of their lives. Robert and Tamara met in 2016 shortly after she moved to Ireland. It was at a Jehovahs Witnesses meeting.

It was my first time going to the meeting in Cork. I didnt know one person so Robert was the first person I met in Cork, said Tamara, a pharmacy technician. Love blossomed in 2018, ironically, at a wedding in France. There were supposed to be four friends travelling together but two dropped out so it was just the two of them.

Everything went wrong on the way home. The flight got delayed, then the flight got changed, and we were stuck. Then we got a crazy taxi driver  we had this crazy, crazy day but we were together the whole time chatting and chatting, said Robert, a secondary school teacher.

From then on they knew they were meant to be together. Just a year later in October 2019 Robert proposed in Curraghbinny Wood using giant letters to spell, Will you marry me? I said yes before he went on his knee, smiled Tamara. They started planning the wedding straight away and set the date of June 26, 2020 in Alicante. About 50 people were going to travel from Ireland to Spain. We all know what happened that March...

It was really difficult, it was very stressful. For the first few months I was more shocked than anything else. I really felt upset that we couldnt pinpoint when we could get married, said Tamara.

Losing deposits compounded their gloom.

Some places were very kind and did give us some money back but some places refused to. So many people had been through much worse than us so there was no point in focusing on money too much, said Robert.

In October time, couples could have 50 people at a wedding and guests could travel from Spain to Ireland.

We said we are supposed to be married at this stage, why are we waiting now? We chose Ireland because if there was some kind of lockdown in Spain again it would not be able to go ahead, said Robert.

Tamara adds: We just wanted to start our life together.

The Maryborough Hotel in Douglas was booked for January 23, 2021. Tamaras family from Spain, Roberts family and their closest friends would make up 50.

In the meantime, the numbers allowed at weddings went from 50 to 25 but that was still manageable. But then just before Christmas it was announced that only six guests were allowed at weddings.

Im really close to my mom and sisters so that really hit me. That was really hard to handle. I felt like I was waking up every day thinking what is going to happen today? said Tamara.

Robert said their families were very supportive of whatever decision they were going to make. They decided to go ahead with six guests  Roberts mum, dad, brother and sister and Tamara had her sister and brother in law who live in Cork.

But while six were there in the flesh, over 700 joined them on Zoom for the ceremony from as far away as India and Colombia. It was projected on a big screen so they could see everyone.

Tamara looked stunning in her vintage-inspired open back lace dress. She joked that she was planning on cutting the sleeves off for the wedding in Spain but needed them for her Irish winter wedding.

After the ceremony, they had break out rooms on Zoom to say hello to immediate family and closest friends. Videos were played of people wishing them well. They even ate the meal with loved ones on Zoom. The virtual attendees also got to see their first dance.

Afterwards they played games on Zoom with their nearest and dearest. Tamaras family were with her with on screen for the whole day  from her leaving the house to the end of the night.

It really flowed, we didnt think about what we have to do next, said Tamara. They both highly recommend a Zoom wedding to couples in limbo. We would advise them to focus on what they can do because there is no point in worrying about what they cant do because of the current situation, said Tamara. Robert said its not about the big day.

Its about your relationship with your spouse, and getting off to a good start no matter if there are six people or 600 people there. The support we felt was incredible even though they were so far away. The final word goes to the bride who said they wouldnt have changed it for anything because wed be in this perpetual eternity of waiting.
Minnesotas National Guard has done an admirable job of containing riots in Brooklyn Center and the surrounding area, to prevent an orgy of violence, looting and arson such as characterized the George Floyd riots last year. But many on the Left are unhappy that violence has been forestalled. Construction union workers gave National Guardsmen a key to the St. Paul Labor Center so they would have a place to stage. What followed was a disgrace:

[I]nstead of showing their appreciation for the citizen soldiers whose lives have been upended to protect against a replay of last summers riots, a contingent of organized labor activists accused the assembled national guard troops of repressing protests and expelled them from the labor center in a critical demonstration of solidarity between labor and the fight against police brutality. On the Left Voice website, labor activist Cliff Willmeng said several others joined him in breaking the citywide curfew to confront the national guard troops at the labor meeting center. Rank and file union members, community activists, and various union staff members assembled at the Labor Center Wednesday night and found more than 15 armored vehicles, and 50 National Guard troops had been given the keys to the central union facility. Workers from CWA, MNA, UBC and other locals informed the soldiers that union members support the communities harmed by police violence and racism and that the Labor Center was off limits to armed forces participating in repressing protests across the Twin Cities.

From the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

The National Guard then rolled out of the Labor Center on Wednesday evening, to chants of Dont come back! and Whose house? Our house! and Na-na-na-na, goodbye! shouted by a dozen or more labor advocates.

To get the full impact of the fanaticism demonstrated by these purported labor activists, check out this video by the left-winger linked to above:

Disgusting. Also appallingly stupid.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 04:34:40|Editor: huaxia

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CAIRO, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Turkey confirmed 63,082 new COVID-19 infections on Friday, taking the tally to 4,150,039. Meanwhile, Iran's nationwide caseload approached 2.2 million after 25,261 new cases were added.

In Turkey, the death toll from the virus rose by 289 to 35,320, while the total recoveries climbed to 3,591,550.

In Iran, the total COVID-19 cases reached 2,194,133, while the death toll rose by 328 to 66,008.

Meanwhile, 1,761,497 COVID-19 patients have recovered or been discharged from Iranian hospitals as of Friday, and 4,652 others are currently being treated in intensive care units.

A total of 372,362 first doses and 112,108 second doses of vaccines against COVID-19 have been administered in Iran so far.

Morocco on Friday suspended all flights to and from 13 additional European counties to curb the spread of the new COVID-19 variants.

The suspension is temporary, and concerns also the entry of passengers of these countries arriving through other countries, it added.

Also in the day, Morocco registered 587 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally of confirmed cases to 504,847.

The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco increased to 490,921 after 555 new ones were added, while its death toll rose by seven to 8,934.

Meanwhile, 4,583,644 people have received so far the first vaccine shot against COVID-19 in the country, and 4,180,155 people have received the second dose.

In Israel, 41 new COVID-19 cases were reported, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 836,740.

The death toll from the virus rose by one to 6,315, while the number of patients in serious conditions decreased from 209 to 201, out of 354 hospitalized patients.

Israel also reported on Friday that seven cases of a new "double mutant" variant of COVID-19 were detected.

The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported 7,561 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total nationwide infections to 964,435.

It also reported 30 new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 14,915, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 6,515 to 843,851.

Qatar announced 978 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 194,930.

Meanwhile, 613 more people recovered from the virus, bringing the overall recoveries to 172,598, while the death toll increased by 10 to 367.

Lebanon registered 2,008 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections to 506,808, the Health Ministry reported.

Meanwhile, death toll from the virus increased by 45 to 6,854 in Lebanon. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-18 00:01:07|Editor: huaxia

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HONG KONG -- The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) said Saturday that under international laws and principles of non-intervention, foreign governments should not attempt to meddle in Hong Kong affairs.

In response to assertions by foreign politicians that the fundamental rights and freedoms in Hong Kong have been undermined, the Department of Justice (DoJ) said in a statement that such comments are ungrounded. (HK-Foreign interference)

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NEW DELHI -- Indian railways Saturday announced it would impose a fine of 500 Indian rupees (6.71 U.S. dollars) on anyone found not wearing face masks inside railway premises and trains.

The order has been issued in wake of the rising COVID-19 cases in the country. The measure will be implemented for six months till further notice. (India-COVID-19-Mask-Fine-Train)

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KABUL -- More than 50 people with majority of them armed insurgents were killed over the past 24 hours in Afghanistan, following Washington's decision to pull out its forces from Afghanistan, officials said Saturday.

In the latest wave of violent incidents, the Taliban militants attacked a security checkpoint outside Taluqan city, the capital of northern Takhar province early on Saturday, killing four pro-government militiamen and wounding five others, provincial police spokesman Abdul Khalil Asir confirmed. (Afghanistan-Insurgence-Death toll)

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HANOI -- An event on the exchange between Vietnamese and Chinese folk music culture was held Saturday in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi.

Hosted by the Confucius Institute at Hanoi University, the event featured performances by Vietnamese students of the two countries' folk music, including adaptations of famous Chinese and Vietnamese folk songs and Quan Ho singing, a traditional Vietnamese music style that entered the Intangible Cultural Heritage list of the International Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2009. (Vietnam-China-Culture)

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DHAKA -- Bangladesh recorded 101 more deaths from COVID-19 on Saturday, the second day in a row that the daily toll surpassed 100, bringing the total fatalities to 10,283, according to the country's Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

DGHS also reported 3,473 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, raising the total caseload to 715,252. (Bangladesh-COVID-19-Tally) Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-16 23:03:58|Editor: huaxia

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Two pedestrians wearing face masks are seen in Berlin, capital of Germany, April 16, 2021. 25831 The daily number of new COVID-19-infections in Germany remained near peak levels on Friday. The authorities recorded 25,831 new infections, bringing the national tally to nearly 3.1 million cases. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) also reported 247 new deaths. (Photo by Stefan Zeitz/Xinhua)

BERLIN, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Addressing the German Bundestag (federal parliament) on Friday, Chancellor Angela Merkel defended the nationwide "emergency brake" COVID-19 measures and called for them to be applied as quickly as possible.

"Every day counts," Merkel said. The third COVID-19 wave has Germany "firmly in its grip." Merkel stressed that there was a need for uniform nationwide regulations, including a night-time curfew.

The German coalition government seeks to tighten the country's Infection Protection Act to give the federal government the power to automatically impose contact restrictions, closures and night-time curfews in areas where the seven-day COVID-19 incidence rate exceeds 100 for more than three days. Schools and day care centers in Germany are to be closed in areas where the incidence rate exceeds 200.

Germany's nationwide uniform night-time curfew remains controversial. According to a DeutschlandTrend survey published by the public broadcaster ARD on Friday, 51 percent of Germans approved of such a curfew against 46 percent who said it was wrong.

The daily number of new COVID-19-infections in Germany remained near peak levels on Friday. The authorities recorded 25,831 new infections, bringing the national tally to nearly 3.1 million cases. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) also reported 247 new deaths.

The "rapid increase" in infections in Germany must finally be stopped, said Merkel. "In order to finally achieve this, we must better combine the forces of the federal, state and local governments."

Citing the persistently high number of new cases, the RKI has assessed the overall threat to public health in Germany as "very high."

"Intensive care physicians send out one cry for help after another - who are we if we overhear these distress calls?" Merkel asked. "Alone, they cannot win the battle against the virus in this third wave, even with the best medical art and the most sacrificial effort." Enditem
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Three of Prince Philip's German relatives were among the 30 handpicked guests at today's funeral at Windsor Castle.

The Duke of Edinburgh wanted both sides of his family represented when he was laid to rest - a wish that has been granted even with limited numbers.

They are Bernhard, the hereditary prince of Baden, 50, who is the grandson of Philip's sister Theodora. Donatus, 54, is prince and head of the house of Hesse, into which the late duke's sister Cecile married.

And Prince Philipp of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, 51, is the grandson of Philip's elder sister Princess Margarita.

Donatus and Philipp were seen arriving at Windsor together in a car, both wearing black face masks and suits, as were all the other royals.

The Queen, who wiped away a tear during the service, is believed to have spoken to her late husband's German relatives on her way out of St George's Chapel.

Philipp, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg & Donatus (left), Prince and Landgrave of Hesse, arrive at the funeral today

Earlier this week Prince Philipp (pictured leaving the chapel) said: 'We are all extremely touched and privileged to be included on behalf of the wider family'

Philipp (pictured right) stands in St George's Chapel as the coffin of Prince Philip, his great-uncle, is carried in

Donatus, 54, is prince and head of the house of Hesse, into which the late duke's sister Cecile married. He sat on the right-hand side of the chapel near the entrance

Troubles ahead: Philip, second from left, as a boy with his parents and four sisters, who adored him. They all married German aristocrats

The trio have all been undergoing their mandatory Covid quarantine at a house near Ascot after flying to the UK last week.

Philip's mother was Princess Alice of Battenberg, and his four sisters all married German aristocrats.

His German relations were banned from attending his wedding to Elizabeth in 1947 over perceived links to the Nazis in the wake of the Second World War.

But after the Duke made clear he wanted German 'blood' relatives, they today arrived for the pared-back ceremony at Windsor under the gaze of the watching world.

Earlier this week Prince Philipp said: 'We are all extremely touched and privileged to be included on behalf of the wider family.'

Today his sister, and the Duke's great niece, Princess Xenia of Hohenlohe-Langenburg said Philip was an 'idol' for their family's younger generation.

Alone in grief, the Queen sat on the opposite side of the church as she says goodbye to her husband at his funeral in extraordinary circumstances due to the pandemic

St George's Chapel, the scene of Harry and Meghan's wedding and other happier occasions, contained only 30 guests for the Duke's funeral

Senior members of the Royal Family walk in the funeral procession towards St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle today

Airmen of the Royal Air Force marching ahead of the funeral of Prince Philip. More than 700 members of the Armed Forces are involved in the event

Prince Donatus, head of the House of Hesse and pictured with the Queen at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in 2019, is also related to the monarch

Speaking from Munich, she told the BBC: 'To all of us, he was an idol, he was somebody to look up to, we had enormous respect for him and it was always very exciting when he came to visit, and he came often.

'And this has become clear to me in the week since he's died - the way he lived his life, his motto, which was an unwritten motto for us, this discipline, this selflessness, this lack of ego, but also his sense of humour always underlying all of that.

'His hard work and the philosophy that the Duke of Edinburgh Awards have given so many young people is something that is constantly underlying our lives, and it's certainly something that I've always aspired to live up to.'

Speaking about her brother's attendance at the funeral, she added: 'It's a huge honour, obviously, and having spoken to my brother yesterday, he's just saying it's a very special time for the cousins to be together and to be representing what is a huge part of the Duke of Edinburgh's family.

'You just have to think that there were 16 direct cousins of the Prince of Wales... that's a huge number of people, and there's three descendants that are able to be there to represent us is a huge honour and is deeply felt.'

Prince Bernhard, pictured with his wife at the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Monaco in 2011, is the grandson of the late Duke's sister Theodora
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 17)  The Department of Health sees no need yet to revise the country's testing protocols despite reports of a new COVID-19 variant discovered in France that is more difficult to detect by RT-PCR (real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) tests.

Health Undersecretary Rosario Vergeire on Saturday said experts from Johns Hopkins, Stanford, and other credible institutions have denied claims this new variant is undetectable in standard PCR tests.

"Ito naman po ay pinabulaanan din ng mga experts... Ang sinasabi nila na ang RT-PCR not only uses the S gene. Mayroon pong iba't ibang genes na ginagamit for us to detect the virus," Vergeire told a virtual briefing.

[Translation: This was denied by experts. They say RT-PCR not only uses the S gene. There are different genes that can be used for us to detect the virus.]

More research about the new variant will be needed, she added.

Vergeire also stressed that experts still consider RT-PCR testing as "very effective to detect the virus."

Last month, the French Ministry of Health issued a statement about the mutation that was only detected through genomic sequencing as eight of 79 COVID-19 patients initially tested negative for the coronavirus using the gold-standard PCR test.

French authorities said the new variant currently "does not appear to be more dangerous or contagious."

READ: OCTA recommends at least 14 days of quarantine for returning Filipinos amid new COVID-19 variant threat

Earlier this week, the OCTA Research group recommended the strict enforcement of a mandatory quarantine period for returning Filipinos.

OCTA fellow Dr. Guido David pushed for a 14-day isolation - or even longer - for Filipinos coming from abroad to prevent a further rise in COVID-19 cases following the detection of the new variant in France.
A powerful lobby group representing the province's largest industrial electricity customers has warned Premier Brian Pallister that political interference in the setting of Manitoba Hydro rates has already forced them to reconsider capital investments that could lead to cutbacks in production.

A powerful lobby group representing the province's largest industrial electricity customers has warned Premier Brian Pallister that political interference in the setting of Manitoba Hydro rates has already forced them to reconsider capital investments that could lead to cutbacks in production.

In a strongly worded submission to the Public Utilities Board that has not been made public, but was obtained by the Free Press, the Manitoba Industrial Power Users Group said its members are concerned about the province's attempts to subvert the independent regulatory oversight of electricity rates.

Most of the concern surrounds Bill 35, which would limit Hydro General Rate Applications at the PUB to just once every five years. Until that bill is passed into law, Pallister is setting electricity rate increases by cabinet directive.

In its submission, MIPUG argued that "a lack of transparency" in the rate-setting process means that its members are "presently operating with an unprecedented lack of confidence" about future increases.

Bill 35 would limit Hydro General Rate Applications at the Public Utilities Board to once every five years. Until the bill is passed into law, Premier Brian Pallister is setting electricity rate increases by cabinet directive. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press files)

MIPUG also expressed concern Hydro had not appeared before the PUB in more than two years and had not produced a public Integrated Financial Forecast since 2016. Taken together, the concerns have caused group members to reconsider their future plans in Manitoba.

"Conditions related to rate competitiveness in Manitoba are opaque and important decisions regarding capital investment by industry and post-pandemic production scheduling are already beginning to direct critical resources elsewhere," the submission stated.

NDP Leader Wab Kinew said he was not surprised by MIPUG's reaction to the bill, given that it completely undermines the PUB and a regulatory process that has served Manitobans well over the years. It's one of the reasons why the NDP delayed debate on the bill until the fall legislative session, he added.

Kinew said it's a "big red flashing light" for businesses that rely on large amounts of electricity.

"For the political gain that Mr. Pallister thinks he's getting out of Bill 35, there's going to be a lot of economic pain for this province," Kinew said. "This puts thousands of jobs and up to 30 per cent of Hydro's revenues in jeopardy. That's a big chunk of the Manitoba economy."

The Manitoba Industrial Power Users Group expressed concern that Manitoba Hydro had not appeared before the PUB in more than two years and hasn't produced a public Integrated Financial Forecast since 2016. (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press files)

A spokesman for MIPUG declined to comment on its submission. The organization represents most, but not all of Hydro's industrial customers. Together, the industrial class generated $380 million for Hydro in 2020, which is equal to 22 per cent of all the utility's domestic revenues.

According to recent PUB filings, the group's members include: Canada Kraft Paper Industries Ltd. (The Pas); Chemtrade Logistics Inc. (Brandon); Integra Castings (Winkler); Koch Fertilizer Canada ULC (Brandon); ERCO Worldwide (Virden); Maple Leaf Foods (Brandon); Gerdau Long Steel North America (Selkirk); Amsted Rail/Griffin Wheel Co. (Winnipeg); Enbridge Pipelines Inc. (Southern Manitoba); TransCanada Keystone Pipeline (Southern Manitoba); and Winpak Ltd. (Winnipeg).

Pallister declined an interview request. In an emailed statement, a government spokesperson said Bill 35 will strengthen the PUB process by broadening the scope of issues it can consider in setting rates.

The spokesman also said government has met with MIPUG to hear its concerns and remains committed to "growing Manitoba's economy and creating jobs" through low electricity rates and financial stability at Manitoba Hydro.

Manitoba Hydro also declined to comment on the submission.

CP Manitoba has been successful in attracting industrial companies that require huge amounts of cheap electricity, representing a critical domestic revenue stream for Hydro. (John Woods / The Canadian Press files)

MIPUG's submission was made in response to recent application to the PUB by the Consumers Coalition, a group that includes the Consumer's Association of Canada (Manitoba), Harvest Manitoba and the Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg.

The coalition has asked the PUB to convene a special hearing on Hydro electricity rates based on a number of factors that have materially impacted the Crown utility's financial position, including the creation of a new long-term strategic plan that has not yet been made public, the fact that the Keeyask generating station has started to come online and with it, the start of a $5-billion power export agreement with Saskpower.

MIPUG has been a regular presence at PUB hearings in the past. Given its members operate large-scale businesses in many Tory-held ridings in the province, it carries considerable weight with the Pallister government.

For some time now, Manitoba has been successful in attracting industrial companies that require huge amounts of cheap electricity for manufacturing or processing plants. Although these businesses do not employ huge numbers of people, they represent a critical domestic revenue stream for Hydro.

The MIPUG submission should come as no surprise to the premier or his government. Government sources confirmed the group sent a letter to Pallister and Finance Minister Scott Fielding some months ago raising the same concerns and warning them that failure to restore some certainty to the regulatory process could jeopardize their future presence in Manitoba.

The sources also noted that representatives of MIPUG-member companies have actively lobbied Progressive Conservative cabinet ministers and MLAs, expressing their displeasure about Bill 35 and their concerns about how it could ultimately affect the level of production here in Manitoba.

All of the MIPUG members are branch operations of larger national and multinational companies that operate similar plants in other jurisdictions. Typically, these plants compete against each other for production contracts; if input costs increase significantly or without warning in one plant, then work is shifted to other plants where the cost of production is lower.

Government sources said MIPUG-member companies have not yet threatened to leave the province, but there was a clear message that if rate uncertainty continues and the role of the PUB remains limited, there is a possibility that individual plants could be shuttered.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
A Florida nurse and mother-of-three is facing federal charges over threats to kill Vice President Kamala Harris.

Niviane Petit Phelps, from Miami, allegedly shared the death threats with her husband who is serving time in a Tallahassee prison.

The Secret Service was alerted to the video messages in early March after they were sent over JPay, an application that allows the sharing of media between prisoners and those on the outside. Authorities became aware of the threats after they were revealed by her husband.

According to the federal complaint, the messages generally depict Phelps complaining and speaking angrily to the camera about her hatred for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, among others.

The complaint adds: However, in these videos, Phelps also made statements about killing Vice President Harris.

According to the Secret Service complaint, in a video sent on 13 February, 39-year-old Ms Phelps said: Kamala Harris you are going to die. Your days are numbered already. Someone paid me $53,000 just to f*** you up and Im gonna take the, Im gonna do the job, okay.

Footage from the following day shows Ms Phelps saying: Im going to the gun range, just for your a**, until you f****** leave the chair.

In another video, the nurse reportedly said: Im going to the gun range... I swear to God, today is your day youre gonna die. 50 days from today, mark this day down.

On 20 February, a photo shared with her husband and later obtained by authorities appeared to show Ms Phelps at a gun range.

On February 22, 2021, Phelps applied for a concealed weapons permit, the Secret Service complaint stated.

The Secret Service and detectives from the Miami-Dade Police Department went to Ms Phelps home on 3 March to speak with her but she refused to be interviewed, court documents revealed.

The complaint reports that agents received a call from Ms Phelps two days later saying that she had been put on administrative leave by her employer, Jackson Health System.

Kamala Harris is sworn in as US Vice President with her husband Doug Emhoff and President Joe Biden looking on (Getty Images)

A Secret Service agent went back to Ms Phelps residence on 6 March.

She was angry at the time about Kamala Harris becoming Vice President but that she is over it now. Phelps expressed how she believes Kamala Harris [is] not actually black and how during [the] inauguration Kamala Harris disrespectfully put her hand on her clutch purse instead of the bible, the complaint said.

Ms Phelps, 39, was detained on Thursday. She has been charged with making death threats against VP Harris. She is currently being held at a federal detention center in Miami after a judge believed her to be a danger to the community, The Miami Herald reported.

Her husband, Joseph Phelps, 44, is serving time at Wakulla Correctional Institution after being convicted in 1996 of armed robbery and murdering a grocery store owner.

The nurse's mother said that her daughter was troubled and did not believe she owned a gun. Herodia Petit said the family votes Democrat.

"I don't know where this [came] from, I vote for Joe Biden," Ms Petit told Local 10 News.

Ms Petit asked President Biden and VP Harris to forgive her daughter.

Ms Phelps defense attorney, Scott Saul, told The Miami Herald that the videos were intended as private conversations between the married couple.

He said in a statement: Based upon my limited knowledge, I do not think my client was a genuine threat to the vice president. All this case involved was my client venting to her incarcerated husband.

It appears as though personal issues in her life, along with the volatile political landscape perpetuated by some, brought some frustrations out of her, he added.

The nurses employer, Jackson Health System, said in a statement: Niviane Petit Phelps had been employed at Jackson Health System since 2001. In the last couple of years, she worked as a licensed practical nurse at the Ambulatory Care Center West at Jackson Memorial Medical Center. She has been suspended without pay while we process her employment termination.

Ms Phelps faces up to five years in federal prison if found guilty.
Ashley Cain has admitted that he is 'scared' for baby daughter Azaylia amid her leukaemia battle.

Updating fans from a special pod he and girlfriend Safiyya Vorajee had set up so they could go stargazing with their eight-month-old child, he spoke candidly about how he has been feeling and said he is trying to be the 'best me' for his daughter.

Earlier in the day, the former Ex On The Beach star, 30, shared the touching moment a plane flew over his and partner Safiyya's house to draw a heart in the sky in honour of their daughter Azaylia.

Candid: Ashley Cain has admitted that he is 'scared' for baby daughter Azaylia amid her leukaemia battle

While showing off the garden pod, Ashley explained to fans: 'I'm just sitting outside in the pod that we got for Azaylia so we can sit outside at night time and look up at the stars with her.

'She's asleep at the minute and right now it's too hot for her in here as she's spiking in temperature and needs to cool down.

'I just wanted to say, I'm overwhelmed and grateful for all of the love and support and tributes that are going out for my daughter - it's absolutely incredible.

'Truthfully though, I can't really put into words how I'm feeling - I'm scared, I'm worried, I'm nervous, I'm anxious, all of the time.

'But I'm getting my strength from being the best me I can be for my daughter right now and currently she's still here, she's still breathing, and she's still in the game.'

Sweet: Earlier in the day, Ashley shared the touching moment a plane flew over his and partner Safiyya's house to draw a heart in the sky in honour of their daughter Azaylia

Candid: Reflecting on how he's been feeling amid Azaylia's illness, he said: 'I can't really put into words how I'm feeling - I'm scared, I'm worried, I'm nervous, I'm anxious, all of the time'

Father: Ashley added 'I'm getting my strength from being the best me I can be for my daughter right now and currently she's still here, she's still breathing, and she's still in the game'

Ever the doting dad, Ashley ended the video by sharing his support for Azaylia by saying: 'Let's go champ, thank you guys.'

Azaylia has been brought home for her final days after doctors devastatingly found her rare and aggressive leukaemia had spread last week.

Taking to Instagram on Saturday, Ashley admitted he feels 'broken, scared and worried', but is drawing strength from his daughter who is 'fighting fearlessly'.

Great idea: Ashley and his partner Safiyya have set up a pod in their garden so that they can stargaze with Azaylia

Moving: Earlier on, Ashley shared a collection of poignant photographs of the family looking up to the sky to see the plane draw a love heart and the letter 'A'

Ashley shared a collection of poignant photographs of the family looking up to the sky to see the plane draw a love heart and the letter 'A'.

Moved by the incredibly thoughtful gesture, the Ex On The Beach star wrote: 'We got surprised today with a plane flying over our house to create a heart in the sky for our brave and beautiful little princess Azaylia, who is still with us, fighting fearlessly everyday.

'We're overwhelmed at all of the amazing tributes that are happening around the world.

Heartbreaking: Azaylia has been brought home for her final days after doctors devastatingly found her rare and aggressive leukaemia had spread last week

Touched: Moved by the gesture, the Ex On The Beach star wrote: 'We got surprised today with a plane flying over our house to create a heart in the sky for our little princess'

'From Wembley Stadium to the Niagara Falls lighting up orange as a testament of her bravery, the awareness she has raised for childhood cancer and all the children and families she has helped through her struggles already.

'Right now I feel broken, scared and worried all of the time. But I am finding strength in trying to be the best father I can be, no matter the situation, for her. That is the least she deserves and the most I can give her, the best me I can be. There is one thing for certain though, I couldnt be a prouder dad and a more blessed human to have such an incredible daughter.'

Ashley went on to thank all of their supporters and the 'love and light' which is providing comfort to their family.

He concluded: 'For now we have another day to cherish with another special memory - LETS GO CHAMP!'

Heartbreaking: Ashley showed the extensive medication his terminally-ill daughter Azaylia has to have as her health declines earlier on Saturday

Earlier on Saturday, Ashley showed the extensive medication his terminally-ill daughter Azaylia has to have as her health declines amid her heartbreaking leukaemia battle.

The television personality took to Instagram at 9am where he showed seven syringes for his daughter, and said it was already her second lot of medication for the day.

Ashley filmed the syringes, designed to provide nutritional support for those unable to eat, lined up on Azaylia's high chair.

Eight-month-old Azaylia has to have a feeding tube directly into her stomach to provide her with food.

He captioned the shot: 'Azaylia's 2nd lot of medication this morning 9am.'

On Friday, Ashley's partner Safiyya, 34, said their daughter has been 'struggling' to open her eyes due to swelling.

Update: The Ex On The Beach star took to Instagram at 9am on Saturday morning where he showed seven syringes for his daughter (pictured), and said it was already her second lot of medication for the day

Information: Ashley filmed the syringes, designed to provide nutritional support for those unable to eat, lined up on Azaylia's high chair

The doting mum cradled her eight-month-old baby in her arms as she explained that they were going to put cold compresses on Azaylia's eyes in the hope it would help sooth the swelling.

Safiyya said in her video: 'Azaylia's got really, really swollen eyes today and we've been told by our community nurses to put some cold compresses on them and get them down again so she can open her eyes, bless her.'

Azaylia's battle with leukaemia has touched the heart of the nation, with many stars donating to a fundraiser previously set up by Ashley to pay for treatment.

Update: On Friday, Ashley's partner Safiyya, 34, said their daughter has been 'struggling' to open her eyes due to swelling

Poignant: X Factor's Scarlett Moffatt, who starred on the show in 2018, has recorded a cover song as a tribute to Ashley's daughter, affectionately nicknamed 'likkle lion'

And X Factor's Scarlett Moffatt, who starred on the show in 2018, has recorded a cover song as a tribute to Ashley's daughter, affectionately nicknamed 'likkle lion'.

Uploading a picture of Azaylia, Scarlett, 23, wrote on Instagram: 'How Can Someone you have never met have such a impact on your life' Azaylia you are the reason, I havent stopped thinking and praying and crying and smiling because of you!

'Your beautiful little face lights up everyones world. @mrashleycain @miss_safiyya_ You Guys Need a medal, your strength and love for your daughter is outstanding I pray that god heals our little princess! You princess are the peoples princess please whoever reads this PRAY for a healing how can life be so cruel...

She continued: 'I have been asked a ton of times to record a cover and of course I was going to.. it will be up tomorrow. Keep fighting champ you got this and you got a whole lot of us here fighting with you too.. #azaliya #letsgochamp.'

Azaylia was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of leukaemia when she was just two months old.

Family: Ashley has chronicled her battle on Instagram, while also raising awareness for the disease

Ashley and Safiyya have chronicled her battle on Instagram, while also raising awareness for the disease.

Last week, the couple were left devastated when doctors revealed there was no further treatment available amid her leukaemia battle following the discovery of multiple tumours in her body.

Ashley said scans revealed Azaylia has tumours in her stomach, liver, spleen and kidneys, in addition to tumours in her brain.

The couple had 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.

Devastating: Last week, the couple were left devastated when doctors revealed there was no further treatment available amid her leukaemia battle

But Ashley told his followers that because Azaylia's leukemia was so rare and aggressive, they could no longer fly to Singapore and instead would take her home from hospital to make her final days 'as fun as they can'.

The television personality told fans: 'They found tumours in her stomach her spleen her kidneys, as well as the tumours in her brain, and the chemotherapy's not working.

'Her disease is that aggressive that nothing they are doing... Nothing's working.

'And then, to make it worse, the consultants got an email from Singapore, and because Azaylia's literally one in a trillion - she literally is she's so special, she's one in a trillion - but unfortunately so is her disease. In Singapore they can't create a CAR T for her leukaemia.

Holding back tears, the doting dad continued: 'So that means we're going back home. We're going back home and, we're gonna try and make our baby as comfortable as possible...

'And we're gonna have as much fun as we can with her as possible. And I thought that...

'When you hear of all the other kids in the hospital they just wanna be at home, but Azaylia doesn't have a voice yet. I think if she had a voice, she'd want to be at home to. So we're gonna take her home.'

Ashley told fans that he forced himself and his partner to get up, get dressed, eat and clean up, adding: 'We're gonna smile, we're gonna be strong and we're gonna go out with honour.'
NEW YORK, April 16, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces the filing of a class action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Champignon Brands Inc. (OTC: SHRMF) between March 27, 2020 and February 17, 2021, inclusive (the Class Period). A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than June 9, 2021.



SO WHAT: If you purchased Champignon 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 Champignon class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2057.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com 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 June 9, 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 firms 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) Champignon had undisclosed material weaknesses and insufficient financial controls; (2) Champignons previously issued financial statements were false and unreliable; (3) Champignons earlier reported financial statements would need to be restated; (4) Champignons acquisitions involved an undisclosed related party; (5) as a result of the foregoing and subsequent reporting delays and issues, the British Columbia Securities Commission would suspend Champignons from trading; and (6) as a result, defendants statements about Champignons business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Champignon class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2057.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com 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 investors 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

lrosen@rosenlegal.com

pkim@rosenlegal.com

cases@rosenlegal.com

www.rosenlegal.com
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Windsor Castle was the scene of a spectacular display of pomp and pageantry today as the Queen laid her beloved husband to rest after 73 years of 'unwavering loyalty'.

Thousands of members of the public lined the streets of Windsor to honour Philip in defiance of Buckingham Palace's call to stay away due to Covid rules, as police threw a 'ring of steel' around the commemorations.

Inside the castle bailey, the Duke of Edinburgh's casket was covered in his personal standard and carried his sword, naval cap and a wreath of flowers as pallbearers lowered him on to his extraordinary self-designed Land Rover hearse.

The Queen arrived as the national anthem played and the royal Bentley stopped next to her husband's coffin, where she poignantly paused for a moment of reflection as cannons fired and bells tolled in remembrance of the duke as hundreds of troops watched on.

Her Majesty was then driven to St George's Chapel with a lady in waiting, before being sat alone at the front of the church where she stood alone and bowed her head during the national minute's silence.

Following behind the coffin was the royal procession, led by Philip's children Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. The grandchildren, including Prince William and Prince Harry, followed but the feuding brother by their cousin Peter Phillips.

The Queen had decided that no royals should wear military uniform after Prince Andrew demanded to dress as an Admiral and Prince Harry was stripped of his titles. They were allowed to wear their medals, however.

Massed military bands stood still as the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin past by in a Land Rover that he had built himself

The Foot Guards Band are seen marching ahead of the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle

Members of the military march ahead of the funeral service at Prince Philip's Windsor home

The detachments of service personnel from the military units the duke had a special relationship assembled on the green of the castle's quadrangle - while lining its edge are troops from the Household Cavalry and the Foot Guards

Military band plays in the Quadrangle ahead of during the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle today

Today saw a spectacular display of pageantry inside the Windsor Castle bailey - with the ceremony undimmed by Covid restrictions

The duke's coffin could be seen draped with his personal standard, which pays tribute to his birth heritage as a Prince of Greece and Denmark, his family name and his Edinburgh title

Prince Philip's coffin has emerged from Windsor Castle as the Royal Family joined the Queen in mourning her husband at his funeral.

The Duke of Edinburgh's casket was covered in his personal standard and carried his sword, naval cap and a wreath of flowers as masked pallbearers carried his coffin onto his extraordinary self-designed Land Rover hearse

Prince Philip's coffin is loaded onto the Land Rover during his funeral service at Windsor Castle this afternoon

A close-up of the moment the Land Rover drove passed massed ranks of military personnel on its way to St George's Chapel

The hearse moved through the castle's quadrangle, which was packed with hundreds of armed personnel

A general view shows the coffin of Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh laid onto a modified Land Rover Defender in the quadrangle ahead of the ceremonial funeral procession to St George's Chapel

The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin, covered with his Personal Standard, is transported from the Quadrangle on the purpose built Land Rover Defender

The Duke of Edinburgh's casket was covered in his personal standard and carried his sword, naval cap and a wreath of flowers as pallbearers placed him on to his extraordinary self-designed Land Rover hearse

The Land Rover - which Philip designed - passed through the Windsor Castle quadrangle onwards into St George's Chapel

The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin, covered with his Personal Standard, is carried on the purpose built Land Rover Defender followed by the Princess Royal, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, the Earl of Wessex, the Duke of Cambridge, Peter Phillips, the Duke of Sussex, the Earl of Snowdon and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence

Philip served in the British Royal Navy and fought in WWII. He married the then Princess Elizabeth on 20 November 1947 and was created Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich by King VI. He served as Prince Consort to Queen Elizabeth II until his death on April 9 2021

Troops stood with their heads bowed as the Land Rover, upon which the coffin will be placed, was driven into the quadrangle while military bands played music selected by the duke

The Land Rover as it arrived at the steps of St George's Chapel before the coffin was carried inside by another party of pallbearers

The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin, covered with his Personal Standard, is carried on the purpose built Land Rover Defender

The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin on the back of the Land Rover with royal family members walking behind

The Royal Family walk behind Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh's coffin, carried by a Land rover hearse

The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin, covered with his Personal Standard, is carried into St George's Chapel

Earl of Snowdon David Armstrong-Jones, Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Peter Phillips, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Prince Andrew, Duke of York follow Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh's coffin

The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin, covered with His Royal Highness's Personal Standard arrives at St George's Chapel

The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin, covered with his Personal Standard, is carried on the purpose-built Land Rover Defender followed by the Princess Royal, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, the Earl of Wessex, the Duke of Cambridge, Peter Phillips, the Duke of Sussex, the Earl of Snowdon, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence outside St George's Chapel

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Snowdon David Armstrong-Jones, Peter Phillips, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence during the funeral of Prince Philip

The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin, covered with His Royal Highness's Personal Standard is seen on the purpose built Land Rover, followed by Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Peter Phillips, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Earl of Snowdon David Armstrong-Jones and Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence

Members of the Royal family march behind the coffin during the ceremonial funeral procession of Prince Philip's coffin

Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Peter Phillips, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Earl of Snowdon David Armstrong-Jones and Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence follow Prince Philip's coffin

Members of the Royal Navy standing in reverence outside St George's Chapel

Members of the Royal family march behind the coffin during the ceremonial funeral procession of Prince Philip

The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin, covered with His Royal Highness's Personal Standard is carried to the purpose-built Land Rover hearse

Pall bearers from The Queen's Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards carry the coffin into the chapel

Queen Elizabeth II and the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby watch as the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin is carried into St George's Chapel

Harry and William share words with Archbishop on the way out before sharing a chat as they leave together

Members of the Royal Family walk behind the Land Rover hearse carrying Prince Philip's coffin

Pallbearers of the Royal Marines carry the coffin at the West Steps of St George's Chapel

The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin, covered with His Royal Highness's Personal Standard on the Land Rover Defender

Wreaths from members of the royal family during the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh in St George's Chapel

Wreaths from members of the royal family during the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh in St George's Chapel

Thousands of people gathered in Windsor today for Prince Philip's funeral - although crowds were much smaller than usual due to Covid regulations

People gather outside the entrance to Windsor Castle prior to Philip's funeral today, in defiance of orders to stay away

Professor Chris Imafidon (second from left), outside Windsor Castle, who says he met the Duke on a few occasions, has spoken of his dismay that crowds cannot gather in the same numbers as usual

The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin is loaded onto the back of his handmade Land Rover before being taken to St George's Chapel

Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Peter Phillips, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Earl of Snowdon David Armstrong-Jones and Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence follow Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh's coffin during the Ceremonial Procession

The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin, covered with His Royal Highness's Personal Standard is carried to the purpose built Land Rover Defender hearse

Members of the Royal Family walk behind the hearse, a specially modified Land Rover, on the grounds of Windsor Castle during Prince Philip's funeral

Pall bearers carrying Prince Philip's coffin of the Duke of Edinburgh into St George's Chapel

Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Peter Phillips, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Earl of Snowdon David Armstrong-Jones and Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence follow Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh's coffin

Guardsmen, staff and members of the Royal Household stand by beside St George's Chapel at the start of the funeral service

The Buglers of the Royal Marines during the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh in St George's Chapel

Members of the Household Cavalry line the route of the ceremonial procession during the funeral

Members of the military stand for a minutes' silence before the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh

The Buglers of the Royal Marines during the funeral at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle

The Queen is seen getting back into her car after the funeral of her husband Prince Philip

The Queen is officially seen in public for the first time since the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, leaving Windsor Castle to attend Philip's funeral

The Queen arrives behind her husband's coffin as his funeral began this afternoon

Prince Charles looked griefstricken as he followed his father on the final journey to church

William and Harry walked together into the church but had Peter Phillips, the duke's eldest grandchildren, at the centre

The Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex, who have a troubled relationship, did not walk shoulder to shoulder with their cousin Peter Phillips between them

The Royal Family's procession was led by Prince Charles and Princess Anne who looked emotional following the casket

Prince Charles looked emotional next to his siblings with his children following behind

Prince Philip's coffin carried by pallbearers from the armed forces on an extraordinary day of pomp and ceremony

he Duke of Edinburgh's coffin, covered with His Royal Highness's Personal Standard is carried to the purpose built Land Rover

The coffin is carried up the world famous steps of St George's Chapel on its final journey

St George's Chapel, the scene of Harry and Meghan's wedding and other happier occasions, contained only 30 guests for the Duke's funeral

Queen Elizabeth had to sit alone inside St George's Chapel for her husband's funeral service due to coronavirus restrictions

Philip's coffin had his standard, navy cap and a sword given to him by the Queen's father when they married 73 years ago

Prince Charles blinks away tears as he follows the coffin into the church with his brothers behind him

A tearful Prince Charles watches as his father's body is carried to the altar, as he is supported by his wife Camilla

The Queen walked from the church with Dean David Connor after the emotional state occasion

Harry and William walked back to the castle in the spring sunshine with Kate, speaking for the first time in a year

Hundreds of people watched as the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery processed along the Long Walk up to Windsor Castle from midday.

Dozens of riders, wearing black, gold and red uniforms and carrying three guns, rode up to Cambridge Gate where tributes to the duke have been laid throughout the week.

Members of the regiment fired minute guns from the east lawn of Windsor Castle as Philip's coffin was taken from the castle to the chapel.

Drains and rivers surrounding the castle were scoured for security threats and in London all roads around Buckingham Palace have been closed off.

Dozens of police - some armed - and security officers are on duty, patrols are being carried out in parks surrounding the Palace and a police helicopter hovers above.

Security was on high-alert, with police snipers placed on roof tops and armed officers patrolling the streets.

The Foot Guards Band are seen marching into position ahead of the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle today

Members of the military arrive for the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh in Windsor Castle, Berkshire

A carriage moves through Windsor Great Park towards Windsor Castle, which has been a royal residence for hundreds of years

Britain's Sophie, Countess of Wessex arrives for the funeral service of Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh inside St George's Chapel

Household staff assemble outside Windsor Castle while soldiers bow their heads as Prince Philip's coffin passes by

Royal Navy personnel have played a major role in today's commemorations, in a nod to Philip's service

Covid-19 regulations have reduced the scope of the service with public elements cancelled, mourners reduced from around 800 to just 30, and all guests wearing face masks and sitting apart

Members of the armed forces gather outside St George's Chapel, where the ceremony took place to honour Prince Philip

Philip's coffin was carried on a custom-built Land Rover Defender hearse designed by the duke and modified over 16 years

Members of the Lifeguards march into position at Windsor Castle prior to the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral today

Soldiers of The Coldstream Guards marching ahead of the Prince Philip's funeral

Airmen of the Royal Air Force marching through the Windsor Castle bailey prior to the ceremony this afternoon

Postboxes were sealed, rubbish bins were checked and experts went down into drains to check for threats as part of the intense security ring.

One officer earlier told MailOnline they were expecting 'thousands' of people to arrive at other Royal palaces.

He added: 'The funeral may be in Windsor but we're expecting a lot of people to turn up at Buckingham Palace, as they have been through the week.

'The sun is out and people have been very moved by Philip's death. There's lots of media here and we have to make sure things run smoothly because the eyes of the world are on us.'

Thames Valley Police has put a range of visible and covert security measures in place, including automated number plate checks, CCTV and barriers to prevent attacks using vehicles, as well as armed and mounted officers on patrol.

Military personnel enter the gates to Windsor Castle as the procession continues

The military bands parade on the day of Prince Philip's funeral as the procession continues

Members of the Royal Navy march through the grounds of Windsor Castle. The Navy's prominent role was a nod to the Duke's own service in WWII

Marching bands began moving down the Long Walk in Windsor Great Park and into the Norman castle from around midday

Members of the Royal Marines and the Foot Guards line the route of the procession at Windsor Castle

Members of the military marching in the Engine Court ahead of the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh in Windsor Castle

Members of the military march before the funeral service of Britain's Prince Philip. Philip, who was married to Queen Elizabeth II for 73 years, died on April 9 aged 99

Sir David Attenborough seen walking with his daughter Susan Attenborough in Windsor just before the funeral of Prince Philip

Penelope Knatchbull, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, looks on as she heads to the funeral of her close friend and confidante Philip

William and Kate leave Kensington Palace ahead of their first meeting with Prince Harry for more than a year following the turmoil of Megxit

Princess Eugenie of York arrives for the ceremonial funeral procession of Britain's Prince Philip this afternoon ahead of the ceremony

The Queen will follow her husband's coffin on his Land Rover hearse down from the castle to the chapel in her State Bentley

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall arrives at St George's Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle on the day of the funeral of Prince Philip

The Highlanders march before Prince Philip's funeral service

Prince Philip's hat and gloves are pictures on the seat of a carriage during the procession

Members of the military march outside St George's Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle

The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery arrive at Windsor Castle in preparation for the Gun Salute on the palace grounds

The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery arrive at Windsor Castle in preparation for the Gun Salute

Images reflecting and celebrating the life of HRH Prince Philip are displayed on the large screen at Piccadilly Circus

Some 700 members of the military will take part in a parade this afternoon

The Foot Guards Band are seen marching ahead of the funeral of Prince Philip

The Foot Guards Band are seen marching at the funeral of Prince Philip

A military band plays outside St George's Chapel ahead of Prince Philip's funeral

Members of The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery arrive at Windsor Castle as crowds watch on

A man pays his respects by raising his bowler hat as members of The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery arrive

Hundreds of people in the town of Windsor took part in a national minute's silence in honour of the Duke of Edinburgh as his funeral began.

Crowds lining the high street outside the walls of Windsor Castle and along the Long Walk fell silent at 3pm in remembrance of the nation's longest-serving consort.

People held Union flags, partners wore matching hats and others clutched bunches of flowers.

Commemorations were disrupted shortly after, when a topless protester ran past crowds and jumped on to a statue of Queen Victoria before being removed by police officers.

The woman, who was without a top or bra, ran into the road shouting "save the planet" when members of the public began clapping following the silence.

People had arrived steadily in the town throughout Saturday morning to pay their respects to the duke.

Some were seen wearing custom face masks bearing Philip's image.

Members of the Household Cavalry and Life Guards (left) and the military (right) marched outside St George's Chapel

Philip's favourite carriage arrives at Windsor, with his hat and gloved in his seat in a poignant scene

A dismounted detachment of The Life Guards and The Blues & Royals of The Household Cavalry arrive at Windsor Castle

Members of The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery are pictured on the day of the funeral of Britain's Prince Philip

A man raises a bowler hat to the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery as they ride past on the Long Walk

The Kings Troop and their artillery arrive for the funeral, with the ceremonial event involved 700 members of the armed forces

The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery move along The Long Walk towards the castle ahead of the procession this afternoon as crowds amassed

The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery enter into Windsor Castle

A lone soldier walks from the main castle down towards St George's Chapel at an eerily deserted Windsor

People gather for the funeral service of Prince Philip. One woman holds up a sign as social distancing is ignored

Members of a military band march into position at Windsor Castle in Windsor ahead of the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral today

The Foot Guards Band are seen marching into position ahead of the funeral of Prince Philip. Philip, who was married to Queen Elizabeth II for 73 years, died on April 9 aged 99

The Military procession proceeds through the grounds of Windsor Castle ahead of the funeral of Prince Philip following his death at 99

The Foot Guards Band marching before the funeral. Only 30 guests are at the funeral but the ceremonial event involved 700 members of the armed forces

While much of the typical pageantry has been pared back, Buckingham Palace says the funeral will still reflect Philip's life of service and the plans he himself spent years fine-tuning

Members of the military stand guard in formation on the grounds of Windsor Castle as the Royal Standard fag flutters on the day of funeral

The Household Cavalry would normally be flanked by huge crowds of mourners, but today only a sea of flowers surrounded them

Hundreds of people kept apart from each other as they gathered to watch a procession in Windsor

Police kept an eye on the crowd as people started to flock to Windsor

A Corgi dog wearing a Union Jack bandana is seen near Windsor Castle on the day of the funeral

Coronavirus restrictions meant that fewer people were able to visit the town to mark the occasion but residents praised the royal family for "setting an example" by limiting numbers during the ongoing pandemic.

Road signs in the area warned: "Avoid all non-essential travel and do not gather at royal residences," though some visited briefly to lay tributes to the duke.

Sasha Spicer, 52, who wore a Union flag poncho, said Philip had been a "fantastic role model" and that she felt sorry for the Queen.

"I've come down to pay my respects, say rest in peace and thanks for service to the country and that we'll miss you," she said. "He was a lovely fella."

Ms Spicer said she was "impressed" by the crowds who had come to the town on the day of the funeral.

"He was a fantastic role model and someone who was known for his banter. Quite a character.

"The Queen is going to miss him...they were best friends. I feel for her."

At midday scores of people gathered in the sunshine to watch as the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery processed along the Long Walk up to Cambridge Gate.

Dozens of riders, wearing black, gold and red uniforms and carrying three guns, rode up to the gate where tributes to the duke have been laid throughout the week.

'Thousands' of well-wishers are expected to descend on the Royal palaces this afternoon to pay their respects despite the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral taking place at St George's Chapel in Windsor, one officer told MailOnline. Pictured, armed officers gather outside Windsor Castle

Police officers keep watch using binoculars from a rooftop window as security ramps up for the funeral

A young girl dons yellow wellington boots as she observes the procession at Windsor Castle

People wait by barriers outside Windsor Castle ahead of the funeral of Prince Philip

As with all royal events, there was a tight security operation and police divers were pictured searching a drain near the grounds

Police officers on a rooftop keeping watch over the surrounding area as part of the ring of steel security operation

Dozens of police officers marched through Windsor's town centre today as patrols were launched ahead of the funeral

The regiment fired minute guns from the east lawn of Windsor Castle as Philip's coffin was taken from the castle to St George's Chapel.

Earlier, members of the public expressed their sadness that crowds could not gather in the town, and said the country was "missing out" on fully commemorating the duke's death.

Windsor resident Ian Mawhinney, 56, said that it had been a "sombre few weeks" in the town but that the royal family were "setting an example" by limiting numbers.

"I think it's really important to mark the event. It's been a very sombre time for the town," he told PA.

"Living in Windsor, you realise how much they do for the community and the country.

"You sense the loss more here. It's been a very sombre few weeks.

"I'm quite torn about the measures. I think the country is missing out on something.

"I think the royal family are setting an example.

"Having a small event is not what they would have wanted but they will adapt and...honour (Philip) in their own way."

Professor Chris Imafidon, from Essex, who says he met Phillip on several occasions, said: "He has done so much for this country, there should be a big public celebration of his life.

"People have been asked not to come, so I think it will be a quiet atmosphere, I just feel so sad."

Police officers outside Windsor Castle were instructed to tell mourners to move on ahead of expected crowds for the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh at St George's Chapel

Bored security guards in Windsor have been pictured standing in groups of 16 as they chat in the sunshine with instructions to ask any gathering groups to keep moving due to Covid restrictions

Armed police patrol the grounds outside Windsor Castle to ensure no security threats are made

Police officers stand guard outside Windsor Castle to help disperse any gathering crowds

Thelma ODonnell, a nanny, was one of the people who ignored advice not to go to Windsor for the funeral.

Mrs ODonnell, who was with her husband Thomas, wanted to record the scenes around the castle on her phone to put on Facebook so that her family in The Philippines could see them.

She said: My family and I loved Prince Phillip. He has always been part of our lives and we will miss him.

I wanted to pay my respects in person, but we will go back to our home near Heathrow in time and watch the funeral on television.'

Her husband added: 'We heard that people were being asked to stay away. But we dont live that far and we just wanted to see what it was like a Windsor before we go and watch on TV. We have nothing but respect for the royal family.

James Louizou, 24, from Manchester was with his girlfriend Eliza and said they had arrived in London last night for a weekend in the capital.

He said: We have come here because we thought it would be quite a spectacle. There are actually very few people here. We might have been better off watching the funeral on TV. But the castle is amazing to see.

At lunchtime, the Long Walk was virtually empty with only around 100 locals in the area.

In Windsor town centre, locals made the most of the shops reopening, but were expected to come to a standstill' at 3pm in a minute's silence for Prince Phillip.

In London, all roads around Buckingham Palace (pictured) have been closed off, dozens of police - some of them armed - are on duty, private security guards stand outside, officers patrol surrounding parks and a police helicopter hovers above

Some members of the public did visit Windsor this morning, despite being urged by Buckingham Palace to stay away

Despite the absence of spectators, security was on high-alert, with police snipers placed on roof tops and armed officers patrolling the streets. Postboxes were sealed and rubbish bins were checked as part of the security ring

Experts say GCHQ could even be listening in to 'chatter' around the world online and on phones, looking out for any spikes in conversations about the funeral.

The Government's Rule Of Six puts police officers in a difficult position as they try to control the crowds and Royal fans have been told not to attend any part of the events that make up the funeral due to Covid restrictions.

They have also been asked not to lay flowers because it could encourage crowds and lead to a super-spread of the coronavirus.

Buckingham Palace instead invited well-wishers to sign a book of condolences - but only online, to avoid crowds and queues.

Despite this, local florists opened early this morning as they braced themselves for a hectic day.

Florist Bridge Banks Harvey, 36, who was one of the first well wishers to arrive at Buckingham Palace this morning, said: 'I'm opening up my shop early because I'm expecting a lot of customers. I came to the Palace to pay my respects before things get busy.'

Police officers troop through the town of Windsor and take up positions on the estate this morning ahead of Philip's funeral

In Windsor police patrols will also be stepped up to enforce Covid rules, which bans large gatherings

Armed police officers move through the media pack outside Windsor Castle on the morning of Prince Philip's funeral

Security, police and the media currently vastly outnumber the public in the Long Walk and in the streets around the castle as trains from Waterloo and Paddington roll empty into Windsor

From the Queen to Mike Tindall: Funeral guest list Here is the full list of guests who will attend the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral at Windsor Castle on Saturday: The Queen The Prince of Wales The Duchess of Cornwall The Duke of Cambridge The Duchess of Cambridge The Duke of Sussex The Duke of York Princess Beatrice Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi Princess Eugenie Jack Brooksbank The Earl of Wessex The Countess of Wessex Lady Louise Windsor Viscount Severn The Princess Royal Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence Peter Phillips Zara Phillips Mike Tindall Earl of Snowdon Lady Sarah Chatto Daniel Chatto Duke of Gloucester Duke of Kent Princess Alexandra Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Baden Prince Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse Prince Philipp of Hohenlohe-Langenburg The Countess Mountbatten of Burma Scroll down to the bottom of this article for a more detailed look at who has been confirmed as attending Advertisement

She revealed she last week sold out of flowers as thousands of mourners left floral tributes to Prince Philip.

Ms Banks Harvey, who works at Pulbridge and Gould Florist in Victoria said: 'People have been very moved by Philip's death and want to remember him.'

Officers will be patrolling Buckingham Palace and Westminster for the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral.

Police have asked the public not to gather by royal residences, to avoid meeting in large groups, to minimise travel and to make a donation to charity instead of laying floral tributes.

Sam Welsh, 68 who laid a bunch of yellow roses said: 'Philip was alright, he did a good job and made me laugh. I just wanted to honour his memory and pay respect to his life.

'He was a good bloke and I'm sure we'll all miss him but not as much as the Queen Mother, who I really loved.

'With Philip gone it's going to be tough for the Queen. I hope she copes OK because she's got a difficult job.'

A member of staff at Windsor's train station told MailOnline the usual crowds have not turned out for the funeral today.

They added: 'Whenever there is a Royal occasion here, you get people sleeping overnight and certainly by 9am every train is packed. Today there hasn't been a single person who has passed through here to stand outside the castle.'

Those who did travel to Windsor Castle to lay tributes today were asked to remove any wrapping from flowers and warned they would be removed at the end of the day.

The first floral tribute, at Buckingham Palace was laid by Claudia, 10 who was accompanied by her mother Chesma, 40.

Chesma revealed that she and her daughter set off from their East London home shortly after 6am and had laid yellow tulips.

She said: 'We only moved to the UK from India 10 years ago but in that time we've come to love the Royal family. They represent this nation and we wanted to pay our respects to Prince Philip.'

Claudia said: 'I really wanted to come here because I feel sorry for the Queen. She's going to miss Prince Philip a lot as we all will.'

The mother and daughter revealed that they had decided to arrive early so that they could avoid any crowds and return home to watch the funeral on TV.

A man carrying flowers walks next to Windsor Castle, where at 3pm Prince Philip will be laid to rest

In Windsor police patrols will also be stepped up to enforce Covid rules, which bans large gatherings

Wardens stand outside Windsor Castle on the day of the funeral of Britain's Prince Philip

An armed police officer stands guard at the entrance to Windsor Castle

Thames Valley Police said it has put a range of visible and covert security measures in place for Saturday

Armed Police Officers pictured on patrol outside Windsor Castle today

Chris Davies, 39 left his home in St Neots, Cambridgeshire with his son Christopher, 12 at 7am to pay his respects.

Chris, who was in the Royal Navy for 12 years, said: 'I wanted to pay my respects to a fellow naval man. I love the Royal family and had a lot of respect for Prince Philip. We came down on the train early so that we can get home to watch the funeral on TV.'

Christopher said: 'My dad's told me a lot of stories about the navy and has brought me up to respect the Royal family. I wanted to come to pay my respects.'

Chris revealed that he was one of the Queen's guards for her Jubilee celebrations in 2000.

He added: 'I'll always remember Prince Philip for his gaffes and sense of humour. He was quite a character, had a tendency to put his foot in it and will be missed.'

Eight-year-old Jack Slater was one of the few to lay flowers this morning at Windsor Castle.

Accompanied by his parents Emma and Stuart, he said he got up early this morning from his home in nearby Slough to lay down the flowers.

He said: 'I wanted to pay respects to Philip. Because he's died. '

Mrs Slater said: 'We wanted to come here early, put some flowers down, and leave because of all the covid problems. We also wanted to respect what the Royal Family asked for, that people stay away. We will watch it at home on television.'

This is the funeral procession for tomorrow's funeral, where William and Harry will not stand next to eachother with the Queen following behind in her car

Publican Robert Gillespie, 62, who runs the Two Brewers Pub next to the castle, has decorated his establishment in red white and blue flowers to mark the Prince's death.

He said: 'I used to see him when he would drive his horse and carriage down here from the Royal Mees towards the Long Walk and he would always give me a wave.

'I'll be closing the pub tomorrow or the day of his funeral also to pay respects to him.'

Only a small number of guests will attend the service later today, with even the Prime Minister stepping aside to make way for an additional family member under the tight rules on numbers.

Funerals of senior royals are years in the planning, with each operation named after a different bridge. The Queen is thought to be London Bridge and the duke is Forth Bridge.

Last night the Palace shared a touching unseen picture of the Queen with her husband, who died peacefully at the castle on Friday last week at 99

The overwhelming majority of people will watch the funeral from their homes, with the BBC, ITV and Sky all broadcasting live

Flowers and condolences from around the Windsor Estate have been moved inside the Castle precinct

Those who did travel to Windsor Castle to lay tributes today were asked to remove any wrapping from flowers and warned they would be removed at the end of the day

Children leave a floral tribute to Prince Philip, Duke Of Edinburgh, ahead of his funeral

Insignia belonging to the Duke of Edinburgh, the British Empire Collar and Grand Masters Badge, and the British Empire Breast Star and Badge, placed on the altar in St George's Chapel

The Order of Merit, the Royal Victorian Chain, and Full Size Medal Group

A golden glow fell over the grounds of Windsor Castle this morning as dawn broke on the day HRH Prince Philip will be laid to rest

The security operation is focusing on preventing risks and 'embarrassment', particularly controlling unauthorised access to the castle.

But police and security services will be alert to any incidents that could prevent a threat - from accidents, public disorder and crime to terrorist attacks.

The potential for knife attacks, shootings and the ability to plant bombs have all been considered.

But officers may be particularly 'alive' to threats drones could pose in disrupting or attacking the ceremony and can draw on technology to try to scupper their flight path or even call in the military.

Richard Aitch, director of operations for firm Mobius International, which offers security services for governments and private companies, said there could be a focus on covert tactics to avoid overshadowing the sombre mood of the day.

He believes that even in a pandemic, the security operation for an event like this would be 'huge', with the cost running 'into the millions'.
Easton officials this week agreed to sell nearly 3 acres to Bethlehem-based Peron Development for The Confluence mixed-use project a 185 S. Third St.

The developer started initial site exploration work last month. Wednesdays vote by city council to approve the $3.5 million agreement of sale opens a 90-day due diligence period once the sale ordinance takes effect over the next month.

Peron proposes The Confluence, in view of where the Lehigh and Delaware rivers meet, as a six-story project at South Third Street and Larry Holmes Drive.

The proposal comprises 216 apartments, 50 condominiums, 23,000 square feet of retail proposed to be anchored by a grocery store along South Third, 14,000 square feet of amenities and 213 parking spaces in an underground garage. One of the sites buildings is proposed to be connected to Eastons South Third Street garage for additional parking.

Plans include an amphitheater/seating area along Larry Holmes Drive that leads to a public courtyard that could host concerts, surrounded by the new homes, with access to twin 100-seat cinemas.

Residents amenities include lobbies for the apartments and condos, a second-floor pool and outdoor terraces for residents.

The facades planned along North Fourth Street draw inspiration from architecture and windows seen elsewhere in Easton.

Apartments proposed along South Fourth Street as part of The Confluence from Peron Development feature facades and windows patterned after existing neighborhood features in Easton.Courtesy image | For lehighvalleylive.com

The development is estimated at $70 million atop land the city bought for $5.9 million, and where it had a Days Inn demolished in March 2018 to make way for the proposed Da Vinci Science City. That plan was scrapped in May 2019, and the city then formed a committee that reviewed developer proposals and in February 2020 recommended Perons plan to city council. Da Vinci is now moving forward in Allentown.

Peron is also building 68 apartments in The Seville on North Third Street, atop a former Easton municipal parking lot sold to the developer for $1.3 million, with a completion date expected next February. The company led by attorney Michael Perrucci also has numerous high-profile projects underway or proposed in Bethlehem, including redevelopment of the former Bethlehem Steel Corp.s Steel General Office building annex on East Third Street.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
CARROLLTON  Health officials worry the closing of two of the largest grocery stores in Greene County could have a detrimental impact on the community  particularly those without the resources to travel to larger cities to shop.

Greene County Health administrator Molly Peters said a decision this week by the Cincinnati-based retailer Kroger to close its under-performing stores in Carrollton and White Hall was devastating.

Because access to nutritional food  especially fresh fruit and vegetables  is a community concern, Peters said, the health department is hoping to help find a solution.

We are vastly searching and want to assist anyone that will invest in sustainable resources for grocery. This is a huge need in a rural population and we need to be actively pursuing resources, she said.

Many living in more rural parts of the county walk or bike to get around, and the closing could leave them without close resources for food. The closest grocery stores will be 20-plus miles away in Greenfield, Jerseyville and Jacksonville, when the Kroger stores close within the coming 30 days.

There are gas stations nearby, but food there doesnt provide a lot of nutrition, Peters said, and they dont really carry healthy food options.

She worries the situation that will be created could be similar to what happened when the pandemic first started. There was an increased need for such staples as food and paper supplies, and it was more pronounced in rural communities without it.

Its definitely concerning on many levels, Peters said. This community needs access to food.

There is a grocery store in Greenfield, but for those who lack of transportation, grocery shopping is much more complicated, she said.

Access to food resources is more than just driving to someplace like Walmart, Peters said. Almost 14% of the Greene County population is at poverty level, which is higher than the state average of 11.5%.

Pantries in Greene County often would receive food resources from the Kroger stores, so that could create an even deeper impact on food availability.

The health department has been in contact with corporate managers at Kroger to try to prevent the closings or at least have more time to prepare for a shutdown. Peters said community members should make their voices known, as well. The agency also has made legislators aware of the situation.

This is definitely a major concern to maintain food resources for our community in need, she said. The impact and expansion of resource gaps will propel in Greene County if we dont take action now.

Kroger cited years of failure to make a profit and the unlikely chance to change the financial situation for closing the stores.
(Natural News) Scientists discovered that giant tortoises can remember skills that they learned a decade ago, exceeding their reputation as animals lacking in speed and cognitive ability. In their report, a research team from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology studied Galapagos and Seychelles tortoises at zoos in Vienna and Zurich for nine years.

For their experiment, they trained the tortoises to bite a colored ball at the end of a stick. Next, they moved one to two meters away from the tortoises to train them to move towards the colored ball and bite it. Lastly, they presented two balls with different colors on the end of two sticks and trained the tortoises to choose the correct colored ball that was used in the first two activities.

During the study, the team used positive reinforcement training as a form of conditioning. They did this by giving food to the tortoises every time they accomplish their task.

Three months after the training, the scientists tested if the tortoises remembered the three activities, and the animals successfully performed the first two tasks. Even though they were unable to recall the third task, five out of the six tortoises bit the correct ball quicker than they did during the first training. However, when the team revisited the tortoises at the Vienna Zoo nine years later, they found that at least three tortoises were able to recall the first two tasks.

Until recently, reptiles were often regarded as reflex machines, incapable of more complex behaviors, reduced to a footnote in the evolution of learning and intelligence, the researchers wrote.

This discovery proved that tortoises might be sluggish, but they have great memory. In addition, the researchers noticed that aside from remembering the two tasks, the tortoises also recognized their keepers.

We also observed firsthand that tortoises recognized their keepers, so we knew they were capable of learning. This research shows the rest of the world just how smart they are, said Tamar Gutnick, one of the members of the research team.

Moreover, the team found out that tortoises learned faster when trained in a group. This was unexpected finding, as tortoises are solitary roamers. Even mother tortoises typically dont care for their young after their eggs hatch. (Related: Back from the dead: Giant tortoise species deemed extinct for 100 years recently found alive in the Galapagos.)

This was a very unexpected result. Giant land tortoises are not known for being particularly social animals but the increase in learning speed was unmistakable, Gutnick added.

A history of being smart

In the 19th century, the naturalist Charles Darwin visited the Galapagos islands in Ecudador and documented his experiences eating tortoise meat.

Young tortoises make capital soup  otherwise the meat is but, to my taste, indifferent food, he wrote.

He also observed that tortoises showed signs of intelligence while in their natural habitat. Darwin noticed that Galapagos tortoises were able to travel from their sleeping areas to feeding grounds to water resources, which cover a considerable distance.

In a recent lecture, researcher Anna Wilkinson from the U.K. demonstrated how a red-footed tortoise named Moses can outsmart mice in a maze. This happened during a lecture showing how mice can remember their paths in a race. While watching the mice, she requested her lecturer to allow her pet tortoise to be placed in the maze to see how it would react.

When Wilkinson put her pet tortoise in an eight-armed radial maze similar to those used by rats and mice, the tortoise quickly found a way around the maze and was able to retrieve food from the arms of the maze. The tortoise even moved around the maze without going back to the arms where he had already eaten the food, unlike the mice.

Visit Ecology.news for more stories about giant tortoises.

Sources include:

EurekAlert.org

MentalFloss.com

DailyMail.co.uk

NewScientist.com
Organic rosehip drink and dried fruit snacks startup NADI is honored to be chosen as a finalist for a NEXTY Award at the Natural Products Expo West show, which will be held virtual this year.

The NEXTY Awards recognize the most progressive and innovative products in the natural food and beverage industry, and help elevate impactful brands and products that inspire a healthy, sustainable future for people and the planet.

NADI Organic Wild Rosehip Juice was selected as a finalist in the Best New Organic Beverage category from a crowded field of more than 800 products that were nominated this year. The judges chose the finalists based on three criteria: innovation, inspiration and integrity.

We are honored that the NEXTY Award judges recognized NADI as a healthy new beverage that is making a positive impact for people and the environment, said Nina Tickaradze, Founder & CEO of NADI.

The New Hope Network team, which is owned by London-based multinational publishing firm Informa PLC, will announce the winners in each category at a virtual event on May 27 during the Expo West Virtual Week show.

NADI is certified as a woman-owned business by WBENC, the largest third-party certification program for companies owned and operated by women. The startup is also a socially responsible venture with a mission to create jobs and economic opportunities for displaced refugees who harvest fruit and create its all-natural healthy drinks and snacks.

NADI has also won other prestigious awards including a grant from the Stacys Rise Project, which empowers women entrepreneurs with funding, mentoring and professional networking; a Best Bite Award from Delicious Living magazine in the Functional Beverage category; and

NADI rosehip drinks and Happy Hearts dried apple chips are available at http://www.getnadi.com, Amazon.com, and at hundreds of retailers including The Fresh Market stores and natural food stores and neighborhood markets across the Southeast.

Contact for NADI:

nina@getnadi.com

ABOUT NADI

NADI, LLC was founded with a mission to create jobs for displaced refugees who have been displaced by geopolitical conflicts while also introducing ancient Georgian health traditions to the rest of the world. Inspired by an old family recipe, NADI organic rosehip drinks are rich in Vitamin C, antioxidants, polyphenols and dozens of other healthy nutrients and compounds. NADI Happy Hearts apple chips are ultra crunchy and made with sophisticated drying techniques inspired by the Georgian tradition of chiri dried fruit snacks. The name NADI means collective work effort in the Georgian language to honor of the hard work of family, friends and employees who make our products possible.
The Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 330, popularly called the Harpoons, celebrated its golden jubilee on Saturday.

The squadron was commissioned on April 17, 1971 and received baptism by fire when the India-Pakistan war broke out in December 1971.

The squadron was initially equipped with Seaking Mk 42 ASW helicopters, acquired from British Westland Helicopters Ltd and is presently operating the Mk 42 B variant.

Named as the Flying Frigate, the helicopter is among the most potent weapon platforms in the naval inventory capable of launching anti-ship missiles, anti-submarine torpedoes and depth charges.

On July 26, 1971, Seaking landed on INS Vikrant for the first time and from that day on, the indomitable team of Harpoons and the aircraft carrier Vikrant saw a series of firsts.

The first operational ASW mission was flown on October 18, 1971. On November 30, 1971, the first vectored attack was carried out on a suspected submarine contact.

The squadron shifted to NAS Kunjali, (now INS Shikra, Mumbai) from INS Garuda, Kochi in Oct 1995 and has been based there ever since.

The Squadron has won the coveted Best Frontline Squadron and Best Naval Air Squadron award on numerous occasions and continues to remain the eyes and ears of the fleet. The squadron has proved to be a force multiplier due to the Seaking's all weather, day and night capability. The unbridled commitment of the squadron is captured in its motto  Any sea, Any mission, Any deck.
London, April 17 : Harry Kane twice punished hapless Everton defence as Tottenham salvaged a 2-2 draw at Goodison Park on Friday, though it does little good for their dwindling top-four hopes.

Jose Mourinho's side were looking to bounce back from a deflating 3-1 defeat to Manchester United, yet they were underwhelming once again and arguably fortunate to leave Merseyside with a point.

Kane punished a Michael Keane error to reach 20 Premier League goals in a season for the fifth time, a record bettered by only Alan Shearer (seven) and Sergio Aguero (six), though their lead did not last long as Gylfi Sigurdsson equalised from the spot for an Everton side being orchestrated by the excellent James Rodriguez, DPA reported.

Sigurdsson doubled his tally in the second half as Everton threatened to move above Spurs in the table, but another defensive mix-up involving Keane was punished by Kane as he spared the visitors from a defeat that would have left them six points behind fourth-placed West Ham.

The match's spell of monotony was broken in the 22nd minute as James parted Toby Alderweireld and Joe Rodon with a disguised pass, only for Hugo Lloris to save Richarlison's subsequent strike.

Kane was more clinical a few moments later, however, lashing past Jordan Pickford after Tanguy Ndombele's cross had been flicked out of Mason Holgate's reach by Keane.

But Everton quickly levelled, Sigurdsson coolly converting a penalty after Sergio Reguilon was adjudged to have fouled James, who then forced Lloris into a vital stop following a clever interchange with the Iceland international in the 38th minute.

Son Heung-min should have done better early in the second half as he hit a tame effort into the side-netting after gliding past Keane.

Everton made Spurs pay just past the hour, too. Seamus Coleman, introduced for the anonymous Alex Iwobi less than a minute earlier, played a one-two with Richarlison on the right and whipped in a teasing cross that Sigurdsson met with an emphatic volley to beat Lloris.

But in an incident not too dissimilar to the one that gifted Spurs the lead, Keane headed a cross on to Holgate and Kane was on hand to hammer home before hobbling off late on, a concern for his club and also England manager Gareth Southgate, who was in attendance.
Cebu Pacific (CEB), the Philippines' largest national flag carrier, has reaffirmed its full commitment to speed up its digital transformation, in line with its staunch resolve to make travel more convenient and accessible amidst the Covdi-19 pandemic.

CEB has taken great strides in continuously improving overall customer experience by enhancing its online booking, check-in, manage booking, as well as CEBs virtual assistant named Charlie the chatbot.

The carrier has begun ramping-up its customer-first initiatives through digital innovation in 2017making CEB one of the first airlines in Asia to invest in an integrated facility and technology for social intelligence and customer engagement.

We are glad to have started our digital transformation journey even before the pandemic, because we have come to rely on it in this new normal environment. We continue to prioritise the safety and convenience of our passengers, that is why we have accelerated our digital efforts to support contactless and self-service processes, said Candice Iyog, CEB Vice President for Marketing and Customer Experience.

This has spurred CEB ahead of everyone else in the Philippine aviation sector in terms of keeping pace with necessary changes when the Covid-19 pandemic struck. The vital digital transformations and systems it had adopted early onincluding bolstering its social media channels manned by the CEB Customer Care Agentshelped in addressing passengers needs amidst the pandemic.

In the first quarter of 2021, a total of 87 per cent of CEB passengers had maximised its website to book flights directly in the platform. Along with this, 67 per cent of passengers conveniently managed their bookings online, specifically during flight disruptions.

CEBs very own Charlie the chatbot was introduced in 2018, in order to enable passengers to receive real-time answers to common queries and transactions such as flight schedule and status, check-in process, itinerary and boarding pass retrieval, and the like; or lead them to the right steps to address their concerns. Charlies range of capabilities has since been improved and is now able to respond to more queries, without the need to talk to an agent.

Iyog said: Rest assured Charlie, along with our Customer Care team, are online 24/7 to assist everyone. We continue to enhance existing processes as we remain committed to empowering customers and ensuring access to the information they need anytime, anywhere, without having to call the hotline or go to a ticketing office.

Last year, the carrier further upgraded its self-service options, allowing everyone to not only choose their preferred flexibility options easily, but also to correct and update information as needed, manage group bookings online, and receive notifications via email or SMS, amongst others. The carrier also recently waived change fees permanently, enabling passengers to rebook as many times as they need. - TradeArabia News Service
The level of military threat from Russia remains high. Additional forces have arrived, bringing the total size of Russian troops near Ukraines border up to 103,200 people.

"The level of the military threat near Ukraines borders has increased, but the critical line has not been crossed yet. We do not observe the formation of offensive groups at the moment," Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Serhiy Nayev said on the air of TV program "Freedom of Speech by Savik Shuster" on April 16.

According to him, the Armed Forces are ready for any actions of the enemy, including a worst-case scenario.

Nayev confirmed that Russia was currently building up forces around Ukraine. From 2015-16 to March, there were 28 battalion tactical groups around Ukraine, which together with the Russian Armed Forces in the occupied Crimea and in the East totaled 88,900 people. At present, additional battalion tactical groups arrived, and there are already 47 groups. The total personnel size reached 103,200 people.

"We expect the arrival of about 9-10 battalion tactical groups more and the total size will reach 110,000 Russian troops... In this situation, we are taking measures to curb the growth of military escalation around the state border of Ukraine. Together with the National Security and Defense Council, we develop a single plan to stabilize the situation," he said.

As reported, Russia has lately been building up troops near Ukraines 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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Join Axios' Mike Allen and Hope King on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. ET for a Hard Truths event on systemic racism in health care, featuring White House senior adviser Andy Slavitt, White House senior policy adviser Cameron Webb and California Surgeon General Nadine Burke Harris.

Register here.
Japan's Prime Minister said that he is ready to meet with North Korean leader without preconditions to establish a fruitful relationship between the two countries and seek a solution to the issue of abductees.

"I am prepared myself to meet Chairman without preconditions towards the resolution of the abductions issue and towards establishment of the fruitful relationship with North Korea. I am determined to act by standing at the forefront myself," Suga said in a speech at the Center for Strategic and Studies in Washington.

insists that North Korea abducted 17 of its citizens in the 1970s and 1980s to teach Japanese language and behavior at spy schools. In 2002, North Korea admitted its agents had abducted 13 Japanese citizens and denied involvement in any other disappearances.

(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.)
India should be placed on the governments red list of hotel quarantine countries due to the terribly concerning variant of coronavirus first discovered in the South Asian country, an expert has warned.

Professor Danny Altmann, a professor of immunology at Imperial College, said on Friday that he was worried that the variant could scupper Boris Johnsons roadmap out of lockdown.

Public Health England (PHE) has reported that 73 cases of the B.1.617 variant, first detected in India, have been found in England, as well as four cases in Scotland.

It is currently designated as a variant under investigation (VUI) rather than a variant of concern (VOC), such as the Manaus (Brazil) or South Africa Covid-19 variants.

Professor Altmann said he thought it was likely that the Indian variant would be escalated to a VOC as it has properties that make it more evasive to current vaccines and more transmissible.

I think we should be terribly concerned about it, he told BBC Radio 4s PM.

They [VOC] are things that can most scupper our escape plan at the moment and give us a third wave. They are a worry.

He added that he found it mystifying that India was not already on the UKs red list for travel.

People who have been in countries on the red list in the 10 days before attempting to enter the UK are refused entry, unless they are a British or Irish national, or have UK residency rights.

British or Irish nationals, or those with UK residency rights, can return from such countries but must isolate in a quarantine hotel for 10 days.

When asked why India had not been put on the red list despite its soaring number of cases, Downing Street said the situation was under constant review.

No 10 also insisted that the prime ministers planned trip to India later this month would still go ahead, despite concerns about the variant.

We have said that the programme will be slightly shorter than it will have been, and you can expect the main body of his programme to take place on Monday 26 April, a Downing Street spokesperson told reporters.

As you would expect, safety is obviously important and is a priority for us on this trip, which is why we will make sure that all elements of the visit are Covid-secure.

Meanwhile, Labour has said that the blame for the Indian variant making its way to the UK rests squarely with the UK government.

Ministers have been warned time and again that failing to introduce a comprehensive hotel quarantine policy would leave us exposed to variants of Covid, Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow home secretary, said.

According to PHE, the variant includes a number of mutations including E484Q, L452R, and P681R.

The 484 spike protein has been associated with the Manaus and South African variants, with the E484K mutation reported to result in weaker neutralisation by antibodies in lab experiments, but the specific E484Q mutation is different and still subject to investigation.

Lab studies suggest the L452R mutation may reduce antibodies binding to the virus, particularly seen in combination with other mutations, PHE added.

Additional reporting by PA
The man who opened fire at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis late Thursday, fatally shooting eight people and injuring at least seven others, was a former employee at the facility, a spokesman for FedEx said.

Mass shootings in American workplaces are not a new phenomenon, said James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University. In one of the most notorious examples, a mail carrier in trouble with his supervisors opened fire in a crowded post office in Oklahoma, killing 14 workers and injuring seven others before killing himself. The violent attack in 1986 spawned the phrase going postal.

Mass shooters have a grievance, a grudge, and theyre looking for payback, Dr. Fox said. Oftentimes that grudge has to do with employment.

Brandon Scott Hole, whom law enforcement authorities have identified as the Indianapolis gunman, last worked at the FedEx facility in 2020, according to Deputy Chief Craig McCartt of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. The chief said he believed that Mr. Hole had worked there until the fall, but he did not know why his employment ended.
The mother of Breonna Taylor, whose daughter was accidentally shot dead by police in her own Kentucky apartment last year, has branded the Black Lives Matter movement a fraud.

'I have never personally dealt with BLM Louisville and personally have found them to be fraud, Attica Scott another fraud,' Tamika Palmer wrote in a Facebook post earlier this week.

Her criticism comes amid a backlash against the national co-founder of BLM after it was revealed she owns a multi million property empire.

Meanwhile, Palmer also lashed out at state Democrat Rep. Attica Scott, who has continued to push for legislation to ban 'no-knock' warrants in Kentucky.

Breonna Taylor' (left) mother Tamika Palmer (right) called out Black Lives Matter Louisville and Kentucky Rep. Attica Scott, using the word 'fraud' to describe both in a Facebook post

Tamika Palmer gave credit to family, friends and local community activists for supporting her family in the year since her daughter's death

'I have never personally dealt with BLM Louisville and personally have found them to be fraud, Attica Scott another fraud,' Palmer wrote.

She also criticized people who raised money on behalf of her daughter's family without actually knowing either her or Taylor.

'I could walk in a room full of people who claim to be here for Breonna's family who don't even know who I am, I've watched y'all raise money on behalf of Breonna's family who has never done a damn thing for us nor have we needed it or asked so talk about fraud,' Palmer said.

'It's amazing how many people have lost focus ... I'm a say this before I go, I'm so sick of some of y'all and I was last anybody who needs it,' she added.

The three officers in the case - from left, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Detectives Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove - have not been charged in the shooting despite protests

Mattingly, 48, was shot in the leg by Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who said he fired a single shot after fearing an intruder was breaking into the apartment

Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician, was shot eight times by police as they served a no-knock warrant at her Louisville apartment on March 13, 2020, in the middle of the night. Her boyfriend Kenneth Walker (seen left) shot an officer in the leg believing they were being robbed

The officers involved in Taylor's death, Detective Joshua Jaynes and Myles Cosgrove have not been charged in her death. Both were fired from the Louisville Police Department.

On the night of the incident, Louisville police officers executing a search warrant used a battering ram to enter the apartment where Taylor was inside with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker.

Police were investigating two men they believed were selling drugs out of a house not far from Taylor's home. A judge signed a warrant allowing a search because police said they believed one of the men had used the apartment to receive packages.

Walker later told the police he feared the loud banging at the door was Taylor's ex-boyfriend trying to break in. After the police knocked the door off its hinges, Walker fired his gun once, striking Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly in the thigh. The police responded by firing several shots, striking Taylor five times.

Taylor received no medical attention for more than 20 minutes after she was struck, The Courier-Journal of Louisville reported, citing dispatch logs.

Last month, Palmer struck a more gracious tone over Black Lives Matter.

Last summer, amid national racial injustice protests triggered by the police killing of George Floyd on Memorial Day, Taylor's name also became a rallying cry for those marching, demanding 'Justice for Breonna'. A protest is pictures in September 2020

People gather in front of Louisville City Hall during a protest against the deaths of Breonna Taylor by Louisville police and George Floyd by Minneapolis police, in Louisville May 29, 2020

Palmer also directed criticism at Black Lives Matter Louisville and state Rep. Attica Scott, a Democrat who has pushed for legislation to ban 'no-knock' warrants

Speaking to NBC, Palmer said she was 'eternally grateful' for the Black Lives Matter protesters who had kept Taylor's memory alive and demanded justice in her name.

'There's so many people who never even met her,' Palmer tearfully began, 'but they learned of her and they came to stand for her because what happened to her wasn't right  I can never say thank you enough.'

But Palmer's recent criticism of Black Lives Matter comes days after the group's co-founder Patrisse Cullors faced criticism over her $3 million empire of four homes.

Cullors responded by saying it was 'categorically untrue' and 'incredibly dangerous' to suggest she may have used any of the organization's funds to buy her homes.

The 37-year-old, who set up BLM with Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi back in 2013, broke down in tears as she revealed she has 'spent the last week with security' after her homes were first pictured in the media.

She also tried to deflect criticism from some on the left who have questioned whether her ownership of four homes contradicts her ideology as a 'trained Marxist' as she said she has invested in the properties to provide for her family and sees her wealth 'as my family's money, as well.'

Her explanation comes after it emerged she has accrued four homes worth a combined total of around $3 million in recent years, sparking questions about her source of income.

Black Lives Matter raked in around $90 million in donations last year but does not release a full accounting of its spending. The organization said Cullors has been paid $120,000 since 2013 but has not received any payment since 2019.

Meanwhile, much of the discussion of her homes has been banned on Twitter and Facebook.

Twitter on Monday locked out a black sportswriter who questioned why Cullors was stacking up properties including one in a mostly white neighborhood. Facebook this week also blocked users from sharing a DailyMail.com story that reported on the purchase of the homes.

Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors has responded to criticism over her property empire saying it is 'categorically untrue' and 'incredibly dangerous' to suggest she may have used any organization funds for her homes

She has also bought three other homes including this one in Georgia - altogether totaling around $3 million

It emerged last week that Cullors had bought this $1.4 million home in a white area of LA

Cullors told Lamont Hill people need to 'see through the right-wing lies' being pushed and doubled down that she is not paid by the BLM Global Network Foundation.

'I have never taken a salary from the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation and that's important because what the right-wing media is trying to say is the donations that people have made to Black Lives Matter went toward my spending and that is categorically untrue and incredibly dangerous,' she said.

The 37-year-old told the presenter it was 'correct' that she had bought her homes with income not earned directly from BLM.

'That's correct. I'm a college professor first of all, I'm a TV producer and I have had two book deals.... and also have had a YouTube deal,' she said.

'So all of my income comes directly from the work that I do.'

Cullors went on to say that while she had never 'never taken a salary from the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation', she believes organizers should be paid a living wage for their work.

'Organizers should get paid for the work that they do. They should get paid a living wage,' she said.

Cullors set up BLM with Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi back in 2013. She said she has 'spent the last week with security' after her homes were first pictured in the media

Cullors branded the focus on her homes and finances as 'racist and sexist' and said it was common in the black community for people to invest in properties to provide for their family members.

'And the fact that the right-wing media is trying to create hysteria around my spending is, frankly, racist and sexist and I also want to say that many of us that end up investing in homes in the black community often invest in homes to take care of their family,' she said.

'You can talk to so many black people and black women particularly that take care of their families, take care of their loved ones especially when they're in a position to.'

The homes she has bought 'directly support the people that I love and care about', she said, adding that she is not 'renting them out in some Airbnb operation.'

When asked about this critique of a 'potential contradiction' between her 'expressed politics' and 'lived practice', Cullors said there was no contradiction as she is supporting her family and the black community.

'I think that is critique that is wanting,' she said.

'The way that I live my life is a direct support to black people, including my black family members, first and foremost.

Black Lives Matter posted a statement about the 'false and dangerous story' on Tuesday saying Cullors had not been paid by BLM since 2019

'For so many black folks who are able to invest in themselves and their communities they choose to invest in their family and that is what I have chosen to do.

'I have a child, I have a brother who has a severe mental illness that I take care of, I support my mother, I support many other family members of mine and so I see my money as not my own. I see it as my family's money, as well.'

Cullors said the scrutiny on her homes and finances was an attempt to discredit both her and the work of BLM.

'The whole point of these articles and these attacks against me are to discredit me, but also to discredit the movement,' she said.

'We have to stay focused on white supremacy,' she added as she urged people to 'see through the right-wing lies.'

On Thursday, Facebook also stopped users from sharing articles by DailyMail.com and the New York Post about Cullors' homes.

Users that wanted to share links to the DailyMail.com were met with a message that said it 'couldn't be shared.'

'This content was removed for violating our privacy and personal information policy,' a Facebook spokesperson told DailyMail.com.

BLM was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman, who shot and killed 17-year-old black man Trayvon Martin.

Cullors' co-founders have left, and last summer Cullors assumed leadership of the Black Lives Matter Global Network - the national group that oversees the local chapters of the loosely-arranged movement.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 17:36:43|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, on April 16, 2021 shows a screen displaying U.S. President Joe Biden delivering a speech at the White House in Washington, D.C. during a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in a live stream provided by FOX. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

WASHINGTON, April 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden and visiting Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Friday voiced commitment to further strengthening the two countries' alliance to address regional and global challenges.

In a joint press conference following their meeting, Biden said both sides affirmed support for the U.S.-Japan alliance, and the two allies discussed cooperation in tackling the pandemic, emerging technology, climate change, and people-to-people exchanges.

Biden also said the two sides would work together to address the so-called challenges from China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Suga said he and Biden discussed "China's influence over the peace and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region and the world at large," while noting that the two countries agreed on the necessity of engaging in "frank dialogue with China."

According to a joint statement issued by the White House, the two allies also reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and "acknowledged the need to work with China on areas of common interest."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Friday that Japan and the United States should take China's concerns and demands seriously, avoid moves that interfere in China's internal affairs and undermine China's interests, and refrain from forming a clique targeting China. Enditem
I found out I was pregnant the day before I had my exam on the laws of kosher. I was ecstatic. I loved the symmetry of going through the trials of motherhood together with my rabbinic exams. Each set challenged me and pushed me into the role of mother and Torah learner. The previous summer I had completed another rabbinic exam the day before giving birth to my first child  a daughter.

With that pregnancy I had felt that the baby and I were a team. The baby diligently remained tucked up inside so I could finish studying and complete the exam. The next morning I woke up to my waters breaking and our new tiny family member was born just a few moments before Shabbat. We welcomed her together with the Shabbat bride, a prayer sung at dusk to usher in the coming day of rest, and her first Friday night blessings as new parents.

Rabbanit Ellyse Borghi is a Jewish Orthodox rabbi living in Melbourne.

This pregnancy was confirmed just before Passover and by the second night I was taking immense pleasure in counting the days and weeks of my pregnancy and the days and weeks of Sefirat HaOmer, the counting of the Omer. Sefirat HaOmer is a mitzvah of counting the 49 days between Passover and the revelation of the Torah at Mount Sinai  celebrated in the upcoming festival of Shavuot. I loved counting this time of harvest. I felt like the ground under my feet was supporting me and that we together were full of fertility and creation.

On Thursday night on the 27th day of the Omer that changed. I went into the clinic, leaving my husband at home with our toddler. I knew something was wrong and I could barely speak without crying. It was so jarring to be surrounded by these enormous bellies and joyfully exhausted women while I was so terrified.
As the country reports another record number of deaths, the prime minister speaks about the pilgrimage to the Ganges. Hindu groups call for a halt, following the death of one of their leaders who died from COVID-19 after taking part in it. The Uttarakhand government wants to still go forward, but shuts down swimming pools as an anti-virus measure.

New Delhi (AsiaNews)  After images of huge crowds along the Ganges (Ganga) River despite COVID-19 toured the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke his silence this morning to demand that the Kumbh Mela be purely a symbolic event.

In a tweet, the Indian leader writes that he talked on the phone with Swami Avadeshanand Giri, the leader of one of the 13 Hindu brotherhoods that planned the great pilgrimage, urging organisers to keep the Kumbh a symbolic event due to the coronavirus pandemic, now that two Shahi Snaan are completed, that is two of the three dates around which a significant majority of pilgrims participate with the last one scheduled for 27 April.

Modis statement comes on the day the country set a new record for cases and deaths due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is progressing at a unprecedented rate. In the last 24 hours alone, 234,692 new cases were reported with 1,341 deaths.

All this is happening despite the fact that the vaccinations rollout is taking place at a sustained speed with 117 million people vaccinated so far.

However, in a country of 1.3 billion people, the virus continues to spread like wildfire, and hospitals in many cities are in serious trouble due to lack of intensive care beds and oxygen tanks.

Given this situation, more and more people are calling for an to end to the Kumbh Mela, which in principle should last until 30 April.

This comes as more and more pilgrims are contracting the virus in Haridwar, the city in Uttarakhand where the festival is taking place.

Swami Avadeshanand Giri, the religious who spoke with Modi, tested positive for COVID-19, while Kapil Dev, the leader of another important Hindu group involved in the pilgrimage, died from COVID-19 in a local hospital.

About 2,800 people have tested positive in six days; but this is just the tip of the iceberg since only a fraction of the Hindu pilgrims gathering along the Ganges for the ritual bathing have been tested.

Until yesterday, the Uttarakhand government, which is run by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), ruled out cancelling the Kumbh Mela even though the surge in COVID-19 cases forced local authorities to impose more restrictive measures to contain the outbreak.

The paradox is that, since yesterday, swimming pools are off-limits while ritual bathing in the Ganges with thousands of people is not.

With his tweet Modi tried to bridge the gap between two positions: the Kumbh Mela will go ahead, but the reference to it as a symbolic event suggests that no more new pilgrims should be allowed to come from the rest of India.

The statement is deliberately ambiguous, so as not to displease the more extremist groups that are an important part of the BJP electorate.
FBI Director Christopher Wray speaks during a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing about worldwide threats, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, U.S. (Photo : Graeme Jennings/Pool via REUTERS)

Racially motivated American extremists have engaged with like-minded activists overseas and traveled abroad to meet with them, the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation told a Congressional hearing on Thursday.



FBI director Christopher Wray told a House of Representatives Intelligence Committee hearing that his agency considered racially motivated militants in the United States to be the domestic extremists with the most extensive international ties and that they had established social media connectivity across borders.



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Wray said some U.S. extremists had traveled to Europe to meet and possibly train with activists. But he also noted that a lot of violent extremist threats "do not fit into nice ideological buckets."



Wray's comments about U.S. extremists traveling to Europe track the findings in a non-public version of a report on domestic extremists recently published by U.S spy agencies.



Reuters reported that the non-public report said Americans had traveled to Ukraine to fight with pro-Russian forces against the country's elected government.



Wray did not specify who the racially-motivated extremists he mentioned were but the report said U.S. white supremacists are the "actors with the most persistent and concerning transnational connections."



Wray told legislators that the FBI was engaged in an "ongoing effort" to look out for new threats to the U.S. Capitol -- which was attacked by supporters of President Donald Trump on Jan. 6 -- and state capitols. He said the agency was receiving "an avalanche of tips that come in."



Intelligence officials also told the committee they viewed current Russian military movements near Ukraine as a "show of force."



The directors of the Defense Intelligence Agency and Central Intelligence Agency told the House Intelligence Committee U.S. agencies were monitoring Russian movements. "We all have to take very seriously the buildup," CIA director William Burns said.


Tirupati, April 17 : As much as 17.3 per cent polling has been recorded in the high stakes Tirupati Lok Sabha by-poll on Saturday by 11 a.m.

"Tirupati Parliament constituency by-poll recorded a polling percentage of 17.3 by 11 a.m.," said an official.

Meanwhile, both Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have alleged that a large number of fake voters have been mobilised to cast bogus votes.

TDP leaders alleged that ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) MLAs Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy and Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy are mobilising fake voters.

They demanded that the Election Commission of India (ECI) should take appropriate measures to avoid fake votes.

BJP's AP co - incharge Sunil Deodhar alleged that vote rigging is happening in Jeevakona mandal.

"Mass rigging of voting happening in booth number 198 of Jeevakona mandal in Tirupati by-election," alleged Deodhar.

He claimed that he has been getting many complaints about outside voters being brought to Tirupati area

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Vanessa Hudgens is letting it all hang out in Miami.

The 32-year-old actress wore a barely there tie-dye bikini to sip cocktails by the pool during her Florida trip.

Her incredible figure was on full display in the string number as she posed for a steamy snap on her Instagram account on Saturday.

Pool day: Vanessa Hudgens, 32, wore a barely there tie-dye bikini to sip cocktails by the pool during her Florida trip. Her incredible figure was on full display in the string number as she posed for a steamy snap on her Instagram account on Saturday

The High School Musical veteran looked happy to be spending her weekend lounging in the sun.

She showcased her cleavage in the pink and orange set's low-hanging top, while the revealing bottoms tied lightly above her curvy hips.

The star rocked two gold belly chains with a large glittering belly ring, adding in a slew of necklaces and a single gold bangle hanging on one of her wrists.

Her brunette tresses were styled in an adorable bob, which she topped off with a matching printed scarf on her head.

Ocean therapy: The actress threw on a white bucket hat and aviator sunglasses as she took to the ocean for an afternoon swim. 'Therapeutic,' Vanessa captioned a photo on her Instagram stories of her floating in the clear green water

The Spring Breakers performer completed her look with a fresh pedicure and a pair of black shades as she basked in the warm Miami weather.

She threw on a white bucket hat and aviator sunglasses as she took to the ocean for an afternoon swim.

'Therapeutic,' Vanessa captioned a photo on her Instagram stories of her floating in the clear green water.

She stuck out her tongue in the cheeky shot, but a second post proved she may have had too much fun in the sun.

Sunburn: Hudgens later shared a closer look at the sunburn she received from her time outside. 'I don't need sunscreen I said,' she wrote on the image with her bright red bikini tan lines visible under her white tank top

Hudgens later shared a closer look at the sunburn she received from her time outside.

'I don't need sunscreen I said,' she wrote on the image with her bright red bikini tan lines visible under her white tank top.

'LOL SMH,' the beauty added as she rode in a car while suffering though her punishment for leaving her skin bare.

The trip was a chance to attend the Inter Miami CF Season Opening Party at The Goodtime Hotel on Friday.

Party time! The trip was a chance to attend the Inter Miami CF Season Opening Party at The Goodtime Hotel on Friday. Hudgens wore a sleek black dress to the event, and its top portion clung tightly to her toned frame

New beau: The Disney Channel alum has also been making frequent trips to the Sunshine State to visit her MLB boyfriend Cole Tucker

The Disney Channel alum dressed to impress for the star-studded event that Pharrell Williams and restauranteur David Grutman co-hosted.

Hudgens wore a sleek black dress to the event, and its top portion clung tightly to her toned frame.

The clothing article's midsection remained partially visible and was held together by two small lengths of rope, and its bottom draped over her sculpted legs.

She has also been making frequent trips to the Sunshine State this year to visit her MLB boyfriend Cole Tucker.

Long distance: The pair have been relatively long distance while the Pittsburgh Pirate, 24, recently finished Spring training in Florida. They stepped out together for the first time in November where they looked to be very much an item at dinner in Los Angeles

The pair have been relatively long distance while the Pittsburgh Pirate, 24, completed spring training in Florida.

They stepped out together for the first time in November, where they looked to be very much an item at dinner in Los Angeles.

Vanessa made their relationship Instagram official on Valentine's Day with a kissing photo captioned: 'It's you, it's me, it's us.'

Since then, she has made numerous visits to root him on, frequently sharing her vacation pool time on Instagram for her 40.5M followers.

Off the market: Vanessa made their relationship Instagram official on Valentine's Day with a kissing photo captioned: 'It's you, it's me, it's us'
New Delhi: Striving to fulfil its ambitions of turning carbon neutral by 2030, Facebook has just signed a deal to buy renewable energy from Mumbai-based CleanMax, a homegrown clean energy firm. Notably, this is Facebooks first such deal in India.

CleanMax will sell energy produced by its 32-megawatt wind power project located in southern Karnataka state to Facebook. Both companies will work together for many other similar projects. They are also planning to supply renewable power into Indias electric grid.

In this partnership, CleanMax is going to take care of the operational side of the power projects, while Facebook will leverage its deep pockets to buy the power off the grid using environmental attribute certificates, or carbon credits.

Facebook's head of renewable energy, Urvi Parekh, told Reuters that the firm typically doesn't own the power plants. Instead signs "long-term" electricity purchasing agreements with the renewable power company. That enables the project to seek out the financing that it would need," she said.

The social media giant has already struck similar deals in Singapore with energy providers such as Sunseap Group, Terrenus Energy and Sembcorp Industries. Projects set up by Facebook there can produce 160 MW of solar power. The electricity generated from these plants will power the tech giant's first Asian data centre that is set to start operations next year, she added.

According to the International Energy Agencys findings, data centres driving tech corporations such as Facebook could use up as much as 1% of the world's total energy. Thats why tech companies are now leveraging more renewable energy to power their businesses.

Amazon, Googles parent Alphabet Inc and Microsoft, among other tech companies, have already pledged to turn carbon neutral by the 2030s. All the companies are aiming to reduce the carbon content from their supply chains as well.



On Thursday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced separately that the company's global operations are now supported wholly by renewable energy and that it has reached net-zero emissions.
KYODO NEWS - Apr 17, 2021 - 23:45 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga asked U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. on Saturday to provide additional supplies of COVID-19 vaccine to Japan, Japanese officials said.

Suga made the request during telephone talks with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on the last day of his three-day visit to Washington for a White House meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden.

Bourla was quoted by the officials as saying Pfizer would like to promote consultations about the request swiftly and coordinate closely with the Japanese government.

The talks came as Japan trails far behind Britain, the United States and elsewhere in providing vaccinations to people.

Japan relies solely on imported coronavirus vaccines, and Pfizer's vaccine is the only one the country has approved so far.

During the summit meeting on Friday, Suga and Biden agreed to work together to help ensure fair access to coronavirus vaccines for developing countries and facilitate the production of safe, effective, and affordable vaccines in the Indo-Pacific region, including by expanding their manufacturing capacity in India.

Japan only began inoculating about 36 million people aged 65 or older, about 29 percent of its population, on Monday after beginning its campaign with health care workers on Feb. 17.

Out of Japan's 4.8 million health care workers, about 1.1 million, or about 0.87 percent of the population, had received at least one dose as of April 9, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.

Seeing a recent spike in the number of infections, the Japanese government has decided to expand tougher COVID-19 restrictions next week to all three of the country's major metropolitan areas centering on Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, less than a month after a state of emergency was lifted.
San Francisco, April 17 : An NFT (non-fungible token) artwork by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has been sold for more than $5.4 million.

The artwork titled "Stay Free combines the entirety of a landmark US court decision ruling the National Security Agency's (NSA) mass surveillance violated the law, with the iconic portrait of the whistleblower.

The funds will benefit the Freedom of the Press Foundation, where Snowden is the president.

"FIVE POINT FIVE MILLION from @PleasrDAO. It feels like the whole staff of @FreedomOfPress is watching live, and we've never seen anything like this. This is more than a spectacle," Snowden tweeted.

"Emerging applications of cryptography can play an important role in supporting our rights. This auction will drive the development of valuable and privacy-protecting uses of encryption, to safeguard press freedom and serve the public," he added.

In 2013, Snowden leaked information on US intelligence's methods of electronic surveillance, including illegally eavesdropping on foreign leaders.

Fleeing punitive consequences from US federal authorities, Snowden sent requests for asylum to some countries, including Russia.

On August 1, 2014, he received a Russian residence permit valid for three years, which was later extended for another three years.

In the US, Snowden faces two counts of violating the Espionage Act.

He may risk up to 10 years in prison on each of the counts.

The US authorities have repeatedly stated that they consider Snowden to have caused grave damage to national security.

"We have a winner, internet friends. I want to extend a very special thanks to everyone who followed this over the last 24 hours, and the deepest gratitude from EVERYONE at our @FreedomofPress to those who bid on our charity event. You help us make a better world. Stay free!," Snowden said in a tweet.

NFTs allow people to buy and sell ownership of unique digital items and keep track of who owns them using the Blockchain. NFT stands for "non-fungible token," and it can technically contain anything digital, including drawings, artwork, tweets, animated GIFs, songs or even video games.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
REDDING, Calif. - No arrest has been made yet for the Friday robbery at the Union Bank of California, according to the Redding Police Department.

Investigators said they are working on several leads.

The robbery happened Friday just before 2:10 p.m. at the Union Bank of California, in downtown Redding.

An unarmed male suspect entered the bank and demanded money, according to Redding police. The suspect left the bank on foot with an undisclosed amount of money.

Action News Now asked why money was given to the suspected bank robber when it was stated that he was not armed.

The suspect walked in and demanded money from the teller, according to a Sergeant from the Redding Police Department. The teller was in fear, and he said she believed that the robber was armed. That, he said, is why she gave the robber some cash. RPD is not disclosing how much money was taken from the bank.

Officers from the Redding Police Department along with California Highway Patrol Air Operations Division searched the area for the suspect on Friday.

Police said the suspect was described as a white male adult, unknown age, approximately 5"5 tall, thin build, thinning dark hair, dark colored collared shirt and dark shorts.

Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to contact the Redding Police Department at 530 225-4200.

This is a developing story. Action News Now will keep you updated with new information on-air and online.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 15:48:02|Editor: huaxia

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SAO PAULO, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of China (CPC) has successfully integrated public opinion with policy-making and China is an excellent cooperative partner of developing countries, former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said.

"Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese government has successfully integrated public opinion with policy-making, and promoted people's livelihood through economic development," Lula, also founder of Brazil's Workers' Party (PT), told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"The ruling ability of the CPC is admirable, and I especially admire the CPC for being good at listening to public opinion," he said.

Talking about the global impact of China's development and South-South cooperation, Lula said China's development achievements indicate that development should benefit the people, and promote social integration and social progress.

"I think China could become a model for many countries. China is and will continue to be an excellent partner for the countries of the South," he added.

Praising China's economic model, Lula said "China in the last 30 years saw extraordinary economic growth," and economic growth started to become more successful when people began to lift themselves out of poverty and have study opportunities, better jobs and higher earnings.

"China has evolved in an extraordinary way, and I am pushing for other countries to follow China's example," he stressed.

The PT has a good relationship with the CPC, he said. "A lot of PT leaders have travelled to China and have discussed with the leaders of the CPC."

"I personally and my party have a deep respect for the CPC. Taking care of the number of people that the CPC takes care of, ensuring that the economy grows as it did ... I think it is magnificent," Lula said.

As the CPC is turning 100 years old and stronger, it can only be a good thing for the Chinese society, he said.

Congratulating China for its efforts to combat COVID-19, Lula said he would like to visit China again once the pandemic is over.

"I want to go back to China ... I want to learn more about how the economy works," he said. Enditem
GREENWICH  George Kelakos holds a record no one wants to win.

Kelakos was released from Greenwich Hospital in early April after spending 146 days there, a record number of days for a COVID-19 survivor, according to the hospital administration.

He made it out alive after a number of close calls, and for that he is deeply thankful, Kelakos said in a phone interview this week.

Im a fighter and I dont give up, Kelakos said. I emerged out the other end.

The coronavirus struck him hard, and neither he nor his wife, Anchalee, know how he contracted it. The two Greenwich residents were taking the standard precautions to avoid transmission. Anchalee Kelakos, a lawyer, also was infected with COVID-19, but she had no symptoms.

George Kelakos went into Greenwich Hospital in November.

Everything that could possibly happen, it happened to me with COVID, said Kelakos, a legal and business adviser who works on bankruptcy, insolvency and restructuring deals overseas. He was in a comatose state for a time and put on a ventilator for weeks, he said.

The worst memories of his medical ordeal, Kelakos said, were of a strange netherworld, as he was weakened and immobilized, unable to communicate and at the mercy of a disease that played by its own set of rules.

You have no senses  and no sense of taste. You can barely move a finger. You have this hard-core mask over your face. Constantly coughing up stuff. And realizing youre helpless, he recalled. The worst part was waking up and realizing nobody could hear me if I screamed.

It was an ordeal for his wife as well.

3 1 of 3 Contributed photo / Patrick Sikes / For Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 2 of 3 File /Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 3 of 3





I was called to the hospital several times to say goodbye to him. I tried to stay hopeful, and it was difficult. It was like a roller coaster, she said.

The medical staff was thrilled to send George Kelakos out of the hospital in grand style in the first week of April, with staff lining the hallways, holding signs and cheering him on his way out. The familys dog, Sumo, was brought in and dressed up in celebratory beads for an extra fun send-off.

George became part of the family here. He developed relationships with staff that Im sure helped him through it, said Dr. Michael Franco, medical director of the intensive care unit at Greenwich Hospital. Its really important for the staff to see our COVID patients who do well, because weve seen so many who dont. So its a real heart-lifter to see someone who fought through it and got out and has a good prognosis.

Franco said long-term hospitalizations pose a number of challenges, especially with the coronavirus.

Any time you have a patient whos hospitalized for that long, it takes a real physical toll on the body, and its not just the illness, which is significant, he said. A range of specialists work on the whole person, not just one organ or another, in long-term hospitalizations.

Thats the thing about our COVID patients. It is a total team effort, he said.

Contributed / Greenwich Hospital

Kelakos set a record at Greenwich Hospital for length of hospitalization, but there are a number of other survivors who have been hospitalized for longer. A Michigan woman was released from a hospital after 196 days, and a British man survived a 306-day hospitalization.

The unusual ways that COVID-19 can strike or hide over a long stay in medical care requires constant scrutiny, Franco said. We always worry about setbacks, whether its infections, or blood clots. We look at every organ system all the time. Anytime youre at stress, every organ system is being tested and could break. When we have long-term patients, we have to keep a real close eye on them. Were vigilant.

It helped that Kelakos  who has trained in the martial arts for years  brought stamina and endurance to the fight for his life, he said.

All patients try real hard to survive. George was pretty remarkable in that way, Franco said.

Kelakos said he is grateful to the many doctors and nurses who got him out the hospital door.

They saved my life. And everyone from top to bottom, doctors and nurses, to the person who came in and mopped the floor, they were warm and caring, he said. Kelakos said he was touched by the hundreds and thousands of well-wishers and supporters who offered kind words during his hospitalization on social media.

Such and outpouring of support, he observed.

Now that he has been released from the hospital, Kelakos said he is working to regain his muscle mass and mobility.

Every day Ive seen something improve, he said. Progress, he said, is giving him renewed confidence and hope.

Kelakos is looking to get back on his motorcycle  a 2017 KTM 690 Duke, an Austrian two-wheeler  and gig with his band, The Indubitable Equivalents, made up entirely of lawyers and judges who specialize in bankruptcy proceedings. Hes the lead guitarist.

He also wanted to remind the public that COVID-19 is still a threat  folks, it aint over, Kelakos said  and that as a major public health threat, the virus is not to be taken lightly.

Overall, Kelakos said, he felt like his months-long battle with COVID-19 has given him a new perspective on life.

Every day is special, and its worth remembering, life is a precious gift, he said.

rmarchant@greenwichtime.com
Frackville

The Frackville Townwide Yard Sale is set for 7 a.m. to noon May 1. Participants should pick up and return forms to the Frackville Free Public Library before April 27. Registration is $7. Packets will be available at the library on April 29 and 30. Maps will be available at the library or on the Frackville Recreation Board Facebook site the day of the event. For more information, call 570-874-3382.

Minersville

The Minersville Public Library recently acknowledged the following memorials: For Samuel R. Bebelheimer from Regina Kleeman; for Gary Lechleitner from Barb and Al Munster; for George Graeff from Rick and Barb Pielacha, Geraldine Doyle; for Bill Conshue from Ed Kozluskey; for Ed Zavatsky from Ed Kozluskey; for Henry Cazonie from Ed Kozluskey; for Jessica Andruchek from Ed Kozluskey; for Alana Nush from Rose Ann Petrusky, Mary Ann Novack, Linda Van Horn, Izzy Neifert; for Norma Houser from Leonard Houser.

Pottsville

Disabled American Veterans, Marne Post 21, will restart its meetings at 7 p.m. the third Tuesday of the month, at the Pottsville AMVETS, according to a release from John Matukewicz. The next meeting will be Tuesday. For information, call Matukewicz at 570-573-0018.

Ringtown

The Ringtown Area Library will participate in Remake Learning Days Across America, a learning festival of events in more than 17 regions nationwide. The local library is taking part in the Central Pennsylvania Festival on May 15, with Reach for the Stars Field Day at the Ringtown Recreation Complex. The outer space-themed event is free and open to all, with activities designed for students in pre-K to fifth grade. There will be two StoryWalks plus exploration of the scale of the solar system. There will be opportunities to create art with help from the suns UV rays. Events will take place throughout the park so participants should wear comfortable shoes. Participating children will receive a free book about space topics. For more information, call the library at 570-889-5503.
If the COVID-19 pandemic has had any positive effect, it has been to elevate public health on local, state and federal government priority lists.

That, in turn, should mean that crucial public health initiatives no longer should have to yield to narrow public interests. The primary case in point is the state Legislature caving to pressure from the gambling industry, which generates about $1.3 billion in state tax revenue per year from gamblers losses, to allow deadly smoking in casinos.

In terms of illness, deaths and costs, even COVID-19 is a laggard when compared with smoking. The illness caused by the coronavirus has killed about 565,000 Americans in about 15 months. Diseases caused by smoking continue to kill 480,000 Americans every year.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than $300 billion in annual health care costs are attributable to smoking, including $170 billion for direct medical care, more than $156 billion in lost productivity, of which $5.6 billion is due to secondhand smoke exposure.

To accommodate casinos that want to accommodate nicotine-addicted gamblers, the state government allows smoking in the gambling parlors, thus exposing thousands of casino employees and nonsmoking gamblers to secondhand smoke. The casinos have designated smoking areas and ventilation systems, but none of that is 100% effective.

The only way to protect nonsmokers from the poisons spread by smokers is to ban smoking. Pennsylvania bans smoking in almost all public places and smokers survive the clean air.

Since 2000 the federal government, by law and regulation, has banned smoking on all commercial aircraft, yet smoking-addicted passengers manage to fly cross-country or even internationally without lighting up.

Pennsylvania should join 20 other states that have banned smoking in casinos, by making the temporary ban permanent. People who want to gamble will continue to do so regardless of a ban, and nonsmoking workers and casinos will not be subjected to the health hazard.
Pharmaceutical companies manufacturing the anti-COVID medicine Remdesivir in India have voluntarily slashed prices following government intervention, National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) under the Department of Pharmaceuticals announced on Saturday. The authority declared change in prices for seven brands of Remdesivir injections of potency 100mg per vial.

According to an office memoradum by NPPA dated April 17, 2021, the prices have been slashed in the range of Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,700. After the price cuts, Cadila Healthcare's Remdac continues to be the cheapest Remdesivir injection at Rs 899. The injection was earlier being sold at Rs 2,800.

RemWin by Bharat Biologics India's Syngene International is now available at Rs 2,450 instead of Rs 3,950. Redyx by Dr Reddy's Laboratories will now cost Rs 2,700, half of its earlier price of Rs 5,400. Cipla has slashed the price for its Cipremi to Rs 3,000 from Rs 4,000.

ALSO READ: COVID-19: Govt approves plan to increase production of Remdesivir, drug cos to cut price

Mylan Pharmaceutical has revised the price for its Remdesivir injection Desrem to Rs 3,400 from Rs 4,800. Jubilant Generics has reduced the price of its offering, Jubi-R, to Rs 3,400 from Rs 4,700. Hetero Healthcare will sell its Remdesivir injection Covifor at Rs 3,490 instead of Rs 5,400.

Although being approved as an investigational drug for strict use under hospital conditions, Remdesivir has seen a surge in demand over the recent few days in India as the second wave of COVID-19 cases is sweeping across the country. With this increase in demand, central government has been trying to ramp up the production of the drug as well as reduce its prices. Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Mansukh Mandaviya had held meetings with drug manufacturers and other stakeholders on April 12 and 13 in which decisions were taken to increase production and reduce prices of Remdesivir.

ALSO READ: Remdesivir only for hospitalised patients low on oxygen, says Health Ministry

"The current total installed capacity of the seven manufacturers of Remdesivir is 38.80 lakh vials per month. Fast-track approval has been given for seven additional sites having production capacity of 10 lakh vials per month to six manufacturers. Another 30 lakh vials per month production is lined up. This would ramp up the production capacity for manufacturing to around 78 lakh vials per month," a government statement said.

Earlier this week, Health Ministry urged hospitals to use the drug judiciously and rationally. The ministry said that Remdesivir should be supplied only to hospitals and not to chemists or patients. It further added that the drug must be given only to hospitalised patients who are low on oxygen, and should not be used in home conditions.

To add to the woes of patients, the rise in demand has also led to blackmarketing and fabrication of the drug.

ALSO READ: COVID-19: Amid shortage, Remdesivir being black marketed on OLX

(Edited by Vivek Punj)
In this image from video, defense attorney Eric Nelson, left, discusses motions before the court as defendant, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, right, and Nelson's assistant Amy Voss, back, 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)

Derek Chauvin and a Post-Rule-of-Law Society

Commentary

A year ago, America exploded in protests and riots after George Floyd died while being arrested by police in Minneapolis. Today, the officer who held Floyds head to the ground with his knee sits on trial, but what many expected to be an open-and-shut case has been complicated by evidence that Floyd had dangerous levels of drugs in his system, and other contributing health problems.

Close observers of the proceedings are now contemplating the possibility of former officer Derek Chauvins acquittal, and how the public will respond. This places a special burden of responsibility on everyone involved to try to minimize the prospect of widespread violence. Unfortunately, neither the national news media, nor cultural influencers, nor many political leaders are rising to the occasion.

Coverage by major news outlets has largely amounted to cheering for the prosecution, so lopsided as to resemble a chess match in which only one players captures are announced. Evidence key to the defensewhich has only to establish reasonable doubt in the prosecutions caseare routinely downplayed or ignored. The result has been that perceptions of the case tend to differ dramatically between those who have followed it directly and those who rely on traditional news coverage, skewing the latters expectations and setting them up for a potentially devastating surprise.

The tone of these stories will likely come back to haunt journalists who value their reputations for objectivity, if there are many of those left. A typical CNN headline on April 10 read: In Chauvin trial, defense has slender reed to cling to. The New York Times reported that a Floyd friend was trying to avoid testifying without bothering to mention that this friend had also been identified in previous testimony as Floyds suspected drug dealer. Newsweek ran an opinion piece literally headlined, Does Derek Chauvin Deserve a Fair Trial? (Fortunately, the authors answer turned out to be yes, but how did that even come into question?)

Some celebrities, who have more influence over public sentiment than they should, will have even more to answer for. Comedian Chelsea Handler, for example, said on Twitter that it was pathetic that Chauvin was even allowed a trial. Its hard not to wonder if some of these voices arent, at least subconsciously, hoping for violence in the streets if the verdict doesnt turn out the way they want it to. They seem to be practically handing out gasoline and matches.

Meanwhile, national political figures have been largely silent. This would be an appropriate role if the nation werent currently being whipped into a frenzy by activists calling for Chauvins head, regardless of the evidence. But it represents an appalling lack of leadership in the current environment.

Check out photos from the countless rallies about the trial, and count the number of signs with the word murder. Floyds death may indeed have been a murder, as it certainly appeared on video. Or he may have died, as Chauvins defense claims, primarily from a combination of fentanyl, COVID-19, and heart problems that the police couldnt have known about.

I want to be clear here that either way, its extremely important to acknowledge and address the broader frustrations that many African Americans have about their treatment by the police. But its essential to the survival of the Republic that questions such as Chauvins culpability be decided only in a courtroom after due process of lawand not by enraged mobs, real or virtual.

The United States is in some danger of sliding into what has been called a post-rule-of-law society. The very principles of due process and the presumption of innocence of the accused, hard-won over millennia of tragic human experience, are at risk of being swept away if they appear to interfere with someones overriding concept of social justice.

This trend started in academia, where educators now risk being punished or even fired overnight for such offenses as quoting literature that includes racial slurs. A law professor at Georgetown University recently lost her job after agonizing, in a private conversation, about low grades among her minority students.

Big business is close behind: one Boeing executive lost his job over an article he wrote three decades earlier about women in combat. A California utility employee was fired last year for making an OK sign while sitting in traffic because another motorist had interpreted this as a white power gesture although the offenders claim to have been merely cracking his knuckles seems more plausible, given that hes Mexican American.

At its core, due process is really just an attempt by civilizations to use rules to prevent the abuse of power by individuals, and it has a long and distinguished pedigree. Long before the Constitution forbade depriving an individual of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, the Magna Carta declared that no free man could be seized, harmed, or lose his property except by the law of the land. And well before that, the book of Deuteronomy decreed that A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; [only] on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.

True justice, as wiser statesman than I have observed, is not simply done, at least not by mortals. It can only be the result of legitimate, transparent, and dispassionate proceedings. The fury of the crowd is the enemy of true justice, because it warps accountability into revenge and precludes the kind of clear thinking necessary to deal with complex situations.

Im pretty sure Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela would agree with me herethey knew firsthand the peril of angry mobs. Older generations of Americans, having studied the French Revolution and read Twelve Angry Men, took the principle of a fair trial for granted, even if they fell tragically short of providing them to everyone in society.

Whatever Americas failings, past and present, equal justice under law is still the right idea. We abandon it now at our peril. As the Chauvin trial heads to a verdictwhatever that verdict may beour leaders, our news media, and yes, even our celebrities should be shouting this from the rooftops.

Professor William Wagner is president of the Great Lakes Justice Center. He is a former federal judge and is distinguished professor emeritus at Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, having taught ethics and constitutional law for more than 20 years.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 15:04:37|Editor: huaxia

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PHNOM PENH, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Saturday registered 291 new COVID-19 cases and one more death in the last 24 hours, the country's Ministry of Health (MoH) said in a statement.

The new cases included 290 local cases, namely 228 in capital Phnom Penh, 26 in Preah Sihanouk province, 14 in Kandal province, 12 in Takeo province, eight in Svay Rieng province and two in Prey Veng province, and one imported case, the statement said.

The imported case was detected on a 24-year-old French woman traveling to the kingdom on April 3 from Switzerland via a connecting flight in Singapore, the statement said, adding that she was confirmed to have the virus in her second test on the 13th day of quarantine.

The Southeast Asian country has reported a total of 5,771 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, with 39 deaths, the MoH said, adding that there are currently 3,311 active cases in the kingdom.

Cambodia began an anti-COVID-19 inoculation drive on Feb 10. As of Friday, some 1.24 million out of the country's 16 million population had been vaccinated against the virus, showed a government report. Enditem
U.N. agencies on Friday said that tens of thousands of Nigerians are fleeing deadly attacks by armed groups, and the continuing clashes between the rebels and national forces, in the country's troubled northeastern Borno state.

The latest rebel attack on Wednesday drove out as many as 80% of the population of Damasak, according to the U.N. refugee agency, who said up to 65,000 people were on the move.

"Assailants looted and burned down" homes, warehouses, a police station, a clinic, and a UNHCR facility, the U.N. agency's spokesman Babar Baloch told reporters in Geneva.

It marked the third such attack in a week, he said.

Jens Laerke of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said are "very worrying" reports of clashes between insurgent groups and Nigeria's armed forces.

Laerke said armed groups have reportedly been attacking humanitarian facilities and at times conducting house-to-house searches, apparently looking for civilian aid workers.

Last week the facilities of the Norwegian Refugee Council were attacked and set on fire.

The incidents mark the latest violence in the Lake Chad basin area which in recent years has uprooted some 3.3 million people, the refugee agency said.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 13:15:07|Editor: huaxia

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First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) Raul Castro presents the Central Report to the Eighth Congress of the PCC in Havana, capital of Cuba, April 16, 2021. The Eighth Congress of the PCC kicked off Friday at Havana's Convention Center. With senior party leaders and delegates from all over the island in attendance, the meeting is scheduled to conclude on Monday. (Ariel Royero/Prensa Latina/Handout via Xinhua)

by Yosley Carrero

HAVANA, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The Eighth Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) kicked off Friday at Havana's Convention Center, chaired by Raul Castro, first secretary of the PCC's Central Committee, and Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel.

During the presentation of the Central Report to the Eighth Congress of the PCC, Castro said that Cuba has preserved important social achievements in education, healthcare and social security, despite the intensification of the U.S. embargo against the island.

Castro, 89, expressed his "will to develop a respectful dialogue and build a new type of relationship with the United States," saying, "Cuba will not give up on the principles of the Revolution and socialism."

He also called for improving the performance of the local economy and consolidating relations with governments and parties from different nations, including China.

"As far as I am concerned, my work as the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba has come to an end, with the satisfaction of having accomplished my duty and with confidence in the future of the homeland," he added.

The Congress takes place as the island marks the 60th anniversary of the victory against the U.S.-backed Bay of Pigs invasion and the declaration of Cuban socialism.

With senior party leaders and delegates from all over the island in attendance, the meeting is scheduled to conclude on Monday.

Addressing the audience during the opening speech, Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, second secretary of the Central Committee of PCC, said that the political organization "guarantees national unity and represents the ideals of dignity, justice and social independence" for which generations of Cuban patriots have fought.

Wearing face masks and abiding by social distancing guidelines, delegates discussed ideology, updating of the Cuban model, internal functioning of the PCC as well as the economic transformations implemented over the past five years since the last party congress.

"Dreaming and pushing a country forward: Our eighth Congress of the PCC starts today, the congress of continuity. It is here where ideas are rooted, history is acknowledged and the future is discussed. We are Cuba, we are continuity," Diaz-Canel said on Twitter earlier on Friday.

Iroel Sanchez, a Cuban political commentator, told Xinhua that the Cuban Revolution will not only continue to stand on its own feet but actually has a lot to offer to a world that needs the Caribbean nation's example.

"We have many challenges ahead, but the Cuban people have shown evidence of huge reservoirs of intelligence and humanism instilled in it by socialism," he said.

Nationwide, Cubans followed news on the opening ceremony of the Congress through state media's coverage. Among them is PCC member Sonia Cruz, a 60-year-old state employee from Havana's 10 de Octubre district.

"This is a historic Congress for Cubans who are called to continue defending the social achievements of our socialist system," she said, adding, "The Communist Party of Cuba guarantees unity and continuity of the Cuban Revolution." Enditem
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The police in Lagos have arrested four teenagers for allegedly attempting to launch a reprisal attack on a cultist group at Akinyele Junior Secondary School, Alakuko.

This is contained in a statement released on Saturday by Muyiwa Adejobi, the Lagos police spokesperson.

According to the official, the suspected teenage cultists are between ages 14 and 18, and were arrested in the school premises on Friday.

Mr Adejobi said the suspects came from Ogun State, but the police already got wind of the planned reprisal attack at the aforementioned school.

The Police operatives attached to Alakuko Division of the Lagos State Police Command, on Friday, 16th April, 2021, at about arrested four (4) suspected cultists that came from Ogun State for reprisal attacks on other rival cult members at the Junior Secondary Schools, Akinyele, Alakuko, Lagos State, the statement read.

The suspects are Tosin Balogun, 18, Sunday Dare, 15, Olayinka Jubril, 14, and Sani Babatunde,15.

Tosin Balogun and Jubril Olayinka are students of Odewale Community High School Ijoko Ogun State, while Sanni Babatunde is a student of Tunik International School, Dalemo Alakuko and Dare Sunday is a tailoring apprentice at Dalemo Alakuko.

The Police operatives had got winds of the planned reprisal attacks on their rivals in the school and raced to the scene immediately the suspects arrived to cause pandemonium and attack their targets, Mr Adejobi wrote in the statement.

He said cuttlasses, substances suspected to be Indian hemp, and assorted charms were recovered from the suspects.

In another development, the operatives of D9 (Anti Robbery) Section of the State Criminal Intelligence Information, Panti, Yaba, on Saturday morning arrested a suspected armed robbery gang at a hotel in Ojota.

Mr Adejobi said the team acted upon an intelligence and arrested Victor Alfred, Chubike Ikeh Donatus, and Isiaka, Olamide, all 19 years of age, at Marble Guest House, Ojota.

The suspects were arrested at 3.25 am, and one Beretta pistol, weeds suspected to be Indian hemp and assorted charms were recovered from them.

Mr Adejobi said the suspects have been moved to the Commands Special Squad, Ikeja, for proper investigation and possible arrest of other members of their gang. This is based on the directive of the Police Commissioner, Hakeem Odusomu.

The suspected armed robbers will be properly investigated and profiled by the Anti Robbery Section of the State CID, he said.
New Delhi: As the daily fresh Covid-19 cases went over 2.17 lakhs and the death toll reached 1,185, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday chaired a comprehensive review meeting to ensure adequate medical grade oxygen supply in the country. The meeting took place a day after India decided to import 50,000 metric tonnes of medical oxygen to reduce the shortage of supplies. Union minister Prakash Javadekar and Karnataka CM B.S. Yediyurappa were, meanwhile, among those who tested positive on Friday. Mr Yediyurappa has in fact tested positive for the second time in eight months and has been hospitalised.

In the wake of the nationwide surge in Covid-19 cases, the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations on Friday deferred the ICSE Class 10 and ISC Class 12 examinations till further notice. This comes two days after similar action by the CBSE board.

During Fridays meeting, the PM reviewed in detail the current oxygen supply situation and projected use in the coming 15 days across 12 high-burden states -- Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. The PM was informed that 4,880 MT, 5,619 MT and 6,593 MT have been allocated to these 12 states for meeting their projected demand as on April 20, April 25 and April 30 respectively. The PM suggested an increase in the oxygen production capacity of each plant. The use of surplus stocks of oxygen in steel plants for medical use was also discussed.

The PM urged officials to ensure seamless and free movement of tankers carrying oxygen throughout the country. The government has exempted all inter-state movement of oxygen tankers from registration of permits to enable easier movement. The PM was told that states and transporters had been asked to ensure tankers move around the clock, with drivers working in shifts to ensure a faster turnaround, and adequate capacity to meet the surge in demand. Cylinder filling plants will also be permitted to operate for 24 hours, with the necessary safeguards. The government is allowing industrial cylinders to be used for medical oxygen after due purging. Similarly, nitrogen and argon tankers will be automatically allowed to be converted to oxygen tankers to overcome the potential shortage of tankers.

The Centre has also decided to double the production of indigenously-made Covaxin by May-June and nearly 10 crore Covaxin doses will be produced per month by September. The Union ministry of science and technology said the capacities of Bharat Biotech Ltd in Hyderabad as well as other public sector units are being upgraded and financial aid is being provided as a grant to the tune of around Rs 65 crores to Bharat Biotechs new Bengaluru facility, which is being repurposed to increase the capacity of vaccine production. Besides, three PSUs are also being supported to hike the capacity of vaccine production. These are Haffkine Biopharmaceutical Corporation Ltd, Mumbai, which will be able to produce 20 million doses per month; Indian Immunologicals Ltd, Hyderabad, and Bharat Immunologicals and Biologicals Ltd based in UPs Bulandshahar.

On Friday Union home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and health secretary Rajesh Bhushan reviewed the Covid-19 situation in Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh. These two states, along with Maharashtra, are the three states that have over one lakh active cases. Both Chhattisgarh and UP are reporting a very high number of daily new cases and high deaths due to Covid-19.

The three states have been advised to increase the number of isolation beds, oxygen beds, ventilators/ICU beds, ambulance fleet as per needs, plan for adequate oxygen supply; and focus on mortality reduction by early identification of positive cases and adherence to national treatment protocols. Prohibiting unnecessary travel and crowding in public places through strict and effective enforcement was stressed upon.

All states have been advised to make use of the hospitals of key Central institutions, the Indian Railways and public sector units for treating Covid-19 patients.

The ICMR has recommended setting up more testing labs, including mobile labs, in the affected states. He also advised keeping a vigil and ramping up testing on a continuous basis in districts showing more than a five per cent positivity rate. The affected states were asked to ramp up RT-PCR testing, have timely tracing, containment and surveillance activity to curb the chain of transmission, and strict implementation of containment measures and encourage 100 per cent vaccination of eligible population groups, especially in high-focus districts.

The Union health ministry has said various mutations of the Covid-19 virus were found in many countries, including India, besides the UK (17 mutations), Brazil (17 mutations) and South Africa (12 mutations) variants. These variants have higher transmissibility. The UK variant has been found extensively in the UK, all across Europe and has spread to Asia and America. The double mutation (2 mutations) is another variant and has been found in several countries like Australia, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Namibia, New Zealand, Singapore, United Kingdom, USA. The higher transmissibility of this variant is not established as yet.

Officials said the RT-PCR tests used in India do not miss these mutations as the RT-PCR tests being used in India target more than two genes and sensitivity and specificity of RT-PCR tests remains the same as earlier. This clarification came amid reports that RT-PCR tests may be missing out in the detection of mutated variants and are turning false negative reports.
DANBURY  The City Council is expected to consider a June vote on the proposed $99 million career academy during a virtual meeting on Monday.

This new school serving students in middle and high school would be built within three pods of the Summit, a mixed-use development in the 1.2 million-square-foot former Union Carbide world headquarters on the citys west side.

The project has been largely popular among education and city officials and is seen as a way to help address the growing school enrollment, while providing students with opportunities to study various career fields and pursue internships.

A virtual meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Monday evening where public comments submitted from residents will be read. To submit feedback about the academy, residents should email comments@danbury-ct.gov with their full name and address by 5 p.m. Monday. The meeting will be streamed on YouTube.

The council will meet virtually at 8 p.m. to consider the mayors request for a vote to be held on the project on June 15.

Typically, the project would go to referendum, but the governors executive orders related to the coronavirus pandemic allow the council to approve the borrowing package itself. The council will decide Monday whether to hold the referendum or vote itself.

District officials have said they expect 1,400 students to eventually attend the academy, with 1,040 high school and 360 middle school students. Superintendent Sal Pascarella has said the district would phase in students and staff.

Eventually, the school would offer six academies focused on professional health services; information, cybersecurity and technology; scientific innovation and medicine; global enterprise and economics; art, engineering and design; and communications and design.

School administrators have been inspired by an academy in Nashville as they craft their plans. The Nashville school has raked in $8 million in fees by hosting other districts interested in the concept.

Its one of two ongoing projects to address enrollment growth, with construction expected to begin this summer on an annex to Ellsworth Avenue Elementary School.

Danbury is racing to meet the states deadline for a grant that would cover 80 percent of the academys cost. Plus, $2.4 million of city costs would be covered by money the council approved last year for school projects.

The city is required by law to submit its application by Oct. 1, but the state has asked for a draft by Sept. 1, so that any necessary tweaks can be made.

This would be the first time Connecticut would reimburse a municipality for a school project that uses the design-build method. City officials have said the project may become a model for other communities.
Richard James Nelson, 54, was arrested after he allegedly shot dead his ex-girlfriend, 38, in a Bob Evans restaurant where she worked

A 54-year-old man has been arrested following an 11-hour manhunt after he allegedly shot dead his ex-girlfriend, 38, in a Bob Evans restaurant where she worked in Ohio.

Richard James Nelson was taken into custody and charged with aggravated murder over the death of Rebecca Jean Rogers Friday morning.

Nelson is accused of shooting and killing Rogers in a 'domestic incident' at the restaurant in Canton where she worked as a waitress.

The suspect then went on the run sparking a police manhunt that culminated in his arrest Friday night.

The shooting unfolded at around 9:30 am Friday morning at the restaurant at 3400 Lesh Street Northeast, reported ABC9.

Police said Rogers saw Nelson enter the restaurant with a gun and tried to run away from him down the hallway.

Nelson allegedly started opening fire, shooting the waitress multiple times.

Customers and staff hid under the tables for cover while others ran out of the restaurant.

Police received multiple 911 calls for an active shooter at the restaurant and officers from Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Canton Police Department, and the Stark County Sherriff's Office arrived on the scene within two minutes.

The officers found Rogers with multiple gun shot wounds and she was rushed to Mercy Hospital where she died from her injuries.

The gunman fled the scene and police identified Nelson as the suspect, saying a warrant was out for his arrest on charges of aggravated murder.

Nelson was considered to be armed and dangerous and the public was warned not to approach him.

Anyone with information as to his whereabouts was urged to call 911.

Nelson remained at large for 11 hours before being arrested at around 8:30 pm Friday night southeast of East Canton.

Police Chief Jack Angelo said a Canton police dog had pursued and stopped the suspect in a foot chase near Route 30 and Neimans Avenue SE, according to CantonRep.com.

Officers from the US Marshals Service, Stark County Sheriff's Office and an air unit from the Ohio State Highway Patrol all assisted in the manhunt.

Angelo said the shooting was being considered a 'domestic incident' as Nelson and Rogers had been in a relationship and had recently broken up.

Richard James Nelson was taken into custody and charged with aggravated murder over the death of Rebecca Jean Rogers Friday morning at the Bob Evans restaurant at 3400 Lesh Street Northeast, Canton (pictured)

Police said the shooting unfolded at around 9:30 am Friday morning when the suspect entered the restaurant and opened fire, shooting the waitress multiple times as customers and staff hid under the tables for cover. Police arriving on the scene

Rogers was taken to hospital but died from her injuries while Nelson went on the run, sparking a police manhunt that culminated in his arrest Friday night. The crime scene above

'As tragic as this is, it could've been far worse,' he said.

Around half a dozen customers and six to eight employees were inside the restaurant at the time of the shooting.

In one 911 call, another female staff member at the restaurant is heard telling people to 'get down, tell them to get down' during the shooting as staff and customers hid under the tables, reported CantonRep.com.

The woman tells the dispatcher she doesn't know if anyone has been shot but says she is concerned about her co-worker who she said ran into the back of the restaurant away from the shooter who she said she thought was her boyfriend.

'We can't get out. We're scared,' the caller says.

In a separate 911 call, a woman said she was with another waitress who can be heard saying the shooter 'aimed for' Rogers,' reported CantonRep.com.

A diner on another 911 call tells a dispatcher they heard four or five gunshots and ran out of the restaurant.

Police said it was a 'domestic incident' as Nelson and Rogers had been in a relationship and had recently broken up. Pictured the restaurant above

'All of us just went running out. There were some older people and my husband just made sure they got out,' they said.

It is not clear how long Rogers and Nelson had been in a relationship for prior to Friday's incident.

However, Rogers had contacted police in the past about her boyfriend's behavior.

In March 2017, Rogers filed a police report after Nelson entered her home and he was charged with stalking by menacing and burglary and taken to the Stark County Jail, according to court records seen by CantonRep.com.

Rogers was later found guilty of filing a false police report in that case, the outlet reported.

Nelson has a long rap sheet including charges of felony assault and domestic violence.

Court records show he was also locked up in 2000 for leading police on car chase in a stolen car before fighting with the arresting officer.
From Hornsby to Hurstville, Asquith to the Appin Way, there is no one for whom The Sydney Morning Herald has provided the personal and professional drum-beat of life as much as for the venerable journalist and author Gavin Souter AO. And no man more qualified to pass astute judgment on us, from the overview of history.

Retired veteran Herald reporter Gavin Souter. Credit:Edwina Pickles

Among his first memories of growing up in Hunters Hill was the hefty thump of the Herald landing on the front step and, no fewer than nine decades on, he still waits to hear it land every morning at 7 oclock  a little more lightly these days  on the driveway of his Mosman home looking over Middle Harbour.

Not only has Mr Souter, 91, been reading the paper all his life, his entire glittering career in journalism was spent at the Herald, while also writing many books, including two books on the newspapers history.

Joining the Herald at 18 while doing an Arts degree at Sydney University  back when our offices were at Hunter Street  within three years he was posted to New York as the Heralds American correspondent and, on his first night there, the telex machine started clattering, by his account, Ding-Ding-Ding . . .
James Lock admitted he doesn't want to have kids with 'the wrong person' as he reflected on being single after his split from Yazmin Oukhellou.

The reality star, 34, spoke candidly with co-star Pete Wicks, 32, as they reunited in an exclusive TOWIE clip obtained by MailOnline, which is set to air on Sunday.

While sat in front of a roaring fire during a camping trip, James admitted that while he and Yaz had loved each other they simply weren't compatible.

Love life: James Lock admitted he doesn't want to have kids with 'the wrong person' as he reflected on being single after his split from Yazmin Oukhellou

James told Pete: 'I'm single now you know. I want kids but I don't want to have them with the wrong person, as much as I had love for Yaz me and her wasn't compatible.

'She's a great girl, there's no problems, nothing happened but we don't complement each other as people. She's off doing her thing in Dubai so good luck to her.'

Pete chimed in: 'The thing with Yaz is, because you both put so much into it, it's like you don't want to give up what you put into it but actually starting afresh... ain't a bad thing at all.'

James agreed as he also said it wasn't 'a bad thing' to be single and looking for love again in the future.

Moving on: James and Yaz mutually agreed to cut ties after their relationship turned toxic in February, with James flying home and Yazmin staying in the UAE (pictured in 2020)

He also quizzed Pete on his love life, saying he'd heard he had 'been acting up while [he] was gone', but his friend was having none of it.

'I've not been acting up at all,' Pete protested. 'You know what it is? It's all come from the night I kissed Ella [Wise] months and months ago, and everyone's gotten overexcited about it.'

When James told him that people 'have their opinions' of him, Pete went on: 'That's the thing, I've reached the point where now I don't give a monkeys.'

James hit back: 'Yea but you say confusing things, you were saying to Gatsby the other day that you want this fairy tale ending.'

Honest: James told Pete: 'I'm single now you know. I want kids but I don't want to have them with the wrong person, as much as I had love for Yaz me and her wasn't compatible'

Thoughts: James said of Yaz: 'She's a great girl, there's no problems, nothing happened but we don't complement each other as people' (pictured in 2020)

To which Pete said: 'We all do, me and you have had this conversation so many times but what I've realised over the last couple of years is I've been trying to force that because I felt like I had to but I'm not ready.'

James and Yaz mutually agreed to cut ties after their relationship turned toxic in February, with James flying home and Yazmin staying in the UAE.

A source previously revealed to MailOnline: 'James and Yazmin haven't been in a good place for a while now and living together in Dubai only put further strain on their relationship.'

TOWIE continues Sunday 18 April, 9pm on ITVBe and available on ITV Hub.
British, Canadian and U.S. nationals line up alongside the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Reflection to be evacuated free of charge, in Kingstown on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent, on April 16, 2021. (Orvil Samuel/AP Photo)

New Blast at St. Vincent Volcano; Cruise Ship Helps Evacuees

KINGSTOWN, St. VincentLa Soufriere volcano shot out another explosive burst of gas and ash on Friday as a cruise ship arrived to evacuate some of the foreigners who had been stuck on a St. Vincent island coated in ash from a week of violent eruptions.

The explosions that began on April 9 forced some 20,000 to flee the northern end of the eastern Caribbean island for shelters and contaminated water supplies across the island.

Friday mornings blast wasnt a big explosion compared to the ones that we last weekend, but it was big enough to punch a hole through the clouds, said Richard Robertson, lead scientist at the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Center, in an interview with local NBC radio. Probably got up to 8,000 meters (26,000 feet).

Plumes of ash rise from the La Soufriere volcano on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent, on April 16, 2021. (Vincie Richie/The University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre via AP)

During a comparable eruption cycle in 1902, explosive eruptions continued to shake the island for months after an initial burst killed some 1,700 people, though the new eruptions so far have caused no reported deaths among a population that had received official warning a day earlier that danger was imminent.

Meanwhile, British, U.S. and Canadian nationals were being evacuated aboard Royal Caribbean Cruises Celebrity Reflection from the harbor in the Kingstown, capital of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The ship was due to arrive Saturday in Dutch Sint Maarten.

Dozens of foreigners toting luggage descended from tour buses and cars at the port terminal in Kingstown and patiently waited in a line that began in the parking lot and reached deep into the terminal.

They included students from the Trinity School of Medicine along with stranded tourists, including families with young children in arms.

As of right now, we are being evacuated for our safety and to keep the island as safe as possible, said LLeah Ransai, a Canadian student at Trinity. Between the school, the government and the embassies of the US and Canada, were being evacuated now.

The U.S. Embassy said those aboard would have to make their own travel arrangements home.

It also noted in an official statement that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had recommended against travel on cruise ships because the chance of getting COVID-19 and said people who had been in close contact with suspected COVID-19 cases were barred from the trip. All aboard were supposed to have a negative rapid antigen test taken within 24 hours of boarding.

Meanwhile, thousands of locals were stuck in emergency shelters with no idea when they might be able to return home.

Levi Lewis, 58, a retired public servant from the town of Fancy, said the eruption had left him trying to get by with practically nothing.

I just reusing clothing cause i didnt walk with much, he said. Plus water is an issue, so Im trying to conserve it still.

I want to go back home, or to whatever is left of it, he added.

A few people, however, never left, defying evacuation orders.

Raydon May, a bus conductor in his late 20s who stayed in Sandy Bay throughout the eruptions, said he had always planned to stay if the volcano erupted and was trying to protect properties in the community while making occasional trips outside the evacuation zone to pick up water and supplies.

He said so much ash had fallen that the roofs of houses were collapsing under the weight.

One roof might get on like three truckloads of sand, he said. We trying to help  but we cant help everybody.

By Kristin Deane
New Delhi, April 17 : The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has notified the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for white goods -- air conditioners and LED lights, with a budgetary outlay of Rs 6,238 crore.

With this, the new scheme has become operational and all eligible manufacturers can now take the benefit of financial incentives provided under it to boost capacity.

The PLI scheme for White Goods (PLIWG) proposes a financial incentive to boost domestic manufacturing and attract large investments in the White Goods manufacturing value chain. Its prime objectives include removing sectoral disabilities, creating economies of scale, enhancing exports, creating a robust component ecosystem and employment generation.

As per the notification, the PLI scheme for white goods will extend an incentive of 4-6 per cent on incremental sales of goods manufactured in India for a period of five years to companies engaged in manufacturing of air conditioners and LED lights. The period of five years will be calculated subsequent to the base year and one year of gestation period.

The applicant will have to fulfill both criteria of cumulative incremental investment in plant and machinery as well as incremental sales over the base year in that respective year to be eligible for PLI. The first year of investment will be FY 2021-22 and the first year of incremental sale will be FY 2022-23. Actual disbursement of PLI for a respective year will be subsequent to that year.

One entity may apply for one target segment only. However, separate Group companies may apply for different target segments. Further, sales by entities to their group companies should be at an arm's length price as those to outside group companies.

Different segments have been earmarked for different types of components separately to specifically target global investments into desired areas.

Selection of companies for the scheme shall be done so as to incentivise manufacturing of components or sub-assemblies which are not manufactured in India presently with sufficient capacity, said the notification, adding that mere assembly of finished goods shall not be incentivised.

Companies investing in basic/core components shall have a higher priority. Also, within a target segment, 'Large Investment' shall have a higher priority over 'Normal Investment'. The actual number of beneficiaries within a target segment shall be decided on the basis of the response of the industry.

Companies meeting the pre-qualification criteria for different target segments will be eligible to participate in the Scheme. Incentives shall be open to companies making brown field or green field Investments.

Thresholds of cumulative incremental investment and incremental sales of manufactured goods over the base year would have to be met for claiming incentives.

An entity availing benefits under any other PLI Scheme of the Centre will not be eligible under this scheme for the same products but the entity may take benefits under other applicable schemes of the union government or schemes of state governments.

An Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS) chaired by Cabinet Secretary will monitor the PLI scheme, undertake periodic review of the outgo under the scheme, ensure uniformity of all PLIs and take appropriate action to ensure that the expenditure is within the prescribed outlay. In addition, EGoS will be empowered to make any changes in the modalities of the scheme within the overall financial outlay of Rs 6,238 crore.

As per the government, it is estimated that over the period of five years, the PLI scheme will lead to incremental investment of Rs 7,920 crore, incremental production worth Rs 1.68 lakh crore, exports worth Rs 64,400 crore, earn direct and indirect revenues of Rs 49,300 crore and create additional four lakh direct and indirect employment opportunities.
Bengaluru, April 17 : Amid exponential spurt in Covid cases, by-polls for a Lok Sabha seat in Belgaum and two assembly constituencies of Basavakalyan and Maski, are underway in Karnataka on Saturday.

The ruling BJP and the opposition Congress party, are looking to win in all three constituencies.

In all, 30 candidates, including 10 in Belgaum, 12 in Basavakalyan and Eight in Maski (Reserved) are in the fray. Of them, 26 are men and four are women.

There are five Independents each in Belgaum and Maski and four in Basavakalyan.

Of the 22,59,778 voters in the three seats, 18,13,567 are in Belgaum, 2,39,782 in Basavakalyan and 2,06,429 in Maski. Voters will be casting their franchise across 3,197 polling stations in the three constituencies. The votes will be counted on May 2.

The Election Commission (EC) has decided to keep polling open for more hours, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., to facilitate the compliance of Covid safety rules. The last hour is reserved for Covid positive patients.

Ahead of the polling began, both BJP and Congress appealed voters to vote in their respective candidates favour on their Twitter and other social media channels. They also appealed voters to follow Covid safety protocols.

By-polls in Belagavi Lok Sabha seat and Basavakalyan assembly seat were necessitated due to Suresh Angadi, a four-time Lok Sabha member from the state's northwest region, died of Covid on September 23, 2020 in New Delhi, while B. Narayan Rao also died of Covid on September 24, 2020 in Bengaluru.

But by-polls to Maski assembly constituency is being held due to the disqualification of MLA Prathapagouda Patil, who shifted to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after winning on a Congress ticket in 2018.

The Opposition Congress has tried to corner the ruling BJP over lack of good administration, Karnataka's Covid-19 situation and issues related to reservation of different communities.

Even though Sleaze CD case involving former Karnataka minister, Ramesh Jarakiholi did make big news across the state ahead of by-polls in Karnataka, but Congress could not make this as a major a poll plank because it has fielded his younger brother and party's working president Satish Jarakiholi in Belgaum Lok Sabha seat.

Congress had won the Basavakalyan and Maski assembly constituencies in 2018 and hopes to retain it in this by-polls.

The ruling BJP has fielded Mangala Suresh Angadi, widow of Suresh Angadi for the Belgaum Lok Sabha seat.

In Basavakalyan, Congress has fielded Mallamma, the widow of legislator B. Narayan Rao, against the BJP's leader Sharanu Salagar. Mallikarjun Khuba, a rebel leader formerly of the BJP, who is contesting as an Independent candidate is also in the fray. Janata Dal (Secular) which has limited itself to the Basavakalyan assembly constituency in this by-polls has fielded Syed Yasrab Ali Quadri.

The BJP has nominated Prathapagouda Patil in Maski, who emerged winner in 2018 against Congress' Basanagouda Turvihal. Turvihal fought on a BJP ticket in 2018 and lost by a thin margin of 213 against Patil who was with the Congress at that time

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Editor's note: This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 800-273-8255. If you feel like you need someone to talk to but do not feel like talking on the phone, try texting Hello to the Crisis Text Line at 741741, or visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org/talk-to-someone-now.

Someone dies by suicide every six hours in Michigan.

The Michigan Suicide Prevention Commission is working to change that.

The commission was formed in March 2020 and is charged with working with state departments, nonprofits and universities to research the causes and possible underlying factors of suicide in Michigan. It released its first report with recommendations for reducing the suicide rate on Monday.

Suicide is preventable, and Michigans current suicide rates are unacceptable, Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, stated in a news release this week. However, through our plans and intentional actions, we can provide the help and resources necessary to save lives. Together, we can make Michigan a model state for suicide prevention, and a place where everyone gets the help they need, when they need it.

The commission gathered data for this report through surveys, virtual sessions with people across the state and by working with experts with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the University of Michigan, Henry Ford Health System and John D. Dingell VA Medical Center.

The report acknowledges that suicide is a complex issue with biological, psychological, social and cultural factors. Prevention is difficult because of stigma, misconceptions about suicidal behavior and evolving risk factors, according to the commission.

Researchers are still looking into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on behavioral health and suicide.

In August 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report that examined national survey responses about Americans mental health from June 24-30, 2020.

It found that 11% of adults over the age of 18 reported having seriously considered suicide within the last 30 days. This is estimated to be twice as many as in 2018.

Demographics and causes in Michigan

Data gathered before the pandemic shows that suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in Michigan. Between 2009 and 2019, the rate of suicide among Michigan residents increased 28%. The average annual suicide rate has remained relatively flat for more than a decade but has been slowly on the rise since 2010, according to the report.

The commission found that, overall, working adults ages 30-59 have the highest suicide rates. Suicide attempts are more common among women than men, but men are more likely to die by suicide than women because they use more lethal means.

The white population has the highest suicide rates of all racial groups, according to the report. The suicide death rate for Black residents recently increased in 2018, driven primarily by an increase in the suicide rate for Black men from 9.4 people dying by suicide per 100,000 people to 16.2.

The commission found that while the number of suicides is greater in urban areas, suicide rates are generally higher in more rural areas. The northeastern part of the Lower Peninsula and eastern portion of the Upper Peninsula have the highest suicide rates in Michigan.

The highest number of suicides statewide are women ages 19-64 working in medical and healthcare related professions or as homemakers, according to the report.

Other high risk populations include active members of the military, children and teenagers, correction officers, people involved in criminal justice system, young adults (aged 18-25), first responders, homeless people, LGBTQ+ youth, grieving people, middle age men and veterans.

Causes for the increase in rates include access to means like guns or medicines, alcohol and drug use, chronic medical conditions and mental illness and the economic climate.

Christine Moutier, a doctor with the AFSP, has said that there is never a single cause of suicide at the individual level. There are always multiple risk factors, she said.

Recommendations for prevention

The commission has five priorities to prevent suicide:

1. Minimize risk for suicidal behavior by promoting safe environments, resiliency and connectedness.

2. Increase and expand access to care to support those at risk.

3. Improve suicide prevention training and education.

4. Implement best practices in suicide prevention for health care systems.

5. Enhance suicide specific data collection and systems.

Practically, these priorities can mean initiatives from limiting access to lethal means to creating a statewide suicide prevention office.

Research shows when access to a highly lethal and leading suicide method is reduced, the overall suicide rate drops.

Putting time, distance and other barriers between a person with thoughts of suicide and the most lethal means can make the difference between life and death, the report said.

The report includes recommendations for laypeople, educators, healthcare workers and state agencies for each priority.

For example, the recommendations for everyone to minimize suicidal behaviors include increasing community programming that promotes social connectedness, working with employers to include healthy living and mental health education and suicide prevention programming in their training and promoting and distribute resources linkages where alcohol is sold.

The commission will develop an annual progress report on these recommendations going forward and will work on new and innovative recommendations in the future, the report said.
Brazil asked women on Friday to delay getting pregnant until the worst of the pandemic passes, saying the virus variant that is devastating the South American country appears to affect expectant mothers more than earlier versions of the coronavirus.

The recommendation comes as Brazil continues to be one of the global epicenters of the pandemic, with more Brazilians dying of the virus each day than anywhere else in the world.

Hospitals are buckling under the strain and stocks of drugs needed for intubating severely ill patients are running perilously low, with Brazil turning to international partners for help with emergency supplies.

"If its possible, delay pregnancy a little until a better moment," Health Ministry official Raphael Parente said during a news conference on Friday.

He said the recommendation was partly due to the stress on the health system but also due to the more easily transmissible Brazilian variant known as P.1.

"The clinical experience of specialists shows that this new variant acts more aggressively in pregnant women," Parente said.

Previously, COVID-19 cases during pregnancy were focused on the final trimester and birth, whereas lately there have been more serious cases in the second and occasionally first trimester, he said.

Parente did not give any more details.

The P.1 variant, first discovered in the Amazon city of Manaus, has quickly become dominant in Brazil.

It is thought to be a major factor behind a massive second wave of infections that has brought the country's death toll to over 350,000 - the second highest in the world behind the United States.

Brazil's outbreak is increasingly affecting younger people, with hospital data showing that in March more than half of all patients in intensive care were aged 40 or younger. read more

President Jair Bolsonaro has opposed lockdowns and held large events in which he often does not wear a mask. He has only recently embraced vaccines as a possible solution, but the inoculation rollout has been plagued by delays and missed targets for getting people inoculated.

This week, vaccinations were stopped in several cities due to a shortage of vaccine supply, according to local media.

The surge in COVID-19 cases has also left hospitals short of sedatives needed for patients who require mechanical ventilation.

An emergency shipment of the drugs arrived in Brazil late on Thursday from China, while donations from Spain are expected to arrive next week.

Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo have both sounded the alarm over shortages, with Sao Paulo's health secretary saying this week that the city's ability to care for seriously ill COVID-19 patients is on the verge of collapse.

Despite the shortage of drugs and 85% of intensive care beds occupied, Sao Paulo announced on Friday it would begin reopening stores and restaurants, saying the number of new hospitalizations had fallen sufficiently to do so safely.
Roger Stone has been sued by the Justice Department for failing to pay nearly $2 million in taxes to the IRS and has been asked to pay the money 'with interest.'

The Justice Department filed the lawsuit against Stone, 68, and his wife Nydia in the the Southern District of Florida federal court in Fort Lauderdale.

The suit claims that the Stones avoided paying $1,590,361 in taxes between 2007 and 2011 and snubbed the IRS of $407,036 in 2018.

'Despite notice and demand for payment, Roger and Nydia Stone have failed and refused to pay the entire amount of the liabilities,' the suit reads.

Roger Stone has been sued by the Justice Department for failing to pay nearly $2 million in taxes to the IRS and has been asked to pay the money 'with interest'

The Stones used Drake Ventures, a company registered to their home in Fort Lauderdale, to pay Roger Stone's associates, their relatives, and other entities without providing the required tax forms

A cat sits sentry on the porch of the home of Roger Stone in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019

The Stones alleged failed to pay income taxes on properties they held through their company Drake Ventures to 'shield their personal income from enforced collection and fund a lavish lifestyle,' according to the court document.

'Drake Ventures exists as a vehicle to receive income that belongs to the Stones and pay their personal expenses,' the lawsuit reads.

'Recognizing Drake Ventures as a separate entity despite these facts would sanction the Stones' attempts to evade their tax obligations and conceal their assets from collection by creditors.'

The Justice Department said that the Roger and Nydia, who each have a 50 percent stake in the company, 'dominated and controlled Drake Ventures to such an extent that it does not exist as an independent entity.'

The company has no website and no phone number, and the address listed for the business is the their home where they live. The company has been administratively dissolved twice by the Florida Secretary of State.

'The Stones used Drake Ventures to pay Roger Stone's associates, their relatives, and other entities without providing the required Forms 1099-MISC (Miscellaneous Income) or W-2s (Wage and Tax Statement),' the court document reads.

Stone, a longtime friend to former president Donald Trump, was convicted by a federal jury in Washington on seven counts of lying to Congress, obstruction of justice and witness tampering before his sentence was commuted and ultimately pardoned

The Stones used Drake Ventures to transfer $140,000 to Attorney's Preferred Title Inc. in February 2019 as a down payment to purchase their home and would deposit numerous checks naming Roger Stone as payee into Drake Ventures' accounts.

'They used Drake Ventures to receive payments that are payable to Roger Stone personally, pay their personal expenses, shield their assets, and avoid reporting taxable income to the IRS,' the suit reads.

Stone, a longtime friend to former president Donald Trump, briefly served as his campaign adviser.

He was was convicted by a federal jury in Washington on seven counts of lying to Congress, obstruction of justice and witness tampering in connection with special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into 2016 election interference.

Trump commuted Stone's sentence in July 2020 and granted him a presidential pardon in December, letting him avoid a 40-month prison sentence.

Stone said in a statement to CNN on Friday that 'the governments statement is preposterous.'

'They are well aware that my two year struggle against the Epically corrupt Mueller investigation has left my wife and I on the verge of bankruptcy,' Stone said, though the missing tax payments happened well before his legal woes.

'I have continued to eke out a living through my company Drake Ventures. To describe my current lifestyle as 'lavish' will be proved to be ridiculous in court. The political motivation of the DOJ Will be abundantly clear at trial.'
Outrage and heartbreak followed the release of body camera footage showing the moment 13-year-old Adam Toledo was shot and killed by a Chicago police officer.

The video was released on Thursday and quickly spread throughout the country. Texas leaders took to Twitter to respond to what they saw.
Here's a selection of Business Standard pieces for the day

We have seen too many instances of the event management mindset: Banging utensils from balconies, switching off lights, and burning candles for nine minutes at 9 pm, showering flower petals on hospitals from hovering helicopters, and so on. Meanwhile, containing infections at mass events like the and election rallies has been entrusted to the gods. The hour is late, lets get serious, writes T N Ninan

Between the premature victory mood that allowed Kumbh & elections, and lack of urgency on vaccines, the Modi govt has walked into its biggest crisis.

The way out needs realism, humility and one Ram baan' weapon, writes Shekhar Gupta

If the Congress wins the Assam elections, a national future for is assured. But if it loses, T S Singhdeo is sure to become more vocal. Ensuring a Congress government in Guwahati is crucial for stability in Raipur, argues Aditi Phadnis
45 years after its debut, Hyundai has revived an old classic from its stable - the Pony - and has unveiled a Hyundai Pony Heritage Series. This model is a retro-modern reconstruction of the original 1975 Pony that can be seen in the Reflections in Motion" exhibition, held at the new Hyundai Motorstudio in Busan, South Korea.

In an effort to pay tribute to the classic, Hyundai has made a lot of changes and has turned it into a retro-looking electric car. The exercise involved equipping the vehicle with a series of elements typical of today's cars, from the exterior paint to the finishes and available technology. The car even has 'pixel' type LED lights like those seen in the recently launched Hyundai Ioniq 5.
New Delhi: A Delhi court has granted bail to actor-activist Deep Sidhu, who was arrested in connection with the Red Fort violence on Republic Day.

Special Judge Neelofer Abida Perveen granted the relief to the accused on Friday on a personal bond of Rs 30,000 and two sureties of a like amount.

Sidhu was arrested on February 9 in connection with the Red Fort violence on January 26 during a farmers' tractor parade against the Centre's three new agriculture laws.

Thousands of protesting farmers, who reached ITO from the Ghazipur border, clashed with police, the agency claimed in its FIR registered in connection with the Republic Day violence, adding that many of the farmers, driving tractors, reached the Red Fort and entered the monument, where a religious flag was also hoisted.

In the FIR, the police said two magazines with 20 live cartridges were snatched from two constables by the protesters, who also damaged vehicles and robbed anti-riot gear.


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Ukrainian national Fedir Hladyr has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in the United States after pleading guilty to participating in the FIN7 hacking group.

Hladyr, 35, was sentenced in the northwestern U.S. city of Seattle on April 16, according to a news release by the U.S. Justice Department.

He was arrested in Dresden, Germany, in 2018 and extradited to the United States.

In September 2019, he confessed to serving as a manager and systems administrator for FIN7 and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit computer hacking.

He originally faced 26 criminal counts before agreed to plead guilty and pay $2.5 million in restitution.

The 10-year sentence includes the three years Hadyr has already spent in custody.

The Justice Department estimates that the FIN7 hacker group caused over a billion dollars in losses to Americans and costs to the U.S. economy. Prosecutors at the hearing said this was a conservative estimate and that the actual losses could be between $3 billion and $6 billion.

The group breached computer networks in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia and stole more than 20 million credit-card records.

With reporting by Cyberscoop
The pieces for a major surge of fighting in the Donbas continue to fall into place, highlighting an escalation of tensions between Russia and Ukraine that could potentially play out on the battlefield.

Analysts are loath to predict what will happen as Russia continues a massive military buildup near Ukraine's borders and in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula seized by Russian forces in 2014.

But while the more optimistic view is that the show of force is a bluff intended to test the West's resolve in supporting Kyiv in the face of Moscow's support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, the moves heighten the risks that fighting that has been contained to the Donbas since 2014 could spill over into a broader conflict.

"If it's just a 'show of strength,' Russia is doing an awful lot to make it wholly convincing," Nigel Gould-Davies, a senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), wrote on Twitter on April 14.

Rising Numbers

In recent weeks, Russia has unexpectedly boosted its troop presence near the conflict zone in Ukraine. As questions about Moscows motives mounted, military officials eventually said the forces were moved for exercises intended to test combat readiness in response to long-planned NATO drills in Europe.

Thousands of Russian troops have been transferred to a staging area south of Voronezh, located about 250 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, adding to forces already stationed there.

Analysis of open-source material by the global intelligence company Janes has identified tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, long-range artillery, rocket launchers, and Iskander short-range ballistic missile systems among the materiel that has been moved to the area since mid-March. U.S. and NATO officials have called it the largest military buildup in the region since Russia's surprise occupation of Crimea and the start of fighting in the Donbas, which has killed more than 13,000 combatants and civilians since April 2014.

Janes, which specializes in military and defense analysis, has also identified army air-defense systems being transported to the region as well as a long-range telecommunications system and a field hospital.

Similar activity has been seen in the Rostov region, which borders parts of the Donbas held by Russia-backed separatists, and on the Tavrida highway to Crimea, with eyewitnesses telling RFE/RL that convoys includes combat vehicles and multiple-rocket launching systems.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Taran told the European Parliament this week that Russia would ultimately have 110,000 troops within 56 tactical battalions at its disposal in Crimea and near Ukraine's borders, saying the built-up force could be used for unpredictable, escalatory actions.



The Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, announced it was sending additional naval vessels to reinforce the Crimea-based Black Sea Fleet. Without evidence, Moscow has accused Kyiv of planning an offensive against separatist forces in the Donbas and has warned that it would intervene if necessary to protect Russian citizens -- an apparent reference to residents of the separatist-held areas who have been given Russian passports.

This all comes as a cease-fire brokered last summer has collapsed in the Donbas, with more than 25 Ukrainian soldiers killed in separatist-held areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions since the start of the year, compared to 50 in all of 2020, and separatist forces claiming that more than 20 of their fighters have been killed.

Exit Residents, Enter Russian Journalists

Heorhiy Tuka, a former Ukrainian deputy minister for what Kyiv calls the temporarily occupied territories, says that families in separatist-held areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions are leaving for Russia in anticipation of a big war.

While Tuka told Current Time on April 14 that it was too early to say what might happen, he boiled things down to three likely scenarios:

A show of force intended to force a new round of negotiations regarding the conflict in the Donbas;

An escalation of fighting involving pinpoint strikes that would not result in Russian forces crossing its border with Ukraine and would force negotiations;

Or a full-scale invasion of Ukraine that would attempt to establish a corridor between Russian-controlled Crimea and separatist-held territories in the Donbas.

Tuka said he considered the second scenario to be the most likely, with the ultimate goal being the mandatory resumption of fresh water supplies to Crimea and direct negotiations between Kyiv and the two Russia-backed, self-declared governments in separatist-held areas of eastern Ukraine, demands that Moscow has been making since the war began in 2014.

We are inferior to the Russian Army in weapons and military equipment. On the other hand, the Ukrainian Army surpasses the enemy in motivation."

At the same time, journalist Denys Kazanskiy, a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the trilateral contact group on the Donbas -- which comprises Ukraine, Russia, and the OSCE -- said that Russian pro-government media were entering the conflict zone.

Kazanskiy described this as an "alarming" sign, saying that "when such people appear, their arrival is usually marked with some kind of aggravation" that is blamed on Ukraine.

Despite the Russian military buildup and being told that Ukraine is preparing to invade, Kazanskiy said, he said he does not believe the people in the separatist-held areas are panicking, because they have seen this before.

"It's like The Boy Who Cried Wolf," Kazanskiy said, noting that residents were told recently that the invasion would take place on March 15. "They shout all the time that Ukraine will attack, and advance, and that aggravates tensions."

No Comparison

Should major hostilities break out again in the Donbas, the situation will have changed a lot since 2014, according to experts. Both the Ukrainian and Russian militaries are seen as better prepared.

Kyiv has significantly boosted defense spending since 2014, has U.S.-supplied Javelin anti-tank missiles in its arsenal, and boasts troop numbers of nearly 250,000 compared to 168,000 in 2013.

When fighting broke out in eastern Ukraine, the country estimated that it had only 5,000 combat-ready troops and had to call on volunteer militias to help in the war effort, and Russian forces no longer benefit from the element of surprise.

As for Russia, "the situation is fundamentally different," according to military expert Yuriy Butusov, editor in chief of the Ukrainian website Censor.net.

"A military reform has been taking place in Russia since 2015," Butusov told RFE/RL's Russian Service. "It is aimed at strengthening the quality component of the armed forces, specifically for the conditions of a local war, military operations against Ukraine."

Rather than maintaining understaffed units, he said, "the Russian Army has moved on to maintaining a large number of full-fledged, ready-for-immediate-action units that are in a higher degree of combat readiness."

Ultimately, however, Butusov said that the lack of structural reforms in the Ukrainian military would make it difficult for it in a mobile war with Russia.

"We are inferior to the Russian Army in weapons and military equipment," he said. "On the other hand, the Ukrainian Army surpasses the enemy in motivation."

Former Ukrainian deputy minister Tuka gave a similarly dour assessment of Ukraine's chances in a war with Russia, saying, among other things, that Ukraines air-defense system is in "a deplorable state."

"You have to speak objectively and honestly," he told Current Time, the Russian-language network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA. "The fact is that if assets of the Russian armed forces are used -- such as aviation, missile forces, or long-range artillery -- then I have grave doubts ."

Another factor in the tension over the Russian military buildup is Moscows severely strained relations with the West.

The announcement of new U.S. sanctions on Russia on April 15 may make the Kremlin more cautious about actions that would further aggravate those ties, Aleksandr Baunov, an analyst at the Carnegie Moscow Center, wrote on Twitter.

But for now, Russia will make no notable overtures of peace, he wrote. Accordingly, the escalation over the Donbas may continue.

Written by Michael Scollon with reporting by Current Time correspondent Vladimir Mikhailov and Mark Krutov of RFE/RL's Russian Service
India has been hit by a new wave that has caused one million positive tests in a week

Ajay Singh Yadav only managed a final video call with Raj Karan before his close friend became the latest of an alarming number of young Indians, including children, falling victim to the new coronavirus wave sweeping the country.

Some doctors say the reason that under-45s are now vulnerable is that they go to work and eat out more, but there is no definitive proof.

They could also be more prone to a new "double mutant" variant found in 60 percent of samples in Maharashtra, the hardest-hit state.

Karan, 38, was campaigning in village elections when he fell ill. Yadav rushed him to a hospital, but he too tested positive and was put into isolation.

"I am devastated... I could only see him via a video call," Yadav, 39, told AFP in the northern city of Lucknow.

The nation of 1.3 billion people has been hit by a new wave that has caused one million positive tests in a week, and authorities are rattled.

At the start of the year, India thought it had beaten the pandemic and had kicked off a mass vaccination drive.

Face masks and social distancing were cast aside and huge crowds flocked to religious festivals and election rallies.

But in hospitals, doctors started warning of a rise in cases, including a new phenomenon -- younger patients -- for a disease usually viewed as riskier for older adults.

- Children in hospital -

In a country where around 65 percent of the population is under 35, there is growing concern about the impact on the young.

New Delhi's chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has said 65 percent of new patients are below 45.

India's medical research agency does not have a demographic breakdown of cases, but doctors in major cities confirmed that more young patients are coming to hospitals.

"We are also seeing children under the ages of 12 and 15 being admitted with symptoms in the second wave. Last year there were practically no children," said Khusrav Bajan, a consultant at Mumbai's P.D. Hinduja National Hospital and a member of Maharashtra's Covid-19 taskforce.

Story continues

In Gujarat state, pulmonologist Amit Dave said young people were experiencing "increased severity" from coronavirus for their lungs, hearts and kidneys.

One Gujarat hospital has set up the state's first paediatric coronavirus ward.

States across India have reported a similar increase of young patients.

In the southern IT hub of Bangalore, under-40s made up 58 percent of infections in early April, up from 46 percent last year, data aggregator Covid19india.org said.

- Variants and vaccines -

"I haven't seen such a rise in cases in the last one year as I've seen in the last one week," Delhi-based book publicist Tanu Dogra, 28, who was bedridden for a week after testing positive in March told AFP.

"Everybody on my timeline, on my WhatsApp, is frantically messaging each other because they've all tested positive."

In Brazil -- which like the rest of the world had more severe cases and deaths among the elderly during the first wave -- doctors are also seeing a higher prevalence of younger patients.

Experts say more data is needed to back up the anecdotal evidence in India, with genome sequencing of samples playing a key role.

"Sequencing will tell you about the mutant that's emerging," added virologist Shahid Jameel.

"But it doesn't take away from everything else that you should be doing -- that is to wear a mask and avoid crowded places."

Authorities have imposed weekend lockdowns and night curfews to stem the virus spread.

But medical professionals say India's sluggish vaccination drive -- currently limited to over-45s -- should also opened up to everyone.

Their call was echoed by young Indians in Delhi, who told AFP they felt more exposed as they had to go to work, many as breadwinners for their families.

"Right now young people need (vaccines) more... I see every day that people in their early 30s are getting hospitalised," 25-year-old pharmacist, Muzammil Ahmed, told AFP.

With hospitals overwhelmed, specialists like Venkat Ramesh, an infectious disease consultant at the Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad, said the crisis is already "severe" with worse to come.

"When I speak to my colleagues in major metropolitan cities across India, they have numerous calls from patients trying to find a bed," Ramesh told AFP.

"I'm quite afraid for the next one month. Given the rapidity of the rise in cases, it is certainly worrying."

bur-grk/stu/tw/je
Harness racing has been a fixture at Fraser Downs in Surrey for many decades, supporting decent livelihoods for families and an agricultural way of life. But as B.C. enters year two of the COVID-19 pandemic, horse racing in the Fraser Valley is facing difficult times.

Because of COVID, weve been forced to suspend all racing indefinitely after the last race tonight and 135 workers will be unemployed, said Nigel Holmes, executive director of Harness Racing BC. We have no choice  weve literally run out of money to operate at the track.

It means our regular spring racing meet will end early, and prospects are not good for our regular fall meet, unless we are able to negotiate some form of short term COVID financial support from the BC government, Holmes said.

Horse racing groups are facing financial challenges because of the closure of the casino connected to Fraser Downs, and a similar track/casino complex at Hastings Racecourse in Vancouver. Under a longstanding agreement with the province, thoroughbred and harness racing groups receive a share of slot machine revenue generated at the casinos.

Its money we use to sustain the industry, run races, hire workers, pay the purses, maintain the track, stable horses, and fund a host of agricultural support programs for breeding, rearing and training, Holmes said. But casinos were closed early in 2020, and that revenue source has dried up  with significant consequences.

Holmes says his group would like to renew discussions with Victoria about possible emergency support measures that will help the industry make it through 2021 and be able to flourish as B.C. recovers from the pandemic.

We are committed to finding a way to survive this year. Those involved in harness racing are very passionate about its place in our sporting and agricultural communities. In the coming days and weeks, we will be making that case as we meet with government representatives, he says.

In addition to the 135 layoffs, Holmes says the suspension of racing will impact on the local economy. He says the horse racing industry will no longer be purchasing a full range of goods and services from businesses including feed suppliers, hay sales, veterinarians, and farriers  many of which are multi-generational, locally-owned businesses.

(HRBC)
In this October 2016 file photo, construction continues on the Dakota Access pipeline. A hearing was scheduled for April 9, 2021, to determine whether the Dakota Access oil pipeline should be allowed to continue operating without a key permit while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducts an environmental review on the project.
I've been a reporter and editor at Missouri community newspapers for 35 years and joined the Columbia Missourian in 2003. My emphasis at the Missourian is on local government and elections. You can reach me at swaffords@missouri.edu or at 573-884-5366.

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John ODwyer paints a sad picture of an Ireland willing to let its language die  Compulsory Irish was all wrong for our national psyche (Irish Examiner, March 5).

I agree it is a difficult language to learn, but of course, if it were spoken at home it would be easier to learn.

Young Gaels may not know of the days when the language was forbidden under British domination. My husband, a Galway man, told of incidences before his lifetime of when a child slipped into Irish at school, he/she was punished at the end of the day in order for a parent to see tears on the childs face upon arriving home.

I do remember that in order to obtain a government job, a person had to pass a written exam in Irish.

A nephew from Galway received higher marks for taking oral exams in Irish. All of that may be gone now.

Part of any culture is its language, and it seems todays Irish have lost pride in their country.

Patricia W Oliver

Louisville

Kentucky

USA

Enforcing vaccination is medical fascism

The Covid-19 vaccine bandwagon has rolled into town.

Let us hope there are enough seats for everyone.

Over the new few months patronising lectures from the self-appointed elite will urge the common folk to take a leap of medical faith and offer an arm to the business end of a needle.

People will have questions about vaccine safety based around their own personal concerns.

The role of vaccines as a disease prevention vehicle needs to be discussed. Both sides of the discussion must be given space to express their views.

To dismiss vaccine concerns is arrogance funnelled through the prism that our medical betters know best.

A documented history of medical failings at many levels of healthcare provision in Ireland means the pronouncements from the medical profession are not infallible.

Covid-19 vaccines may justify the view they are safe to receive. But with all things medical a grain of the unknown exists.

If a person decides not to receive the vaccine despite reviewing the copious amount of pro-vaccine information and concluding this is the path they rather not walk, then we are in the realm of personal choice.

This expression of bodily integrity should not consign a person to social pariah status.

Vaccine bully may become the dictionary word of 2021.

Forcing a person to receive a vaccine due to society norms is medical fascism delivered in a bolus with a common good stamp.

John Tierney

Waterford

Underfunded Park

and Wildlife Service

Having today for the first time since lockdown was eased, visited Glengariff National Park, it was a joy to get back walking in this beautiful natural area of Forrest and river.

What a shame our government does not financially support the National Park and Wildlife Service (NPWS) adequately.

It is understaffed and maintenance is in short supply as here one can see the neglect of pathways and trimming of overhanging trees on public walkways.

Since the Covid crisis more and more people are using the natural environment to enjoy and boost their spirits. It would seem short sighted by the State to miss this opportunity to encourage more people, both young and old, to make use of these beautiful natural facilities near them.

Is it too much to expect that the NPWS will get more funding for these amenities?

Joe Standen

Bantry

Cork

Signs will not deter litter louts in parks

I refer to your story  Fears lack of litter bins will destroy Cork Harbour beauty spot (Irish Examiner, online, April 11).

In this story Sean OCallaghan  the most senior council official for the Cobh area  is quoted as having said they would erect signs telling people to take their rubbish home.

LOL  that means laugh out loud in case anyone is not familiar with computer speak.

Im sure they will take their rubbish home in response to the signs, just like they obey the no dog fouling signs.

John Williams

Clonmel

CoTipperary

Government must assure vaccine is safe

How can the Government tell people they will go to the back of the queue if they refuse the AstraZeneca vaccine?

It is the Governments and health advisers role to encourage and reassure the public that this vaccine is safe especially when millions of people around the world have already received the AstraZeneca vaccine with little or no side effects.

Susan Burke

Cahir

Tipperary

Provisional privilege of multiple mourners

Englands Prince Philip will have 30 mourners at his funeral service.

Bobby Storey had multiples of that number.

Whats the Storey about royal privilege?

Aileen Hooper

Stoneybatter

Dublin 7

Quarantine system lacks common sense

Our ministers are well educated people. They have special advisers and assistants  also well educated people.

In addition they have the assistance of experienced senior civil servants.

Yet they have failed to put in place an effective and efficient hotel quarantine system.

Why? Could it be that between them they lack basic common sense?

Michael A Moriarty

Rochestown

Cork

Grey pixel dot sells for more than a million

Most of my photos are about 6mp in size which means that they should sell for about ten trillion dollars which might seem expensive, but they are quite pretty.

This valuation is based on a real world one-pixel picture by a digital artist, Pak, that sold for US$1.36m (1.13m). It is a non-fungible token which uses blockchain to identify it, a technology that seems strange to most people, or least those that dont have a spare million to buy a grey dot.

A million dollars will buy a house in many cities, feed a lot of hungry people, pay for 10 art teachers to explain why this is a great purchase or for 10 financial advisors to give advice on saving for your retirement.

Although not an art critic I know that some art is priceless but to me a single pixel seems only worthless.

Dennis Fitzgerald

Box Hill

Melbourne

Australia

Maintaining peace in Northern Ireland

The Belfast Agreement (aka the Good Friday Agreement) signed in April 1998 and approved a month later by a referendum North and South was done with the support of John Hume; Gerry Adams; Martin McGuinness; former taoisigh, Albert Reynolds and Bertie Ahern; former US president Bill Clinton; his emissary George Mitchell; British PMs, John Major and Tony Blair; unionist leader, David Trimble; loyalist leaders, and many others. They had the wisdom to see the big picture.

The DUP leader and First Minister of Northern Ireland Arlene Foster currently has the responsibility to protect the peace process. It is perhaps one of the most difficult jobs in politics.

As first minister her role is to represent all the people in Northern Ireland.

In recent weeks she and other unionist politicians requested the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), Simon Byrne, to resign because the police did not enforce Covid-19 rules when necessary, at the funeral in June 2020 of Sinn Fein member, Bobby Storey. He was caught between a rock and a hard place as some 2,000 people attended the funeral. Sinn Fein leader in Northern Ireland Michelle ONeill offered her regret about the Covid-19 rules not being adhered to by some at the funeral. Arlene Foster persisted with her call for Mr Byrne to resign. He hasnt and few expected he would.

The riots of the last few weeks in parts of Northern Ireland were actions which Arlene Foster condemned. She spoke in support of the frontline police.

The real issue of discontent for her and the DUP is they dont support the UK/EU Protocol of a customs border now on points of entry in Northern Ireland from/to the UK.

They see it as putting a border (it is economic only) with the UK which is true.

But if there was no protocol, there would be EU customs checks on our border with Northern Ireland as a consequence of the UK leaving the EU.

The protocol was a compromise to prevent pressures on the peace process and to not see a return to violence of the past; and without compromise there would not have been the Belfast Agreement. It is hard work to maintain the peace process, to please all sides.

Mary Sullivan

College Road

Cork

TG4 truly delivers another perspective

The recent TG4 documentary on the history of Number 6 Harcourt Street in Dublin was an outstanding production.

Through the prism of the building the programme outlined the changing currents of Irish history since the late 18th century.

Through the eyes of a new generation of historians and scholars the programme presented fresh insights. It reminded us too of just how central a role in the struggle for national independence was played by the Irish language movement.

It was also refreshing to hear this young generation of scholars expressing themselves fluently in Irish. TG4 can be rightly proud of this programme  it really did live up to the channels motto Suil eile (another perspective). Comhghairdeas le gach duine a bhi pairteach ann.

John Glennon

Hollywood

Co Wicklow
April 17 : The number of active COVID-19 cases has been massively increasing in the country, with the surge quite high in Maharashtra. The state has also been put under a lockdown situation with Section 144 clamped in it. Yet, almost every day, Bollywood celebrities are contacting the virusfrom actors, filmmakers to production people, and now celebrity fashion designer Manish Malhotra has tested positive with the virus.

The ace designer took to his Instagram handle and confirmed the news, and said that he is under home quarantine. Manish shared an image of a positive sign and wrote, I have tested positive for COVID 19. I have immediately isolated myself and will be under home quarantine. I am following all safety protocols under the advice of my doctors. Please stay safe & take care.

As soon as the designer shared the news, good wishes and prayers for his speedy recovery started pouring from his fans, followers as well as his fellow industry friends.

Meanwhile, actor Sumeet Vyas has also tested positive for COVID-19. Sumeet also shared a post on his Instagram handle and said he has tested positive and is currently under home quarantine. Sumeet has very negligible symptoms, but he has urged people who have come in contact with him to get tested as a precaution.

Sumeet, who starred in web series Tripling and films like Veere Di Wedding, wrote on Instagram, Hello. So I have tested positive for COVID-19. Im taking all the necessary precautions, taking medications prescribed by my doctor and putting myself under home quarantine. Although I have very mild to negligible symptoms, but Id request anyone whos come in contact with me in the last few days to get themselves tested. Stay safe and see you on the other side Soon.

Sumeets friends from the industry, like Sunil Grover, Kubbra Sait, Saqib Saleem, Goldie Behl and others, wished him speedy recovery in the comments section.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
After more than a decade of experimenting, a trio of Malaysian farmers say they have found the right concoction of nutrients and treatments to successfully grow Japanese muskmelons, one of the worlds most expensive fruits.

The farmers at Malaysian company Mono Premium Melon regularly rub the melons with a soft cloth or glove, a practice called "tama-fuki" said to enhance their flavour, and play classical music over speakers in the greenhouses, which is believed to stimulate growth.

"Every single Japanese melon that you see in our farm is almost like an artpiece," said Seh Cheng Siang, director and co-founder of Mono, at the company's farm in Malaysia's administrative capital Putrajaya.

A farmer checks a Japanese muskmelon at Mono Farm in Putrajaya, Malaysia April 8, 2021. Photo: Reuters

Since the last century, farmers in Japan have been perfecting the art of cultivating these melons, which are prized for their taste and precise spherical shape, and are sold in high-end shops as luxury items.

In attempting to match this quality, the farmers have had to contend with Malaysia's hot and humid tropical climate, a world away from the more temperate conditions in Japan.

"We have to make sure that nutrition, the watering and the fertiliser are done very consistently and precisely," said Seh, adding that they tried growing more than 10 varieties of Japanese melon, before they found the right one.

Japanese muskmelons are pictured at Mono Farm in Putrajaya, Malaysia April 8, 2021. Photo: Reuters

After bringing the melon seeds in from Japan, the Malaysian farmers travelled to Japanese farms to learn the cultivation methods to try and replicate them in Malaysia.

They also used trial and error to overcome challenges such as determining the optimal composition of the nutrition given to the melon plants.

Despite these obstacles, Mono's first batch of 200 selected melons have sold out, thanks mainly to online sales.

A farmer polishes a Japanese muskmelon with facial pads at Mono Farm in Putrajaya, Malaysia April 8, 2021. Photo: Reuters

The melons are sold for 168 ringgit ($40.70) each, about a third of the price the Japan varieties normally go for.

"It's pretty interesting to know that as a Malaysian, we can actually grow Japanese-grade melons in Malaysia," said Elaine Chow, a customer who attended a recent event at the greenhouses.
NASA said today that SpaceX will build the lander that will put the next American astronauts on the Moon after the company defeated rival bids by teams led by Dynetics of Huntsville and Blue Origin, the rocket company owned by Jeff Bezos.

However, NASA said during an afternoon press briefing that the $2.9 billion contract announced today is for the first landing only and NASA will now begin discussing a future landing services contract that could include other companies. NASA said it hoped to see all these companies again in that competition.

Early reports said the SpaceX bid to do the landing was significantly lower than the other two teams. SpaceX plans to make the landings with its reusable Starship spacecraft. Beyond the low bid, another point made in favor of SpaceX was the Starships payload capacity which would mean more room for astronauts and more cargo to the lunar surface.

The Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville is leading NASAs human lunar lander program, and program manager Lisa Watson-Morgan announced the SpaceX choice at a national press briefing. She cited the SpaceX rockets fully reusable capability, large cabin and storage area and in-orbit refueling.

Dynetics is headquartered in Huntsville, and Blue Origin has built a large rocket engine plant in the city. Both companies were expected to expand their operations in Alabama if they won, and it wasnt immediately clear if either would compete for future supply contracts.

Huntsvilles Marshall center is also leading development of the Space Launch System that is the foundation of NASAs plans to return American astronauts to the Moon. SLS will launch the first astronauts to the Moon, NASA said, and those astronauts will transfer to Starship for the landing.

SpaceX was founded by Musk in 2002 with the ultimate goal of putting humans on Mars. NASA already uses the companys smaller, reusable rockets to take astronauts to and from the International Space Station, and the Friday win was another big endorsement of the companys achievements and commitment.

The rocket that will land the astronauts, the Starship, is still under development. SpaceX has been launching uncrewed prototypes into the sky over Texas and attempting to return them to the launch pad. So far, all of the test Starships have crashed, but no one expected the company to stop before Starship succeeded even if it lost the lander contract. But if Starship is successful getting to the Moon and is successful landing and taking off from the lunar surface with astronauts aboard, the future of SLS could again come into question.
NATO is concerned about Russia's intentions to restrict access to certain areas in the Black Sea and calls on Moscow to ensure freedom of navigation and access to Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov, as well as to end the escalation.

The corresponding commentary by NATO Spokesperson Oana Lungescu was released by the press service of the North Atlantic Alliance.

"We are concerned by reports that Russia plans to restrict access to parts of the Black Sea and the Kerch Strait. This would be an unjustified move and part of a broader pattern of destabilizing behavior by Russia. We call on Russia to ensure free access to Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov and allow freedom of navigation. Since its illegal annexation of Crimea, Russia has substantially increased its military presence on and around the peninsula. Russia's ongoing militarization of Crimea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov are further threats to Ukraine's independence and undermine the stability of the broader region. We call on Russia to de-escalate immediately, stop its pattern of provocations and respect its international commitments. NATO Allies do not and will not recognize Russia's illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea. We fully support Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders," she said.
Kolkata, April 17 : Though there were some stray incidents but the state recorded huge polling in the fifth phase of the election. The final figures are yet to come but the voters' turnout recorded by the commission shows that there was 78.36 percent polling till 5 p.m. on Saturday evening.

According to the data released by the commission, Jalpaiguri registered the highest voting percentage of 81.73 percent followed by East Burdwan with 81.72 percent. Nadia witnessed 81.57 percent voting while North 24 Parganas and Darjeeling had 74.83 and 74.32 percent voting respectively. Kalimpong recorded the lowest turnout with 69.56 percent.

There were altogether 319 candidates from different political parties in the fifth phase of polls that was conducted in 45 constituencies including 7 in Jalpaiguri, 5 in Darjeeling, 1 in Kalimpong, 8 in Nadia, 16 in North 24 Parganas and 8 in East Burdwan.

Though overall the voting was peaceful all over the state, there were some sporadic incidents including the arrest of an Independent candidate of Chakdah AC in Nadia district for having a firearm in his possession. "Koushik Bhowmick, the candidate was found going around a polling booth at Baliadanga, Daspara area with a country made gun tucked in his trousers. He dropped the firearm when the central forces intercepted him after the local people raised a hue and cry," CEO Ariz Aftab told the media after the election.

Incidentally a booth agent of the BJP Abhijit Samanta died after falling sick at a polling station in Kamarhati, North 24 Parganas district. He was rushed to a local hospital where he was declared brought dead. In another incident three persons were arrested when one person identified as Haran Gaur was attacked near Santipur police station area in Nadia district in which he sustained leg injuries. He was taken to a hospital.

Supporters of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) clashed with each other at Shanti Nagar in Bidhannagar in North 24 Parganas district. The supporters of both the parties resorted to stone pelting and physically assaulted each other. A huge police force accompanied by the central forces reached the spot and brought the situation under control.

The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) also referred to an incident where a TMC booth agent at Galsi in East Burdwan district was beaten up allegedly by BJP supporters when he tried to stop them from proxy voting at a polling booth in Jahanpur.

"The Commission has received 2,241 complaints through various platforms today (Saturday) and 123 people have been arrested including 100 preventive arrests." the CEO said.

When asked about complaints by a number of candidates that they were prevented from entering polling booths by the central forces, the CEO said that the forces have been issued clear cut instructions that candidates should not be stopped from entering polling booths. The TMC candidate from Kamarhati, Madan Mitra and the BJP nominee from Baranagar Parno Mitra were allegedly initially prevented from entering booths.

The 45 assembly seats that witnessed voting are expected to see a close fight with the TMC leading in 23 against the BJP's 22 in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
GREENWICH  The district has closed its investigation into an incident in which two teachers showed a cartoon video that was not appropriate to two second grade remote classes in March, according to a statement Friday from the Greenwich superintendent of schools.

Neither teacher will finish out the year with the classes, according to the statement, although its not clear whether they have been terminated, reassigned or some other arrangement was made.

While we cannot discuss personnel decisions due to privacy, the internal investigation has concluded and the second grade remote classes will have new teachers to finish out the remainder of the year, Superintendent of Schools Toni Jones said Friday. We have a transition plan in place, including an opportunity for families to send goodbye notes to their teachers, as well as welcoming their new teacher. We look forward to concluding the school year on a positive note.

The cartoon, called Alfred Jr. & Shadow  A Short Story about Being Scared, was shown to the remote students March 29, according to Jones. The cartoon, which she said is meant for children in a private therapy setting, depicted scenes of physical and sexual abuse and, in one scene, a cartoon-image of a mans penis.

The district said it could not provide any additional information about the teachers, including whether they remain employed by the district. Greenwich Education Association President Carol Sutton could not immediately be reached for comment Friday afternoon about the case.

The video was shared during a lesson on social and emotional learning depicting a character who discusses fear and being afraid, Jones said in an earlier statement. Around the midway point in the video there is reference to situations in which children may become afraid, including being afraid of abuse, both physical and sexual.

The districts Human Resource Department investigated the incident, she said.

The district also alerted the state Department of Children and Families about the incident. But Sasha Houlihan, the districts director of communications, said DCF declined to open an investigation.

Our district apologized to the families involved for any questions or concerns that this video raised with their children, and offered support to families from our GPS staff psychologists, Jones said in the earlier statement.

The incident was reported by multiple news outlets, and some parents and local politicians expressed outrage, including Ed Dadakis, an RTM member and the former Greenwich Republican Town Committee chair.

Full facts must be divulged to the Greenwich community within days  not weeks or months. Appropriate action must be taken, which may well include termination of those involved. Facts now! Dadakis said on Twitter.

justin.papp@scni.com; @justinjpapp1; 203-842-2586
Polling for Phase 5 of West Bengal assembly elections is underway. The fifth phase of Bengal elections began at 7 am on Saturday. Voting in as many as 45 assembly segments are underway in the fifth phase. Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged voters to turn out in large numbers and appealed especially to first time voters to cast their vote.

"Urging all those voting in today's fifth phase of the West Bengal elections to vote in large numbers. First time voters in particular should exercise their franchise," said PM Modi in a tweet.

Urging all those voting in todays fifth phase of the West Bengal elections to vote in large numbers. First time voters in particular should exercise their franchise.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 17, 2021

Elections are being conducted in the state amid tight security. Official sources told news agency PTI that long queues are being seen outside polling booths where voting is underway.

Over 1 crore voters are eligible to vote in this phase and 342 candidates are in the fray.

Violence broke out in Cooch Behar in the previous phase, leading to tight security in Phase 5. The Cooch Behar violence led to the death of five people. The Election Commission (EC) ordered suspension of polls at polling station number 126 in the Sitalkuchi Assembly constituency amid the violence. A repoll would be ordered in the coming days in accordance with the laid-down procedure.

The Election Commission has decided to deploy at least 853 companies of central forces to ensure free and fair voting, an official said. The polling will continue till 6:30 pm.

Also read: West Bengal elections: Voting for phase 5 begins amid tight security

Also read: Cooch Behar clash: EC suspends polls at Sitalkuchi booth after reports of violence
A man has been jailed after a multi-million money laundering seizure in the Midlands linked to gangland crime.

A Laois man has been jailed for laundering over 3.5 million - the largest cash seizure by gardai in the history of the State.

Darren Hoey, (46) of Oak Drive, Ballacollig, Mountmellick was jailed arising from his arrest by Gardai who seized nearly 700,000 in Mountmellick and a further 2.8 million at a cottage in Lisselton, Co Kerry.

Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau arrested the Laois man after he took two bags of cash from a car and bring them to the north Kerry cottage - his holiday home. Six more bags of cash were discovered in base of a bed in the cottage.

During the raids, a ledger highlighting provided details of cash for drugs shipments. Gardai also recovered an encrypted phone with a Dutch SIM card. A vacuum packer and money counter were also recovered in Kerry. Hoey was described as the 'financial controller' for a criminal gang.

Hoey was found guilty of two counts of money laundering and two counts of having an article for assisting an organised crime gang at the Circuit Criminal Court in Tralee this week.

His defence team told the court that he got "sucked into" drugs following his mother's death.

Judge Helen Boyle sentenced the Laois man to eight years in jail, with one year suspended.

Det Supt Dave Gallagher from the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau was the senior officer. He spoke after sentencing.

Money is the lifeblood of organised crime. The Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau will continue to target persons willing to engage in the activity and facilitate the purchase and importation of controlled drugs that impact our communities, he said.
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A cross-section of Ilorin Emirate indigenes on Friday offered special prayers for the emergence of Salihu Mustapha as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Chief Missioner of Ilorin Central Mosque, Yakubu Aliagan, led the brief prayer session shortly before the commencement of the Jumaat service.

Mr Aliagan prayed God to grant the politicians heart desires as he had made contributions to Ilorin Emirate and toward the maintenance of the central mosque.

Also speaking, Baba Isale of Ilorin, Abdullahi Sadiq, expressed confidence in the ability of Mr Mustapha to deliver, if given the mandate.

He said the community decided to organise the special prayer for Mr Mustapha because of his outstanding philanthropic gestures and immeasurable contributions to the development of Ilorin Emirate.

Malam Mustapha has all it takes to lead APC at the national level because he is intelligent, humane and above all, he is God-fearing, Mr Sadiq said.

On his part, Tajudeen Olesin urged the stakeholders to provide a level playing ground for all APC chairmanship aspirants.

Mr Olesin said if this was done, Mr Mustapha stood a better chance to emerge as the national chairman of the party.

All men of goodwill in the APC should queue behind Mustapha and ensure his emergence as the next national chairman of the party, he said.

Mr Olesin equally urged APC stakeholders to zone the partys chairmanship to the North-central zone of the country.

Abubakar Aduagba, an engineer, said given his antecedents, Mr Mustapha would perform creditably if given the chance to lead the ruling APC.

(NAN)
CHICAGO  Hundreds of people marched through the Logan Square neighborhood in Chicago on Friday evening, calling for overhauls to the citys police department after the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo by a police officer in March.

Holding signs reading Justicia Para Adam and We are Adam, defund the police, a large crowd listened as speakers denounced the Chicago Police Department and Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

Adam was shot and killed by a police officer, Eric E. Stillman, 34, in the early-morning hours of March 29. In video of the shooting, released on Thursday by an independent city agency that investigates police conduct, Adam is chased down an alley by a white police officer, who orders him to stop and show his hands. An analysis of the video, slowing down events that took place in the space of a second, shows the boy then appearing to toss a handgun nearby and raising his hands in the air, just before the officer shoots him in the chest.

Jasmin Cardenas, who attended the march with her two small children, cried as she stood holding a sign supporting Adam and his family. She lives in Little Village, the predominantly Latino neighborhood where Adam was killed, and runs an after-school arts program that once worked with children at Gary Elementary, where Adam was a student.
Last summer, at the height of Massachusetts worst drought in years, the 35-mile-long Ipswich River was flowing at a meager rate of 0.5 cubic feet per second  basically nothing.

Those are the words of Wayne Castonguay, executive director of the Ipswich River Watershed Association, who explained in October 2020 how whenever dry conditions hit the state, the waterbody he monitors so regularly is typically hit the hardest, in large part because of an antiquated state law that allows for an excessive amount of water to be withdrawn from the Ipswich.

The majority of the river, which serves as the main drinking water source for Northeastern Massachusetts, is exempt from any state or federal regulations due to a law passed in the 1980s, Castonguay noted. Providing drinking water to roughly 350,000 residents across 14 communities, the Ipswich has become the most slow-stressed river in the Bay State, meaning a large portion of its water, around to 80%, is exported outside the watershed every day and never returns to the system.

Whenever droughts hit, we are affected harshly, Castonguay told MassLive last year. Were normally stressed because of that exportation, but with droughts, the dryness is exacerbated.

This week, American Rivers, a nonprofit that for nearly 50 years has been working to protect watersheds across the country, named the Ipswich the eighth most endangered river in the United States in 2021, calling it the poster child for the states outdated water system. The greatest threat posed to the river, according to the organization: excessive water withdrawals.

An astounding 80 percent of Ipswich water is exported out of the watershed, American Rivers said in its explainer. Worse, more than 90 percent of withdrawals are exempt from any water use conditions like conservation measures.

Even in non-drought years, stretches of the Ipswich are pumped dry, resulting in fish dying, ecological damage, lost recreational space and threats to the quality and security of the water supply, according to American Rivers.

The climate crisis is making the situation worse, the organization pointed out, noting how communities are increasingly worried about running out of water. In MassLives three-part series about last years drought, David F. Boutt, a professor of hydrogeology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, explained how the global climate crisis will make extreme weather patterns, like severe droughts as well as intense flooding, more frequent in the years to come.

With the effects of climate change looming on the horizon, American Rivers said its critical in the current moment that state officials, water suppliers and cities and town work together to make Massachusetts a leader for smart water use.

While behavior and land use changes can lower some water use, we cannot solve this problem without a more balanced regulatory framework, the organization argued, noting excessive water withdrawals are sucking the river dry, putting both the ecosystem and the regions water security at risk.

Two severe droughts in the last five years and a global climate crisis have increased the urgency to drastically improve river management, the group added. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection must fix how it implements existing laws and improve its regulations to support the rivers health, regional water security and the many communities, businesses and residents who depend on the Ipswich River.

In light of the waterbodys endangerment status, the Ipswich River Watershed Association  a 1,500-member group of residents, scientists, businesses and community leaders  has launched its Endangered Ipswich Campaign to highlight solutions at the state and local level for protecting the drinking water supply.

The groups efforts are drawing support from former Massachusetts Senator and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who currently serves as the special presidential envoy for climate under Democratic President Joe Biden. Hes expected to deliver a video message at the associations annual meeting, championing the importance of local action to protect the nations waterways and prepare for climate change.

Places in New England where I grew up  and where a love for water, bays, rivers streams, estuaries, the ocean, all of that is practically written into our DNA  even here, rivers are being threatened by drought, Kerry said in a statement. The truth is, so much of the work that we need to do to address environmental challenges actually happens not internationally but in much smaller communities, in states, countries, cities and towns around the world.

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In a foreign country and in a prison in an unfamiliar state, Fernando Marulanda Trujillo couldnt help but fear he would die.

His heart was slowly failing him. He suffered a heart attack in 2018, prompting him to have open heart surgery and a dual chamber permanent pacemaker inserted. He was hospitalized again in February 2020 for heart issues  just days before the first case of the coronavirus in New Jersey.

The pandemic, his attorney warned, could accelerate the inevitable for the man nearing his 70s. Before it did, Alvin Entin, a South Florida attorney, pleaded with a judge to release Marulanda Trujillo, who would have been deported back to his native country of Colombia.

It will more than likely result in death if he contracts COVID-19, Entin wrote to a judge last spring. Rather than wait until he does so, the present facts provide a compelling predicate to request compassionate release.

A judge ultimately denied his motion to be released.

Months later, Marulanda Trujillo did test positive for the virus on Dec. 12, according to the BOP.

But after contracting the virus, Bureau of Prisons (BOP) officials said Marulanda Trujillo, who was serving a 210-month sentence at Fort Dix federal prison for conspiracy to import and distribute cocaine into the United States, recovered from the virus in 10 days.

In accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, Mr. Marulanda Trujillo was converted to a status of recovered (on Dec. 22) following the completion of medical isolation and presenting with no symptoms, the agency said.

A spokesman said a sick prisoner is deemed recovered by medical staff as determined by CDC guidelines.

But deeming Marulanda Trujillo recovered ended up being premature.

He was rushed to the emergency room on Dec. 28  less than a week after officials said he had recovered  after officers found him in dire straits, medically speaking, a prisoner, who was an interpreter for Marulanda Trujillo and engaged to Marulanda Trujillos niece, wrote in a letter to a federal judge filed on Jan. 27.

He was defecating on himself, urinating on himself without control or awareness, wrote Osvaldo Rosa, the translator. He was also not remembering to take his more than a dozen prescribed medications.

Rosa wrote that neither Marulanda Trujillos family or friends knew of his whereabouts or medical status.

NO ONE of his family has been able to find out his status, Rosa wrote. This in itself is mental cruelty.

Last month, the BOP announced that Marulanda Trujillo died from complications of the virus  more than three months after the agency said he had recovered from it. He was 69.

The BOP declined to discuss specifics of his death, but a spokesman said the BOP confines offenders in a safe and humane environment that meets each inmates need for security.

Marulanda Trujillo is at least the third person to die after contracting COVID-19 while at Fort Dix federal prison, which has been decimated by the virus. More than 1,800 prisoners  around two-thirds of the total population  at the correctional institution have contracted the virus during multiple significant outbreaks of it throughout the pandemic, the highest number of any federal prison in the country, according to the BOP.

It is not uncommon for people to feel the effects of COVID months after testing positive for the virus, but Rosa, as well as other prisoners, their families and attorneys, have voiced concerns about the prisons ability to treat sick prisoners.

Siddeeq Williams, a prisoner at Fort Dix who previously tested positive for the virus, has repeatedly written to a federal judge outlining substandard medical care the incarcerated population has received, specifically those battling long-term symptoms of the virus.

As I suffer from long COVID symptoms, I do not believe Fort Dix and the BOP have the ability to provide adequate medical care, he wrote to a judge on April 5.

Rosa described Fort Dix as cataclysmic environment for a deadly outbreak of COVID-19 with improper medical care, which has become a grave concern for inmates, their families and BOP officials.

It especially was for Marulanda Trujillo, who was serving a lengthy prison sentence for admitting that he had participated as an investor in a multinational drug trafficking conspiracy. He was set to be released in 2026.

But when the pandemic hit, like hundreds of other incarcerated individuals across the country, Marulanda Trujillo requested to get released by convincing a federal judge that he was facing extraordinary and compelling circumstances.

Every day that Mr. Marulanda Trujillo spends in prison, he is at risk of contracting COVID-19 and subsequently dying from the disease, wrote Entin, his attorney.

Prosecutors opposed his release, claiming Marulanda Trujillos health issues do not compare to the level of extreme impairment that would warrant being released from federal custody. And even if they did, the prison had implemented a number of operational changes to ensure the safety of the inmate population, an assistant U.S. attorney wrote last May.

A judge denied Marulanda Trujillos request to be released in May, and again in December after he contracted the virus, though it is unclear if the judge was aware of his illness.

In his letter to the judge, Rosa said Marulanda Trujillo most likely contracted COVID-19 after returning to the prison from a local hospital in November.

Upon his return, according to Rosa, Marulanda Trujillo tested negative, but in the midst of his mandatory quarantine, two prisoners, including one who self-surrendered to the prison, were put in the same cell as him.

Days later, Marulanda Trujillo was positive with the virus, Rosa said.

His health, Rosa said, began deteriorating with every day being lived out. Rosa feared his close friend would die in a foreign country and behind prison walls in New Jersey.

The BOP said in a release after his death that Marulanda Trujillo was eventually transported to a long-term care facility for further care after the agency said he was recovered. Then in mid-March, his condition worsened and he was transported to a local hospital, where he died, less than two weeks later.

Marulanda Trujillos family could not be reached for comment. Entin, his attorney, died from COVID-19 while working to try to get Trujillo released.

Last month, an attorney who had taken over the case alerted the judge that his case could be terminated, writing it was moot as Fernando Vicente Marulanda-Trujillo passed away on March 25, 2021 after a long battle with COVID-19.

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WASHINGTON  Even in a dysfunctional capital, the Federal Election Commission has long stood out for monumental dysfunction.

It has endured years without full membership, months without a quorum and persistent deadlocks between its three Democratic and three Republican commissioners over whether to even begin inquiries into campaign law violations  not to mention open hostility in its ranks and longstanding vacancies in critical posts.

As billions of dollars have poured into American political campaigns in recent years, the F.E.C. has been an idle bystander, a zombie watchdog in the view of many in the campaign finance world from both political parties.

You have literally seen the referee leave the field, said Representative Derek Kilmer, Democrat of Washington and a longtime proponent of shaking up the commission.
Women should postpone pregnancy until the coronavirus pandemic has passed, health officials in Brazil have warned.

The Secretary of Primary Health Care of the Brazilian health ministry, Raphael Camara has said that the variants of covid in Brazil is more dangerous to expectant mothers.

'If possible [the women should] postpone the pregnancy a bit to a better time so that [they] can have a more peaceful pregnancy,' he said in a press conference on Friday.

Health officials in Brazil are urging women to wait to conceive due to a new strain of the virus

He added that the ministry is now working on studies on the issue of pregnancy and variants of the virus.

'The clinical view of experts shows that the new variant has a more aggressive action on pregnant women,' he said.

'Before, [severity] was linked to the end of the pregnancy, but now [they] see a more serious evolution in the second trimester and even in the first trimester..'

Brazil has the second highest recorded deaths related to covid, second only to the US, with 368,749 deaths and more than 13.8million cases.

It could be down to a new variant of the virus, which is believed to be extra contagious.

Public health experts have also warned that the country could be headed for more difficult times due to inaction and political issues.

A team led by Marcia Castro of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, alongside experts at the University of Sao Paulo published a report in the jorunal Science which states that the 'federal response' in Brazil has been 'a dangerous combination of inaction and wrongdoing.

'Without immediate action, this could be a preview of what is yet to happen in other localities in Brazil.'

Health care services in Brazil have been struggling under the weight of the pandemic

It comes after the city of Manaus experiences a collapse in the hospital system following oxygen shortages.

Meanwhile, in the UK, pregnant women are now being offered either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccinations following studies showing 'no safety signals' when they were used in the US.

Updated guidance published on Friday read: 'Although clinical trials on the use of COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy are not advanced, the available data do not indicate any harm to pregnancy.

'JCVI [The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation] has therefore advised that women who are pregnant should be offered vaccination at the same time as non-pregnant women, based on their age and clinical risk group.

'Pregnant women who commenced vaccination with AstraZeneca, however, are advised to complete with the same vaccine.'
The White House said Friday that President Joe Biden would keep in place the historically low refugee cap set for this year by former President Donald Trump, drawing the ire of refugee advocates and several Democratic lawmakers.

A senior official administration said earlier on Friday that Biden would sign an order that would keep this year's refugee cap of 15,000, an opposite to what he had committed to doing.

The order would also suppose to lift refugee admission restrictions on regions previously blocked by the Trump administration, such as Africa and the Middle East.

It added that the president would consult Congress if there is a need to increase the number of admissions, according to a USA Today report.

But after facing public outcry over the decision to keep the current refugee cap in place, the White House issued another statement later in the day and said that Biden is now planning to set a final and "increased refugee cap" for the remainder of this year by May 15.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the president had been discussing with his advisers the number of refugees that could "realistically" admitted to the country for the remainder of the year. AFP News reported.

"Given the decimated refugee admissions program we inherited, and burdens on the Office of Refugee Resettlement, his initial goal of 62,500 seems unlikely," Psaki noted.

Earlier, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had announced that the U.S. would allow 62,500 refugees to resettle as justified by humanitarian concerns.

READ NEXT: U.S. Admits First Group of Asylum-Seekers as Biden Rolls Back Remain-in-Mexico Policy

Democrats Criticize

Both progressive and moderate Democrats have attacked Biden's decision after signing an emergency determination extending Trump's order to let in 15,000 refugees into the U.S. this fiscal year.

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez expressed her dismay over a tweet, saying it was completely unacceptable.

Ocasio-Cortez said that Biden promised to welcome immigrants and that he was elected due to that promise.

Biden's known ally and the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relation Committee, New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, said that Biden fails to make good on his promise to reverse Trump's refugee policies, according to a Daily News report.

Meanwhile, immigrant advocates said they would take the Biden administration's policy procurements with a grain of salt after the mixed messaging.

Omar Jadwat, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Immigrants' Rights Project, said to "credit when they do" and not what they vowed to do.

Chief of Staff Ron Klain earlier said that they made a promise a White House meeting with members of the House Democratic Progressive Caucus to boost the refugee cap soon, Daily Mail reported.

Biden's initial promise to boost the refugee cap to 62,500 would mean it would create spots for 22,000 refugees from Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean to have 5,000 and 6,000 from East Asia. It would also mean 4,000 from Europe and Centra Asia and 13,000 from South Asia.

On top of that, there would still be 12,500 unallocated spots. The number for refugee cap is seen to peak to 125,000 slots for the next fiscal year. However, the Biden administration has made no official announcement as of the moment.

READ MORE: Trump's Immigration Policy Denies Entry of Low-Income Foreign Applicants

WATCH: Democrats Slam President Biden For Not Immediately Lifting Refugee Cap - From CNBC Television






LONDON  The world is accustomed to seeing St. Georges Chapel, on the grounds of Windsor Castle, garlanded with flowers and filled with guests celebrating the nuptials of a royal bride and groom.

Three years ago, it was Meghan Markle and Prince Harry kissing on the steps of the chapel, her in a custom-made Givenchy dress by Claire Waight Keller, and her new husband in his military uniform. A few months later, it was Princess Eugenies turn. Dressed in a gown by Peter Pilotto, she married Jack Brooksbank in yet another glittering, celebrity-packed ceremony.

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On Saturday, the mood at St. Georges Chapel could not have been more different, with 30 family members attending the socially distanced funeral of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who died April 9, just two months shy of his 100th birthday.

As Queen Elizabeths husband of 73 years, he was entitled to a state funeral but opted instead for a ceremonial one, which he planned with the sort of military precision befitting of a top-ranking naval officer.

Pre-COVID-19, there had been plans for a funeral with 800 guests, but the late duke and his team amended those and downsized the event in line with social distancing measures.

The duke had the forest green Land Rover  which hed customized himself  carry his coffin to the chapel, picked the readings and the hymns, and planned the military salutes and processions, which took place before and after the service.

During the one-hour funeral, which was conducted by Rev. David Comer, Dean of Windsor, and Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, the duke was remembered for his unwavering loyalty to the Queen, service to the Nation and Commonwealth, his courage, fortitude and faith.

During his 99 years, the prince was a patron, president or a member of more than 780 organizations, and was the first president of the U.K. branch of the World Wildlife Fund. He later served as president of WWF International. One of the readings he chose for the service, Ecclesiasticus 43. 11-26, talked about the omnipotence of nature.

Story continues

The service was filled with traditional Church of England hymns sung by a small choir, as well as musical tributes on bagpipes, bugles and trumpets by members of the armed forces.

The highest-ranking male family members followed the coffin into the church, with female members and minor royals waiting inside. The Queen arrived last in the back seat of her Bentley, accompanied by her lady-in-waiting Lady Susan Hussey. The Queen, who turns 95 on April 21, sat alone during the service, her face covered in a black mask similar to other members of the congregation.

Although the British press has been making much of the tension between Princes William and Harry, following his move to California, his step back from royal duties and accusations of racism in the top ranks of the royal family, the two walked together behind the coffin with their first cousin Peter Phillips.

They also left the chapel in a cluster and were spotted chatting together with the Duchess of Cambridge. Harrys wife, the Duchess of Sussex, is pregnant with the couples second child and had been told by her doctors that it was unsafe to travel.

Prince Philip was buried in the Royal Vault at St. Georges Chapel, and the family returned to the State Apartments at Windsor Castle, where the Queen has been living since last year when the U.K. first locked down. The royal family will be in mourning for two weeks, although the Queen and other royals will continue to carry out their duties.

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This week, Brazils COVID-19 death toll topped the 365,000 mark amid an unprecedented surge of the pandemic. There were 21,000 deaths last week as the daily rolling average of cases and deaths increased by 0.9 percent and 1.1, respectively. Thursday registered more than 66,000 cases and 2,900 deaths. A new report by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) points to a tendency for the number of new cases to stabilize at such high rates. Meanwhile, 14 states plus the federal district registered an increase in the rolling average of deaths.

Lotes de vacina chegam a Pernambuco (Credito: Sergio Bernardo/SEI/FotosPublicas)

The Brazilian Medical Societys recent publication of ethical protocols underlined the collapse of the healthcare system, in which doctors are having to choose who gets treatment due to the depletion of medical supplies  including sedatives and muscle relaxants need for intubation -- and the overwhelming of ICUs. Currently, 16 states and the Federal District are reporting an ICU occupation rate above 90 per cent.

Brazils COVID crisis was described Thursday as a humanitarian crisis by the international medical aid agency Doctors Without Borders (known by its French acronym, MSF), which has teams in parts of the country. The governments criminal response to the pandemic has put Brazil into a permanent state of mourning and led to the near collapse of Brazils health system, MSF said in a statement

The terrible death toll in the country has resulted in eight states reporting a population decrease in the first 12 days of April, in which the number of death certificates outnumbered the number of birth certificates. Between April 1-15, the heavily populated Southeast registered 34,592 births and 40,084 deaths, which corresponds to a decline in population of 5,492. In March, the Southern region had already registered a population decrease, with 34,402 births against 34,719 deaths.

The state of Rio de Janeiro registered a population drop for six consecutive months between December of last year and March, with 76,541 births and 85,166 deaths, meaning a decrease of 8,625 in population.

Such a drop in population is unprecedented in Brazils history. It coincides with the publication of a new Harvard University study showing that Brazils life expectancy fell by 1.94 years in 2020, from 76.7 to 74.8. While the country has recorded the second highest death toll in the world, the life expectancy decrease is more severe than in the US, the country with the highest number of deaths, which registered a drop of 1.13 years, from 78.8 to 77.8.

With the ruling class being exposed for an even greater crime than the Manaus surge in January, leading newspapers are ignoring or downplaying the significance of the population decreases, while promoting the reopening of the economy that is being carried out throughout the country.

In an interview with the Globo media conglomerates podcast, amid the decision by the federal government to gut the 2021 National Census budget for the second time, former IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) president and current member of the census advisory board, Sergio Besserman, downplayed the unprecedented scale of deaths. Responding to reports of a decrease in population, he said that death certificates are required immediately, while birth certificates can wait, and I would not have registered a birth certificate for months.

The issue is not a lack of information on the number of births,  which registered an actual increase  but the enormous surge in death certificates as a direct result of the pandemic. According to ARPEN (the national association of civil registration), whereas in March of last year there were 28,820 births, compared to 15,762 deaths in the South, March of 2021 registered 34,211 births against 34,459 deaths. It was also reported that 52.3 per cent of deaths in March in the most populous southern state of Rio Grande do Sul had been due to COVID-19. That contrasts to February, when the percentage was 24.31.

Ali Mokdad, professor at the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), predicted that Brazils monthly death toll will reach the horrific 100,000 mark in April, one third higher than the number of lives lost in March. Mokdad also pointed out that, in case another surge happens in the coming winter, the death toll could be even higher because the amount of vaccines available for Brazil at the moment is not enough to guarantee herd immunity until winter.

The vaccine distribution campaign is facing consecutive delays, with the initial estimate by the federal government of 47 million shots in April dropping to 26 million. Most shots are Coronavac or AstraZeneca vaccines. At the present rate, inoculation of most of the population would take until late next year.

The government, meanwhile, has stalled the approval of a new round of emergency relief, which left the most vulnerable without any assistance for more than three months. The new round of installments is a criminally reduced version, cutting the value of the relief by more than half and creating stricter eligibility criteria, decreasing the number of recipients from 68 million to 45.6 million. This criminal policy is being openly defended by Brazils fascistic President Jair Bolsonaro, who declared recently he would not have approved any emergency relief if it was up to him.

Malnutrition and food insecurity in Brazil during the pandemic

According to data published by the research group Food for Justice at the Free University of Berlin Institute of Latin American Studies, 125.6 million people, or 59.4 per cent of the Brazilian population, have not had access to quality or adequate amounts of food since the pandemic began. The study interviewed 2,000 adults between August and December.

The study showed that there were significant decreases in fruit (41 per cent), meat (44 percent), cheese (40.4 percent) and vegetable (36.8 percent) consumption during the pandemic.

It also found that 63 percent of respondents used their emergency relief to buy food, and 27.8 percent to pay their bills. The studys finding that households receiving the benefit were three times as likely to be living under food insecurity than those that did not indicates the desperate conditions confronted by millions of workers. It is also a testament to the criminality of ending the federal benefit and introducing a new delayed and shrunken version, forcing millions to confront malnutrition and starvation.

State governments and Bolsonaro support herd immunity policy

While Bolsonaro openly defends reopening the economy, the state government are completely aligned with the same murderous herd immunity policy, with governors themselves carrying out reopenings.

Governors are denouncing the federal government for the current healthcare crisis, pointing out that in August the federal government made the decision to cancel the purchase of 13 types of critical medications for the treatment of severe COVID-19 cases, called intubation kits, resulting in a shortage of medical supplies in ICUs today. There are currently 11 states facing a critical shortage of the kits.

However, in the countrys most populous state, Sao Paulo, the administration of right-wing Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB) Governor, Joao Doria invoked a drop in the occupation rate of ICUs to just below 90 percent as justifying the reopening of the economy. On Monday, the state government downgraded its COVID restrictions from the emergency phase to the red phase. Sporting events are now allowed without spectators, and products can be bought outside of restaurants and stores. Schools were already allowed to open with 35 percent capacity even during the previous phase, and factories, businesses and stores received only a recommendation to set up intermittent schedules. Some regions with ICU occupations near 85 percent are already being considered for a transition to the orange phase, which allows in-person customer service for restaurants and stores.

On Wednesday, two days after loosening restrictions, the state sent a letter to the Health Ministry declaring the situation in the state severe, and warning that the failure to provide intubation kits would result in a collapse of the health system.

On February 24, as Brazil was registering record ICU occupation rates and more than 350,000 new cases per week under the impact of the Manaus variant, the governor of Sao Paulo refused to close schools and non-essential activities. He instead announced a limited plan, closing down non-essential businesses at night, which left most of the economy open, declaring that dead people cant be consumers.

On March 16, with ICU occupation rates above 100 percent in dozens of cities, including those in the ABC industrial belt, Governor Doria extended the closure of non-essential businesses during the night and stopped in-person classes, but refused to implement a lockdown.

This was to serve mainly as a temporary backstop against the collapse of the entire healthcare system. The restrictions, imposed weeks before the first installment of the new and reduced federal emergency relief and months after the last installment of the old plan, barely diminished mobility in the cities, with workers forced to go out to provide for basic necessities.

On March 26, education was included as an essential activity, amid estimates that the daily toll of the pandemic could reach 5,000 between April and May. On March 30, in-person classes were authorized for private and local and state public schools, starting this week.

This policy is being replicated throughout the country, including in states governed by the Workers Party (PT), which are reopening their economies as well.

Last Saturday, with the weekly death rate in the state of Ceara reaching 823 and more than 25,000 new cases, the PT administration of Camilo Santana falsely stated that there was a reduction in deaths and occupation of emergency units and announced the reopening of restaurants, shopping malls, department stores, churches and schools. Non-essential production, nurseries and in-person education for three-year-olds or younger were never closed in the state, and the governor announced the reopening of schools for older age groups this week.

Federal and state governments, including those run by the so-called opposition of the PT, refused to allow any public health measures to impinge on the profit interests of the ruling elite. In October, in the run-up to the November local elections and amid clear signs that Brazil was on track to become the new global epicenter, the mainstream media was promoting a study to investigate whether Manaus had reached herd immunity, i.e., whether infections had reached a number high enough for the population to become collectively immune. The authors of the study stated that a positive conclusion should not be used for public health policy. However, the medias reason for highlighting it was precisely to provide a justification for keeping the economy open.

The immediate result of the herd immunity policy in Manaus was its transformation once again into a coronavirus epicenter in January, with patients dying in corridors and outside of hospitals without critical oxygen cylinders. The federal government had ignored the need for extra supplies to prepare for the second Manaus surge.

On Saturday, National Health Counsel president Fernando Pigatto declared that we are in the worst moment of the pandemic and supported a national lockdown starting immediately to stop the spread of the coronavirus. He insisted that this measure be accompanied by emergency relief and assistance for small business owners.

Alcides Miranda, doctor and professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, stated that there was a bet on the idea of keeping the economy functioning normally at the cost of herd immunity. That brought a dramatic cost of tens of thousands of preventable deaths.

There is an alternative path, one that places human lives above profit, that could have prevented hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths and can still save the lives of many hundreds of thousands more. It requires international coordination in the implementation of a scientific policy to put an end to the pandemic and the provision of massive resources for healthcare and infrastructure to protect the lives of workers and poor and guarantee a full income.

This is only possible through the independent mobilization of the working class in the struggle for its own program to stop the spread of COVID-19. This includes a full lockdown along with full compensation for all workers and families so that they can shelter at home. This requires a socialist policy, including the expropriation of the vast wealth accumulated by Brazils ruling oligarchy amid mass death in order to pay for essential healthcare and social needs.

To advance this fight to defend human lives against private profit interests, workers must build new organizations of struggleincluding rank-and-file committees, established independently of and in opposition to the pro-capitalist unionsto fight for workers power and the socialist reorganization of economic life.
Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala has written to Prime Minister and urged him to resume talks with the farmers protesting the Centre's three farm laws.

Chautala further said a team of three to four cabinet ministers may restart discussion with the farmers who have been camping at the Delhi borders for over 100 days.

"I would like to bring to your kind attention that our 'Annadattas' are on roads at Delhi border agitating in respect of newly enacted three farm laws of the Central government. It is a matter of concern that such agitation is going on for more than hundred days," Chautala wrote in the letter.

Chautala said he believes every problem has a solution by way of mutual discussions.

"The earlier discussion between the central government and farmers' union brought a few solutions to the concerns raised by Samyukt Morcha.

"In this regard,a team consisting of three to four senior cabinet ministers may lead the delegation for resuming talks with farmers so as to bring an amicable conclusion in this issue," he wrote in his letter dated April 15.

The deputy chief minister wrote the letter days after state's home minister Anil Vij's missive to Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, saying talks with peasants should be resumed to resolve the issue.

Vij had said he was concerned as a large number of farmers were sitting on Haryana's borders amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in the state.

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at three border points of Delhi -- Singhu, Tikri (along Haryana), and Ghazipur -- demanding a repeal of the three farm laws enacted by the Centre in September last year.

The Centre says the new farm laws will free farmers from middlemen, giving them more options to sell their crops.

The protesting farmers, however, say the laws will weaken the minimum support price (MSP) system and leave them at the mercy of big corporates.

(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 former psychic serving a jail term for the money laundering of 1.6 million has admitted having fake driving licences and bank holograms at addresses in Westmeath and Leitrim.

Simon Gold (54) is currently serving a seven and a half year sentence having been convicted by a jury following trial in 2019 of money laundering, theft, deception and control of false instruments.

On Friday, Gold pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Court via video link from prison to having under his custody or control three UK driving licences in various names knowing them to be false instruments on October 22, 2012 at Esker View, Ballinvalley, Delvin, Co Westmeath.

Gold, of Augharan, Aughavas, Co. Leitrim, also admitted having four sheets containing 360 removable hologram purporting to be AIB holograms at that address on February 20, 2014.

Judge Martin Nolan had severed these charges from the original indictment for the trial in 2019 and they were due for trial next May 2022. Gold is due for release in 2024.

Judge Nolan on Friday said he was sure these frauds were committed in connection with the charges Gold has already been found guilty of so he felt it would be unfair to extend his stay in prison. He imposed a sentence of one year to run from today's date.

Thank you so much judge, responded Gold via video link, after the sentence was pronounced.

Detective Garda Ciaran Cummins on Friday told Lorcan Staines SC, prosecuting, that the fake driving licences had been found in the front bedroom of the then home of the accused in 2012 while he was operating under another name.

He said the holograms were found at a property where other materials were also seized by gardai in 2014. They were sent to the company which produce holograms for AIB who concluded they were not genuine.

He said Gold had 46 previous convictions, 27 of which relate to the 2019 trial. His other convictions include larceny, forgery, money laundering, deception and promoting a lottery without a licence.

During his trial in 2019 Gold had pleaded not guilty to money laundering, theft, deception and control of false instruments on dates between January 1, 2010 and October 22, 2012.

After over two weeks of evidence, the jury had returned a verdict of guilty on 20 counts after deliberating for over 12 hours. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty on one count of deception.

Additional evidence

While sentencing Gold in 2019 on the money laundering charges Judge Nolan said that he was a very intelligent man and that these were devious and well thought out crimes.

He said that two of the Irish victims in the case were desperate men at the end of their tether and that Gold took advantage of them. He said Gold caused these men distress and embarrassment.

He said these were crimes involving gross dishonesty and that while Gold was a man of enterprise and intelligence, he applies his acumen to crime.

At that hearing Det Gda Cummins told Mr Staines that Gold changed his name by deed poll from Niall O'Donoghue in the United Kingdom. Gold also represented himself as Simon Gould, Stephen Gould and Simon Magnier.

Dt Gda Cummins said that Gold operated a number of companies such as Anglo Irish Global, Irish Nationwide Bank, Belgravia Consultants Ltd and Elite Banking Group, none of which were actually banks.

When investigating the money laundering offences, gardai seized a computer owned by Gold upon which they found evidence of earlier frauds committed against three Irish men who sought private financing following the recession in the late 2000's.

Mr Gold seemed to prey on people who were in severe financial difficulty, said Dt Gda Cummins.

Gardai also discovered recordings of phone conversations between Gold and another man from around the time of the money laundering offences.

Dt Gda Cummins said that during the recordings, Gold could be heard to say that he could facilitate to move the money, but that it had to be done through Simon Gold and then Simon Gold will disappear.

Gold can be heard to say that it has to be legitimised and the only way it can be is through trade. He said that if was not for him then it would have fallen apart ages ago.

He can be heard to say that the first flag that is raised we're fucked, they will freeze the account and we will get nothing. He said it does not make sense to pilfer the account immediately.

Dominic McGinn SC, defending, said during his plea in mitigation at the 2019 hearing that there were 20 years between the offending and the convictions. He said Gold was raised by his grandmother and has a son with whom he has very little contact.

Mr McGinn said that money laundering was often linked to terrorism or drug trafficking and that his client's crimes were not in that category.
2 firefighters die in battling Beijing's power station fire

Xinhua) 15:24, April 17, 2021

Firefighters work in the accident site in an energy storage power station in Fengtai District of Beijing, capital of China, April 16, 2021. Two firefighters died when they were putting out a fire in an energy storage power station on Friday. The municipal fire and rescue department said on its official website on Saturday morning that it dispatched 235 firefighters with 47 fire engines to put out the fire that broke out at Friday noon time. The northern part of the station exploded all of a sudden in the course of fire-fighting operation, resulting in the death of two firefighters and the injury of another. One employee of the station remained missing, the department said. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang)

BEIJING, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Two firefighters died when they were putting out a fire in an energy storage power station in Fengtai District of Beijing on Friday.

The municipal fire and rescue department said on its official website on Saturday morning that it dispatched 235 firefighters with 47 fire engines to put out the fire that broke out at Friday noon time.

The northern part of the station exploded all of a sudden in the course of fire-fighting operation, resulting in the death of two firefighters and the injury of another. One employee of the station remained missing, the department said.

The fire was put out at 11:40 p.m. Friday.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Bianji)
Nigeria paid a heavy price for the excesses of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigerian police last October when youth took the #EndSARS protests from social media to the streets across the country.

The protests were an explosion of pent up anger nationwide over unlawful arrests, torture, and extrajudicial killings by the police, especially the rogue unit.

The protests started peacefully but turned violent especially after a government clampdown. Dozens of people including peaceful protesters and police officers were killed while public and private facilities were attacked.

The highlight of the violence was recorded at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos on October 20, 2020, when soldiers shot to disperse peaceful protesters who had gathered there for days.

Though the government eventually disbanded the SARS, the protests continued with the demonstrators widening their requests to a five-point demand, which included compensations for the families of those who died under police brutality; release of arrested protesters and an increase in the salaries and allowances of police officers.

They also demanded that an independent body be set up to investigate allegations of police misconduct and to prosecute those indicted, and psychological evaluation of officers of the disbanded SARS before they are redeployed into other units.

The government accepted the demands and took immediate steps to implement some of them, including naming a new unit, S.W.A.T, in place of SARS. Many states also constituted judicial panels inquiry into allegations of police abuses.

In this report, PREMIUM TIMES examines how far the government has gone in meeting the specific demands, five months after the protests.

1) Investigation of allegations of police misconduct and prosecution of the indicted

This was one of the main demands of the #ENDSARS protesters.

Acceding to the demand, many state governments set up judicial panels to hear complaints by members of the public in that respect.

The panels are chaired by retired high court judges and have members from civil society groups, the police, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and youth groups.

According to the CSO Police Reform Observatory survey coordinated by CLEEN Foundation and NOPRIN Foundation, the panels have received about 2,500 petitions in 30 states and the FCT where they were constituted.

Most of the petitioners allege human rights violations through extra-judicial killings, torture, extortion, harassment, sexual and gender-based violence, indiscriminate arrests, illegal detention, illegal arrests and abuse of power by the police and other security agencies.

But proceedings at the panels in many states have been delayed by lack of cooperation from the police and other security agencies, the observatory said.

Gaps Identified

The report identified several other gaps in the works of the panels:

1. Most of the panels of inquiry stopped receiving petitions, thus denying large numbers of potential petitioners the opportunity for redress through the panels.

2. Panels made adjournments based on improper service of summons and processes.

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3. Absence or unpreparedness of petitioners, respondents or their counsel.

4. Reliance on legal technicalities to the disadvantage of the petitioners.

5. Absence of legal representation as most petitioners are not well informed about the pro-bono legal services provided by the Nigerian Bar Association across the states.

6. Security actors (police and military personnel) not honouring the invitation of the panel.

7. Most panels of inquiry are attending to only a few cases daily.

8. There is distrust and suspicion among families of victims and survivors of extra-judicial killings and police brutality regarding the extent to which the panels of inquiry can dispense justice and the possibility of the government acting on the recommendations.

9. Although the police have withdrawn a suit it filed against the judicial panels of inquiry, there are legal issues yet to be addressed regarding the powers of the panels and enforcement of their recommendations and decisions.

2) Compensations for victims of police brutality

Due to legal bureaucracy, many petitioners who had brought their cases to the panel in Abuja constituted by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), were finding it difficult to get compensations.

The NHRC set up the panel in November 2020 to review petitions on police abuse and also mandated it to determine compensations for proven victims.

A retired Supreme Court justice, Suleiman Galadima, was named chairman of the panel by the Executive Secretary of NHRC, Tony Ojukwu.

For instance, during a hearing by the panel, the families of six young Nigerians extra-judicially killed in June 2005 by some police officers in Abuja asked for N200 million compensation for each of the victims.

But the lead counsel for the police, James Idachaba, said the panel lacked the power to hear the petition by the victims families because the case had been decided in court.

After listening to both sides, the panel fixed April 15 to take a decision based on the documents submitted by the complainants. By that date, however, judicial workers had commenced their strike.

In another development, the panel asked a petitioner, Musa Wapa, to seek a settlement with a former Zamfara State governor, Sani Yerima, whom he had accused of instigating some police officer to arrest, torture and detain him following a business dispute between them in June 2020.

The petitioner had demanded N100 million compensation but the panel directed him to explore settlement talks over the dispute.

3) Release of arrested protesters

The Inspector-General of Police at the time of the protests, Mohammed Adamu, in October, agreed to halt the use of force against the #ENDSARS protesters and the unconditional release of those of them arrested.

Mr Adamu, the Ministry of Police Affairs and the Police Service Commission (PSC) also reaffirmed the constitutional rights of Nigerians to peaceful assembly and protest.

In November, the Lagos State Government announced the release of 107 people taken into custody in police facilities and correctional centres over the #EndSARS protests in the state.

This followed legal advice by the states attorney-general exonerating 253 #EndSARS protest suspects from the violence, looting and destruction of public and private asset recorded during the protests.

But even while small steps were being taken to meet the demands of the protesters, the federal government was targeting key figures in the protests for punishment.

PREMIUM TIMES reported in November how the government deployed different strategies to punish those who played key roles in the protests.

The development, which involved freezing of bank accounts, confiscation of travel documents and gestapo-like arrests, was likened by many Nigerians to what happened when President, Muhammadu Buhari was military head of state between 1984 and 1985.

The move is also contrary to the administrations endorsement of dialogue for addressing the protesters call for justice and good governance.

Also, in February, dozens of youth protesting against the decision of the judicial panel allowing the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) to reopen the Lekki Tollgate were arrested.

4) Increase in the salaries of police officers

In their five-point demand, the #EndSARS protesters want an increase in the salaries of police officers, partly linking their endless extortion of citizens, corruption and viciousness to their poor remuneration, training and welfare.

PREMIUM TIMES had reviewed the poor salary structure of the Nigerian police.

In 2018, President Buhari had approved a new salary package for police personnel. But there are confusions over the implementation of the new salary structure.

The police service commission would not speak on the matter. Contacted, its spokesperson, Ikechukwu Ani, directed this reporter to the police management. But the police spokesperson, Frank Mba, too did not respond to repeated calls and text messages sent to his line. PREMIUM TIMES interviews with several police officers show that nothing has changed in terms of their remuneration and welfare since the #EndSARS protest.

5) Psychological evaluation of all disbanded SARS officers before redeployment

Two days after the disbandment of SARS, the then IGP, Mr Adamu, ordered officers serving the rogue unit to report to the Force Headquarters in Abuja for debriefing and psychological and medical examination, ahead of their redeployment to other units of the police.

It is unclear whether this process was carried out. While police vehicles and personnel are no longer seen in public with the SARS inscription, many believe members of the rogue unit have been redeployed without proper evaluation.

The IGP after disbanding SARS had also announced its replacement  Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT).

He said the training for the SWAT will commence a few days after it was announced.

Despite a widespread rejection of SWAT, the police IGP announced the commencement of the training of members of the new unit.

But since the pictures from the ceremony for the take-off of the training surfaced on the internet, nothing again has been heard of the new unit.
Facebook's Oversight Board has postponed its decision regarding former President Donald Trump's potential return to Facebook and Instagram. Trump was banned from Facebook in January after the U.S. Capitol siege.

Facebook's board, made up of attorneys, scholars, and other outside experts, had 90 days to evaluate the former president's indefinite suspension after the social media platform referred his case to the panel on January 21. However, the board stated on Friday it needed to push back the deadline because of the immense public interest regarding the case.

Why Facebook Is Postponing Decision on Trump's Ban

According to the quasi-independent Oversight Board on Friday, it will take longer than anticipated to decide whether or not Trump's prohibition should be upheld. It remarked it needs more time to tackle the inundation of public comments. The social media network had appealed to the board to make a final ruling on whether the suspension was justified after he reportedly incited his supporters to storm the Capitol Hill, reported SCNOW.

The Facebook Oversight Board is the quasi-judicial organization that the website set up to assess tough moderation choices. It said the decision would arrive "in the coming weeks." The decision was initially supposed to take 90 days. The board will have to evaluate over 9,000 comments it has received regarding the case, reported The Verge.

The decision was initially due by April 21. The ruling will be the biggest decision Facebook's Oversight Board has had to make since it commenced tackling cases in 2020.

The board extended the deadline for the public to submit comments regarding how they must rule. According to the panel, "The board will announce its decision on the case concerning former U.S. President Trump's indefinite suspension from Facebook and Instagram in the coming weeks. The Board's commitment to carefully reviewing all comments has extended the case timeline in line with the board's bylaws," reported Politico.

Trump to Launch Own Social Media Platform in 3-4 Months

The board stated in a Twitter post they extended the public comments deadline for the case. It added the panel's commitment to thoroughly evaluate all comments and extended the case timeline according to its bylaws. They will disclose information soon.

In January, after the U.S. Capitol riots, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote the risks of allowing the former president to continue using their service during that period are simply too much. Trump has remained prohibited from the services. His efforts to appear in videos on his children's pages have also been barred.

Zuckerberg established the 20-member committee. It is also usually called "Facebook's Supreme Court." Among the nine cases it had ruled on was a comment that appeared derogatory to Muslims in a post from a user in Myanmar. It was removed for contravening hate-speech rules. However, it was deemed not to be Islamophobic upon taking in context.

The Facebook board will reportedly face backlash in Washington, whatever it rules. Republicans have condemned Facebook for suspending Trump. Democrats for years have called on it and other social media platforms to kick him off for reportedly spreading misinformation and allegedly harmful incendiary rhetoric.

Bernie Sanders: Not a Fan of Donald Trump's Twitter Ban

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The detention of a South African woman in hotel quarantine after she flew into the country earlier this month has been found to be lawful by the High Court.

Mr Justice Brian O'Moore ruled on Saturday that the detention of Charlene Heyns, who flew into the country on April 9, was in accordance with legislation requiring mandatory hotel quarantine for incoming travellers from certain countries.

The matter was considered by Justice OMoore following a legal challenge by Ms Heyns.

Counsel for Ms Heyns had argued that she had been deprived of fair procedures, that the certificate of detention was inadequate, that the State failed to consider the vaccination status of Ms Heyns, who had received one dose of a two-dose Covid-19 vaccine.

It was also argued that the review process of Ms Heyns detention was unsatisfactory and unlawful.

The legal challenge was taken against hotel operators Tifco Ltd and Tifco Management Services (Ireland) Ltd, and the Minister for Health.

Justice OMoore, however, dismissed the challenge and ruled that her detention was not unlawful or in breach of the constitution.

I have decided that Ms Heyns is being detained in accordance with law, Justice OMoore said in his decision issued on Saturday.

He said he gave his decision as soon as possible without providing a full judgement or reasons given the fact that Ms Heyns was approaching her tenth day in hotel quarantine.

If Ms Heyns, a healthcare worker, tests negative for Covid-19 on Monday, she will be released from the hotel quarantine system.

Any delay in giving my decision could well render the whole enquiry process meaningless, Justice OMoore said, adding that he will deal with any outstanding issues next Friday 23 April.

The mandatory hotel quarantine system has faced several legal challenges since it was introduced in March as a public health measure to keep Covid-19 variants from being imported into the country.

As of Friday, close to 400 people had completed mandatory hotel quarantine, with 18 people testing positive for the virus, of which four were 'probable variants of concern'.
Friday, 16 April 2021 19:43:23 (GMT+3) | Sao Paulo

Anglo American, which owns the Minas-Rio iron ore project in Brazil, has secured 100 percent renewable energy for all its operations in South America, the company late this week.

The company said it has already guaranteed renewable energy to meet all its power needs for both its Minas-Rio iron ore and nickel operations in Brazil effectively from 2022. However, the company has now signed an agreement with Engie Energia Peru to provide 100 percent of renewable energy for its Quellaveco copper operations in Peru effectively from 2022. With the Peruvian agreement, now all Anglo American operations in South America will renewable energy.

Our sourcing of only renewable energy to power our operations across South America marks another step towards our 2030 greenhouse gases reduction target of 30 percent that is embedded in our sustainable mining plan and towards our commitment to be carbon neutral across our global operational footprint by 2040, said Anik Michaud, group director of corporate relations and sustainable impact at Anglo American.
MSU Extension of Midland County and cooperating parent educators sponsor the Parents Corner. Send submissions to Midland County MSU Extension Educator, Lisa Treiber, 220 W. Ellsworth St., Midland, MI 48640

Food Safety Q & A. MSU Extension offers a week 30-minute informational program about food preservation. A short presentation will be shared focusing on a timely topic, leaving plenty of time for Q & A. The next sessions title is: Working Together for Food Safety: How the FDA and USDA Protects Our Food. Join in on this quick free presentation at 1 p.m. Monday, April 19. To register, visit: https://events.anr.msu.edu/SpringFoodSafetyQA/ Questions, please call Lisa at 989-832-6643 or email treiber@msu.edu.

Pantry Food Safety  Its Your Job! MSU Extension offers food safety training for volunteers and staff working in food pantries and food banks. Topics covered include handwashing, personal hygiene, cleaning, and sanitizing, receiving food and produce, storing food, re-packaging, and legal issues. This free online training will be offered from 2 to 5 p.m. April 19, or from 9 a.m. to noon April 27. To register visit https://www.canr.msu.edu/events/pantry-food-safety-it-s-your-job-winter.

Be Safe and Ready for Emergencies. Learn how to be prepared during weather emergencies. MSU Extension is offering Lunch and Learn sessions twice a month at noon, with topics covering food safety, planning for farm issues, financial distress, becoming mindful when handling emergencies. Join online via Zoom for these free sessions. The topic on April 20 will be: Tips to Prepare for Weather Emergencies. To register visit: https://events.anr.msu.edu/emergencypreparedness2021/

Investigating Food with Science. Michigan State University Extension offers an after-school online program, exploring how cooking is an experiment and baking is a science. Each week MSU Extension educators will explore the science behind food-related topics and food safety along with a fun, kid-friendly recipe, or experiment demonstration. The demonstrations will be designed for youth to experiment at home if they desire and provide youth a chance to share their experience the following week. On April 21, the topic: A Liquid and A Solid? The session runs from 4 to 4:30 p.m. Visit: https://events.anr.msu.edu/InvestigatingFoodwithScienceSpring/ to register for this free session.

Michigan Cottage Food Law. Thinking of selling your homemade food items? Learn how to prepare and sell foods to the public under Michigans Cottage Food Law. MSU Extension will host this two-hour online workshop which combines education about the Cottage Food Law and food safety aspects of preparing and selling your cottage foods safely. Guest speakers include an educator from MSUs Product Center and an inspector from Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Join the team to learn more on April 21 10:00 AM  Noon. To register for this free event, visit https://www.canr.msu.edu/events/michigan-cottage-food-law-winter2021. Other dates will be offered, they are included on the link listed.

Safe Food = Healthy Kids. Looking for a training for your childcare center or home? Michigan State University Extension is hosting several online sessions with education credits. Learn what the best practices are for food safety to help keep kids safe. Topics include cleaning and sanitizing, cooking, storing food, common allergens, and personal hygiene. The workshop can count towards annual training hours for licensed childcare providers. This is also an approved training of Great Start to Quality. The next class will be offered from 6 to 9 p.m., April 21. To register visit: https://events.anr.msu.edu/SFHKSpring21/ or email treiber@msu.edu. There is no charge to participate in this session. Other dates will be offered. They are included on the link listed.

Food Preservation Series. Michigan State University Extension will be offering a series of food preservation classes online, these free online classes will be offered at 1 and 6 p.m. on Thursdays. The topic on April 22 will be Michigans Spring Catch  Preserving Fish. Participants will have the opportunity to learn safe tips for preserving fish. These sessions will not be recorded, they will only be offered live. Supporting materials will be emailed to all participants after each broadcast. Join in the fun, sign up for one, some or all these educational sessions. There is time at the end of each program to ask questions. To register visit: https://www.canr.msu.edu/food_preservation/events. Questions? Call Lisa Treiber 989-832-6643 (leave message) or email treiber@msu.edu.

Evening for Earth Day. Celebrate Earth Day through habitat restoration! Plant a native tree or shrub to enrich the biodiversity at Chippewa Nature Center from 6 to 7:30 p.m., April 22. Learn about invasive exotic plants, how they can be controlled and help us remove these pesky plants along CNCs trails. Bring work gloves and dress for the weather for this outdoor program. Pre-registration is required www.chippewanaturecenter.org. Masks required. This program is open to ages 9 and older. If under 18, must be accompanied by an adult.

Early Spring Wildflower Walk. Spring wildflowers bloom quickly on the flowers floor before tree leaves open at Chippewa Nature Center. Take a woodland walk with a CNC naturalist to find and identify these colorful beauties from 10 to 11:30 a.m., April 23. Learn to recognize the diversity of shapes, patterns, and unique pollination strategies. Pre-registration is required www.chippewanaturecenter.org. Masks required. This program is open to ages 9 and older. If under 18, must be accompanied by an adult.

Mastodons, Mammoths and Opossums, Oh My! An Ice Age Exploration. Through hands-on activities, children will discover living and extinct Ice Age mammals that have called Michigan home. From 1 to 2:30 p.m. on April 24, participants will explore the trails for clues to help learn how mastodons, mammoths and opossums adapted to the harsh Ice Age environment. Pre-registration is required www.chippewanaturecenter.org. Masks required. This program is open to ages 5 and older. If under 18, must be accompanied by an adult.

Cooking for Crowds. Is your organization preparing for a food event? The Cooking for Crowds class educates groups who offer food fundraisers and events such as dinners, soup suppers and bake sales. Join MSU Extension to learn how to keep the community safe and prevent foodborne illness. Note: this course does not take the place of the eight-hour ServSafe Manager Course for the Person in Charge, Tt is designed for volunteers. This online class is being offered at different times. The next session will be from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., April 26. The cost is $15/participant. Each participant will receive a food safety manual, food safety posters, accompanying food safety information and instruction from the three-hour online session. For more information or to register, please visit: https://events.anr.msu.edu/C4C2020. Questions, please contact Lisa Treiber, email treiber@msu.edu or phone, 989-832-6643 (leave a message).
While we continue to wait for news about the Mars copters first test flight, Elon Musk and SpaceX closed out the week with a big win, scoring a contract from NASA to use Starship as a lander for the Artemis lunar program. The company beat out Blue Origin (which teamed up with key aerospace players like Lockheed Martin) and defense contractor Dynetics to secure the $2.9 billion contract .

SpaceX

There are still funding hurdles for NASA to clear if it plans to fly as scheduled, but those missions are still years away at best. In the nearer future, Apples Spring Loaded event is scheduled to take place on Tuesday and Chris Velazco has reminders of the rumors you should know about before it starts. New iPads and iMacs seem like safe bets, but well see if there are any big surprises in a few days.

 Richard Lawler

A pair of $500 Sonos Five speakers will work for music lovers, but there are cheaper options.

As the market exploded, the downsides of having a device that's always listening for a wake word have become increasingly apparent. They can get activated unintentionally, sending private recordings back to monolithic companies to analyze. And even at the best of times, giving more personal information to Amazon, Apple and Google can be a questionable decision. That said, all these companies have made it easier to manage how your data is used  you can opt out of humans reviewing some of your voice queries, and it's also less complicated to manage and erase your history with various digital assistants, too.

The good news is that there's never been a better time to get a smart speaker, particularly if you're a music fan. For all their benefits, the original Amazon Echo and Google Home devices did not sound good. Sonos, on the other hand, made great sounding WiFi-connected speakers, but they lacked any voice-controlled smarts.

That's all changed now. Sonos is including both Alexa and Google Assistant support in its latest speakers. Google and Amazon, meanwhile, made massive improvements in sound quality with recent speakers. Even lower-end models like the Echo Dot and Nest Mini sound much better than earlier iterations. With the growing popularity of these speakers, there are now more options than ever. Nathan Ingraham can walk you through the best choices at different price points and for different uses.

Continue reading.

$20 off Google's Nest Audio and more.

Google

This week brought a bunch of deals on new gadgets, including Amazon's rotating Echo Show 10 and Google's Nest Hub. The former dropped to a new all-time low of $200 while the latter remains 20 percent off at various retailers like Best Buy and Walmart . AirPods Pro are more than $50 off right now at $197 , and Amazon Prime members can snag the Fire TV Stick Lite for only $20 .

Here are all the best deals from the week that you can still snag today, and remember to follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for more updates.

Continue reading.

NVIDIA bets big on ARM, Surface Laptop 4 arrives

This week, Cherlynn and Devindra chat about NVIDIAs massive GTC developer conference . It turns out ARM chips are going to be a much bigger deal for NVIDIA! Also, they discuss the recently announced Surface Laptop 4 and Microsofts new family of accessories . And we spend a bit of time with Cherlynns horrific OnePlus Watch review experience .

Listen on Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , Spotify , Pocket Casts or Stitcher .

Continue reading.

If you can afford one.

LG

Two years after its CES debut, LGs OLED R TV is finally available in the US  or, at least, theres now an Inquire to Buy button to the OLED R product page for US residents. There's no mention of US pricing on the website, but in South Korea, it costs 100 million KRW. At the current exchange rate, that's about $89,000.

Continue reading.

The new shortcut makes it easier to refine your search results.

Googles new Search shortcut helps to speed up your search process. Now, when you're on a results page, you can simply press "/" to expand the search field and add more words or modifiers. This feature joins the tab accessibility shortcut, which highlights links so you can open websites without relying on a mouse or a trackpad.

Continue reading.

Once again, ASUS delivers a ton of power at a decent price.

Devindra Hardawar / Engadget

According to Devindra Hardawar, The Zephyrus G15 has practically everything I'd want in a solid gaming notebook, without breaking the bank. It's relatively lightweight, powerful and far cheaper than other premium notebooks.

The Zephyrus G15 currently starts at $1,499 with an RTX 3060 and 16GB of RAM, which isn't too bad considering it still has the Ryzen 9 and the speedy 1,440p display. Our review unit sells for $2,500 with the RTX 3080 Max-Q and 32GB of RAM.

Continue reading.

But wait, theres more...

Amazon delivery drivers may soon assemble furniture and install appliances

Facebook's 'Supreme Court' is about to face its first big test

AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon end their joint effort for RCS texting

Engadget Deals: Apple's 512GB MacBook Air M1 falls to an all-time low on Amazon

AMD unveils its first Ryzen 5000 CPUs with built-in graphics

DJI reveals the $999 Air 2S mid-size drone

The FBI got a court order to delete backdoors from hacked Exchange servers

Sony A1 review: The Alpha of mirrorless cameras

Netflix is working on a live-action Gundam movie

Sony's PS5 update added 120Hz for 1080p displays and better HDMI control
A look at some of today's major headlines from the Proactive newswire

( ) is to deepen its relationship with ABB Schweiz AG, the provider of electric vehicle charge points, electrification and digitalisation technologies. As part of a 33.5mln fundraising by AFC, ABB will invest 3.25mln in AFC and the two will work together on integrating AFC's alkaline fuel cell technology into ABB's data centres offering.

( ) has made a strong start to life as a listed company as its shares began trading on the Aquis Exchanges AQSE Growth Market on Friday morning.

( ) said it is particularly enthusiastic about the launch of Chill-brand CBD smokes in the UK amid a busy and exciting time for the company.

( ) said James Greenstreet will retire as a director on July 7 and that it intends to appoint another non-executive director in due course. We are very grateful to James who has completed a decade of great service to Powerhouse during which the company has made enormous progress. We wish him every success in the future with his other activities, executive chairman Tim Yeo said in a statement.

PLC ( ) ( ) said non-executive independent director Charles Lamb will be stepping down from the company to focus on other business interests. "Charles has made a significant contribution to the Company over a period of successful growth and refocussing. On behalf of the board, I would like to thank him for all his efforts and support and wish him the best with future endeavours. As we move towards a listing on the [LSE] Main Market, we will be looking to strengthen our board with those who are able to provide experience and guidance to support our future growth", Love Hemp chairman Andrew Male said in a statement.

( ) has secured its first large-scale pharma services contract for cancer cell collection system Parsortix.

PLC ( ) said its CEO Paul Johnson purchased on market 500,000 ordinary shares at a price of 2.39p each through his Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP), 11,957 invested in total.

( ) said drilling has now commenced at the Olympic Gold Project in Mineral County Nevada.

( ) has highlighted favourable results from the restart of underground development at its mining operation in Northern Ireland.

PLC ( ) has raised 10mln in a share placing to expedite its modular medium-term development plan to take advantage of strong market demand for graphite.

( ) said it has received further letters from Paul Winfield, Hamon , Quay Limited, Clermont Limited and Mrs A. J. Lewis stating their intention to reject the possible all share offer by TEAM plc.

( ) has updated on the progress of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for its Mina do Barroso lithium project in Portugal, saying the countrys environment agency has said the EIA conforms with its content requirements.
Read what is in the news today:

Society

-- Border guard officers in southern Long An Province arrested three men from north-central Nghe An Province on Thursday while they were making an attempt to cross border to Cambodia under the assistance of two Cambodians, who were also arrested later on Friday.

-- A massive sinkhole suddenly appeared at 506 Huynh Tan Phat Street in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday and further deepened on Friday. Authorities have fenced the sunk area to ensure safety for pedestrians and commuters.

-- Police in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday determined that a short circuit in a motorcycle was the cause of a house fire in Thu Duc City that killed six people in a family, including a two-month-old baby, and injured another last month.

-- Police in Ha Dong District, Hanoi said on Friday that they had started legal proceedings against a former commune-level deputy chairman for illegal possession of narcotics.

-- Police in Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi said on Friday that they were investigating a case where a delivery man handed over 1,003 synthetic drug tablets in one foam box, which he said a Grab user had booked him to deliver to Long Bien District. The delivery man said he had failed to contact both the user and the recipient upon his arrival at the delivery address.

-- Market surveillance officers in Hanoi confiscated 13,900 bottles of electronic cigarette oil, which is advised against using by the Ministry of Health, in Bac Tu Liem District on Friday afternoon.

-- Police in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City said on Friday that they were investigating a case where a man living in Phu Nhuan District collapsed to his death after he had been robbed of his cellphone on a sidewalk on Thursday night.

-- A male office worker in Ho Chi Minh City was confirmed winning the jackpot worth nearly VND142 billion (US$6.15 million) on Friday.

Education

-- Three students at Isaac Newton Elementary School in Bac Tu Liem District, Hanoi were hospitalized and 12 others suffered stomach pain and vomited, while 106 students at Pascal Elementary and Middle School in the same school system had to stay home on Friday after all of them had had meals provided from the same suppliers the day before.

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Mumbai: Maharashtra's Baramati police busted a gang and arrested four people for selling liquid paracetamol in empty vials of Remedisvir for which they charged around Rs 35000.

The demand for anti-viral drug Remdesivir is high as the number of covoronavirus cases has risen in Maharashtra. The black marketing operations of counterfeit medicines is at full swing while artificial injections are also being sold.

Police arrested four members of a gang from Maharashtra's Baramati. One of these members worked at Baramati's COVID Care Center.

This person would pick the empty vials of Remedesvir from there. Later, the vial would be filled with liquid paracetamol and sealed. Then these artificial Remediesvir injections were sold to the needy for Rs 35000.

The police have arrested four members of this gang named Prashant Gharak, Shankar Pise, Dilip Gaikwad and Sandeep Gaikwad.

Further probe in the matter is underway.
She's a known Rodarte aficionado who has posed for the clothing brand in recent years.

And January Jones continued the association on Friday when she posed in a pair of the brand's trousers  and nothing else.

The 43-year-old Mad Men star flaunted her enviable figure in an Instagram photo with only her arm to protect her modesty.

Pretty in pink: January Jones, 43, showed off her enviable figure in a steamy topless photo with nothing on but a $775 pair of pink Rodarte pants

January posed in her sun-dappled bathroom next to the clawfoot tub.

She covered her bust with her hand while rocking a retro pair of white cat-eye sunglasses and wearing her short blonde tresses parted down the middle.

The 5ft6in Last Man On Earth star added a chic touch with her high-waisted pink Rodarte pants, which had prominent silver button and flared legs reaching to the ground and covering up her feet completely.

The pants, which were decorated with a heart-shaped patch pocket surrounded by black lace, run for $775 on the brand's website.

Improvising: 'Cant find a top to do these trousers justice so...' she joked. Her pants were flared at the bottom and had a heart-shaped lace-lined pocket

In a second snap posted to her Instagram Stories she showed off a playful pout while extending her arm to show off her pink tattoo to match her pants.

'Cant find a top to do these trousers justice so...' she joked in her caption, adding a shrugging shoulders emoji.

Pink seems to be one of January's favorite colors, and she showed off a lovely Alessandra Rich polkadot dress earlier this month while staying home.

Back in 2019, the actress reunited with Kiernan Shipka, her on-screen daughter on Mad Men, for a lovely photoshoot to celebrate Rodarte's 2019 spring lookbook.

January looked glamorous in a pale pink off-the-shoulder gown with sheer pearl-dotted gloves reaching up her forearm, while Kiernan looked radiant in an off-white floral gown with sheer gloves.

Gorgeous: Pink seems to be one of January's favorite colors, and she showed off a lovely Alessandra Rich polkadot dress earlier this month while staying home

Fashion fans: Back in 2019, the actress reunited with Kiernan Shipka, her on-screen daughter on Mad Men, for a lovely photoshoot to celebrate Rodarte's 2019 spring lookbook

January has been spending most of the pandemic at home with her nine-year-old son Xander, though she very rarely features him in any of her social media posts.

She welcomed her son in 2011, halfway through her star-making turn as Don Draper's wife Betty on Mad Men, but she has so far kept the identity of his father a secret.

The motherson duo have been sharing their LA home with their dogs, including the adorable Vinny, who had unfortunate run-in with a rattlesnake earlier this month.

Out of the spotlight: January has been spending most of the pandemic at home with her nine-year-old son Xander, though she very rarely features him in any of her social media posts; pictured in 2018

Ouch! The motherson duo have been sharing their LA home with their dogs, including the adorable Vinny, who had unfortunate run-in with a rattlesnake earlier this month

He returned home and appears to have made a full recovery, but January has had to be extra vigilant about the rattlesnakes, which are common in the area.

Dogs are at particular risk because of their tendency to search outdoors with their noses to the ground, where snakes are likely to be hiding.

Last week, January shared that she had been 'forced to bludgeon yet ANOTHER rattlesnake' after finding one wandering up to her house.

'I almost cried,' she continued, adding, 'I'm sorry snake family, this house is taken.'
WASHINGTON, April 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA is targeting no earlier than Monday, April 19, for the first flight of its Ingenuity Mars Helicopter at approximately 3:30 a.m. EDT (12:30 a.m. PDT).

Data from the first flight will return to Earth a few hours following the autonomous flight. A livestream will begin at 6:15 a.m. EDT (3:15 a.m. PDT), as the helicopter team prepares to receive the data downlink in the Space Flight Operations Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Watch on NASA Television, the agency app, website, and social media platforms, including YouTube and Facebook.

If the flight takes place April 19, a postflight briefing will be held at 2 p.m. EDT (11 a.m. PDT).

The participants are:

Thomas Zurbuchen , associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate

, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate Michael Watkins , JPL director

, JPL director MiMi Aung , Ingenuity Mars Helicopter project manager at JPL

, Ingenuity Mars Helicopter project manager at JPL Bob Balaram , Ingenuity Mars Helicopter chief engineer at JPL

, Ingenuity Mars Helicopter chief engineer at JPL Havard Grip, Ingenuity Mars Helicopter chief pilot at JPL

Justin Maki , Perseverance Mars rover imaging scientist and deputy principal investigator of Mastcam-Z instrument at JPL

Members of the media who wish to participate in the briefing by telephone must provide their name and affiliation to Rexana Vizza at [email protected] by 12 p.m. EDT (9 a.m. PDT) April 19. Due to operational schedules, limited interview opportunities will be available to media before the Monday flight. To request an interview, go to:

https://bit.ly/mars-landing-media

The public and media also may ask questions on social media during the livestream and briefing using #MarsHelicopter.

Find the latest schedule updates at:

https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/#Watch-Online

The original flight date of April 11 shifted as engineers worked on preflight checks and a solution to a command sequence issue. The Perseverance rover will provide support during flight operations, taking images, collecting environmental data, and hosting the base station that enables the helicopter to communicate with mission controllers on Earth.

This technology demonstration is supported by NASA's Science, Aeronautics Research, and Space Technology mission directorates. JPL, managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations for Ingenuity and the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover.

Follow Ingenuity via the @NASA, @NASAJPL, and @NASAMars Twitter accounts; NASA and NASAPersevere Facebook accounts; and NASA Instagram account.

An Ingenuity press kit is available at:

https://go.nasa.gov/ingenuity-press-kit

SOURCE NASA

Related Links

http://www.nasa.gov


ABCs TGIF was the way for families to spend a Friday night enjoying each others company and unwinding after a long week. In the late 90s, Sabrina the Teenage Witch was a part of that Friday night line-up. The series had an incredibly talented cast, including Melissa Joan Hart and Caroline Rhea.

Caroline Rhea wasnt new to the comedy scene when she joined the Sabrina crew. She had worked in the stand-up industry, as well as performing in television shows and writing skits. Her comedic expertise made audiences laugh out loud every Friday night, and she was definitely a fan favorite. Although she loved her time on Sabrina, there was one aspect of the show she didnt like

Caroline Rhea got her start in Meatballs III

CAROLINE RHEA, BETH BRODERICK, MELISSA JOAN HART, JENNIFER BUTT, CHRISTOPHER RICH talent: CAROLINE RHEA, BETH BRODERICK, MELISSA JOAN HART, JENNIFER BUTT, CHRISTOPHER RICH | VIVIAN ZINK/ABC, Inc.

Caroline Rhea was born in Montreal, Quebec. She grew up in Canada with her parents, and attended an all-girls high school. She continued her education at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia.

Rhea discovered her love for acting in the 80s, when Meatballs III was being filmed near Montreal. The soon-to-be actress got a part as an extra in the film, and absolutely loved the experience. She began to pursue a career in acting, and moved to New York City in the late 80s.

She was passionate about making people laugh, which led her to enroll at the New School for Social Research. She focused on comedy, and hoped to become a stand-up comedian. She soon began performing at comedy clubs and made small appearances on television, including Comic Strip Live and MTVs Half-Hour Comedy Hour.

By 1992, Rhea was a regular on Comedy Centrals Women Aloud. The following year, she delved into new territory, and began co-hosting and writing skits for the sketch comedy Fools For Love. Her career was branching out, but the comedian was still waiting for her big break.

She provided the laughs on Sabrina the Teenage Witch

https://twitter.com/CarolineRhea/status/1173375710557114368/photo/1

When Fools for Love didnt really take off, Rhea decided to move to Los Angeles. She starred in the sitcom Pride and Joy, which only lasted a few episodes. Despite the failure of the show, Rhea had turned heads with her bubbly, funny personality and comedic talent.

Rhea was offered the part of Aunt Hildy on Sabrina the Teenage Witch. She starred alongside Melissa Joan Hart, who played the title character. The popular series was about a girl who learns shes a witch when she turns 16. Her two aunts are also witches, as is her cat, Salem.

The series ran from 1996-2003. Rheas portrayal of the wacky Aunt Hildy was the highlight of the show, and fans fell in love with her eccentric, unpredictable humor. The character was so popular that Rhea was asked to reprise her role as Aunt Hildy in the Netflix twist on SabrinaChilling Adventures of Sabrina.

She wasnt a huge fan of the costume department on the show

RELATED: Sabrina the Teenage Witch: Stars Mom Paid a Surprising Amount for the Series Rights

Although Rhea fully embraced her part as Aunt Hildy, there was one part of the show she really didnt like  the costumes, according to Mental Floss. Rhea wasnt a fan of the huge hair and flowered dresses (or leopard-printthere was a lot of that, too).

She also didnt love the costume choices for other characters. She mentioned that Sabrina was dressed like an accountant going to high school. As for her own costumes, she said she felt like Aunt Hildy was going to a coronation for a very senior royal member. I was like, its breakfast, my hair is this high.

Were sure Rhea is hoping that the costume designers for Chilling Adventures of Sabrina take things in a different direction for Aunt Hildy.
Bindi Irwin welcomed her first child, baby daughter Grace Warrior, last month.

On Saturday, the new mother celebrated her precious newborn reaching three weeks old.

The 22-year-old shared a short video of the tot to Instagram Stories , along with a moving tribute in the caption.

Aww! Bindi Irwin welcomed her first child, baby daughter Grace Warrior, last month. Pictured with husband Chandler Powell

She wrote: 'Happy three weeks, Grace Warrior. Your dad and I love you beyond description. Thank you for being the most beautiful light in our lives.'

On Wednesday, Grace Warrior was pictured smiling for the first time, in photos shared by her uncle Robert Irwin.

Robert, 17, posted a gallery of pictures on Instagram of himself bonding with his baby niece on the grounds of Australia Zoo in Queensland.

Baby love: On Saturday, the new mother celebrated her precious newborn reaching three weeks old. The 22-year-old shared a short video of the tot to Instagram Stories , along with a moving tribute in the caption

She wrote: 'Happy three weeks, Grace Warrior. Your dad and I love you beyond description. Thank you for being the most beautiful light in our lives'

'Being Grace's uncle is awesome!' he captioned the heart-melting images.

'I can't wait to watch this little warrior grow up and take on the world - I reckon she'll be running the zoo in no time!'

The wildlife photographer said he felt 'so honoured' to be able to share the 'amazing experiences' he had as a child with Grace Warrior.

So sweet! On Wednesday, Grace Warrior was pictured smiling for the first time, in photos shared by her uncle Robert Irwin (pictured)

Cute! 'Being Grace's uncle is awesome!' he captioned the images. 'I can't wait to watch this little warrior grow up and take on the world - I reckon she'll be running the zoo in no time!'

'I feel so honoured that I'll get to share all the amazing experiences that I had growing up in a zoo, and teach her about everything from rescuing wildlife to caring for our family of animals!' he said.

Alongside the caption, Robert shared three sweet photos of himself with Grace.

In the first, he has a big grin on his face as he cradles his niece in his arms.

For the second photo he was joined by his mother Terri, 56, sister Bindi and brother-in-law Chandler Powell, 24.

Family: In another photo he was joined by his mother Terri, 56, sister Bindi and brother-in-law Chandler Powell, 24. All pictured

The third photo is perhaps the sweetest of all, and shows Grace Warrior smiling.

'Grace's little smile in the last picture. Here's to many wonderful adventures ahead. We love you!' Bindi commented below her brother's post.

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.
Danang to see tourist boom on Reunification Day holiday

The central city of Danang is expected to welcome around 15,367 tourists by air for the coming Reunification Day (April 30) and May Day holiday.

This would be a record high figure for the city since the last Covid-19 pandemic outbreak in the area.





Passengers at Danang International Airport



According to the Danang Tourism Promotion Centre, by the end of the first quarter this year, Danang served 289-349 weekly flights of 11 domestic routes per week operated by Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, Bamboo Airways and Vietravel.



Among those, HCM City - Danang route had 108 flights and Hanoi-Danang route with 161 flights.



In the second quarter of this year, some airlines would reopen flights to Danang such as Can Tho - Danang, Haiphong - Danang, Vinh - Danang and Phu Quoc - Danang routes.



The Danang Tourism Department reported that at present, more than 50% of local accommodation providers for tourists have re-opened. This is a positive sign following the long slump experienced by the citys tourism industry due to Covid-19.
Police in Ha Dong District, Hanoi said on Friday that they had started legal proceedings against a former commune-level deputy chairman for illegal possession of narcotics.

Pham Minh Cong, 40, in Chuong My District and Dang Dinh Hoan, 44, in Thanh Tri District were caught performing a transaction of 0.33 grams of heroin in Ha Dong at the beginning of April.

Cong was the former deputy chairman of Hong Phong Commune in Chuong My, while Hoan said he had sourced the heroin from someone in Thanh Tri District for reselling.

Cong was absent from work for many days in January before submitting his resignation on February 3 for health reasons.

The Peoples Committee of Hong Phong Commune then transferred Congs resignation letter to the Chuong My authority.

The committee also summoned Cong for three times, all of which he failed to show up, before convening a meeting on April 3, during which 100 percent of competent attendants voted to remove Cong from his post.

The police also informed the Peoples Committee of Hong Phong Commune and relevant agencies about Congs arrest on April 7.

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United Nations, April 17 : The UN Security Council has called on parties to the Yemen conflict to negotiate a nationwide ceasefire and a political settlement.

In a statement on Friday, the members of the Security Council welcomed the announcement of Saudi Arabia on March 22, supported by the Yemen government, to end the conflict in the war-torn country and reach a comprehensive political solution, reports Xinhua news agency.

They welcomed Oman's mediation efforts between the key stakeholders and encouraged continued engagement in the region.

The Council members called on all parties to engage constructively with UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths and negotiate, without preconditions, an immediate nationwide ceasefire and a Yemen-owned, inclusive, political settlement.

They condemned the ongoing escalation in the oil-rich province of Marib, which exacerbates Yemen's humanitarian crisis, places over 1 million internally displaced persons at grave risk, and threatens efforts to secure a political settlement.

The members expressed concern that the military escalation in Marib could be exploited by terrorist groups like Al Qaeda to expand their presence in Yemen.

They called on the Houthis to end their escalation in Marib and condemned the cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia.

The Council members also expressed concern about military developments elsewhere in Yemen and stressed the need for de-escalation by all parties.

They condemned the recruitment and use of children, including in Marib.

They called for accountability for human rights violations and abuses, and violations of international humanitarian law andreiterated the need for all the parties to the conflict to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law, including those related to humanitarian access and the protection of civilian objects and civilians, and the protection of humanitarian and health personnel and their facilities.

The Council members expressed grave concern about the dire economic and humanitarian situation, including prolonged starvation and the growing risk of large-scale famine, and emphasized the importance of facilitating critical commercial imports and humanitarian assistance.

They called on the Yemeni government to facilitate regularly, without delay, the entry of fuel ships into Hodeidah port to ensure the delivery of essential commodities and humanitarian aid, and underscored that fuel that arrives through Hodeidah port should not be used for personal profit or to fund escalation of the conflict.

They called on the parties to adhere to their commitments under the Stockholm Agreement to use the revenues from Hodeidah port to pay civil servant salaries.

The Council members emphasized the grave threat posed by the Safer oil tanker, whose dire and dilapidated condition risks an environmental, economic, maritime, and humanitarian catastrophe to Yemen and the region.
In an op-ed in Herald of 1 June 2011, following the US killing of Osama bin Laden a month earlier, I warned, Australia cannot expect its human sacrifices and material investment to make much of a difference in Afghanistan, intimating that hopefully we would not see the day when Australian leaders looked back and wondered what was that all about?

That day has arrived with President Joe Bidens announcement to end Americas two-decade long military intervention in Afghanistan by the 20th anniversary of 9/11, and Prime Minister Scott Morrisons decision to follow suit.

Australian soldiers on patrol in Oruzgan. Credit:Kate Geraghty

Australia has been a participant in the Afghan venture from its beginnings. In addition to providing reconstruction aid, it has played an active role in the US-led military intervention to bring, as put by former President George W. Bush in late 2001, peace, stability, prosperity and security to the country.

The province of Oruzgan  a relatively small area in the Taliban-led insurgency hotbed in southern Afghanistan  came to be the main focus of the Australian military and civilian operations, especially between 2010 and 2014.
When a garda was shot during a forced entry of a house in Ballymun in December 2017, officials in Dublin City Council became aware of their first case of home takeovers.

Also known as hostile takeovers or, abroad, as cuckooing, it is where drug gangs move in on the home of a vulnerable person  often because of addiction  and basically set up shop.

In the Ballymun raid, a member of the Emergency Response Unit was attempting to get past a reinforced metal door, reportedly using an angle-grinder, when a shot was discharged from inside the property, hitting him in the arm.

Garda sources said at the time it was pure luck he wasnt killed or seriously injured.

The revelation that this incident was DCCs first takeover was contained in the recent report on the drug trade in Ballymun, north Dublin.

Home takeovers

Report author Andrew Montague, chair of the local drug task force and former mayor painted a grim picture of open drug dealing, reduced policing resources and a community cowed by fear and intimidation.

His report, commissioned by DCC, raised the takeover issue in the context of a worsening problem with crack cocaine in the area, and the impact on users and their families and the wider community.

As crack cocaine use surged in Ballymun, there was also a spate of house takeovers in the community, he said.

Criminal networks are taking control over the homes of vulnerable people and using these homes for the sale and consumption of drugs and other illegal activities.

He said the activity in the properties can be highly disruptive to the neighbourhood.

The first house takeover came to the attention of the City Council in 2017, when a Garda was shot and injured from one of these houses.

Citing an interview with a DCC official, he said: Since that time there have been at least 15-20 more take-overs in Ballymun.

The report, Ballymun  'A Brighter Future', said this type of house takeover was not unique to Ballymun.

It has been described in the UK and in Canada as Cuckooing, after the cuckoo bird that takes over another birds nest, the report said.

The vulnerable tenants who are frequently targeted include people with crack cocaine addictions, tenants with mental health or physical disability problems, elderly people or young people.

The city council works closely with the Gardai, the HSE and other community groups to support the vulnerable tenants and to close up these houses. While house take-overs are still happening, the number of take-overs in Ballymun is reducing.

In a statement to the Irish Examiner, An Garda Siochana said: In response to your earlier query on the practice referred to as cuckooing or the hostile takeover of homes of vulnerable tenants by criminal gangs, as referenced in the recently published report Ballymun  A Brighter Future, please note that as part of an inter-agency response to drug dealing and anti-social behaviour in Ballymun, An Garda Siochana, Dublin City Council and the HSE work collaboratively to address this issue on an ongoing basis.

It also included a statement from DCC, which said: Over the last four years (2016-2020) Dublin City Council secured 19 properties as result of hostile takeovers.

It confirmed that all 19 units were specifically in the Ballymun area.

The profiles of these tenants were all very similar: single people with addiction issues, the council said.

Local criminals would identify these vulnerable individuals and essentially take over their property for the purpose of illegal activities. It said the council investigated the reports of anti-social behaviour and assessed that in most of these cases the tenant was in fact the victim.

It said the council adopted an interagency approach establishing an action plan to deal with the anti-social behaviour and at the same time support the tenant.

This involved liaising with the An Garda Siochana, as we do intensively on an ongoing basis, and linking in the HSE and Outreach drug addiction services, the statement said.

In some cases, provision was made to move the tenant on estate management grounds to a new tenancy and treatment services engaged to support the tenant where appropriate.

While the problem is on a scale that appears to be very high, some sources have said that this practice has been a feature of the drug trade for a long time, particularly in Dublin and Limerick.

Its called cuckooing, said one drug worker in Dublin city centre. Its not new. They find a vulnerable person, with their own gaff, befriend them, deal them drugs, intimidate them  say through drug related debt  and take over the house/apartment to deal drugs from. They do that for as long as possible and when its raided, they move on to the next place theyve lined up.

Daithi Doolan, Sinn Fein councillor for Ballyfermot and Drimnagh, in south west Dublin, said: Criminal gangs taking over peoples homes to sell drugs is a serious problem in Dublin. It clearly shows just how powerful these cartels have become. They feel untouchable. But I can assure you it would not be tolerated in Foxrock, Blackrock or Dalkey.

The chair of Dublins Joint Policing Committee said: The gangs prey on vulnerable people, often intimidating the family or promising to pay the rent or food bills. Meanwhile neighbours feel totally disempowered to do anything - too scared to call the Gardai or City Council.

He said: There appears to be an acceptable level of anarchy in some working-class communities. This situation is not acceptable. We cannot allow drug gangs to hold whole communities to ransom like this. The Gardai and Dublin City Council need to step up to the challenge. They owe it to the public and to the families being exploited.

The councillor called on the Minister with responsibility for the National Drug Strategy, Frank Feighan, to organise an urgent meeting with the Garda Commissioner and Dublin City Council to agree on a course of action.

Every action will be taken to get the gangs out of these properties and get the families the support they need, he said.

Johnny Connolly, a criminologist attached to School of Law at University of Limerick, has been researching drug markets and communities for decades.

The finding in the Ballymun report reminds him of a study he did in the north inner city in 2006 on the emergence of crack cocaine.

One of the things that emerged from that was same thing, crack houses, and people who were vulnerable, somehow exposed, often partners of people addicted who had houses, and they were used by people to use crack, which is a time-consuming process to prepare and not as easy to do as on the street.

The phenomenon of hostile takeovers is considered separate to the endless cases, as evidenced in court reports, of people, often the parents of children with drug debts or juveniles themselves, storing drugs, or weapons or cash, in their homes for gangs in a bid to pay off the debts.

It is all part of the fabric of the drug markets where gangs need properties to store drugs, as well as weapons and cash, and to mix and distribute drugs from.

With both domestic and international reports indicating a growing number of groups or gangs involved in the drugs trade  particularly attracted by the money to be made for street dealing of cocaine  there is a growing demand for places to keep drugs.

Ballymun Road. Community worker Eddie DArcy wonders if the war on drugs needs a complete rethink. Picture: Moya Nolan

Dr Connolly said the Ballymun report cited home takeovers in the context of the crack market.

Yes, it is a natural part of the trade, in terms of storing and holding, but with crack theres an extra dimension and using crack in these properties, its a more chaotic dimension, Dr Connolly said.

Its hard to know if Ballymun is exceptional, its certainly very serious.

Eddie DArcy has been a youth and community worker for 40 years, most of it in the Clondalkin and Ballyfermot areas of west Dublin.

He said, in his experience, gangs look to find someone leading a normal life to use, rather than bring attention to the property.

They would tend to find a quiet person, who isnt criminally involved, to hold bags of something. They dont want to be bringing attention to any houses used to store stuff or money.

Im not sure if these home takeovers are planned or strategic, or people just go into smoke crack and theres no control in the home.

"Are they planned by gangs as safe houses? Probably not  those houses come to the attention of guards fairly quickly. The gangs know they will be raided.

The Ballymun report highlighted linked issues  open drug dealing, the grooming of vulnerable juveniles into criminal networks, increasing violence, often associated with growing competition between groupings, reduced policing resources, limited access to youth, family and mental health services and lack of opportunities and economic deprivation.

Very similar terrain was covered days later in the scoping review of Drogheda carried out by former Probation Service boss Vivian Geiran.

New low

This report, Drogheda  Creating a Bridge to a Better Future, was ordered by the Department of Justice after gangland in the town descended to unspeakable depravity with the murder and dismemberment of a teenager in January 2020.

Mr Geiran said the abduction, brutal torture and killing of the teen had traumatised the town and its people, particularly its young people and children.

In relation to drug gangs' corrosive impact on vulnerable young people and local communities, the report made a number of comments.

Talking about young people involved in the towns two Garda Youth Diversion Programmes, Mr Geiran said: Those working in both projects report increased challenges, in many respects, over the past few years, with the general deterioration in criminality and its seriousness.

GYDP staff also report lack of adequate access to specialist services such as HSE Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) and Jigsaw mental health programmes.

The report, again, spelled out the devastating impact of drug-related intimidation (DRI).

This intimidation can be targeted at young and old alike, said Mr Geiran.

Indeed, the researcher heard numerous anecdotes of young people who got involved  willingly or unwittingly, through pressure, grooming by established offenders, or otherwise  in assisting drug dealers and who subsequently ended up on the wrong side of the dealer. This can be for real or perceived drug debts as well as for other reasons.

Typically, it results in retaliatory action being taken against the young person and their family. One of the features of this DRI activity in Drogheda is the common use of arson and bombing property as the violence of choice in such incidences.

"Other forms of violence, damage to property (e.g., breaking house windows), or threats, are also used, often with horrible consequences.

Mr Geiran went on: Some parents of at-risk children have resorted to sending their children to live with relatives in other parts of the country, or even outside the jurisdiction, for periods of time, to avoid their exposure to such intimidation and violence.

In other cases, families have uprooted and left their homes. There are many recorded incidents of actual or attempted use of improvised explosive devices (IED) such as petrol bombs or pipe bombs being used, particularly in certain housing estates, as part of the so-called feuding.

In some instances, houses have been burned out or severely damaged, as well as victims being injured, in such attacks. Because they generally take place in relatively built-up areas, neighbours of the intended target/s can be and often are directly affected by such attacks.

In other incidents of DRI, physical violence, including what might only be described as physical torture, as well as threats, are used.

People are afraid to look out their windows. People are afraid to be seen talking.

In effect, what certain areas are experiencing, and, in some cases, have been experiencing for decades, is not hostile takeovers of homes  but hostile takeovers of communities.

Community takeovers

This manifests at various levels, as the Geiran report and others have portrayed  not just in the power of gangs and the fear they inflict, but in low-level, everyday anti-social behaviour.

There was a perception among some respondents that in some housing estates in Drogheda, there has been a certain tolerance by officialdom of an often-escalating level of anti-social activity or unruly behaviour resulting in a breakdown of societal norms and an increase in unacceptable behaviours, Mr Geiran said.

This, in turn, can lead to a significant deterioration of quality of life for the wider community.

He said in the absence of positive opportunities, some young people can be attracted to the material lifestyle opportunities offered by drugs and crime.

The children and young people of Drogheda and surrounding areas have collectively been traumatised to a greater or lesser extent by the crime and drug-related activities of a minority.

The nature of some of the criminality, and drug-related intimidation in particular, has been insidious and has frequently had the shocking feature of the involvement of children, some of a very young age.

His points, though persuasive, have been made time and time again.

In addition to the Ballymun report, there was the Debts, Threats, Distress and Hope report on drug-related intimidation in Dublins north inner city last January and in the same month the latest reports (Bluetown and Redtown) on criminal networks conducted by the Greentown team in University of Limerick.

Before that, in December 2019, there was the 'Building Community Resilience' report by Johnny Connolly and, the previous April, a report commissioned by the Citywide Drugs Crisis Campaign and written by academic Matt Bowden.

And before them was the 'Mulvey Report on the North East Inner City', published in February 2017, set up on the back of the Kinahan cartel murder campaign in the area.

In 2016, Citywide published its 'Demanding Money with Menace' report on drug intimidation.

Two years previously, Dr Connolly published a massive three-year research project, the first in the country, on drug markets in Ireland.

In 2013, the National Family Support Network published its 'Responding to Intimidation' report.

This subject is not new - its just not enough has been done about it.

In his report, Dr Bowden said intimidation and violence drives local drug markets and enables drug bosses to keep communities insecure, fearful, and subordinate.

He chronicled a sense of abandon in working-class communities and suggested that drug dealing was seen as a type of work among young people sucked into the trade, who saw it as a way to buy consumer goods, like the best of clothes.

Human Rights for Communities

All the various reports directly or indirectly point to the need to give communities both a voice and power.

This issue was developed most in the 'Building Resilient Communities' report, which found that children as young as ten were being groomed into criminal networks and young teenagers were aspiring to the lifestyle and status of local drug lieutenants.

That report said that communities have a right to be safe and that parents in those areas have a right to raise their kids in safety.

The report urged the development of Community Impact Statements, interest in which is spreading across communities.

Talking to the Irish Examiner, Dr Connolly said these communities should adopt the language of human rights.

These are the rights of children to be protected and the same rights that communities that dont suffer the same way take for grantedthe right to live without harm.

He said if communities adopt this approach it changes the nature of the debate.

He said: The [Ballymun] report talks about losing police numbers and resources  but if you use human rights language you talk about people have the right to be protected by the state, theres an obligation to protect them, so that should change the urgency of the debate when talking about resources, whether policing or otherwise. And the non-policing resources have been covered in the various reports.

In the Drogheda study, Mr Geiran highlighted a perceived shortage of services for young people in need of acute and other mental health services because of depression, anxiety or other disorders, with difficulties in accessing HSE child and adolescent mental health services.

It said Tusla had two child protection teams in Drogheda, which presented as being under continuing pressure over extended periods due to various factors, including vacancies and challenges getting social workers to work there.

The same report also highlighted an overall level of dissatisfaction among people with the level and accessibility of drug treatment services and the lack of HSE outreach and community-based addiction services.

The report also flagged the long-standing issue of a lack of round-the-clock multi-disciplinary services.

As a result, An Garda Siochana members are frequently called upon to deal with individuals (adults and children) who may be experiencing psychological or socially related episodes or traumas, or who may be suicidal for example. Especially where such incidents or episodes take place outside business hours, including at weekends.

This whole issue was examined by the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland, which reported in September 2018. It called for a shift in how policing is viewed to include a wider community safety obligation on the State.

As part of this, it called for the other key State services  mental health, social services, family, youth and drug services  to share in the responsibility.

It recommended the establishment of 24/7 Community Intervention Teams, first recommended in 2009, to respond to critical local incidents.

Cause for hope

Dr Connolly has some hope for the future: With these reports, and our one, the Greentown one, I think we have a very good sense of what needs to be done and how it needs to be done.

He said: From what I see from the commission report I do think its been taken seriously at a political level. People are seeing weve been at this for 30 years and see whats happening in communities, so something different has to happen.

He pointed to the rollout of the new Garda operating model and the new community safety pilots in Dublin's north inner city, Waterford and Longford.

All the various reports urge specific programmes for young people at risk of being groomed into criminal networks and those already involved.

Eddie DArcy said the stream of young people sucked into these networks was constant.

These young lads drawn in are expendable  the attitude is if they are caught and get a three-to-four year sentence then we need someone else to fill their space. The problem is increasing from the point of view that there are more people selling right across the country."

He said it always struck him as odd that the juvenile diversion system excluded those who were not reducing their offending.

For me, it was strange that the kids most at risk of offending at the highest level are the ones excluded, he said, thats why we put forward the proposal for the Rua project.

This programme, part of the Solas Project in Dublins south inner city has been praised by evaluations.

He thinks the department has a better understanding of the problem now and expects a more welfare approach, including in the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027, published on Thursday.

The strategy sets out actions targeting the estimated 1,000 children at risk of becoming serious offenders, including specialised projects for hard to reach cases and implementation of the Greentown pilot programme to support children under coercive control of criminal gangs.

The difficulty is [these youngsters] are a difficult bunch of youngsters to engage with, Mr DArcy said.

We agreed only to engage with those after they were excluded and had reached a high level of offendingbut it is possible to identify some of those youngsters at a much earlier age, and exclusion from school would be a key factor.

He said statistics published by Oberstown Children Detention Centre show that the numbers of kids out of education was very high.

It is possible to engage with them, it is possible to build up relationships with them, he said.

No one wants to spend life in and out of prison. Many of these do not see any choices and dont really look that far ahead, a lot of them are impulsive.

All of the reports say locals want more policing, not less, but, equally, they want local police to build up relationships with young people and communities.

Future of policing

If you look at Ballymun, youve got open drug dealing, a serious problem that would not be tolerated in Clontarf, said Dr Connolly.

If you are really serious about community policing, there has to be really strong engagement at a community level with guards that are visible, and develop relationships, not just drive by in cars  they are visible in terms of developing relationships with local people who know these guards are going to be there for the long term, to help them with the problems they face, along with other agencies.

Communities keep saying we need more community guards  but you need a structural change in the organisation so that community services is the primary service all police are focused on.

Talking to the Irish Examiner at the launch of the Community Resilience report in December 2019, now retired assistant commissioner for Dublin, Pat Leahy, warned that the change recommended by the commission had to be taken on by Garda top managers.

He said: If senior management do not have a change of mindset and are not totally committed to it, it is not going to happen  its as simple as that.

He said the focus on recent years had been on the gangland violence and the Kinahan-Hutch feud, which, in particular, had devastated the northeast inner city.

He said the previous years were probably the best three years tackling that level of gangland-orientated crime.

This included wholesale prosecutions and convictions, including by the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, of Kinahan figures, some of them very senior in the network.

The DOCB has also continued to conduct operations to thwart planned or attempted assassinations, and has clocked up massive seizures of drugs and cash, while the Criminal Assets Bureau continues to carry out its work.

Mr Leahy said that, like almost all police forces, the Gardai adopted a traditional approach to policing and that its priorities around crimes, crime trends, criminals and arrests  which were monitored by oversight and regulatory bodies - were not the same priorities of communities.

The Rediscovery Centre in Ballymun which is housed in the former powerstation with it's landmark red and white tower in the centre of the suburb. Picture: Moya Nolan

Communities dont look at it like that, they look at quality of life, he said. The target of gardai should be community safety.

He added: Community policing took a battering during austerity, we kinda were withdrawn from communities. Now, we have to take it back, go back into communities, recover that space, shift the balance of power.

But can community safety, and the protection of young people from drug gangs, be done in the current legal system?

Are we getting anywhere in this war on drugs or does it need a really good debate and a complete rethink, Mr DArcy posed.

The US has spent trillions on it. Would we be better taking the product away from the gangs altogether and legalising it and the money spent on health promotion?

Gangs operate in a never-ending cycle and we are shocked as young fellas get shot over small amounts. If it can happen in Drogheda, it can happen in Arklow or Tullamore  its not just disadvantaged communities in Dublin. We need to have a good hard look.

"Where are we going with these drug gangs. They are filling our prisons, they are creating levels of violence and intimidation in communities. Enormous amounts of money are to be made and it hasnt reduced the availability of drugs on the street.

He continued: I just cant see us winning this war, I really cant and its just causing so much hardship and mayhem and fear in communities and definitely the intimidation and violence is every present.

Dr Connolly said wars were won and lost with a lot of so-called collateral damage.

In this context, a lot of the approach is purportedly to protect communities  but it hasnt done that and, in fact, has exacerbated the problems for those communities, particularly those with embedded host drug markets.

We know the drug trade has become more violent, it is involving more younger people. Theres a lot more drugs, a lot more variety of drugs, theres a lot more variety in how people source drugs. Drug prices have dropped. They are very easily accessible.

"So, all the indicators of success there should be are not there  its going in the opposite direction.

He said the issue of altering drug laws was the elephant in the room in terms of the debate.

Since the first drugs strategy in the early 2000s there has always been a tension between a criminal justice approach and a health-oriented one, he said.

We are now committed to a health-oriented approach, so that must oblige us to look at what is the role of the criminal justice process?

He added that tension came to the surface in the report on drug possession, carried out by an expert committee for the departments and health and justice and published in August 2019.

That committee recommended a limited alternative to criminalisation for possession of all drugs for personal use, with one or, at most, two cautions permissible by gardai, in each case involving a referral to a health intervention. The proposal was accepted by the Government.

Dr Connolly said a Citizens Assembly approach to drugs, as proposed in the Programme for Government, was the way to proceed, as the position of Government departments and State agencies is not as dominant.

Decriminalisation isnt going to resolve the problems were talking about, but at least its a step in the direction of really questioning what the role of the criminal justice system is supposed to be and the whole purpose of deterrence, he said.

A wicked problem

He said people need to examine if the criminal justice system was being counterproductive.

Drugs are illicit, they create a large market, in that market young people are being exploited and very vulnerable people are being exploited and they have a right to be protected, and thats an obligation on the State to protect those people, but it also requires of the citizens to really think deeply about how we want to approach this issue of drug use.

But he stressed that the issue should be seen as a wicked problem, in that there are no simple answers to it and requires a complex response.

It is a wicked problem and what weve seen in the Citizens' Assembly around abortion and marriage equality that they seem to manage the extreme views and it seems quite a good model.

Mr DArcy said interventions aimed at young people being groomed into gangs will always face fundamental problems under the current legal model.

For 40 years Ive been working with young people caught up in drugs and criminality. I just dont see how any legislation weve had has really made a change.

Okay, you probably have better interventions for some young people, better services there for some young people, but the root cause of them becoming involved in criminality hasnt been addressed  the poverty and the drug trade.

The new youth justice strategy does take a welfare approach, very much so, and will aim to identify young people being sucked into criminality at an early age and try and divert them, but the attraction is still there - the drug gang is still there.

Theres always going to be youngsters from core families, who are much more vulnerable, getting sucked in.

He said that although the drugs strategy was moving towards a health-oriented one and that the drug possession report was welcome, he said these were small steps.

It would be interesting to look at the stats from Canada in three-or-four years time. Theyve not just decriminalised, Canada has gone a step further and legalised possession of cannabis and the growing of cannabis and shops are licensed to sell."

For me, decriminalisation is just not charging people for personal use, you still have your product from the gang, which is almost legitimising the gang.

This [legalisation] involves taking money out of the drug gangs and taking the power out. Its only one drug, but its a massive drug of choice.

Mr D'Arcy said: Im not promoting it, but I think there is a need for a debate on it, a hard debate.
New Delhi: Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Saturday (April 17) declared that all devotees returning to the state from Haridwar Kumbh Mela will have to undergo a mandatory RT-PCR test before they are allowed to enter their respective cities and villages.

In order to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the already severely affected state, the Gujarat CM said that no Kumbh returnee will be allowed to enter their respective places without taking an RT-PCR test.

"Collectors of all districts in Gujarat have been directed to keep a watch on the Kumbh Mela returnees and enforce a nakabandi' (security checking) to prevent their entry in their hometowns without undergoing an RT-PCR test," Rupani told reports in Jamnagar.

Those found infected will be isolated for 14 days, Rupani added. Collectors of all the districts have been directed to identify the Kumbh returnees," the BJP leader informed.

Earlier, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in a Cabinet meeting discussed that pilgrims coming back from the Kumbh Mela in Uttarakhand should be monitored and subjected to COVID-19 testing.

At the Kumbh Mela, total of 1,701 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Haridwar Kumbh Mela from April 10 to 14. Many seers have tested positive for COVID-19 the medical office at Haridwar said.

As many as 68 seers have tested positive for COVID-19 between April 5 to 14, including Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad president Mahant Narendra Giri, who is admitted at the All India Institute Of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh.

Meanwhile, addressing the shortage of hospital beds in cities and the difficulties faced by people, Rupani said 10,000 more beds will be added in the next 15 days.

Gujarat on Friday added the biggest single-day rise with 8,920 new coronavirus positive, taking the tally to 3,84,688. 94 patients succumbed to the infection which raised the death toll to 5,170, as per the state health department.

(With inputs from agencies)

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A Lebanon County father told investigators he was sure his 2-month-old daughter suffocated to death from the pillow on which he left her and her twin sibling to nap in June 2019, county prosecutors said.

Jack Ponicki Sr. put his twin children down for a nap June 16, 2019, on an adult-sized pillow inside a bassinet filled with stuffed animals and several blankets, on the 1100 block of Lehman Street in Lebanon, according to the Lebanon County District Attorneys Office.

He pulled a blanket up to the childrens chests and went back downstairs. When he later came up to one of his children crying, he discovered the female twin facedown on the pillow and cold to the touch, prosecutors said.

Ponicki told authorities I am sure she suffocated on the pillow. Investigators noticed the baby had a severe, oozing, crusty and red rash in the folds of her neck, as well as a severe diaper rash.

Prosecutors said the children were in the sole custody and care of Ponicki.

Lebanon County authorities and the Child Protective Team at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center determined Ponickis reckless and grossly negligent behavior caused his 2-month-old daughters death.

The childrens living and sleeping conditions were unsafe and contributed to the childs death, prosecutors said. They said Ponicki was aware of the risks and disregarded them.

Doctors told investigators the 2-month-old had a chronic irritation from formula dribbling down her neck and back, as well as a diaper rash that should have received medical attention.

The Lebanon County Detective Bureau and South Annville Township police took Ponicki into custody Wednesday on charges of involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children. Prosecutors said he is being held at the Lebanon County Correctional Facility in lieu of $250,000 bail.

READ MORE: Woman killed by elderly father had moved in to help him: Cumberland County prosecutors

Mommy did it: Boy, 9, says he watched his 5-year-old sisters stabbing
Brussels, April 17 : The European Commission intends to approve the European Union's (EU) member states' recovery and resilience plans by summer and then begin to disburse funds from the Recovery and Resilience Facility accordingly, a top official said here.

The Commission's Executive Vice-President responsible for economy Valdis Dombrovskis said on Friday that the facility, the bulk of the 750 billion euro ($898 billion) recovery fund, will provide 312.5 billion euros in grants and up to 360 billion euros in loans, reports Xinhua news agency.

Dombrovskis said that with the approaching deadline of April 30 for the submittal of such plans, there were some countries that seemed more prepared than others.

He, however, expressed conviction that the deadline will be met.

"Some member states are nearly there and submitting their plans by the end of April is achievable. For others, this looks more difficult.

"Finalisation will require somewhat more work for a couple more weeks," he told a press conference following a virtual meeting by the EU's Finance Ministers.

He said Margrethe Vestager, the Commission's Executive Vice-President responsible for competition, updated ministers on how the EU rules are supporting the economy in the context of the pandemic and recovery.
Remarks by Angel Gurria, OECD Secretary-General, delivered at the Centre for Global Development



24 March 2011, Washington D.C.



Dear Nancy, Ladies and Gentlemen,



It is my great pleasure to be here, at the Centre for Global Development, together with my dear friend and colleague Nancy Birdsall. Being a member of the Board of the CGD is a badge of honor I wear with great pride.



Nancy is not only a friend and one of my heroes, she is also a regular of the OECD, where she visited only last year to give a fascinating presentation on the Cash on Delivery Aid approach developed by the Centre.

Allow me to focus on a critical issue for our Organisation: its role in the new international architecture. This is also a great opportunity to discuss some of our perspectives on the new architecture of global governance more generally.



Shifting wealth in the world economy

Global development perspectives have been changing rapidly in recent years. The centre of economic gravity is moving from the advanced to the large emerging economies, particularly Brazil, China and India. This is what we call Shifting Wealth. And this also means substantial improvements in growth, poverty reduction and inequality in the developing world.



The pace of change in recent years has been so rapid, that the world economy today is barely recognisable from that of fifty years ago when OECD countries accounted for some 80% of global GDP. Today the share has fallen to about 60 %. At the same time emerging and developing countries already account for more than one fifth of global trade and our forecasts anticipate that they will account for nearly 60% of world GDP by 2030.



Developing economies are faced with new opportunities in this new economic geography. We used to think that countries progressed by building up their technological capacity in the manufacture of relatively simple commodities (toys, textiles, etc), and slowly upgrading towards more sophisticated goods. Today, we know that different development paths are possible.



The enormous untapped potential in South-South flows of trade, aid and investment, which countries can use for development, is a new feature of the global economy. Let me give you a few examples:

In 2009 China became the leading trade partner of Brazil, India and South Africa.

The Indian multinational Tata is the second most active investor in sub-Saharan Africa.

Emerging economies now give over 100 times more aid to developing countries than they did in 1990, to reach about 15 percent of the flows of OECD-DAC donors.



One of the positive consequences of rapid growth in China, India and elsewhere is poverty reduction. Since 1990, the number of people in the world living in extreme poverty, on less than a dollar-a-day, has fallen by more than a quarter  approximately half a billion. The problem is that about 90% of these people were in China. Thus, the challenge is to better spread the benefits of this shifting wealth.



The record of poverty reduction in the rest of the developing world is more mixed, and the Millennium Development Goal of halving poverty by 2015 is still some way off. Moreover, inequality is increasing in many of the high-growth developing economies.



Growth alone is clearly not enough. For emerging economies, the good news is that thanks to their new-found wealth and prosperity, governments can afford to boost public spending on social protection, including welfare assistance, to reduce inequality. For developing countries we have to go more than the proverbial extra mile and here the G20 and other sources of cooperation between advanced, emerging and developing economies can help.



New economic realities reflected in a new architecture of global governance

What do these new economic realities mean for the global governance architecture, international cooperation and 21st century multilateralism?



The shift in the centre of economic gravity that we discussed above has to be reflected in the global governance architecture. Thus, the new players have to be given a stronger voice in decision-making and multilateralism has to evolve further in a more inclusive manner.



The financial crisis has reinforced the need for intensified international co-operation between advanced, emerging and developing economies. The strong, effective and coordinated crisis response of the G20 Leaders was unprecedented.



The transformation of the G20 into the premier forum for international economic cooperation, endorsed at the Pittsburgh Summit, is a welcome consequence of this trend. Sitting at the G20 table as equals, none as guests, the leaders of the countries at the heart of the Shifting Wealth story are getting together to define common solutions to common challenges. This nascent rebalancing of voice and power is reflected, among other examples, decision to reform the International Financial Institutions voting quotas and in the newly approved selection process of their top management.



But, the G20 is not only about rebalancing decision-making. It deals with a large spectrum of issues, and above all, provides a framework for enhanced policy coordination. That is where the OECD comes in. We engage and support the G20:

on the adoption of structural policies within the Framework for strong, sustainable and balanced growth;

on policies for employment, skills and jobs;

on polices to liberalize trade, investment and capital flows;

on the promotion and adoption of our standards for anti-bribery;

on the abolishment of fossil fuels subsidies;

on policies for efficient, fair and transparent taxation systems;

on food security and commodity markets;

and on the Seoul Consensus for Development and its Multi-Year-Action Plan.



To deliver on its ambitious policy agenda, the G20 should be equipped with a mechanism for candid and systematic policy sharing, and a mechanism for monitoring commitments. This is an important prerequisite for success in crafting consensus in a large and heterogeneous arena. The risk is to reach such consensus by converging towards the lowest common denominator, instead of adopting ambitious and high quality standards.



We are collaborating closely with the French presidency of the G20 this year to support the design and implementation of such mechanisms.



The role of the OECD in the new architecture of global governance

The OECD is supporting the emergence of the new architecture of global governance in many ways, beyond its contribution to the G20.



Since 1961, the OECD has performed its role as policy advisor and pathfinder for member and partner countries. Evidence-based policy advice, such as our Jobs Strategy, our PISA education test now covering around 70 countries, or our economic country studies, including the BRIICS and the Euro Zone, have helped policy makers and stakeholders to pursue their reform agendas. Our pioneering work on the economics of climate change and the use of economic instruments to achieve environmental goals provide useful tools to bring green and growth together.



Over the past five decades the OECD has earned its credentials as a global standard setter. Our Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, our Global Forum on Transparency and Information Exchange for Tax Purposes, our Anti-bribery Convention and our mechanisms for monitoring aid flows are just a few examples of the ways in which we help to develop high international standards of public policy.



Our strategy to serve as an important pillar in the new architecture of global governance includes three dimensions: openness, impact and inclusion.



Last year, Chile, Estonia, Israel and Slovenia became members of the OECD and accession talks with Russia are advancing. We are also designing innovative arrangements to engage with our member and partner countries in developing better policies and finding common responses to global challenges. We are striving to strengthen our impact by reinforcing our relations with key emerging economies, in particular Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa (our Enhanced Engagement partners).



We need to show that there is a clear value-added of multilateral cooperation vis-a-vis unilateral action. And here the OECD can offer know-how, tools and recommendations. This is our role and our responsibility.



Ladies and Gentlemen:

This year, the OECD is celebrating its 50th anniversary. In our first five decades, we have proven that international co-operation between countries with different visions induces policy convergence or at least reduces the level of friction and thus allows for more ambitious accomplishments to raise the quality of life among the peoples of the world.



Building a new architecture of global governance takes time; it is a journey, not a destination. And we are here to help leaders navigate this journey and adopt better policies for better lives.

Thank you.

OECD and the G20

Documents connexes
The Duke of Edinburgh's funeral was held on Saturday, April 17, at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. WPA Pool/Getty Images

A topless woman was arrested during Prince Philip's funeral near Windsor Castle on Saturday.

The unidentified woman yelled "save the planet" in an apparent protest, Metro reported.

She also jumped on a statue of Queen Victoria before being detained by local authorities.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

A topless woman was detained by authorities after protesting during the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral.

On Saturday, a televised funeral was held for Prince Philip at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. Prince Philip died on April 9 at age 99.

According to Metro's James Hockaday, an unidentified woman caused a scene outside of Windsor Castle when she ran in front of the crowd following the minute's silence for Prince Philip.

A woman was detained by police after protesting topless during Prince Philip's funeral. Reuters

The woman sprinted down the road screaming "save the planet" shortly after the crowd began clapping, Metro reported. She also jumped onto a statue of Queen Victoria but was apprehended by authorities, according to Metro.

Images captured by Reuters showed authorities escorting the topless woman out of the roadway while witnesses looked on.

Representatives for Thames Valley Police did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The woman reportedly jumped on a statue of Queen Victoria before being detained by authorities. Reuters

During the funeral procession, members of the British public lined up outside Windsor Castle to pay their respects to Prince Philip, the longest-serving British consort and husband to Queen Elizabeth II. Locals were asked not to attend the funeral due to the UK COVID-19 pandemic, but crowds still gathered in defiance of the guidance.

Nine members of the royal family walked behind Prince Philip's coffin as it was transported via Land Rover hearse from the State Entrance at Windsor to the chapel. The lineup included all four of his children, as well as his grandchildren Prince William and Prince Harry.

It's been widely reported that a rift had developed between William and Harry in recent years, but the brothers' relationship appeared to be on the mend as the two men chatted after the funeral service.

Story continues

Both William and Harry walked in their grandfather's funeral procession but were notably separated by their cousin, Peter Phillips. A Buckingham Palace spokesperson previously told People that the brothers would not walk side by side during the procession.

"This is a funeral, and we are not going to be drawn into perceptions of drama," the spokesperson said.

Read the original article on Insider
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-18 00:05:46|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on April 17, 2021 shows a meeting of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in Vienna, Austria. Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, on Saturday urged all parties to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), to immediately start negotiating the specific formula of sanction-lifting. (EU Delegation Vienna/Handout via Xinhua)

VIENNA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Saturday urged all parties to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), to immediately start negotiating the specific formula of sanction-lifting.

Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, made the appeal here after attending a new round of meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission.

"China has drawn much encouragement that the Joint Commission has, over the two days, come back to its normal track with productive and constructive work," he said.

"China maintains that all U.S. sanctions should be lifted immediately," be it sanctions against Iran, or its long-arm jurisdiction measures on third-party entities and individuals, including those on the Chinese, he noted.

China believes that the Joint Commission should continue to focus on the "more substantive work" of sanction-lifting through the two major processes -- the nuclear implementation and sanctions-lifting working groups' work, and the "proximity talks" with the United States, said the envoy.

According to him, China will continue to work with all parties concerned to push the U.S. and Iran to resume negotiations on the implementation of the JCPOA for early and tangible results.

Saturday's talks were chaired by Enrique Mora, the deputy secretary general and political director of the European External Action Service (EEAS). Representatives of China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and Iran attended the meeting, according to a press release from the EEAS. Enditem
China in Focus (April 16): US, Japan Strengthening Alliance Against Beijing

Japans Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga becomes the first foreign leader to be hosted at the White House since President Joe Biden took office. At the top of the agenda is Beijings growing aggression.

Hong Kong is sending some of its most influential pro-democracy figures to prison. The city that was once semi-autonomous now faces Beijings crackdown on its remaining dissidents.

An official document that appeared to bear Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wens name stamp was found to be fake. The island is accusing Beijing of trying to tear apart Taiwanese society.

The head of the U.S. media regulator says theres a gap in the rules on Chinese tech giant Huaweiand its allowed some U.S. network carriers to keep using the companys gear.

And 20 million so-called volunteers aid the Chinese Communist Party in a digital public opinion war. The average age of the helpers is just 19, and some may not be who they say they are.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more first-hand news from China.

For more news and videos, please visit our website and Twitter.
NEW DELHI: Amid a spike in coronavirus cases, Prime Minister Modi on Saturday (April 17) spoke to Swami Avdheshanand Giri of Juna Akhara on phone and appealed that ongoing Kumbh should now be symbolic at the time of coronavirus COVID-19 crisis. PM Modi tweeted that he also enquired about the health of saints, many of whom have contracted the infection, and also conveyed his appreciation for their cooperation with the local administration.

The development comes at a time when almost 2,000 seers are said to have tested positive for COVID-19 at the ongoing Kumbh Mela. Lakh of devotees participated in the last two 'Shahi Snans' violating COVID protocols by not wearing masks or maintaining social distancing.

In a tweet, PM Modi said he spoke to top seer - Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha president Swami Avdheshanand Giri Ji Maharaj - over phone and made an appeal about the religious gathering that attracts millions of devotees. "Spoke to Acharya Swami Avdheshanand Giri ji on the phone today. Enquired about the health of all saints. All the saints are providing support to the administration for a smooth conduct of the affair and I thanked them for it," PM Modi tweeted in Hindi. "I prayed that two 'shahi snan' have taken place and Kumbh (participation) should now be kept symbolic. This will boost the fight against this crisis," he tweeted.

Swami Avdheshanand Giri requests people to not come to Kumbh for Snan in large numbers

Responding to Modi's call, Avdheshanand urged people to not come to the Kumbh mela for bathing in large numbers due to the COVID-19 situation and to follow the rules. Saving one's and other's lives is sacred, he added.

On April 17, the Niranjan Akhada has announced curtailing the ongoing Kumbh Mela, almost two weeks ahead of schedule, after several senior BJP leaders in Uttarakhand held discussion with the Akhadas to convince them to end it amid surge in COVID-19 cases and concerns of violation of Covid protocols, a senior party leader said.

However, the BJP-ruled state government has already announced that Kumbh Mela will go on as per schedule. The Kumbh Mela started on April 1 and was scheduled to end on April 30. Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand government is also holding consultationw to take a final call on the continuation of Kumbh Mela.

Shortened Kumbh Mela this year

The ongoing Kumbh has already been shortened this year to just one month from April 1 to 30 due to the pandemic. In normal circumstances, the event, which comes once in 12 years, is held from mid January to April. This year, Kumbh has seen people from different parts of the country attending the auspicious event in large numbers, has drawn flak from various quarters as the number of COVID-19 cases has zoomed at a rapid pace in the past few weeks. The event has also reported the coronavirus cases in large numbers.

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How would you feel if you went to see your GP with severe pain caused by a bad back or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and you were told they had just the thing to help  a placebo; a pill containing nothing but rice flour or sugar.

That possibility has come closer, thanks to a new study showing that giving patients an honest placebo, one where they know they are getting a dummy pill, can be extremely effective at reducing pain.

And with a recent report from the Office of National Statistics showing that deaths from taking high-strength painkillers, such as tramadol and codeine, have doubled over the past ten years, there is clearly a need for safe and effective alternatives.

Ive been involved in studies of the placebo effect, including one where we recruited more than 100 patients with chronic back pain and told them they were either getting a powerful new painkiller or a placebo. In fact, they were all given a placebo

But if the placebo effect is so effective, why dont doctors make more use of it?

Im a huge fan of the placebo effect. I think its remarkable that you can give someone a bright-coloured pill, which contains no active ingredient, and this will reduce their pain.

But it is also misunderstood. The assumption is that people who respond either werent ill in the first place or are credulous. Neither is true.

Ive been involved in studies of the placebo effect, including one where we recruited more than 100 patients with chronic back pain and told them they were either getting a powerful new painkiller or a placebo. In fact, they were all given a placebo.

In this study, which was published last July in the European Journal for Person Centred Healthcare, nearly half the patients reported significant pain relief, despite swallowing dummy pills.

As I was told by Dr Jeremy Howick, an expert from Oxford University who designed our study, people who respond best to a placebo are not gullible; they are simply more open minded, especially when it comes to new experiences.

So how does it work? Well, a couple of years ago I watched an intriguing experiment carried out by Manchester Universitys Human Pain Research Group. They started by attaching electrodes to a volunteer, Jack, so they could measure his brainwave activity. Then he was given two identical-looking creams and told one was a normal moisturiser, and the other may or may not contain an anaesthetic.

In reality, they were both just moisturisers. He was asked to rub cream from one tub into his left arm, the other into his right.

Next, they heated Jacks arms with a laser, which he had to rate for painfulness on a scale from one to ten. What they didnt tell him was that while his left arm got a full blast, his right arm had a weaker zap. They did this several times until Jack was convinced the cream hed rubbed on his right arm contained an anaesthetic.

Finally, they gave his right arm a full blast with the laser. Amazingly, when that happened, part of Jacks brain, the frontal cortex, began producing large amounts of brainwaves called alpha waves and this immediately moderated the pain signals reaching the brain.

This, and other research theyve done, suggests the placebo effect works by persuading your brain to express more alpha waves, thereby dialling down the pain, although no one knows why the waves work in this way.

But if the placebo effect is so effective, why dont doctors make more use of it?

My sister, Susie Stead, has just published a book, Stephen From The Inside Out, about a friend who, when young, was labelled schizophrenic and spent more than 25 years in psychiatric wards. Stephen wasnt diagnosed with autism until his late 40s

Well, there is a belief among doctors that a placebo treatment works only if patients think they are getting a real pill. And that would mean lying to patients, which is unethical. A new study, however, involving people with IBS suggests the placebo effect can work even when you know you are taking a placebo. IBS affects around 20 per cent of adults in the UK and can cause crippling stomach cramps, as well as bloating, diarrhoea and constipation.

There is no known cure, though lifestyle changes can help.

To see whether giving patients an honest placebo can help, researchers from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in the U.S. recruited 262 people with IBS.

The patients were randomly allocated to three different groups. One group was told it would be getting placebo pills, containing no active ingredient, though the patients were also told that taking the pills could improve their symptoms. The second group was told it would get either a placebo or a pill containing peppermint oil (which can help with IBS), but didnt know which.

A third group acted as a control and received nothing.

Those given a pill were asked to take it three times a day, 30 minutes before meals, for six weeks. At the end of the study, the patients in both of the pill groups reported a much bigger improvement in their symptoms than the control group.

Seventy per cent of those swallowing pills reported at least a 50-point improvement in their symptom score, while 30 per cent reported their score had increased by at least 150 points, which was considered a very strong response.

I wasnt surprised. In our back- pain study, most of the patients who got relief from taking our placebo pills said they wanted to continue taking them, despite knowing that they were swallowing nothing but ground up rice.

It seems you dont have to deceive people to tap into the power of the placebo, at least for certain conditions. If you trust the doctor prescribing them, then simply taking pills which you have been told might do you good, really can help.

Theres a powerful connection between the microbes living in your gut, known as the microbiome, and your brain. Not only does your microbiome influence your mood, but there is evidence that children with severe autism can be helped by changing their gut bacteria. More on that in a moment.

The popular image of autism is either of a child rocking to and fro, barely able to speak, or someone who is brilliant at science but bad at human relationships. The truth is more complicated. Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), can range from those who are severely affected to those who simply find it hard to communicate and interact with other people.

A recent study by the University of Cambridge suggests that around 1.76 per cent of children in England are on the autism spectrum, a higher figure than previously thought.

Whats tragic is that so many people with ASD have been misunderstood or misdiagnosed. My sister, Susie Stead, has just published a book, Stephen From The Inside Out, about a friend who, when young, was labelled schizophrenic and spent more than 25 years in psychiatric wards. Stephen wasnt diagnosed with autism until his late 40s, and none of his talents, including his extraordinary memory and aptitude for poetry, was celebrated in his lifetime.

While autism cant be cured, speech and social therapy can help. There is also research that suggests changing the gut microbiome with a faecal transplant (using a treated sample from a donor) can improve some of the symptoms and behavioural problems associated with severe autism.

Evidence for this comes from a small study by researchers at Arizona State University in the U.S. At the start of the study, 83 per cent of the children were rated as having severe autism, but two years after the transplant, only 17 per cent were rated severe. The parents also reported significant improvements in their language, interactions and behaviour.

The researchers are now carrying out a bigger, placebo-controlled trial in adults.

Sleeping well? This is not a rhetorical question, I really want to know. So much so that I recently launched, with the help of researchers from Oxford University, what we are hoping will be the UKs largest ever sleep study.

If you fill in our questionnaire  find it by googling BBC2 Horizon Sleep Census  you will get your own personalised sleep score and discover where you are on the owl-lark spectrum, i.e. the extent to which youre better suited to late nights or early mornings. Well be using the anonymous data to build a detailed picture of what we all do to get a good nights sleep, as well as the impact that sleep has on how we think and feel.

I will report back on our findings later in the year.
Scott Brockmeier's book features rescue dogs and patrollers from across the state, including some from the Aspen area.


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OkCupid is one of the dating apps that encourages users to share their beliefs about causes important to them and uses an algorithm thats been trained using users responses to almost 3,000 questions to help them find suitable dating matches. The dating app has collected data from answers it asked the users about environment conservation and climate change and the study shows that the millennials on the app are concerned about climate change and want to be advocates for it. And this trend is not just in India, globally, nine out of 10 OkCupid users have said that it is important that who they match with cares about the environment and understands the impact of climate change.

To help these millennials wear their advocacy on their sleeves, in a manner of speaking, OkCupid is rolling out a global Climate Change Advocate Profile Badge and Stack. And this was inspired by 84% of users, on OkCupid India, responding with a yes when asked if they wanted a profile badge to show they care about climate change. So, in the days leading up to World Earth Day (April 22), all users who want the Climate Change Advocate badge can get it added to their profile. This will also allow these same users to add the Climate Change Stack to their profile so they can match with others who believe in the same principles.

Sporting the Climate Change Advocate badge on the profile should help daters meet others who believe in the same principles. (OkCupid)

The OkCupid study has revealed that most millennials across the globe realise that the environment is fragile and needs to be protected. The app asked its users some pointed questions and heres how the countries fared:

- 72% of the UKs OkCupid users said that they make a conscious effort to reduce their carbon footprint, followed by 65% of respondents from the US, 53% from India, and 48% in Turkey.

- For 45% of Indian respondents, environmental concerns topped the charts of causes important to them, followed by 47% in the UK, 41% in the US, and 36% in Turkey. The second most important concern was world peace, eradicating all diseases came in third followed by the economy.

- About 84% of OkCupids users in the UK are concerned about rising sea levels, followed by 81% in Turkey, 78% in India, and 77% in the US.

- India and Turkey topped the chart of consciously attempting to conserve natural energy and resources with 70% of users in India and 66% in Turkey answering with a yes to the question. The majority of daters in the UK (48%) and US (50%) mentioned attempting to conserve resources sometimes.

- Lastly, 84% of users in India, 88% users in Turkey, 90% in the UK, and 86% in the US said that theyre hugely concerned about climate change and wanted a profile badge to be added to their profile to showcase that to avoid meeting anybody on the app who is not on their wavelength.

And theres more, for every person who adds the badge to their profile, OkCupid will be donating $1 (up to $25,000) to EARTHDAY.ORG.
The Mediterranean Sea (file photo).  UNHCR/Markel Redondo

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are deeply saddened by reports of a shipwreck off the coast of Sidi Mansour, in southeast Tunisia, yesterday evening. The bodies of 41 people, including at least one child, have so far been retrieved.

According to reports from local UNHCR and IOM teams, three survivors were rescued by the Tunisian National Coast Guard. The search effort was still underway on Friday. Based on initial information, all those who perished were from Sub-Saharan Africa.

This tragic loss of life underscores once again the need to enhance and expand State-led search and rescue operations across the Central Mediterranean, where some 290 people have lost their lives so far this year. Solidarity across the region and support to national authorities in their efforts to prevent loss of life and prosecute smugglers and traffickers should be a priority. IOM and UNHCR call for the cooperation of all coastal states, in relation to care arrangements for those rescued.

Prior to yesterdays incident, 39 refugees and migrants had perished off the coast near the Tunisian city of Sfax in early March. So far this year, sea departures from Tunisia to Europe have more than tripled compared to the same period in 2020.

UNHCR and IOM continue to monitor developments closely. They continue to stand ready to work with the national authorities to assist and support the survivors, and the family members of those lost.

For more information on this topic, please contact:

IOM:

In Geneva: Safa Msehli, [email protected] +41794035526

+41794035526 In Tunis: Riadh Kadhi, [email protected] +216 28 787 805

UNHCR:
Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny risks cardiac arrest "any minute" as his health has rapidly deteriorated, doctors warned Saturday, urging immediate access to Russia's most famous prisoner

Moscow, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Apr, 2021 ) :Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny risks cardiac arrest "any minute" as his health has rapidly deteriorated, doctors warned Saturday, urging immediate access to Russia's most famous prisoner.

On March 31, President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponent -- who was imprisoned in February -- went on hunger strike to demand proper medical treatment for back pain and numbness in his legs and hands.

Navalny is serving two and a half years on old embezzlement charges in a penal colony in the town of Pokrov around 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of Moscow.

Navalny's personal doctor Anastasia Vasilyeva and three more doctors, including a cardiologist, have asked prison officials to grant them immediate access.

Their letter to the head of Russia's Federal Prison Service was posted on Vasilyeva's Twitter account on Saturday.

A statement on her Twitter account said his potassium had reached "critical levels".

"This means both impaired renal function and that serious heart rhythm problems can happen any minute," it added.

Having blood potassium levels higher than 6.

0 mmol (millimole) per litre usually requires immediate treatment. Navalny's were at 7.1, the statement said.

In the letter to the prisons chief, the doctors said Navalny, who was critically ill after a poisoning with the Novichok nerve agent, could suffer "cardiac arrest".

They said he had to be examined immediately "taking into account the blood tests and his recent poisoning".

More than 70 prominent international writers, artists and academics, including Jude Law, Vanessa Redgrave and Benedict Cumberbatch, have called on Putin to ensure that Navalny receives proper treatment immediately.

Their appeal was published late Friday by France's Le Monde newspaper.

Earlier this week, Navalny's wife Yulia, who visited him in the prison colony, said her husband now weighed 76 kilograms (168 Pounds) -- down nine kilograms since starting his hunger strike.

On Friday, Russian prosecutors asked a court to designate Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation and the network of his regional offices as "extremist" in a move that would outlaw them in Russia and could result in jail time for their members.
By Ruma Paul

DHAKA (Reuters) -At least five people were killed and dozens injured in Bangladesh on Saturday after police opened fire on a crowd of workers protesting to demand unpaid wages and a pay rise at a Chinese-backed power plant, officials and police said.

Police opened fire after about 2,000 of the protesters began hurling bricks and stones at officers at the construction site of the coal-fired plant in the southeastern city of Chittagong, local police official Azizul Islam told Reuters.

Four protesters died at the scene and another died in hospital, he said.

"We're trying to control the situation," Islam said, adding that at least six police officers were among those injured.

The workers attacked and set fire to several structures at the 1,320-megawatt power plant, located 265 km (165 miles) southeast of the capital, Dhaka, he added.

Local government official Saiduzzaman Chowdhury said the workers were protesting over unpaid wages and to press demands for a pay rise and reduced hours during the holy month of Ramadan, which started this week, when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset.

Several of the injured workers had gunshot wounds and were taken to a hospital in Chittagong, he said, adding that the five people who were killed had all been shot.

The $2.4-billion power plant is a major source of foreign investment into Bangladesh, and one of a series of projects that Beijing is pushing to cultivate closer ties with Dhaka.

In 2016, China's SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction signed a deal with S Alam Group, a Bangladeshi conglomerate responsible for construction work at the site.

During that year, four protesters opposed to its construction were killed when police opened fire during clashes between villagers who were demonstrating both for and against the project.

(Reporting by Ruma PaulEditing by Shri Navaratnam and Helen Popper)
A 40-acre non-residential holding of top quality is new to the market in West Cork and has already attracted offers, according to the selling agent  Damien Murray of Bandon-based Paddy Murray Auctioneers.

The property is located in the townland of Caherkirky, 2.5km north of Rossmore; a village most famous for its annual theatre festival.

Clonakilty is 12km to the south and Bandon is 22km to the northeast of the farm.

There is a lot of road frontage, with public roads dissecting the land as well as forming extensive parts of the boundary.

This would make the property conducive to sub-division and, while the clear preference is for the farm to be sold in its entirety, the market may decide otherwise:

The property is just on the market, says Damien.

While were hoping to sell it in one lot, I have an offer on 15 acres of the property at the moment of 200,000.

The interest and the price are indicative of the strong attraction to land that evident in all corners of Ireland at the moment.

With good quality land parcels, the interest is even sharper and good land in this part of Munster has been getting between 12,000 and 15,000 per acre over the last year or so.

Most of the holding (29 acres) is in stubble, with nine acres in grass and the remaining 1.5 acres consisting of rocky outcrop.

The price expectation is in the region of 14,000/acre  a price consistent with previous recent sales.
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An injured man is loaded into a van after police fired on people protesting over wages and benefits at a Chinese-financed power plant in Banshkhali sub-district, southeastern Bangladesh, April 17, 2021.

At least five people were killed and dozens injured Saturday in southeastern Bangladesh as protests over pay and working conditions at a coal-fired power plant turned violent and police fired on angry workers to protect Chinese nationals on the premises, officials and witnesses said.

The incident took place at a sprawling, still-under-construction facility in Banshkhali sub-district of Chittagong, some 292 kilometers (181 miles) southeast of Dhaka, co-owned by a Bangladeshi conglomerate and two Chinese companies.

Five power plant workers died at the Banshkhali Power Plant incident. They died as police had to fire when hundreds of angry workers, instigated by some local people, set nine lorries and vehicles on fire, attacked the police and were attempting to attack the Chinese nationals working on the project, said Md. Zakir Hossain Khan, a senior police official in the Chittagong region.

He said relations between 900 Chinese nationals and some 4,000 local people working at the plant were strained over outstanding wages and demands for reduced hours during Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month, which began last week.

There are problems of the local workers with the Chinese workers and officials, Khan told BenarNews. If the police had not fired, the unrest could have led to very, very serious incidents.

Workers met with Chinese project officials Saturday to try to settle the disputes, but some local people entered the project site, breaking the boundary walls, and incited the workers to go on a rampage, Khan said.

BenarNews attempted to contact S. Alam Group, a Chittagong-based conglomerate with a 70 percent stake in the project, for comment, but did not receive any response.

In a statement Saturday, the Bangladesh Workers Rights Council said 100 workers were injured in the firing, with many of them in critical condition.

The number of deaths may increase as many of injured workers have been trapped inside the power plant, said the statement, adding that police had not given them treatment.

Khan denied this allegation.

Moshiur Rahman, an employee of a Bangladeshi company at the site, told BenarNews he had to scale a wall to flee the scene amid intense firing by the police.

The Chinese were supposed to pay the outstanding wages. The workers demanded reduced working hours during Ramadan, he said, adding that they were trapped inside as the plant was encircled by police, the elite RAB police unit and members of Border Guard Bangladesh.

The police shot at us to save the Chinese nationals. I was inside the power plant complex when the violence erupted. The scale of firing was so intense, and I feared that there would be scores of deaths, said Rahman.

I survived by jumping outside, scaling the wall of the plant, he said.

The situation is calm now, he added.

Men stand near concrete mixers and other vehicles burned by workers protesting over wages and benefits at a Chinese-financed power plant in Banshkhali subdistrict, southeastern Bangladesh, April 17, 2021. (BenarNews)

Saturdays incident was not the first spilling of blood over the facility. Locals  mostly fishermen and workers on salt and fish farms  waged a massive protest when the 3,000-acre project was approved in 2016, fearing that it would jeopardize the livelihood of people in the area.

At the time, police fired on crowds, killing four.

Seventy percent of the U.S. $2.49 billion cost of the facility was financed by China, according to information on S. Alam Groups website. The plant had been scheduled to begin producing 1,320 MW of power in 2023.

But I think they cannot go for production by the deadline, Mohammad Hossain, director general of the power cell, a division of the Ministry of Power and Energy and Mineral Resources, told BenarNews.

Two Chinese firms, SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Corporation and HTG Development Group, have a 30 percent stake in the project, according to ministry data.

Hossain said the government could not intervene in labor affairs, which he said were the jurisdiction of the projects private owners.

We can only intervene when they violate terms and conditions of building the power plant, he said.

The Bangladesh Workers Rights Council called for an investigation of the incident, punishment for those responsible and compensation for the families of the deceased.

Bangladesh is building several China-financed coal-fired power plants, although critics say the nations power capacity exceeds current demand, and coal is more expensive than other energy sources because the country has to import it.

In September 2020, the government signed a deal to build a second 1,320 MW, coal-fired power plant at Payra in coastal Patuakhali district, near the Sundarbans, one of the worlds largest mangrove forests.

Work on the first Payra plant was briefly halted in June 2019, after a Bangladeshi worker fell to his death from a terrace, and a Chinese worker was killed in a subsequent brawl. It was the first time a foreign worker had been killed in a clash at a work place in Bangladesh, a labor leader said at the time.
Caron Nazario, a Black and Latino lieutenant in the U.S. Army, was threatened and pepper-sprayed during a traffic stop that is now under investigation by the Virginia attorney general's office for being dangerous, unnecessary, unacceptable and avoidable.

Why it matters: Nazarios resulting lawsuit against the Windsor, Virginia, police department has brought attention to police treatment of Afro-Latinos, and the lack of data about it despite a growing reckoning over abuses from law enforcement.

By the numbers: Out of the 40 states that report arrests, prison population and parolees data according to race, only 15 do it according to Latino or other ethnicities, according to a 2016 study.
New Delhi has registered at least 24,000 fresh coronavirus cases in 24 hours and faces a "grim" battle against a new pandemic wave with shortages of oxygen and drugs, the Indian capital's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Saturday.

The city of more than 20 million is already under a strict weekend lockdown after becoming the worst-hit city in a country confronting a new surge.

India has become the world's new Covid-19 hotspot, with more than 230,000 cases reported Saturday.

The number of new cases in Delhi rose from about 19,500 on Friday to 24,000 and Kejriwal said the virus was "spreading really fast".

"The situation is grim and worrisome," he added, highlighting shortages of oxygen and Remdesivir, the anti-viral drug widely used to combat coronavirus.

Kejriwal appealed to the national government for help increasing supplies as well as the number of beds for Covid-19 patients.

"The rate at which it is going we don't know where this will peak," said the head of the regional government.

"If it worsens we will take whatever steps are needed in the next few days to save your lives," he added, hinting at the possibility of extending the lockdown, which emptied the streets on Saturday.

bb/tw/leg
Press Release

April 17, 2021 PH could be 'another one of China's satellites' under Duterte, De Lima warns Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has cautioned Filipinos that Philippines would be "another one of China's satellites" if Duterte and the military will continue refusing to stand against unrelenting Chinese incursion in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). De Lima, who was part of the Philippine delegation who argued the Philippines' arbitration case against China over the WPS before The Hague during her stint as Justice Secretary, is dismayed that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) continues to support Duterte's policy of groveling before China. "While everyone in the world, including China's own generals, are warning Xi Jinping that he is overstretching in confronting the US and the Philippines in the WPS, Taiwan in the Straits, and Japan in the East China Sea, all at the same time and without any ally or friend whatsoever (except Duterte), the AFP still thinks it is worth it to continue to support Duterte's policy of groveling before China," she said in her Dispatch from Crame No. 1057. "For some reason, the AFP has completely accepted the story being sold by local pro-China opportunists that the future of the country and the region lies with China as the sun supposedly sets on the American empire in the Pacific," she added. Regardless of the accuracy of said story, De Lima maintained that the fact cannot be changed that China remains alone in the world, as every western ally, from India to Europe and Australia, Japan and South Korea are sending ships to the South China Sea to send a message to China. "And that message is simply this: they will not allow China to invade Taiwan or take control of the South China Sea. That simply will never happen," said De Lima. It can be noted that while his defense and foreign secretaries openly condemned the incursions by Chinese vessels into the WPS, Duterte remained mum about the issue, with Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque reasoning out that the President preferred to pursue his "diplomatic initiatives" in private. According to the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS), around 240 Chinese militia vessels -- not mere fishing vessels as claimed by Chinese authorities -- have remained on the waters off Kalayaan town in Palawan well within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Philippines as of April 13. Reportedly, the first 220 Chinese vessels were first spotted at the Juan Felipe Reef, approximately 175 nautical miles west of Bataraza, Palawan, and well within the Philippines' EEZ and continental shelf last March 7, before the vessels have dispersed in the wider area. Moreover, De Lima lamented how PMAers in the AFP seem to have lost all lessons on strategic thinking, and are now bitterly confined to a parochial world-view limited by the dictates of Duterte. "Hopefully, with the end of Duterte next year, the AFP can immediately regain its shaky loyalty to the Republic, and that the damage Duterte has wreaked on the institution has not yet become irreversible," she said. "That might be wishful thinking, but we have no option but to rehabilitate this present general staff of the AFP because our country has only one AFP who will defend us against China. Either that, or we start accepting our fate in this region as just another one of China's satellites after Laos and Cambodia," she added. In her Dispatch from Crame No. 1055, De Lima said China has taken advantage of the country's weakness amid the COVID-19 crisis and Duterte's lack of concern on issues involving WPS. "Sa tingin ba ni Duterte, magkukusang umalis ang China ngayong nakita na nila na hindi siya iimik kahit ano ang gawin nila sa ating teritoryo? Ilang taon nang binobomba ng tubig, ninanakawan ng kabuhayan at ginigipit ang ating mga mangingisda, ilang beses nang binantaan at ginipit ang mga kapwa natin Pilipino sa sarili nating teritoryo, tuloy pa rin ang pagyuko at pagluhod niya sa China?" she asked. "If Duterte and his sycophants will continue to sleep on their job and their non-sense photo-ops just to prove that Duterte can still breathe or jog after two weeks of absence, we cannot and we will never recover. This has to end," she added.
Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty we are free at last. Pandemic informality is killing the tie. Credit:istock Great Scott, they wouldnt dare In the lead up to becoming prime minister, John Howard famously said the times will suit me and was proved right. Up until recently these times also suited Scott Morrison, but these times they are achanging, and he is not changing with them. This is most obvious when it comes to his flat-footedness in handling what is no less than an uprising by Australian women on half-a-dozen fronts at once.

By way of a small example I offer the fact that even in the midst of matters of great moment of highly delicate sensitivities, the PM consistently refers to Brittany Higgins and Christine Holgate as Brittany and Christine respectively, just as he refers to Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins as Kate. Loading Why? He is not friends with any of them and the use of their first names comes across as paternalistic. It would be such an easy thing to fix, to treat them with the formal respect they deserve but he either refuses to do it or  as I suspect  its just not in him. You dont agree? Well, would any of them refer to him as Scott? Would it be ok if they did, or outrageously presumptuous?

I rest my case. One other thing on his language, while Ive got you. According to the PM, we went to Afghanistan to fight for freedom. Really? Americans carry on about freedom as the be-all and end-all of every military action, but we Australians have always been a little more nuanced. And if freedom was our real motive, PM, why arent we invading Xinjiang province to free the Uighurs? Why arent the Americans? Joke of the Week

A man walks into an antique store and starts looking around. Suddenly, he gazes upon the most stunning bronze statue of a Siamese cat. He asks the store owner how much he wants for the statue. The store owner replies: Its $200 for the statue and $2000 for the story that goes with it. The man replies :I really dont care about the story, but I do want the statue. By the time the man walks out of the shop, two cats are waiting for him at the doorway, and 10 are there by the time he makes it to the other side of the crossing. He goes several more blocks and, at another crosswalk, looks behind himself again. This time there are about 50 cats sitting looking at him. The man starts to get a little nervous and picks up his pace when the light changes. By the time he reaches the pier at the end of the street, he has now been running for several blocks, and there are 200!

Frantic, he gets to the end of the pier, pursued by 300! He does the only thing he can, and throws the statue into the water, whereupon every single one of them goes in after it! Racing back to the shop, the shop owner sees him and says, I knew youd be back for the story! To hell with the story, gasps the man, Do you have a statue of a politician? Tweet of the Week Me: Onion rings and a bottle of wine . . . Waiter: White or red?

Me, trying to impress my date: Whichever onion the chef prefers. @desukidesu Quotes of the Week The simple truth is, I was bullied out of my job. I was humiliated and driven to despair. I was thrown under the bus so the chairman of Australia Post could curry favour with his political masters. But Im still here and Im stronger for surviving it. - Christine Holgate, on her experience as chief executive of Australia Post woman to the Senate Environment and Communication References Committee. Enough prayers. Time for some action. - US President Joe Biden, promising to bring in some sane gun laws to diminish his countrys endless gun massacres.

Whats the matter with these people? Cant they see what is good for them? - Prince Philip after the Australian republic referendum failed in 1999, recalled this week in the lead-up to his funeral yesterday. Oh, do calm down. The source was the Queens biographer Robert Lacey. And as long ago as 1968, on a solo trip to Australia, The Canberra Times reported of his speech to the National Press Club, If Australians decided they preferred a republic to the present constitutional arrangement, he said, there would be no perturbation in Whitehall. It should be settled by negotiation, not by insult. The basic issue was what best suited the Australian people. The only jab delivered successfully by Scott Morrison was the jab to get rid of Malcolm Turnbull. - Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese taking aim at Australias extraordinarily slow vaccination roll-out, which sees us ranked at 104th in the world, just between Bangladesh and Lebanon. The systems, processes and people let Jack, Jennifer and Olga Edwards down, for that I am sorry. We have to take responsibility for their deaths. - NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller saying that the force must take responsibility for the shooting deaths of Jack and Jennifer Edwards at the hands of their violent father, John. Edwards shot Jack, 15, and Jennifer, 13, with a legally owned and acquired Glock pistol at their West Pennant Hills home in north-west Sydney in July 2018. Then he drove home to Hornsby and turned the gun on himself. At this stage theres no change to the planned restart of our international flights, well continue to have dialogue with the government. - A Qantas spokesman saying that the airlines plan to restart most of its international network later this year has been thrown into doubt by Australias delayed vaccination program, which threatens to leave its international border closed beyond October. Its bizarre. Other businesses would have just gone, Mate, its not tenable. I offered to resign at the start [of the war crimes scandal] and they said, Nah. - Ben Roberts-Smith, a senior executive of Seven West Media, reveals in a legally made recording, his disdain for the business he helps run, his dislike of his fellow Seven executives and his incredulity that he is still running the companys Queensland operations despite being at the centre of a war crimes scandal.
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - On Friday morning, the car belonging to the president of a group of French islands drove five metres into Fortune, N.L., and then promptly reversed back onto the ferry it came from.

The ferry that travels between the town of Fortune, N.L., and the French overseas territory of St-Pierre-Miquelon is shown in Fortune, N.L., on Friday, April 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Travis Parsons MANDATORY CREDIT

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - On Friday morning, the car belonging to the president of a group of French islands drove five metres into Fortune, N.L., and then promptly reversed back onto the ferry it came from.

It was all part of a ceremony that would have been decidedly less bizarre if it werent for the COVID-19 pandemic and its prompting of Canadian public health officials to seal international borders.

The event was a celebration of Fortune's newly upgraded wharf which, for the first time, allows cars to drive on and off the ferry that runs to St-Pierre-Miquelon, an overseas territory of France about 40 kilometres from Fortune. The car Friday belonged to Bernard Briand, president of the territorial collectivity of St-Pierre-Miquelon. It was the first ever vehicle to drive off the ferry.

As a French citizen, Briand can't enter Canada because of pandemic restrictions. So he got a Canadian citizen to make the historic first vehicular exit off the ferry, said Chris Sheppard, the executive director of Legendary Coasts, a group dedicated to boosting tourism in the region. Sheppard was there, too, to initiate the new wharf.

"He couldn't step off the boat and I couldn't step on the boat," Sheppard said. "But if I reached out and he reached out, we could have shook hands."

Briand would like to change the situation, and Sheppard would like to help him.

On Wednesday, Briand wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, asking him to consider allowing travel between the islands and the province. The note was also sent to Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey.

St-Pierre-Miquelon has reported just 24 cases of COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic and 71 per cent of the island's 6,500 residents have received their first dose of vaccine, Briand said. Forming a travel arrangement with Newfoundland and Labrador could be an important first step in the French territory's bid to join the so-called Atlantic bubble, he wrote.

The Atlantic bubble allows residents to travel between the four provinces without having to quarantine. It's tentatively scheduled to be restored on May 3 after a successful run last summer.

When asked last week about opening travel to St-Pierre-Miquelon, Furey told reporters there are many public health considerations and that it's ultimately up to Ottawa.

Fortune mayor Charles Penwell said he'd love to open up travel to the French territory, and so would many tourism operators in Fortune, which sits on the Burin Peninsula, along Newfoundland's southern coast.

"A lot of people from St-Pierre have property on the Burin Peninsula," Penwell said in an interview. He said he estimates up to 15,000 people might go back and forth in a year.

They buy groceries, and eat at restaurants, rent cars, and drive to St. John's to go shopping, he said. "It's really been a major blow to the tourism industry."

Besides, he said, now they can bring their own car.

Sheppard agrees. "We've had so many tourism operators close their doors because of lack of business, this is a huge opportunity," he said.

Mainland France is in the throes of a deadly third wave of COVID-19, and the disease has killed over 100,000 people there since it emerged last spring. Sheppard said Briand and his government make travellers to St-Pierre-Miquelon follow strict protocols. They must test negatively three days before they leave, and then self-isolate for seven days when they arrive, he said. To get out of isolation, they take another test.

Referring to the 1,039 reported cases of COVID-19 in Newfoundland and Labrador since the onset of the pandemic, Sheppard jokes that it's St-Pierre-Miquelon that should be worried. "Really, we're the problem, here," he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2021.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a session of the board of trustees of the Russian Geographical Society via a video conference call in Moscow, (Photo : Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS)

Russia on Friday asked 10 U.S. diplomats to leave the country in retaliation for Washington's expulsion of the same number of Russian diplomats over alleged malign activity and suggested the U.S. ambassador return home for consultations.



The measures, part of a broader retaliatory package, were approved by President Vladimir Putin, as a response to an array of U.S. government sanctions imposed on Moscow a day earlier, including curbs to its sovereign debt market.



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Though Moscow responded swiftly and with measures designed to hurt U.S. interests and shrink its diplomatic footprint, it left the door open for dialogue and did not kill off the idea, proposed by President Joe Biden, of a Putin-Biden summit.



"Now is the time for the United States to demonstrate good sense and to turn its back on a confrontational course," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.



"Otherwise an array of painful decisions for the American side will be implemented."



It said it had options to hurt the United States economically and to shrink its diplomatic corps in Russia to just 300 people, but was holding fire for now.



Russia-U.S. ties slumped to a new post-Cold War low last month after Biden said he thought Putin was a "killer" and Moscow recalled its ambassador to Washington for consultations. The envoy has still not returned almost a month later.



The Russian foreign ministry said John Sullivan, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, should return home for consultations too.



Washington said its own sanctions were payback for Russia interfering in last year's U.S. election, cyber hacking, bullying Ukraine and other alleged malign actions.



Russia denies all the U.S. allegations.



The Russian response on Friday was "escalatory and regrettable," a State Department representative said by email.



"It is not in our interest to get into an escalatory cycle, but we reserve the right to respond to any Russian retaliation against the United States."



RETALIATION



Moscow's response was mostly tit-for-tat.



It expelled 10 U.S. diplomats and banned eight high-ranking current and former U.S. officials from entering Russia for their contribution to what it called Washington's "anti-Russian course".



Those banned included FBI Director Christopher Wray, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.



Others to face an entry ban were Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons Michael Carvajal, Director of the Domestic Policy Council Susan Rice, John Bolton, the former U.S. National Security Advisor, and ex-CIA head Robert James Woolsey.



The Russian foreign ministry said it would also end the activity in Russia of U.S. funds and NGOs which it believes interfere in the country's internal affairs, while Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister, spoke of potential "painful" measures aimed at U.S. business in Russia.



Other measures were designed to make it harder for the U.S. embassy to staff itself.



Biden, after imposing sanctions on Moscow, had called for a de-escalation in tensions and had said it was vital the White House and Kremlin kept communication lines open.



He has also proposed that he and Putin meet for a summit.



"(Putin) has repeatedly said we're ready to develop dialogue as much as our counterparts are ready to do so. In this sense it is probably positive that the views of the two heads of state coincide," Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, told reporters before the Russian counter sanctions were unveiled.



"Their views categorically do not coincide when it comes to creating mutually beneficial relations and taking each other's interests into account," Peskov added, however.



The foreign ministry said Biden's Putin summit proposal had been initially well received, but was now being studied in the context of unfolding events.



"We would like to avoid a further escalation with the United States. We are ready for calm and professional dialogue," the ministry said.



"However the reality is that we hear one thing from Washington and in practice we see something completely different. There should be no doubt - not a single sanctions 'wave' will remain unpunished."



The Kremlin says Putin has yet to decide whether he will take part in a U.S.-led climate summit next week.



It has also said it would be hard to quickly organise a Putin-Biden summit.


China, U.S. ready for cooperation on climate change

Xinhua) 10:00, April 17, 2021

Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with visiting U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry via video link in Beijing, capital of China, April 16, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng on Friday met via video link with John Kerry, visiting U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, and both sides expressed willingness to carry out communication and cooperation on climate change.

Calling climate change a matter concerning the welfare of all mankind, Han, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said China has implemented the national strategy of actively responding to climate change, acting as an important participant, contributor and leader in terms of global ecological conservation.

Noting China's pledge last year to reach peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and become carbon-neutral by 2060, as well as new measures to ramp up nationally determined contributions, Han said China is firm in resolve and forceful in action in tackling climate change.

"We'll reach the above-mentioned goals in a down-to-earth manner," said Han.

China and the United States, as the world's largest developing and developed country respectively, share a lot of common interests in tackling climate change, Han said. "China attaches importance to carrying out dialogue and cooperation on climate change with the U.S. side."

"China welcomes the U.S. return to the Paris Agreement, and expects the U.S. side to uphold the Agreement, shoulder its due responsibilities and make due contributions," said Han.

In responding to climate change, Han said the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities should be followed.

He said China is ready to maintain dialogue and cooperation with the U.S. side, and work with all parties to jointly promote the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

For his part, Kerry said the U.S.-China cooperation is of vital importance in responding to the global challenge of climate change, hailing China's tremendous efforts made in this regard.

He said the United States is willing to work with China to enhance communication, deepen cooperation, and speed up the implementation of the goals set in the Paris Agreement, to jointly contribute more to responding to the crisis of climate change.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Bianji)
Portland arts fans with long memories will remember Gavin Larsen, a principal dancer at Oregon Ballet Theatre for seven seasons in the 2000s. Known for her musicality, precision and grace, she became closely associated with a number of roles, including several classics by legendary choreographer George Balanchine.

When she retired in 2010, Larsen shifted from performing to teaching, a poetic turn since she danced her first steps when she was 8 years old at the New York School of Ballet under the watchful gaze of other retired dancers.

When Larsen wasnt teaching children the basics of the barre, she was writing about her journey as a dancer in a series of personal essays she created for a writing workshop. At first, these writing exercises acted as a sort of catharsis, but they soon became a way to express how dancers try to perfect their art form.

Those essays have been pulled together in Being A Ballerina (University Press of Florida; 256 pages, $26.95), a lush memoir that spans Larsens 18-year career, including her time at OBT. Its a vivid insiders perspective on the rigors of professional ballet, as well as what a dancers life is like beyond the footlights.

Here are four takeaways from Larsens story.

Every dancer faces a moment where they have to make the big choice: While she was a 16-year-old student in New York City, Larsen was chided by a couple of teachers, who questioned how serious she was about dancing after appearing to coast through classes. She faced the big choice: choose to be mediocre and end up pursuing another career; or really give it her all, proving that ballet burns deeply in her soul.

It was clear to her that she had two choices, and that they really werent choices at all, she writes, using the second-person narrative to look back on the memory. One was incomprehensible and absolutely unacceptable, because it would indicate that she had failed at, or given up, something that she had declared to be her lifes passion.

And the other  the inevitable, only path she could take  was what shed always known was her destiny, what she was born and made to do, even before she knew what it was.

You can either blend in, or you can stand out: Larsens first professional job was in the corps of Seattles Pacific Northwest Ballet. After seven seasons, though, she hadnt progressed beyond small roles. She realized that if she wanted to stand out, she would need to move on to another company.

You have to get out of here, another dancer told her. Find someone who appreciates who you are.

After a frustrating series of auditions, she landed at the Alberta Ballet in Calgary, Canada, where she was hired on the basis of her resume and a demo video: It was acceptance, sight unseen, after months of what now felt like the pursuit of rejection.

At the Alberta Ballet, Larsen found the artistic growth she was hungry for, but experienced the frustration of being partnered with a dancer who was far from considerate.

Dancing takes a serious physical toll: Larsen vividly describes the sore feet and bunions that come from wearing pointe shoes, along with the buckets of ice that offer relief at the end of the day. She also describes how some choreography is so challenging it literally can cause a dancer to collapse in exhaustion.

And then there are serious injuries: Cracked ribs, broken toes, and broken bones that could end a career.

The pop from my ankle was loud enough to have been heard over the music, she writes of one injury that occurred during a class at OBT. It felt as if someone had shot a BB gun into my ankle.

But risking injury is what a certain level of dancing is all about: We balance ourselves on the brink of disaster and taunt the rules of physics because that is the only way to truly dance. Our only safety nets are our bodies, training, and courage.

Facing the final curtain isnt easy: Larsen joined OBT in 2003 during then artistic director Christopher Stowells inaugural season. Her years dancing in Portland would prove the most-rewarding of her career, and she particularly excelled in Balanchines works. Larsens Sugarplum Fairy in The Nutcracker was radiant, and she offers a full dissection of the ballets final duet, which is as exciting to perform as it is to watch.

In 2010, after overcoming several injuries, she and Stowell agreed it was time for her to retire. Her final performance, appropriately, would be Balanchines Duo Concertante, which had become one of her signatures. As the final curtain approached, she describes a mixture of excitement, grief and uncertainty about what lies ahead.

But when her final performance ends, the ovation is an affirmation that every sore muscle and aching joint has been worth it.

The audience kept clapping, cheering, shouting  I wanted to clap for them, to thank them for their love and for watching me and letting me have a reason to indulge my passion for so many years. For making me valid.

-- Grant Butler

gbutler@oregonian.com

503-221-8566; @grantbutler
The Spring Summit is focused on how data and analytics are driving modern manufacturing operations.

SafetyChain Software, the leading plant management platform, announced the date and lineup of their Spring Customer Summit will be held on May 4th, 2021. The half-day event will be held virtually, exclusive for SafetyChain customers and partners.

The theme for this online event is Data Driven Approaches to Manufacturing Excellence. SafetyChain customers can sign up to attend training, thought leadership, and a panel discussion with solutions architects. They can also network with other SafetyChain customers in food, beverage, and CPG manufacturing, visit the virtual expo hall, and more.

Technology continues to play a vital role in how process manufacturers increase productivity, maximize yield and maintain compliance with their customer and regulatory requirements, says Brian Sharp, President of SafetyChain Software. The Spring Summit is focused on how data and analytics are driving modern manufacturing operations and is geared to help our customers make the most from our solutions.

The keynote presentation will pair Cameron Bergen, CEO of Mode40, with Roger Woehl, CTO of SafetyChain, as they discuss the Data Renaissance in Manufacturing. Theyll cover how leadership and operations are adopting a data-first approach to modern manufacturing, along with how it drives return on investments at the plant level.

Marel, the leading global provider of advanced food processing equipment, systems, software, and services to the poultry, meat, and fish industries, is the Gold Sponsor for the Spring Summit. Customers can visit the virtual booth to learn more about how Marel's Innova food processing software enables food processors to improve performance and enhance productivity.

SafetyChain will also announce the winners of three customer awards at the summit, including the Most Innovative Quality Program, Culture of Food Safety Award, and Plant Management Champion. To learn more about the Spring Summit, visit info.safetychain.com/safetychain-spring-summit-2021.

About SafetyChain Software

SafetyChain is the #1 Plant Management Platform that improves yield, maximizes productivity, and ensures compliance for food, beverage, & CPG manufacturers. Trusted by over 1,500 facilities, SafetyChain is the only complete solution for production (OEE & SPC), food safety and quality (QMS), and supplier compliance.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will convene a review meeting to discuss the exacerbating coronavirus situation in the national capital. Nodal Minister and Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, health minister Satyendar Jain and officials will be present during this meeting at 1pm on Saturday.

CMO Delhi tweeted, "To monitor the current situation of corona in Delhi on a day-to-day basis, honorable CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal will convene a review meeting on COVID management along with the nodal minister, health minister and officials at 1pm today."





To monitor the current situation of Corona in Delhi on a day-to-day basis, Hon'ble CM Shri @ArvindKejriwal will convene a review meeting on COVID management along with the nodal minister, health minister and officials at 1 PM today. a CMO Delhi (@CMODelhi) April 17, 2021

Meanwhile, Delhi is under a weekend lockdown which will be eased on Monday at 6am. Under this lockdown, essential services, food delivery, interstate operations and movement of medical personnel will be allowed. Cinema halls will be allowed to be operate at 30 per cent capacity and only one weekly market will be operational in each zone every day. Gyms, markets, malls, spas, auditoriums and swimming pools will remain closed. Dine-in restaurants will remain closed during the weekend lockdown. Private offices will remain shut and employees will work from home.

The Delhi government has also issued an order "reiterating the guidelines of COVID-19 dead body management to ensure better management of dead bodies of COVID positive/ suspect persons at the mortuaries of various hospitals" under the Delhi government.

Delhi reported the highest spike in daily COVID-19 cases with 19,486 positive cases and 141 fatalities on April 16, i.e., Friday. The national capital had recorded 16,699 cases on Thursday and 17,282 cases on Wednesday respectively.

COVID-19 positivity rate fell down marginally from Thursday's 20.22 per cent to 19.69 per cent. With this, the national capital's cumulative COVID-19 tally has reached 8,03,623 whereas total 11,793 people have succumbed to this virus so far.

Edited by Mehak Agarwal

Also read: Delhi sees highest daily surge of 19,486 COVID-19 cases, 141 deaths

Also read: Weekend lockdown in Delhi: No dine-out; malls, gyms, spas, markets closed
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 21:45:17|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, on April 16, 2021 shows a screen displaying U.S. President Joe Biden (R) and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga attending a joint press conference at the White House in Washington, D.C. in a live stream provided by FOX. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

A U.S.-Japan alliance that the two leaders aim to build up against China is based on an obsolete Cold War mentality and doomed to fail.



by Xinhua writer Zhang Jing

TOKYO, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The joint statement released by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday pointed the fingers at issues concerning China's internal affairs and core interests, sending a negative signal that threatens peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

A U.S.-Japan alliance that the two leaders aim to build up against China is based on an obsolete Cold War mentality and doomed to fail.

Acting solely out of self interest, Biden and Suga made an unacceptable statement about China after a meeting in Washington, showing their miscalculations over China, which contradict the trend of the times.

First of all, the U.S.-Japan alliance targeting China is wrong by showing intentions to meddle in China's internal affairs. China has repeatedly made it clear that the issues concerning the Taiwan Strait, Hong Kong and Xinjiang are solely China's domestic affairs and allow no foreign interference.

Secondly, both the United States and Japan wrongly support Japan's claim on the Diaoyu Islands and maintain a deterrence on the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea against China. The Diaoyu Islands and Taiwan are inseparable parts of China, and thanks to the joint efforts of China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the South China Sea has remained a place of peace and stability for years. The so-called U.S.-Japan common concerns are totally groundless and undeserving.

The oceanic research vessel Tansuo-1 berths in the South China Sea, May 21, 2018. (Xinhua/Zhang Jiansong)

The United States and Japan should keep in mind that any harm to the integrity of China's territory will face strong backlash from China. What's more, the stability in the South China Sea is being safeguarded by all peace-loving countries in the region.

Furthermore, the U.S.-Japan alliance is wrong in smearing China by spreading rumors and disinformation about the human rights situation in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. The measures the Chinese government has taken in the two regions have boosted local stability and prosperity, and thus benefited local people, including Uygurs in Xinjiang.

However, the United States and Japan have turned a blind eye to the truth and facts, trying hard to pressure China over such trumped-up charges for their own geopolitical gains.

Also, the U.S.-Japan alliance is misjudging the international situation. In the age of globalization, the two governments still appear stuck in an outdated Cold-War mentality. Their audacious attempt to incite confrontation and form an anti-China bloc runs counter to the worldwide aspiration for peace, development and cooperation.

China, a staunch force to uphold peace in the region and the world, pursues friendship and partnership with its neighbors and seeks to bring amity, security and common prosperity to the region.

As regards the normal development of U.S.-Japan relations, China has no intention to comment on it, but the United States and Japan should not underestimate China's determination and resolve to safeguard its national sovereignty, security and development interests. 
About five years ago, Carlos Candelario was pulled over near Northwest Crossing for a simple traffic infraction involving a stop sign.

When asked to step out of his vehicle, the then-17-year-old, who is Black and Latino, reached for his seat belt. The officer threw open Candelarios car door, grabbed him and pushed him against his car.

Before Ive even gotten any explanation for why whats happening is happening, Im in handcuffs, he said.

The officer asked Candelario what he was reaching for, and when he said his seat belt, the officer went back to his patrol car and his partner handled the rest of the interaction.

Related: Memorial for Daunte Wright Sr. to take place in downtown San Antonio

Candelario ended up with a traffic ticket, but he and his family think of that incident every time they hear on the news of a police officer fatally shooting a Black man.

It just saddens me to know thats on my sisters mind, thats on my friends minds, Candelario said. Living while Black in America is like you have a target on you.

In the wake of the recent deaths of Daunte Wright and Marvin Scott, Candelarios sister, 21-year-old Digna Candelario, thought something needed to be done.

It was event after event after event.  It never stops, she said.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio police officer shoots and kills two men during traffic stop on West Side

She organized a peaceful gathering in Travis Park on Saturday morning to continue the Black Lives Matter movement and honor those who died at the hands of law enforcement officers.

Wright, 20, who was Black, was fatally shot by a police officer in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on April 11 during a traffic stop initiated for an expired license plate. The officer said she accidentally used her gun instead of a Taser and is now charged with manslaughter. She has resigned.

Closer to home, 26-year-old Marvin Scott died in custody at the Collin County Jail on March 14. He had been arrested for less than two ounces of marijuana. The family says Scott, who was Black, was suffering a mental crisis. Seven jail employees have been fired and the Texas Rangers are investigating.

People dont realize this stuff actually happens until it happens to you, said Digna Candelario, a political science student at Northwest Vista College.

Marvin Pfeiffer, San Antonio Express-News / Staff Photographer

The event Saturday was much smaller than the protests and marches that took place last May after George Floyd, a Black man, died while he was face down and handcuffed. The white Minneapolis officer who kneeled on Floyds neck is now on trial for murder and manslaughter.

Some 11 people stood near the center of Travis Park, making signs reading Dont be silent, We matter and Skin color is not a crime. At 11:11 a.m. Saturday, the group bowed their heads in a moment of silence for Wright, Scott and others.

On ExpressNews.com: The Next Generation: These are the new leaders behind San Antonio's Black Lives Matter movement

Claudia Stowe, 46, brought her children, Maleiva Flores-Stowe, 15, and ZZ Flores-Stowe, 13, to the gathering Saturday. They have attended rallies since the children were in strollers.

Its just very disappointing that this still happens in the world, Maleiva Flores-Stowe said. Its ridiculous that people still have to face prejudice.

Maleiva Flores-Stowe said the Black Lives Matter movement seems to have lost some traction since the summer. Digna Candelario agreed.

Dont get discouraged, dont let anything bring your fight down, Digna Candelario said. Keep the same energy.

Marvin Pfeiffer, San Antonio Express-News / Staff Photographer

Despite the smaller turnout, the gathering wasnt in vain. Candelario informed Stowe and other attendees about Proposition B, an initiative on the May 1 ballot that would repeal the police unions right to collectively bargain with the city. Prop B organizers had two events Saturday for volunteers working to get it passed.

We did something today and we made a difference in some way, shape or form whether its in ourselves or for each other and that means something, Digna Candelario said.

liz.hardaway@hearst.com | Twitter: @liz_hardaway
San Francisco, April 17 : The independent Oversight Board has announced to delay its decision on former US President Donald Trump's ban from Facebook and Instagram that will now arrive "in the coming weeks".

The board, constituted by Facebook with 20 members from across the world last year, said it is reviewing more than 9,000 responses before it delivers the verdict on Trump's ban on the social media giant.

"We extended the public comments deadline for this case, receiving 9,000+ responses. The Board's commitment to carefully reviewing all comments has extended the case timeline, in line with the Board's bylaws," the Board said in a tweet late Friday.

Facebook banned Trump from its platforms after the Capitol Hill attack on January 6.

Company CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that "the risks of allowing President Trump to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great".

Trump is still banned from using Facebook and its other platforms.

The Board said it will announce "its decision on the case concerning former US President Trump's indefinite suspension from Facebook and Instagram in the coming weeks".

Earlier this week, the Board noted that it will begin accepting cases from Facebook and Instagram users who believe the company wrongfully allowed harmful content to remain on its platforms.

The content eligible for review includes posts, status updates, photos, videos, comments, and shares.

Decisions made through the Board's independent judgment are binding on Facebook.

The Oversight Board on January made 17 recommendations, based on the six cases, for Facebook to improve its content moderation.

Since October 2020, users have been able to appeal to the Oversight Board about their own content being removed.

So far, the Board has received over 300,000 user appeals and thousands of public comments.
NORFOLK, Va.  The police officers guns were trained on the uniformed U.S. Army lieutenant, his arms raised and palms outstretched as he sat in his SUV under a brightly lit gas station awning.

Lt. Caron Nazario had been pulled over in rural Virginia by the two officers, who repeatedly demanded that he step out of the vehicle. Nazario, who is Black and Latino, didnt move and continually asked, Whats going on?

Im serving this country, and this is how Im treated? he said at one point.

Yeah well, guess what? Im a veteran, too, police officer Joe Gutierrez responded. And I know how to obey. Nazario said he was afraid to get out, to which Gutierrez replied: You should be.

Within minutes, Nazario was pepper-sprayed, struck in the knees to force him to the ground and handcuffed. No charges were ever filed.

Videos of the December incident taken by the officers body cameras and Nazarios cellphone became public last week, sparking outrage and accumulating millions of views. Nazario has sued the two officers, alleging his constitutional rights were violated during the traffic stop in the small Virginia town of Windsor. Officer Gutierrez has also been fired.

The episode was a grim reminder to many Black Americans that even being in military uniform doesnt necessarily protect them from mistreatment by police. Further, theres a long history of violence against veterans and service members of color, whose military status was seen by some as a provocation.

In this image made from Windsor, (Va.) Police video, A police officer uses a spray agent on Caron Nazario on Dec. 20, 2020, in Windsor, Va.AP

I dont think the uniform provokes in the same way that it once did, but it absolutely doesnt shield, said Bryan Stevenson, executive director of the Alabama-based Equal Justice Initiative. And there will be people who will be provoked by Black achievement.  It can create a kind of a desire to humiliate and demand obedience.

Thousands of Black men who served in the Civil War, World War I, and World War II were targeted because of their service and threatened, assaulted or lynched, according to a 2017 Equal Justice Initiative report.

One was Sgt. Isaac Woodard, a uniformed World War II veteran who was headed home on a bus in 1946. He was removed and beaten by a white South Carolina police chief, leaving Woodard permanently blind.

In 1962, Cpl. Roman Ducksworth was killed by police while riding a bus from Maryland to his home in Mississippi. The bus driver called a white police officer to awaken Ducksworth, who had fallen asleep, according to Jerry Mitchell, founder of the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting. The two struggled, and the officer shot and killed Ducksworth.

His skin color trumped his status as a military officer, Mitchell said. It goes throughout history.

Rossano Gerald, a Black Army sergeant who sued the Oklahoma Highway Patrol after he was pulled over with his young son and subjected to a protracted search in 1998, said Nazarios traffic stop shows that nothing has changed.

We have to keep reminding people that this is not gone, said Gerald, who won a a $75,000 legal settlement three years after the incident. Weve got to fight for our rights.

In his own case, Gerald said he believes his active-duty military status only fueled the troopers desire to show his power.

From my perspective, he wanted to prove a point that he was in control, Gerald, a decorated veteran, said in an interview.

Gerald, who was not wearing his uniform, handed over his military ID along with his drivers license and told the trooper to call his commanding officer, per military protocol.

Instead, Gerald and his son were placed in a hot patrol car while troopers repeatedly searched his car. At one point, a trooper asked the 12-year-old if he had any weapons and conducted a pat search of the child, the lawsuit claimed.

The search turned up no evidence of drugs, and Gerald was given a warning ticket for failure to signal a lane change.

Since the videos of Nazarios traffic stop became public, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has called for an investigation by state police. And state Attorney General Mark Herring has requested the two officers personnel records and use-of-force records from the department, among other documents.

Even if Nazario drapes his body in the highest symbolic capital, that being United States military attire, it doesnt gain him anything, said K. Nyerere Ture, an assistant professor of criminal justice at Quinnipiac University.

Ture, a former police officer, said he was once pulled over by police in Georgia while wearing his full uniform in his personal vehicle. He got cited for driving 5 miles over the speed limit.

And I understood this is not about policing, Ture said. Race itself in America trumps our professional titles, our honorifics.

Richard Brookshire, co-founder and executive director of the Black Veterans Project, said its important to remember that racism exists not only in the civilian world but also the military.

In February, Lloyd Austin, the nations first Black defense secretary, ordered military leaders to talk to troops about extremism in the ranks, after a number of former and current military members took part in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot. And last year, the Air Force released a report concluding the branchs Black members are far more likely to be investigated, arrested, face disciplinary actions and be discharged for misconduct.

The same kind of racial bias in policing that shows up in our communities exists within the military, Brookshire said. That is just as important a conversation as whether theyre harassed by a civilian cop when they leave the base.
Today, after a long illness, an outstanding journalist Galina Dulieva passed away, the department of the head of Dagestan for information policy informs.

She gave almost fifty years to this difficult, but very necessary for people profession, became not only the face but also the soul of Dagestan television.

Colleagues bring deep condolences to the family and friends of Galina Dulieva.
A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Commercial Metals (CMC). Shares have added about 1.8% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Commercial Metals due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.

Commercial Metals' Q2 Earnings Top Estimates, Up Y/Y

Commercial Metals reported second-quarter fiscal 2021 adjusted earnings per share of 66 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 61 cents. The figure increased 24.5% year on year.



Including one-time items, the company recorded a net income of 54 cents per share in the fiscal second quarter compared with the prior-year quarters 53 cents.



Net sales for the reported quarter came in at $1,462 million compared with the year-ago quarters $1,341 million. The reported figure, however, missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,516 million.



Cost of goods sold in the quarter was up 9.3% year over year to $1,228 million. Gross profit was up 7.8% year over year to $234 million during this period. Core EBITDA was a record $171 million in the fiscal second quarter, reflecting year-over-year growth of 18%. The company achieved stable steel products metal margins, despite rapidly rising scrap costs.

Segment Performance

The North America segment generated net sales of $1,257 million in the fiscal second quarter compared with the $1,161 million recorded in the prior-year quarter. The segment registered adjusted EBITDA of $172 million compared with the prior-year quarters $153 million.



The Europe segments revenues came in at $202 million, marking year-over-year growth of 12.2%. Adjusted EBITDA was $16 million in the fiscal second quarter compared with the year-ago quarters $13 million.

Story continues

Financials

Commercial Metals reported cash and cash equivalents of $367 million at the end of fiscal second quarter compared with $542 million recorded at the end of fiscal 2020. The companys long-term debt came in at $1,011 million at the end of the fiscal second quarter compared with $1,065 million as of Aug 31, 2020. Cash generated from operating activities was $1,203 million during the six months period ended Feb 28, 2021, compared with the $253 million during the six months period ended Feb 29, 2020.



On Mar 17, the companys board announced a quarterly dividend of 12 cents per share. This dividend will be paid out on Apr 14 to shareholders of record as of Mar 31, 2021.

Outlook

Commercial Metals continues to gain from ongoing network optimization efforts and the ramp up of its third rolling line in Poland this summer. The company believes that the finished steel volumes for North America and Europe operations will follow strong seasonal trends in third-quarter fiscal 2021 due to the start of the spring and summer construction seasons. Steel shipments and downstream products in North America will likely be supported by the companys solid construction backlog.



Steel products are also benefiting from elevated spending on residential construction, continued recovery in the manufacturing sector and strong highway infrastructure activities. Given the increasing demand from construction and industrial end markets, volumes in Europe are anticipated to remain healthy. Management anticipates scrap margins on steel products in North America and Europe to increase sequentially after the realization of price adjustments made during the fiscal second quarter.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

In the past month, investors have witnessed an upward trend in estimates revision. The consensus estimate has shifted 126.04% due to these changes.

VGM Scores

Currently, Commercial Metals has an average Growth Score of C, however its Momentum Score is doing a lot better with an A. However, the stock was allocated a grade of C on the value side, putting it in the middle 20% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Estimates have been trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. It comes with little surprise Commercial Metals has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). We expect an above average return from the stock in the next few months.



Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.



Zacks Investment Research
Vietnam has become Japans fifth-largest consumer market, with an average growth rate of 15-17 percent per year, according to the Japanese Ministry of Finances statistics.

In 2020, the export turnover of agricultural, forestry, aquatic and food products from Japan to Vietnam reached 53.4 billion yen (US$490.5 million), marking an increase of 17 percent from 2019 and the highest figure ever.

The aforementioned turnover only came after those of Hong Kong, China, Singapore, South Korea and the United States.

Notably, the sales of such Japanese products for domestic consumption as ice cream, rice seasoning, natto beans, apple cider vinegar, and relaxation masks in 2020 went up by five percent despite the price hike from 2019.

Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday, Hirai Shinji, chief representative of the Japan Trade Promotion Organization (JETRO) in Ho Chi Minh City, assessed that the positive sales growth of these products proved the Vietnamese markets consumption potential.

However, the Japanese side still has to make its products more affordable to better meet the purchasing power in Vietnam, Hirai added.

The JETRO representative also attributed the 17 percent growth in Vietnams imports of Japanese goods to Japanese investors shift from manufacturing to retail in Vietnam.

While 40 out of every 100 Japanese investors tended to establish factories in Vietnam previously, Hirai said, only 20 of them still stick to this practice nowadays.

According to Hirai, the development of e-commerce in the Southeast Asian country played an important part in helping Japanese goods reach Vietnamese consumers.

Facing the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, JETRO has operated the online platform named Japan Street to facilitate the distribution of Japanese goods to Vietnam since the beginning of 2021.

More than 500 international and Vietnamese suppliers have registered for the platform to date.

With the warm reception of Japan Street, JETRO also has plans to go on with a new project named Japan Mall to expand the trading activities of Japanese products into Vietnam.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
A shallow 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the Algerian coast on Thursday, the US Geological Survey said.

The quake hit 20 kilometres north-east of the city of Bejaia at 1:04 am local time (0004 GMT), at a depth of 10 kilometres, according to the US monitoring service.

Bejaia, which has a population of roughly 164,000, endured moderate shaking, USGS said.

The capital city Algiers also felt some light shaking.

In the aftermath of the 6.0-magnitude quake USGS reported two further quakes in the same area, of 5.2 and 4.7 magnitude respectively.

In Bejaia the General Directorate of Algerian Civil Protection reported some instances of panic as residents fled their homes.

They also said there was some damage, including cracks in the walls of residences as well as the partial collapse of an old unoccupied building.

There have been no reports yet of serious injuries or casualties.

Photographs shared on social media also appeared to show some damage, with interior walls fractured and images of crumbled walls.
Click here to read the full article.

Hailed as a fast-rising new talent from Mexico, actor Diego Calva has surfaced from small but notable Mexican and Argentine films to landing pivotal roles in Damien Chazelles Babylon, the Oscar-winning directors follow-up to La La Land, and the third iteration of Netflixs wildly popular Narcos: Mexico. He has studied directing and has shot a few shorts over the past few years.

What do you attribute to your being cast in Babylon and Narcos: Mexico 3? Do you think luck has anything to do with it apart from the previous work you have done?

Of course, luck has something to do with it. That Damien [Chazelle] thought about the character and the story has nothing to do with me. I came into the equation much later. As an actor, at least when you start out, you dont decide your characters. You decide whether to take it or leave it, but you cant always choose. Luck and life have played their roles here. However, am not minimizing the value of the everyday work one puts into ones craft, ones career.

Tell us about your casting and audition experience with Babylon.

COVID had something to do with Babylons casting process. After my initial contact with the casting director and sending my first self-tapes, I was about to fly to Los Angeles for the in-person casting, but the start of the lockdown stopped us. For more than a year, I sent over videos of myself in different scenes. It was tiring but it helped me work on my patience and taught me not to speculate too much on the future. One can only do the best job possible and be satisfied with the result.

At the beginning of this year, everything changed. They called me to go do the in-person casting in California with Margot [Robbie] and Damien. I had been talking to Damien for several days, studying the character. In particular, I focused on studying Al Pacino, which Damien recommended to me.

I can only say that its a moment that I will always remember. As soon as he saw me, Damien played the Godfather soundtrack to help me get into character.

If it werent for the way they treated me, so wonderfully humane, I may have been more nervous. I can only thank them.

Youve directed some shorts. Do you have plans to direct a feature film in the future? Do you already have something brewing?

Its never been far from my mind. However, for now I dont want to do anything but act. Acting has been my way of learning to direct. Observing the different processes of each director has been my way of learning the craft. I steal something from each director. For now, I am an actor. And a thief.

How are the opportunities for actors in Mexico today? I imagine that with the arrival of Netflix and other streaming services, there are more opportunities? Or is it just as difficult?

I wouldnt know how it was before. I come from the generation where the streaming services have already exerted a lot of influence on our industry. I like to think that Im at an interesting time to dedicate myself to film and acting. There are many projects; however, there is much of the same as well. Its complicated but I think you have to know what to look for and not stay on the surface; see everything, not only what is there at hand. And in acting its the same for me. It is a matter of testing the waters.

Tell us about your experience in filming the role of drug trafficker Arturo Beltran-Leyva in Narcos: Mexico 3. How did you prepare to assume his character?

Narcos has been a full-on learning experience. At the beginning I wanted to know the real character and find out who he really was. I read everything about him in the news, in books, everything. However, I only learned about his actions, the things he did and the way he lived. Honestly, I did not find there what I needed to get inside his character. So I decided to humanize him, not understand him. People have many layers, many dimensions. I dont mean to make a hero out of him but I wont judge him either.

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The Duke of Edinburghs love of the sea and lifelong association with the Royal Navy featured in his funeral at St Georges Chapel, in hymns, prayers and music.

Sailors and Royal Marines were part of the 750-strong military presence paying their respects to Philip in the grounds of Windsor Castle.

In the lead-up to the funeral service, detachments drawn from units which had a link with Philip were positioned on the grass in the Quadrangle, which was bathed in spring sunshine on Saturday.

The dukes coffin was decorated with his Admiral of the Fleet Naval Cap and sword, and carried by Royal Marines up the steps of the chapel.

Pallbearers carry the coffin of the Duke of Edinburgh (Danny Lawson/PA)

The service was peppered with naval imagery, including in a prayer by the Dean of Windsor, who conducted the service.

He said: We praise thy holy name for thy servant Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who has left us a fair pattern of valiant and true knighthood.

Grant unto him the assurance of thine ancient promise that thou wilt ever be with those who go down to the sea in ships and occupy their business in great waters.

Music at the funeral, chosen by Philip, included the hymn Eternal Father, Strong To Save  traditionally associated with seafarers and the maritime armed services.

Despite the choir being made up of only four people, due to Covid regulations, their voices filled the chapel.

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The first verse of the hymn paints a dramatic picture of divine help needed for those who find themselves in trouble on the waters.

It reads: Eternal father, strong to save,

Whose arm doth bind the restless wave,

Who biddst the mighty ocean deep

Its own appointed limits keep;

O hear us when we cry to thee

For those in peril on the sea.

Philip also asked for My Soul Give Praise Unto The Lord Of Heaven, Psalm 104, to be included in the ceremony, and for it to be set to music by William Lovelady.

It tells of Lord of heaven, in majesty and honour clothed  seas he made to be its robe and waters rising above the highest mountain.

At the end of the service, the buglers of the Royal Marines sounded Action Stations, which is played on a warship to signal all hands should go to battle stations and is sometimes featured at funerals of naval men.

The buglers also sounded the Last Post to signify a soldier has gone to his final rest.

Leading the buglers was Sergeant Jamie Ritchie from Dundee, who performed on several occasions for the duke during his time as Captain General Royal Marines, a ceremonial title he held for more than six decades.

The duke also presented 31-year-old Sergeant Ritchie with his medal for service in Afghanistan.

Speaking ahead of the funeral, Sergeant Ritchie said: Even though he was a man of few words, the great thing about Prince Philip is how relatable he made you feel.

He made you feel calm and welcome in his presence.

Such was Philips passion for the military that, had he not become the Queens husband, some believe Philip would have been First Sea Lord, the professional head of the Royal Navy.

Philip joined the Navy after leaving school and in May 1939 enrolled at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, where he rose rapidly through the ranks.

His flourishing naval career came to an end in 1951 when he stepped down from his active role in the forces to fulfil his duty as the Queens consort when she acceded to the throne the following year.
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Princes William and Harry faced each other on opposite sides of St George's Chapel at Prince Philip's funeral today, the seating plan has revealed.

The brothers were separated during the procession into the chapel and were also seated far away from each other during the service.

Prince William sat with wife Kate Middleton while Harry sat on his own - several seats away from any other guests.

It was the first time the brothers had appeared in public together in more than a year and came after months of reports that their relationship was strained after Harry and his wife Meghan Markle left the Royal Family for LA.

Harry was sat on the same side of the chapel as the Queen but they were separated by Prince Andrew, Princess Anne and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence.

Prince Charles sat on William's side with the Duke of Cambridge separated from his father by Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, Sophie Wessex, Lady Louise, Viscount Severn and Prince Andrew.

The 30 royal mourners at St George's Chapel were made to stay in their own bubbles with significant space left between each group or person to adhere to coronavirus rules

Behind them sat Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, Princess Eugenie and husband Jack Brooksbank, Zara and Mike Tindall, Peter Phillips, the Earl of Snowdown, Lady Sarah Chatto, Daniel Chatto and Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Baden.

Prince Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse, sat at the far end of the chapel with Penny Brabourne, the Countess of Mountbatten of Burma, Princess Alexandra, the Duke of Kent and the Duke of Gloucester behind him.

Opposite sat Prince Phillipp of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.

The 30 mourners were made to stay in their own bubbles with significant space left between each group or person to adhere to coronavirus rules.

The Queen wiped away tears and was forced to mourn alone away from her family in St George's Chapel during her husband's Windsor Castle funeral.

Her Majesty looked grief-stricken and bowed her head in reverence as she accompanied her beloved Philip's coffin on its final journey while their eldest son Prince Charles cried as he walked behind the casket into church followed by other devastated royals.

The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin was covered in his personal standard and carried his sword, naval cap and a wreath of flowers as pallbearers placed him on to his extraordinary self-designed green Land Rover Defender hearse in the castle packed quadrangle packed with hundreds of armed personnel.

Her Majesty then put on her spectacles as she sat alone and looked towards the altar during the poignant service

(top row, left to right) Zara and Mike Tindall, Jack Brooksbank, Princess Eugenie, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Princess Eugenie, (front row, left to right) the Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke of Cambridge, the Earl of Wessex, James Viscount Severn, the Countess of Wessex, Lady Louise Windsor, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Prince of Wales during the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh

After the eight minute procession and the 50-minute service, his coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault.

A lament was played by a lone piper of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and the Last Post was then sounded by buglers of Philip's beloved Royal Marines who then played Action Stations at the specific request of The Duke of Edinburgh.

Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, pronounced the Blessing before the 30 royal mourners silently filed out of the church into cars to take them the short journey back to castle.

Harry and William decided to walk back with Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, and were seen smiling and speaking animatedly as they were reunited for the first time in a year where their relationship became fractured.

The emotional Queen had arrived at the funeral as the national anthem played and the royal Bentley stopped next to her beloved husband's coffin, where she poignantly paused for a moment of reflection as cannons fired and bells tolled in remembrance of the duke.

Prince Harry was sat directly across from his older brother and his wife Kate having flown in without his wife Meghan

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, James, Viscount Severn and Sophie, Countess of Wessex listen to the service

Her Majesty was then driven to St George's Chapel with a lady in waiting Susan Hussey, before being sat alone at the front of the church where she stood and bowed her head during the national minute's silence.

She looked at the coffin throughout the poignant service, where her children and grandchildren were on the verge of tears.

Following behind the coffin was the royal procession, led by Philip's children Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.

The grandchildren, including Prince William and Prince Harry, followed but the feuding brothers were separated by their cousin Peter Phillips, viewed as a 'peacemaker' between the two.

The Duke of Cambridge entered the chapel one place ahead of his younger brother, as the mourners filed into the historic gothic building without saying anything to each other. But they later spoke as they walked back to the castle, with Kate taking a step back to let them spend time alone.
(Natural News) Back in August 2020, the Health Ranger and Natural News founder Mike Adams sat down with civilization expert Fred Markert to talk about Americas collapse. Markert touched on the origins of the plot to destroy America, whose seeds were first sown in the 1930s. He also mentioned different signs that clearly showed the U.S. is on the brink of collapse. Now, he tackled the ways how this collapse could be averted.

Despite his earlier dismal predictions, the civilization expert expressed his optimism that Americas decline can be turned around. He reiterated a return to Americas Judeo-Christian roots, and called for Americans to turn away from sin and go back to God. Adams concurred with Markert, adding that now is the time for revival  and a church revival is necessary. He continued that people have embraced God only in the darkest hour.

Markert, who is also a minister, quoted a passage from the book of the prophet Jeremiah. The verse reads: If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. He said that if enough people repent and go back to Christ, God will turn things around.

He then explained the Great Awakening Project, which he described as an American revival to save the country from further perdition. The endeavor is a part of the Isaac Newton Project, another effort by Markert to provide resources for people to better themselves. The civilization expert elaborated that the Isaac Newton Project contains Christian ministries with resources for people locked inside their homes.

Markert called on people to turn away from evils that plague society

Markert continued that the Isaac Newton Project also has ministries to fight pornography addiction. He argued that pornography is not a victimless crime and that it contributes to the breakdown of the nuclear family According to the American Association of Matrimonial Lawyers, more than 50 percent of divorces are linked to pornography  when the wife can no longer put up with her partners addiction.

Adams seconded the experts analysis, adding that a number of pornography websites announced free subscriptions during the COVID-19 lockdown. He continued that staying at home, sitting around and watching pornographic videos while collecting huge unemployment benefits are a sure sign of the end of civilization. People are staying home, but lockdowns retard social development, the Health Ranger commented.

The breakdown of the nuclear family has also facilitated the prevalence of single-parent households. According to Markert, 42 percent of White children are raised by only one parent while 73 percent of Black children are raised in a single-parent household. He warned that boys raised in single-parent homes tend to become angry, while women who grow up in this kind of household tend to become sexually promiscuous in the future.

The expert also touched on the issue of transgenderism. He quoted feminist author Camille Paglia, who remarked that acceptance of transgenderism is the very last sign that a civilization is headed for collapse. Because of her remarks and her calls to reinstate religion in public schools, many in the left have detested Paglia.

Markert also lamented about churches being infiltrated with anti-Christian elements. He said that unscrupulous parties have injected a number of churches with ideologies that support the LGBT mafia, abortion rights and Black Lives Matter. Many popular churches have already surrendered to evil, he continued. Thus, he called for a reinjection of morality as the only hope to turn American civilization around.

Americas enemies will find the nations weakness as an opportunity to strike

Both Markert and Adams agreed that the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic was used as an opportunity to further undermine America. Left-leaning executives weaponized lockdown mandates against the population. Health authorities politicized the use of hydroxychloroquine, zinc and vitamin D against COVID-19 infections. All in all, there was an active effort to destroy the Trump administration, the economy and the mental health of people.

The level of maliciousness has went beyond mistakes, Adams said. Markert agreed with him and said that Marxist training encourages taking advantage of situations  natural or otherwise  to advance Marxist goals. The exacerbation of the COVID-19 pandemic through lockdowns and other measures is part of the larger plan to deconstruct society and pave the way for reconstruction. The expert quoted an official during the Obama administration who said: Never let a good crisis go to waste.

Indeed, the former officials words ring true  as enemies will see Americas weak period as an opportunity to strike. Nations aiming to control the global system  China, Russia, Iran and North Korea  consider the U.S. as the only thing that stands in their way. Markert warned that ultimately, the conflict will be between autocracies versus democracies. These nations will topple the liberal world order first established at Bretton Woods, and replace it with a new autocratic world order.

Americas weakness will be the one window of opportunity its enemies will utilize to strike. With no one to extend an umbrella of protection over the U.S., it is surely headed to impending doom  unless the country heeds the words of the prophet Jeremiah and returns to its roots.

Visit Awakening.news to read more about how the U.S. can avert its impending collapse through a spiritual revival.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

BibleGateway.com

WKC-Law.com

TheAmericanConservative.com
New Delhi: In light of the record surge in COVID-19 cases across the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a meeting to review the coronavirus and vaccination situation on Saturday night. Top officers across various ministries are expected to participate in the meeting at 8 pm today.

India is currently witnessing a second wave of the pandemic. The highest-ever single-day spike of COVID-19 cases was reported on Saturday with over 2.34 lakh new cases and more than 1,300 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry.

In the last 24 hours, 1,341 COVID-related deaths were reported in the country taking the death toll to 1,75,649. As many as 2,34,692 new COVID-19 cases have been reported in India in the last 24 hours.

With this, the total number of cases has gone up to 1,45,26,609. The active number of cases stands at 16,79,740.

Over the last couple of weeks, several states have flagged a shortage of hospital beds, oxygen supply and COVID-19 vaccines.

The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country stands at 11,99,37,641 till today.
Iranian state television has identified a suspect in an April 11 attack on the Natanz nuclear site that damaged centrifuges used to enrich uranium.

The television report on April 17 said the suspect was Reza Karimi, a 43-year-old native of Kashan, Iran. The report did not explain how Karimi might have gained access to Natanz, one of the countrys most secure sites.

Karimi has reportedly left Iran, and state television said Tehran was seeking his return through legal channels.

AP reported that Interpol did not respond to a query as to whether a red notice had been issued for Karimi.

Tehran blamed Israel for the incident and has vowed revenge.

Israel has not confirmed any role in the incident and generally does not comment on clandestine operations, though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly has described Iran as the greatest threat facing his country.

Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP
The Russian side informed Charge d'Affaires of Ukraine Vasily Pokotilo about the expulsion of Ukrainian consul in St. Petersburg Alexander Sosonyuk detained by the FSB, the press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry reports.

He was detained while receiving classified information from law enforcement officers. The diplomat must leave the territory of Russia by April 22.
The attorney of DeVincent Spriggs, who accused Aaron Donald of assaulting him last weekend, has issued an apology after surveillance video of the incident surfaced Friday. Todd Hollis, Spriggs attorney, says it clearly was not Donald who left his client with several injuries outside a party in Pittsburgh on April 11.

I wanted to make this statement public. And to extend an apology to Aaron for what hes gone through, but I clearly know this was not him, Hollis said in a statement to KDKA in Pittsburgh.

The video appeared to show Donald coming to Spriggs aid as he was being beaten by others, pushing people away from him to break up the fight. The altercation occurred after Spriggs allegedly swung a liquor bottle at Donalds head, which is when those around Donald came to his defense.

Donalds attorney, Casey White, said in a radio interview Friday that Donald actually saved Mr. Spriggs from further injury.

Theres no dispute that Mr. Spriggs is injured, but the other people that were there were responsible, I guess, for protecting Mr. Donald and in turn, caused the injuries to Mr. Spriggs, White said. He does get punched, he does get slammed, he does get kicked in the head. Its violent, but the whole time, Mr. Donald, Aaron is being restrained.

White also said Pittsburgh police told him they agreed that the video evidence did not show Donald assaulting Spriggs. The full video of the incident was not made public, but a part of it was released Friday.

Rams players seemed to come to Donalds defense Friday after White provided video evidence of the altercation, with David Long Jr. sharing the following message on Twitter. It was quote tweeted by Ogbonnia Okoronkwo and Jordan Fuller.

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

Donald also shared Terrelle Pryors post on his Instagram story, as seen below.

Donald, a Pittsburgh native, typically trains there in the offseason. Hes spent his entire seven-year career thus far with the Rams and is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year.

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If you only ever charged your phone on your nightstand overnight, the power brick that came with your phone (or used to come with your phone... looking at you, Apple) would obviously get the job done. But sometimes overnight isn't good enough  you want to get as much juice into your phone as quickly as possible, whether youre topping it off before heading out for the night, or re-filling during lunch while youre already out.

In times like those, its important to know that your phones default charger probably wont charge it as quickly as some third party options that take advantage of the latest advances in USB charging tech.

What is USB-C Power Delivery?

RAVPower USB C Charger RAVPower amazon.com $23.70 Shop Now

USB charging is simultaneously incredibly simple and incredibly splintered. While basically any USB port in the world can charge basically any phone, the way those two devices speak to each other means that some chargers will barely trickle charge a phone, while others will be able to unleash a firehouse of wattage. Dont get me wrong, things are significantly better than the olden days when seemingly every cell phone had its own proprietary wall charger, but its important to remember that not all USB chargers are created equal  even if they all look basically the same.

While there have been manufacturer-specific fast charging solutions and semi-standards like Qualcomm Quick Charge in the past, these days, the discussion of smartphone fast-charging largely revolves around an open standard called USB-C Power Delivery. While older USB chargers maxxed out at under 20 watts, USB-C Power Delivery supports throughput of up to 100 watts. Not all USB-C chargers and USB-C devices support Power Delivery, and those that do will max out at different wattages, but generally speaking, a USB-C PD charger will support charging USB-C PD devices of lower wattages at the highest possible speed.

For example, a 61W USB-C charger like this one will charge an iPhone (which maxes out at 20W) at the same speed as a 20W-native charger like this one. Similarly, lower-powered USB-C chargers can almost always charge higher-draw devices, but the charging speeds will obviously be slower.

How to charge your iPhone faster

Anker iPhone 12 Charger Cable Anker amazon.com $12.99 Shop Now

iPhones have supported USB-C PD charging at either 18W or 20W since the iPhone X/iPhone 8 generation. One of these chargers will take your iPhone from 0% to 50% in about 30 minutes, though charging speeds will ramp down after that, as safety precautions mean that all batteries charge slower as they approach their maximum capacity.

The wrinkle here is that the charging port on your iPhone isnt a USB-C port; its Apples proprietary Lightning port. That means youll need a cable thats USB-C on one end, Lightning on the other, and certified by Apple to unlock those faster charging speeds. Apple will obviously sell you one of these cables for $19, but you can get a more durable option from the likes of Anker for less.

For the latest and greatest iPhones that support MagSafe wireless charging, youll need a 20W USB-C charger to fully power Apples official MagSafe charging pad, which confusingly will only charge your iPhone at 15W, since more power is lost as waste heat in wireless charging as compared to wired.

How to charge your Android phone faster

Nearly every Android phone sold these days has a USB-C charging port, and most phones will support some flavor of USB-C Power Delivery, though different manufacturers may brand it as something else.

The latest Samsung Galaxy S phones, for example, support 25W USB-C Power Delivery, and the larger Galaxy Notes can even take 45W. Many others, like the latest Google Pixels, support a more pedestrian (but still fast) 18W of throughput. Samsung, naturally, will sell you 25W and 45W USB-C chargers, but USB-C PD is an open standard, so you can get faster chargers for less, like this one from RAVPower.

More gadgets to fast-charge your phone

Fast charging doesnt have to stop with the wall chargers mentioned above, nor does it need to be limited to phones.

Higher powered USB-C chargers like Aukeys new Omnia 100W charger might seem like overkill for your phone, but investing in one means that youll be able to use the same charger and cord to charge your phone, tablet, laptop, or even your Nintendo Switch.

Tons of USB battery packs these days (including several we mention here) support USB-C PD charging on the go. If you own a car, its also worth investing in a USB-C PD car charger, which has the added benefit of being able to charge most laptops so your passengers can work from the road during long car trips. Some wall chargers these days even include two USB-C PD ports, making them great for traveling and sharing with a partner.

Now if only we could convince Apple to ditch that annoying Lightning connector...
The bird possesses a remarkable ability to turn arrogance into hopelessness. Tom Kelly

When confounded by birds, or fish, I always turn to my Gurus. My turkey hunting Gurus tell me that when a bird living around here makes it through five years, Hes so damn smart that you cant do a thing with him.

The way I figure this particular bird Ive recently had multiple conversations with, hes at least six and hes got to be a Sumo Cum Laude level PHD.

The other morning this old monarch of the White Oaks waited until 9:00 a.m. before he uttered the first word. My right leg went stone dead about 8:30 a.m. The multitude of dog pecker gnats, ticks and mosquitos, that did not need a meal on opening morning, were more than happy to feast on me now.

The bugs seemed mighty happy to see me, the big bird, not so much.

Its just flat amazing how an environment can change in the span of a few short weeks. Suddenly we find ourselves alive in a moment where trees, just a few short days ago were mere buds once struggling, and now, in a matter of hours, a heavenly multitude of body eating bugs have dedicated their lives to chew on every living thing that breathes, squirms and itches.

This and enough pollen to kill a goat just drives me absolutely spastic.

Bugs and pollen aside, this old bird Im dancing with has messed with my mornings enough for me to know that Im up against a professional survivor.

He sends his hens to me as a test. They show up silently and hover nervously around twenty feet away, daring me to call to the old Tom. He stands off in the woods loudly gobbling to the hens and Im dead certain hes asking them if the coast is clear.

They seem to tell him that things look OK, but he isnt buying it. He just sits back about 100 yards in the woods and gobbles relentlessly while I go nuts with a burgeoning population of bugs trying to eat their weight from my ears, neck and ankles.

When his two hens decide its time to answer his calls and wander off slowly in his direction, I plan a series of maneuvers that fail miserably again and again.

Decoys are supposed to work on dominant birds like this but I gave up on decoys when I retired Juanita a few years back.

I named her Juanita after a shapely, young working girl I spent some lovely time with the last time I walked across the border to boys town in Tijuana.

The new decoy was cheap and gaudy and smelled a little strange when I made the purchase.

She instantly took me back to a hazy time spent in a front street bar with my arm around a lovely young receptive lady named Juanita.

She had big sad eyes, long legs and a look that could charm the socks off of anyone that kept ordering overpriced and watered down Tequila.

Things went well that evening until a bus load of Turkish sailors showed up with more dinero than me, costing me the evening with Juanita. Deciding not to fight a bus load of thirsty Turkish swabies and abandoning Juanita that night left me with a true appreciation for the types of young and uninhibited Turks their navy recruited. Who knew Turkish sailors were so thirsty when landing in Mexico with large sums of money for all manner of Tijuana delight?

But, the memory of Juanita holds firm to this day.

I retired Juanita the decoy because she was pretty good at getting stomped by mischievous does and she was fairly effective at confusing coyotes, but she seemed to scare the living daylights out of most gobblers about the time they finally laid eyes on that vivacious foam body.

Now this is the time of year that old birds have to waited out. Let the hens go contentedly to the nest. Maybe some other devious trick might work on a bird that has seemingly survived all manner of techniques planned to end in graduation from survivor school.

Now is the time for development of new and massive styles of TRICKERATION.

There is hope. Hope is not a plan. My plan is full of hope, it just doesnt include a new Juanita.

This is also the time of year my turkey hunting buddies flood me with phone calls and pictures of their successes and tales of their adventures with old birds that are survivors. The most recent call was from a buddy bragging about his most recent successful hunt.

It seems that he and his wife were lounging in the kitchen, enjoying their second cup of coffee, when they were interrupted by a rapid pounding noise coming from their carport. On closer inspection from the kitchen window, they watched in horror as a big gobbler was going to town on his reflection in the wifes Kia driver side door. The door dents were apparently quite significant, causing the wife to scramble around the kitchen hysterically in search of the right tool to initiate combat-to-the-death on the big bird. She loves her Kia.

This gave my buddy time to load his twelve gauge and save the paint job on the Kia. He never left his deck, never got bug bit, no ticks, no walk in the snake infested dark. No problem other than multiple dents and scratches in the door. He said it was hands down the best turkey hunt hes been on in years.

Maybe Ill rent a red Kia and park it in the clover patch. Hope springs eternal.

Forget a new Juanita.

She was a fake to begin with.

But those big sad eyes and those thighs!

Who can forget that?

Some tricks you never forget.
It will be months before Democrats begin discussing their next presidential primary schedule  publicly, at least.

But when they do, expect a push for South Carolina to take on an even more prominent role than it already does in selecting presidents.

And expect some pushback, too.

In 2020, the Democrats' process was widely derided for Iowa's counting meltdown and New Hampshire's continued small-state, oversized-influence.

When the crowd came to South Carolina, Democrats ignored all previous results and came out strongly for Joe Biden, saving his chances.

That's got some stalwarts calling for change, again, by moving Nevada and South Carolina ahead of Iowa or New Hampshire in the process.

To many, placing South Carolina forward, instead of fourth, makes sense since its large bloc of African Americans (27 percent) more accurately reflects the party's makeup.

Iowa has the lead-off caucus, but it's population is only 8.5 percent Black.

New Hampshire, by its state law, holds the nation's first's primary, but it's only 2 percent Black.

Nevada is being included as a move-up possibility because of its large labor pool and Hispanic population.

Whether there's serious chance for a timing shift is the unknown, since it would mean a radical departure in the presidential norm. What is known is that the Democratic National Committee's Rule and Bylaws Committee this summer will do a post-mortem on the 2020 nominating process before looking forward to how to approach 2024.

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So far, South Carolina leaders are being mum about the next steps.

U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn's office said he wouldn't be commenting, but Politico recently reported that both he and former Nevada Sen. Harry Reid favor a shakeup, though Clyburn was said to be leaving the decision up to new DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison.

S.C. party Chairman Trav Robertson also said it's too early to broach what's next.

But Robertson did say that whenever the Republican-led S.C. Legislature looks at tweaking South Carolina election laws it hurts the state's economics to the potential tune of hundreds of millions of dollars that could be spent here during a presidential runup.

"Any restrictive measure as it relates to individuals voting absentee and any attempt to polarize the Election Commission could have an adverse affect on South Carolina's role in the early presidential primary nomination process," he said.

Democrats in other states know there's grumbling.

"New Hampshire takes seriously every suggestion that we should not retain our First-in-the-Nation status, and we believe that we have a strong argument for the Granite State to retain its place," New Hampshire party Chairman Raymond Buckley told Palmetto Politics.
A Sydney tradesman has lost his $241,500 deposit and a deal to own a $4.8million mansion after the seller cancelled because he was two days late to pay.

Theo Alexakis handed over $150,000 of the deposit for the five-bedroom dream home in the city's ritzy eastern suburbs when exchanging contracts on April 4, 2019.

The fine print stipulated the remaining $91,500 had to be paid 'on the the fourth month after the contract date' which Mr Alexakis understood to be on any day in August 2019.

Tradie Theo Alexakis lost his deposit for the five bedroom house in Sydney (pictured) as well as any claim to buy the property

He had also submitted an application to Woolahra Council to renovate the $4.8million mansion (pictured)

The vendors, Chi Hing Wan and Kwan Yee Chan, had interpreted the clause to require the remaining deposit be paid by exactly four months after signing the deal - on or before August 4, 2019.

Mr Alexakis, who runs a frameless glazing business, and his family left the country in for an overseas trip to Greece in June.

The vendors' agent Courtney Wong sent Mr Alexakis a number of emails in July reminding him to pay the outstanding amount.

'With regards to the second part of the deposit I'm currently overseas and have been for the past 5 weeks. I will be returning on 6th August and will be depositing the balance  shortly after,' Mr Alexakis wrote back on August 1.

The email was delivered to Mr Wong's mailbox at 4.45am on August 2 and he replied at 11.05am.

'Contract provides for payment no later than 4th of August. Kindly provide receipt of payment,' Mr Wong wrote.

The modern three-level property (pictured) is in Sydney's exclusive eastern suburbs

The seller's lawyer then wrote on August 5 advising him that his clients had cancelled the contract because of the failure to pay the outstanding balance.

Mr Alexakis, who returned to Australia late into the afternoon on August 6, transferred the remaining $91,500 on August 7 which the vendors kept but did not reinstate the contract - leading him to sue.

This week in the New South Wales Supreme Court, Mr Alexakis was told he must forfeit the deposit and had no claim on the house.

The court ruled that while the language in the clause was awkward, the amount was indeed required to be paid by August 4, 2019 and the sellers were within their rights to void the contract and keep the money.

A development application to renovate the mansion lodged by Mr Alexakis was also rejected by Woollahra Council, the court heard.
A 32-year-old New York City man fled from police last weekend in Bethlehem into New Jersey where he blew out both drivers side tires and headed back west on Interstate 78 East, police said.

The pursuit began shortly after 2 a.m. April 10 as Pennsylvania State Police stopped a 2020 Jeep Cherokee on southbound Wyandotte Street (Route 378) in Bethlehem, according to a news release Friday from police.

The Bronx man fled from the stop south on Route 378, at one point performing a multi-point turn and nearly striking a state trooper exiting a patrol vehicle, police said. The driver then continued south through Bethlehem and onto multiple back roads to Hellertown, and eventually I-78 East.

The Jeep then traveled into New Jersey at high rates of speed and exited the highway at Exit 6, police said. Then the vehicle took Route 173 back toward Interstate 78 East, but missed the ramp and went over a curb, blowing out both drivers side tires, police said.

Police said the driver then drove west in the eastbound lanes of I-78 before police executed a pursuit-intervention-technique (PIT) maneuver to disable the vehicle.

The driver ran off but was quickly taken into custody on the grass median of the highway, and was returned to Pennsylvania in police custody, according to police. He later refused a blood draw for suspected drunk driving, the release states.

Police does not identify the driver, and further information was not immediately available on the case from online court records.

No one was reported injured during the incident.

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Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
Men view the covers of local newspapers laid out at a stall in the Shemiran district of Iran's capital Tehran on April 14, 2021. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran Identifies Suspect Behind Blast at Natanz Nuclear Site

Iran on Saturday named a man it wants arrested in connection with a recent explosion and power outage at its main Natanz nuclear plant, as talks got underway in Vienna on Tehrans 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Reza Karimi, the perpetrator of this sabotage has been identified by Irans intelligence ministry, state TV said. It said the suspect had fled Iran before last Sundays blast that the Islamic Republic has blamed on arch-foe Israel.

Officials from the remaining parties to Irans nuclear deal began a formal meeting in Vienna, suggesting that this round of talks which began on Thursday was wrapping up.

The television showed what it said was a photograph of the suspected perpetrator on a red card that had Interpol Wanted written on it. The card listed his age as 43.

Necessary steps are underway for his arrest and return to the country through legal channels, the report added.

State TV also aired footage of rows of what it said were centrifuges which had replaced the ones damaged in the blast at the Natanz uranium enrichment plant.

It added that a large number of centrifuges whose enrichment activity was disrupted by the explosion had been returned to normal service, the report said.

Iran and global powers are meeting in Vienna to talk about the 2015 nuclear deal left by Washington three years ago. The talks are potentially complicated by Tehrans decision to ramp up uranium enrichment and what it called Israeli sabotage at the Natanz nuclear site.

Israel has not formally commented on the incident.
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has reported the detention of Ukrainian consul in St. Petersburg Oleksandr Sosoniuk while he was obtaining classified information from the databases of the Russian law enforcement agencies in St. Petersburg.

"The Russian Federal Security Service detained in flagrante delicto the Ukrainian diplomat, consul of the Ukrainian Consulate General in St. Petersburg Oleksandr Sosoniuk, during his meeting with a Russian citizen to acquire classified information from the database of the Russian law enforcement agencies and the FSB in St. Petersburg on April 16, 2021," the FSB public relations center told journalists.

"These activities are incompatible with the status of a diplomatic worker and are clearly hostile towards the Russian Federation. Measures in accordance with international law will be taken against the foreign diplomats," the FSB said.
An American college student says that she accidentally pulled out her IUD while removing a menstrual cup.

Katy, a 19-year-old woman from Chicago, shared the unexpected experience in a viral TikTok video that's earned 1.4 million views.

'When ur using ur DivaCup for the first time and it pulls out your IUD,' the TikTok user, who goes by the online moniker @salmoncomplex, wrote, holding up the intrauterine birth control device that she'd inadvertently removed.

Whoops! Katy, a 19-year-old woman from Chicago, earned 1.4 million views for a TikTok video in which she revealed that she accidentally pulled out her IUD while using a DivaCup

Ouch! he had a Paragard copper IUD and was using a DivaCup for the first time

Katy said that she had a Paragard copper IUD, a longterm contraceptive with a T-shaped plastic frame and copper wiring that's inserted into the uterus and creates an inflammatory reaction that is toxic to sperm and eggs.

The IUD is inserted by an OB-GYN, who pushes it through the cervical canal and into the uterine cavity. It can remain in place for up to ten years, and is typically removed by a doctors using strings that hang from the bottom of the device.

But Katy's DivaCup  a brand of reusable menstrual cup that captures menstrual discharge  did the job a bit earlier than she'd intended.

Luckily, she said that the home removal wasn't painful.

'It didn't hurt,' she said. 'There was some pressure and I didn't know if that was the DivaCup sucking too much or if it was the IUD being pulled out of me.

Time of the month: DivaCup is a brand of reusable menstrual cup that captures menstrual discharge

It's OK! Though it wasn't painful, she felt 'pressure' as she removed the cup

'It was a very general pressure so I couldn't tell what was poking me, but I can say that it wasn't as painful as getting a pap smear. It wasn't as painful as getting your IUD inserted. It was not painful at all.'

However, she added, she didn't know whether a similar snafu might not be painful for someone else, and recommended that other get their IUD strings cut short if they are planning to use a menstrual cup.

On the DivaCup website, the brand advises caution when using one with an IUD, but says that both can be safely used at the same time.

'The DivaCup is worn low at the base of the vagina and away from the cervix, which means that it should not interfere with an internal birth control device,' the brand says.

'However, please use caution when using any internal menstrual care product with an IUD, as there is the possibility that the IUD can be dislodged, depending on how recently your IUD was implanted.'

Guide: DivaCup says its product can be used safely with an IUD, but women should wait at least three months after implantation and discuss with their doctor

DivaCup recommends waiting at least three months after implantation to use their product, and to consult a doctor.

'When using the DivaCup, it is important to carefully follow the directions in our User Guide, paying close attention to inserting the DivaCup low in the vaginal canal and breaking the seal (suction) before removal.

'IUDs have two strings that hang naturally at the opening of the cervix. We recommend checking on these each cycle prior to inserting your DivaCup,' a blog post continues.

'Many DivaCup users ask their doctor to trim the strings so they wont interfere with cup placement.'
A grand jury investigating the case of Daniel Prude, a 41-year-old Black man who died after being restrained by police last year, overwhelming voted against charging three officers with criminally negligent homicide, according to the transcripts of the proceedings released Friday.

Why it matters: The decision not to charge the Rochester, New York, officers was announced in February, but the transcripts offer a rare glimpse into proceedings usually kept secret.

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Catch up quick: Law enforcement was called after Prude experienced a mental health crisis, his brother has said.

Body-cam footage of Prude's arrest shows him naked, in the snowy street. Police put a mesh hood over his head and pinned him to the ground.

Several minutes later, Prude lost consciousness. He was taken off life support a week later.

A county medical examiner ruled Prude's death a homicide, arising from "complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint," with PCP listed as a contributing factor to his death.

While his death initially garnered little attention, the release of the body-cam footage last September sparked several days of protests in Rochester, and Police Chief La'Ron Singletary was fired. Seven officers were also suspended.

Details: The grand jury heard from dozens of witnesses, including a medical expert who said the officers did nothing wrong, according to the transcripts.

Another expert witness, however, said "the decision to keep [Prude] on his stomach for that period of time was, was unreasonable and against police practice."

"The transcripts ... appear to show jurors grappling with a blizzard of technical information about police tactics, and expert testimonies that appeared at times to conflict," the New York Times notes.

What they're saying: "Our efforts to balance the scales of justice and ensure accountability can only go so far in the absence of transparency," New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement Friday.

Story continues

"We took the unprecedented action of seeking to release the grand jury transcripts because the public deserves to know what happened in these proceedings," she added.

Don Thompson, a lawyer for Prude's family, said he was "infuriated" about what he learned from the transcripts and the decision not to indict the officers involved, per NYT.

Who other than somebody who wears a special costume for their work gets this kind of deference in a homicide case? No one."

The big picture: The release of the transcripts comes amid the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, who is accused of killing George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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This market research report identifies Abbott Laboratories, Boston Scientific Corporation, Medtronic plc, Biotronik Inc., Johnson & Johnson, and MicroPort Scientific Corporation as the major vendors operating in the global drug eluting stents market. This report also provides a detailed analysis of the market by coating type (polymer-based coating and polymer-free coating), application (coronary artery disease and peripheral artery disease), end-users (hospitals, ASC, and cardiology centers), and region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World).

Overview of the Global Drug Eluting Stents Market

Infoholics market research report predicts that the global drug eluting stents market will grow at a CAGR of 5.4% during the forecast period 20182024. The major drivers of the market are the increasing prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, rising aging population, growing acceptance for minimally invasive endovascular surgeries, and good reimbursement facilities are few of the factors driving the growth of the drug eluting stents market. Increasing healthcare spending, rise in the number of outpatient procedures, and market expansion opportunities in emerging nations are providing an opportunity for the growth of the market. However, alternatives for drug-eluting stents, lack of skilled healthcare professionals, and stringent regulatory approval process are hampering the growth of the market.

According to the drug eluting stents market analysis, in 2017, Europe accounts for the largest share of the drug-eluting stents market, followed by Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World. More than 60% of the market is occupied by Europe, with Germany being the major contributor to the market growth.

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Competitive Analysis and Key Vendors

New product development, geographical expansion, collaboration, mergers & acquisitions, and pricing strategies are vital undertakings of players in the drug eluting stents market. For instance, in May 2018, MicroPort, a Chinese company acquired the cardiac rhythm management segment of LivaNova, which has made MicroPort a prominent player in the market. In January 2017, St. Jude Medical, one of the major players in the market, was acquired by Abbott Laboratories for a total of $25 billion. In August 2018, Boston Scientific Corp. signed an agreement to acquire Veniti Inc. Recently, the prices of coronary stents in India have been slashed by around 70%, making it affordable to lower-income people. As a result, Abbott Laboratories and Boston Scientific are withdrawing their most advanced products Absorb and Synergy & Promous Premier, respectively. This has helped MicroPort to establish its market easily in India with the targeted drug eluting stents. The technology of MicroPort is proved to be no less than Abbott and other products by market leaders. This is expected to strengthen its market in India.

Some of the Drug Eluting Stents Market key vendors:

Abbott Laboratories

Boston Scientific Corporation

Medtronic plc

Johnson and Johnson

MicroPort Scientific Corporation

Biotronik Inc.

Other vendors in the global drug eluting stents market are Terumo Corporation, Biosensors International Group, Meril Life Science, Stentys SA, Cook Medical Inc., and Lepu Medical Technology. Currently, many manufacturers are outsourcing research to clinical research organizations, which is indirectly boosting the growth of the drug-eluting stents market.

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Drug Eluting Stents Market by Coating Type

Polymer-based coating stents

Polymer-free coating stents

Non-biodegradable and biodegradable polymer are the two types of polymer-based coatings. Microporous surface, microstructured surface, slotted tubular surface, and nanoporous surface are the types of polymer-free coating.

Drug Eluting Stents Market by Application Type

Coronary artery disease

Peripheral artery disease

Approximately 90% of all percutaneous interventional surgeries use a coronary stent of all stenting procedures is done with drug eluting stents. Therefore, the majority of the market is occupied by coronary arterial intervention.

Drug Eluting Stents Market by End-Users

Hospitals

Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASCs)

Cardiology Centers

The advantages such as availability of surgery specialists, reduced hospital stay duration, and less charge of surgery have made ambulatory surgical centers the most preferred mode for the treatment. This has made them the largest segment among end-users during the forecast period.

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Benefits

The report provides detailed information about the usage and adoption of drug eluting stents devices in various applications and regions. With that, key stakeholders can find out the major trends, drivers, investments, and vertical players initiatives toward the product adoption in the upcoming years, along with the details of commercial products available in the market. Moreover, the report provides details about the major challenges that are going to have an impact on market growth. Additionally, the report gives complete details about the business opportunities to key stakeholders to expand their business and capture the revenue in the specific verticals. The report will help companies interested or established in this market to analyze the various aspects of this domain before investing or expanding their business in the drug eluting stents market.
Native American women and girls know their heritage puts them at risk. They tell each other to take care. They all know it is easy for someone to take them and kill them and get away with it.

Preyed upon by attackers, rapists and killers familiar with the empty reaches of reservations, the patchwork of jurisdictions, the disregard of some and the silence of others, they are in danger just for being a Native woman or girl.

The statistics are grim.

A report from the National Institute of Justice found that more than four out of five Native American women have experienced violence in their lives. In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control reported that homicide is the third leading cause of death among Native American women between the ages of 10 and 24. The Department of Justice has reported Native American women are 10 times more likely to be murdered than other Americans.

On the 1.3-million-acre Yakama Reservation, women have passed down stories from as far back as the mid-1800s of rape and murder by miners, by soldiers, by other outsiders. The passage of time does not diminish the terror of these assaults, which continue today.

No one knows exactly how many Native girls and women have gone missing on or near the Yakama reservation.
WINSTED  After three special meetings, the Board of Selectmen agreed to fund the Winchester Public Schools budget, a package that will increase spending by 2.54 percent for 2021-22.

The town hasnt had a tax increase in nearly four years. While funding the school budget and reducing municipal capital spending, the tax rate would remain at 33.54 mills.

Selectmen, members of the Board of Education, Town Manager Robert Geiger and Finance Director Bruce Stratford, as well as the Gilbert and Winchester school superintendents met twice this week to discuss the proposed school budgets.

The Winchester school budget began at $20.6 million, a 2.99 percent increase from the approved budget in 2020-21 of $19.96 million. That figure includes Gilbert School tuition, faculty salaries and benefits. Earlier this week, Winchester Superintendent of Schools Melony Brady-Shanley said she was able to reduce the budget even more.

Nancy (ODea Wyrick, school finance director) and I crunched the numbers, and we were able to get the increase down, Brady-Shanley said, adding that the school budget increase was reduced from $531,000 to $421,000.

To close the gap, Mayor Candy Perez proposed taking $121,000 from the towns fund balance for the school budget, and to increase the towns share for education to $320,000.

Then well have Bob (Geiger) massage the capital projects, to see what he can find. Then, split the ($440,000 in the) capital account, Perez said. Thats what I will support.

This sounds encouraging, said Selectman Steve Sedlak. Id like to see that in writing.

Perez said it was important to close the budget gap for the schools, and selectmen, who are meeting Monday, mostly agreed with her proposal.

Were throwing ourselves into the future, hoping and praying that things will grow, she said. Just to reassure everyone out there ... If we dont get state money or federal money as we expect, then the town manager and the finance director will have to make freezes to budgets next year. Thats what will happen, for us to balance the budget.

Geigers proposed town budget for 2021-22 is $14.1 million, a $406,000 increase over the current years budget. Within that increase is a town share for education totaling $250,000.

During discussions on the school budget, the group talked about the impact of delaying capital projects  such as road resurfacing, bridge work, streetscape projects such as Whiting Avenue, and other planned work that is dependent on capital spending.

I have to support Melonys budget request, and she has to support Gilberts budget request ... But the capital piece of these budgets is difficult to handle, Geiger said. A year from now, there will have to be a mill rate increase with projects coming up. Even though theyre small increases, we are rebuilding Hinsdale School, and the publics going to have to pay increased taxes for that. Theres a lot of expense out there besides operating budgets.

The discussion also turned briefly to Gilbert Superintendent of Schools Anthony Serio. Gilberts increase of 4.1 percent this year includes tuition along with a capital budget for repairs to the building and a new phone system. Serio refused to cut the capital budget, saying he was still filling a $250,000 shortfall for 2021-22, and would have to take the matter to the Gilbert School Corp.

The board has until April 23 to complete its budget review before it schedules a public hearing and referendum in May. All budgets can be seen at townofwinchester,org
However, a murder victim has a voice in her choice to opt into organ donation. The victim does not need to fear that she will be reduced purely to her organs  her humanity was not in question in the first place. Aborted fetuses dont have the same assurance. The doctors who stop their hearts are in the medical profession, just like the researchers who culture their cells.

I understand the children whose cells were the sources of these cell lines to have the same dignity and moral weight as my own children, both living and dead. When I lost child after child through miscarriage, I wondered if it was possible to donate part of my babies bodies to research. I hoped that my children could help other people, even if they never got to open their eyes to meet them. They were too young and too small when they died, so I never got the chance to offer, and I didnt know who to ask to accept them. I would have asked that they not be anonymous, but that they be known by name.

HeLa, a frequently used cell line, was also cultivated under an ethical cloud. It comes from a cervical cancer culture taken in 1951 from a Black woman named Henrietta Lacks. She consented to a biopsy for diagnosis, but she was never asked for permission or informed that her cells were used for other purposes.

Today, her cells are bought and sold until there are more of her cells living in labs than made up her body in life. But for years her family was unaware that her cells lived on, and they remained impoverished, unable to afford health care. When they were finally asked about their wishes, they didnt ask that the cells be returned or that all research cease. Instead, they pushed for stronger consent protections and acknowledgment for the person behind the cells.

Each scientist working with cells isnt formally cooperating with evil  they may be entirely unaware of an injustice at the origin of a sample. But remote material cooperation with evil is a moral question we all have to address. In a global economy, we arent directly orchestrating the suffering that sometimes produces the goods we consume, but we are the beneficiaries. How do we make amends for the benefits we receive as a result of an injustice?

Unraveling a generations-long injustice is likely to be slow and cumbersome. The Jesuits are trying to track down the descendants of the people they sold, to pay reparations personally where possible. But they also recognize that, over time, the evil compounded beyond their ability to track through genealogies. Making amends means going beyond the consequences they can track directly and supporting broader racial reconciliation projects.

Offering amends to Lacks means acknowledging who she was and making direct reparations where possible. The same applies to what I see as the unknown children in our cell lines. Where that knowledge has already been lost, it means making amends where we can and refusing to let the children who die before birth today be treated as medical waste or raw materials.
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday reversed a Trump-era policy limiting the use of consent decrees to force changes at police departments and government agencies accused of misconduct.

Why it matters: The move comes in the wake of nationwide protests against police brutality and racism. It also comes "as the Justice Department shifts its priorities to focus more on civil rights issues, criminal justice overhauls and policing policies," AP notes.

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What he's saying: "This memorandum makes clear that the Department will use all appropriate legal authorities to safeguard civil rights and protect the environment, consistent with longstanding Departmental practice and informed by the expertise of the Departments career workforce," Garland said in a statement, the Washington Post.

"Together, we will continue the Departments legacy of promoting the rule of law, protecting the public, and working collaboratively with state and local governmental entities to meet those ends, Garland added in a memo to U.S. attorneys and DOJ officials Friday.

Background: In one of his final moves as attorney general in 2018, Jeff Sessions issued a memo that restricted the ability of local U.S. attorneys to enter into consent decree settlements.

Several civil rights investigations during the Obama administration ended in court-approved consent decrees, including with police departments in Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, Maryland, per AP.

Go deeper: Police officers' immunity from lawsuits is getting a fresh look

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FLINT, MI  Natalie and Alex Kadie moved to downtown Flint at the height of the water crisis because they wanted to be a part of the positive change for the city with their business and presence.

The pair opened Eight Ten Nail Bar, 555 S. Saginaw St., Suite 103, in downtown Flint, which offers acrylic, gel and regular manicures and pedicures.

Natalie, 41, and her husband Alex, 35, own the nail bar and both do nails.

My mom told me that its good to go to college and get your degree, but you need a trade as well to have something to fall back on, Natalie Kadie said. It wasnt something that I initially wanted to do, but my mom kind of planted that seed and took me to the school and put the down payment down and thats how I started getting my nail tech license and I used it throughout college to make money while I was in school getting my bachelors degree.

The business owner might be an expert nail artist now, but she was set on pursuing a career in healthcare administration, and she did for several years until she was fired.

At one point, I had about 60 employees, Kadie said. It was very stressful.

Kadie was a director at an assisted living facility. During her time there she would occasionally do the nails of the residents, she said.

I was fired from that job. They said that the numbers werent there, Kadie explained. It was like a financial decision, so they let me go. I decided to start doing nails again and I kept trying to find a job in healthcare administration and it just wasnt happening. I took that as a sign that its not something I should be doing anymore.

Kadie was fired in 2012 after working at the facility for five years.

When the job seeker would apply to positions, she would be told she was either overqualified or underqualified. She described her dilemma as a catch-22 because employers seemingly didnt want to pay her what she was worth or she didnt have enough experience for the job she was applying to.

That same year I got fired, I got my car repoed, Kadie said. It was a lot. It was like a transition I went from having everything to having nothing.

At some point between Kadie losing her job and doing nails again, she met Alex at a time where she felt like she didnt have much to offer. She was also raising very young twin boys at the time.

Kadie found that the trade skill her mother encouraged her to invest in would help her find a new career with flexibility and less stressful work.

However, the road to a successful business wasnt completely smooth sailing. Alex was working toward his dream of being a full-time DJ and she was still trying to build a steady clientele. Change was coming and it included her twins graduating from high school in 2017, which opened the door to officially start a new chapter.

Soon after, the couple moved to downtown Flint from Flint Township.

I wanted to be downtown, Kadie said. I wanted to be in the positivity that Flint was moving forward and changing.

The business partners opened the nail bar in May 2018 with help from her sister who owns Spectacular Spudz, an eatery that creates and sells signature and loaded baked potatoes in Flint, a couple of friends and the couples savings.

At some point, Kadie had three employees at the nail bar, but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and it changed everything.

In March 2020, Kadie was at her step-mothers house for a party before everyone understood the gravity of the virus. Four days later, Kadies father was hospitalized with coronavirus and ultimately died. The next day, her mother died from cancer, unrelated to the virus. In another blow, Kadies grandmother died on the day of the viewing for her parents.

In February, before the pandemic, Kadies grandfather died and later that year her uncle also passed, both unrelated to the coronavirus.

Kadie experienced what some might see as an insurmountable amount of loss in just a short period of time.

I didnt know when I wanted to go back (to work) because I was terrified of the virus, Kadie said.

The nail bar reopened back in July 2020 and business has been booming ever since.

Weve been booked ever since weve been open, Kadie said. Im booked until June.

Alex has a new role as a nail technician to help keep up with the demand. He apprenticed with his wife for six months and is set to take his exam to become licensed over the next couple of weeks.

Kadies positive attitude, which was instilled by her parents and her faith has played a factor into the success of her business, she said.

I get it from my parents. My mom and my dad were both hustlers, if you will - entrepreneurs and I saw them work hard their whole lives and I just want to work smarter and not harder, Kadie said as she choked back tears. Im just thankful that they saw me and my sister open our businesses and they were so proud.

In addition to Kadie and soon Alex, the nail shop has one other nail tech. The business is looking to add two more techs to its team. Those interested in joining the team should call 810-422-9568.

We had momentum in Flint and its starting to slowly, but surely come back and Im hoping that me being there is helping with moving Flint forward in a positive direction instead of the opposite, Kadie said. Because so many people leave and take their talents elsewhere because its a better opportunity, things of that nature, but theres so much you can create here because we dont have enough of it. So if you create it people will come.

Related news:

Fruit carver to the stars: Flint mans fruit carving business catches attention of Martin Lawrence, Snoop Dogg and more

Local Eats: Ole General Store and Cafe didnt turn around and go back during the COVID-19 pandemic

Goyette Mechanical in Flint plans to add nearly 100 jobs, expand its headquarters

Were competing against the government: Genesee County restaurants grapple with staffing shortages
The Catawba Indian Nation said a federal court has ruled in its favor in a lawsuit that tried to stop its planned North Carolina casino.

In a Facebook post Friday evening, tribal leaders said they were excited to announce that theyd just received word of the court victory.

The lawsuit brought by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians was the final major hurdle to the Catawbas opening their $273 million Two Kings Casino Resort off Interstate 85 in Kings Mountain, tribal leaders have said.

The casino is scheduled to open with a temporary facility this fall at the site, about 30 miles west of Charlotte.

The judge said he found no basis for the Cherokees claims in the lawsuit filed in March 2020 against the federal Department of Interior, The Associated Press reported.

The Cherokees sued after the department approved the tribes application to take the Kings Mountain land into trust.

On Facebook Friday, the Catawbas, based in Rock Hill, S.C., said they intervened in the case to uphold our rights.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians owns the only other casinos permitted by the state, both in the N.C. mountains.

Harrahs Cherokee Casino operates west of Asheville, near Maggie Valley about three hours west of Charlotte. Harrahs Cherokee Valley River Casino is a four-hour drive from Charlotte near Georgia and Tennessee.

In January, Gov. Roy Cooper and the Catawba Indian Nation signed a revenue-sharing agreement that cleared the way for Vegas-style gaming to be offered at a planned resort in Kings Mountain.

The Cherokees in part argued that historically the land was theirs and the federal department violated U.S. law in granting the land trust for the Catawbas.

In Fridays ruling, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg disagreed.

In the end, though, they come up with snake eyes, as on each claim they either lack standing or lose on the merits, the judge wrote in his 55-page opinion, according to the AP. He is based in Washington, D.C.

The Catawbas have said they were proceeding with their plans for the temporary facility despite the lawsuit.
Defence Minister of Ukraine Andriy Taran briefed UKs Ambassador to Ukraine Melinda Simmons on the security situation on the line of contact with the temporarily occupied territories.

The Minister of Defence of Ukraine informed the head of the British diplomatic mission in Ukraine about the security situation on the line of contact with the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. It was also emphasised that the Kremlin was increasing its military presence near the state border of Ukraine and in the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the press service of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine reported on April16.

As noted, Melinda Simmons reaffirmed the UKs support for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity. She assured that the United Kingdom would continue to train Ukrainian servicepersons and enhance the capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as to implement defence reform according to NATO standards.

In addition, the parties agreed to continue joint work on the development of bilateral relations and strengthening security and defence cooperation.

As reported, Russia has lately been building up troops near Ukraines 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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The day before U.S. and British forces began air strikes in Afghanistan, members of the Alabama State Defense Force gathered at a military base to begin training  not for war, but to replace those who were.

They trained at Fort McClellan.

Thus began one of Calhoun County's earliest links to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and America's involvement in its "Forever War," which President Biden says he'll end by removing the final 2,500 U.S. troops from Afghanistan this year.

That link also highlighted the beguiling paradox that still surrounds Anniston's Army post, whose origin traces to the National Guardsmen who used the Bains Gap hills for artillery practice before World War I.

The Pentagon closed Fort McClellan in 1999, moving most of its remaining active-duty missions to Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., and handing off thousands of acres and vacant buildings to local authorities. Left intact, though, was the post's Alabama Army National Guard site, which immediately adopted a significant role in preparing soldiers for the Afghanistan War.

Today, in the twilight of a war nearly two decades long, that paradox remains. What is McClellan? A shuttered post, a mixed-use development, a military training site? Or all three?

"People say when the post closed that the Army left town," said retired Col. Chuck Keith, who served in a variety of Army National Guard roles at Fort McClellan, including garrison commander. "Well, we were already there, and it just got larger."

Though fought largely in the shadow of the second Iraq War, the war in Afghanistan owns a significant human toll: 2,218 U.S. deaths, including 1,833 combat deaths, and 20,093 wounded between its opening on Oct. 7, 2001, and Dec. 31, 2014, which the Department of Defense considers the end of the war's main phase. Another 94 deaths, including 64 in combat, have occurred since 2015. More than 100,000 civilians have been killed or wounded in the war in the last decade, according to a 2020 United Nations report.

It's unclear how many U.S. soldiers wounded or killed in Afghanistan trained at Fort McClellan, though at their height in 2011, overall U.S. troop numbers in Afghanistan hovered around 100,000. But Keith offers two key factors in considering the Fort McClellan chapter in the Afghanistan War story.

The National Guard footprint at Fort McClellan ballooned in size after the 9/11 attacks, growing from what he described as a "small training center" to a dramatically expanded site that includes Pelham Range. He also estimates that during the largest portion of the war, between 65,000 and 75,000 soldiers from several states cycled through Anniston each year, training in areas such as live-fire drills, convoy operations and logistics.

"After 9/11 when the mission started ramping up, the Pentagon said the National Guard, we are going to depend on you," Keith said. "It is to the point, and it has been for a long time, where the Army cannot go anywhere without the National Guard and (Army) Reserve components. All of these units in the military are joined at the hip, so to speak. It's not just once a month anymore."

Rep. Rogers' Opposition to War Withdrawal

Biden's decision comes a decade after U.S. special forces killed Sept. 11 mastermind Osama bin Laden in 2011, and amid the long-simmering political argument over a basic question: stay or leave?

For four years, former President Trump touted a desire to end American involvement in the war. In Washington, members of his own party pushed back, either for humanitarian reasons or hawkish beliefs.

In announcing his decision, Biden said that "the war in Afghanistan was never meant to be a multigenerational undertaking," and he made a distinction between that war and the fighting in Iraq. "We were attacked. We went to war with clear goals. We achieved those objectives."

U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Saks, the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, is among the Republicans opposing Biden's decision. In a joint statement with U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Rogers and Inhofe said "the United States entered Afghanistan as a result of 9/11, and it is irresponsible to leave when conditions on the ground would lead to a civil war in Afghanistan and allow the country to become a safe haven for terrorists once again."

Nevertheless, Fort McClellan's aforementioned paradox isn't limited to military readiness, though the brutal facts about the Pentagon's closing of Fort McClellan's main post remain intact.

The closure enveloped the region in concerns about population losses, economic fallout and redevelopment frustrations. Anniston has lost roughly 3,000 residents since 2000, though surrounding municipalities and Calhoun County have either gained residents or remained largely stagnant.

Likewise, Anniston's retail areas near Fort McClellan  especially Lenlock  still bear the scars of the active-duty departure.

Nathan Hill, the Calhoun County Economic Development Council's military liaison, doesn't discount that. But the National Guard's expansion remains one of the area's unsung victories, he said, especially when added to the continued survival of Anniston Army Depot in Bynum.

A recent economic-impact study conducted by the University of Alabama in Huntsville found that the Alabama National Guard and Reserves at Fort McClellan contributed to a direct job impact of 1,456 positions in and around Calhoun County.

"If you look at what was able to be enclaved for the Guard and also for the Center for Domestic Preparedness, and the fact that Honda (Manufacturing of Alabama) came on about that same time that McClellan was locking the gates for active-duty forces, we had really minimal impact by the loss of McClellan in our area," Hill said.

"We did have an impact, but it could have been a heck of a lot worse if we had not had the Guard and the CDP."

Wartime Expansion at Fort McClellan

In essence, the military operations that remained in Anniston enjoyed a perfect storm: a national ramping-up because of twin wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a smorgasbord of training areas to absorb.

Before 1999, the Alabama Army National Guard site sat in a northern sliver of the post. After closure, and over time, the site evolved into something closer in scope to Fort McClellan's heyday.

"There's a very huge enclave that the Guard took over," Keith said.

Today, Fort McClellan is home to the Alabama Army National Guard Training Center, the Alabama Military Academy's officer candidate training school, the 167th Theater Sustainment Command and a collection of smaller detachments Keith estimates could reach double digits.

The Alabama National Guard's war-time growth at Fort McClellan included absorptions, like Pelham Range, and new constructions. In 2009, the National Guard christened the $13.5 million McClellan Readiness Center, which provides a joint operations center, assembly hall, classrooms and administrative space for a collection of units.

On any given day, Keith said, up to 500 people, many in military uniforms, work at Fort McClellan. On weekends, that figure exponentially increases.

"McClellan is a very, very active post," Hill said.

The Army built Pelham Range during World War II as a training site for Fort McClellan soldiers, a use that continued during the Korean and Vietnam wars. But closure of the main post didn't end the tell-tale Pelham Range training "booms" that rattle nearby residents' windows.

At Pelham Range, Keith said, the National Guard built mock cities that resembled those in Afghanistan and Iraq. (The Army also constructed a mock Vietnam village and practice trenches for World War I at Fort McClellan.) Soldiers would not only train in normal combat drills, they would also face situations specific to Afghanistan and Iraq  namely, training against mobs of mock protestors that would show soldiers "how you work around the enemy element when the civilian population is right there with them."

It's likely that Biden's decision to end U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan will reverberate throughout Washington this spring and summer. In his joint statement with Inhofe, Rogers didn't mention the Afghanistan War's symbiotic relationship to the growth for Anniston's National Guard site. Keith, the former garrison commander at Fort McClellan, can fill in the gaps.

Fort McClellan's growth "is not going to stop if Afghanistan goes away," Keith said. "This is how the Guard and Reserve components train today."

This article is written by Phillip Tutor from The Anniston Star and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.
About 31 percent of adults in the United States have now been fully vaccinated. Scientists have estimated that 70 to 90 percent of the total population must acquire resistance to the virus to reach herd immunity. But in hundreds of counties around the country, vaccination rates are low, with some even languishing in the teens.

The disparity in vaccination rates has so far mainly broken down along political lines. The New York Times examined survey and vaccine administration data for nearly every U.S. county and found that both willingness to receive a vaccine and actual vaccination rates to date were lower, on average, in counties where a majority of residents voted to re-elect former President Donald J. Trump in 2020. The phenomenon has left some places with a shortage of supply and others with a glut.

States with larger Trump vote shares are likely to have more adults who are vaccine hesitant ...  and have a smaller share of residents already vaccinated than states with larger Biden vote shares. Source: Estimates of vaccine hesitancy by state come from the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. Data on the share of state residents who have been vaccinated comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and reflects vaccinations through April 16. Election data is from Edison Research.

For months, health officials across the United States have been racing to inoculate people as variants of the coronavirus have continued to gain a foothold, carrying mutations that can make infections more contagious and, in some cases, deadlier. Vaccinations have sped up and, in many places, people are still unable to book appointments because of high demand. In Michigan, where cases have spiraled out of control, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, recently urged President Biden to send additional doses.

But in more rural  and more Republican  areas, health officials said that supply is far exceeding demand.

In a county in Wyoming, a local health official asked the state to stop sending first doses of the vaccine because the freezer was already stuffed to capacity with unwanted vials.

In an Iowa county, a clinic called people who had volunteered to give shots to tell them not to come in because so few residents had signed up for appointments.

In a county in Pennsylvania, a hospital set up a drive-through in the park, stocked with roughly 1,000 vaccine doses. Only about 300 people showed up.

And in interviews with more than two dozen state and county health officials  including some who said they were feeling weary after a year of hearing lifelong friends, family and neighbors tell them that the virus was a hoax or not particularly serious  most attributed low vaccination rates at least partly to hesitant conservative populations.

I just never in a million years ever expected my field of work to become less medical and more political, said Hailey Bloom, a registered Republican and the public information officer for the health department that covers Natrona County, Wyo., which Mr. Trump won by a wide margin last year.

The health department, Ms. Bloom said, set up a clinic in a former Macys at the local mall and was prepared to give 1,500 shots a day, four days a week. But it has never been able to fill all the slots, she said; usually, 300 or 400 people show up.

Ms. Bloom, like many other county officials, said she feared that reaching herd immunity might not be possible in her community. Its terrifying to think that this may never end, she said. So much hinges on these vaccinations.

About 27 percent of Natrona Countys adult residents have been fully vaccinated, and the federal government has estimated, based on Census survey data, that about 32 percent of its residents may be hesitant to get a shot.

The relationship between vaccination and politics reflects demographics. Vaccine hesitancy is highest in counties that are rural and have lower income levels and college graduation rates  the same characteristics found in counties that were more likely to have supported Mr. Trump. In wealthier Trump-supporting counties with higher college graduation rates, the vaccination gap is smaller, the analysis found, but the partisan gap holds even after accounting for income, race and age demographics, population density and a countys infection and death rate.

When asked in polls about their vaccination plans, Republicans across the country have been far less likely than Democrats to say they plan to get shots. Most recently, on Wednesday, Monmouth University and Quinnipiac University polls indicated that almost half of Republicans did not plan to pursue vaccinations. Only around one in 20 Democrats said the same.

Using survey data collected in March, the federal government recently created new estimates of hesitancy for every county and state in the United States. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services modelers used demographic factors and state-level responses of adults who said they would probably not or definitely not get a Covid-19 vaccine from the Household Pulse Survey, then used Census data to estimate the share of residents who might say that in every county.

In more than 500 counties, at least a quarter of adults might not be willing to get vaccinated, according to the estimates, and a majority of these places supported Mr. Trump in the last election.

In the 10 states where the government projected that residents would be least hesitant to get a Covid-19 vaccine, voters chose Mr. Biden in the 2020 election. Mr. Trump won nine of the 10 states where the most residents said they would probably or definitely not get the vaccine. (He did not win Georgia, which is among those states.)

Federal government estimates of Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy Estimated share of adults who may be hesitant to get the vaccine 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% Wash. Maine Mont. N.D. Vt. Minn. Ore. N.H. Idaho N.Y. S.D. Wis. Mass. R.I. Mich. Conn. Wyo. N.J. Pa. Iowa Neb. Nev. Ohio Del. Md. Ind. Utah Ill. W.Va. Colo. Calif. Va. Kan. Mo. Ky. N.C. Tenn. Okla. Ariz. N.M. Ark. S.C. Miss. Ala. Ga. La. Texas Alaska Fla. Hawaii Estimated share of adults who may be hesitant to get the vaccine 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% Wash. Maine Mont. N.D. Vt. Minn. Ore. N.H. Idaho N.Y. S.D. Wis. Mass. R.I. Mich. Conn. Wyo. N.J. Pa. Iowa Neb. Nev. Ohio Del. Md. Ind. Utah Ill. W.Va. Colo. Calif. Va. Kan. Mo. Ky. N.C. Tenn. Okla. Ariz. N.M. Ark. S.C. Ala. Ga. Miss. La. Texas Alaska Fla. Hawaii Estimated share of adults who may be hesitant to get the vaccine 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% Wash. Maine Mont. N.D. Vt. Minn. Ore. N.H. Idaho N.Y. S.D. Wis. Mass. R.I. Mich. Conn. Wyo. N.J. Pa. Iowa Neb. Nev. Ohio Del. Md. Ind. Utah Ill. W.Va. Colo. Calif. Va. Kan. Mo. Ky. N.C. Tenn. Ariz. N.M. Okla. Ark. S.C. Ala. Ga. Miss. La. Texas Alaska Fla. Hawaii Estimated share of adults who may be hesitant to get the vaccine 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% Wash. Maine Mont. N.D. Vt. Minn. Ore. N.H. Idaho N.Y. S.D. Wis. Mass. R.I. Mich. Conn. Wyo. N.J. Pa. Iowa Neb. Nev. Ohio Md. Del. Ind. Utah Ill. W.Va. Colo. Calif. Va. Kan. Mo. Ky. N.C. Tenn. Ariz. N.M. Okla. Ark. S.C. Ala. Ga. Miss. La. Texas Alaska Fla. Hawaii Estimated share of adults who may be hesitant to get the vaccine 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% Wash. Maine Mont. N.D. Vt. Minn. Ore. N.H. Idaho N.Y. S.D. Wis. Mass. Mich. Wyo. Conn. R.I. N.J. Pa. Iowa Neb. Nev. Ohio Md. Del. Ind. Utah Ill. Calif. Colo. W.Va. Va. Kan. Mo. Ky. N.C. Tenn. Ariz. N.M. Okla. Ark. S.C. Ala. Ga. Miss. La. Texas Alaska Fla. Hawaii Source: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

Dr. Jean Stachon, the health officer in Sweetwater County, Wyo., where federal officials have estimated that about 31 percent of residents may be reluctant to receive a vaccine, said her department has made the tough philosophical decision to prioritize getting shots to the willing. At least once, that has meant opening a vial even when there were not enough interested people to use up all the doses in it.

It pains me to think that the governor of Michigan is begging for vaccines, she said. And weve got vials and vials in our freezer.

Dr. Stachon, who has been both a registered Democrat and Republican in the past and considers herself politically independent, said she had not given up hope. Sweetwater has fully vaccinated about 29 percent of its adult residents. Mr. Trump won the county by a margin of more than 50 points last year.

In Grant County, N.D., home to about 2,400 people, the federal government has estimated that 31 percent of the population may not be willing to get a shot. Mr. Trump won the county by a wide margin last year.

People tell me, I would like to wait  its the No. 1 thing Im hearing, said Erin Ourada, the administrator for Custer Health, which serves Grant and four other counties. I keep seeing Grant County sit at the bottom of the list. It makes me sad. About 13 percent of adult residents there have been fully vaccinated.

Actual vaccination data has revealed a pattern similar to what polling and the federal estimates have shown. The Times analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Census Bureau and found a party split that was significant, though smaller.

In counties where a majority of residents voted for Mr. Trump in the 2020 election, adult vaccination rates were lower, on average, than in counties where a majority of residents voted for Mr. Biden. The rate was especially low in counties where Mr. Trump dominated, falling below 1 in 4 residents in counties where the former president won by a margin of 50 or more points.

The divide in vaccination rates remained even after accounting for a variety of factors, including infection rates, population density and educational attainment.

Counties where more residents voted for Trump often have lower vaccination rates Alabama 20% 40% 60% vaccinated Trump Biden Arizona Trump Biden Arkansas Trump Biden California Trump Biden Colorado Trump Biden Connecticut Trump Biden Florida Trump Biden Georgia Trump Biden Idaho Trump Biden Illinois Trump Biden Indiana Trump Biden Iowa Trump Biden Kansas Trump Biden Kentucky Trump Biden Louisiana Trump Biden Maine Trump Biden Maryland Trump Biden Massachusetts Trump Biden Michigan Trump Biden Minnesota Trump Biden Mississippi Trump Biden Missouri Trump Biden Montana Trump Biden Nebraska Trump Biden Nevada Trump Biden New Hampshire Trump Biden New Jersey Trump Biden New Mexico Trump Biden New York Trump Biden North Carolina Trump Biden North Dakota Trump Biden Ohio Trump Biden Oklahoma Trump Biden Oregon Trump Biden Pennsylvania Trump Biden Rhode Island Trump Biden South Carolina Trump Biden South Dakota Trump Biden Tennessee Trump Biden Texas Trump Biden Utah Trump Biden Vermont Trump Biden Virginia Trump Biden Washington Trump Biden West Virginia Trump Biden Wisconsin Trump Biden Wyoming Trump Biden Note: Shows share of adults who are fully vaccinated and includes states with at least five counties. Some states, including Virginia and Georgia, have a higher share of missing data in the county data they report to the C.D.C. than other states, resulting in county figures that appear lower over all. Vaccination rates for all counties in Hawaii, as well as some counties in California and Virginia, are not included in the C.D.C. data set and are not in the visualization. Alaska does not report election results at a county level. Figures are artificially low in three Massachusetts counties because of missing residency information, per the C.D.C.  Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Texas Department of State Health Services, Edison Research.

The vaccination data may not match the split predicted in the polling data because of the way the rollouts have been organized in the United States, with all states giving preference to older Americans early on and with younger adults in many states qualifying only recently. A recent poll showed that older Republicans were less resistant to becoming vaccinated than younger Republicans.

The rate of full vaccination for older adults in Republican-leaning counties was 5 percent lower than the national average, the Times analysis found, but the rate for younger adults was 18 percent below average. It is an indication that the partisan divide in vaccinations may actually grow wider as younger people become eligible for the vaccine nationwide.

Vaccination rates by age group and 2020 election results 2020 county margin Biden +20 Biden +10 Trump +10 Trump +20 Ages 65 and older Ages 18 to 64 +12% 10% more vaccinated than national avg. +6% +5% +3% +2% Near avg. +1% 6% 10% 11% 20% 19% 2020 county margin Biden +20 Biden +10 Trump +10 Trump +20 Ages 65 and older Ages 18 to 64 +12% 10% more vaccinated than national avg. +6% +5% +3% +2% Near avg. +1% 6% 10% 11% 20% 19% Note: The Times excluded seven states where significant federal data was missing.

Its possible that some of the differences in vaccination rates are driven by distribution issues and eligibility rules, said Jed Kolko, the chief economist at Indeed.com, who has studied partisan aspects of the pandemic. But as eligibility becomes more universal, the more the differences will be about hesitancy alone, he said.

The share of vaccine doses that each state uses may provide clues about how hesitancy will unfold going forward.

At the beginning of March, all states were able to administer a similar share of doses delivered to them. But now, some states are lagging. On average, the 10 states where residents were least hesitant to get the Covid-19 vaccine, according to federal estimates, have administered 82 percent of the doses that they have received. The 10 states where residents were most hesitant have used 72 percent.

Dr. Lisa Cooper, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity, said she was not surprised that conservative-leaning people might be less likely to want a vaccine.

These are people who were fed untruths about how this virus wasnt real, Dr. Cooper said. I think it is carrying through in the vaccination realm, too.

Average share of delivered doses reported as used 20 40 60 80 100% All other states 10 least-hesitant states 10 most-hesitant states Extra doses in Pfizer vials and inconsistencies in data reporting may result in the percentage of doses used adding up to more than 100.  Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

To be sure, there are counties that supported Mr. Trump in the last election and now have above-average vaccination rates.

Some officials in those counties said their rates have lately plateaued.

In Tama County, Iowa, where Mr. Trump won by a wide margin last year and the vaccination rate is above the national average, the health department runs a clinic a few days a week at a former juvenile correctional facility.

Until recently, staff and volunteers were regularly giving shots to about 120 to 150 people in a day, according to Shannon Zoffka, the executive director of the department and a registered Democrat. When the state expanded its eligibility rules to include all adults, she expected the phones to be ringing off the hook. Instead, she said, about 120 people made appointments for the entire past week.

When you hit that saturation point, you dont realize its coming, she said. It just happens.

Likewise, some counties that supported Mr. Biden are now lagging in vaccination efforts. In Hudson County, N.J., which supported Mr. Biden by a wide margin last year, about 25 percent of adult residents have been fully vaccinated.

David Drumeler, the deputy county administrator and a registered Democrat, said that there was not enough supply to meet the demand and that many residents, some of whom do not have cars, were having difficulty getting to mass vaccination sites elsewhere in the state. Mr. Drumeler said that the county was strictly policing a residency requirement in the county to make sure its supply was reaching its intended target.

Its so frustrating to be so low on the percentage of folks getting vaccinated when all our shots are getting into arms, Mr. Drumeler said. But hesitancy is not a hurdle we are encountering yet.

The situation is quite the opposite in Potter County, Pa., where Mr. Trump won by a wide margin, and where a recent drive-through vaccine clinic failed to draw large crowds.

Kevin Cracknell, who has spent 13 years as a registered nurse in the intensive care unit at the local hospital, said his biggest fear was that very few people in the area would get vaccinated and, as a result, waves of infection would continue to sweep through the community for years to come.

Mr. Cracknell, a registered Democrat, recalled a time this past January when patients with the virus  people he knew from town  began to fill the beds in his hospital.

Its like no other virus Ive seen in my life, he said. The damage it does to the lungs.

Mr. Cracknell let out a long breath. Most of my patients supported Trump, he said. I love them to death. I want them to succeed. I want them to be healthy.

So far, only about 15 percent of adults in the county have been fully vaccinated.
Buchinsky, Alfred Al, 87, of Philadelphia, passed away Dec. 27, 2020, at his home surrounded by his loving family. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. today, April 17, in Divine Mercy Parish, 218 W. Cherry St., Shenandoah, with Monsignor Ronald Bocian officiating. A visitation for family and friends will be held from 9 a.m. until time of Mass on today morning in Divine Mercy Parish. Burial will follow in St. Casimirs Parish Cemetery, Shenandoah Heights. Due to COVID-19, all masking and social distancing guidelines will be followed. Oravitz Home for Funerals Inc., Shenandoah, is trusted with the arrangements. To offer condolences, please visit www.oravitzhomeforfunerals.com.

Corson-Seemann, Kathryn Cynthia Marie, 61, of Bally, Pa., passed away Tuesday, April 13, 2021, at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest. Due to gathering restrictions, friends and family are invited to a walk-through visitation from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday, April 18, at Mann-Slonaker Funeral Home, 222 Washington Street, East Greenville, Pa. Guests will be required to wear masks and follow all social distancing protocols. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Kathys memory to Montgomery County SPCA, 1059 Sweisford Road, Perkiomenville, PA 18074. Online condolences may be recorded at www.mannslonakerfuneralhome.com.

Frank, James J. Jimmy, 76, of Indiana, Pa., and formerly of Tuscarora, died Friday evening at Indiana Regional Medical Center. Relatives and friends are invited to attend Divine Liturgy with Office of Christian Burial to be celebrated by the Rev. James Carroll at 11 a.m. today, April 17, from St. Mary Byzantine Catholic Church in Mahanoy City. Interment will follow in St. Marys Cemetery in Tuscarora. Friends may call at the church from 9:30 a.m. until time of Liturgy. David D. Jarrett Funeral Home, of Mahanoy City, is in charge of arrangements. Please visit www.jarrettfuneralhome.com for more information. Contributions in his name to Embassy of Hillsdale Park ATTN: Activities, P.O. Box 138, Hillsdale, PA 15746, would be appreciated.

Kurpell, Leonard E. Shiney, 81, of New Boston, passed away Thursday, April 8, at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, Allentown, surrounded by family. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. today, April 17, at St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish, 614 W. Mahanoy St., Mahanoy City, with the Rev. Leo J. Maletz officiating. Family and friends may call at 9 a.m. today at the church. Interment in All Saints Cemetery, Elysburg, will be private. The family requests that all gifts in memory of Lenny be made to St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish, 614 W. Mahanoy St., Mahanoy City, PA 17948. FOR THE SAFETY OF ALL PARTIES ATTENDING THE FUNERAL, CDC RESTRICTIONS REGARDING COVID-19 WILL BE ADHERED TO. Louis D. Truskowsky Funeral Home & Crematory Inc., Mahanoy City, is in charge of arrangements. Visit www.truskowskyfuneralhome.com.

Ramey, Diane Rose, rejoined her beloved parents and the Lord on April 5, 2021, following surgical complications in Hilton Head, S.C. Services will be held at noon today, April 17, at Oaks Ballroom in Glenolden, Pa. All are welcome to attend (masks required). In lieu of flowers, the family requests you make a donation in Dianes memory to United Cerebral Palsy of Central Pennsylvania.

Sandherr, Eleanor B. Icky, 97, of Orwigsburg, passed away Saturday, March 27. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 11 a.m. today, April 17, at Salem United Methodist Church in Orwigsburg, with Pastor Steward Warner officiating. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. until the time of service. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: Serving at the Crossroads, 1048 W. Baltimore Pike, H306, C/O Bobbi Hess, Media, PA 19063. Hamilton-Breiner Funeral Home & Cremation Services Inc. has been entrusted with the arrangements.

Shamonsky, Charles A., 80, of Virginia Beach, Va., and formerly of Hometown, died Monday, April 12, 2021, in Virginia Beach. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, April 19, in St. John XXIII Catholic Church, 307 Pine Street, Tamaqua. Interment in Sky-View Memorial Park, Hometown, will follow the Mass. Call 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 18, and 9 to 10:30 a.m. Monday, April 19, at the Zizelmann-Gulla Funeral Home, 500 East Broad Street, Tamaqua. Memorials in Charless name may be made to Hillside SPCA, PO Box 233, Pottsville, PA 17901. Attendees are reminded of the COVID-19 pandemic guidelines and are kindly asked to wear a mask and observe physical distancing. Online condolences may be made at www.zgfuneralhome.com. Arrangements are being handled by the Zizelmann-Gulla Funeral Home and Cremation Services Inc., Tamaqua.


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U.S. climate envoy John Kerry met with South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on Saturday as part of his trip aimed at raising global ambitions to tackle climate change.

He was greeted by Chung at the Foreign Minister's residence in Seoul, where they held talks ahead of a banquet.

Kerry arrived in South Korea after visiting China where he held two days of closed-door meetings with counterparts in Shanghai.

A climate change meeting has been called by U.S. President Joe Biden for next week.

Biden has invited 40 world leaders to the April 22-23 virtual climate summit.

The U.S. and other countries are expected to announce more ambitious national targets for cutting emissions and pledge financial help for climate efforts by less wealthy nations.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 19:52:14|Editor: huaxia

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ACCRA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The incidents of dead fish and live dolphins that were washed ashore at different places along the coast of Ghana were due to low oxygen concentration in the ocean, marine scientists said in a preliminary report.

Researchers at the Department of Marine and Fisheries Sciences at the University of Ghana, Legon, said in a release late Sunday that the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), which was significantly higher than expected probably due to low oxygen concentration on the ocean bed leading to the incidents.

"Results from water quality analyses showed that most parameters required for life in the ocean were within acceptable limits, except COD, which was significantly higher than expected," the statement said.

It added that "this oxygen demand would most likely create a condition of stress on living organisms that depend on dissolved oxygen in the water body."

"We confirm the identification of the marine mammals found along the coast as the melon-headed whale, a dolphin belonging to the Cetacean order," the scientists added.

The Nzema-East Municipal Assembly in the Western region reported last Thursday that about 200 live dolphins were washed ashore. Similarly, about 20 tons of dead fish were washed ashore the coast in the capital in the same period. Enditem
More than 3.5 million Michigan residents have gotten their first COVID-19 vaccine.

In addition to at least partial immunity against severe illness, theyve also each come away with a paper card that details when and where they got their shot. If they got the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, it also notes when they should return for their second dose.

While your COVID-19 vaccination record card isnt the only way to prove youve been vaccinated, its a good idea to hold onto it as it could be useful down the road.

Some businesses are rewarding customers who can present their vaccination card. Krispy Kreme is giving away one free doughnut per day to customers who can prove their vaccination, and Gun Lake Casino is offering $20 in free slot play to rewards members through May 31

MLive spoke with medical and public health officials to compile a list of things to consider regarding your vaccine card.

Do: Take a picture of your card

Carrying around this small piece of paper will likely leave it tattered and bent over time. Its also easy to lose. Take a photo to have a copy on your phone and/or for your records.

A photo could also be useful in the future if venues or airlines require proof of vaccination.

Requiring vaccination to travel wouldnt be a new concept if its implemented. You need a yellow fever vaccine to travel to certain parts of Africa and South America, for example, and there are 14 vaccines the CDC requires before anyone can immigrate into the U.S.

Dont: Post the photo online

Youve likely seen people on your social media feed sharing selfies with their card after vaccination. Health department officials dont recommend sharing your card in the photo however because it includes personal information including your date of birth.

We want you to post about it, we love that, said Lynn Sutfin, spokesperson for the state health department. But there are lots of scammers out there. Theyve been there throughout the pandemic and theyre targeting those individuals.

Do: Consider laminating your card after the second dose

Health officials say laminating your card is fine, but they recommend waiting until after your second dose. The Pfizer and Moderna shots require two doses spaced three and four weeks apart, respectively, while the Johnson & Johnson vaccine only requires one dose for maximum efficacy.

If a booster shot is needed at a later date, Sutfin said officials could always issue another card at that time. Even if you choose to laminate your card, you should still create a copy by scanning or taking a picture of the original.

Dont: Freak out if you lose it

Vaccination records are kept in a statewide system. The state isnt relying on you to keep your paper copy as proof youve gotten your shots. The vaccine registry includes the same information as on your card like what dose you got, when you got it, and even what lot number the dose came from.

If you lose your card, you should contact the provider where you got your shot to get another one. If you did not receive a vaccination card at your appointment, the CDC recommends contacting your vaccination provider site or your state health department to find out how you can get a card.

Read more on MLive:

43% of Michigan adults have received first vaccine dose; see numbers in your county

As Michigan restores restaurant jobs, industry is back to 84% of pre-pandemic levels

Michigan coronavirus data for Friday, April 16: Oceana, Mason counties move into top 10 for new cases

Whitmer urges antibody therapy as COVID-19 surge continues in Michigan
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Opening statements are scheduled for Tuesday in state Supreme Court, St. George, in the trial of a former political operative from Graniteville accused of sexually assaulting a woman in Willowbrook three years ago.

Jury selection began this past Monday in Naflan Dooles trial.

It marked the first start of a criminal jury trial since the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in March of last year.

Justice Alexander Jeong is presiding over the trial.

Doole, 25, is accused of attacking the woman around 5 p.m. on July 25, 2018, outside of 2800 Victory Blvd., which is the address for the College of Staten Island.

At the time, Doole was an assistant campaign manager for Charles Fall, a Democrat running for the North Shore Assembly seat. Fall won the election that November.

Multiple sources told the Advance/SILive.com the alleged victim was a volunteer for Falls campaign.

A criminal complaint alleges Doole forcibly held (the woman) down and subjected her to sexual contact.

Based on an investigation, the defendant was arrested a little over three months later on Nov. 2, 2018.

He was indicted on felony charges of first- and third-degree criminal sexual act (formerly classified as sodomy), attempted first-degree rape and first-degree sexual abuse.

The defendant also was accused of misdemeanor counts of forcible touching, sexual misconduct and attempted third-degree rape.

In addition, he was charged with giving alcohol to a person under the age of 21. That alleged action violates the state Alcoholic Beverage Control law and is a misdemeanor.

Doole has denied the allegations.

DEFENSE: CONSENSUAL

Its the defenses position that this was a consensual act between two adults, which will be supported by all the evidence, said defense counsel Mario Romano.

The attorney noted his firm tried the last criminal case on Staten Island before the pandemic and is handling the first case now that trials have resumed.

Were proud of the ability to do that, and were happy to do it, said Romano.

When Fall was contacted after Dooles arrest, he told the Advance/SILive.com he was horrified by the allegations. He said Doole was immediately fired.

My priority now is the victim and ensuring she is safe, that she is supported, and that I do everything in my power to assist her, Fall said. This is a complete betrayal of trust and I will never tolerate abuse of any kind  ever, he said.

Fall said then he was collecting further details and reaching out to the district attorneys office to offer whatever resources he could to ensure justice is served.

Fall also said he planned to personally reach out to other campaign volunteers to see if there were any issues.

POSSIBLE DEPORTATION

Doole has a lot at stake.

He could face up to 25 years behind bars if convicted of first-degree criminal sexual act, which is the top charge against him. The minimum sentence if convicted of that charge is five years.

Police said Doole is not a U.S. citizen.

As a result, he potentially faces deportation if convicted.
New Delhi, April 17 : The BJP on Saturday hit back on Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for playing politics over availability of oxygen in the state. Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said that Maharashtra has so far received the highest quantity of oxygen in the country.

Earlier, Thackeray, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had sought the Centre's permission to airlift medical oxygen from other states.

In a series of tweets on Saturday, Goyal said, "Saddened to see Thackeray's gimmicks on oxygen. The Government of India, with all stakeholders, is ensuring maximum oxygen production in India. We are currently producing 110 per cent of Oxygen generating capacity and diverting all available Oxygen from industrial use to medical use." In another tweet, Goyal said, "Maharashtra has so far received the highest quantity of Oxygen in India. The Centre is in touch with the state Governments on daily basis to assess their needs and help them in the best possible manner." Goyal pointed out that on Friday, the Prime Minister in his review meeting said that centre and states should work with synergy in this crisis. "With this background, shocked and saddened to see petty politics being played by Thackeray. He needs to stop his daily dose of shameless politics and take responsibility," Goyal said.

Goyal said that Maharashtra is suffering from an inept and corrupt government and the Centre is doing its best for the people.

"People of Maharashtra are following 'Majha Kutumb, Majhi Javabadari' (My family, My responsibility) dutifully. It is time the CM should also follow his duties in the spirit of 'Majha Rajya, Majhi Javabadari' (My State, My Responsibility)," he said.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Nigella Lawson is known for her lavish and luscious recipes.

But like everyone else, the cook has a number of guilty pleasures she indulges in when she doesn't feel like slaving over the stove.

The 61-year-old told this week's issue of Stellar Magazine she doesn't like things like pizza and chicken nuggets, and her deep-fryer doesn't get much use.

Guilty! Nigella Lawson (pictured) told Stellar magazine this week that she has a controversial favourite Australian food - the yeast extract spread, Vegemite

'That's not really my thing. Not out of any snobbishness, it's just there's so much wonderful food you can eat that doesn't involve cooking,' she said.

'Bread and cheese is always fabulous. I can get a tub of taramasalata and be very happy dipping blue corn chips into it.'

Nigella went on to tell the magazine that she has a controversial favourite Australian food - the yeast extract spread, Vegemite.

Oh! She even prefers it to the British alternative, Marmite - which is a similar yeast spread which is more popular over the pond. Pictured right: Vegemite and left, Marmite

Yummy! 'I am a bit of a traitor to my own country because I have Vegemite rather than Marmite on my toast. I adore it,' Nigella admitted

She even controversially prefers it to the British alternative, Marmite - which is a very similar yeast spread which is more popular over the pond.

'I am a bit of a traitor to my own country because I have Vegemite rather than Marmite on my toast. I adore it,' Nigella admitted.

In December, Nigella baffled fans with her pronunciation of microwave as 'meecro-wah-vey' in the latest episode of her BBC2 cooking show Cook, Eat, Repeat.

Snacks: Like everyone else, the cook has a number of guilty pleasures she indulges in when she doesn't feel like slaving over the stove, but doesn't like pizza and chicken nuggets

Tasty: 'Bread and cheese is always fabulous. I can get a tub of taramasalata and be very happy dipping blue corn chips into it' Nigella said of her favourite snacks

Taking to Twitter afterwards, the cookbook author has replied to dozens of fans explaining the joke, adding she hopes that the 'brouhaha' will be over now.

She offered an explanation for the unusual intonation, saying she knows that's not how it's really said but it's in fact a 'camp joke that's become habit'.

Nigella added on another fan it's part of her sense of humour to 'deliberately pronounce things wrong' and even joked she says Worcester as 'wusster-shusster'.

Laughs: In December, Nigella baffled fans with her pronunciation of microwave as 'meecro-wah-vey' in the latest episode of her BBC2 cooking show Cook, Eat, Repeat. She later explained it was a 'camp joke that's become habit'
Seasoned journalist, Kwesi Pratt has backed the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor to curb illegal mining (galamsey) that has become the bane of the economy.



The Minister, during a two-day National Consultative Dialogue on Small Scale Mining, cautioned against illegal mining stressing sanctions and penalties imposed by the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act 995) should be applied to all those who infringed the law, irrespective of political colour, socio-economic status or class.



In a communique, Hon. Abu Jinapor charged all political parties, stakeholder groups and individuals to join the development and execution of this national, not parochial, agenda to rid ourselves of the long-standing issue of illegal small-scale mining and the need to implement measures to eradicate it from our society.



Addressing the illegal mining during a panel discussion on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'', Mr. Pratt admired the bravery of the Minister to clamp down on illegal miners.



He urged Hon. Abu Jinapor not to give up the fight.



''He is a brave man...As I know Abu, if he doesn't succeed, it will disturb me a lot. If he doesn't succeed, who else will?'', he said.







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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Federal authorities on Saturday abruptly emptied an emergency shelter for unaccompanied migrant children, loading the 450 girls on buses and sending them to other facilities or placements with sponsors.

Authorities gave few reasons for the sudden move, but it came just days after the Houston Chronicle reported that immigrant advocates were raising concerns about crowding and other conditions at the shelter, which was operating in a warehouse near George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Compounding the chaos was the sudden death Friday night of an adult staffer from the Department of Health and Human Services working at the shelter.

An HHS spokesperson declined to specify the cause of death, citing privacy policies, but said it was unrelated to the transfer of the children. The agency declined to provide details of why children were removed from the shelter.

In a statement, the HHS said, The children being transferred are being moved to ensure continuity of care under conditions that meet our strict standards of care in (Office of Refugee Resettlement) state licensed shelters, the Carrizo Springs Influx Care Facility or Emergency Intake Sites where beds have become available.

The pastor who heads the organization that set up the shelter said the removal was sudden and unjustified, likening it to a drug raid. He said it came after the government first begged him to take the children, then failed to reimburse him for expenses, leading him to contact attorneys to help him claim what he said he was owed.

Jose Ortega, founder and president of the National Association of Christian Churches, the disaster-relief agency based in Houston that was awarded a federal contract to house unaccompanied minors who had been detained at the southern border, condemned the Health and Human Services Department.

Im a humble pastor that was thrown into this mess without asking for it, said Ortega, who said that HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra asked him to take the migrant children. After he scrambled to prepare for the boys he was told to expect, he learned he would be getting girls instead, he said. The government sent officials and employees of a contractor that took over the operation. He still had to pay the contractor hed hired, he said.

HHS officials did not respond to an email by Saturday evening with questions about Ortegas claims.

All the girls, ages 13 to 17, were expected to be gone by Saturday evening after several buses with tinted windows arrived and left the facility throughout the day. About 130 had plans to be reunited with a sponsor.

Mayor Sylvester Turners spokeswoman said that the White House had notified the mayor of the planned move, saying there is no longer a need for it because the immigrant children will be placed in other facilities or with family members.

Ortega accused federal authorities of threatening to arrest an organization board member for letting journalists into the facility.

He told the Chronicle in a later interview that he agreed to take on the task of setting up a shelter at the urging of HHS but claimed that he was not reimbursed for expenses he incurred in establishing the center and procuring goods and services for the care of the children.

Ortega said he last talked to Becerra on April 1, when he again begged me to open up the facility and sign this contract.

The situation escalated last week, Ortega said, with continued delays from HHS on paying him, until he informed them Friday night that he had retained attorneys.

I dont know anything about contracts, he said. Im a pastor. We were not looking for a contract, we were not applying for a contract for us to make money  this was thrown on us.

He said he got an email from HHS saying that the children would be removed Saturday and that federal officials would be in charge of the transfer. He said the girls were crying and that they didnt want to leave.

NACC representatives released letters they said were written by some of the girls in the facility to staff there. In one letter, the writer thanked the recipient for taking care of us and having patience with us. Another letter said, We dont know anything and were all crying and had a sad face drawn on the line between the phrases.

Two Houston-area congressional representatives embraced the announcement of young migrants being reunited with loved ones and the rest being connected with more well-resourced facilities, as did immigration advocates.

Rep. Sylvia Garcia told the Chronicle she had initial concerns about the facility when she first visited, including whether the organization would need more bathrooms, dining space, a full kitchen setup and staff and whether it would be able to appropriately isolate and quarantine anyone who experienced COVID-19 symptoms.

The organization also needed to formalize a complaint process and ensure lawyers had access to the youngsters, Garcia said, but it appeared conditions were improving. She noted the federal government has opened other facilities with more beds that could provide a different level of care for the migrants, which may be more suitable for the girls.

This was a temporary emergency facility, we never knew how long it would stay open, she said. They are moving the girls to put them in a place where they know they can get a better level of care.

Rep. Al Green said he believed the facility was never intended to be a permanent one. He did not have a definition of temporary, he said, but he saw it as a transitional place when he recently visited.

Im very pleased to see any child placed in an environment where theyll receive the attention that they richly deserve as children, Green said. My hope is that not only will this initial group receive a placement, but that they all will.

We welcome the statement that some of the girls are being reunited with their families immediately and that this center, which to us was subpar, is closing, said Cesar Espinosa, executive director of FIEL, an immigrant-led civil rights organization in Houston. Unfortunately at this moment we have more questions than answers. Our mission remains the same. We want to continue to put emphasis on children being reunited with their families not suffering more in detention centers.

Espinosa said he was still curious about the facility and its operator.

If its shutting down, it still raises a lot of questions, said Espinosa, who toured the shelter a week after it opened. It wasnt an appropriate place to have the young girls.

Olivia P. Tallet contributed to this report.

alejandro.serrano@chron.com

marcy.deluna@chron.com
Britain is on course to have delivered ten million second doses of the vaccine by the end of today, as the UK's jab rollout continues at breakneck speed.

Ministers are confident they will reach the milestone in protecting the population against Covid, with the ten millionth second jab expected to go into someone's arm today.

The speed of the UK's vaccine rollout is in contrast to other European countries, many of which have not yet hit ten million first doses.

Spain has delivered just nine million doses of the first jab, while Poland has administered six million. Meanwhile France has given 12 million first doses and Italy 10.3 million.

In the UK, 32.7 million people  almost half the total population  had received their first jab by Friday evening.

And by the same time, some 9,416,968 people across the UK had received their second dose, according to figures released last night.

That included 485,421 who received their second dose on Friday  a daily record for giving the 'top-up' jab, which provides enhanced and prolonged protection.

This is despite concerns of a supply slowdown this month. Sources said Nadhim Zahawi, the Vaccines Minister, has been signalling that April is 'second dose month'.

A senior Government source said the ten million milestone will 'most probably' be reached today. Insiders said they expect this to be achieved with about 500,000 people receiving their second jab yesterday and up to 300,000 more today. Saturday's figures will be released this afternoon and Sunday's tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the number of newly reported daily infections has continued to drop in the past week  falling 6.5 per cent to 2,206, as have the number of daily hospital admissions, down 12.8 per cent, and deaths, down 29.1 per cent.

Yesterday, it was also revealed that the number of people who have died worldwide with Covid has surpassed three million, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The speed of the UK's vaccine rollout is in contrast to other European countries, many of which have not yet hit ten million first doses

Almost 140 million cases have been recorded across the globe since the pandemic began.

Last Friday, Britain's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) gave the green light for pregnant women to receive either the Pfizer or Moderna Covid jabs, after 90,000 expectant mothers were given them in the US with no safety concerns.

Besides protecting the women themselves, the vaccines also induce protective antibodies which are passed to their offspring via the umbilical cord and in breast milk, US research has found.

However, a top pollster last night warned that convincing pregnant women to have a Covid jab could be 'a challenge'.

Johnny Heald, of polling firm ORB International, which is working with academics on the Vaccine Confidence Project, said: 'Women are more risk-averse than men  and pregnant women are particularly risk-averse. To take a vaccine while pregnant is a big step.

'I think there will need to be some more targeted campaigning, to convince pregnant women it's safe.

'Our polling shows that 25 to 45-year-old women are among the more hesitant demographic groups, in part because younger age groups are among the most likely to think Covid will not impact their health.'

The JCVI did not approve the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for use in pregnant women, as it has not been used on them in the US so there is no such safety data.

In the UK, 32.7 million people  almost half the total population  had received their first jab by Friday evening

The positive news is tempered by fresh concern over two Covid variants, first identified in South Africa and India, which the vaccines might offer less protection against.

So far 600 cases of the South African variant have been officially confirmed in the UK and 77 of the Indian variant  although the latter may be at least double that figure.

Hundreds of thousands of people in four London boroughs  Lambeth, Wandsworth, Southwark and Barnet  have been asked to be tested for the variant after outbreaks.

Professor Paul Hunter, of the University of East Anglia, said: 'I would expect because the Indian variant has got two escape mutations, the current vaccines will be less effective against it than the South African variant, although that has not been proven in the real world yet.'

Studies appear to show current vaccines are less effective at preventing infection resulting from the South African strain than the original or the Kent strain, in terms of mild to moderate symptoms.

But there is no clarity on whether the vaccines are less effective at stopping serious disease caused by the South African strain.

Public Health England last night admitted it did not know how many of the 600 people infected with the South African strain have needed hospital treatment, but said it was 'continuing to investigate'.
Space City needs to be a relevant name, not a relic, say Houston space leaders who are forming a new organization.

Space isnt just our history. Its Houstons future, said former NASA astronaut Jack 2fish Fischer. We dont want Space City to be something from the 60s. We want it to be forever and worldwide.

Houstons expertise is NASA, but todays space sector extends beyond the agencys purview. Commercial companies are launching people and could soon have their own space stations and lunar landers. The U.S. Space Force and Space Command are working to protect U.S. assets, mainly satellites, from adversarial countries.

Space City needs to be a destination for civil, commercial and military space, Fischer said, and thats why he helped create TexSpace. This organization is envisioned as a one-stop shop for promoting the space industry in Houston and across the state. Its seeking to attract companies, help provide access to the equipment and funding theyll need to thrive, and meet with Texas lawmakers as an industry advocate.

Some NASA history: 40 years after its pioneering launch, NASA's space shuttle leaves a 'mixed legacy.' Was it worth it?

Were just getting started, said Bob Mitchell, president of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership. Were trying to coordinate all these different opportunities.

TexSpace made its public debut last week. On Friday, its leaders will join 20 other companies and organizations for their first workshop.

Mitchell said the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership began discussing such an organization in early 2020, but the pandemic paused its efforts. Then he met Fischer, who is now the vice president of strategic programs for Intuitive Machines, a Houston company building a lunar lander.

Fischers nickname, 2fish, comes from his time with the Air Forces 391st Fighter Squadron. He was the second Fischer in the squadron, and Dr. Seuss One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish inspired the nickname.

Mitchell and Fischer had a similar vision, and their organizations teamed up. They also turned to Brandy Obvintseva, founder of marketing agency Gallant Culture, to create a brand around their vision. She helped pick the name and develop the website.

For now, TexSpace is little more than its website. But it has a phased plan for ramping up activity.

The first phase is connecting companies that are willing to share the hardware required for building and testing space technologies. For instance, a vibration table (which shakes items placed on top of it) is used to test hardware before its launched into space. Satellites cant have pieces fall off during their ride off this planet.

Rather than every company owning their own vibration table, which takes time to acquire and can cost millions of dollars for the equipment and maintenance, TexSpace is proposing that companies with expensive equipment like vibration tables allow other companies to use it. They would pay a fee significantly smaller than what itd cost to buy the equipment.

The gold rush of space: Venture capital investing in space startups

Similarly, the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnerships sister organization has an agreement with NASA where companies can pay to use the agencys specialized equipment. This agreement, created in 2012, has helped companies to access the Johnson Space Center more quickly.

In its next phase, TexSpace will turn its attention to the 2023 Texas legislative session. It hopes to become a nonprofit that, trusted with state money, can issue grants, tax breaks and other incentives to attract companies.

The Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership already uses incentives in its local work attracting companies, but these incentives are spread out across various state and local entities. TexSpace would like to consolidate them in one spot.

Ultimately, it wants to become a brand people trust for their space needs.

This type of branding has been successful in Florida. In 2006, the state legislature created an aerospace economic development agency called Space Florida.

To create Space Florida, the state dissolved three organizations - a research corporation that helped universities position themselves in space research, a spaceport authority that managed a launch complex and a finance corporation that provided aerospace funding - and took the best parts of each.

It does allow the state to speak with one voice, said Frank DiBello, CEO of Space Florida. It allows for a uniformity of policy to achieve objectives. It helps to guide new legislation to assure the growth of the industry in the state.

He said Space Florida mostly wields political and financial power. It doesnt manage incentives, but it helps companies find those incentives  as well as private funding that might be needed for a project. It also has some state funds, between $1 million and $6 million most years, to invest in companies.

Greg Autry, a clinical professor of space leadership, policy and business for Arizona State University, said Space Floridas biggest strength is signaling to companies and investors that the state wants their business. Florida lawmakers wont make it cumbersome to operate a space company.

They might even try to do something to help you if you ask, Autry said. Thats huge.

A local development: With Axiom, Houston Spaceport gets commercial space station tenant

TexSpace will initially be run out of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnerships office. It will be run by volunteers until it has funding to pay a full-time staff.

One day, it hopes to operate at the Houston Spaceport amid a cluster of thriving aerospace companies. The spaceports development has thus far been slow, but TexSpace hopes to become a catalyst.

We want to create an environment where these companies want to be here, Mitchell said.

andrea.leinfelder@chron.com

twitter.com/a_leinfelder
YANGON, Myanmar (AP)  Myanmars junta on Saturday released more than 23,000 prisoners to mark the traditional new year holiday, including at least three political detainees, and the military leader behind the February coup confirmed he would attend a regional summit later this month.

It wasnt immediately clear if those released included pro-democracy activists who were detained for protesting the coup. State broadcaster MRTV said that junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing had pardoned 23,047 prisoners, including 137 foreigners who will be deported from Myanmar. He also reduced sentences for others.

As security forces continued the deadly crackdown, unconfirmed but credible accounts with photos on social media said that three people were killed Saturday in the central city of Mogok, in Myanmars gem mining region.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which monitors casualties and arrests, government forces have killed at least 728 protesters and bystanders since the takeover. The group says 3,141 people, including ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, are in detention.

Among those released Saturday from Yangons Insein Prison were at least three political prisoners who were jailed in 2019. They are members of the Peacock Generation performing troupe who were arrested during that year's new year celebrations for skits that poked fun at military representatives in Parliament and military involvement in business.

Their traditional style of acting is called Thangyat, a mash-up of poetry, comedy and music with a sharp undertone of satire. Several members of the troupe were convicted under a law banning circulation of information that could endanger or demoralize members of the military. The actors may have drawn the special wrath of the military because they performed in army uniforms.

Several members were also found guilty of online defamation for livestreaming their performances. It's not clear if all of them were released.

Story continues

Another freed prisoner was Ross Dunkley, an Australian newspaper entrepreneur sentenced in 2019 to 13 years on charges of drug possession. His release was confirmed by his ex-wife Cynda Johnston, The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported.

Dunkley co-founded the The Myanmar Times, an English-language daily, but was forced to give up his share in it. He became well-known for co-founding or acquiring English-language publications in formerly socialist states that were seeking foreign investment, but was sometimes criticized for doing business with authoritarian regimes.

Early prisoner releases are customary during major holidays, and this is the second batch the ruling junta has announced since taking power.

Following the release of more than 23,000 convicts to mark Union Day on Feb. 12, there were reports on social media that some were recruited by the authorities to carry out violence at night in residential areas to spread panic, especially by setting fires. Some areas responded by setting up their own neighborhood watch groups.

In March, more than 600 people who were imprisoned for demonstrating against the coup were also released from Insein Prison, a rare conciliatory gesture by the military that appeared aimed at placating the protest movement. They were mostly young people caught in sweeps of street rallies while those considered protest leaders were kept locked up.

Neither the military government nor those opposed to it show any signs of backing off. Western nations have tried to pressure the military through diplomatic and economic sanctions with little effect.

Myanmars Southeast Asian neighbors, concerned about the prospects for regional instability, are also trying to get the junta to start back on the path to restoring democracy, or at least end its violent repression.

A spokesman for Thailands Foreign Ministry in Bangkok said Saturday that junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has confirmed he will attend a summit meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations  ASEAN  expected to be held on April 24.

Tanee Sangrat said in a text message to journalists that Brunei, the current chair of the 10-nation body, confirmed it had proposed the date for a meeting at the groups secretariat in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. Indonesia has taken the lead in calling for the special meeting to discuss the crisis in Myanmar.
Photo credit: WPA Pool - Getty Images

The Royal Family have attended the funeral for Prince Philip at Windsor Castle today.

Photographs and video footage have emerged showing the family looking sombre as they lay the Duke of Edinburgh to rest, eight days after he passed away at the age of 99.

The ceremony  held at St George's Chapel in Windsor, where previous royal events have included the royal weddings of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank  began at 3pm on Saturday April 17, which also marked the time when the nation held a minute's silence.

Ahead of the service, the Queen's car arrived at the chapel as the national anthem played.

Photo credit: JONATHAN BRADY - Getty Images

Due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, 30 people attended the ceremonial funeral, which was not a state funeral, in line with the late Duke's wishes.

The Queen, who left Windsor Castle with a Lady-in-Waiting in a Bentley earlier in the afternoon, sat by herself near the altar during the ceremony due to social distancing enforcements. Prince William and Prince Harry sat opposite each other in the chapel.

The Dean of Windsor presided over the ceremony with a blessing by the Archbishop of Canterbury and a four-member choir performance of music chosen by Prince Philip.

Photo credit: WPA Pool - Getty Images

During the service the Archbishop of Canterbury read aloud a prayer for the Duke, thanking him for "his resolute faith and loyalty, for his high sense of duty and integrity, for his life of service to the nation and Commonwealth, and for the courage and inspiration of his leadership".

"To him, with all the faithful departed, grant thy peace," he noted.

The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin was draped in his 12ft personal standard and decorated with wreaths chosen by Her Majesty, in addition to his Admiral of the Fleet Naval Cap and sword.

The Duke of Edinburgh's grandchildren, brothers Prince William and Prince Harry, were seen together for the first time in over a year as the Duke of Sussex has been living in California after stepping back as a senior working member of the Royal Family last year. The brothers walked in a line together, with their cousin, Peter Philips in between them.

Story continues

Prior to the service, Prince Philip's coffin was flanked by his and the Queen's four children, Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.

Military bands in the grounds of Windsor played music selected by the Duke, which included 'Jerusalem' and Elgar's 'Nimrod', while troops bowed their heads and the Land Rover  is acting as a hearse  drove into the quadrangle of Windsor Castle.

Photo credit: ADRIAN DENNIS - Getty Images

Photo credit: HANNAH MCKAY - Getty Images

Prince Harry attended the funeral alone as his wife Meghan Markle, who is currently pregnant with the couple's second child, had been advised not to fly by her physicians.

Kate Middleton was also seen in attendance at the service with her husband the Duke of Cambridge, while their children and the rest of Prince Philip's great-grandchildren stayed at home.

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Photo credit: JUSTIN TALLIS - Getty Images

This week, Kensington Palace shared previously unseen photographs taken by the Duchess of Cambridge to pay tribute to Prince Philip. One photo showed the Queen's unofficial consort surrounded by seven of his great-grandchildren at Balmoral, while another showed him at the wheel of a carriage, with a young Prince George sat by his side in Norfolk.

Other guests at the service included the Duchess of Cornwall, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, Zara and Mike Tindall, Princess Beatrice, Edoardo Mapello Mozzi, Princess Eugenie, Jack Brooksbank , Viscount Severn and Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, Lady Sarah and Mr Daniel Chatto, the Earl of Snowdon, Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy, the Hereditary Prince of Baden, the Landgrave of Hesse, Prince Philipp of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and the Countess Mountbatten of Burma.

Photo credit: KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH - Getty Images

Following the service, the Duke of Edinburgh was interred in the Royal Vault of St George's Chapel. The BBC reports the coffin was placed on a marble slab in the Quire.

The Duke of Sussex and Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were photographed chatting as they walked out of the service.

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Vienna, April 17 : Iran's top negotiator at nuclear talks under way in Vienna said on Saturday that the discussions were on the right track and consultations would continue.

Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Iranian media that "good discussions" had been held among the delegations from Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany, dpa news agency reported.

"It seems that a new understanding is emerging and there is now common ground ... on the final goal," Araghchi was quoted as saying by state television.

According to Araghchi, Iran has drafted a roadmap to serve as the basis on which the Islamic Republic could return to its technical commitments in the nuclear deal while the US lifts sanctions.

Araghchi cautioned that there remain "serious disagreements," but said that technical consultations would go on in the coming days.

The negotiators have been meeting in working groups in the Austrian capital for more than a week.

The goal is to revive the 2015 nuclear deal that was crafted to constrain Iran's nuclear programme. It has been hanging by a thread since 2018, when then-president Donald Trump pulled the US out of the accord and Tehran began to increasingly violate its terms.

Iran announced a major hike in its uranium enrichment programme this week, igniting fresh fears over the ability of the country to produce nuclear weapons.

The US has a team present but is not engaging in direct talks with their Iranian counterparts. Instead, other delegations serve as intermediaries.

Russian diplomat Mikhail Ulyanov tweeted on Saturday that the latest high-level round of talks had ended with participants showing "determination to continue negotiations with a view to complete the process successfully as soon as possible." He said the progress made so far had been "noted" but, like Araghchi, did not provide details.

Negotiators are trying to get both Iran and the United States to fully recommit to the deal, which would mean Iran coming back into compliance and Washington easing sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy.
Britain's roadmap from coronavirus lockdown could be derailed by the emergence of a new Covid mutation from India, a leading scientist has today warned.

The mutant strain, which has already been found in the UK, is thought to be the cause of a huge second wave of infections across the south-Asian nation.

The country, of more than 1.3billion people, had 176,000 new cases on Thursday - a rate of 127 cases per million people, compared to 23 per million in the UK.

But the Government has so far left India off the mandatory hotel quarantine list - unlike neighbouring countries Bangladesh and Pakistan.

That's despite experts believing that the Indian variant not only speeds up transmission, but also features an 'escape mutation' which could possibly impact on the effectiveness of vaccines.

And experts warn this could impact on the current roadmap out of lockdown, which in England could see all restrictions lifted by June 21.

Imperial College's Danny Altmann said the UK should be 'terribly concerned' about the possible impact of the Indian variant.

He told the BBC: 'They (variants of concern) are things that can most scupper our escape plan at the moment and give us a third wave. They are a worry.'

Imperial College's Danny Altmann (pictured) said the UK should be 'terribly concerned' about the variant

Britain's roadmap from coronavirus lockdown could be derailed by the emergence of a new Covid mutation from India, a leading scientist has today warned. Pictured: A Covid patient in Lok Nayak Jai Prakash

The country, of more than 1.3billion people, had 176,000 new cases on Thursday - a rate of 127 cases per million people, compared to 23 per million in the UK. Pictured: A health worker takes a nasal swab sample of a woman to test for COVID-19 at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus railway station in Mumbai

In this aerial picture taken on April 16, relatives and friends gather to bury the dead bodies of Covid-19 coronavirus victims at a graveyard in New Delhi

Prof Altmann said he found it 'mystifying' and 'slightly confounding' that those flying in from India were not required to stay in a hotel.

His warning comes after it was announced that 77 cases of the variant had been discovered in the UK.

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE INDIA VARIANT? Real name: B.1.617 When and where was it discovered? The variant was first reported as being of concern by the Indian government in late March. The first cases appear to date back to October 2020. What mutations does it have? The two main mutations are named E484Q and L452R, which scientists suspect can help it to transmit faster and to get past immune cells made in response to older variants. Those mutations are routinely not found on other variants monitored by Public Health England. How many people in the UK have been infected with it? 77 people so far, according to a report published on April 15. Their locations are unknown. Advertisement

Public Health England said the strain - known as B.1.617 - was under investigation 'due to sustained international transmission'.

Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, said the variant featured two 'escape mutations'  E484Q and L452R.

These essentially make its easier for the virus to slip past antibodies - which a person can get through vaccinations or previous infection.

Professor Hunter told ITV: 'There's laboratory evidence that both of these are escape mutations.

'Basically, applying what we know about other human coronaviruses would suggest that this is going to be even less controlled by vaccine.

'But we don't know that for certain at the moment.'

Despite the concern, India is not currently on the Government's 'red list' for travel.

The red list sees people who have been in those countries in the previous 10 days refused entry to the UK.

British or Irish nationals, or people with UK residency rights, are able to return from red list countries but must isolate in a quarantine hotel for 10 days.

Boris Johnson is due to visit India later this month - in his first international since the Brexit deal with the EU was reached.

The UK is hoping to secure a 50billion trade deal with the south-Asian country.

Downing Street has defended leaving India off the hotel quarantine list and said the register is 'under constant review'.

Neighbouring Bangladesh and Pakistan, however, are included on the list despite their outbreaks being only a third of the size.

India's not on the UK's red list but Pakistan and Bangladesh are, despite currently having smaller outbreaks

So far, seventy-three of the 77 cases have been in England and four in Scotland.

WHICH COUNTRIES ARE ON THE RED LIST? Angola

Argentina

Bangladesh

Bolivia

Botswana

Brazil

Burundi

Cape Verde

Chile

Colombia

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Ecuador

Eswatini

Ethiopia

French Guiana

Guyana

Kenya

Lesotho

Malawi

Mozambique

Namibia

Oman

Pakistan

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Qatar

Rwanda

Seychelles

Somalia

South Africa

Suriname

Tanzania

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Uruguay

Venezuela

Zambia

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The first of them date back to February, The Guardian reports, although no announcement was made until yesterday.

Public Health England generally only makes the announcement when it becomes clear that the variant could be dangerous.

Variations of the virus crop up all the time and when cases first appear it is difficult to tell if they are significant or not, or whether there is any trend.

A similar delay happened before testing started to pick up the South Africa variant. PHE officials knew that variant was spreading in Britain in December but didn't start testing communities to weed it out until February.

The Indian variant was first spotted by scientists in March when it was described by the government in New Delhi as a 'double mutant'.

They suggested that the variant had formed as a hybrid of two other strains and that it showed signs of being more infectious and less easily targeted by the immune system.

Two key mutations set it apart from others  named E484Q and L452R  with both of them found on the 'spike' that the virus uses to latch onto human cells.

These are not thought to be key mutations of any of the other variants on Public Health England's list, but have appeared in virus samples before.

Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist at Reading University, said at the time: 'As for the L452R mutation, we're still waiting for a proper definition of what it does.'

The arrival of the India variant in the UK, and the fact that the country is seeing a massive resurgence in Covid-19 cases, do not seem to have set off alarm bells in the Foreign Office.

India is still not on the red list, which means travellers would have to go into hotel quarantine in case they have coronavirus, despite its close neighbours being on the list even though they have smaller outbreaks.

A No 10 spokesman said today: 'We add and remove countries based on the latest scientific data and public health advice from a range of world-leading experts.

'We keep it under constant review and we won't hesitate to introduce tougher restrictions and add countries if we think it is necessary.'

Surge testing is being done in London to weed out cases of the South Africa variant, which experts describe as 'the most worrying' strain

India is going through a rough second wave of the virus, with higher infection rates than during the first explosion in cases last summer.

A staggering 175,910 new cases were diagnosed yesterday, almost treble the 65,000 cases on April 1.

Boris Johnson will visit India on April 26 and his team insist 'all elements of the trip will be Covid-secure'.
Morgan Stanley suffered a 660million loss from the meltdown of hedge fund Archegos Capital last month.

The Wall Street bank took a beating along with several other lenders, including Credit Suisse and Nomura, when Archegos became unable to pay back the money it had borrowed.

Blow: The hit left a blot on Morgan Stanley's otherwise-healthy first-quarter results

The hit left a blot on Morgan Stanley's otherwise-healthy first-quarter results, as it posted profits of 3billion  up from 1.2billion a year earlier  driven by strong trading, deal-making and wealth management revenues.

Chief executive James Gorman said: 'We are never happy taking a loss, but we have to deal with the facts in reality and get it done.'

Archegos, which manages the wealth of billionaire Bill Hwang's family, got into trouble after a few stocks which the firm had placed big bets on  including US media titans Viacom CBS and Discovery  started to fall in value.

Goldman Sachs, one of Archegos's prime brokers, acted quickly, meaning it suffered hardly any losses.

Gorman said firms such as Archegos are 'not bad per se' and urged regulators not to 'throw the baby out with the bathwater'.
New Delhi, April 18 : Emphasising that there is no substitute to testing, tracking and treatment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday at a meeting to review the country's Covid preparedness that all necessary measures must be taken to ramp up the availability of beds for Covid patients.

The Prime Minister said that together India had defeated Covid-19 last year and the country can do it again, with the same principles but in better coordination.

Modi said, "Early testing and proper tracking remain key to reduce mortality. The local administrations need to be proactive and sensitive to the concerns of the people." Emphasising on close coordination with the states to fight the pandemic, Modi said that additional supply of beds through temporary hospitals and isolation centres should be ensured.

While reviewing the status of the supply of Remdesivir and other medicines, he talked about the need to utilise the full potential of India's pharmaceutical industry to meet the rising demand for various medicines.

The Prime Minister was briefed by the officials that the manufacturing of Remdesivir has been ramped up to provide around 74.10 lakh vials per month in May, while the normal production output in January-February was about 27-29 lakh vials per month.

Talking about resolving the issues related to real-time supply chain management, he said that the use of Remdesivir and other medicines must be in accordance with approved medical guidelines and their misuse and black marketing must be strictly curbed.

On the issue of supply of medical oxygen, Modi said that the installation of approved oxygen plants should be sped up. A total of 162 PSA Oxygen plants are being installed in 32 states/UTs using the PM-CARES Fund.

The officials also informed the Prime Minister that one lakh oxygen cylinders are being procured which will be supplied to the states soon, while constant supply to the 12 high burden states is being made by assessing the current and future requirement of medical oxygen.

The Prime Minister also reviewed the status of availability of ventilators.

On the issue of vaccination, Modi directed all the officials to make efforts to utilise the entire national capacity, in public as well as private sector, to ramp up vaccine production.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Under the plan, companies would be subject to a 21 percent tax on income reportedly earned in other countries, alongside the 28 percent tax on domestic profits. Companies would get credit for taxes paid to foreign governments; the United States would collect the rest. A company that reported $1 billion in earnings in a country with a 10 percent tax rate would pay $100 million in taxes in that country and an additional $110 million to the U.S. Treasury Department. This simple fix would sharply reduce the incentive to shift profits to low-tax countries.

Setting the tax rate on foreign profits at the same level as the rate on domestic profits would further reduce incentives for profit shifting. But among the developed democracies that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the average corporate tax rate is 23.5 percent. A higher tax rate on foreign profits could place some of the legitimate foreign activities of American firms at a competitive disadvantage.

The Biden administration also is pressing for an international agreement to establish a minimum corporate income tax rate, so foreign corporations could not continue to make use of tax havens. The benefits would extend beyond the United States. Developing nations are particularly reliant on corporate tax revenue. The International Monetary Fund estimates that profit shifting deprives them of $200 billion in annual revenue.

An international deal, however, is not a prerequisite for carrying out the balance of the Biden plan. The legitimate foreign business of American companies is mostly conducted in nations with relatively high corporate tax rates. And even without a deal, the United States could put pressure on tax havens.

The Biden plan would impose tax penalties on the American arms of foreign companies based in countries that maintain low rates. The Obama administration deployed a similar strategy in 2010 to crack down on tax evasion by wealthy individuals by penalizing foreign banks that did not give client information to the Internal Revenue Service.

Corporations and many economists caution that higher tax rates will discourage investment by increasing the return necessary for an investment to be profitable. They say workers will feel the pain of higher tax rates, too, in the form of slower wage growth.

But recent history belies such bleak predictions. After all, before the 2017 tax cuts, American corporations paid about 40 percent more in income taxes each year. A comparison with the rest of the developed world is also instructive. In the United States, the taxation of corporate profits amounted to just 0.96 percent of gross domestic product in 2018, compared with 3.14 percent in the average developed democracy, according to O.E.C.D. data.
Since the past few days ago, the number of Covid-19 cases is on the rise in Nepal. Likewise, there are reports that the new variant of the coronavirus has also been detected in the country. All of these have created fear of the impending Covid-19 second wave among Nepalis.

Regarding this issue, Dr Krishna Prasad Paudel, the director of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division under the Ministry of Health, explains why the current level of risk associated with the spread of the coronavirus infection in Nepal is much higher than that was in the past.

1. Past mistakes

Like many countries, Nepal did not have the experience to deal with the pandemic last year as it was totally unprecedented. However, as of now, the country and the people have some experience.

Despite this, people made some mistakes. Especially in the last three months, many people have been underestimating the coronavirus. As a result, the number of new cases is increasing every day. The daily infection rate seems to be more than 10 per cent (of the samples tested) by now. This increment indicates that the risk has increased.

2. Community-level spread

File: Antigen test kits for coronavirus

Recent results of the antigen tests conducted near the Nepal-India border areas and at the community level show that the infection has increased within the community.

The increased number of infected people in hospitals also indicates the same thing.

3. The new variants

The infection is spreading faster than before and new variants of the Covid-19 virus have also been detected. Random sampling concludes that the new variants are two to three times more infective than previous variants.

4. No restrictions

Last year, the lockdown was imposed to fight the pandemic, which led to a slowdown in the spread of the infection. However, this is not the case now. Schools, public vehicles, and other crowded areas are operating now. All of these add to the increased risk of the spread of the Covid-19.

5. Difficulties in contact tracing

Contact tracing is not possible without the support of every individual and household. In some places, when a health worker goes to collect swabs, people refuse to be tested citing the lack of symptoms. This tendency is fatal for society itself. If the infection cannot be detected and isolated in time, the risk increases.

6. Limited resources and coordination skills

File: Tents set up to be used as a dummy quarantine site for training Nepal Army heald workers against coronavirus infection, in Kathmandu, on Sunday., March 15, 2020.

Nepal is not perfect in quarantine, contact tracing, testing, and isolation. While doing so, there have been shortcomings and weaknesses. There are other challenges as well. Not all people understand the seriousness of the pandemic. The lack of coordination between local, provincial, and federal governments fighting to control the pandemic is another challenge.

The EDCD also has its own limitations. It has a small team. On top of that, while focusing on the Covid-19 pandemic, it should not affect the work that needs to be done regularly against malaria, kala-azar and other contagious diseases.

The division fighting the pandemic by solving such problems. It is not in favour of remaining silent saying that it has done everything and there is nothing left to do.

The infection can be reduced if other sides also understand that there is still a battle to be fought.
A statue of Furman University's first Black student, Joseph Vaughn, was unveiled as the focal point of the new Joseph Vaughn Plaza in front of the James B. Duke Library.

We very purposefully placed it here, in the center of campus, the most prominent and heavily-trafficked part of Furman, said Furman President Elizabeth Davis during the April 16 ceremony.

Vaughn was a member of the Baptist Student Union, ROTC, the Collegiate Educational Service Corps, the Southern Student Organizing Committee and the cheerleading squad. He graduated cum laude in 1968 with degrees in French and English. He taught English in the Greenville County school system until 1969 and served as president of the Greenville County Association of Teachers and the South Carolina Education Association. He died in 1991.

The statue was made by sculptor Steven Whyte, who watched the ceremony from his studio in Carmel, Calif.

Vaughn showed bravery coming to Furman as the first Black student. He once found a noose on his residence hall room door.

"[The statue] represents a turning point in civil rights and racial justice  for Furman, for Greenville and the Upstate, and for South Carolina," said Ed Good, chair of Furman's Board of Trustees, who attended Furman when Vaughn was there.

Marcus Tate, a former Furman student and cousin of Vaughn, said when he attended the university there were events to raise awareness about racism but it never went beyond that.

"Now, there is a statue and plaza representing Furmans consistent move forward in emphasizing that the only color that matters here on this campus is purple," he said.

Some Black students currently at Furman who attended the ceremony felt conflicted. They were happy to see Vaughn honored but wanted to see more action to make Black students feel welcomed and to combat microaggressions  everyday slights aimed at historically marginalized groups.

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Kyndall Shaw, Amari Hill and Sabria Bowman had front seats for the ceremony while working on homework at a table on the library's front porch.

"It's a great step in the right direction honoring the first Black student, but they're not taking correct steps to actively advocate for Black students on campus," Bowman said. Her friends agreed.

For the fall semester of 2019, Furman had 2,629 undergraduate students  6 percent were Black, and 80 percent white.

Myrella Samuels, who attended Furman 10 years ago, drove from Spartanburg for the ceremony.

"A lot of things happened here that were very damaging," she said. "There was a portion of time here where I was terrified."

Samuels said it is hard to address subtle racism, such as someone assuming Black students aren't as smart as white students. "And the problem is only magnified when you leave Furman and enter the real world," she said.

Samuels ran into her former band student at Spartanburg High School, Makala Fuller, at the ceremony. Fuller said she is the only Black student in the chemistry department.

Fuller was disappointed at the turnout for the ceremony, which drew about 100 attendees. It was an opportunity for her fellow students to show their support with the unveiling scheduled during a 30-minute period on Friday when classes aren't scheduled, she said. She is helping plan a campus concert event which already has significantly more interest from students.

"Change has to come from the majority but it's the minority pushing for change," she said.

Fuller said she would like to see a resource center on campus for Black students to process racial trauma. Furman currently has a Task Force on Slavery and Justice, which recommended the creation of the statue and plaza.

The Furman University that stood in the 1960s is not the Furman University that stands here today, said Qwameek Bethea, president of Furman's NAACP chapter, at the ceremony. But we must not let his legacy of change go unanswered.
Berlin, April 17 : German Chancellor Angela Merkel received on Friday her first dose of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, she announced via government spokesman Steffen Seibert on Twitter.

"I am delighted to have received my first vaccination with AstraZeneca today. I thank everyone involved in the vaccination campaign -- and everyone who gets vaccinated. Vaccination is the key to overcoming the pandemic," Merkel was quoted as saying, Xinhua news agency reported.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is now only recommended for people aged over 60 in Germany. Its use for younger people remained optional at doctors' discretion for people without an increased risk of blood clots. The chancellor is 66 years old and thus falls into the group of those eligible for AstraZeneca vaccine in Germany.

Over three and a half months after the start of the Covid-19 vaccination program in Germany, more than 5.3 million people had been fully vaccinated as of Thursday, bringing the country's vaccination rate to 6.4 percent, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the federal government agency for disease control and prevention.

As of Thursday, a total of 20,744,105 vaccine doses had been administered in Germany as the country recently stepped up its vaccination campaign. Starting from last week, vaccine shots are not only administered at national vaccination centers and by mobile teams, but also available at general practitioners (GPs).
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A New Dorp man, who is serving a stiff sentence for his role in the alleged mob-linked slaying of a jeweler in West Brighton 13 years ago, wants to be sprung from prison, alleging he was bullied into pleading guilty.

In a neat, hand-printed eight-page letter, John (Wizzie) DeLutro told Brooklyn federal court Judge Carol Bagley Amon he was force(d) into taking a plea deal during a prison visit by his lawyer, father and uncle in February 2010.

I am human, Your Honor, and I was scared and bullied into taking a binding plea to save me from a life sentence, a life sentence I could never get, wrote DeLutro, who is in his mid-40s.

DeLutro implored Amon to reduce his 20-year sentence. Authorities allege he has ties to the Genovese crime family.

Im actually innocent, he wrote. " I ask for house arrest, more probation, ankle bracelet, anything.

In February 2010, DeLutro pleaded guilty in Brooklyn federal court to robbery conspiracy in connection with the fatal shooting of Louis Antonelli, 43, on April 29, 2008, outside El Sabor Tropical restaurant.

The victim had a basement storage area at 280 Broadway and was expected to be carrying hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and gems, said Brooklyn federal prosecutors.

Jeweler Louis Antonelli was gunned down outside a West Brighton restaurant on April 29, 2008.

Authorities said DeLutro had been scouting out the restaurant. Besides keeping an eye on the area, DeLutro was in near-constant telephone contact with one of his accomplices, said prosecutors.

A co-defendant, Charles Santiago, shot the victim before fleeing empty-handed with another man, said authorities.

In his letter, DeLutro insisted the robbery was not planned, and he left before anything happened.

I specifically tell you that I never planned this, envisioned this or carried this crime out, he wrote. But I walked away and respected the law. Me simply being there and at the wrong time and place has probably painted me as  this terrible bad person who was involved in this barbaric crime.  I went there, had a conversation and then turned down the situation in front of me and left.

It sounds like a crazy, stupid story, but its the truth, wrote DeLutro.  I had withdrawn from the robbery and never intended for anyone to be harmed. I am no angel, Your Honor, and made my share of mistakes, but I respected the law and walked away.

However, according to the minutes of his February 2010 plea hearing, DeLutro admitted he had discussed committing a robbery.

Detectives rope off the crime scene at Castleton Avenue and Broadway. (Robin George for the Staten Island Advance)STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE

I caught wind of a man carrying goods, he said. I engaged in conversation and conspired to rob a person with one other person. I conspired to do this.

He also admitted to being at the crime location.

With respect to his plea, DeLutro said the government gave his lawyer, father and uncle special permission to see him on a non-visit day to force him to plead guilty.

He said he was told he had 48 hours to accept a deal with a 20-year sentence or go to trial and get life.

I thought I was in a nightmare, he wrote.

PRIOR ATTEMPT AT FREEDOM

DeLutro has already taken one swing at freedom and missed.

Last month, Amon rejected a defense motion for compassionate release due to the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The judge said there was a low incidence of the disease at the federal prison in Danbury, Conn., where DeLutro is housed.

DeLutro also contended early release was justified by disparities between his sentence, which is longer than those of co-defendants in the case.

However, Amon said those individuals received shorter prison terms because they had cooperated with the government.

In addition, at DeLutros sentencing she had said his plea agreement reflects that he was engaged in other criminal conduct that he was not convicted of.

A spokesman for Brooklyn federal prosecutors declined comment on DeLutros motion.

Arnold Kriss, DeLutros lawyer at his plea and sentencing, referred all questions to Anthony DiPietro, his current attorney.

DiPietro did not immediately respond to a phone message and email seeking comment.



RELATED COVERAGE: The mob on Staten Island
Mexican senators on Thursday voted for the extension of the Supreme Court chief justice's term for two more years. The move sparked criticism from lawmakers of the opposition, who dubbed it as a move to strengthen the ruling party's hold on the country's institutions.

Mexican Supreme Court head Arturo Zaldivar was appointed in January 2019. His term was supposed to end on Dec. 31, 2022. Zaldivar is known to be a supporter of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

According to Senate lawmakers, the proposal for Zaldivar's term extension was approved by a large majority, The Chronicle Herald reported.

READ NEXT: Abbott Wants Mexican Drug Cartels to be Designated As Foreign Terrorists

Mexican President Backs Supreme Court Head's Term Extension

On Friday, Lopez Obrador expressed his support on the Senate's decision to give the Supreme Court head another two years in office. It was also highly criticized by the opposition.

According to Reuters, critics have expressed dismay over the Senate's decision, saying it could be a ploy to bring the Supreme Court to favor the President and his leftist MORENA party. Some also said that it could be a test of the possibility to extend presidential terms. Mexican presidents can only serve a single six-year term.

While the Senate and the President have already expressed their support, the Supreme Court head's term extension still needs to be approved by the lower house. Once approved, Arturo Zaldivar's term would be extended until Nov. 30, 2024.

When he was asked about the vote, Lopez Obrador noted that while he was the one who had sent the reform package to Congress, it was the Senate that takes up to extend Zaldivar's term, Today Online reported. The president added that if that meant the reform would pass, then he supported it.

In a statement, Emilio Alvarez, an independent senator, stated that MORENA was succumbing to the same abuses of power of the country's previous ruling parties. He named these parties as the centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the center-right National Action Party (PAN).

Alvarez also dubbed the move as unconstitutional and argued that the proposed changes were submitted by MORENA at the last minute, giving lawmakers very little time to review them properly.

Critics continued to speculate that the Mexican president is seeking to extend his term despite his repeated claims that he will not do so. It can be recalled that back in May 2020, the Supreme Court has already struck down the law proposed to extend the term of the Baa California's governor.

Zaldivar, who Lopez Obrador made head of the Supreme Court, has yet to comment on his proposed term extension.

In a statement, the Federal Judiciary Board, whose president is Arturo Zaldivar, said it was not involved with the term extension proposal. The board added that it would wait for the outcome of the lower house vote before giving additional comments.

READ MORE: Mexican President Says Mexico's Future is Coal Not Renewable Energy

WATCH: Lo que hizo el Senado con Suprema Corte es inconstitucional: Diego Valades, abogado - From El Financiero Bloomberg




Haiti - Weather ALERT : Sahara sand dust and sulfur dioxide clouds





A cloud of dust from the Sahara mixed with ash from the erupting Soufriere volcano on the island of Saint Vincent is expected to affect air visibility in the Caribbean and Atlantic region and could persist until next Tuesday.



Clouds of sulfur dioxide, due to the eruption of the volcano could reach Haiti during this weekend and have negative effects on health, such as irritation of the eyes, skin, respiratory problems and headaches in most sensitive people.



In relation to the passage of this large-scale phenomenon, the Meteorological Forecasting Center of the Hydro Meteorological Unit of Haiti in concert with the General Directorate of Civil Protection and the Permanent Secretariat for Risk and Disaster Management (SPGRD), asks to the population to avoid too much exposure to the open air, to wear masks, protective glasses and hats during the next four days.



Recommendations :

Avoid going out if you don't have to;

People with bronchitis or asthma should stay safe and avoid exposure;

Close the windows;

Cover the cisterns and stock up on water;

Protect your eyes with glasses and use protective masks.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Auto Shanghai 2021 opens its doors soon

Just a few days to go until Auto Shanghai, one of the worlds biggest automotive trade fairs, opens its doors in Chinas business metropolis. From April 21-28, 2021, about 1,000 international exhibitors will showcase their latest cars, products and intelligent solutions for the industry in 12 halls at the Shanghai National Exhibition and Convention Center. April 19 and 20 are the Media Days.

Under the motto Embracing Change, Auto Shanghai will focus on major trends in the automotive industry like electromobility, connectivity, autonomous driving and new mobility concepts. Established car manufacturers and suppliers as well as newcomers all are adapting their portfolio to the profound changes, those developments together with digitalization bring with them.
(Photo : Screenshot From Pexels Official Website) Attorneys are Pushing 'EyeDetect' as Actual Lie Detecting Evidence: Accuracy at 90%

Converus, a company based in Lehi, has stated that its EyeDetect technology is capable of telling, by up to 90% of the time, if someone is lying. This is different from the polygraph which looks for changes in heart rate, breathing pattern, or even whether they are actually starting to sweat.

Converus President/CEO Talks About EyeDetect

According to Fox13now, Todd Mickelson, the President/CEO of Converus recently stated that unlike the polygraph test, the new EyeDetect would look for the changes in pupil size, amongst other things, to tell if someone is lying. Mickelson noted that people can learn how to control their breathing, how to relax, and how to not sweat. What people can't do is control the involuntary changes that happen in someone's eyes.

EyeDetect works by using an eye tracker in order to record the changes in pupil size along with just about 100 other different factors. This includes how fast the subject would read the question and how fast they would answer it. The tool will work by capturing around half a million points during just a 15-minute test.

The data collected will then go through an algorithm which would give a score of 1 to 100. People getting scores closer to 1 are then thought as lying and those scoring close to 100 would be thought of as more truthful.

EyeDetect for Criminal Court Cases

More attorneys are currently asking judges to push EyeDetect tests for criminal court cases. Mickelson also noted that there was a certain case in the state of New Mexico where this became the case and the courts had actually accepted this as evidence. Different attorneys submitting the tests regarded as evidence would also submit a polygraph test at the same time.

EyeDetect currently has an accuracy rating of up to 90%. IntegrityAssured.co.uk puts the accuracy rating at 85%. This is according to the American Polygraph Association or APA. Polygraphs only have an accuracy rating of 83% when it is used correctly. The argument that is being made by attorneys submitting these tests is that the accuracy of both of the tests combined should be enough to help determine if someone really is telling the truth or lying.

Read Also: Clubhouse Data Leak Leaves 1.3 Million Users Compromised: Names, Photo URL, Numbers, and More!

Jerrod Baum's Case

In the end, everything falls up to the judge to make the decision as to whether or not EyeDetect test results can be presented as legitimate evidence in a trial. Jerrod Baum's defense team recently filed a motion to have the official results of an EyeDetect test as well as a polygraph to be officially allowed as evidence in his murder trial.

Baum is currently facing murder charges that is connected to the deaths of Riley Powell as well as Breezy Otteson back in 2019. Prosecutors reportedly have until April 19, Monday, 2021 in order to file their opposition to the current motion. After this, the defense will reply to the statements of the opposition then proceed to ask the court to rule.

Related Article: How to Find Out Who's Stalking You: Google Phone App to the Rescue

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Written by Urian Buenconsejo

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
As representatives of business organizations across Texas, we thank congressional members of both political parties seeking to fix our broken immigration system. We remain committed to working with you to protect our nations Dreamers, and we urge the passage of the Dream Act of 2021.

For too long, our immigration system has failed Texas businesses and communities, even as immigrants have played crucial roles in our essential workforce and COVID-19 response.

Texas is home to more than 4.9 million immigrants  one of the largest immigrant populations in the nation, according to census data. This includes more than 106,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program recipients, who are young immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.

Congress must recognize the immense contributions of the immigrant community in our state by providing an earned pathway to citizenship for Dreamers.

The bipartisan Dream Act, recently reintroduced by U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., would achieve just this. Providing Dreamers with an avenue toward an earned pathway to citizenship would finally give DACA recipients and all those who rely on them much-needed certainty following years of being stuck in legal limbo.

It would also ensure that Dreamers can continue working, paying taxes and living in the only nation they know as home.

We have an immense opportunity to finally push the Dream Act over the finish line  and it could not come at a more important time. About 30,600 DACA recipients are working in essential industries such as farming, health care, education and construction.

Gilbert Garcia: MOVE Texas selects Venezuela-born Dreamer as new leader

In addition to their essential contributions, DACA recipients are making immense economic contributions.

If Texas DACA recipients were removed, it would result in an annual GDP loss of $6.1 billion, as well as the loss of the $244.7 million in state and local taxes they pay annually, according to research by the Center for American Progress and Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Nearly three-fourths of voters believe in protecting these young immigrants, according to a Pew Research Center poll. Though the Biden administration has provided DACA recipients with temporary relief, the program is still at risk; a federal court ruling handed down by Judge Andrew Hanen in Houston could come at any minute.

We have a unique opportunity at hand to build a commonsense approach to immigration that keeps families safe and together, grows our economy, supports our recovery and contributes to a robust workforce  and the time to act is now.

That is why we  the Texas Association of Business, Texas Business Leadership Council, San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, North Texas Commission, Rio Grande Valley Partnership and Greater Houston Partnership  have come together to call on the Senate to immediately provide a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients and DACA-eligible individuals through the passage of the bipartisan Dream Act.

We understand that no bill is perfect, but we strongly believe this existing bipartisan bill is the best framework to protect Dreamers rather than starting over with new legislation.

Glenn Hamer is president and CEO of the Texas Association of Business.
Developing relationships with drone pilots and experts could help ensure compliance with new rules, laws and regulations. Forming an advisory board of drone experts can be very helpful.

Gaining the support of the schools IT department could help address problems with software and devices used to control the drones. It's best to ensure your students can access all the necessary software, computers and networks.

There has been a rise in K-12 schools introducing drones to the classroom as experimental use cases have shown their educational potential in science, technology, art, mathematics and engineering skills. As students become interested in the prospect of flying robots in their classrooms, teachers will need support systems to understand how to implement drones into their lesson plans.Before investing in the hardware, there are some essential steps K-12 schools can make to get educational drone programs off the ground.Before purchasing a drone, educators should identify the need, audience and purpose of the student engagement and achievement of the course standard or objective. There are four things they should consider:1. Licensing. Teachers should consider acquiring a license as a Federal Aviation Administration Part 107-certified remote pilot to ensure they understand the safety, rules and regulations associated with drones. The certification is not required by the FAA for educational use.2. Safety. Teachers should learn where drones are allowed to be flown. We are responsible for flying within FAA guideline and regulations.3. Pick a drone. Teachers should decide on a drone based on their objective for their class or program. In picking a drone, ask questions like: Where will we be flying? Is there enough space to fly the drone youre using? Does the drone have to be registered with the FAA because of its size? How many drones will I need per student? Is there an age requirement for the drone?4. Support Staff. Teachers should seek support staff in and outside of the school.When starting a program, your budget should be centered around your educational objective. Your budget should include not only the actual drones and curriculum, but also estimated costs for software controls, such as a mobile device; maintenance, including extra batteries and propellors; insurance; FAA licensing, if desired; and materials for challenge missions, such as hoops, loops and landing pads.After deciding the objective and organizing the budget, you should look for alternative sources of funding to purchase drones and accessories. Funding for educators can be scarce, but there are ways to fund drones in the classroom. The business technology company Adorama Business Solutions , for example, offers a 2021 grant guide for a list of funding assistance.For many years, drones were confined to science fiction or futurist thinking. Today, unmanned aircraft systems or drones are quickly turning into part of our day-to-day reality. With drones being used in agriculture, filmmaking, conservation, search and rescue, military operations, and energy infrastructure, their introduction to the classroom could help prepare students for careers in many industries.Drone activities can be used across curriculums, too. Examples of drones in classroom activities include, but are not limited to, studying types of landscapes and environmental features, studying measurements or units of length and studying traffic safety or other community features through observation.
China sees fewer road accidents: ministry

Xinhua) 17:13, April 17, 2021

BEIJING, April 17 (Xinhua) -- China has seen fewer road accidents in recent years, according to the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).

The number of major accidents dropped to three in 2020, down from 13 in 2014, said MPS spokesperson Li Guozhong.

The downward trend came despite the number of motor vehicles on the country's roads increased from 264 million to 372 million during the same period, according to Li.

China observed National Security Education Day on Thursday. Addressing a press conference, the ministry released the latest data.

The MPS vowed continued efforts to identify and eliminate potential risks involving passenger buses, tourist buses, minibuses, heavy trucks and vehicles carrying hazardous chemicals at a national conference on traffic management held recently in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Crackdowns on overspeeding, overloading, tired driving, drunk driving and other traffic violations will also be launched, the ministry added.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Bianji)
Bamako, Mali (PANA) - The G5 Sahel Joint Force (FC-G5 S) has captured thirty-three terrorists, recovered two assault rifles and destroyed a dozen motorbikes, its communication unit announced in a statement received by PANA on Saturday
Leads Sought in 2019 Death of Tamms Man

By West Kentucky Star Staff

ALEXANDER COUNTY - Illinois State Police are seeking information about the disappearance and death of a Tamms man after his house burned in 2019.In a Facebook post on Friday, the District 22 post in Ullin recounted the Alexander County cold case.On September 11th, 2019, Illinois State Police were notified of a house fire on McDaniel School Road in rural Tamms, Illinois. The home owner and sole occupant Larry L. McNelly had not been heard from, and he was not located at the scene. A missing person investigation was opened.Five days later, McNellys body was recovered from the Mississippi River in Tennessee. The case has since been investigated as a homicide.A cash reward is being offered by family for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the death of Larry McNelly.On the Net:
In this April 13, 2021, file photo, the remains of a woman who died from complications related to COVID-19 are placed into a niche by cemetery workers and relatives at the Inahuma cemetery in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The global death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering 3 million people Saturday, April 17, 2021, amid repeated setbacks in the worldwide vaccination campaign and a deepening crisis in places such as Brazil, India and France. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo, File)

The global death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering 3 million people Saturday amid repeated setbacks in the worldwide vaccination campaign and a deepening crisis in places such as Brazil, India and France.

The number of lives lost, as compiled by Johns Hopkins University, is about equal to the population of Kyiv, Ukraine; Caracas, Venezuela; or metropolitan Lisbon, Portugal. It is bigger than Chicago (2.7 million) and equivalent to Philadelphia and Dallas combined.

And the true number is believed to be significantly higher because of possible government concealment and the many cases overlooked in the early stages of the outbreak that began in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019.

When the world back in January passed the bleak threshold of 2 million deaths, immunization drives had just started in Europe and the United States. Today, they are underway in more than 190 countries, though progress in bringing the virus under control varies widely.

While the campaigns in the U.S. and Britain have hit their stride and people and businesses there are beginning to contemplate life after the pandemic, other places, mostly poorer countries but some rich ones as well, are lagging behind in putting shots in arms and have imposed new lockdowns and other restrictions as virus cases soar.

In this April 13, 2021, file photo, Health workers treat a COVID-19 patient at the emergency unit of a field hospital set up to treat COVID patients in Ribeirao Pires, greater Sao Paulo area, Brazil. The global death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering 3 million people Saturday, April 17, 2021, amid repeated setbacks in the worldwide vaccination campaign and a deepening crisis in places such as Brazil, India and France. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File)

Worldwide, deaths are on the rise again, running at around 12,000 per day on average, and new cases are climbing too, eclipsing 700,000 a day.

"This is not the situation we want to be in 16 months into a pandemic, where we have proven control measures," said Maria Van Kerkhove, one of the World Health Organization's leaders on COVID-19.

In Brazil, where deaths are running at about 3,000 per day, accounting for one-quarter of the lives lost worldwide in recent weeks, the crisis has been likened to a "raging inferno" by one WHO official. A more contagious variant of the virus has been rampaging across the country.

As cases surge, hospitals are running out of critical sedatives. As a result, there have been reports of some doctors diluting what supplies remain and even tying patients to their beds while breathing tubes are pushed down their throats.

Nurse Lidiane Melo sits during an interview with The Associated Press at her home in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, April 14, 2021. In the early days of the pandemic, as sufferers were calling out for comfort that she was too busy to provide, Melo filled two rubber gloves with warm water, knotted them shut, and sandwiched them around a patient's hand, to re-create a loving clasp. Some have christened the practice the "hand of God," and it is now the searing image of a nation roiled by a medical emergency with no end in sight. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

The slow vaccine rollout has crushed Brazilians' pride in their own history of carrying out huge immunization campaigns that were the envy of the developing world.

Taking cues from President Jair Bolsonaro, who has likened the virus to little more than a flu, his Health Ministry for months bet big on a single vaccine, ignoring other producers. When bottlenecks emerged, it was too late to get large quantities in time.

Watching so many patients suffer and die alone at her Rio de Janeiro hospital impelled nurse Lidiane Melo to take desperate measures.

In the early days of the pandemic, as sufferers were calling out for comfort that she was too busy to provide, Melo filled two rubber gloves with warm water, knotted them shut, and sandwiched them around a patient's hand to simulate a loving touch.

Two latex gloves filled with warm water cover the hand of the husband of nurse Lidiane Melo as she demonstrates at their home in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, April 14, 2021. In the early days of the pandemic, as sufferers were calling out for comfort that she was too busy to provide, Melo put water-filled gloves on patients' hands to simulate a loving touch. Some have christened the practice the "hand of God," and it is now the searing image of a nation roiled by a medical emergency with no end in sight. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Some have christened the practice the "hand of God," and it is now the searing image of a nation roiled by a medical emergency with no end in sight.

"Patients can't receive visitors. Sadly, there's no way. So it's a way to provide psychological support, to be there together with the patient holding their hand," Melo said. She added: "And this year it's worse, the seriousness of patients is 1,000 times greater."

This situation is similarly dire in India, where cases spiked in February after weeks of steady decline, taking authorities by surprise. In a surge driven by variants of the virus, India saw over 180,000 new infections in one 24-hour span during the past week, bringing the total number of cases to over 13.9 million.

Problems that India had overcome last year are coming back to haunt health officials. Only 178 ventilators were free Wednesday afternoon in New Delhi, a city of 29 million, where 13,000 new infections were reported the previous day.

Nurse Lidiane Melo cries during an interview with The Associated Press at her home in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, April 14, 2021. In the early days of the pandemic, as sufferers were calling out for comfort that she was too busy to provide, Melo filled two rubber gloves with warm water, knotted them shut, and sandwiched them around a patient's hand, to re-create a loving clasp. Some have christened the practice the "hand of God," and it is now the searing image of a nation roiled by a medical emergency with no end in sight. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

The challenges facing India reverberate beyond its borders since the country is the biggest supplier of shots to COVAX, the U.N.-sponsored program to distribute vaccines to poorer parts of the world. Last month, India said it would suspend vaccine exports until the virus's spread inside the country slows.

The WHO recently described the supply situation as precarious. Up to 60 countries might not receive any more shots until June, by one estimate. To date, COVAX has delivered about 40 million doses to more than 100 countries, enough to cover barely 0.25% of the world's population.

Globally, about 87% of the 700 million doses dispensed have been given out in rich countries. While 1 in 4 people in wealthy nations have received a vaccine, in poor countries the figure is 1 in more than 500.

In recent days, the U.S. and some European countries put the use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine on hold while authorities investigate extremely rare but dangerous blood clots. AstraZeneca's vaccine has likewise been hit with delays and restrictions because of a clotting scare.

In this Feb. 2, 2021, file photo, a nurse cleans a patient suffering from COVID-19 in the ICU at the La Timone hospital in Marseille, southern France. The global death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering 3 million people Saturday, April 17, 2021, amid repeated setbacks in the worldwide vaccination campaign and a deepening crisis in places such as Brazil, India and France. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, File)

Another concern: Poorer countries are relying on vaccines made by China and Russia, which some scientists believe provide less protection than those made by Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca.

Last week, the director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledged the country's vaccines offer low protection and said officials are considering mixing them with other shots to improve their effectiveness.

In the U.S., where over 560,000 lives have been lost, accounting for more than 1 in 6 of the world's COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations and deaths have dropped, businesses are reopening, and life is beginning to return to something approaching normalcy in several states. The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits tumbled last week to 576,000, a post-COVID-19 low.

In this April 15, 2021, file photo, a municipal worker in personal protective suit performs last rites during the cremation of a COVID-19 victim in Vasai, outskirts of Mumbai, India. The global death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering 3 million people Saturday, April 17, 2021, amid repeated setbacks in the worldwide vaccination campaign and a deepening crisis in places such as Brazil, India and France. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)

In this March 16, 2021, file photo, Pharmacist Rajan Shah prepares a syringe of the AstraZeneca vaccine at St John's Church, in Ealing, London. The global death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering 3 million people Saturday, April 17, 2021, amid repeated setbacks in the worldwide vaccination campaign and a deepening crisis in places such as Brazil, India and France. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

In this March 15, 2021, file photo, 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. India said in March it would suspend vaccine exports until the virus's spread inside the country slows. The WHO recently described the supply situation as precarious. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh, File)

In this April 13, 2021, file photo, the body of a person who died of COVID-19 is brought for cremation at the Vasai crematory in Palghar, near Mumbai, India. The global death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering 3 million people Saturday, April 17, 2021, amid repeated setbacks in the worldwide vaccination campaign and a deepening crisis in places such as Brazil, India and France. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade, File)

In this Feb. 18, 2021, file photo, a senior receives her second dose of China's Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine, during a priority vaccination program for the elderly at the Bezerra de Menezes Asylum in Brasilia, Brazil. The global death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering 3 million people Saturday, April 17, 2021, amid repeated setbacks in the worldwide vaccination campaign and a deepening crisis in places such as Brazil, India and France. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)

In this April 9, 2021, file photo, people queue to be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 during a vaccination campaign at WiZink indoor arena in Madrid, Spain. The global death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering 3 million people Saturday, April 17, 2021, amid repeated setbacks in the worldwide vaccination campaign and a deepening crisis in places such as Brazil, India and France. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)

In this April 12, 2021, file photo, Freeson Wong, 31, takes a selfie as he receives a dose of the Moderna vaccine at a vaccination center in the Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles. The global death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering 3 million people Saturday, April 17, 2021, amid repeated setbacks in the worldwide vaccination campaign and a deepening crisis in places such as Brazil, India and France. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

In this April 15, 2021, file photo, Carlos Alberto holds out his left arm during the burial service for his 41-year-old wife Aparecida de Freitas, who died from complications related to COVID-19, in the Inhauma cemetery, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The global death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering 3 million people Saturday, April 17, 2021, amid repeated setbacks in the worldwide vaccination campaign and a deepening crisis in places such as Brazil, India and France. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado, File)

In this April 15, 2021, file photo, a woman gets her swab sample taken to test for COVID-19 at a government hospital in Noida, a suburb of New Delhi, India. The global death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering 3 million people Saturday, April 17, 2021, amid repeated setbacks in the worldwide vaccination campaign and a deepening crisis in places such as Brazil, India and France. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File)

In this April 14, 2021, file photo, messages written by loved ones and dedicated to the deceased hang from a wall at a memorial for COVID-19 victims installed outside the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City. The global death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering 3 million people Saturday, April 17, 2021, amid repeated setbacks in the worldwide vaccination campaign. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File)

But progress has been patchy, and new hot spotsmost notably Michiganhave flared up in recent weeks. Still, deaths in the U.S. are down to about 700 per day on average, plummeting from a mid-January peak of about 3,400.

In Europe, countries are feeling the brunt of a more contagious variant that first ravaged Britain and has pushed the continent's COVID-19-related death toll beyond 1 million.

Close to 6,000 gravely ill patients are being treated in French critical care units, numbers not seen since the first wave a year ago.

Dr. Marc Leone, head of intensive care at the North Hospital in Marseille, said exhausted front-line staff members who were feted as heroes at the start of the pandemic now feel alone and are clinging to hope that renewed school closings and other restrictions will help curb the virus in the coming weeks.

"There's exhaustion, more bad tempers. You have to tread carefully because there are a lot of conflicts," he said. "We'll give everything we have to get through these 15 days as best we can."

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
The award winning photographer/aerial media company owner, April McClure, has added another award to her collection. The 12th Annual TASTE AWARDS recently honored April McClure for her Photography submission "Southern California Piers." April McClure is also a TASTE AWARDS Semi-Finalist for her photography submission "The Wedge - Newport Beach."

The TASTE AWARDS are the highest awards for creators, producers, hosts, photographers and directors of Lifestyle Programs, Series, Shows & Cinema.

Often called "The Oscars of Food, Fashion and Lifestyle Media," they are the premier broadcast awards show celebrating the year's best achievements in Food, Fashion, Health, Travel and Lifestyle programs on Television, in Film, in Online and Streaming.Video, on Radio and in Podcasts, and Photography.
A maskless Black Lives Matter protester and Air Force veteran was captured on video saying he was 'sick' and 'dying' from COVID-19 at a rally outside the home of disgraced Army Drill Sergeant Jonathan Pentland.

Shea Harley took off his mask as he shouted that Pentland had violated the oath he took when joining the armed forces to 'have excellence in all that you do' during a protest at Barony Place in the Summit neighborhood of Richland County in South Carolina on Wednesday.

In the footage shared on social media by The State photojournalist Joshua Boucher Wednesday, Harley then says he has COVID-19, prompting others to back away.

Demonstrations have been held outside Pentland's home this week after video surfaced online showing the 42-year-old father of two shoving a young black man walking past his house and telling him: 'You came to the wrong neighborhood motherf****r.'

Pentland was charged with third degree assault and battery Wednesday and has also been suspended from his duties as an instructor at nearby Fort Jackson.

The victim - identified only as Deandre on social media - has been committed to a facility for mental illness in the wake of the incident, Dailymail.com learned Friday.

A maskless Black Lives Matter protester and Air Force veteran was captured on video saying he was 'sick' and 'dying' from COVID-19 at a rally outside the home of disgraced Army Drill Sergeant Jonathan Pentland

Shea Harley, an Air Force veteran, speaks at the protest in the Summit neighborhood today. pic.twitter.com/43nYfAN2IZ  Joshua Boucher  (@JAABPhoto) April 14, 2021

Demonstrations have been held outside Pentland's home this week after video (still above) surfaced online showing the 42-year-old father of two shoving a young black man walking past his house and telling him: 'You came to the wrong neighborhood motherf****r'

Shea Harley (pictured) took off his mask as he shouted that Pentland had violated the oath he took when joining the armed forces to 'have excellence in all that you do'

Harley is seen standing at the end of Pentland's driveway, dressed in a Black Lives Matter t-shirt and a black face mask, as he begins his speech slamming the Army Drill Sergeant.

'You don't deserve to serve another second in the United States Army,' Harley shouts. 'You took [an] oath.'

At this point, Harley then pulls off his mask, as he continues: 'to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America of enemies, foreign and domestic.'

'You took an oath. You are supposed to have service before self. You are supposed to defend this country,' he says, as other protesters nearby cheer.

'You are supposed to have excellence in all that you do.'

Harley then makes the shock announcement that he is 'sick' with COVID-19.

'And I am here today to let you know I came from my home. I am dying. I have COVID. And I'm sick,' he says.

There is some distance between Harley and the other protesters but his announcement prompts a woman nearby to instantly back away from him as the video ends.

Harley later addressed the incident on his Twitter page apologizing for breaking quarantine to go to the protest.

'I am apologizing in advance....I wasn't supposed to be out there because I was recovering from COVID-19, but I had to let Johnathan Eugene Pentland KNOW!!!' he tweeted in a post sharing the footage.

Harley (pictured) said in the footage 'I am dying. I have COVID. And I'm sick'. Harley later addressed the incident on his Twitter page apologizing for breaking quarantine

Black Lives Matter protesters were seen rallying outside the South Carolina home Wednesday

A crowd of around 150 Black Lives Matter protestors rallied outside Pentland's home Wednesday night, holding signs and chanting.

Pentland was spotted fleeing his home with his wife Cassie under the cover of darkness in footage posted to social media Thursday morning following the backlash over his alleged assault of the black man.

A spokesperson for the Richland County Sheriff's Department told DailyMail.com Pentland was not relocated, though 'we do not know his whereabouts.'

In the three-minute viral video, filmed on Monday, Pentland is seen aggressively accusing the young man of 'hanging around' the neighborhood for '15 minutes', and tells him the police have been called.

The soldier asks where Deandre lives and claims he is 'harassing the neighborhood'.

Deandre appears confused and responds that he lives in the area and 'was walking to my house'.

The three-minute clip shows Pentland repeatedly scream at the man - identified only as Deandre - to 'go away now' and telling him he must not live there because it is a 'tight-knit community'

Pentland insists Deandre must not live in the area because it is a 'tight knit community'.

The Staff Sergeant repeatedly yells at him and gets in his face, saying: 'You're in the wrong neighborhood. I ain't playing with you. I'm about to show you what I can do.'

He adds: 'Check it out, you can either walk away or I'm going to carry your a*s out.'

At one point Pentland pushes Deandre, causing him to almost fall to the ground.

Pentland (in mug) was charged with third degree assault and battery Wednesday

Cassie Pentland, the sergeant's wife, can also be heard shouting at the black man in the video and telling him police have already been called when he tells them to alert authorities.

In fact, Deandre does appear to have a close relative who lives just a 10-minute walk from the scene of the confrontation.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott announced Wednesday Pentland had been charged with third-degree assault.

'The first time I saw the video it was terrible. It was unnecessary,' he said.

Pentland faces 30 days in jail and a $500 fine if found guilty.

He was detained at the Richland County Jail and issued a personal recognizance bond, according to online jail records.

He was originally handed a citation for malicious injury to property for slapping Deandre's phone out of his hand and cracking it, according to reports.

The victim has not named the victim and is not facing charges, Lott said.

Pentland was seen fleeing his home in the early hours of Thursday, after BLM protest outside

He added the man had been involved in other incidents in the neighborhood leading up to the video, but 'none of them justified the assault that occurred'.

A law enforcement source told Dailymail.com revealed Friday that Deandre was facing charges of trespass and animal cruelty from separate incidents but has now been determined mentally incapable of standing trial.

The source said the young man is mentally unwell and has entered a facility in the days following the alleged assault.

Meanwhile, army officials have also condemned Pentland's racially-charged behavior.

Brigadier General Milford Beagle Jnr, commander of Fort Jackson, said: 'Soldier conduct on and off duty must be exemplary to retain the trust of our communities and our nation.'

Pentland has been suspended from his drill instructor role pending the outcome of the Department of Justice assault charge.

Pentland pictured in uniform. He is a drill sergeant at Fort Jackson in South Carolina

Cassie Pentland, his wife, can also be heard shouting at the black man and telling him police have already been called when he tells them to alert authorities
Dhaka, April 18 : The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (detective branch) has arrested a top leader of militant group Hefazat-e-Islam, Junaid Al Habib, who had warned the government of violence, protesting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bangladesh last month.

Junaid, the joint secretary general of Hefazat's central committee, has been arrested from Baridhara area in Dhaka on Saturday.

In the last few days, a total of seven top leaders of the militant outfit, and over 100 leaders and activists of the group, have been arrested in connection with the violence and rampage that rocked Dhaka, and and different districts across the country.

Earlier on Saturday afternoon, the police arrested Jalaluddin Ahmed, an assistant secretary general of the militant outfit, from Mohammadpur area of the capital.

Junaid Al Habib, one of the top leaders of the Hefazat, also the principal of a madrasa in Dhaka, had allegedly played a key role in the violence that was witnessed during Modi's visit to Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh government appears to have been taking a hardline on the umbrella group of several militant outfits and Qawmi madrasas, the breeding ground of the militants following a series of violence and atrocities on police and government establishments starting March 26, by the name of 'protest against the arrival of Narendra Modi' on a state visit.

During the violent protests with the police that continued till March 31 many government facilities, Awami League offices, temples, and houses of the Hindus and Awami league leaders and their relatives were damaged and vandalized and set on fire in Brahmanbaria, Chattogram and several other districts of the country.

Detectives said that Junaid would be interrogated to learn more about his involvement in the recent attacks.

Additional police have been deployed at the gates installing light machine gun posts following an order from Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) headquarters.

Special security measures have been taken at police stations in the capital.

The precaution has been taken apprehending attacks on the police stations as a number of Hefazat leaders and activists were arrested.
Holding the Centre and the Election Commission (EC) responsible for the second wave of in India, the Shiv Sena on Saturday said that the virus spread across the country more rapidly from those states, where polls were either held recently or are still underway.

Had the Centre reduced its "dose of politics" and focused on tackling the pandemic, the situation would been under control, it said.

"China might have been responsible for the outbreak of the pandemic in India, but for the second wave of coronavirus, the Election Commission and the Centre are responsible. The virus spread at 500 times more speed to the rest of the country from the states where polls were either held recently or are still underway," the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

"For the sake of elections and their political interests, the rulers in Delhi created a wave of pandemic. There is a shortage of oxygen, Remdesivir medicine, hospital beds and ventilators in the country at present. Crematoriums are overflowing. But the central government is busy in electioneering in West Bengal. Had the Centre reduced its dose of politics and instead focused on the war against coronavirus, then the situation would have been under control," it said.

From West Bengal, BJP workers are going back to their homes in different parts of the country with COVID-19, the Sena said.

In the last 24 hours, there were over two lakh new cases in the country, but election rallies and religious gatherings like kumbh mela are showing no signs of stopping, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said.

Lakhs of devotees congregated at Haridwar for the kumbh mela and the virus spread. If PM Narendra Modi is not willing to stop his election rallies in West Bengal, how can the saints in Haridwar be blamed? it added.

Accusing the Centre of not taking the crisis seriously, the Sena said, "When Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was saying that vaccines from foreign companies should be brought to India, he was accused of lobbying for them. Now when the situation is going out of control, the Centre has permitted Russia's COVID-19 vaccine 'Sputnik V' in India."



The Centre should keep aside ego and the political profit-loss calculations and talk to all with an open mind, the ruling party in Maharashtra said.

The Sena also hit out at Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, who had recently blamed Maharashtra for its handling of the situation. "He has nothing to speak over the pandemic situation in BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh," 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.)
Two hundred two House members signed the petition to bring the "Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act" to the floor for a vote.

Pro-life legislators Kat Cammack (R-Fla.), Steve Scalise (R-La.), the House Whip, and Representative Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) filed a discharge petition that would bring the bill to the House floor for a vote, reports Live Action.

The petition, according to the report, requires 218 signatures from House members and will need 5 more from the Democrats if it is to be realized. At present, the House has 213 Republicans.

"I will not stop working until this legislation becomes law, so newborns have a chance at life when they are at their most vulnerable," says Rep. Wagner. "For too long, Nancy Pelosi has blocked my commonsense legislation that protects the innocent lives of children born alive. We must take a stand and tell her the American people want the Born-Alive Act passed and signed into law."

The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act will ensure the safety of infants who survived abortions by giving them rightful recognition as persons that must be treated "with the same human dignity, respect, and treatment as any baby born after an attempted live birth."

A provision to punish those who would intentionally perform or attempt to abort a child born alive was also included in the bill. Those found guilty will be fined or face imprisonment for up to five years.

The report went on to note that there were over 30,000 medical professionals from the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Pediatricians, Christian Medical & Dental Associations, Catholic Medical Association and Association of American Physicians and Surgeons who openly expressed support for the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.

"There is no scientific or legal reason to distinguish between human beings born after an attempted abortion and human beings born after attempted live birth," they said in their joint statement.

"In cases where the mother's life actually is in danger in the latter half of pregnancy, there is not time for an abortion... We can, and do, save the life of the mother through delivery of an intact infant in a hospital where both the mother and her newborn can receive the care that they need. There is no medical reason to intentionally kill that fetal human being," they added.



Humanizing the Debate on Abortion

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), at least 143 babies were born alive after an attempted abortion between 2003 and 2014. The data were derived from the eight states that reported. There could be a lot more that were left unaccounted from other states.

The pro-life news outlet added the civil trial of Liberty Counsel's client Sandra Merritt who reportedly exposed Planned Parenthood for selling baby parts.

"In Liberty Counsel's defense of Sandra Merritt, the evidence has clearly exposed evidence that some abortionists are birthing children alive to dissect them - while they are still alive," said Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver.

Staver continued that a 'no' vote on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act must be deemed indefensible.

"We are talking about infanticide, " he said. "We must continue to fight for the preborn and newborn and restore a culture of life to America."
After decades of development and interaction, people from both sides of the mountains became acquainted with each other. Mountains are physical boundaries that can be crossed, but "a dose of prejudice comes from the mountains in our mind that prevent us from seeing the truth," according to Han Bin, director of the documentary "Beyond the Mountains: Life in Xinjiang."

Terrorist attacks that have plagued the region for almost three decades left people in and outside the region in shock and panic. A number of people from other provinces and regions of China unwittingly looked at Uygurs with tainted spectacles, noted Chen Ruijun, a construction firm official who went to support Xinjiang's development in 2008 and 2009 when extremist riots were rampant in the region. The fear and accompanying preconception have gradually subdued with greater understanding and faster development.

In recent years, a fair portion of Western media coverage regarding China have painted a negative picture due to lack of information as well as lack of trust. Xinjiang, home to over 12 million Uygurs, has experienced a larger share of the stigma and distortion. Foreign reporting on Xinjiang has predominantly centered around allegations of so-called "human rights abuses by the Chinese government."

As such, the real Xinjiang is drowned in endless outrageous and sensational headlines about "detention camps" and "forced labor" in textile, tomato production, and even solar power sectors, to name just a few. Such rhetoric, imbued with prejudice and presumption, amounts to an insurmountable mountain in the minds of many people.

"Beyond the Mountains: Life in Xinjiang," the 80-minute documentary, is told through a collection of individual stories that, together, chronicle the process of change in the region. It's also about breaking stereotypes and clearing up misconceptions for people in and outside the region.

The film features the magnificent landscape of this vast land, as well as the modern-day life of its people from different ethnic groups. It contains four parts: "Changing times," "Following the money," "New generations" and "Man and nature," presenting multiple facets of today's Xinjiang and its people.

Sabyt Abukhadir lives in north Xinjiang's Zhaosu County where generations depend on the lush, rolling highland meadows for a living. His grandson Erjanat Nurkidir is majoring in dance at Ili Normal University. The two had a fight as Sabyt believed dancing was only for girls. The wrangle didn't end until Sabyt watched Erjanat dancing on the stage. "My kid was so good that it made me cry," he said.

In south Xinjiang, such a change in mentality is much harder. Many women in the four prefectures of south Xinjiang have never left home. "Women who leave home to work won't find a husband," according to the traditional thinking there.

But Zileyhan Eysa, a farmer from Kuqa County of Aksu, decided to leave for the north to work in a textile factory in hopes of earning money so that her seriously ill mother could get proper treatment. "If I didn't come here, Mom would already be dead," she said.

Besides the stories that depicts Xinjiang's changes where young people exert immense passion to bring a change in the thinking, the documentary also tells stories of people who work to protect the land that they love. Yang Zongzong has a very "peculiar" hobby  finding and cataloguing every species of plants. "To me, it is the appreciation of the beauty in the most ordinary," he said. So far, he's gathered 10,000 to 20,000 specimens, studying their morphology, genetics and environmental signature. Plant growth is mostly affected by the environment, so any shift in climate recorded by their growth is indicative of changes in climate change and natural conditions.

These stories of dedication and breaking with tradition isn't so much disregard for the past as much as looking toward a more progressive future.

Link: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-04-16/Beyond-the-Mountains-Life-in-Xinjiang--Zui80BwyOc/index.html

SOURCE CGTN
Jim Sullivan, a well-known consultant and service industry guru, has recently been talking and writing about still another pandemic threat to the restaurant industry, one hes dubbed COVID-coma.

As vaccination programs continue to expand and many consumers consequently venture out again, Sullivan warns independent restaurant operators not to be complacent about the experience of fully reopening.

The competition, mostly in the form of the major restaurant brands, have turned the disruption COVID-19 caused into a creative force. Theyve upgraded their menus, sharpened their service game, developed slick digital ordering platforms, and generally positioned themselves to more effectively compete for consumer dining-away-from-home dollars.

Independent restaurants are consequently going to have to pay attention to details and deal with the clutter and the make-do that has crept into their operations over the past difficult year. The handwritten signs, cobbled-together seating arrangements, and ad hoc service procedures will need to be replaced and upgraded with an elevated focus on professionalism.

Most importantly, restaurants will have to be clean - really clean - in order to reassure patrons that may still be a little uneasy about whether or not dining out is really safe.

Being sharp and at the top of ones game isnt going to be easy, especially given the pressing need to recruit, hire, and properly train the new employees that nearly every reopening restaurant operation finds it needs.

However, allowing an operation to fall victim to COVID-coma by simply opening the doors and expecting to get by will be a risky approach in a post-pandemic restaurant world.

More information about Jim Sullivan and his observations on restaurant service can be found at MultiunitLeadership.com.

Side dishes

Among the options the Irish House Restaurant in West Springfield has made available as it returned to full operation is a Appy Hour half-price deal on all appetizers. The Appy Hour promotion is available from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday.

The Irish House has also resumed its Thursday Prime Rib Special, a complete meal served with salad, vegetable, mashed potatoes, and dinner roll.

Reservations at the Irish House Restaurant can be made at (413) 342-4358.

Taco Bell, the Irvine, CA - based division of Yum! Brands, has brought back its Beefy Potato-rito, a burrito-style rollup filled with seasoned beef, nacho cheese, crispy potato bits, and a chipotle cream.

The Beefy Potato-rito was reintroduced on April 15 and is expected to remain on the Taco Bell menu for an unspecified but limited run.

Marios Cafe Ambiance in East Longmeadow has teamed up with The Flower Shed to host a Succulent Planting Workshop on Tuesday, April 27 at 6:30 p.m.

A hands-on experience, the session will incorporate an overview of succulent care followed by a guided, step-by-step planting demonstration. Selecting from a variety of containers, plants, and top dressings, participants will create a three-plant succulent arrangement of their own to take home.

Tickets for the event are $35 per person and can be ordered on Eventbrite.com or by calling Karen at Marios Cafe Ambiance.

The number for the Cafe is (413) 455-6119.

As major restaurant chains begin a return to normal operations, some are once again exploring ways to do business in a more environmentally friendly fashion.

As a major users of disposable cups, Seattle-based Starbucks continues to look for strategies to reduce its impact on the foodservice-generated waste stream.

Earlier this month Starbucks started scaled-up testing of a re-useable cup service its dubbed Borrow a Cup. Currently available at five Seattle stores, the Borrow a Cup gives customers the option of requesting a re-useable drink cup when ordering, with a one dollar charge added to the drinks price. When the cup is returned to either a contactless kiosk or through a third-party pickup service, the customer receives a dollars worth of Starbucks credit as well as bonus points in Starbucks loyalty rewards program.

The cup itself is cleaned, sanitized, and reused.

Part of a Starbucks ten-year effort to reduce by 50% the waste the chain generates, the two-month-long Borrow a Cup test is an effort to find a truly workable alternative to single-use cups.

Max Burger in Longmeadow is presenting a Two Roads Beer Dinner on Monday, April 26 at 6 p.m.

The evening will feature the malt beverage creations of Two Roads Brewing Company of Stratford, CT paired with a menu created by Max Burgers Jakub Koziara.

Crispy chicken wings with a honey-jalapeno-blackberry sauce will be first up at the event, with weisswurst and pretzels to follow.

Koziara and his crew will be creating Korean bulgogi tacos and a Moroccan lamb curry for the next two courses. A peach streusel muffin paired with Two Roads Brewings Peach Jam wheat beer will bring the evening to a close.

The dinner is priced at $65 per person, with tax and gratuity additional.

Reservations may be made by calling Max Burger at (413) 798-0101.

The Tansey family, which operates Partners Restaurant in Feeding Hills, has made permanent the closure of Partners @ the Cup, the West Springfield breakfast-and-lunch venue they had operated since 2015.

Partners @ the Cup had shut down in March 2020 as part of the first Pandemic lockdown and had not since reopened.

In a Facebook post announcing their decision, Sue and Mark Tansey invited their loyal customers from the Cup to visit Partners Feeding Hills location. The Tanseys also asked that donations memorializing the Cup be made to The Barstool Fund at barstoolsports.com, a charitable effort that has helped small businesses struggling with the impact of COVID-19.

Partners Restaurant answers at (413) 786-0975.

As of April 16, the Blue Heron Restaurant in Sunderland has resumed on-site dining Wednesday through Saturday evenings from 5 to 7 p.m.

All seating is by reservation, and those reservations must be guaranteed by a credit card number. Reservations no shows are charged a $35 fee. Seating is socially distanced, party size is limited to no more than six guests, and a 90-minute limit on dining time are also part of the restaurants on-site dining policies.

The Blue Heron continues to offer contactless takeout that includes the restaurants a la carte menu as well as several family style offerings. The latter change weekly.

View the restaurants complete menu and on-site dining rules at their website, blueherondining.com.

Mezze Bar + Bistro in Williamstown has announced a spring schedule of on-premises dining four nights a week, Thursday through Sunday, from 5 to 8:30 p.m.

To oversee that return to dining, the restaurant has promoted long-term employee Maddy Markland to the position of front-of-house manager.

Dine-in at Mezze is by reservation only; the establishment continues to offer Mezze Market takeout. Additionally, on Wednesday evenings Mezze features Burger Night Takeout from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.

More details are available at the restaurants website, mezzerestaurant.com.

Fast food has never had much of a reputation as a career opportunity, but one quick-service burger chain, San Antonio, Texas-based Whataburger, is positioning itself for post-Pandemic growth by making an investment in its restaurant managers.

In addition to being given a new title of operating partner, those individuals who serve as general managers of Whataburger restaurants will see their compensation move up into six-figure territory along with enhanced benefits and a new bonus plan.

Whataburger, which operates 840 restaurants in 10 states across the South and the Southwest, has also paid out $90 million in bonuses and emergency pay to its workforce during the Pandemic.

In an effort to retain hourly employees, the fast-casual chain Chipotle Mexican Grill will begin offering those workers the chance to earn a college degrees, with Chipotle covering all costs, including tuition and fees. The program is open to employees with four or more months of service and includes degree options in food industry-related fields such as hospitality, culinary, and supply chain logistics. Coursework and degrees are provided by select partner institutions, with coursework primarily online.

Chipotle already offers employees access to tuition assistance and reimbursement through the companys Cultivate Education program.

Hugh Robert is a faculty member in Holyoke Community Colleges hospitality and culinary arts program and has nearly 45 years of restaurant and educational experience. Robert can be reached on-line at OffTheMenuGuy@aol.com
President Joe Biden unveiled a series of commitments he has agreed to with the Prime Minister of Japan.

This comes after a bilateral meeting Biden had with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Friday at the White House.

The meeting of the two leaders is a bid by the two countries' alliance to counter to an autocratic and increasingly assertive China.

The two governments have been working to strengthen technology supply chains independent of China during a shortage of semiconductors that's worrying businesses around the world.

Japan is expected to announce an investment in 5G cellular networks, boosting alternatives to China's network, as part of that supply chain cooperation.

Both countries are expected in coming days to make deeper commitments to cutting climate-wrecking fossil fuel emissions, in line with Bidens climate summit with 40 world leaders next week.

The Biden administration may also have tougher requests of Japan, including pressing Suga for a rare public statement of support from a Japanese leader for Taiwan.

China, which claims the self-governed island of Taiwan as its territory, tested U.S. and Taiwanese resolve weeks into the Biden administration by sending fighter jets and bombers near Taiwan.

Japan long has moved cautiously on steps that might worsen relations with China, though Suga has been more outspoken. His administration pushed its comfort zone in a statement stressing peace and stability on the Taiwan Strait.

(Image Credits: Associated Press)

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Very Dangerous Time: Beijing Advancing Timeline to Seize Territory in Asian Region, Former Navy Intelligence Officer Says

With the United States still reeling from the pandemic and having undergone a recent change in administration, the Chinese Communist Party now sees a window of opportunity to accelerate its plans to expand its territory in the Asian region, according to a former senior intelligence officer for the U.S. Navy.

Its a very dangerous time for the region, as Beijing is seeking to advance their strategy and their timeline, James Fanell, who previously served as the director of intelligence for the U.S. Pacific Fleet, told Epoch Times affiliate NTD in an April 9 interview.

In recent weeks, the Chinese regime has amassed more than 240 militia vessels on the disputed Whitsun Reef in the South China Sea, an area inside the Philippines 200-mile exclusive economic zone. The Philippines filed a diplomatic protest to Beijing and sent a naval task force to patrol the area. In the past week, the United States has concentrated its warships in the region, including a carrier strike group and an amphibious group. As of April 13, only a handful of Chinese vessels remain in the reef, according to the Philippines.

Fanell, now a government fellow with the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, said Beijings actions are serving as a test for the Biden administration. If the regime doesnt see stiff resistance from the Biden administration, he said, it may accelerate its plans to take military action against Taiwan, and in the South China Sea and the East China Sea.

For the past year, Beijing has ratcheted up its military aggression toward Taiwan, sending military aircraft near the self-ruled island on a near-daily basis. On April 12, the regime sent a record 25 aircraft, including fighter jets and nuclear-capable bombers, into the islands so-called air defense identification zone.

Citing the Chinese regimes military advancements and its growing assertiveness in the region, U.S. Adm. Philip Davidson, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told the Senate in March that Beijing could invade Taiwan in the next six years. Adm. John Aquilino, the nominee to replace Davidson as head of the command, at his confirmation hearing later that month declined to set a time frame, but said the threat of a Chinese invasion is much closer to us than most think.

When they say that, that should cause people to really wake up and pay attention, Fanell said, of the two admirals warnings.

While analysts have predicted that the regime wont act until after the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in February, Fanells approach towards Beijing is to expect the unexpected.

All indicators suggest that theyre getting very very close to making a maneuver against Taiwan, he said.

Fanell believes that Chinese military officials and other hardliners inside the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are arguing vociferously that now is the best time to take over Taiwan. If the CCP waits until after 2022, theyll risk the Republican Party taking back control of the House of Representatives, and later the White House, thereby risking the United States taking a much more demonstrable hardline against the regime, he said.

These CCP officials are arguing that we cant afford to wait too much longer while that U.S. rearms itself and retools itself to be able to defeat the CCPs strategy to invade Taiwan, he said. Those arguments are going on right now [within the CCP].

Im very concerned that China could decide to do something very soon, he said.

To deter the CCP, the United States needs to be more assertive diplomatically in calling out the regimes predations, and enhance its efforts to counter Chinese propaganda, according to Fanell. On the military front, the United States should deploy forces to get in the way of what China is doing in areas like the South China Sea.

The goal is to tell the Peoples Republic of China and Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party that you cannot just bully people because youre a big nation. Thats not the way the world works, and were not going to stand for it, he said.

Beijing needs to understand that if they really try to do what they think they can do, then they will pay dearly for it.
A man wanted for capital murder was found dead in a vehicle parked in a Tuscaloosa church parking lot Friday.

The ordeal began late Thursday night when police were called to Springhill Apartments on 36th Avenue East, said Tuscaloosa police spokeswoman Stephanie Taylor. Omar Childers, 19, was found dead just before 11:30 p.m. inside a parked vehicle. He had been shot to death.

Investigators obtained a warrant to charge his cousin, 26-year-old Darren Childers, with capital murder, Taylor said. Once obtaining the warrant, Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit began looking for Darren Childers but were unable to locate him during the early morning hours Friday.

On Friday afternoon  at 3:06 p.m.  a woman called 911 to report arriving at a church in the 7400 block of Sanders Ferry Road and finding a vehicle parked in the lot that didnt move when she honked her horn.

Officers responded and found Darren Childers dead in the drivers seat. At this time, Taylor said, it appears that he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences will conduct a follow-up investigation to confirm the cause of death.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 01:39:52|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese side, as a comrade and brother, will continue to firmly support Vietnam in taking the socialist road for a better future, said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday.

In a telephone conversation with Bui Thanh Son, Vietnam's new foreign minister, Wang said China and Vietnam are friendly neighbors and important partners for each other, and both countries have stick to the leadership of the communist parties as well as their respective socialist cause, adding that the two sides belong to a community with a shared future of strategic significance.

Facing the transformations rarely seen in a century, Wang said, both sides should keep in mind their initial mission, enhance mutual trust and unity, strengthen strategic cooperation and safeguard common interests, which will not only help preserve the political security of the two countries and inject strong impetus into the world's socialist cause, but also fully conform to the trend of progress and development of the times.

Wang stressed that not long ago, the top leaders of the two parties and the two countries spoke again, drawing a blueprint and pointing out the way forward for the development of bilateral relations at present and in the future.

Noting that this year is extraordinary for both parties and countries, Wang said the Communist Party of China will celebrate its 100th anniversary and embark on a new journey of building a modern socialist country in an all-round way, adding that Vietnam, under the new party and government, is marching forward towards its two centennial goals of the establishment of the Party and the country.

Wang said that China is willing to strengthen friendly exchanges between the two parties and the two countries at all levels with Vietnam, accelerate cooperation in anti-epidemic, trade and investment, infrastructure and other fields, speed up the synergy of the Belt and Road Initiative and "Two Corridors and One Economic Circle," deepen people-to-people friendship and youth exchanges, properly handle maritime issues, and promote the continuous development of the China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership for the new era.

The Chinese side is willing to work with the ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries including Vietnam to mark the 30th anniversary of dialogue relations between the two sides, promote the early entry into force and implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, speed up the connection between the Lancang-Mekong cooperation and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, and realize the upgrading of China-ASEAN relations so as to better benefit the people in the region.

Bui Thanh Son, for his part, said maintaining and developing the traditional friendship and the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Vietnam and China is Vietnam's firm choice and diplomatic priority.

Son said that Vietnam congratulates the CPC on its 100th anniversary, and speaks highly of the great leap made by the Chinese people who, under the leadership of the CPC, have stood up, grown rich, and are becoming stronger, while striding towards the realization of the second centenary goal.

As a comrade and brother, Vietnam supports China's development, as well as its important role in maintaining peace and development in the region and the wider world, and the greater contributions it is to make to the world's socialist cause, he said.

At present, Son said, as both Vietnam and China are at critical stages of realizing their respective strategic development goals, promoting stable development of relations between the two parties and the two countries is of great significance to both sides.

The Vietnamese side is ready to strengthen cooperation with China in various fields and exchanges at all levels, vigorously push forward economic, trade, and investment cooperation in a post-pandemic period, step up connectivity in transportation and infrastructure, enhance maritime cooperation, and jointly safeguard maritime peace and stability, he said.

Vietnam supports raising the strategic position of ASEAN-China relations, and holding a special foreign ministers' meeting on the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue relations, and is ready to work with China to drive forward the Lancang-Mekong cooperation, Son added.

He also said that it is hoped that the two sides enhance coordination and cooperation in such multilateral institutions as the United Nations.

During the phone talk, the two sides agree to hold as early as possible a new session of the China-Vietnam Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation so as to coordinate their efforts in promoting bilateral exchanges and cooperation in various fields. Enditem
Ottawa, April 17 : The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) has urged the government to take unprecedented measures to stem the Covid-19 spread across the country amid a surge of fresh cases.

"As the third wave of the pandemic wreaks havoc on the healthcare and public health systems, healthcare providers, and patients, we are at a critical juncture where a truly national approach to combating Covid-19 will make the difference between more or fewer lives saved," Ann Collins, President of the CMA, said in a statement on Friday.

"This country must come together to help support provinces most severely impacted." In the statement, the CMA called for marshaling national resources, applying restrictive health measures and prioritising national collaboration, reports Xinhua news agency.

Province-to-province collaboration and national leadership are needed to fight the pandemic, it said, also recommending sharing healthcare resources across provincial and territorial borders to support areas that most need help.

The CMA called on the Canadian government to alter its vaccine distribution and prioritise areas that have an urgent need for vaccines rather than the government's current per-capita approach. It also said that an enhanced form of paid sick leave is required.

As of Friday, more than 9,475,653 doses of approved COVID-19 vaccines have been administered across the country, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

The CMA noted that further restrictions must be considered for provinces with lower transmission rates than in Ontario and Quebec in order to support other jurisdictions in dire circumstances.

"We are one country, and it's time we started acting as one by deploying resources where they are most needed. If we can't achieve this through voluntary cooperation, then more and stronger measures might be needed," Collins said.

Canada has so far reported 1,103,441 coronavirus cases with 23,535 deaths, according to the CMA.

Over the past week, there have been on average more than 8,600 new cases reported daily, the Public Health Agency of Canada said on Friday.

During the same time, the number of people experiencing severe symptoms continues to rise.

On an average, more than 3,400 Covid-19 patients were being treated in hospitals each day, including almost 1,050 people in intensive care units, representing a 34 per cent and 22 per cent increase, respectively, compared to the prior week.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
5 1 of 5 Tom Heffernan / Special to Times Union Show More Show Less 2 of 5 Tom Heffernan / Special to Times Union Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 Tom Heffernan / Special to Times Union Show More Show Less 5 of 5









BETHLEHEM - One person was found dead in a Glenmont-area home after a fire that brought a response from several departments early Saturday morning, according to Bethlehem police.

Just after 3 a.m., police received a report of the fire at 228 Bender Lane. Police and firefighters arrived to find the house engulfed in flames.
By Emily Cordonnier '21

I love looking through old photos; if I could, Id do it all day. Thankfully, I can  at least for a couple of hours a day. Over the past couple of months, Ive been working with the photo collection in the University Archives, alphabetizing, organizing and removing duplicate photos.

If every photo tells a story, those drawers hold a library full of student and faculty history. Some photos are too good not to share; during my work, I routinely found myself taking photos of the images and sending them to my friends so they could share the experience. Here are some of my favorite photos and moments in UD history.

Everythings waiting for you  downtown

These photos show the last time the Arcade was in operation in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It is interesting to see the Arcade restored to its former glory. Since its opening, the Dayton Arcade has been a centerpiece to the downtown area, and now UD students can enjoy its rich history. Daytons downtown offers a beautiful array of architectural structures and public spaces, my personal favorite being the lookout point above the Courthouse Square fountain.

Wanna grab lunch on Brown Street?

Brown Street has been the quintessential place to grab lunch or hang out with friends for generations. The Pine Club looks the same as it did many years ago; United Dairy Farmers has been a perennial savior for late-night munchies; and Milanos has been serving up pizza and subs to the UD community since 1969.

Outside is the place to be

Once the weather gets nice, outside is the only spot to be. Rather than being trapped inside, why not bring your living room outside? Moving furniture outside to soak up the rays and hang out with friends was a common occurrence in the 1970s and 80s on campus. If moving all your belongings outside is too much work, then meditate in the grass near a tree  or grab a few friends and hang out in a tree.

The Times They Are A-Changin

Some of my other favorite photos come from the demonstrations category. In 1971 during the opening of the new library, demonstrators gathered to protest the firing of 85 union workers. After the demonstration, some students involved were taken to student court as they had violated the Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Freedoms. The court later dismissed the charges and gave students the right to protest as long as it was not used disruptively. You can find out more about the library protests on an online UD Arena history project led by history faculty member Todd Uhlman.

Another student demonstration occurred with the University permitting the CIA to recruit on campus in 1988 and 1989 and to host a two-month speaker series. It led to a range of protests including a two-and-a-half-day sit-in by 33 students in the presidents office. The yearlong debate sparked dialogue about UDs Catholic values as well as the concerns about the well-being of the country and people from other nations. If youd like to read more about the protests, you can read about it in the 1989 Daytonian yearbook (pages 54-59).

Come browse by appointment

If youd like to browse the photos for yourself, schedule an appointment with the University Archives and Special Collections by contacting University archivist Kristina Schulz at 937-229-4256 or archives@udayton.edu.

Emily Cordonnier is a senior graphic design major from Covington, Ohio. Shell graduate in May 2021.
Search-and-rescue divers worked Friday to get inside the cabin of the capsized Seacor Power lift boat, hoping to find survivors a day after rescuers several miles away plucked the body of a second crewman from the Gulf of Mexico.

[UPDATE: Divers on the Seacor Power later in the day Friday found the bodies of two crew members, officials said.]

The body of crew member Ernest Williams, 69, of Arnaudville, was found in the water near Cocodrie, west of where the ill-fated lift boat overturned, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The Lafourche Parish coroner, Dr. John King, confirmed his identity.

A Coast Guard helicopter team spotted Williams about 7:10 p.m. Thursday, officials said. He was pulled from the water by a search team and brought by boat to a Coast Guard station in Grand Isle, where he was pronounced dead.

A relative of Williams declined comment when reached by telephone Friday, saying an attorney had advised the family not to speak to news media at this stage.

+2 2nd Seacor Power crew member found dead identified as Lafayette-area man The second crew member of the capsized Seacor Power lift boat who was found dead was 69-year-old Ernest Williams of Arnaudville, Louisiana, ac

The grim news about Williams left two confirmed dead from the 19-member crew that left Port Fourchon on Tuesday afternoon and met disaster eight miles off the Louisiana coast. King earlier identified the first crew member whose body was recovered as David Ledet, a 63-year-old captain from Thibodaux.

Rescuers saved six other crew members in the hours after the capsizing; 11 remained missing Friday, though authorities still hope at least some are alive inside the vessel.

Coast Guard Lt. John Edwards said early Friday that the agency still considered the operations around the wrecked jack-up boat to be a rescue mission.

He said that on Friday the rescue team, made up of ex-Navy divers working for New Jersey-based Donjon Marine, were trying to open one of several hatches to enter the vessel and find crew members trapped there.

We are hopeful that we do find crew members alive, and thats why we are making every effort we can to get to them and bring them home, Edwards said.

Divers reached the ship about 7:50 a.m., pausing for rough weather conditions before resuming about 1:30 p.m. Friday, the Coast Guard said.

Marion Cuyler, whose fiance is missing Seacor Power crane operator Chaz Morales, said that authorities told family members that the divers got up to the boat, got to the hatch and were able to open the hatch slightly late Thursday.

They didnt want to open it all the way, she said. There is water behind there.

She said the focus on Friday was to go out, get in that hatch and start getting people out.

As divers readied entry into the mostly sunken boat, family members gathered for updates in Port Fourchon or tried to find other ways to get information.

Scott Daspit motored a borrowed boat from Port Fourchon on Thursday and made the trip south to see for himself.

+5 Families rattled as dive search intensifies for Seacor Power crew: 'I can't bury another son' Scott Daspit motored a borrowed boat from Port Fourchon on Thursday and headed eight miles south to the U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue ope

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Hed raised two boys in the oil and gas industry after losing one to childbirth, he said. Now his oldest, Dylan Daspit, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Sunday, is among the missing.

I cant bury another son, he said Friday.

Dylan Daspit works for Cardinal Coil Tubing, based in New Iberia. His father said the crew was transporting Cardinals equipment to the Talos Energy platform 100 miles east of Port Fourchon near the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Cardinal Coil Tubing's manager declined comment Friday.

Scott Daspit, 57, said he wasnt getting any answers and needed to see for himself. The Coast Guard stopped him about a mile from the scene, he said, but close enough to see activity.

It was confirmation for me. I saw the dive boats there. I saw two smaller boats trying to get to the jack-up, he said. We wasnt getting answers.

Three of Dylan Daspits friends, graduates of Delcambre High School, drank wine after an impromptu vigil at the Delcambre Shrimp Festival grounds Thursday evening.

It took my breath away, said Macie LeBlanc. Its just traumatizing. We dont know much. And I think thats whats killing us all at this point.

The reason Coast Guard officials believed Friday that there may still be survivors aboard the Seacor Power revealed itself on the first night of rescue efforts.

Coast Guard rescuers found five crew members on the Seacor Powers hull hoping to be saved. Two were rescued after they jumped off the hull. A third who fell in the water vanished from sight.

Two others who grabbed life jackets and radios dropped to them by a Coast Guard helicopter crew went back into the ship as tempestuous conditions complicated rescue efforts. That pair of crew members was why the Coast Guard thought there might still be survivors aboard the Seacor Power four days later, huddling in air pockets and waiting to be saved.

Experts said divers were pushing to search inside the ship Friday because they know air pockets will eventually run out of oxygen. Exactly when oxygen runs out depends on the size of the space and on how many people are alive and breathing in one.

Edwards, the Coast Guard lieutenant, said divers had tapped on the ships hull Thursday but received no response. Still, he cautioned that no one should draw any conclusions on the condition of the crew members based off of that.

The Seacor Power capsized about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. The weather was relatively clear when it departed three hours earlier, but about 2:30 p.m., forecasters warned of tropical storm-force winds and potentially destructive waves in the area where the crew was headed.

Those winds soon reached hurricane strength because of a rare weather event known as a "wake low." The Seacor Power took on water and turned over on its starboard side, setting off the frantic search effort that will enter its fifth day Saturday.

Staff writer Megan Wyatt contributed to this report.

Seacor Power divers 'hopeful' to rescue crew alive by using access points on vessel Divers working on the rescue mission around the capsized Seacor Power have assessed multiple potential access points into the vessel and hope 
Iran names suspect in Natanz attack, says he fled country View Photo

TEHRAN, Iran (AP)  Iran named a suspect Saturday in the attack on its Natanz nuclear facility that damaged centrifuges there, saying he had fled the country hours before the sabotage happened.

While the extent of the damage from the April 11 sabotage remains unclear, it comes as Iran tries to negotiate with world powers over allowing the U.S. to re-enter its tattered nuclear deal and lift the economic sanctions it faces.

Already, Iran has begun enriching uranium up to 60% purity in response  three times higher than ever before, though in small quantities. The sabotage and Irans response to it also have further inflamed tensions across the Mideast, where a shadow war between Tehran and Israel, the prime suspect in the sabotage, still rages.

State television named the suspect as 43-year-old Reza Karimi. It showed a passport-style photograph of a man it identified as Karimi, saying he was born in the nearby city of Kashan, Iran.

The report also aired what appeared to be an Interpol red notice seeking his arrest. The arrest notice was not immediately accessible on Interpols public-facing database. Interpol, based in Lyon, France, declined to comment.

The TV report said necessary actions are underway to bring Karimi back to Iran through legal channels, without elaborating. The supposed Interpol red notice listed his foreign travel history as including Ethiopia, Kenya, the Netherlands, Qatar, Romania, Turkey, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates.

The report did not elaborate how Karimi would have gotten access to one of the most secure facilities in the Islamic Republic. However, it did for the first time show authorities acknowledging an explosion struck the Natanz facility.

There was a limited explosion of a small part of the electricity-feeding path to the centrifuges hall, the TV report said. The explosion happened because of the function of explosive materials and there was no cyberattack.

Initial reports in Israeli media, which maintain close relations to its military and intelligence services, blamed a cyberattack for the damage.

The Iranian state TV report also said there were images that corroborated the account of an explosion rather than cyberattack offered by security services, but it did not broadcast those pictures.

The report also showed centrifuges in a hall, as well as what appeared to be caution tape at the Natanz facility. In one shot, a TV reporter interviewed an unnamed technician, who was shown from behind  likely a safety measure as Iranian nuclear scientists have been assassinated in suspected Israeli-orchestrated attacks in the past.

The sound that you are hearing is the sound of operating machines that are fortunately undamaged, he said, the high-pitched whine of the centrifuges heard in the background. Many of the centrifuge chains that faced defects are now under control. Part of the work that had been disrupted will be back on track with the round-the-clock efforts of my colleagues.

In Vienna, negotiations continued over the deal Saturday with another meeting of diplomats from Iran and the five powers that remain in the deal, with expert-level working groups on sanctions-lifting and nuclear issues set to continue activities through to next week.

Irans negotiator told state TV that the talks had entered a new phase, adding that Iran had proposed draft agreements that could be a basis for negotiation.

We think that the talks have reached a stage where parties are able to begin to work on a joint draft, Abbas Araghchi said. It seems that a new understanding is taking shape, and now there is agreement over final goals.

Enrique Mora, the European Union official who chaired the talks, tweeted that progress has been made in a far from easy task. We need now more detailed work.

The 2015 accord, which former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from in 2018, prevented Iran from stockpiling enough high-enriched uranium to be able to pursue a nuclear weapon if it chose in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, though the West and the IAEA say Tehran had an organized military nuclear program up until the end of 2003. An annual U.S. intelligence report released Tuesday maintained the longtime American assessment that Iran isnt currently trying to build a nuclear bomb.

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 attack at Natanz was initially described only as a blackout in its electrical grid  but later Iranian officials began calling it an attack.

One Iranian official 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.

___

Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

By NASSER KARIMI

Associated Press
gettyimagesbank





By Lee Hyo-jin







The number of drug-related crimes committed by foreign nationals in Korea has more than doubled over the last four years, while over the same time the number of violent crimes such as murder and assault has decreased, according to a lawmaker, Thursday.







Rep. Kang Gi-yun of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) revealed data received from the National Police Agency that included the number of crimes committed by foreigners between 2017 and 2020, based on the number of cases booked.







There has been an average of 37,000 booked cases every year; 36,069 in 2017, 34,832 in 2018, 39,249 in 2019 and 39,140 in 2020.







The number of foreign suspects booked for drug crimes has more than doubled from 620 in 2017 to 1,428 in 2020. The number of non-violent crimes such as fraud and scamming stood at 7,002 cases last year, up 53 percent from 4,571 in 2017.







Meanwhile, violent crimes including murder and robbery decreased during the same period. The number of foreign nationals booked for murder fell by 32 percent from 106 to 80.







Sex offense and assault cases also dropped by 17 percent and 11 percent, respectively, while the number of robberies and thefts slightly decreased by 4 and 3 percent each.







Among the foreign nationals who committed crimes, by nationality, Vietnamese showed the largest increase. A total of 3,102 people from Vietnam were booked last year, up 65 percent from 1,877 in 2017. The crime rate for Pakistanis also surged, up 62 percent from 274 to 444.







The number of crimes committed by Chinese nationals showed a 5 percent decrease to 18,922 from 19,927 in 2017.


HARARE, Zimbabwe  Zimbabwe released at least 320 prisoners from its jails on Saturday to ease congestion in the countrys notoriously overcrowded jails as a second wave of the coronavirus devastates the country.

The move comes amid growing allegations that a government crackdown has sent dozens of activists, journalists and opposition leaders to prisons.

The prisoners were released under an amnesty program established by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in 2018, the year after he seized power, ending decades of the strongman rule of Robert G. Mugabe. The amnesty does not include prisoners convicted of crimes that include murder, human trafficking, sexual offenses and treason.

Most of those released on Saturday had been convicted of nonviolent crimes, according to Zimbabwes Prison and Correctional Service, but were being held in the infamous Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison. That is the countrys largest correctional facility, and it is known for overcrowding and unsanitary conditions.
When an employee in Attorney General Jeff Landrys office filed a complaint last year alleging that a top deputy sexually harassed women in the office, the grievance outlined potential harassment involving five women.

But only two employees were interviewed as part of the law firm Taylor Porters investigation into the complaint, according to a newly released document from Landrys office. Landry has fought efforts to publicly release the full investigation into former Criminal Division Director Pat Magee, which found that his actions did not rise to the level of sexual harassment.

Whether the full investigation should be made public will be at issue in an April 22 court hearing between Landrys office and a reporter for The Advocate | The Times-Picayune. In the meantime, Landrys office has released a heavily redacted version of the investigation from Taylor Porter attorney Vicki Crochet, which includes a log describing each document being withheld.

Attorney General Jeff Landry's office targets whistleblower who reported sexual harassment Two months after Attorney General Jeff Landry filed a lawsuit to prevent records about sexual harassment accusations against one of his top em

The log provides some new details about the steps Crochet took in her probe of Magee. It says that, in addition to interviewing him, Crochet conducted interviews with just two employees  one of whom presumably was the complainant, although the names are redacted from the record. It also says that Crochet reviewed specific text messages that Magee provided going back two years. Crochet also met with higher-ups in the office to review her findings.

Concerns about the depth of Crochets investigation prompted a former Attorney Generals Office employee to file a second complaint about Magee last month, shortly after the first complaint became public. The woman who filed the second complaint alleged that Magee had created a hostile work environment for women in his office, often restricting their job duties and giving them less serious criminal cases.

The complainant wrote that she would have participated in the sexual harassment investigation, had Crochet only reached out to her. And she said other former employees could have corroborated her accounts if Crochet had asked around.

It is obvious that the investigation was not thorough, and that little to no effort was made to contact current or former employees to verify the allegations or share additional experiences or concerns, the attorney, who is now in private practice, wrote.

Was Jeff Landry aide 'joking?' Louisiana sexual harassment training says that's no defense When Attorney General Jeff Landrys office set out to discipline criminal division director Pat Magee over allegations of sexual harassment, i

Crochet declined to answer questions about how many employees were interviewed as part of her investigation and how she drew her conclusions, citing the pending lawsuit between Landry and the reporter. She said questions about the scope or substance of my work should be directed to Landrys office.

Billing records show Landry's office paid Crochet $6,500 for her work on the investigation.

Landrys office did not respond Friday to detailed questions about Crochets investigation and the other records the office released. Officials also did not answer questions about whether theyve taken any steps to investigate the second complaint into Magee.

Magee resigned shortly after the second complaint was filed, but said in a statement that he never committed sexual harassment and that he did not condone it.

Pat Magee  aide to Jeff Landry  resigns amid second sexual harassment complaint Pat Magee, a top aide to Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, resigned Thursday as a second sexual harassment complaint against him came to

Lawmakers have also raised questions about how the investigation cleared Magee of harassment. During sexual harassment training this week for members of the states House of Representative, State Rep. Barry Ivey, R-Central, brought up the Magee investigation as the elephant in the room.

"I couldnt understand how the AG's office could have determined in the end that was not sexual harassment, Ivey said.

WBRZ-TV also reported last month that another woman who accused Magee of wrongdoing had criticized the breadth of Crochets investigation.

"I'm just stunned that she was engaged to do what would be purported a thorough investigation, and it's a sham," the woman told WBRZ. The station did not name the employee, who said she reported Magee to the Attorney General's HR department last year. "It's incredibly disheartening as a female and as an employee not to be taken seriously."

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+2 Inside the complaint against top Jeff Landry aide: 'Jurors would want to have sex with her' A sexual harassment complaint against a top aide for Attorney General Jeff Landry alleges that Pat Magee insisted that one woman should be dep

The few unredacted documents that Landrys office has released show that at least three women directly reported concerns about Magee to Sandra Schober, Landrys deputy director for administrative services.

One of those reports came on Dec. 3, 2020. A woman who was the lead attorney on a case said that she and a less experienced male employee were discussing the case with Magee when Magee shushed her and swatted her hand away, she told Schober. She reported that Magee said he wanted to hear from her colleague.

She stated that it made her feel as though [Magee] did not value her expertise and that he was dismissive of her due to her gender, Schober wrote.

The woman also told Schober that on a Zoom call, Magee was talking about male anatomy and used the word dicks several times. Schober asked the woman why she waited to report the incidents, and the attorney said that another employee  whose name she gave to Schober  encouraged her to do so.

Attorney General Jeff Landry sues Advocate reporter over public-records request Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry on Friday sued a reporter for The Advocate and The Times-Picayune over a public-records request she fil

Another employee told Schober two months earlier that Magee made her feel uncomfortable when looking at a photo of her children and comparing them to his own family having multiple baby mamas. She also told Schober that she feared Magee was out to get her, but Schober said she assured the employee that was not the case, because Magee had spoken highly of her. The woman also gave Schober the name of an employee who she said encouraged her to come forward.

Schober also recorded a complaint from 2019 about a woman who said shed gotten permission to move offices, but that Magee had snapped at her for doing so and ordered her to move back.

Magee told Schober he was proud of himself for not cursing as he was very upset with the employee. Schober told him to document a miscommunication with another employee whod given the woman permission to move offices, and Magee told her that hed verbally counsel the employee.

But the office-moving incident also came up in the initial sexual harassment complaint that was filed against Magee. The complaint said that the woman who tried to move offices was being considered a few weeks beforehand for a promotion.

Magee shot down the idea "citing how attractive she was" and expressing concern that he could not control himself around her sexually, according to the complaint.

The documents that Landrys office released also include a few text messages, including an exchange between unnamed employees defending Landrys refusal to release the initial complaint into Magee. Landry sued a reporter for The Advocate | The Times-Picayune when she sought a copy of the complaint, but a Baton Rouge judge ordered that it be released with redactions to protect the privacy of potential witnesses and victims.

Its not just about the Magee complaint, one of the text messages says. We are fighting for all grievances for all state employees who have no other option but a grievance and if we cant keep these confidential people could really suffer in silence.

Landrys office also provided a copy of its sexual harassment policy, which says employees should direct their complaints to Schober. The policy forbids employees from making intentionally false and malicious complaints, while it also forbids retaliation of any kind against those who report sexual harassment.

State legislators: More needs to be exposed in Jeff Landry's office scandals Thanks to the commendable hard work of reporters at The Advocate and The Times-Picayune, Louisianans now know about the culture of sexism, har

Last week, Landrys office released a memo from Schober that criticized the whistleblower who filed the initial complaint about Magee. She cast doubt on the employee's veracity, and wrote that she was investigating whether the employee lacks the requisite judgment, honesty, and integrity required of all LADOJ personnel.
Catholic schools have split over Mark Lathams proposal to ban any discussion of gender diversity in NSW classrooms, with the states main Catholic education body supporting the bill but the large Parramatta diocese lodging a strong objection.

Mr Lathams bill proposes to prohibit the promotion of gender fluidity in schools, including the classroom and teachers professional development courses. The NSW One Nation leader says this is about re-establishing the primacy of parents in shaping their childrens development and sense of identity.

Mark Lathams bill proposes to prohibit the promotion of gender fluidity in schools. Credit:Kate Geraghty

In a submission to a parliamentary inquiry into the bill, the Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta described the proposal as counter to promoting and respecting the human dignity of all and an unacceptable incursion into the professional judgement of Catholic schools and school systems.

It warned prohibitions on what can be discussed within the learning process can stigmatise these matters and people whose life experiences are connected to them, and that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) students would likely be subjected to discrimination and harassment as a result.
It was an active week in the small-cap oil and gas sector.

( ) unveiled a significant upgrade to its independently assessed oil and gas reserves at the Abu Sennan concession, onshore Egypt.

According to a report by consultant Gaffney, Cline & Associates, the concessions proved and probable (2P) reserves rose by 24% to 16.8mln barrels, from 13.5mln in early 2020, and gross proved (1P) reserves expanded 59% to 6.7mln.

The company highlighted significant additional growth opportunities with the consultants report pointing to some 21 exploration targets in the portfolio. The largest of these is estimated to contain 5mln barrels and is seen to have a 35% chance of success.

Earlier in the week, (LON:88E, ) reported evidence of oil in the Merlin well, in Alaska. Samples taken from sidewall cores showed fluorescence and cut which are both indicators of oil. They were present in samples taken from several horizons.

The samples have now been sent for further analysis. "The sidewall core photos provide further evidence of the presence of oil over multiple horizons in the Merlin-1 well, said Dave Wall, managing director. Whilst these results are confirmatory of the cuttings data and were expected, it is reassuring to see."

( ) confirmed its latest payments for oil sales in the Kurdistan region of Northern Iraq. The payments totalled US$27.2mln and cover oil sales made in the month of February, and, includes some US$5.4mln of recovered receivables relating to sales in 2019 and 2020.

Additionally, the company told investors that its partner DNO, operator of Genels 25% owned Tawke PSC, has now stepped-up drilling of new wells at Peshkabir and workovers of existing wells at the Tawke field.

(LON:TXP, ) shares advanced more than 20% after the company told investors that flowback testing of the Cascadura Deep-1 well, in Trinidad, confirmed a liquids rich discovery.

The company, which owns an 80% stake in the well, highlighted that it had perforated the top 199 feet of 449 feet of potential pay identified previously, and an average flowback rate of 4,262 barrels of oil equivalent per day was measured. That rate comprised 22.9mln cubic feet of natural gas and 449 barrels of natural gas liquids (NGL).

A peak rate was measured at 4,567 boepd during the testing. The well flowed a total of 48.8mln cubic feet of natural gas and 1,081 barrels of NGLs during the testing programme. Touchstone highlighted that field analysis has indicated liquids rich gas with no hydrogen sulfide and no produced water.

( ) inked a non-binding agreement with Eunisell Limited, a Nigerian owned oil and gas production solutions company, to potentially develop the Barracuda oil field in OML 141, in Nigeria.

Subject to due diligence, the parties envisage possible collaboration opportunities and Eunisell may provide vendor financing to achieve the scope of work that may be agreed.

Tlou Energy PLC (LON:TLOU, ASX:TOU, ) passed a major landmark in the development of the Lesedi gas-to-power project in Botswana by awarding contracts for the transmission line and substation.

The former has gone to Zismo Engineering, a local company, while the latter will be built by South Africas OptiPower. The update comes after the company raised 2.6mln from shareholders to help fund construction. The work also starts the countdown to the first sales of electricity.

Connection to the grid is a crucial part of the overall Lesedi project and requires the creation of a 100km, 66kV line suspended from wooden poles connecting substations at Lesedi and Serowe.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 21:59:34|Editor: huaxia

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Aerial photo taken on April 17, 2021 shows a freight train bound for Hamburg, Germany departing from the Shijiazhuang international land port in north China's Hebei Province. The first China-Europe freight train bound for Germany from Hebei Province set out on Saturday in Shijiazhuang. The train, loaded with 100 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) of cargo, is expected to arrive in Hamburg in 18 days. (Photo by Zhang Xiaofeng/Xinhua)
The exercise named, 'Khanjar', was inaugurated on Friday at the Special Forces Brigade of National Guards of Kyrgyz Republic in Bishkek.

New Delhi, April 17 (IANS) The special forces of India and Kyrgyzstan have started a two-week military exercise in Bishkek with a focus on counter-terror drills.

It is the eight edition of the India-Kyrgyz Joint Special Forces Exercise.

Initiated first in 2011, the two-week long exercise focuses on high-altitude, mountains and counter-extremism.

Commander of Kyrgyz National Guards, Colonel Ergeshov Talantbek, in his opening remarks, commended high-altitude resilience of the two personnel and their camaraderie and interoperability.

Recalling the India-Kyrgyz civilisational bonds, Ambassador Alok A. Dimri welcomed the Indian contingent for the Exercise and felicitated their role as a bridge in promoting shared mountain and nomadic-heritage of the two peoples.

A ceremonial parade graced the occasion along with a display of equipment and weapons and a visit to the training arena and barracks.

It envisaged conduct of joint military exercises, exchange of experience and information, and exchange of military observers and instructors besides others.

In 2018, India and Kyrgyzstan signed four agreements, including one to boost defence cooperation and hold annual joint military exercises.

The two countries had agreed to expeditiously consider signing an agreement on "combating international terrorism and other crimes".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a visit in 2018 to emphasis the need to combat terrorism and extremism, a threat without borders.

--IANS

sk/ksk/
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

Today

Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 66F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 66F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
A tire plant will spend $21.8 million to expand production in middle Georgia.

Kumho Tire and Macon-Bibb Mayor Lester Miller announced the expansion Thursday.

The plant, which opened with a capacity of about 4 million tires a year, will be able to make another 500,000 tires a year.

Local news outlets report a groundbreaking is supposed to be held in May for the 20,000 square-foot (1,850 square-meter) expansion. The original $600 million plant opened in May 2016, hiring 400 people.

The plant will include a new automated production unit, a proprietary Kumho system that's supposed to help boost efficiency.

Seoul-based Kumho is the worlds 18th largest tire maker, operating a total of eight tire plants in China, South Korea, Vietnam and the U.S.

The Macon plant is the company's first American manufacturing facility. Since the Macon plant opened, China's Quingdao Doublestar Group acquired a controlling interest in Kumho Tire, in part due to the financial distress of the former Korean parent.

The Macon plant makes tires 17 inches or larger for passenger vehicles.

Miller did not note any incentives that government will give to the project.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
More than a third of graduates were awarded a first-class degree last summer as universities allowed students to self-certify illnesses and still get top marks for late work.

Institutions also shifted to 'more coursework-based assessments along with the use of quizzes, video submissions and digital portfolios'.

The proportion of students awarded first-class degrees rose from 28 per cent in 2019 to 35 per cent last year.

Along with upper seconds, the numbers gaining upper awards rose from 76 per cent in 2018-19 to 82 per cent in 2019-20.

The leap came as undergraduates mainly studied from home as institutions moved online from mid-March last year.

More than a third of graduates were awarded a first-class degree last summer as universities allowed students to self-certify illnesses and still get top marks for late work (stock image)

Universities UK and GuildHE yesterday published a report examining factors that may have contributed to the increase in firsts and upper seconds.

Last year many universities introduced measures to mitigate the challenges caused by the pandemic.

This included 'no detriment' policies, which protected students in extreme circumstances by using prior grades, and which calculated degree awards 'based on the adverse circumstances not occurring'.

Universities also adopted 'blanket rules' in mitigating circumstances applications to respond to the high volume of similar requests.

The report said: 'In recognition that evidence from doctors may be more difficult to collect, many providers allowed students to self-certify illnesses.

'Where appropriate, some providers expanded this to cover circumstances unrelated to Covid-19.'

On top of that, unlike in normal years when late work would be penalised by capped marks, the report said: 'If assessments were submitted late, they could still be awarded the full range of marks rather than be capped.'

The leap came as undergraduates mainly studied from home as institutions moved online from mid-March last year (stock image)

In addition, the 'high volume of coursework-based assessment throughout the 2019-20 academic year likely contributed to an uplift in student outcomes'.

Chris Hale, of Universities UK, defended the measures, saying institutions made 'breakthroughs with online teaching' and students' 'hard work and focus are also likely to have played a part'.

But Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, accused universities of 'devaluing the currency' of degrees.

Professor Alan Smithers, of the Centre for Education and Employment at Buckingham University, added: 'Over a third of firsts and over 80 per cent getting at least an upper-second is truly astonishing.

'It completely undermines the value of the degree since it no longer accurately tells candidates apart.'
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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 06:11:01|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The White House on Friday walked back from keeping the current cap of 15,000 annual refugee admissions set by former President Donald Trump, hours after the directive evoked widespread backfire from Democratic lawmakers and groups representing refugees.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement that President Joe Biden would announce a new, higher ceiling by May 15.

"For the past few weeks, he has been consulting with his advisors to determine what number of refugees could realistically be admitted to the United States between now and October 1. Given the decimated refugee admissions program we inherited, and burdens on the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), his initial goal of 62,500 seems unlikely," Psaki said.

"While finalizing that determination, the President was urged to take immediate action to reverse the Trump policy that banned refugees from many key regions, to enable flights from those regions to begin within days; today's order did that," Psaki said. "With that done, we expect the President to set a final, increased refugee cap for the remainder of this fiscal year by May 15."

Earlier on Friday, Biden signed an order keeping the country's fiscal year 2021 refugee admissions at 15,000, a historical low cap set by Trump.

In response, Democratic House lawmaker Ilhan Omar, who came to the United States as a Somali refugee, called the decision "shameful".

House Representative Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, slammed the decision "simply unacceptable and unconscionable" in a statement released on Friday.

The State Department said in February it was planning to raise the ceiling of refugee admissions to 62,500 in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.

The Biden administration's recent budget proposal requested 4.3 billion U.S. dollars for ORR, while setting a goal of 125,000 refugee admissions in 2022. The ORR's 2020 budget was 1.3 billion dollars. Enditem
This story about the disappearance of Kara Kopetsky was originally published on July 21, 2007. Ten years later, her body was found, as well as the body of Jessica Runions. This week, Kylr Yust, who had dated both of them, was found guilty in their deaths. The jury recommended life in prison.

The first door on the left leads into Karas bedroom. She always kept it closed.

She wanted Thomas, her 8-year-old half brother, to stay out.

She didnt want her parents to hear her climbing in through the window when she forgot her house keys  again.

She didnt want her stepdad to hear her talking with friends on her cellphone late at night. One month she talked so much and sent so many text messages that her cellphone bill was 40 pages long.

Behind that door is everything Rhonda Beckford has left of her 17-year-old daughter, Kara Kopetsky. Everything and nothing.

On the first Friday of May, a sunny spring day that tempted grown-ups to leave work early and kids to skip school, Kara didnt come home from classes at Belton High School. She hasnt been seen or heard from since. No one knows what happened to her. Not her parents, not the police, not friends who have posted messages on Karas MySpace page:

Hey Hunny! I freakin miss u! The family is doin everything imaginable to bring u home safe. They are goin crazy for u girl.

Belton teenager Kara Kopetsky, before she went missing in 2007.

Its been more than two months now since Kara went missing. Rhonda, 41, wears the stress on her face, where shadows sit under dark, glassy eyes.

Karas father, Mike Kopetsky, remarried and living in Blue Springs, sometimes forgets to eat. He has lost 20 pounds and has thrown himself into his job remanufacturing transmissions.

To keep my mind from wandering and my eyes from watering, he says.

Karas grandmother has started smoking again. Thomas asks for hugs from strangers.

When he hears his mom say she doesnt like to go past the door into Karas bedroom anymore, Thomas pipes up. Hed like to go in there, he says.

Really? says Jim Beckford, Thomas dad and Karas stepfather. You never told us you wanted to.

Story continues

When Kara didnt come home on May 4, Rhonda and Thomas taped a note on the wall just inside her bedroom door.

I know how hard it has been for you. Mom and Thomas

Jim says this isnt exactly a Leave It to Beaver home. It sounds like an apology.

He met Rhonda at UPS, where they work. At the time, Rhonda was a divorced single mom raising Kara; they were just two girls living alone. When Kara was 9, Jim and Rhonda got married.

When Karas dad, Mike, found out she was missing, he first thought Kara was out having fun on a prom weekend.

I kinda thought, OK, shes out being a rebel, partying, playing,  says Kopetsky, 38.

Friends described Kara as a firecracker, but she hadnt always avoided the straight and narrow. She wasnt always the girl who cut classes, smoked cigarettes and frowned in photos.

Pinned to her cluttered bulletin board are ribbons she won for track back when she still liked school, back when she played the flute.

By the time she got into ninth grade, Rhonda says, she was done with band.

A family photo shows Kara and Thomas sitting on a tractor, both grinning like Cheshire cats. Kara smiled like that before she became self-conscious about her looks and her full, Angelina Jolie lips.

Kara Kopetsky and her little brother, Thomas.

In adolescence, she became something of a boy magnet, and her parents warned her about the company she kept. In a house too small for secrets, Thomas heard the drama. In Karas bedroom he picks up a trinket from her vanity table.

She got that from her other boyfriend, remember? he tells his mom. The one that was good?

Officially, Kara is a missing person endangered.

It means that theres some concern about her being missing, that were concerned about her well-being, says Capt. Don Spears of the Belton Police Department. Specifically, because weve not heard from her, nor have any of her friends or family heard from her.

The concern grew from what police saw in Karas room, things a runaway might have taken with her. Makeup. Clothes. A carton of Marlboro Lights full except for one pack.

She left behind the iPod she got for Christmas and the hair straightener she used every morning.

She planned to interview at QuikTrip the day after she disappeared and had made plans with friends for the next two weekends. Money in her bank account is untouched. She left her debit card in her school locker.

But Karas cellphone, a Motorola Razr she got for her birthday, is missing. It hasnt been used since the morning of May 4.

With a kid that age, Spears said, thats a concern that the phones not been on.

Kara disappeared the same day a tornado destroyed the town of Greensburg, Kan. Family members said when they contacted local media they were told reporters were busy in Greensburg. Some media were reluctant to publicize a possible runaway.

But then, on June 2, Kelsey Smith was kidnapped in Overland Park, and Kara suddenly became the other teenage brunette missing in Kansas City.

Before law-enforcement officials determined the cases were unrelated, the national media came calling. Jim and Rhonda gave interviews to Geraldo Rivera, Nancy Grace and Greta Van Susteren. They keep their names and numbers in a little notebook in the kitchen.

People have reported seeing Kara from California to Florida. Someone thought they saw her on a plane. Someone else thought they saw her on a tram at Disney World. Another person thought they saw Kara with a young man at a gas station in Louisburg, Kan. Outside Chicago, the FBI searched a house and found nothing. A psychic envisioned Kara in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Leads like these come in daily. Her family doesnt know what to believe, afraid to ignore the one tip that might lead to Kara.

The family has gotten to where we dont take a lot of hope, says Mike Kopetsky. There in the beginning wed get a lot of false hope, and itd end up being heart-crushing when they were false leads.

One day before the end of the school year, a rumor swept through town that a body had been found under a bridge in Louisburg. Even the kids at Thomas school heard it.

They found your sisters body, kids told Thomas. Your sisters dead.

Though people second-guess them  you should have done this, you should have tried that  Jim and Rhonda feel theyve done everything they can.

After calling the police, they organized an army of Karas cousins, aunts, uncles and friends of the family to knock on doors around Belton, make fliers and T-shirts and call her friends.

One of those friends, Kylr Yust, 18, was Karas on-again-off-again boyfriend for much of the school year.

Anyone whos read Karas MySpace page knows about the tempestuous Kara-Kylr hookup.

Police say that a few days before she disappeared, Kylr and Kara had a dustup that resulted in an order of protection requiring Kylr to stay away from her.

On April 24, Kara wrote: So life hasnt been the greatest for me lately, over the last 9 months of my life iv dedicated my life to kylr  I made no other time for any of my friends nor my family. over those 9 months i forgot the person that I was. im trying to find that person again.

Kylr said Kara was a flying by the seat of your pants girl.

She just wanted to have fun and do everything and experience everything in life, he said. She didnt think too forward. She was always in the moment. She didnt think about what am I gong to do when I grow up.

He keeps pictures of her on his cellphone. He said she talked of running away to Mexico the next time she was punished at home.

Lately Ive been kind of depressed about the whole thing, he says. I have no idea where she is.

Friends doubt that Kara ran away, but police have not ruled out the possibility. Spears says there are no suspects in Karas disappearance; theres no evidence a crime has been committed.

Because shes 17, legal age in Missouri, the police couldnt make her come home even if they found her, Spears says.

If Kara wanted to vanish without a trace, he says, she could have found a website to tell her how. She could have bought a pay-as-you-go cellphone that cant be tracked. She could have left behind her clothes and that fresh carton of cigarettes on purpose.

It complicates the matter and adds to the frustration, Spears says. Hopefully we can keep her face out in front of the public.

And yet, her dad worries about the attention.

You kind of go back and forth, Mike Kopetsky says. If she is trying to come back home, are we putting so much attention on this that shes scared to?

All these different possibilities go through your head, and you dont know the right answer. Were all just frustrated  that nobody has said anything yet. Somebody at some point has to say something.

What could she be so angry about in her life to where she would have no contact with any family or friends?

After touring Karas bedroom, Thomas sits on the sofa in the living room and remembers his big sister.

When he would beat Kara at racing games on the Xbox. When she would make him do her chores. When she would walk him home from school and call him butthead.

I remember that time when she got a water bottle and just splashed it on my shirt. And then I put ice on her, Thomas says. I dont have anyone to put water on.

Missing

Kara (its pronounced CAR-uh) Kopetsky

Last seen: May 4 at Belton High School

Appearance: White female; 5 feet, 5 inches tall; 125 pounds; light brown hair; hazel eyes; scar on forehead

What she was wearing: Blue jeans, black studded belt, gray T-shirt with white skulls on it, black and gray Vans sneakers with bleach splotches and black leather hobo bag

If you have information: Call the TIPS Hotline, 816-474-TIPS (816-474-8477)

Fundraiser: Kara Kopetsky Poker Run, 10 a.m. to noon July 28, sponsored by Blue Springs Harley-Davidson. The ride begins at Guichos, 110 Cunningham Parkway, next to Blockbuster in Belton. All-day activities include a bake sale, car wash and raffles. For info, call the Harley dealership, 816-224-5005.
Thousands of "highly confidential" photos entered as evidence into the Ghislaine Maxwell court case may temporarily stall the hearings, as her lawyers have requested time to pore over the new trove of information.

There are tens of thousands of pieces of evidence included in Ms Maxwell's trial, and the new release of 2,100 photos will only add to the mountain of evidence the alleged sex trafficker's lawyers will have to pore over before she goes to trial.

Ms Maxwell's lawyer sent a letter to Judge Alison Nathan requesting more time to review the materials.

The trial is set to begin on 12 July.

Ms Maxwell was hit with two additional charges of sex trafficking late last month after a new accuser levied claims against her. As a result, Ms Maxwell's lawyers have asked to "re-review" the existing evidence to consider the latest charges.

The latest accuser, a woman who is now in her 30's, alleged that Ms Maxwell recruited her to send sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein nude "sexualised messages" to his home in Palm Beach between 2001 and 2004. She also claimed that Ms Maxwell groomed her to engage in sex acts with Epstein.

According to the indictment discussing her accusations, Maxwell asked Minor Victim-4 about her family and other aspects of her life. Maxwell also sought to normalize inappropriate and abusive conduct by, among other things, discussing sexual topics in front of Minor Victim-4 and being present when Minor Victim- 4 was nude in the massage room of the Palm Beach Residence.

The accuser would have been between the ages of 14 and 17 at the time she was involved with Epstein.

We cannot adequately prepare for a trial containing the new charges and a substantially expanded conspiracy in the less than three months remaining, the lawyers said in their letter.

Ms Maxwell's lawyers also claimed that technology issues were hindering her ability to review the evidence herself.

We have tried to use an FBI-supplied laptop and hard drive to review approximately 2,100 Highly Confidential photographs that were not produced to us in discovery, the lawyers wrote in the letter. Because of technical issues with the laptop, we still have not completed the review.

Thus far, a ruling to change the date of the trial has not been made.

Ms Maxwell was arrested in 2019 for her alleged role in arranging and training girls for Epstein to sexually abuse and for lying under oath about her involvement with the infamous sex trafficker.
PORT CARBON  On a chilly, rainy Friday morning, Steve Markley and his co-workers from D.G. Yuengling & Son Inc. brewery, Stephanie Hemmann and Jen Holtzman, walked along a wooded area in boots and rain gear, picking up debris along the way.

Then they spotted a partially buried rusted shopping cart and, using shovels, attempted to dig it out.

They were among 35 volunteers, including 20 brewery employees, gathered at the boroughs public works and garage building on Commerce Street to clean up trash along Mill Creek and the Schuylkill River. The cleanup, a partnership between the brewery and Schuylkill Headwaters Association, took them from Mill Creek, behind Yuenglings Mill Creek brewery, to the Schuylkill Transportation System building at Industrial Park and ending at the Schuylkill River along Route 209.

Throughout the morning and early afternoon, they walked along the banks with black trash bags, clearing it not only of pieces of trash, but of tires, tarps and mattress springs. The boroughs public works employees were on hand with trucks to assist the cleanup.

Markley, Yuenglings director of field marketing, said he came out to the cleanup because he wanted to help out and keep the environment clean.

It feels fantastic, he said. Its great to chip in, work as a team and help where we can.

He and his co-workers dug around the cart for 15 minutes before moving on. Two of the Yuengling sisters, Debbie Yuengling, employee engagement and culture manager, and Sheryl Yuengling, order services manager, joined the employees in the cleanup.

Debbie, who organized the employees volunteering that day, said it was fantastic to see her co-workers pitching in to clean up around the river despite the rain.

It shows we are committed to the community, she said. Schuylkill County has been our home for over 190 years and it means a lot to give back.

Also pitching in was state Rep. Tim Twardzik, R-123, Butler Township, who hauled out part of a barbecue grill along Mill Creek.

Its to have a barbecue lunch, he joked as he put onto the back of a pickup truck.

Twardzik said trash brings down a community, adding that it was great and wonderful to see the large crowd of volunteers giving back to the community.

John Bondura, the associations fish committee chairman, remarked that you never know what youll bring out, as he put a long piece of debris into the back of a pickup truck. He said some of it comes down from floods and high waters.

He said it was awesome to see the volunteers cleaning up the waterways, adding they were getting better over time.

Before the cleanup, Yuengling handed out yellow T-shirts with the brewerys Golden Pilsner beer logo printed on them. They were given instructions for the day by Terri Gibbons, the associations program manager, who encouraged them to have fun and dont hurt yourself.

Port Carbon Council President Scott Krater thanked the volunteers for their work on behalf of the borough.

Yuengling and Gibbons said the cleanup was supposed to happen last year but was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is the first partnership between the brewery and the association.

Gibbons said the goal of the cleanup was to promote the integrity of the Schuylkill watershed and its tributaries, of which Mill Creek is one of them, and for the waterways to be ecologically sound. It also helps kick off the celebration of Earth Day on April 22. Holtzman said with the holiday coming up and the brewerys involvement with the American Eagle Foundation, it made sense to clean up the environment around the Mill Creek brewery.

I got a little dirty, but it feels great, she said of volunteering at the cleanup.
NASA has selected Starship to land the first astronauts on the lunar surface since the Apollo program! We are humbled to help @NASAArtemis usher in a new era of human space exploration ? https://t.co/Qcuop33Ryz pic.twitter.com/GN9Tcfqlfp  SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 16, 2021

For the past year, NASA has been working with three partners as part of the Artemis program, which will put man (and woman) on the lunar surface again: Blue Origin, Dynetics, and SpaceX. SpaceX has been awarded the $2.89 billion contract to build the lunar lander, which, NASA explains, will be based on Starship.Starship is SpaceXs reusable rocket, which, CEO Elon Musk hopes, will also take man to Mars and eventually lead to the Red Planet s colonization. NASA is showing faith in the reusable rocket as well, picking it for the Artemis mission as the lunar lander. In this capacity, it will put the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon by 2025.This is an exciting time for NASA and especially the Artemis team, Lisa Watson-Morgan, program manager for HLS at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, says in a statement. During the Apollo program, we proved that it is possible to do the seemingly impossible: land humans on the Moon. By taking a collaborative approach in working with industry while leveraging NASAs proven technical expertise and capabilities, we will return American astronauts to the Moons surface once again, this time to explore new areas for longer periods of time.The phrase sustainable lunar exploration is also included in the press release, which gives a hint as to the edge Starship had over rival proposals. SpaceXs main focus is on developing reusable rockets , which can land on their own vertically, thus enabling considerably lower mission costs and higher mission frequencies.The video below offers a bit more details into what NASA is hoping to achieve with the lunar landing.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said that people will likely need a third booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine within 12 months of getting fully vaccinated, CNBC reported based on his comments from April 1, which were made public on Thursday.



The head of the US-based company also mentioned that people may need to get these vaccine shots annually. "We need to see what would be the sequence, and for how often we need to do that, that remains to be seen," Bourla told CNBC in an interview.

Reuters

A likely scenario is that there will be likely a need for a third dose, somewhere between six and 12 months and then from there, there will be an annual revaccination, but all of that needs to be confirmed, he said, adding that much will depend on the nature of the variants.

Pfizer said earlier this month that its Covid-19 vaccine was more than 91 per cent effective at protecting against the coronavirus and more than 95 per cent effective against severe disease up to six months after the second dose.

Reuters

Study to evaluate Covid-19 booster dose

But researchers say more data is needed to determine whether protection lasts after six months.

In late February, Pfizer said in a statement that a booster dose is being studied among people who received their initial two-doses of the vaccine more than six months ago. The new study will monitor the safety and efficacy of a third dose in two age groups: those 18 to 55 and those 65 to 85.

Reuters

While we have not seen any evidence that the circulating variants result in a loss of protection provided by our vaccine, we are taking multiple steps to act decisively and be ready in case a strain becomes resistant to the protection afforded by the vaccine, Bourla said. This booster study is critical to understanding the safety of a third dose and immunity against circulating strains.

"We believe that the third dose will raise the antibody response 10- to 20- fold, the Pfizer chief told the NBC News.

Reuters

Developed jointly with Germany-based BioNTech, the Pfizer vaccine has so far remained effective against variants first identified in the UK, Brazil and South Africa.
New Delhi, April 17 : After Huaweis decline, smartphone brand Vivo has risen to the top spot in China, surpassing its nearest competitor OPPO due to a consumer friendly product line-up.

According to Counterpoint's China Smartphone Weekly Tracker, the battle for supremacy in China's smartphone market is heating up, with the top spot changing hands in quick succession.

Riding on the continued strong performance of its newly launched budget model Y3 and S9, Vivo was able to jump ahead of OPPO during week 11 (March 8-14) and again in week 13.

Ever since Huawei started to struggle due to US restrictions on the company, other Chinese smartphone manufacturers have been eager to take advantage.

"Vivo and OPPO are adopting aggressive market and product strategies, and we expect to see the two brands continue to jostle for the top spot in 2021," said Senior Analyst Yang Wang.

OPPO had been aggressive in January and February this year and became the No 1 smartphone brand in China with the successful rebranding of Reno series and the strong momentum of A series in the mid-segment.

Huawei along with HONOR has been constantly losing its share in the Chinese market due to component shortages following US sanctions, and fewer new launches. Its inventory for key components has been depleting and it will not be able to source 5G smartphone components.

Huawei has also spun off HONOR as a separate brand. With HONOR now being considered as a separate brand, it further reduces Huawei's market share in China.

Vivo was one of the first brands in the market to launch 5G devices, with the Nex 3 5G and iQOO Pro 5G in August 2019 and September 2019, respectively.

The company has grown its 5G portfolio quickly to account for more than 76 per cent of its sales in February 2021, from a mere 0.5 per cent in August 2019.

The NEX and X series are vivo's flagship series focused on camera capabilities while the S and U series are focused on good value for money. Y is focused on budget customers while the iQOO is are focused on online channels.

"In addition, vivo has been putting more effort into enhancing its camera capabilities through a strategic partnership with German optical expert Carl Zeiss," the report showed.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
NEW YORK, April 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- International Marine and Industrial Applicators, LLC ("IMIA"), a portfolio company of an investment affiliate of J.F. Lehman & Company ("JFLCO"), is pleased to announce the recent acquisition of Main Industries, Inc. ("Main Industries" or the "Company").

Headquartered in Hampton, VA, Main Industries provides preservation, scaffolding and environmental containment services to the marine vessel new construction and maintenance, repair, and overhaul ("MRO") markets. The Company has built an excellent reputation supporting the U.S. Navy's ("USN") aircraft carrier new construction and MRO requirements (including re-fueling overhauls) in the Mid-Atlantic region, with a particularly strong presence at Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport News Shipbuilding. Main Industries is the first add-on acquisition completed by IMIA under JFLCO's sponsorship.

Headquartered in Spanish Fort, AL, IMIA is the market leader in the preservation, scaffolding and environmental containment services as well as related structural steel repair for USN submarines, aircraft carriers, surface combatants and auxiliaries as well as commercial vessels. IMIA addresses the USN's most complex MRO and new construction requirements with a workforce of over 1,100 employees deployed across all major USN and independent shipyards.

"Main Industries is a well-established preservation services provider with a sterling reputation in the marketplace and impressive customer portfolio and capability set," said Mike Keenan, CEO of IMIA. "We are excited to partner with the Main Industries team and look forward to leveraging our complementary service offerings and expertise to deliver unparalleled value to our customers."

Mike Challoner, President of Main Industries, commented, "Main Industries is thrilled to join a company with such a similarly strong reputation and heritage in the USN preservation market. The additional strength and capabilities that IMIA brings will facilitate the realization of our significant potential for growth and increase opportunities for our collective employee bases. We look forward to continuing to expand the high-quality services we provide to our customers and maintaining our steadfast dedication to ensuring the mission readiness of our nation's critical naval assets."

Blank Rome LLP and Jones Day provided legal counsel to IMIA. Mensura Capital, LLC and Mensura Securities, LLC served as the M&A financial advisors to Main Industries and Sheppard Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP provided legal counsel.

About J.F. Lehman & Company, Inc.

Founded in 1992, J.F. Lehman & Company is a leading middle-market private equity firm focused exclusively on the aerospace, defense, maritime, government and environmental sectors. The firm has offices in New York and Washington, D.C.

For more information about J.F. Lehman & Company, please visit www.jflpartners.com.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/imia-acquires-main-industries-301270627.html

SOURCE J.F. Lehman & Company
English Lithuanian

Special closed-ended type private equity investment company INVL Technology, identification code 300893533, the registered address Gyneju str. 14 Vilnius, Lithuania (hereinafter  the Company or INVL Technology), informs that on the initiative and decision of management company UAB INVL Asset Management (hereinafter  the Management Company) the agenda of the General Ordinary Shareholders Meeting (hereinafter- the Meeting) that will be held on 29 April 2021, was supplemented by item no. 15.

The place of the Meeting: the office of INVL Technology, the address Gyneju str. 14, Vilnius.

Considering that the quarantine announced in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania by Government Resolution No. 1226 of 4 November 2020, was extended until 30 April 2021 - the management of the Company strongly urges the shareholders of the Company to exercise the right to vote on the issues on the agenda of the Meeting by submitting duly completed general ballot papers to the Company. More information on the rights and obligations of shareholders is provided at the end of this notice.

The Meeting will start at 8:30 a.m. (registration starts at 8.00 a.m.).

The Meetings accounting day 22 April 2021 (the persons who are shareholders of the Company at the end of accounting day of the Meeting or authorized persons by them, or the persons with whom shareholders concluded the agreements on the disposal of voting right, shall have the right to attend and vote at the Meeting).

The total amount of the shares of the Company and the amount of shares granting voting rights during the Extraordinary General Shareholders Meeting is the same and amounts to 12,175,321 units.

Agenda of the Meeting (including additional question no.15):

Presentation of INVL Technology annual report for 2020 Presentation of the independent auditor's report on the financial statements and consolidated annual report of the INVL Technology Regarding the assent to the remuneration report of INVL Technology, as a part of the consolidated annual report of INVL Technology for the year 2020 Approval of financial statements for 2020 of INVL Technology Deciding on profit distribution of INVL Technology Presentation of the "INVL Technology" company's competence to adopt "INVL Technology remuneration policy Regarding purchase of own shares of the special closed-ended type private equity investment company INVL Technology Regarding the formation of the Supervisory Board of INVL Technology and the election of members of the Supervisory Board Regarding the approval of INVL Technology Supervisory Board remuneration policy Regarding the determination of the remuneration of the independent member of the Supervisory Board of INVL Technology Regarding the amendment of the Articles of Association of INVL Technology, the approval of the new version of the Articles of Association and the appointment of a person authorised to sign the new version of the Articles of Association Regarding the approval of the new wording of the Policy for INVL Technology Transactions with Related Parties Regarding the election of members of the Audit Committee of INVL Technology Regarding the Report of the Audit Committee of INVL Technology Deciding on termination of the depository service agreement between INVL Technology and AB SEB bankas and conclusion of a new depository service agreement with AB Siauliu bankas

Draft resolutions of the Meeting:

Presentation of INVL Technology annual report for 2020

1.1. Shareholders of INVL Technology are presented with the annual report of the Company for 2020 (there is no voting on this issue of agenda).

Presentation of the independent auditor's report on the financial statements and consolidated annual report of the INVL Technology

2.1. Shareholders of INVL Technology are presented with the independent auditor's report on the financial statements and annual report of the Company (there is no voting on this issue of agenda).

Regarding the assent to the remuneration report of INVL Technology, as a part of the consolidated annual report of INVL Technology for the year 2020

3.1. To assent to the remuneration report of INVL Technology, as a part of the annual report of INVL Technology for the year 2020 (attached).

Approval of financial statements for 2020 of INVL Technology

4.1. To approve financial statements for 2020 of INVL Technology.

Deciding on profit distribution of INVL Technology

5.1. To distribute profit of the special closed-ended type private equity investment company INVL Technology as follows:

Article (thousand EUR) Retained earnings (loss) at the beginning of the financial year of the reporting period (2019); 7,005 Net profit (loss) for the financial year; 4,767 Profit (loss) not recognized in the income statement of the reporting financial year; - Transfers from reserves; - Shareholders contribution to cover loss (if all or part of loss is covered by the shareholders) - Distributable profit (loss) in total; 11,772 Profit distribution: - Profit transfers to the legal reserves; - Profit transfers to the reserves for own shares acquisition - Profit transfers to other reserves; - Profit to be paid as dividends; - Profit to be paid as annual payments (bonus) and for other purposes; - Retained earnings (loss) at the end of the financial year. 11,772

6. Presentation of the "INVL Technology" company's competence to adopt "INVL Technology remuneration policy

6.1. Shareholders are acquainted that in accordance with Article 15 of the Law on Alternative Managers of Collective Investment Undertakings of the Republic of Lithuania, INVL Technology is subject to the Remuneration Policy for Employees Making Decisions on Risk Taking prepared by the Management Company and its approval is within the competence of the Management Company of INVL Technology.

6.2. Taking into account the Company's consultations with the Supervisory Authority, INVL Technology infoms that in the future the Management Company will approve changes of the Remuneration Policy for Employees Making Decisions on Risk Taking without a separate approval (decision) of the General Meeting of Shareholders of INVL Technology and will publish the current version of the Management Company's Remuneration Policy for Employees Making Decisions on Risk Taking on the Company's website.

6.3. On 21 December 2020, the Management Company has approved a new wording of the Remuneration Policy for Employees Making Decisions on Risk Taking, which applies to the Company.

6.4. No decision is taken on this item on the agenda.

7. Regarding purchase of own shares of the special closed-ended type private equity investment company INVL Technology

7.1. To authorise the Management Company to use the formed reserve (or the part of it) for the purchase of own shares and to purchase shares in INVL Technology by the rules mentioned below:

The goal for the purchase of own shares - discount reduction between the net asset value and the market share price of INVL Technology and the possibility to sell its shares to the shareholders; The maximum number of shares to be acquired could not exceed 1/10 of the authorised capital INVL Technology; The period during which INVL Technology may purchase its own shares is 18 months from the day of this resolution; The maximum and minimal shares acquisition price of INVL Technology: the maximum one share acquisition price  the last announced net asset value per share, the minimal one share acquisition price - EUR 0,29; The conditions of the selling of the purchased shares and minimal sale price: the acquired own shares may be annulled by the decision of the General Shareholders Meeting or by the decision of the Board of the Management Company granted the right to acquire the shares for the employees upon conditions of the Rules for Granting Equity Incentives, or sold by the decision of the Management Company on condition the minimum sale price of own shares shall be equal to the last net asset value and the procedure of selling the shares shall ensure equal opportunities for all shareholders to acquire the said shares; The Management Company is delegated on the basis of this resolution and the Law on Companies of the Republic of Lithuania to organise purchase and sale of own shares, to organise purchase and selling procedure of own shares and to determine an order and timing for purchase and sale of own shares as well as the amount of shares and shares price, and to complete all other actions related with purchase and sale procedure of own shares.

8. Regarding the formation of the Supervisory Board of INVL Technology and the election of members of the Supervisory Board

8.1. Pursuant to Article 19(2) of the Law on Companies of the Republic of Lithuania, to form a collegial supervisory body of INVL Technology - the Supervisory Board, and to elect the following persons as its members for a term of 4 (four) years:

1) Audrius Matikiunas (personal code and place of residence undisclosed);

2) Indre Miseikyte (personal code and place of residence undisclosed);

3) Gintaras Rutkauskas (independent member) (personal code and place of residence withheld).

8.2. The members of the Supervisory Board will be able to take up their duties only after (i) their nominations are approved by the Bank of Lithuania, (ii) the amended Articles of Association of the Company are entered in the Register of Legal Entities of State Enterprise Centre of Registers and (iii) the amendments thereto are approved by the Bank of Lithuania.

8.3. To authorise the Management Company of INVL Technology to sign, deliver and collect any and all documents and perform all necessary actions in connection with the present Decision.

9. Regarding the approval of INVL Technology Supervisory Board remuneration policy

9.1. In accordance with Article 37(3) of the Law on Companies of the Republic of Lithuania, to approve of INVL Technology Supervisory Board remuneration policy

9.2. It should be noted that the Remuneration Policy for Employees Making Decisions on Risk Taking approved by the Board of the Management Company shall remain in force and shall be applied by INVL technology.

10. Regarding the determination of the remuneration of the independent member of the Supervisory Board of INVL Technology

10.1. To set the hourly remuneration of the elected independent member of the Supervisory Board of INVL Technology at EUR 145 per hour (before taxes) for his/her service on the Supervisory Board of INVL Technology.

11. Regarding the amendment of the Articles of Association of INVL Technology, the approval of the new version of the Articles of Association and the appointment of a person authorised to sign the new version of the Articles of Association

11.1. In light of the decisions of this General Meeting of Shareholders on item 8 of the agenda, to approve a new version of the Company's Articles of Association (the draft of the Articles of Association is attached hereto), by replacing the entire text of the Articles of Association (without further approval of the amendments of individual clauses of the Articles of Association).

11.2. To authorise Kazimieras Tonkunas (with the right to sub-delegate) to sign the new wording of the Company's Articles of Association and to register it in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation and the General Meeting of Shareholders.

12. Regarding the approval of the new wording of the Policy for INVL Technology Transactions with Related Parties

12.1. In view of the decision of this General Meeting of Shareholders on item 9 of the agenda and in accordance with Article 32(1)(3) of the Law on Companies of the Republic of Lithuania, to approve of a new wording of the Policy for Transactions with Related Parties.

13. Regarding the election of members of the Audit Committee of INVL Technology

13.1. In view of the fact that the term of office of the members of the Audit Committee of INVL Technology expires in 2021, Dangute Pranckeniene (independent member) and Tomas Bubinas (independent member) shall be elected to the Audit Committee of INVL Technology for a new 4 (four)-year term.

14. Regarding the Report of the Audit Committee of INVL Technology

14.1. In accordance with the rules of procedure of the Audit Committee of INVL Technology (approved on 27 April 2017 by decision of the General Meeting of Shareholders of the Company), the shareholders are hereby briefed on the activity report of the Audit Committee of INVL technology (attached)(no decision is taken on this item of the agenda).

15. Deciding on termination of the depository service agreement between INVL Technology and AB SEB bankas and conclusion of a new depository service agreement with AB Siauliu bankas.

15.1. To change the Company's depository service provider from AB SEB bankas (code - 112021238) to AB Siauliu bankas (code - 112025254).

15.2. To terminate (or otherwise terminate) the Company's depository service agreement with AB SEB bankas (code - 112021238).

15.3. To conclude a new depository services agreement of the Company with AB Siauliu bankas (code  112025254) (draft agreement is attached).

15.4. To apply to the Bank of Lithuania for the permission to change the depository service provider of the Company, stating that the decision to change the depository service provider of the Company is effective only with the consent of the Bank of Lithuania.

The documents related to the agenda, draft resolutions on every item of the agenda, documents that have to be submitted to the General Shareholders Meeting and other information related to the realization of shareholders' rights are published on the Companys website www.invltechnology.lt section For investors, and also by prior agreement available at the premises of the Company, located at Gyneju str. 14, Vilnius (hereinafter  the Premises of the Company) during working hours. Considering that on the day of publication of this notice, quarantine is in force on the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, which was extended until 30 April 2021 - we invite the Company's shareholders to give priority to getting acquainted with the information provided in the "For investors" section of the Company's website. Phone for information +370 5 279 0601.

The shareholders are entitled:

to propose to supplement the agenda of the Meeting submitting draft resolution on every additional item of agenda or, than there is no need to make a decision - explanation of the shareholder (this right is granted to shareholders who hold shares carrying at least 1/20 of all the votes). Proposal to supplement the agenda is submitted in writing sending the proposal by registered mail to the Company at Gyneju str. 14 LT-01109 Vilnius, Lithuania, or, by prior agreement, delivered in person to the representative of the Company at the Premises of the Company on business hours or by sending proposal to the Company by e-mail info@invltechnology.lt (considering that the quarantine is in force - priority is given to submitting tenders by e-mail and/or registered mail). The agenda is supplemented if the proposal is received no later than 14 days before the Meeting. In case the agenda of the Meeting is supplemented, the Company will report on it no later than 10 days before the Meeting in the same way as on convening of the Meeting; to propose draft resolutions on the issues already included or to be included in the agenda of the Meeting at any time prior to the date of the Meeting (in writing, sending the proposal by registered mail to the Company at Gyneju str. 14 LT-01109 Vilnius, Lithuania, or, by prior agreement, delivered in person to the representative of the Company at the Premises of the Company on business hours or by sending proposal to the Company by e-mail info@invltechnology.lt (considering that the quarantine is in force - priority is given to submitting tenders by e-mail and/or registered mail) or in writing during the Meeting (this right is granted to shareholders who hold shares carrying at least 1/20 of all the votes); to submit questions to the Company related to the issues of the agenda of the Meeting in advance but no later than 3 business days prior to the Meeting in writing sending the proposal by registered mail to the Company at Gyneju str. 14 LT-01109 Vilnius, Lithuania, or, by prior agreement, delivered in person to the representative of the Company at the Premises of the Company on business hours or by sending proposal to the Company by e-mail info@invltechnology.lt (considering that the quarantine is in force - priority is given to submitting tenders by e-mail and/or registered mail). All answers related to the agenda of the Meeting to questions submitted to the Company by the shareholders in advance, are submitted in the Meeting or simultaneously to all shareholders of the Company prior to the Meeting. The Company reserves the right to answer to those shareholders of the Company who can be identified and whose questions are not related to the Company's confidential information or commercial secrets.

The shareholder participating at the Meeting and having the right to vote, must submit the documents confirming personal identity. A person who is not a shareholder shall, in addition to this document, submit a document confirming the right to vote at the Meeting. The requirement to provide the documents confirming personal identity does not apply when voting in writing by filling in a general ballot paper.

Each shareholder may authorize either a natural or a legal person to participate and to vote on the shareholder's behalf at the Meeting. An authorised person has the same rights as his represented shareholder at the Meeting unless the authorized person's rights are limited by the power of attorney or by the law. The authorized persons must have the document confirming their personal identity and power of attorney approved in the manner specified by law which must be submitted to the Company no later than before the commencement of registration for the Meeting. The Company does not establish special form of the power of attorney. A power of attorney issued by a natural person must be certified by a notary. A power of attorney issued in a foreign state must be translated into Lithuanian and legalised in the manner established by law. The persons with whom shareholders concluded the agreements on the disposal of voting right, also have the right to attend and vote at the Meeting.

Shareholder is entitled to issue power of attorney by means of electronic communications for legal or natural persons to participate and to vote on its behalf at the Meeting. No notarisation of such authorization is required. The power of attorney issued through electronic communication means must be confirmed by the shareholder with a safe electronic signature developed by safe signature equipment and approved by a qualified certificate effective in the Republic of Lithuania. The shareholder shall inform the Company on the power of attorney issued through the means of electronic communication by e-mail info@invltechnology.lt not later than on the last business day before the Meeting. The power of attorney and notification must be issued in writing and could be sent to the Company by electronic communication means if the transmitted information is secured and the shareholder's identity can be identified. By submitting the notification to the Company, the shareholder shall include the internet address from which it would be possible to download software to verify an electronic signature of the shareholder free of charge.

The Company is not providing the possibility to attend and vote at the Meeting through electronic means of communication.

Shareholders of the Company are urged to use the right to vote on the issues in the agenda of the Meeting by submitting properly completed general voting bulletins to the Company in advance. The form of general voting bulletin is presented at the Company's webpage www.invltechnology.lt section For Investors. If shareholder requests, the Company shall send the general voting bulletin to the requesting shareholder by registered mail or shall deliver it in person no later than 10 days prior to the Meeting free of charge. If general voting bulletin is signed by a person authorized by the shareholder, it should be accompanied by a document certifying the right to vote.

Considering the that the quarantine announced in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania by Government Resolution No. 1226 of 4 November 2020, was extended until 30 April 2021 - the management of the Company strongly urges the shareholders of the Company to exercise the right to vote on the issues on the agenda of the Meeting by submitting duly completed general ballot papers to the Company. All alternatives for participation in the Meeting:

__________

Alternative No. 1:

A shareholder or person authorised by them should complete and sign a written voting bulletin and send it to the Company by e-mail ( info@invltechnology.lt ) and send the original bulletin by registered or ordinary post to the address Gyneju str. 14, LT-01109 Vilnius. Properly completed written voting bulletins may be sent by registered or ordinary post to the address Gyneju str. 14, LT-01109 Vilnius without submitting a copy to the e-mail address specified or delivered in person to the Company on business days at the Companys registered address mentioned above (considering that the quarantine is in force - priority is given to submitting tenders by e-mail and/or registered mail). Along with a bulletin, a document confirming the right to vote must also be sent. Those voting bulletins shall be deemed valid which are properly completed and are received before the start of the general shareholders meeting.

__________

Alternative No. 2:

A shareholder or person authorised by them should complete a written voting bulletin, save it on their computer and sign it with a qualified electronic signature. Send the written voting bulletin which is properly completed and signed with a qualified electronic signature to the Company by e-mail at info@invltechnology.lt .

The Company suggests using the following free qualified electronic signature systems: Dokobit and GoSign

__________

Alternative No. 3:

If shareholders of the Company do not have the possibility to use voting alternatives No. 1 or No. 2, the Company will provide conditions for the shareholders or persons duly authorised by them to come on 29 April 2021 to the address Gyneju str. 14 in Vilnius, to the Companys Meeting.

We stress that safety recommendations must be followed by shareholder regarding the use of safety measures and maintaining distance.

The person authorized to provide additional information:

Kazimieras Tonkunas

INVL Technology Managing Partner

E-mail k.tonkunas@invltechnology.lt

Attachments
This is the kind of weather the Okanagan will experience this weekend. People should enjoy the outdoors but still keep up their defences against COVID-10, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said Friday.
Redfin has consistently been in favor of moratoriums, said its chief executive, Glenn Kelman. History will judge us.

Zillow supports the C.D.C. edict, too, and it believes that moratoriums work most effectively when policies and relief programs include landlords and property managers in addition to renters. Last month, it published research suggesting that there could be as few as 130,000 evictions in the near future if everything goes right with legislation, regulations, their implementation and the economy. But it is a difficult figure to predict.

On the ground in Atlanta, Bilal Shareef also sees the wisdom of the coordinated approach that Zillow outlines. I definitely wouldnt feel as if we need to sue the government, Mr. Shareef said. Instead of displacing people who are renters, also provide assistance for landlords.

Mr. Shareef is president of the Empire Board of Realtists, a trade organization with a pointed name that was founded in 1939, when other groups barred Black real estate professionals from their membership ranks. Hes also among the 1.4 million members of the N.A.R.

Sometimes, we have to be on the inside to keep them honest about some things, he said.

Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway is a big player in the Georgia real estate sales scene. Its chief executive there, Dan Forsman, said in an interview this week that he had not taken a public position on the eviction moratorium before I called him. But Mr. Forsman believes the moratorium should cease on June 30, the end of its current extension.

His is a nuanced view, because he had Covid himself. I was scared to death, he said. Last year, the moratorium made sense to him, when it was clear how worried some of his staff was. The unemployment rate was frightening, too. In the Atlanta region, it grew to 12.9 percent last April. By February, however, it had fallen to just 4.7 percent.

Im thankful for the leadership that the C.D.C. has shown, Mr. Forsman said. Theyve put their tails on the line and protected those who couldnt protect themselves. And now its time to move on.
Last week, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus asked that Fort Hood be renamed for Medal of Honor recipient Roy Benavidez.

Benavidez died in 1998. He is buried in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. He received the Medal of Honor in 1982 and was immortalized in the form of a GI Joe figure. His story is one that merits that kind of immortality, or at least a memorial the size of the U.S. Armys premier installation.

One account of his heroic actions tells of how Benavidez carried several fellow soldiers to safety while he suffered injuries and shot at enemy combatants. What he did has been described by a fellow Green Beret as bordering on humanly impossible.

Benavidez held in his own intestines with his forearm as he helped load some survivors and the bodies of the dead, wrote Washington Posts Alex Horton in a November article that reported how interest to rename the base had been high after the racial injustice protests of 2020, and how the move was derailed by President Donald Trumps tweets about Fort Hoods history.

Yes, in 2020, even a fallen war hero holding in his own intestines was upstaged by a Trump tweet.

Fort Hood is named after John Bell Hood, a West Point graduate and U.S. soldier who fought Comanches in Texas and who, according to the Texas State Historical Associations Handbook on Texas, declared himself a Texan because of his native Kentuckys neutrality during the Civil War.

After quitting the U.S. Army in 1861, he was commissioned in the Confederate States Army and quickly rose to the rank of brigadier general. He made his mark on the battlefield; after the war, he became a New Orleans businessman. He died of yellow fever in 1879. And while there is no denying his valor, quotes attributed to Hood clearly show on which side of history he chose to stand  and why.

Never mind Benavidez  or any of the other war heroes worthy of having a base named for them. Renaming the fort because Hood fought for the Confederacy, some might argue, is the trouble with what has become known as cancel culture. Tearing down statues and renaming high schools ignore accomplishments based on how the South is viewed today.

Thats not cancel culture. Its changing times. Its us coming to terms with a particularly tough chapter in American history. And changing the names of forts  and renaming high schools and taking down statues  isnt weird. Its just the way we do things now . Now we text and tweet. We use debit cards instead of fistfuls of change. And we take a second look at those who have been immortalized while we consider why they were immortalized in the first place.

And, yes, ultimately, we can change our minds based on the mood of the day.

Its different than way we did things in 1861, when you could just walk away from the U.S. Army and be a general a few states away. Now is different than 1942, when Fort Hood was named; then, the Army was segregated and Jim Crow laws divided the nation. And its different from 1980, when a witness to Benavidezs heroic actions turned up after reading an article about Benavidez not being able to receive a Medal of Honor because of a lack of corroboration.

Its long past time to honor Benavidez. And its long past time to change Fort Hoods name to something other than Fort Hood. And after the investigation that looked into the slaying of Vanessa Guillen, a name change probably would be welcome.

Its not about changing history, which is impossible. Its about acknowledging history, our growing pains and the cruel errors made in the course of becoming the nation we are today.

mariaanglinwrites@gmail.com
Patna, April 17 : Despite the Jharkhand High Court granting bail to former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad, he will remain in AIIMS Delhi until he recovers fully.

Tejashwi Yadav, RJD leader and younger son of Lalu Prasad, said that he is suffering from multiple diseases and severe infection in both the kidneys.

"The Jharkhand High Court has given bail to Lalu Ji but we are extremely concerned about his health. He will undergo treatment in AIIMS Delhi. We have contacted doctors and they said that Lalu Ji has to stay in hospital. He has severe infection in both the kidneys and is also having breathing problems. He is under close monitoring of expert doctors of AIIMS," Tejashwi said after a virtual all party meeting on the corona crisis in Patna.

"We highly appreciate the Jharkhand High Court for granting him bail. We have complete faith in the judiciary of our country. There is happiness among the people of Bihar that their idol and messiah of the poor has been released from jail," Tejashwi said.

Anand Vij, the lawyer of Lalu Prasad, said that he was given bail on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh. Besides, he has to pay Rs 10 lakh penalty and also surrender his passport in court.


A Sydney couple was very frightened when they found an uncommon venomous snake in a bag of supermarket lettuce - but they recovered and then used the fresh produce in a salad wrap.

After discovering the baby pale-headed snake, Alexander White had so many thoughts that were troubling: 'What if the snake came from something else?'

The Young Pale-headed Snake

The young pale-headed snake (Hoplocephalus bitorquatus), was folded into a two-pack of cos lettuce which Alexander White and Amelie Neate - his wife, bought from an Aldi supermarket in Sydney on Monday.

Alexander White said: "It was moving all over and pulling its tiny tongue out. It was the tongue of the snake that allowed me to know it was not a giant worm. I would have been more relaxed with a worm, to be sincere."

The snake was about 20cm long and seemed to have been peacefully sleeping in the lettuce in the refrigerated grocery cabinet of the supermarket until White carried it up, moved it all over the store, then pushed it in his backpack for the 10-minute bicycle ride back home.

"We didn't have a trolley because none of us was with a dollar coin so we were just holding it - in reappraisal that kind of freaked me out," White said. The snake came out as they were taking out their groceries at home.

Also Read: Simulation Model 'Predicts' Snakebites to Save Human Lives

Snake Photography

They gave wildlife rescue organization Wires a call and were told the snake was probably a baby eastern brown - one of the most venomous and violent species in Australia.

But after an extensive amount of snake photography, it was recognized as a pale-headed snake, a species that an expert in snakes told the couple was "medically significant"."I thought the meaning was that it had medicinal properties," said White.

"It obviously means that if you are bitten by the snake you have to head to the hospital pretty quickly."

They bite over and over again when provoked, said Neate. As stated by the Australian Museum, pale-headed snake are usually a "shy but nervous species, they get agitated easily if cornered".

Snake Handler Arrived to Get the Animal

There have been no documented casualties, but the museum states "an envenomation can bring about some symptoms that are unpleasant, including localized pain, abnormal bleeding, blurred vision, and severe headache." White said the young snake was quite adorable.

He and Neate spent some time making a video of it and conducting video calls with their children who were away for school holidays so they could see the snake while waiting for the assistance of an expert. They also searched the remaining groceries for roaming wildlife after noticing the lettuce bag was left open at one end.

At 10.30 pm a snake handler from Wires arrived to get the animal, which was carried to a heated container. With the assistance of Aldi, they traced where the lettuce came from back to Toowoomba, and are trying to organize transport so the snake will be taken home.

Relate Article: Snakes: The Evolution of their Venomous Bite

For more news, update about snakes and similar topics don't forget to follow Nature World News!
Jim Best said he would see out the year at the $50,000-a-year institution then step down to pursue 'other opportunities'

The head of the elite Manhattan school Dalton is stepping down this year after being slammed by parents for pushing an 'obsessive', antiracism agenda on students.

Jim Best said he would see out the year at the $50,000-a-year institution then step down to pursue 'other opportunities'.

His resignation is in response to parents' complaints that Dalton, like other prestigious private schools Grace Church and Brearley, is indoctrinating students with its woke agenda.

Dalton parents penned an anonymous open letter to the school earlier this week.

'Every class this year has had an obsessive focus on race and identity, racist cop reenactments in science, de-centering whiteness in art class, learning about white supremacy and sexuality in health class.

'Wildly inappropriate, many of these classes feel more akin to a Zoom corporate sensitivity-training than to Daltons intellectually engaging curriculum,' it read.

In December, Dalton published an anti-racism manifesto which said the school had to hire 12 diversity officers.

It also proposed 'Black liberation' courses and courses on 'challenging white supremacy'.

The manifesto also suggested that if black students weren't performing on par with white students by 2023, it would abolish some of its courses entirely.

Frustration had already been mounting at the Upper East Side school, where the $54,180 annual tuition is unchanged despite in-person classes remaining cancelled since March

In their letter, the parents said: 'Many of us do not feel welcome at Dalton anymore.

'That really hurts to write. This ideology is extremely exclusionary to those families who don't identify as part of an oversimplified racial dichotomy in a beautiful and diverse world, or who choose not to make their racial identity the centerpiece of their children's education.

'Love of learning and teaching is now abandoned in favor of an 'anti-racist curriculum'.

'How can we interpret a curriculum right where every single class must now be rewritten to embody anti-racism.'
The Texas Workforce Commission is cautioning citizens about potential threats of identity theft through unemployment insurance (UI) benefits letters.

Those that receive letters from TWC about benefits they never applied for may be the targets of identity theft. If you receive one of those letters without having applied for benefits should, you report those immediately.

Theft of unemployment benefits happens when an imposter uses another persons personal information, such as their name and Social Security number, to file claims for unemployment benefits. Those that are targets of identity theft through the TWC likely have their personal information exposed somewhere else, according to the TWC. There have been such claims reported to the Plainview Police Department within the past two weeks.

If you receive a letter stating youve been approved for benefits you didnt apply for, report the identity theft claim on the TWCs online fraud portal, which can be found at https://mft.twc.state.tx.us/form/UIfraudENG.
Navigating the Dating World After Experiencing Sexual Assault

Heres What Trauma Experts Want You to Know about Dating after a Sexual Assault

Nearly 1 in 38 men have experienced completed or attempted rape during their lifetime, but theres something important missing from that statistic: thats only counting those who report it.

Sexual violence affects millions of people each year in the U.S., and data shows that the reporting rate is even less for men than it is for women. This may stem from a fear of showing vulnerability or being shamed, as well as simply not having access to adequate recovery and support resources. However youve chosen to pursue healing from sexual assault, at some point, you may decide youre ready to start dating again. Opening yourself up to others can be an exciting, confusing, anxiety-inducing, and perhaps at times even triggering experience. That said, if you can honor your own personal needs and limitations, set clear boundaries, and take things slow, theres no reason whatsoever why you cant have an active, fulfilling love life as a survivor.

Dating after a sexual assault is something that must be approached on an individual level, says clinical psychologist Dr. Joshua Klapow, Ph.D. The timing and the level of intimacy are dependent on the survivors experience and the lasting impact of that experience. The amount of time is far less important than comfort level and desire to date.

RELATED: Male Sexual Consent: Why Men Can Be Raped & How to Know If Its Happened to You

Klapow notes that hesitation and some level of nervousness when approaching dating again are totally normal. However, if youve given yourself plenty of time and space to process your assault and you feel ready to put yourself out there again.

Below, youll find a few things that trauma experts want you to keep in mind in order to ensure that your dating experiences only support your recovery rather than hinder it.

8 Steps to Dating Again After Sexual Assault

1. Go at Your Own Pace

Everyone will have their own timeline for dating after experiencing sexual assault, says Sarah Melancon, Ph.D, a sociologist, certified sexologist, and the sexuality and relationships expert for SexToyCollective.com. For some, it may be weeks or months, while others may take years  and there is no right or wrong.

So how does one know when theyre ready to cross certain dating milestones? Noel Hunter, a clinical psychologist specializing in trauma and director of MindClear Integrative Psychotherapy, says its crucial to listen to your gut rather than feel pressured by friends, family, or society.

Part of the reason why its worth taking baby steps is that this allows you to gather information about the person youre dating before dropping your guard emotionally or becoming intimate.

I dont believe any of us survivors will know how to truly gauge trustworthiness in others, says Ron Blake, Director of the American PTSD Association. And trust comes with time. But its not always about trusting our dates. You also have to trust your own heart. Your own mind. Your own body. Your own soul. Trusting ourselves can be one of the most difficult things we can do after this kind of trauma. I have learned it is possible.

Above all, you should never let your date coerce, guilt, or otherwise manipulate you into taking steps youre not quite ready to take  no matter how amazing they seem or how into them you are.

Youre in control of your own dating journey, so if at any point in time you need to take a step back, thats totally OK.

2. Prioritize Safety

Its well worth taking steps to make sure youre always protecting yourself on dates, not only for your own peace of mind, but for your personal well-being, too.

For example, you might want to try vetting dates before hanging out IRL. If you met on an app, Hunter recommends having a virtual date or two first to get to know them a little better. Once youre comfortable enough to meet up, she suggests scheduling dates in public places where youre unlikely to ever be totally alone (like a park or a cafe patio). She also says its a good idea to keep friends in the loop about where youre going and when.

Charna Cassell, a body-centered psychotherapist and founder of the Center for Passionate Living, proposes going on a group date rather than a one-on-one excursion.

Casual group activities that enable you to be around friends you trust can help you feel more at ease, she explains. What's more, it'll allow you to see your potential lover in a group setting and how they treat others. Further, a group date gives you an intimacy buffer.

3. Take Control

Loss of control is at the crux of sexual trauma, which frequently fills survivors with shame and makes them hypervigilant, says Cassell.

Thats why experts highly recommend taking charge from the get-go by setting the time and location for the date.

Choosing a destination you're comfortable with  whether it's your favorite restaurant or a park close to your home  will offer a sense of ease, adds Cassell.

Hunter also suggests putting a time limit on dates, at least in the beginning stages.

These early steps of being empowered can really make a big difference down the road and help you feel strong and assertive, she tells AskMen.

4. Vocalize Your Boundaries

Once you start to sense some mutual physical attraction, youll likely want to be upfront about what you are and are not OK with in terms of physical touch. If its helpful for you, you can certainly note that these boundaries stem from your assault, but keep in mind that you are in no way obligated to share your experience (or any details about it) if you dont feel comfortable.

According to Hunter, you may want to emphasize what you do like and desire in terms of physical contact just as much as what you dont. That said, dont leave room for your date to guess or potentially misconstrue what you are ready for.

RELATED: The Meaning of Consent and the Different Types That Exist

The more firm you are with your comfort levels and boundaries, the more likely you are to be heard, she says. Dont do anything you dont want to do. If someone makes you feel bad for vocalizing your boundaries, it might be a sign that this person isnt for you.

Sure, it may feel awkward, but embrace that awkwardness. Keep in mind that this is likely to be an ongoing discussion once it becomes apparent that you may be gently moving along on the intimacy front.

Rather than trying to get it perfect, do your best to laugh at how weird it can feel at times, says Melancon. And center the discussion on what makes sex great for you both, which will include both boundaries and sources of pleasure. Asking your date what they enjoy and what they dont can open up a broader discussion that makes sexual yess and nos equally important.

Melancon recommends asking your date about their turn-ons and turn-offs, what makes a sexual experience great for them, and what theyre interested in trying or not willing to try. Once theyve opened up, you might feel more inclined to do the same.

5. Consider Going Solo When It Comes to Pleasure (at Least at First)

If youre not ready for someone else to touch you yet, touching yourself can be a good way to explore what feels good in a safer environment. According to Hunter, the more comfortable you are with your body, the more comfortable you're likely to be with someone else.

I am always a proponent of mindful masturbation, says Cassell. Reintroducing yourself to gentle, kind, nurturing touch and being fully present, being with the emotions that arise and feeling through them, can be enormously healing.

This is a highly individualized choice, and as Klapow points out, while it may help with learning to enjoy arousal after an assault, it does not necessarily translate to security and comfort with another person.

There are valid reasons a person may not want to engage in self-pleasuring, adds Melancon. Ultimately, what will benefit someone most is honoring their own boundaries, which may include a no to self-pleasure.

Fortunately, Melancon says there are other ways to get in touch with your sexuality after an assault aside from masturbation: looking at your naked body in the mirror, for instance, or taking erotic photos for your eyes only. She also notes that yoga, meditation, and exercise may help you to connect to the body more generally.

6. You Dont Have to Share Your Story if You Dont Want to

You dont owe any of your dates an explanation about your assault. As Cassell puts it: Sharing what you endured is a gift, not an obligation.

I find that when you are willing to be vulnerable (with the right people) it invites their humanity and gives them permission to be honest about their own trials as well, she adds. Vulnerability breeds intimacy and connection. That said, practice discernment. Pay attention to whether your date shows compassion and respects boundaries. These are good signs that they will be patient and kind with where you are at and not push you to go faster than you are comfortable with.

Sharing certain information may prove helpful as you begin progressing with physical intimacy. Again, though, you should only ever have this conversation if you think it will be empowering or beneficial to your dating experience in some way. As sharing can be triggering in itself, Melancon stresses that there is absolutely no rush on disclosure.

7. Be on the Lookout for Red Flags

Pay close attention to how your dates behave after youve set boundaries. If they get irritable or angry when you assert yourself, Hunter advises cutting ties immediately.

Listen to their stories, with particular attention to how they relate to others, notes Melancon. If their life tales involve coercion, manipulation, or lying, chances are theyll eventually attempt it with you. And notice how they handle mistakes, whether its a wrong order at a coffee shop or a disaster with their last work project. Someone who can own where theyve been wrong is more trustworthy than one who deflects blame onto others.

Some of the top signs that someone is trustworthy are consistency, reliability, honesty, clear communication, flexibility, good listening skills, and an ability to be transparent and vulnerable about their own life.

Your date should be polite, curious about you, and never try to initiate sex so early on that it seems thats their primary goal.

After experiencing trauma, it can be difficult to connect with and trust your intuition, explains Melancon. It is entirely possible you may miss some flags altogether, and thats not your fault  it is a function of your nervous system that is still healing. But, if you do sense something is off, try your best to trust that, even if they seem great otherwise.

8. Dont Be Afraid to Seek Out Support

Dating again after an assault may feel overwhelming at times, but you dont have to go it alone.

While most everyone could use support in navigating dating and relationships, this is even more beneficial after sexual trauma, says Melancon. Trauma can distort the lenses through which we see the world, and sometimes others can see things more clearly than we can in the moment. Find a trusted friend, relative, or therapist with whom you can safely talk about your experiences, good and bad.

If you dont have a counselor, friend, or family member you feel comfortable talking to, keep in mind that you can call RAINNs National Sexual Assault Hotline (1-800-656-HOPE). Trained staff members are available 24/7 to help you talk through your experience or find local resources that can assist with your recovery.

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Following the news of Prince Philips death on April 9, 2021, some were reminded of a time when the nation mourned the death of another royal.

Many fans all over the world can recall where they were and how they heard about Princess Dianas death in 1997. A number of people in the U.K. found out from television reports. Years later the journalist who broke the story spoke about how he lost it but had to pull it together when he reported that the Princess of Wales had died.

Princess Diana photographed at a dinner party in Paris | David Levenson/Getty Images

The car crash in Paris

On Aug. 30, 1997, Princess Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, dined at the Ritz in Paris around 10 p.m. The pair then left the hotel just after midnight in route to Fayeds apartment.

They exited the rear of the hotel in an attempt to escape the paparazzi but to no avail and were chased by photographers as they drove off in a Mercedes limousine driven by Henri Paul, the head of hotel security. Paul was driving at a high rate of speed in an effort to lose the paps and ended up crashing into a pillar inside the Pont de lAlma tunnel. Fayed and Paul were killed instantly but the princess was still alive and transported to the La Pitie Salpetriere Hospital.

BBC journalist Martyn Lewis remembered getting the news and having to go to the studio to report that Diana was injured. I was shaken awake at 1 a.m. by my daughter saying that the newscasters PA was on the phone and that she wanted to speak to me urgently, he recalled to the Radio Times. She told me the Princess of Wales had been injured in a very bad accident in Paris and I had to go on air with two bulletins. A taxi was on its way so I threw on a suit and tie. I lived about eight minutes from Television Centre which is probably why I was asked to do it.

Newsreader Martyn Lewis recalls the day he broke the news of Princess Dianas death https://t.co/Nr1FttPyr6 pic.twitter.com/Dzn1vFJBm2  Radio Times (@RadioTimes) August 31, 2017

RELATED: This Is What Princess Dianas Bodyguard Who Survived the Car Accident Kept Repeating After the Crash

Martyn Lewis says he almost broke down reporting the news

After he gave the initial bulletin on Dianas injuries, Lewis went back home to get some sleep before preparing for the morning news program. Meanwhile at the hospital in France doctors worked to save the Princess of Wales life but she was pronounced dead hours later on Aug. 31, 1997.

When Diana died Lewis he got another call to go back into the studio.

My head hit the pillow for 40 minutes before my daughter was shaking me awake again saying there was a phone call for me. I knew instantly what it had to be, he stated.

Delivering the news to the nation was a tough task for Lewis especially since he had met and worked with the princess on a number of occasions.

Princess Dianas coffin being carried into Westminster Abbey on September 6, 1997 | RUSSELL BOYCE/AFP via Getty Images

He admitted that he lost it for a moment and had to keep from breaking down while reporting the tragic news.

I lost it for about five seconds when I was repeating Tony Blairs words from his interview about Diana when he described her as the Peoples Princess,' Lewis confessed. I recovered, however, because it was my job as a presenter to surround myself with a sort of emotional cocoon. If newscasters were to allow themselves to be influenced by the emotion inherent in many of the stories theyre reading, they wouldnt be able to do their job.

I was on air for six hours virtually without a script, he told the Belfast Telegraph. For the rest of the time as this momentous story broke I was flying by the seat of my pants, with only the voice of a marvelously calm producer in my ear telling me who I was going to talk to next. Thered been none of the normal briefings before the bulletin and I should have been a nervous wreck, but it all happened so quickly.

Princess Dianas funeral took place on Sept. 6, 1997, at Westminster Abbey. She was laid to rest at the Althorp Estate in Northampton, which has been the Spencer family home for centuries.
Pennsylvania has a Candidate of the Day thing going on in its 2022 U.S. Senate race.

It seems like every day, someone new announces he or she will run for retiring U.S. Sen. Pat Toomeys seat next year or announces a committee to explore running for the office or expresses an interest in the seat or blah, blah, blah.

Weve heard of more people getting involved in politics, but this is not what we pictured.

Youve probably heard of one candidate so far, a Democrat, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. Hes the Bald-Headed Big Guy ex-mayor of Braddock, a small town outside of Pittsburgh. We visited Braddock a couple of years ago while spending some vacation time in Pittsburgh. Braddock and the towns around Pittsburgh look like Nanticoke or Olyphant or other towns around the Lackawanna and Wyoming valleys. His small-town roots rank highly in Fettermans appeal.

Anyway, Fetterman is everywhere and hes way out in front of everyone else in raising money for a serious bid. Hes all over the liberal MSNBC talk shows and even some non-liberal ones. People and Rolling Stone magazines, The New York Times, The Washington Post and numerous others have profiled him.

Hes no Sharif Street.

Who, you ask?

Well, that question would stump most people. Identity remains the top problem for everyone besides Fetterman, but for now you can think of Street mainly as the most prominent recent enrollee in the Biggest 2022 Senate Race in the Country.

Hes a senator, a state senator from Philadelphia, that is, and the son of John Street, who followed Ed Rendell as Philadelphias mayor.

Street formed an exploratory committee April 9.

He had better explore quickly. This is no time for meandering forward like Lewis and Clark.

Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh; state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-181, Philadelphia; and former Norristown Borough Council President John McGuigan are in for sure already. So are people named Kevin Baumlin, Brandaun Dean, Larry Johnson, Alexandria Khalil, Kyle Norton and Alan Shank. They all have filed statements of candidacy.

Others thinking about running: U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-4, Montgomery; U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-6, Chester; U.S. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney; and Rep. Conor Lamb, D-17, Allegheny.

Thats just the Democrats.

See if you recognize anyone on the Republican side.

Already in are Jeff Bartos, a Montgomery County real estate developer and former candidate for lieutenant governor; Kathy Barnette, who lost badly to Madeleine Dean last year; attorney Sean Gale; and Everett Stern, a businessman. They all put out news releases saying theyre running and Bartos actually puts out regular news releases and fundraising appeals.

People named John DeBellis, Robert Jeffries and Martin Rosenfeld also have formed political action committees, according to the Federal Election Commission website.

Others whose names have cropped up include former Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite; U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16, Butler; former U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello; former gubernatorial candidate Paul Mango; former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain; U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-14, Washington; former U.S. Ambassador Carla Sands; Craig Snyder, a business consultant; and Sean Parnell, who lost narrowly to Lamb last year.

Thats 15 Democrats, 16 Republicans, 31 in all. (Thanks to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Politico and PoliticsPA for helping compile the list.)

In more than 20 years of writing about politics, we cant remember a list that long for a statewide office.

If youre unfamiliar with any or all of these people, dont worry. You have time to learn more, but dont bother studying up right away. Most of them wont run. Some just like the attention that having their names out there brings. Some float their names to let The Powers That Be keep them in mind for something bigger down the line.

Some have delusions of grandeur. Well, maybe more than some.

Miscellanea

 The Lackawanna County Republican Party issued endorsements in two county primary election races and decided to stay out of one.

The party endorsed attorney Nisha Arora, the only registered Republican in the race, in recognition of her experience in court, in our community, and in the private sector as well as her commitment to be an impartial, fair judge who applies the law as written for everyone in Lackawanna County, according to a statement from party Chairman Lance Stange Jr. Arora faces attorney Mary Walsh Dempsey and Magisterial District Judge Paul Ware. All three seek the Democratic and Republican nominations in the May 18 primary election. The county Democrats endorsed Ware last month.

The Republicans also endorsed April Jenkins, unopposed in the primary for register of wills, in recognition of her unwavering support for our community and commitment to be a full-time public servant who works for the taxpayers every day.

The party decided to stay out of endorsing for sheriff. Former Deputy Sheriff Glenn Capman and former Scranton Police Chief David Elliott are the candidates. Stange said either would serve county residents well.

 Still no definitive word on whether either U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-9, Dallas Borough, or former U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta of Hazleton will run for governor next year.

Still in the decision-making process, Barletta said in a text. Susquehanna Polling results very positive. Will make a decision in the next few weeks.

Hes referring to a Susquehanna Polling & Research poll last month that had him at 20% support among Republicans in a head-to-head matchup against four other possible contenders. State Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-33, Franklin, had 11%, McSwain, the potential Senate candidate, and Meuser, 3% each; and former Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley, 2%, with 60% undecided.

The poll doesnt mean much except maybe for Mastriano, the flamethrower who has exploited Republican discontent with Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf to quickly raise his profile.

Meuser said he has formed an exploratory committee called Pa. 67 Strong. That refers to the states 67 counties.

Im making the rounds statewide, he said in a text. I do feel Im getting strong support. I do believe Pennsylvania can be the next Texas with the right governor.

BORYS KRAWCZENIUK, The Times-Tribune politics reporter, writes Random Notes.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 01:51:32|Editor: huaxia

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MOSCOW, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday announced a series of retaliatory measures, including expulsions of diplomats and entry bans, in response to the recent "hostile actions" of the United States.

Russia will ask 10 U.S. diplomats and five Polish ones to leave the country, the ministry said in a statement.

Russia will limit the use of the U.S. embassy's short-term assignments through the State Department to ensure the functioning of diplomatic missions, by reducing the issuance of such visas to at most 10 people per year.

Moscow will completely ban U.S. diplomatic missions from hiring citizens of Russia or third countries to administrative and technical posts.

Russia will terminate the activities of U.S. foundations and non-governmental organizations controlled by the State Department or other American government agencies.

"The current extremely tense situation implies an objective need for the ambassadors of both our countries to be in their capitals to analyze the situation and hold consultations," the statement read.

The Russian Foreign Ministry will soon publish the names of eight incumbent and former American high-ranking officials and figures involved in the development and implementation of the anti-Russian course, who have been barred from entering Russia indefinitely.

The ministry also threatened that it could slash the number of personnel in U.S. diplomatic missions in Russia to 300 from the current cap of 455. Enditem
It has been announced byBuckingham Palace that Prince Harry and Prince William will walk apart at their grandfather Prince Philips funeral.

On Saturday 17 April, the funeral service for Prince Philip will be held at St Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle with 30 guests in attendance.

With the news that royal brothers Harry and William will walk separately, speculation around the state of their relationship has increased.

In August 1997, the siblings lost their mother,Princess Diana, in their formative years when Harry was 12 and William, 15.

In an interview for the 20th anniversary of their mothers death in 2017, The Duke of Cambridge explained how the traumatic events had bonded them.

He said: We have been brought closer because of the circumstances as well, thats the thing. You are uniquely bonded because of what weve been through.

However, two years later in 2019, Harry suggested their relationship may be strained during ITV documentaryHarry and Meghan: An African Journey.

During an interview, Harry said the brothers are on different paths and have good days and bad days.

He said: We are brothers. We will always be brothers.

We are certainly on different paths at the moment but I will always be there for him as I know he will always be there for me.

We dont see each other as much as we used to because we are so busy but I love him dearly.

The majority of the stuff is created out of nothing but, as brothers, you know, you have good days, you have bad days.

Following Oprah Winfreys bombshell interview with Harry and Meghan, rumours of a rift between the two only intensified. Harry explained that they are having space at the moment, but added, time heals all things, hopefully.

He said: As Ive said before, I love William to bits. Hes my brother. Weve been through hell together. We have a shared experience, but we were on different paths.

Following the interview, a statement released by Buckingham Palace read: The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.

The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.

Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.
The University of Nebraska Board of Regents KUDOS Award was established by the NU President's Office and the NU Board of Regents to recognize the accomplishments of outstanding employees from across the four University of Nebraska campuses.

Employees are encouraged to nominate co-workers who deserve special recognition for going above and beyond the call of duty. The KUDOS award is presented at the six yearly Board of Regents meetings.

Is there an employee you feel is deserving of the KUDOS award? Nominate them today!





KUDOS Guidelines

Nominee should demonstrate UNO Values: Excellence, Engagement, Inclusion, Discovery, Integrity, and Maverick Spirit;





Nominee must be employed at UNO for one year or longer;





Nominations will be kept on file for one year and will be considered with all nominations for consideration of the KUDOS Award





Questions about the KUDOS award process? Email Kristina Hoffman at kristinahoffmann@unomaha.edu.

Recent Winners

Curious who has received a KUDOS award in the past? Learn more about these recent KUDOS awardees:
Former Prime Minister of Luxembourg and Ex-President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker was a guest on RTL Radio on Saturday afternoon.

Engel controversy: Jean-Claude Juncker was never asked for advice

When asked about the dispute between Frank Engel and the parliamentary group of the Christian Social People's Party (CSV), Juncker stated that his party had acted like "an adult with adolescent reflexes".

The denunciation of the CSV's ex-president to the public prosecutor's office because of an employment contract with the CSV association "Frendeskrees" had made him "angry", the former Prime Minister explained.

Juncker stressed that both the party and the country are "more important than these silly antics", adding that this dispute was "unnecessary".

Juncker also revealed that he was never asked for advice in this affair but stated that Engel had "not done everything right" and that he was "blocking his own path".

No political comeback

As far as the CSV's renewal efforts are concerned, Juncker stressed that if he would always be available, if he was asked to help.

More than anything else, the new team led by Claude Wiseler needs "heart and reason" to shape their policies.

However, the CSV's former top politician made it very clear that people should not expect him as his party's frontrunner for the 2023 campaign, unequivocally ruling out a "political comeback".

For Juncker, the CSV is still very much a people's party, a term which is not just a nostalgic relic of the past, but "a reality", he explained. A reality, which should be based on Christian social teaching, according to Juncker.

"You cannot win elections while sitting in a rocking chair", and thus Juncker expects that the CSV's leading political figures such as Claude Wiseler, Martine Hansen, and Paul Galles will have a lot of work to do ahead of the next national elections in 2023.

Juncker is, however, not convinced that having multiple frontrunners is necessarily a good idea, stating that the party's members must be able to "identify with their top politicians".

Housing crisis remains one of the country's main issues

While Juncker praised the government's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, he deplored that the housing crisis was still far from being solved.

The former Prime Minister demanded more accountability from property owners and encouraged the state to give itself the "fiscal instruments" to increase the number of housing units on offer.

When asked about Deputy Prime Minister Dan Kersch's proposed "coronavirus tax" for those who benefitted from the pandemic financially, Juncker stated that he likes the idea, stressing that it is certainly not "absurd".

The CSV politician also did not rule out that Luxembourg may introduce an inheritance tax in direct line sometime over the next 10 years. The same goes for CO2 emissions, which in the eyes of Luxembourg's former head of government should also be taxed.

Overall, Juncker gives the current coalition of Democratic Party (DP), Green Party, and Luxembourg Socialist Workers Party (LSAP) a "good grade" for their coronavirus measures and handling of the pandemic.

Referring to the opposition demanding the resignation of Minister for Family Affairs Corinne Cahen, Juncker explained that as a minister, you have to acknowledge such demands and then try and explain your actions to the Chamber of Deputies.

In any case, the government had made it clear from the beginning that they would use their majority to reject the motion.

Juncker criticised that this was something that bothered him in general, the fact that the government refuses to accept any motions introduced by the opposition and overly relies on its slim majority to pass its Covid-19 laws.

He pointed out that during his time as Prime Minister, he accepted "many" of the opposition's motions, stressing that it must be possible to come to mutual agreements.

When asked about the cases of "vaccine queue-jumping" at the beginning of the year, Juncker stated that he had no understanding for such behaviour and was "surprised and disappointed" when he heard who did it.
A Catholic reporter confronted Press Secretary Jen Psaki during Wednesday's briefing to ask why the Biden administration's policies allow taxpayer money from pro-life citizens to fund abortion clinics.

Since President Joe Biden's inauguration in January, the 46th President of the United States began unraveling former President Donald Trump's strict policies, especially when it comes to abortion.

Specifically, the Biden administration retracted a Trump policy that prohibits Title X funding to funnel into family-planning clinics that "perform, promote, refer for, or support abortion as a method of family planning." Title X is widely accepted as the federal family planning program for the low-income segment, from which Planned Parenthood receives a $60-million check every year.

Now, President Biden wants to reinstate Title X funding to abortion providers, causing a Catholic reporter to pointedly ask White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki why this should be so.

According to Christian Headlines, White House correspondent Owen Jensen, who represented the Catholic news agency EWTN, asked the White House Press secretary, "Why does the Biden administration insist that pro-life Americans pay for abortions and violate their conscience?"

Psaki retorted that it was "not an accurate depiction of what happened" and read a section of the Public Health Service Act, which said, "None of the funds appropriated under this title shall be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning." Jensen countered that there are "indirect subsidies" that benefit from Title X's "money that's fungible, that can't be traced."

At this point, the White House Press Secretary took the opportunity to explain how the Biden administration had a firm belief of "advancing equity for all," especially for people of color, as well as the "historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality." Psaki argued that furthering equity under the Title X banner helps improve on those marginalized communities.

Jensen then advocated for pro-life Americans, asking, "How is it equity, how is it fighting systemic racism when abortion, we well know, disproportionately affects minority children?"

Psaki reiterated that funding from Title X "cannot be used for abortion" but instead, will be used to provide better access to healthcare especially in marginalized communities (It's worth noting that pro-abortion advocates call abortion "reproductive healthcare"). When Jensen attempted to argue, she cut him off and moved to address another reporter's question.

According to FOX News, the Biden administration's changes to the Title X program will reinstate grants to abortion clinics such as Planned Parenthood, which was previously cut off by the Trump administration. Back then, Planned Parenthood condemned the former president's lack of support literally and financially, galling it a "gag rule" that was "cruel and vicious."

Now, the Biden administration welcomed back Planned Parenthood to its umbrella of federal funding much to the chagrin of pro-life Americans. As per NPR, pro-life Americans are advocating that those who oppose abortion "hould not be compelled to support, through public funding, any organization involved in providing or referring patients for abortion."

National Right to Life Committee President Carol Tobias is concerned that instead of providing better healthcare and family planning advice, these abortion clinics may make it "too easy" to choose abortion instead.
Employees of fast food restaurant chain KFC are reeling following a decision by management to stop their stipends, which has left them without any income.

What little hope they had that they would make it through the pandemic has been dashed, staff said.
Galveston, TX (77553)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to occasional showers overnight. Low 77F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to occasional showers overnight. Low 77F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Colorado Springs, CO (80903)

Today

Widely scattered showers or a thunderstorm this evening. Then partly cloudy. Low 59F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Widely scattered showers or a thunderstorm this evening. Then partly cloudy. Low 59F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
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Market Research Future Published a Half Cooked Research Report on Global Waterborne Coating Additives Research Report.

Market Scenario

Waterborne coating additives are added to improve the rheological properties of water-based coatings. They serve various functions such as wetting & dispersion, defoaming, surfactant, deaeration, hydrophobic agent, and rheological improver among other. The stringent regulation by E.P.A and REACH against the use of solvent based coatings, is expected to be the major driver to the growth of waterborne coating additives market during the forecast period.

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Competitive Analysis

Some of the key players of global waterborne coating additives market are Akzo Nobel NV (Netherlands), Allnex group (China), BASF SE (Germany), BELAMI FINE CHEMICALS PVT. LTD.(India), ALTANA (Germany), Evonik Industries AG (Germany), Dow Corning Corporation (U.S.), Falcon Technologies Inc. (U.S.), Harmony Additive Pvt. Ltd. (India), and UL LLC (U.S).

Market Segmentation

The Global Waterborne Coating Additives Market is segmented based on product type, end-use industry, and region.

On the basis of the product type, the global waterborne coating additives market is segmented into wetting agent & dispersing agent, defoamers, surface control additives, deaerators, rheology modifier, hydrophobic agents, and others. Wetting & dispersion agents market is estimated to be the largest market due to high requirement for dispersing and wetting of resins and pigments in paints & coating industry and is expected to continue dominance over the forecast period. Other product types are also expected to show significant demand due to varied application in construction, automotive, and, the packaging industry.

On the basis of the end-use industry, the global waterborne coating additives market is segmented into building & construction, automotive, packaging, and others. Building and construction industry is expected to have the major market share of waterborne coating additives due to high consumption of paints & coatings. Automotive industry is also expected to show rising demand over the forecast period due to strong automotive industry particularly in Europe and China of Asia Pacific region.

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Regional Analysis

The global waterborne coating additives market is spanned across five regions namely Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. Asia Pacific is expected to have the major market share of waterborne coating additives in terms of market size. North America and Europe markets are relatively mature and expected to show steady demand in the forecast period. Middle East and Africa is expected to show rising demand during the forecast period from growing construction industry of Middle East. Latin America is also expected to join hand with other regions and is expected to show rising demand from construction industry.
INDIANAPOLIS -- A gunman killed at least eight people at a FedEx facility in the midwestern U.S. city of Indianapolis before turning the gun on himself in the latest in a string of mass shootings in the country, authorities said Friday.

The incident came a week after President Joe Biden branded US gun violence an "epidemic" and an "international embarrassment" as he waded into the tense debate over gun control, a sensitive political issue in the United States.

After this latest killing he again ordered flags flown at half staff at the White House and other public buildings.

The gunman responsible for the overnight shooting was not immediately identified and it was not known if he was an employee at the FedEx facility near the airport in the state capital of Indiana, deputy police chief Craig McCartt told reporters.

"He got out of his car and pretty quickly started some random shooting outside the facility. There was no confrontation with anyone that was there. There was no disturbance. There was no argument. He just appeared to randomly start shooting and that began in the parking lot and then he did go into the building... for a brief period of time before he took his own life," McCartt said.

He said the shooting only lasted "a couple of minutes" and it appeared the attacker "took his life very shortly before officers actually entered the facility."

McCartt said the gunman was armed "with a rifle of some sort."

"This is a devastating day and words are hard to describe the emotion we feel," said Fedex chairman Frederick Smith in a letter to employees, adding that the company was working with law enforcement.

Four people with gunshot wounds were transported by ambulance, including one in critical condition, police said.

Three were transported with other injuries, while two were treated at the scene and then released.

One man who was working a twilight shift at the plant told local broadcaster WISH-TV he saw the gunman start shooting and heard more than 10 shots.

"I saw a man with a sub-machine gun of some sort, an automatic rifle, and he was firing in the open. I immediately ducked down and got scared," Jeremiah Miller said.

"My friend's mother, she came in and told us to get inside the car. What we've been doing (since) is telling everyone, our co-workers not to go to work today."

Nervous relatives gathered at a hotel Friday morning near the plant for news of loved ones who work there and were not allowed to use their cell phones on the floor, news media said.

Police spokeswoman Genae Cook told reporters that officers were called to an "active shooter incident" at around 11:00 pm (0300 GMT).

"The officers responded, they came in, they went in and they did their job. A lot of them are trying to face this because this is a sight that no one should ever have to see," Cook said.

The plant is reported to employ more than 4,000 people.

Crime scene investigators walk through the parking lot of the mass shooting site at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, Indiana, on April 16, 2021. Photo: AFP

Timothy Boillat, another employee, told WISH-TV that he saw around 30 police cars arriving at the scene as he witnessed the shooting unfold.

"After hearing the shootings, I did see a body on the floor," he said.

"Luckily, I was far enough away to where he (the shooter) didn't see me."

The incident in Indianapolis follows a spate of mass shootings across the US in recent weeks.

At the end of last month, four people, including a child, were shot dead in an office building in southern California.

On March 22, 10 people were killed in a shooting at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado.

That came less than a week after a man shot and killed eight people, including six women of Asian descent, at spas in Atlanta, Georgia.

Thursday's incident was the third mass shooting in Indianapolis this year. In January, five people including a pregnant woman were killed; three adults and a child were killed in March.

Nearly 40,000 people in the United States die each year from guns, more than half of those being suicides.

The issue of gun regulation in the United States is politically fraught.

Biden this month announced six executive measures he said would help stem the gun violence crisis.

The move was immediately attacked by Republicans, with the party's senior leader in the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, warning of "unconstitutional overreach."

"Gun violence is an epidemic in America. But we should not accept it. We must act," Biden said in a statement Friday after the new shooting.

"Too many Americans are dying every single day from gun violence. It stains our character and pierces the very soul of our nation," Biden said.

"We can, and must, do more to act and to save lives."
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 19:26:11|Editor: huaxia

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PHNOM PENH, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni on Saturday removed the rank of a two-star general and fired him from the National Police after he hosted a party during a lockdown, according to a royal decree.

Major General Ung Chanthuok, 46, deputy chief of staff of the National Police, along with two men, were arrested at his house in capital Phnom Penh's Meanchey district on Friday evening while he was having a drinking, dancing and singing party with a few dozens of his tenants.

Authorities said Chanthuok had seriously defied a 14-day lockdown imposed in Phnom Penh from April 15 to 28 to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The dismissal was made at the request of Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, according to the royal decree.

Chanthuok will also be prosecuted under the kingdom's anti-COVID-19 law.

Cambodia has been enduring the third wave of community COVID-19 outbreak since Feb. 20. The Southeast Asian nation logged 291 new cases on Saturday, bringing the total number of infections to 5,771, with 39 fatalities, the Ministry of Health said, adding that there are currently 3,311 active cases in the country.

The kingdom began an anti-COVID-19 inoculation drive on Feb 10. As of Friday, some 1.24 million out of the country's 16 million population had been vaccinated against the virus, showed a government report. Enditem
VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - Tragedies can impact a person's mental health. Even if what's happened doesn't have a direct connection to you.

News 10 spoke with a professional about how Thursday night's deadly mass shooting in Indianapolis can take its toll on your mental health.

She explained ways to cope.

Deputy Chief Clinical officer Emily Owens with Hamilton Center says support from loved ones is the best way to deal with tragic situations.

"If they have that good support network that can get them through talking about it processing it, that can go a long way," Owens told us.

She says it's important for people not to bottle up their emotions.

LINK | The US has reported at least 45 mass shootings in the last month

"You think, oh I can get through it, this will pass, it will be history before I know it. But sometimes then things can trigger those thoughts again about that trauma experience," says Owens.

She also talked about the signs to watch out for if you're concerned about someone's mental health.

"And you notice that they're not really themselves, maybe they're distancing more from you or avoiding situations that historically they would be comfortable in," says Owens.

If you or someone you know needs professional attention, tell them to reach out to their nearest health provider.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki calls on a reporter during a press briefing in the White House in Washington on April 16, 2021. (Andrew Harnik/AP Photo)

White House Walks Back Statement on Agreements With Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras

President Joe Bidens administration on Friday shifted its portrayal of ongoing discussions with Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras, acknowledging no formal agreements were reached on those countries building up their forces at their respective borders.

There was no formal agreement, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters in Washington.

We never described it as a formal declaration or a formal agreement, but additional steps that they were taking to increase personnel at the border. And those are steps you can confirm with those countries that they have taken, she added.

Earlier in the week, Psaki said it was fair to say that agreements with the three countries were struck recently, in the past few weeks.

There have been a series of bilateral discussions between our leadership and the regional governments of Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala. Through those discussions, there was a commitment, as you mentioned, to increase border security, she told a reporter at the White House.

Tyler Moran, special assistant to the president for immigration for the Domestic Policy Council, went on MSNBC that same day and said the administration secured agreements for them to put more troops on their own border, adding, Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala have all agreed to do this.

Mexican Marines patrol at the banks of the Suchiate River in Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas state, Mexico, border with Tecun Uman, Guatemala, on Jan. 19, 2021. (Isaac Guzman/AFP via Getty Images)

But Guatemala told citizens that there was no document signed with the United States, saying it had already sent the 1,500 personnel Psaki mentioned to its border in January. Mexican officials said in late March they were increasing the troop level at its borders slightly while Honduran officials stated there was no commitment to put more soldiers in place to disrupt migration.

U.S. State Department officials seemed to contradict others in Biden administration, including during a congressional hearing on Wednesday.

No, there were no agreements concluded with governments regarding border security, Ricardo Zuniga, the special envoy for the northern triangle, told Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas).

We do agree that it is very important to continue to work together, to collaborate, to manage migration, in a way that enhances the security of every country and allows governments to enforce their borders, just as the United States does, he added.

A State Department spokeswoman also told The Washington Free Beacon that no agreements have been established.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said in a tweet that the White House needs to come clean about this.

This is a series of bold-faced lies, Issa added to the Free Beacon. The [Biden administration] has deliberately said something that wasnt true affecting foreign policy.  Hes taking credit for what is the unilateral efforts of these countries to deal with the crisis that hes created for them.
Construction starts next week in Norwalk on what could become the greenest building in Connecticut  designed by the architect who created the Living Building Challenge certification, among the most exacting environmental standards on the planet.

HMTX Industries is building a 24,000-square-foot center for designers and engineers to collaborate on luxury flooring it sells, with plans to seek Living Building Challenge certification for the project.

We can sit in front of a computer screen or in our library, in front of artifacts and books and surfaces and objects, and come up with an idea, bring it downstairs to the industrial part, and create that as a flooring prototype, CEO Harlan Stone said. This is kind of a revolutionary idea in our industry: normally you have an idea and it takes six-to-12 months to turn it into a sample. Were going to do it in six hours.

Thanks in part to a supplier contract with Home Depot, HMTX has become one of the dominant manufacturers of luxury vinyl tiling and planking in vogue today among interior designers and builders, for decor, durability and cost considerations. The retail giant gave HMTX its annual supply chain partner of the year award in 2020, recognizing its work in keeping inventory and shipments flowing during the pandemic. On its website, HMTX lists annual sales of $800 million.

Stone said that while the closure last month of the Suez Canal had only a minor impact on HMTX shipments in Europe, the COVID-19 pandemic has bogged down U.S. imports due to port facilities being overwhelmed in southern California.

HMTX was among the earliest Connecticut companies to absorb the initial shock of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company was forced to close a factory in China that employed workers who found themselves under quarantine.

The new HMTX center will be located on Oakwood Avenue just behind its current headquarters building. HMTX is seeking a petal certified designation under the Living Building Challenge, which is one of three major environmental standards for commercial buildings along with the better-known Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program of the U.S. Green Building Council, and the Green Globe standard. HMTX will also seek LEED platinum and Green Globe certifications.

Only four commercial buildings in Connecticut carry the LEED programs platinum label today, with the Greenwich office of the buyout fund L Catterton the most recent to win it two years ago. LEED also runs programs for retail spaces and individual offices inside buildings; in all, nearly 800 Connecticut facilities have a LEED designation.

As the architect, HMTX hired McLennan Design of Bainbridge Island, Wash., whose founder Jason McClennan created the Living Building Challenge and who drew up the blueprints for the headquarters facility of the International Living Future Institute that runs the challenge. McLennan Design is the visionary as well for a new campus for the Yale University Divinity School which is seeking the certification.

HMTX is well familiar with ILFI, which two years ago made Rochelle Routman the first individual with a manufacturer to receive its Living Future Hero award for her work promoting better environmental practices as chief sustainability and quality officer for HMTX.

Shawmut is the general contractor for the HMTX building. The construction company built the Kohler Environmental Center at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, one of two buildings in Connecticut with Living Building Challenge zero energy certification, along with a small faculty house at the Taft School in Watertown.

HMTX is funding the project with a loan from Bridgeport-based Peoples United Financial, which is in the process of merging with M&T Bank.

We will be capturing more energy from the sun than we can use, Stone said. We integrate with the natural environment  thats actually a part of the standard that I love. ... We worked incredibly hard to preserve as many trees as we could, and the ones we have to take down we intend to replace.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
WASHINGTON, April 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Institutes of Health (NIH) today announced a policy to resume taxpayer funding for research using fetal tissue from aborted babies. This move overturns a historic policy put in place under President Donald Trump that halted all internal NIH research using aborted fetal tissue, and severely restricted outside fetal tissue research funded by taxpayers. This announcement goes so far as to disband a nonpartisan ethics advisory board that was tasked with reviewing proposals for research using fetal tissue from aborted babies.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said:

"As expected, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, a fanatical advocate for abortion, announced the Biden administration will now force American taxpayers to pay for barbaric experiments using the body parts of aborted babies. Instead of using ethical and effective alternatives, Biden is choosing to reinstate a policy that traffics in the grizzly remains of what would have been our next generation.

"The fact is that the remains of aborted babies have not been used to create the cure of a single disease. It's clear that the NIH under President Biden means to do the opposite of 'follow the science.'

"The Biden administration is making it once again clear that it places no value on the inherent dignity of human life. Their actions deny the truth that every human life, born and unborn, possesses inherent dignity and deserves to be treated with respect," concluded Perkins.

Connor Semelsberger, Director of Federal Affairs for Life and Human Dignity at Family Research Council, added:

"Using body parts from aborted babies to conduct research is a barbaric practice that should be unthinkable. Sadly, President Biden is instead promoting it. Proponents of aborted fetal tissue research willingly compromise ethics in the name of 'science.' However, the ends do not always justify the means."

While the Biden administration want to use the remains of aborted babies for research, you can see what states are taking action to properly care for the remains of the unborn by visiting FRC's Fetal Dignity State Policy Map here: https://www.frc.org/prolifemaps.

SOURCE Family Research Council

Related Links

http://www.frc.org


New York, April 17 : At least four Sikhs have been killed in a mass shooting at a FedEx company facility in Indianapolis by a 19-year-old former employee, according to the Sikh Coalition.

Officials, who said that a "significant" number of employees at the parcel and courier service company are Sikhs, reported that the gunman killed himself after murdering eight people Thursday night and wounding at least seven, five of whom were hospitalised.

They did not identify the victims as of Friday evening, but the Sikh Coalition said, "We are sad to confirm that at least four of those killed in Thursday night's attacks are members of the Indianapolis Sikh community." It added, "We are in touch with sangat leaders, government and law enforcement officials" and "we expect that the authorities will conduct a full investigation -- including the possibility of a bias factor." WXIN-TV station quoted Parminder Singh, the uncle of one of the victims, as saying that his niece who worked at the facility near the airport phoned him shortly after the shooting and told him that she was shot while in her car and was being taken to the hospital.

Indiana Police Chief Randal Taylor said that a "significant" number of the FedEx workers at the facility are Sikhs.

President Joe Biden ordered the national flag to be flown at half-mast at all government facilities and US embassies abroad.

Police Deputy Chief Craig McCartt told reporters that shooter has been identified as Brian Hole, who had worked in the FedEx facility but left last year.

He said that Hole began shooting people in the parking lot of the major parcel and courier company facility killing four people, then entered the building and killed four others before apparently committing suicide before police got there.

"There was no confrontation, no disturbance, he just randomly started shooting," he said.

McCartt said that Hole had previously come to the attention of police and in March last year a gun was seized from him.

The official in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Indianapolis office, Paul Keenan, said that he had been questioned by the agency after his mother had warned that he might try to commit suicide by provoking police to shoot him.

Hole's step-sister told WXIN TV that he was "isolated" and "never got the help he needed." She told the station that there was a history of mental illness in the family and that their father had committed suicide in 2004.

McCartt said that he could not say what the motive for Hole's rampage was.

Sikhs have for long been victims of bias attacks in US, often being mistaken for Muslims because of their turbans.

According to the FBI's 2019 hate crime statistics -- the latest available -- there were 49 anti-Sikh attacks with 60 victims.

In 2012 a gunman attacked a gurdwara in Oak Creek in Wisconsin State killing seven Sikhs and wounding four.

The perpetrator, Wade Michael Page, an ex-serviceman described as a White supremacist, killed himself after being injured by police.

The Indianapolis police shooting is the latest in a series of mass shootings plaguing the US.

"Gun violence is an epidemic in America," Biden said in a statement.

Just last month a White man killed eight people, six of them Asian women, at three massage parlours in Atlanta.

That was followed by the killing of ten people including a police officer by a Syrian immigrant in Boulder, Colorado State.

"What a cruel wait and fate that has become too normal and happens every day somewhere in our nation," Biden said and urged Congress to "enact commonsense gun violence prevention legislation, like universal background checks and a ban of weapons of war and high-capacity magazines." There are no national laws governing gun ownership and regulations vary by states, with some allowing even high caliber automatic weapons with no checks on owners.

Efforts to regulate gun ownership has been stymied mainly by the Republican Party backed by the powerful National Rifle Association, an organisation of gun owners.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, 19,380 people were shot dead last year in the US, an increase of more than 25 per cent over the previous year's deaths.

Japan's Prime Minister, who is visiting the US said at the White House before a meeting with Biden, "I would like to express my condolences to the victims, and my sympathies to the families. Innocent citizens must not be exposed to any such violence." (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis)
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The Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice all looked dignified today in black attire as they attended the funeral of Prince Philip.

Kate Middleton sported a chic black Catherine Walker coat dress and was the picture of grace as she paired the look with The Queen's jewels.

She was earlier seen in a 1,605 Roland Mouret dress with an asymmetrical neckline, a piece she had previously worn to the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance in 2018.

Kate Middleton recycled a chic black 1,605 Roland Mouret dress with an asymmetrical neckline to attend the funeral of Prince Philip today

Princess Eugenie (left) who is the daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York, wore her brunette tresses in a natural wave across her shoulders and donned a black coat dress for the funeral. Donning matching high heels, she finished her demure look with a black fascinator, while carrying a clutch, thought to be the Gabriela Hearsts 'Diana' bag. Elsewhere, Princess Beatrice (right) wore a long collared jacket and a round hat embellished with a large black bow for the service.

Accompanying the look was a Japanese Pearl choker necklace, which was worn by Kate for the Queen and Prince Philip's 70th wedding anniversary dinner at Windsor Castle in 2017, and by her late mother-in-law Princess Diana in 1982.

Her Majesty loaned it to Diana, who loved pearls, for a banquet given by Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus of the Netherlands at Hampton Court Palace during the Dutch royal family's visit to the UK - one of her first royal engagements a year after her marriage to Prince Charles.

She had asked for the four-row Japanese Pearl Choker to be made from 'the finest cultured pearls' which were a gift from the Japanese government. It has four strands of pearls with a central curved diamond clasp.

The Monarch wore the choker in the 1980s and 1990s, and to a dinner celebrating former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's 70th Birthday in London in 1995.

Kate wore a Japanese Pearl choker necklace was worn by Kate for the Queen and Prince Philip's 70th wedding anniversary dinner at Windsor Castle in 2017, and by her late mother-in-law Princess Diana in 1982.

Kate was impeccably dressed for the occasion and once outside the chapel, the Duchess wore a long buttoned coat over her Roland Mouret dress

The Queen asked for the four-row Japanese Pearl Choker to be made from 'the finest cultured pearls' which were a gift from the Japanese government. Pictured left, Her Majesty in the choker in 1983. Right, The Queen loaned it to Diana, who loved pearls, for a banquet given by Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus of the Netherlands at Hampton Court Palace during the Dutch royal family's visit to the UK - one of her first royal engagements a year after her marriage to Prince Charles

The Duchess of Cambridge pictured during the Remembrance Day service in 2019 (right) and today (left)

Kate also wore earrings belonging to the Queen, which she sported for the the Remembrance Day service in 2019, and a recycled Philip Treacy fascinator.

Meanwhile, Princess Eugenie, who is the daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York, wore her brunette tresses in a natural wave across her shoulders and donned a black 5690 coat dress for the funeral.

Donning matching high heels, she finished her demure look with a black fascinator, while carrying a clutch, thought to be the Gabriela Hearsts 'Diana' bag. Her coat was also from the Uruguayan designer's AW20 collection.

Elsewhere, Princess Beatrice wore a long collared jacket believed to be a custom piece by Claire Mischevani and a round hat embellished with a large black bow for the service.

Looking equally elegant, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, sported an ankle-length black dress coat from Suzannah London and sling-back heels to enter the chapel.

Her demure look was finished with a black fascinator, while she tied her blonde hair back and clutched a bag, the Sophie Habsburg Lunatic Bicolour Clutch in Cardinal Litz, which she has worn four times before, while Lady Louise has also sported the piece twice.

Princess Eugenie carries a bag from Gabriella Hearst as she attends the funeral of Prince Philip

Eugenie looked dignified in an all black outfit with 5,690 Gabriela Hearst coat and bag

Looking equally elegant, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, sported an ankle-length black dress coat and sling-back heels to enter the chapel

Louise, James and Sophie were joined by Kate Middleton and Princess Beatrice as they stood outside the chapel today

Louise, is 14th in line to the throne and the only daughter of Prince Edward, 57, and Sophie Wessex, 56, she tied her long blonde hair into a pretty plait, and added a black hair band and matching face mask.

Zara looked poised as she wore an understated 430 black round-necked tunic gown and a lace headpiece, which she paired with elegant silver droplet earrings, as she was joined by her husband Mike.

Elsewhere, Camilla paid tribute to her father-in-law the Duke of Edinburgh by wearing the commemorative brooch of the regiment he was associated with for 70 years.

Camilla wore the silver Bugle Horn brooch of The Rifles on her black coat as she accompanied her husband Prince Charles to Prince Philip's funeral at St George's Chapel today.

The 39-year-old stood outside St George's Chapel beside the Duchess of Cornwall

Camilla wore the silver Bugle Horn brooch of The Rifles on her black coat as she accompanied her husband Prince Charles to Prince Philip's funeral at St George's Chapel today

The Duchess of Cornwall has paid tribute to her father-in-law the Duke of Edinburgh by wearing the commemorative brooch of the regiment he was associated with for 70 years

The wife of Prince Charles was gifted the brooch last year after Prince Philip transferred the historic military title of Colonel-in-Chief of the infantry regiment The Rifles to her in July.

Meanwhile the Queen brought out the diamond Richmond Brooch, which she inherited from her grandmother Queen Mary.

The brooch, a present from the town of Richmond for her 1893 wedding to the future King George V, is comprised of diamonds set in silver and gold in a scrolling design surrounding a central pearl, with a pearl and diamond pendant hanging below.

It is a flexible jewel - the central pearl and pearl pendant are detachable - and today the Queen chose to leave it off.

The Queen brought out the diamond Richmond Brooch, which she inherited from her grandmother Queen Mary

The Duchess of Cornwall's choice of brooch is a subtle and fitting way to honour her father-in-law's service.

Camilla also sported a 149 pair of shoes from Sole Bliss in black leather.

The brooch worn by the Queen is thought to be one of the largest in her collection.

The Queen Mary's Richmond Brooch was particularly striking against the monarch's all-black funeral outfit worn today, and the statement piece is the same one the Queen wore for the 2018 wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

The monarch was also pictured wearing the brooch at the Festival of Remembrance in 2014 and 2018.

The brooch was made by Hunt and Roskell and given to Queen Mary as a wedding present in 1893 by the town of Richmond, according to The Court Jeweller blog. The piece is made of diamonds set with two pearls - a large round centre pearl, and a detachable pear-shaped pearl drop, the site states.
Woolworths will be setting up staff with body cameras as part of a trial to combat violent assaults and abuse from shoppers.

The police-style cameras will be trialled in five stores in Victoria, three in New South Wales, and one store each in Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland.

Signs will be at the stores testing out the new technology with only supervisors allowed to turn them on if they're concerned about a staff member's safety.

The move comes after a survey by the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association found 85 per cent of Woolworths retail employees had been abused verbally, physically, or sexually.

Woolworths will be setting up staff with body cameras as part of a trial to combat violent assaults and abuse from shoppers (pictured employee Jasmine trialling the body camera)

WOOLWORTHS STORES TRIALLING BODY CAMERAS Victoria - Abbotsford, Millers Junction, St Albans, Sunshine Market Place and Hoppers Crossing NSW - Kempsey, Berala and Rosehill Western Australia - Coolbellup South Australia - Rundle Mall Queensland - Redbank Plains Advertisement

The shocking abuse against staff soared last year during the pandemic with customers lashing out at employees and brawls unfolding in the aisles over items as simple as toilet paper.

Woolworths director of stores Rob Moffat said the cameras, which have been in stores for about two weeks, would hopefully put an end to the abuse countless staff experienced.

'Nobody deserves to be abused at work, so it's important we look at new measures to help keep our team members safe,' he said.

'These cameras are used widely in retail across the US and UK and have been effective in reducing the rate of reported incidents.'

Audio will not be recorded in the event the cameras are turned on and the footage will only be provided to Woolworths security and law enforcement agencies.

The NSW secretary for union SDA said within the first week staff reported a noticeable drop in hostile behaviour from customers.

Audio will not be recorded in the event the cameras are turned on and the footage will only be provided to Woolworths security experts and law enforcement agencies
Two influential US lawmakers have applauded the Indian government's move to increase foreign direct investment in the insurance sector from the existing 49 per cent to 74 per cent, saying it will further deepen bilateral trade and investment. India's Parliament last month passed the Insurance Amendment Bill 2021 to increase the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the insurance sector.

We are very encouraged by the inclusion of a proposal to raise the limit on foreign direct investment in the Indian Insurance sector from 49 per cent to 74 per cent," Congressman Brad Sherman and Steve Chabot said. "This long-awaited reform holds the promise of expanding insurance coverage for Indian consumers and businesses, promoting both financial inclusion and economic resilience in India, they said.

Sherman is the Democratic Co-Chair of the House Caucus on India and Indian Americans. Chabot is the Republican Co-Chair of the Caucus. In a letter to the Indian Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, the two lawmakers said that such a move proposed in the recent annual budget would also increase the availability of capital to support India's ambitious infrastructure goals.

Finally, in addition to advancing Indian economic development, this reform would further deepen US-India trade and investment ties at a critical moment for bilateral relations. Considering these benefits, we urge you to take all available steps to ensure that this reform is expeditiously implemented law without requirements that would undermine its efficacy and its consistency with international norms, the two lawmakers said in their letter to Sandhu.

According to Berman and Chabot, given the opportunity to increase their investments in the Indian market, US insurers will be able to expand their offerings of innovative, competitively priced insurance products - serving existing demand and stimulating new demand - and thereby help improve Indian public safety, health, and security.

Berman and Chabot said the increased investment would also support India's funding and maintenance of infrastructure that will boost India's growth and development over the long term. The reform would also eliminate a longstanding barrier in the bilateral economic relationship. A durable and mutually beneficial economic relationship requires reciprocity. Raising the limit on foreign direct investment in the insurance sector from 49 per cent to 74 per cent is an important step toward establishing reciprocity in the insurance sector between the United States and India, as the United States imposes no foreign equity limitations in this sector, they said.

Taking this step now would signal to the US Congress and the Biden administration that India is willing to conquer historical barriers to increasing bilateral trade and investment, the two lawmakers wrote in the letter to Sandhu.

Also read: Decline in corruption gave 100bps boost to India's GDP in 2012-18: SBI Ecowrap

Also read: Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2021 passed in Lok Sabha
China warns Japan not to stir up trouble on Diaoyu Island issue

CGTN) 10:20, April 17, 2021

China's Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea. (Photo/Xinhua)

China on Friday warned Japan not to incite trouble over the Diaoyu Islands issue.

Japan and its media have recently hyped up the matter amid the visit of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to the U.S.

Some net users even accused the Japanese side of deliberately causing collisions with China Marine Surveillance ships and then shifting the blame to the Chinese side in order to reaffirm the applicability of Japan-U.S. security treaty over the Diaoyu Islands and strengthen related measures.

"Diaoyu Islands and its affiliated islets are China's inherent territory, and China is determined and resolved in safeguarding its territorial sovereignty," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a regular press conference.

Noting that Japan has been giving its so-called "fishing vessels of unknown origin" a free pass to sail in waters near the Diaoyu Islands with an objective to stir trouble, Zhao called this strategy as the root cause of complicating the situation further.

"We once again urge the Japanese side to honor its four-point principled agreement with China, effectively strengthen internal control and prevent the situation from deteriorating and escalating."

Asked to comment on reports that suggested Suga and U.S. President Joe Biden may also present a united front on Taiwan-related issues, Zhao said China has expressed solemn concern about the collusion between Japan and the U.S., and both Washington and Tokyo should take Beijing's concerns seriously.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Bianji)
The entrance of Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, Calif., on March 13, 2020. (Mario Anzuoni/File/Reuters)

Nabbing Tickets Is a Rollercoaster Rush for Disneyland Fans

Disneyland fans are flocking to their keyboards to nab reservations for the opening days of Disneyland in an effort they say has proved time-consuming and stressful.

It was obscene, said Disneyland devotee Nikki Melland, who said it took hours to secure her desired dates. It was insane, for sure.

Disneyland will reopen April 30 for the first time in more than a year; its been shut since the onset of the pandemic last March.

Right now, Californias theme parks are allowed to reopen at 25 percent capacity, and Disneyland is requiring advance reservations for visits through June 28.

When reservations became available April 15, it proved to be a test of patience for fans such as Melland. After logging into a virtual queue at about 7:30 a.m., she said she entered a black hole.

It took me to the page of doom; the page we sat and stared at for the next countless amount of hours, Melland told the Epoch Times with a laugh.

She said she was finally let out of the queue, only to be met with technical difficulties. She said she kept getting kicked out until 5:30 p.m., when she learned that her previous attempts to buy tickets for the Avengers Campus opening day June 4 were successful.

It was worth it because were Disney addicts, Melland said. Its our happy place.

Some fans have said on social media that they spent upward of 12 hours reserving spots for the Anaheim theme park.

Disneyland fan Marianne Rice said she considers herself one of the fortunate ones.

I got lucky and was only in the queue for maybe two hours total when most spent 12 to 20 hours in the queue, she told The Epoch Times on April 16.

Rice, a longtime Disneyland annual pass holder, entered the line at 5:30 a.m. April 15, even though the queue opened at 8 am.

The queue was a lottery, meaning everyone was assigned a random place in line.

Rice said she was overjoyed to have her reservations booked.

So beyond stoked, she said. When I got to the actual purchase window, I had so much adrenaline going I was like shaking I was so excited and also very nervous that Id do something wrong and get kicked back into the queue.

New Rules

Since state guidelines only allow California residents to visit the theme park, Disneyland guests must show proof of residency to enter.

While some new rides will be open for the first time, such as the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, others will be closed to limit the risk of the CCP virus spreading.

Guests ages 2 and above are required to wear facial coverings.

Temperature screenings will be administered prior to park entry, along with enhanced cleaning procedures and cashless transactions.
I have always cherished libraries. I can close my eyes and hear the voice of Mrs. Mary Galvan, my elementary school librarian in Mathis. Her distinctive voice commanded our attention and transported us to places our imaginations couldnt have conjured without the magic of books.

One of my favorites back then  and still now  was Where the Wild Things Are, an award-winning, classic picture book  but it was how Mrs. Galvan read the story that made me fall in love with words and storytelling.

My hometown library was modest, but I have fond memories of going there to check out books, especially in the doldrums of summer in a small South Texas town. Without libraries, I wouldnt be a journalist today.

Books  digital, audio, printed  continue to provide an escape from pandemic anxiety or loneliness, but they have always provided ways to learn about and experience the world, to delve deep into research or self-help or spirituality, to learn new skills.

April 4-10 was National Library Week, and San Antonio Public Library has much to celebrate. Starting Tuesday, it opened for brisk browsing for the first time in more than a year, providing one-way traffic at all locations except the Briscoe Portal and locations undergoing improvement projects.

Libraries  school and community, brick-and-mortar and online  are a hallmark of strong communities. Libraries are remarkable equalizers  welcoming people from every background and demographic. Some libraries are better equipped than others, but fundamentally all provide an undeniably valuable service.

We can check out books  print, digital and audio  music and movies. But borrowing books and movies is only part of what makes libraries places of discovery. Libraries are hubs for learning and connection, for book clubs, toddler story time, teen groups, writing workshops, arts and crafts, exercise classes, homework help, genealogy research and so much more including early voting.

COVID-19 didnt stop libraries. Sure, things changed when the buildings were closed, but libraries innovated. When San Antonio Public Library closed its buildings March 13, 2020, the library system didnt just go into survival mode  it thrived.

Like libraries across the country, SAPL continued to be a lifeline for diverse communities that needed libraries more than ever. It offered contact-free curbside pickup, computers by appointment, programming and even Wi-Fi access in parking lots that helped bridge the digital divide for families struggling to connect for virtual school. And for the first time, the library offered live programs online.

Ramiro Salazar, SAPL director, also served as president of the Public Library Association from 2019-2020. He led local efforts to adapt and serve during the pandemic, monitoring and guiding libraries nationwide.

Salazar said libraries faced harrowing questions  for example: How long does COVID-19 live on books? (As knowledge has grown, the answer has evolved from days to minutes)  as they grappled with federal and local directives for how to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and still serve the community.

From March 2020 to this March, more than 4.7 million physical and digital items were checked out from SAPL, compared to more than 8.4 million physical and digital checkouts the previous year. Nearly 5,000 people logged in for new live online programming, and 698,822 hours of Wi-Fi were used from April 1, 2020 to March 31.

In June, SAPL began contact-free pickup at all locations, with public computer access by appointment at nine locations. In November, SAPL added computer access by appointment at all locations.

There was a hiring freeze at SAPL, but of the approximately 550 staff members at 30 SAPL locations, no one was furloughed or laid off. That wasnt the case at other libraries in Texas and across the country.

The citys general fund budget for SAPL for fiscal year 2021 is $42 million, including $2.6 million from Bexar County. Libraries are essential and well worth the investment.

I am just as excited today to visit libraries as I was when I was a kid, but now I appreciate them even more. Libraries are a gift  I can feel a boost when I step foot in them. Ill see you there.

Nancy.Preyor-Johnson@express-news.net
A worker monitors the Shenwei (Sunway) TaihuLight supercomputer at the National Supercomputer Center in Wuxi in eastern China's Jiangsu Province on Aug. 29, 2020. (Chinatopix via AP)

Military-Civil Fusion Information Secretly Removed by the Chinese Regime, Leaked Documents Shows

News Analysis

A series of internal documents responding to a municipal internet censorship authority reveals that information related to the Chinese Military-Civil Fusion (MCF) strategy was removed from a local bureaus official websites in June 2018, only months after a trade war had broken out with the United States.

The Epoch Times recently obtained documents from a trusted source issued by various departments in Anshan City of northern Liaoning province reveals the requirement to remove information about MCF on departments websites and from official accounts on social media platforms.

However, the MCF strategy is a national-level strategy that the head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has emphasized.

In March 2018, CCP leader Xi Jinping chaired the third meeting of the Central Commission for the Development of Military-Civil Fusion. In it, he emphasized further reducing the barriers between the commercial economy and the defense industrial base.

Three months later, MCF was required to be removed from official sites by the municipal Partys internet regulation and control agency, the Anshan City Cyberspace Administration.

Although it is unknown what the censorship authority asked for specifically, the replies from local bureaus offer some clues.

Screenshot of Feedback of investigation of information related to the Military-Civil Fusion on new media platforms issued by Anshan City government. (The Epoch Times.)

The Anshan government stated that 30 pieces of information related to MCF were removed from its official website.

Screenshot of Letter of feedback of investigation of information related to the Military-Civil Fusion on new media platforms issued by Anshan City Weather Burea. (The Epoch Times.)

The Anshan City Weather Bureau said the departments official website, the Weibo account, and the official account on Wechat were thoroughly checked.

Screenshot of Letter of Feedback of investigation of information related to the Military-Civil Fusion on new media platforms issued by Anshan City Archives Bureau. (The Epoch Times.)

The Anshan City Archives Bureau promised not to post any information related to MCF.

The CCP was afraid that information related to MCF strategy on media platforms could become a clue that could trigger U.S. sanctions, said Li Linyi, a commentator on Chinas political affairs.

Modernization With Military-Civil Fusion

The Military-Civil Fusion strategy is said to have the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) modernize by adopting technological innovations, such as quantum computing, big data, semiconductors, 5G, and Artificial Intelligence.

The apparatus encourages not only the conversion of technology into defense applications but also commercial enterprises participation in the defense industries.

The CCPs leader Xi Jinping has ordered (pdf) Chinas academic, corporate, and research institutions to take the initiative in discovering, cultivating, and applying cutting-edge technologies that can help build up Chinas military and national defense capabilities.

MCF has become a critical component in the regimes initiatives, such as the 14th five-year plan announced in 2020, the Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan (pdf) issued in 2017, the Made in China 2025 initiative published in 2015, and the Promotion of a National Integrated Circuit Industry Development Guidelines released in 2014.

In the 2017 AI development initiative, the communist regime employed commercial and military organizations to achieve breakthroughs in AI by 2025 and become the world leader by 2030.

[The CCP] believes that artificial intelligence (A.I.) will drive the next revolution in military affairs, and that the first country to apply A.I. to next generation warfare will achieve military dominance, the U.S. Department of State stated in a report (pdf).

Phytium, an MCF Strategy Example

Phytium, a company on the U.S. Commerce Departments new economic blacklist, exemplifies how a commercial entity in the civil sector legally transferred technology for military use.

On April 8, 2021, Tianjin Phytium Information Technology with six other Chinese companies were placed on the U.S. Entity List by the Biden administration for their involvement in building supercomputers used by Chinas military actors, and\or weapons of mass destruction programs.

On its website, Phytium claimed to focus on developing China-designed microprocessors. It used American electronic design automation tools to design its chips that were manufactured in Taiwans companies, Alchip Technologies, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

Phytiums chip was used by three institutions on the U.S. blacklistChina Aerodynamics Research and Development Center, a military university NUDT, and Tianjin national supercomputer labto develop an exascale supercomputer, which could enable hypersonic missiles, the Washington Post reported on Apr. 9.

The hypersonic missile could travel miles within a second and reach an airbase in the Pacific in minutes, the report explained.

Moreover, according to the business registration records, the three main stakeholders of the commercial company Phytium are controlled by the regime.

The joint venture company is owned by an affiliate of the state-owned China Electronic Corp., a Financial investment company backed by the Tianjin municipal government, and Tianjin Institute of Advance Technology, a public institution controlled by the state.

[Phytiums] executives wear civilian clothes, but they are mostly former military officers from the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT), Eric Lee, a research associate at the Project 2049 Institute, a Northern Virginia think tank focused on strategic Indo-Pacific issues told the Washington Post.

NUDT is under the direct leadership of the Central Military Commission, which was added to the Entity List in 2015. On its website, the military research institution said it plays a vital role in developing the Tianhe series supercomputer systems.

The prototype of Chinas new supercomputer Tianhe-3 is powered by many-core processors with Phytiums 2000 series chips, and Matrix 2000 series chips designed by the NUDT.

Li pointed out that the CCPs aim of having the civil sector participate in defense is entirely different from that of democratic countries.

The communist regimes use of the Military-Civil Fusion strategy enabled the CCP to steal innovation and technology for its military from the United States, Li said.

Long Tengyun contributed to this report.
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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 03:52:40|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Clashes between insurgent groups and Nigerian armed forces in Borno State are hampering humanitarian assistance, said a UN spokesman on Friday.

UN humanitarian workers in Nigeria continue to receive alarming reports of clashes between insurgent groups and Nigerian armed forces in the town of Damasak in Borno State. Recently, non-state armed groups have also been conducting house-to-house searches, reportedly looking for civilians identified as aid workers, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

A week ago, humanitarian assets in Damasak were targeted. At least five nongovernmental organization (NGO) offices and several NGO vehicles, as well as a mobile storage unit, water tanks, a health outpost and a nutrition stabilization center were damaged. More clashes were reported this week, he said.

These attacks will affect humanitarian assistance and protection to nearly 9,000 internally displaced persons and 76,000 people in the host community, he warned.

The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, said Friday that up to 80 percent of the population in Damasak has been forced to flee. While many fled toward Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, and to Geidam town in neighboring Yobe State. Other people crossed into Niger, the spokesman told a daily press briefing.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Niger is planning an inter-agency mission with the UNHCR and local authorities. Humanitarians in Nigeria and Niger have deployed assessment missions to identify the most pressing needs along the border, he said. Enditem
Hong Kong: HK records 18 COVID-19 cases

(To watch the full press briefing with sign language interpretation, click here.)

The Centre for Health Protection today said it is investigating 18 additional COVID-19 cases, eight of which are locally transmitted.

Of the local cases, six are of unknown sources of infection, including a case involving a 29-year-old man who arrived from Dubai on March 19.

He underwent a 21-day quarantine at the Ramada Hong Kong Grand in Tsim Sha Tsui, and moved to his friends place at Parkes Building in Jordan upon completion of the quarantine on April 9.

He took another COVID-19 test at a community testing centre in Yau Ma Tei on April 15 as he planned to fly back to Dubai the next day. He tested positive and the centre found that the N501Y mutant strain was involved.

At a press briefing today, the centre's Communicable Disease Branch Head Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said the centre is investigating how the patient got infected.

For the possible source of infection for the patient of case number 11643, we are still investigating. There are a few possibilities. He either got infected overseas in Dubai. Coupled with a long incubation period, those COVID-19 tests in the hotel could not detect that he was infected. So we are not sure about this.

The other possibility is that he acquired the infection after arrival in Hong Kong, either on the flight, at the airport or in the hotel. These are all the possibilities we have to examine.

And the third possibility is that after quarantine, he went to the community, so he might have gotten the infection from the community. The source is unknown at the moment.

"This is a worrying situation, especially the third possibility. Thats why we are taking very stringent measures and issue compulsory testing notices for all the places he visited to try to catch any undiagnosed cases or any spread involving the virus variant. We are still investigating."

Among the imported cases, seven patients arrived from India, while the others are from the Philippines and Indonesia.

For information and health advice on COVID-19, visit the Government's dedicated webpage.

This story has been published on: 2021-04-17. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
A scene from the musical "Gwangju" / Courtesy of Live Corp





By Park Ji-won







Between May 18 and 27 in 1980, citizens of Gwangju, South Jeolla Province stood up against the martial law imposed by the military junta led by then-President Chun Doo-hwan. About 200 people, including 22 soldiers on the government's side, are known to have been killed during the military crackdown. The 10-day Gwangju Uprising played a key role in igniting the pro-democracy movement in Korea and thus helped move the country's democratization forward.







"Gwangju," a musical marking the 40th anniversary of the uprising, was created in 2020 to remember the event from the perspective of ordinary citizens who were forced to take desperate measures to survive during that turbulent period of Korean history.







"The musical is trying to show the nature of the past of Gwangju which is to tell the truth," Koh Sun-woong, artistic director of the show said during a press conference, Thursday. "It is the story of ordinary people who happened to be there in Gwangju at that time  The key message is to 'Stand up, sing, dance and love.'"







The first season of the musical premiered in October last year. However, it came under fire for allegedly justifying the military suppression by designating Park Han-soo, a veteran soldier-come- spy, as the lead and depicting the citizens dancing as being too trite.







The criticism pushed award-winning director Koh Sun-woong to revise the lead character and some scenes in its second season, which is being showcased at the LG Art Center, Seoul, from April 13 to 25. Koh said he took comments from the audience and production staff into consideration. The character of Park, played by Min Woo-hyuk and CNU of B1A4, was changed to a new recruit into the government force who was born in Gwangju and suffers from the reality he encounters, eventually apologizing to the victims 40 years later.







The musical was also boosted by an actual apology from a former soldier who participated in the crackdown and shot at citizens, the director added.







The show's music and choreography were also changed to best show actual scenes of the past. That is why they are simple and addictive, its composer and choreographer added.







Choe U-zong, the composer of the musical and a music professor at Seoul National University, said, "History books record history. But music records personal stories. I tried my best to include those stories in music. Also, I came up with songs, such as Hula Hula, which were also sung by the people during the pro-democracy movement back then so that people could feel that they are with the people."







Shin Sun-ho, the choreographer, said, "Some may say individual movements, such as stomping, are too simple. But I think it is closer to the actual body movements of the people. Also, I wanted to show that collective stomping by many people could create lots of energy."


Crossing the border illegally could be a journey with fatal consequences, according to the U.S. Border Patrol.

On April 8, Hebbronville Station agents responded to a call from a man in the United States saying that his wife had crossed the border illegally. She told her husband that she could not keep up with the group she was in and that the smuggler had left her behind. She told her husband that she needed help because she was in danger, according to Chief Patrol Agent Matthew J. Hudak.

He tried to get enough information from her to call us. Our agents were able to piece together enough of the clues that he had. They were able to start a search. Within two hours of the call, we were able to find her. But unfortunately, she had already lost her life to exposure to the high heat and dehydration, Hudak said.

Agents found her on the side of a remote ranch road. She was one of the 20 deaths recorded so far this fiscal year.

The concern for us is, overall, our arrest numbers are 150% up. We have a lot more people trying to enter the country illegally here through Laredo. That tells me that were going to be doing more rescues, and were going to do our best to make sure that we dont see more fatalities. Unfortunately, the numbers are not in our favor, Hudak said.

But not everything is bad news.

On April 7, a 15-year-old juvenile was trying to flag down vehicles in the area of Texas 255 and FM 1472. Agents responded to the scene. The juvenile stated that his mother was in the brush area but could not move. Border Patrol Agent Abdiel Melendez, of the horse patrol unit, and other colleagues canvassed the area until they found the woman severely dehydrated.

Melendez recalled that the woman could barely communicate as she was in and out of conversations. Agents rendered first aid until a Border Patrol EMT arrived on scene for further care.

Its very fortunate that we arrived on scene. Were talking about a 15 year old. I cant imagine going through that situation. Luckily, we were able to help them, Melendez said. We are law enforcement officers. We have to enforce the law. But when situations like these present themselves, were human beings and our primary concern is to take care of whoever is in need and hopefully save their lives.

Hudak pointed out how smugglers are also putting people at risk when they place the groups inside grain hopper rail cars. Smugglers take advantage of the train making several stops within the city to load their human cargo, according to the Border Patrol.

These rail cars are not intended to carry people. They are meant to carry grain in this case. Putting people in there is an extremely dangerous situation, Hudak said.

So far this fiscal year, Border Patrol has apprehended 58,720 immigrants compared to last fiscal year in the same time frame with 22,861 apprehensions. Thats a 157% increase. The arrests come from trains, tractor-trailers, brush areas and stash houses, among other smuggling attempts.

The simple message were trying to get across to migrants as well as to family members, friends and relatives here in the United States that may be communicating to people to make the journey is that it is a very dangerous journey. It is potentially a life-ending journey. Were asking people to stay home, stay safe and stay alive, Hudak said.

Greg Burwell, Division Chief of the Laredo Sector, said the sector recently acquired 14 rescue beacons. These beacons can be taken to remote areas or hot spots where people in distress can press a button for help.

When we talk about rescues in the Laredo Sector, nationwide theres been right around 5,000 rescues. Weve done, of that, almost 4,000, Burwell said. That tells you something about the smugglers on the other side that they are willing to put their commodity, if you will, in danger all the time.
Are the secrets and scandals of the halls of 54 Park Street  the headquarters of Kerry Packers prized Australian Consolidated Press magazine empire  soon to be laid bare in a tell-all book?

Former staff members seem to think so.

Members of ACP Alumni, a private Facebook group that boasts more than 2000 ex-staffers sharing humdrum anecdotes from the glory days of magazines, were outraged when rumours began circulating that a former colleague-turned-book publisher had infiltrated their ranks to obtain stories for an upcoming book.

Kerry Packer and son James at a Publishing & Broadcasting Limited AGM in October 2004. Credit:AP

Threats of legal action quickly ensued, as ACP stalwarts panicked that their juicy posts of long lunches and frivolous spending could make it into print.
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 16, 2021 / Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Emergent BioSolutions Inc. ("Emergent" or the "Company") (NYSE:EBS). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.

The investigation concerns whether Emergent 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 31, 2021, the New York Times published an article reporting on the accidental contamination at an Emergent manufacturing plant in Baltimore of coronavirus vaccines developed by Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca PLC. According to reporting by the Associated Press, the Emergent factory where the contamination occurred had a series of lapses observed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April 2020.

On this news, Emergent's stock price fell $12.45 per share, or 13.4%, to close at $80.46 per share on April 1, 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

SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/640915/SHAREHOLDER-ALERT-Pomerantz-Law-Firm-Investigates-Claims-On-Behalf-of-Investors-Emergent-BioSolutions-Inc--EBS




Following a meeting with An Taoiseach Micheal Martin, and Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, Macra na Feirme has outlined concerns regarding the delays to the planning process overall and the resultant implications which affect young farmers investing in their industry.

Macra na Feirme stress that these delays pose a significant risk to the aims of generational renewal.

The organisation's national president, Thomas Duffy, highlighted the need for investment in facilities to diversify dairy product output in the face of Brexit to protect the long-term viability of rural areas, family farms and the dairy sector.

Also highlighted was the impact of a move away from summer production of milk as result of limitations on processing capacity.

This discussion was not about any individual cases but the need for government to ensure the sector is able to operate and investment, supporting family farms, said Mr Duffy.

The risk of unintended consequences of such limitations were raised with An Taoiseach and Minister for Agriculture of limiting capacity. A move away from the dominant grass-based system practiced on the majority of Irish dairy farms would undermine our environmental credentials.

As demonstrated by Teagasc figures, moving the supply of milk towards housed systems could increase emissions per kg of milk by as much as 20%. Greater production of milk from the housed period will result in greater amounts of slurry, which despite significant investment by farmers in low emissions slurry spreading technology, will increase ammonia emissions.

This is not about expansion. We talk about a Just Transition in many sectors, well there is simply nothing Just in actions forcing farmers away from a more sustainable and economically viable system to one that will leave them worse off and with bigger risks, said Mr Duffy.

There is a legal right to make submissions, but the delayed nature of the entire planning process has meant that a delay is as good as a win and that must be addressed, he said.
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Ive been speaking with women physicians about the top challenges they face today. Ive learned there are manywhich honestly didnt surprise me, given that 48 percent of women physicians report burnout symptoms (compared with 37 percent of their male counterparts).

Several have mentioned the challenge of breastfeeding while workingrather ironic considering what is known about the health benefits for mother and infant. Maybe their colleagues and leaders consider the logistics of breastfeeding while working to be an individual womans problem to solve. Perhaps leaders think, Once an organization designates a lactation room, isnt that enough? How is breastfeeding a system problem? Maybe colleagues wonder, Why should they be given time off during the day when the rest of us arent?

First of all, a lactation room alone is not enough. Often, these spaces are located in the far reaches of the hospital or clinic. And even if they are located close enough to access in a reasonable amount of time, women physicians are not given protected time to pump. They squeeze in pumping sessions when they can and end up harried and late for their next patient.

Failing to proactively support lactation undermines our social contract to support the health of our children. Stress is known to reduce milk supply, which then leads to more stress. The last thing women physicians need right now is more stress. Plus, the time a child is breastfed is fleeting, usually lasting months, not years.

Also, I see lactation support as an equity issue. Equality is providing the same opportunities and resources to all physicians, regardless of their specific needs. Equity is ensuring that all physicians have access to the opportunities and resources they need to do their jobs well and be healthy, which will differ from person to person and over time.

Physicians who are breastfeeding should have the support and resources they need, including protected time to pump, so that they can fully participate in their work, just as a physician with a broken leg might be given extra time to walk between sites or proactively provided with a leg scooter to make the experience doable.

We must also address the implicit bias against women in medicine that persistsa bias that says, Women physicians, especially if they have children, cannot keep up/arent as loyal/dont want to work hard. Women physicians are hard, loyal, incredibly valuable employees who provide high-quality patient care.

Finally, providing protected time to pump supports the retention of women physicians. Rather than cutting back on their work hours or leaving practice entirely, they can continue practicing medicine and providing their children with a healthy start. Enabling physicians to remain engaged and on-the-job is smart for any health care organization.

Physician moms can have long careersduring which their time and energy demands will change. Smart organizations will acknowledge this truth and take proactive steps to retain their most valuable asset: their people.

Given the cost of replacing a physician, retaining them over the long haul is a good move fiscally. Instituting policies to proactively support physicians who are breastfeeding is an important part of increasing physician retention. Its also the equitable and just thing to do.

Diane W. Shannon is an internal medicine physician and physician coach and can be reached at her self-titled site, Diane W. Shannon.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
A 300-million-year-old 'Godzilla Shark' discovered in New Mexico almost eight years ago finally has a formal name.

Discoverer John-Paul Hodnett named the 6.7-foot monster Dracopristis hoffmanorum, or Hoffman's Dragon Shark, in honor of the New Mexico family that owns the land in the Manzano Mountains where the fossils were found.

The name also harkens to the dragon-like jawline and 2.5-foot fin spines, which may have warded off predators, that inspired the discovery's initial nickname, 'Godzilla Shark.'

The formal naming announcement followed seven years of excavation, preservation and study.

This is a 3D rendering of what the Dracoristis hoffmanorum shark may have looked like

This week, Hodnett and a slew of other researchers published their findings in a bulletin of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science identifying the shark as a separate species.

It took seven years of research - including a CT scan at a medical center - to confirm that the fossil came from a unique species.

The shark's teeth were the first sign that it might be a distinct species.

The ancient chompers looked less like the spear-like rows of teeth of related species. They were squatter and shorter, less than an inch long, around 2 centimeters.

'Great for grasping and crushing prey rather than piercing prey,' said discoverer John-Paul Hodnett, who was a graduate student when he unearthed the first fossils of the shark at a dig east of Albuquerque in May 2013.

A group of scientists participating in a scientific meeting at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science were visiting the mountains when Hodnett made the discovery.

A single tooth on the lower jaw of a 300-million-year-old shark species named this week. The image was taken using angled light techniques that reveal fossil features underneath sediment

'I was just sitting in a shady spot using a pocket knife to split and shift through the shaley limestones, not finding much except fragments of plants and a few fish scales, when suddenly I hit something that was a bit denser,' Hodnett said in the bulletin.

'At first, I thought what was flipped over was the cross-section of a limb bone, which was exciting as no large tetrapod had been found at that site before.'

It wasn't until the next day that Hodnett learned about the significance of his discovery.

Hodnett says the area is rife with fossils and easy to access because of a quarry and other commercial digging operations.

The 12 rows of teeth on the shark's lower jaw, for example, were still obscured by layers of sediment after excavation. Hodnett only saw them by using an angled light technique that illuminates objects below.

A 3D rendering of what the 'Godzilla Shark' may have looked like from above

The fossil is the most complete ctenacanth shark fossil ever discovered in North America.

Hodnett is now the paleontologist and program coordinator for the Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission's Dinosaur Park in Laurel, Maryland.

His fellow researchers come from the New Mexico museum, as well as St. Joseph's University in Pennsylvania, Northern Arizona University, and Idaho State University.

The recovered fossil skeleton is considered the most complete of its evolutionary branch - the ctenacanth shark - that split from modern sharks and rays around 390 million years ago and went extinct around 60 million years later.

Back then, eastern New Mexico was covered by a seaway that extended deep into North America. Hodnett and his colleagues believe that Hoffman's dragon shark most likely lived in the shallows along the coast, stalking prey like crustaceans, fish and other sharks.

New Mexico's high desert plateaus have also yielded many dinosaur fossils, including various species of tyrannosaurus that roamed the land millions of years ago when it was a tropical rain forest.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 16:10:19|Editor: huaxia

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People cross the road in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia in Moscow, on April 16, 2021. (Xinhua/Evgeny Sinitsyn)

The trade of bitter criticisms looks set to dampen the slight prospect of thawing Moscow-Washington relations.



by Xinhua writer Shi Hao



MOSCOW, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Clashes between Russia and the United States on the diplomatic front have intensified to a new level after Moscow announced a slew of retaliatory measures to recent U.S. sanctions.

In a swift response, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday in a statement that it will expel 10 U.S. diplomats, bar eight incumbent and former American high-ranking officials from entering Russia indefinitely, among other restrictions.

The trade of bitter criticisms looks set to dampen the slight prospect of thawing Moscow-Washington relations following a phone conversation between the two presidents earlier this week, and a worse scenario can't be ruled out.

The U.S. flag waves in the wind at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia, on April 16, 2021. (Xinhua/Evgeny Sinitsyn)

TOUGH COUNTERMEASURES

In addition to the diplomats' expulsion, the Russian Foreign Ministry imposed an entry ban on eight U.S. figures for their "involvement in the implementation of the anti-Russian course," including Attorney General Merrick Garland, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Christopher Wray, and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.

Russia will limit the U.S. embassy's practice of using short-term trips by State Department staff to support the functioning of diplomatic missions, by reducing the issuance of visas to them to a minimum: up to 10 people per year.

Moscow will completely ban U.S. diplomatic missions from hiring citizens of Russia or third countries to administrative and technical posts.

The bilateral 1992 memorandum of understanding on "open ground" is declared invalid due to U.S. diplomats' systematic violations of rules for trips in Russia, the ministry said.

Russia will terminate the activities of U.S. foundations and non-governmental organizations controlled by the State Department or other American government agencies.

Russia has provided "an adequate and symmetrical response" to the confrontational policy of the White House, said Leonid Slutsky, head of the International Affairs Committee of Russia's lower parliament house the State Duma.

Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a briefing session via video link with permanent members of the Security Council on the response to the U.S. sanctions on April 16, 2021. (Kremlin press release)

DEPLORABLE SITUATION

A rare situation could appear soon that Russia and the United States, the world's two leading nuclear powers, would have no ambassadors to each other.

"This extremely tense situation objectively requires the ambassadors of our countries to be in their respective capitals to analyze developments and hold consultations," the Russian ministry said, implicitly asking U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan to leave the country.

Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov has been summoned back to Moscow for nearly a month amid the deteriorating ties.

Bracing for potential fighting back from Washington, the Russian Foreign Ministry threatened that it could slash the number of personnel in U.S. diplomatic missions in Russia to 300 from the current cap of 455.

Russia has opportunities to "take painful measures" against U.S. businesses, but for now the tools will be kept in the arsenal, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a press conference.

Photo taken in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, on March 31, 2021 shows a screen displaying U.S. President Joe Biden delivering a speech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in a live stream provided by CNBC. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

This diplomatic brawl has cast a shadow over the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Washington-initiated Leaders Summit on Climate next week and a possible in-person meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden this summer in Europe.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow assessed Biden's offer for a meeting with Putin positively, but now it will re-consider it in the context of the latest developments.

"We are ready to engage in calm and professional dialogue with the United States in order to find ways of normalizing bilateral ties. However, the reality is that we hear one thing from Washington but see something completely different in practice," the ministry's statement read. 
MEMPHIS, Tenn.  Members of the Tennessee General Assembly visited the Tennessee Air National Guards 164th Airlift Wing for a base tour called Get to Know Your Guard on April 16, in Memphis. The goal of the tour was to foster awareness and strengthen relationships among community leaders as a community-based force.

The tour provided unit history insights, explained current missions, and offered a Q&A forum that made this an informative and memorable event. State Senators and Representatives toured a C-17 aircraft and various buildings and facilities throughout the base.

It is an honor to host our State Representatives who serve the citizens of Tennessee and the local area, said Col. Matthew Brancato, Wing Commander, 164th Airlift Wing. Todays tour was an opportunity to thank our State Legislature for their support and provide more details about our state and federal missions.

There are more than 950 Airmen in the Tennessee Air National Guards 164th Airlift Wing serving the state of Tennessee and around the globe.

We are always looking for ways to integrate with the local community since our Air National Guard members work and serve alongside the citizens of Tennessee, said Brancato. We strive to represent the local community when were flying missions around the U.S. and the world, so our relationships with our elected officials is critical.

The Tennessee National Guard plays a vital role in the defense of our nation and in support of emergency response operations in Tennessee.


Kyiv has voiced its concern over Russia's largest military build-up along Ukraine's border since 2014. This was the year Crimea was annexed, as speculation increased over whether Moscow intends on a similar push into Ukraine's territory.

Clashes have been amplified in the last few weeks in eastern Ukraine's Luhansk and Donetsk regions. These are the scenes of hostilities between Russian-backed separatists and Kyiv-backed troops.

Will Russia Invade Ukraine?

According to the top U.S. general in Europe on Thursday, there was a "low to medium" susceptibility that Russia would invade Ukraine. In the first such military evaluation, this was stated during rising concerns regarding Russian troop movements toward Ukraine's borders.

The evaluation came as Ukraine's top diplomat appealed for stronger Western backing. He remarked that "words of support aren't enough" during escalating tensions in the country's east. U.S. Air Force General Tod Wolters refused to expound on the intelligence driving his evaluation. This does not suggest that the U.S. military expects a Russian invasion by this time. He was neither playing down the risk or ruling one out, reported SCMP.

The situation could have reportedly started with President Joe Biden touting Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "killer." It could also be due to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky penalizing one of Putin's key oligarch allies for "financing terrorism."

This week, the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, traveled to Brussels, where he discussed with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. They held the initial bilateral meeting with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken and participated in a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission that primarily acknowledged the Russia-led escalation, reported Ukraine Crisis Media Center.

Putin, Russian President, Signs Law Allowing Him to Remain in Power Through 2036

Russia has made military actions towards the eastern Ukraine border and into Crimea. Crimea had Russian forces annexed from Ukraine in March 2014. The Kremlin has not expounded regarding the units involved, while President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated moving troops across Russian territory was an "internal affair," and this should not concern anyone. A number of the troops, including several units in Crimea, have been on exercises. However, Peskov also accused Ukraine of staging incitement on the matter.

It could appear a lifetime ago that Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shut out off the skies over eastern Ukraine by a ground-to-air missile. Ten United Kingdom citizens were among the 283 passengers and 15 crew on board. They were all killed when the aircraft pummeled on July 17, 2014.

According to Kyiv, Russia had positioned over 40,000 troops on Ukraine's eastern border and over 40,000 troops in Crimea. The amplified presence spurred Blinken to caution Russia that there would be "consequences" if Moscow acted aggressively.

In testimony before a House of Representatives committee, Wolters later proposed his view regarding the susceptibility in the coming weeks and months was at least partly based on the positioning of Russian forces. The Pentagon has refused to expound its evaluation on the size and composition of such troops. They referred reporters to Moscow.

Russian President Putin Experiences Minor Side Effects After COVID-19 Vaccine Shot

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Burma Myanmar Regime Arrests Three Journalists in Kachin State Capital

Christopher (left), Ma Myo Myat Myat Pan (center) and Ah Je.

In the latest sign that the Myanmar regime is intensifying its crackdown on journalists, three reporters from a local newspaper were detained by the military this week and are being kept at a military interrogation center in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State.

Male journalists Ah Je, 22, and Christopher, 23, were arrested by the military on April 13 and female journalist Ma Myo Myat Myat Pan, 22, was arrested by the military after a house raid on April 14. All three work for the Myitkyina Journal, a local independent weekly that has been tirelessly covering the regimes crackdown on protesters in the state since the Feb. 1 coup.

Since their arrests by the regime, they have been at the military interrogation center. It has been four days. They are not allowed to meet family members. I am worried they are being tortured by the military, Seng Mai, the editor-in-chief of the Myitkyina Journal, told The Irrawaddy.

According to Seng Mai, the military arrested Christopher first while he was on his way home on April 13. Later, he was beaten by soldiers and forced to call Ah Je and tell him to come to the same location. At 6:30 p.m. on April 14, police and soldiers arrested Ma Myo Myat Myat Pan at her home. They also seized a laptop and documents.

We are doing our job. They were the most hardworking. They always stayed on the frontline and witnessed almost all of the militarys crackdowns on anti-coup protesters in Myitkyina, Seng Mai said.

I am worried that they face a life-threatening situation in the detention center, Seng Mai added.

Two journalists from Myitkyina-based Kachinwave and 74 Media were arrested in the town on March 29 while covering a crackdown on anti-regime protesters. Later, they were sued by the regime under Article 505(a) of Myanmars Penal Code. Under the broad new provision adopted by the junta, anyone who makes comments that cause fear, or who spreads false news or agitates directly or indirectly a criminal offense against a government employee, faces up to three years in prison.

Since the military takeover, the regime has targeted journalists in an effort to suppress coverage of its lethal crackdowns on pro-democracy protesters. Following the coup, the junta revoked the licenses of Myanmar Now, 7Day News, Mizzima, Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) and Khit Thit Media, and raided some media offices. Almost all journalists in the country are now working in hiding.

According to the United Nations, at least 71 journalists have been arrested by the military since the Feb. 1 coup, with more than half of them still detained. At least 23 journalists have been sued by the military under various charges, mostly Article 505(a).

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A small town in Rajasthan fights corona together with 'medical at your doorstep' model Image Source: IANS News

A small town in Rajasthan fights corona together with 'medical at your doorstep' model Image Source: IANS News

Jaipur, April 17 : Amid the alarming spurt in the number of Covid-19 cases across the country, a small town in Rajasthan has set up an example by launching a 'medicine at your doorsteps' initiative under which the police, the administration, the local councillors and many other entities are working together to ensure those needing medical help get it at their doorsteps.

The project was launched in Dungarpur in the southernmost part of Rajasthan on April 13 with the initiative of District Collector Suresh Ola, said Chief Medical Health Officer (CMHO) Rajesh Sharma.

The medicines are being provided to patients in different households suffering from serious ailments, seasonal disease, pregnancy related issues and so on," Sharma said.

Besides medicines, hand gloves, medicines, sanitisers etc. are also being provided to the people at their doorsteps.

"Our team is available round the clock to serve the needy. We are serving them even during the night hours," he said.

The project has been a hit in the Dungarpur municipality area, following which it was started in the Sagwara municipality too, Sharma said.

"With the number of Covid cases growing on a daily basis, we formed a team by roping in nursing students, private institutes, ANM workers, urban bodies and so on. We have also formed a WhatsApp group where the local councillors raise demands which the collectors and the SP, who are also the group admins, take forward. We try to resolve the problems on the same day without causing any delay," he said.

"Looking at our initiative, Health Secretary Siddharth Mahajan said in a video conference that other cities should also follow our model. Cities like Banswara and Udaipur have already started similar initiatives," Sharma added.

District Collector Suresh Ola said that the second wave of Covid-19 has posed many challenges across the nation, with seasonal diseases making the matters worse.

"Those with comorbidities are frightened to visit the hospitals. They also face threat from the high-risk patients. Hence we launched this model by joining hands with the municipal teams and the medical department," Ola said.

Under this initiative, a total of 22,724 members have been tested in 4,858 houses while 655 people have been given medicine kits, he added.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-18 05:02:41|Editor: huaxia

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BUENOS AIRES, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Argentinean Foreign Minister Felipe Sola asked the United Nations (UN) that vaccines against COVID-19 be seen as a "global public good which everyone should be able to access," the Foreign Ministry reported on Saturday.

Sola announced Argentina's position during the Special Ministerial Meeting organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) dedicated to the topic of vaccines.

"Despite having the first vaccines in just 12 months, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), only 0.1 percent of the doses administered in the world were in low-income countries, while the high-income countries make up more than half of the injected doses," he said.

Sola called on the international community to "avoid practices that encourage the shortage of critical supplies, treatments, and vaccines" against COVID-19.

He also declared Argentina's support for financing schemes such as the COVAX system, led by the WHO, and highlighted the importance of applying the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights flexibly to promote the production, competition, and local development of vaccines.

"Vaccines for COVID-19 must be conceived as a global public good that everyone should be able to access," he said.

The Argentinean foreign minister also highlighted the importance of "removing the obstacles that prevent scaling up production and guaranteeing an equitable distribution" of injections.

"No one will be safe until we all are," the minister said. Enditem
OTTAWA - China and Russia have been using their locally produced COVID-19 vaccines to grow their international soft power by giving doses to desperate countries in order to have more political influence over them, experts say.

Vials containing Russia's Sputnik V vaccine for COVID-19 are seen at the San Marino State Hospital, in San Marino, Friday, April 9, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Antonio Calanni

OTTAWA - China and Russia have been using their locally produced COVID-19 vaccines to grow their international soft power by giving doses to desperate countries in order to have more political influence over them, experts say.

Benjamin Gedan, deputy director of the Latin America program at the Wilson Center in Washington, called the practice "vaccine diplomacy," noting that it happens when countries seek to grow their international prestige by distributing vaccines to nations that need them.

He said authoritarian governments, including those in China and Russia, have taken the lead in vaccine diplomacy in the last months.

"It's never encouraging to see the world's largest dictatorships taking most advantage of this diplomatic opportunity," Gedan said.

The China National Pharmaceutical Group Corp., Sinopharm, is producing two COVID-19 vaccines while Sinovac, a Beijing-based biopharmaceutical company, is making a third one.

Gedan said while China had offered bilateral loans of US$1 billion in Latin America, it refused to give COVID-19 vaccines to Paraguay, which recognizes Taiwan diplomatically.

"There have been reports from the foreign minister of Paraguay that intermediaries of the Chinese government explicitly said that Paraguay will not access the Chinese vaccine unless it changes its position on Taiwan," he said.

He added there have been reports that Brazil, which is suffering one of the world's worst COVID-19 outbreaks, could not access Chinese vaccines without committing to allow Chinese telecommunications company Huawei from accessing its 5G wireless network auction.

Lynette Ong, an associate political science professor at the University Of Toronto, said China has donated or sold its COVID-19 vaccine to almost all southeast Asian countries.

"It usually comes with some sort of strings attached," she said.

"There's definitely vaccine diplomacy going on quite aggressively by China."

China's vaccine diplomacy is not as effective as its personal-protective equipment diplomacy was last year, Ong said.

She said China was the only major producer of personal protective equipment last year while it's competing now with many other countries that are producing different types of COVID-19 vaccines.

"China was not the first (country) to have the vaccine produced and manufactured," she said.

Ong said China has invested a lot in boosting its soft power in developing countries from Latin America, Africa and southeast Asia, but it has also received a lot of pushback.

"There is so much pushback against Huawei just because it is a Chinese brand, right, not because people have found evidence that we can squarely put Huawei in the category of espionage," she said.

Aurel Braun, a Russian foreign policy professor at the University of Toronto, said Russia has been pushing particular political agendas and integrating vaccine diplomacy as a much more significant element of its foreign policy than China.

"China is much wealthier, has a far larger economy than Russia. It is able to provide all kinds of other economic benefits. Providing the vaccine is one of many options that they have," he said.

"(For Russia,) The Sputnik V (vaccine) is a much more important tool, and they have been especially focusing in certain parts of Europe or where leaders have been more sympathetic to Mr. Putin's policy ... like Viktor Orban in Hungary or in Slovakia."

Jillian Kohler, a pharmacy and public health professor at the University of Toronto, said China and Russia saw an opportunity in the lack of COVID-19 vaccine supply, and they are taking advantage of that to further their political goals.

"If ... Russia or China aren't actually asking for something explicitly, there's an implicit bargain happening here," she said.

"Countries are turning to Russia and China because they're desperate, so when you do that, I mean, you're in a position of weakness, and when you're in a position of weakness that might mean at some point that you're going to have to compensate for that."

Gedan, the Washington-based Wilson Center expert, said the United States may soon share its supply of COVID-19 vaccines globally, which would limit China and Russia's ability to influence other countries using their supplies.

"I think we're rapidly approaching the moment where the United States will be able to play a major role in the global vaccination campaign," he said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently named Gayle Smith, who headed the US Agency for International Development under former president Barack Obama, to a new position as the U.S. coordinator for global COVID-19 response to support a worldwide effort to inoculate against the novel coronavirus.

Gedan said the United States has made some efforts to be helpful by committing US$4 billion to COVAX, a World Health Organization program, and by sending Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine shipments to Mexico and Canada.

But these efforts are going to be more significant soon when the U.S begins exporting more of its Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, he said.

He said the United States is planning to do most of its vaccine distributions through COVAX, which means they will get distributed to both friendly governments and adversarial countries.

"(The U.S. approach is) to distribute vaccines in a way that reflects, you know, public health needs and not foreign policy goals," he said.

Most countries are not only struggling with a lack of capacity to produce vaccines locally but also with a lack of resources to procure vaccines from the companies that are making them, he said.

He said the lack of a local capacity to produce vaccines has slowed Canada's vaccination campaign, but Canada has been able to purchase an extraordinary number of doses.

"Eventually, Canada will likely be exporting some of these vaccines that it has purchased that are above and beyond its local need."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2021.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
By Keith Burbank

Bay City News

OAKLAND (BCN)

The economic outlook for Oakland is excellent, an economist said Thursday at the city's economic summit, sponsored by the Oakland Chamber of Commerce.

Chamber leaders brought together economist and founder of Beacon Economics Chris Thornberg, developers, and a government leader to share that outlook with business leaders.

Developers are restoring the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, building the tallest skyscraper in the city, while COVID-19 vaccinations are prompting the reopening of the economy statewide in June.

"Oakland has a wonderful, wonderful future ahead of it," said Thornberg said of the city's economy and of the city more broadly.

Restoration of Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center across from the south end of Lake Merritt is expected to begin this summer.

The center has been closed since 2005 after serving as a principal convening space for Oakland. The building opened in 1915. Dance, music, and theater are part of its history.

Orton Development, which is also restoring at least part of Pier 70 in San Francisco, will be responsible for the restoration.

Closer to downtown Oakland, Hines is building what will be the tallest building in the city at 20th and Franklin streets. The office project goes before the Oakland Planning Commission May 5.

"We do think people will be returning to the office to work," said Paul Paradis, senior managing director at Hines.

Visitors will be able to enjoy a 360-degree panoramic view of the city from the top of the skyscraper.,

State government officials are also working to ensure Oakland's economic future is bright.

Dee Dee Myers, senior advisor to Gov. Gavin Newsom told Oakland's business leaders that Newsom is focusing his efforts on three areas to spur economic growth.

He's focused on distribution of the vaccine, supporting small businesses, and getting children back to school, Myers said.

Vaccinations are moving forward well, with about one-third of the state's residents fully vaccinated. Statewide, people 16 years old and older were eligible as of Thursday for the coronavirus vaccine.

California will be offering small business grants of $5,000 to $35,000 to sectors and communities hardest hit by the pandemic, while state leaders want children back in school five days a week by fall. That will allow parents to get back to work.

Myers said housing and homelessness are challenges the state needs to take on to have a healthy and attractive business climate.

Oakland really needs to focus housing, Thornberg said. Lots of housing is needed, he said.

Thornberg even suggested rezoning excess retail space as mixed use space, which could be used at least partly for housing.

Nationwide, the recession due to the pandemic has been the nation's deepest but also the nation's shortest, Thornberg said.

He said economic downturns due to natural disasters are tragic in the short run, but modestly bad in the long run.

"We always knew a quicker than normal recovery was going to happen," he 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.

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The other day, Adarsh Balakrishna tweeted that he had been replaced in his current film by the makers, despite telling them that he and his family were down with COVID-19. The actor wrote that he was not even informed about the development. Without naming the film, he tweeted, The insecurities an actor lives through are beyond measure. But hey, such is life.

His tweet apparently did some good. When we reached out to the actor, Adarsh said the filmmakers had taken him back. They called me back, he said, but continued to decline to name the film. I dont want to take their names, but I am glad that I am back in the project, and shall soon commence shooting for the film, he said. Asked whether his tweet was the reason for being taken back, he said, Perhaps.

Adarshs parents and wife are all battling the Novel Coronavirus, though the actor himself tested negative a couple of days ago. Except my infant son, all tested positive. Its an awful situation, says Adarsh, adding that challenging times are a test of character.

Dealing with such family crises is very challenging, and needs a lot of mental strength. The only way I gain strength is through hope. My parents are hospitalised and we cant go and see them, but I am hoping my family recovers quickly and gets back to normal, he shared.
U.S. parents begin to ask: Should my child get a COVID-19 shot?

Marisol Gerardo, 9, is held by her mother as she gets the second dose of the Pfizer coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine (Photo : Shawn Rocco/Duke Health/Handout via REUTERS)

Tristen Sweeten, a 34-year-old nurse in Utah, hopes her three children will receive Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine through its pediatric clinical trial. The sooner the better, she said, for their safety and the greater goal of ending the pandemic.



Angie Ankoma, a 45-year-old Black mother of four who works in philanthropy in Rhode Island, believes trials must include diverse populations and participated in one for a COVID-19 vaccine herself. Volunteering her kids for possible inclusion in Moderna's trial was a tougher call.



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Sweeten and Ankoma are among thousands of U.S. parents who volunteered to have their children participate in new trials run by Pfizer with BioNTech or Moderna, the first companies making strides toward developing a safe COVID-19 vaccine for the country's 48 million children under age 12.



Health officials say vaccines are crucial to ending the pandemic. But many are concerned vaccine hesitancy in some adults will be even more pronounced when it comes to their children. Parents may question the risks versus benefits, given the unknowns about the vaccines' long-term impact on childrens' development and data on how few young kids have been hit hard by COVID-19.



To ease those concerns, some scientists say the U.S. Food and Drug Administration should slow the review process for pediatric COVID-19 vaccines.



Pfizer spokeswoman Jerica Pitts said it was premature to speculate on an approval pathway for children, but the company plans to work with public health institutions to promote the importance of vaccines.



Moderna research scientist Dr. Jacqueline Miller said the company has talked to the FDA about the best way to clear the vaccine for use in kids. She said the company hopes to make the vaccine available to children through emergency use authorization (EUA) that got it to U.S. adults in record time, in part to be able to get kids back to school "and the things that they all are longing to be doing."



Sweeten's husband Scott is a clinical researcher whose company has worked on the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca adult vaccine trials, so the couple, whose children are ages 5, 8 and 10, are comfortable with how they were developed, Tristen said.



"We feel like they're very safe," she said.



Ankoma consulted her pediatrician given her nagging doubts about unknown long-term effects. She ultimately decided the risk was worth it to immunize her four kids, ages 7 to 16.



"It was easier for me to decide for myself than it was for the kids, because...it was my own body," she said.



'THAT GOLDILOCKS MOMENT'



Researchers leading pediatric trials for Moderna and Pfizer in children as young as 6 months feel confident the vaccines will be just as safe and effective for children as they have been for adults.



Pfizer's vaccine, already available to people aged 16 and up in most U.S. states, was found to work well in children 12 to 15 and may receive regulatory authorization for that age group as soon as next month.



Moderna and Pfizer have said vaccines could be widely available to even younger children by early 2022.



An Axios/Ipsos poll from April 2-5 found that just 52% of U.S. parents said they were likely to get their kids vaccinated as soon as they become eligible.



Children under 12 have so far been at relatively low risk from the coronavirus.



Still, some 284 children have died from COVID-19 since last May, about 0.06% of all COVID-19 deaths, according to American Academy of Pediatrics data from about 43 states. There were 14,500 hospitalizations among children in 24 states during that time, about 2% of the total.



Dr. Sean O'Leary, a pediatrics professor at the University of Colorado, said vaccination will help children avoid hospitalizations, a rare inflammatory reaction or lasting symptoms known as long COVID.



"It is certainly not correct to say it's benign in children. Anyone that's worked in a children's hospital can tell you how many sick kids we've taken care of," he said.



Children already receive vaccines for illnesses that have similar or lower levels of related mortality in kids, like hepatitis A, varicella, rubella and rotavirus.



Health officials warn that if left unvaccinated, children could be a reservoir for infection, allowing virus variants that may evade vaccines to circulate and grow.



That these vaccines will have been widely used in adults before being made available for children should reassure parents, said Emmanuel Walter, head of Pfizer's pediatric vaccine trial at Duke University.



Some other vaccines have been developed for and only given to children, such as the chicken pox shot.



More than 63 million Americans have received the Pfizer vaccine and about 55 million the Moderna shot.



The trials for young children are more involved than for adolescents because they begin by testing very small doses and gradually increase the dosage while monitoring for side effects.



"What we're trying to find is that Goldilocks moment when we have just enough vaccine to generate a really good immune response, but we don't have so much that we're causing a lot of fever and arm pain and distress in the baby or in the younger child," said Buddy Creech, a Vanderbilt University professor working on Moderna's pediatric trial.



Some scientists said waiting for standard approval instead of seeking an EUA would add months to the timetable but allow for gathering more safety data that could help boost public confidence.



The FDA declined to comment.



Dr. Cody Meissner, head of pediatric infectious disease at Tufts University's medical school, said it comes down to one question: "Does the low burden of disease in children justify a more protracted evaluation of safety?"


Delhi is under a weekend lockdown from today. The lockdown will be eased at 6am on Monday. Delhi has been under the lockdown since 10pm on Friday as the capital has imposed night curfew too. The decision to impose weekend lockdown was taken on Thursday amid rising coronavirus cases in the national capital. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant Governor (LG) Anil Baijal met to discuss the increasing cases in Delhi. The weekend lockdowns are likely to be extended if cases continue to rise.

Only essential services will be exempted from the lockdown restrictions. Interstate transport will continue uninterrupted.

However, most things that make weekends fun will be closed. There will be no restrictions on movement for medical purposes and home delivery of food will be allowed.

Here's what will be not allowed under weekend lockdowns:

All markets, malls, gyms, spas, auditoriums, and swimming pools will be closed.

No dining-out in restaurants. Only takeaways will be allowed during the weekend lockdown.

Private offices will be shut and employees will have to work from home.

Here's what's allowed but with conditions:

Cinema halls will operate at 30 per cent capacity.

Weddings can take place but within permissible limits. Guests can apply for passes for movement.

Only one weekly market will be allowed in each zone every day.

Here's what's allowed:

Home delivery of food will be allowed.

Interstate operations will continue.

Essential services to continue with curfew passes.

No restriction on movement for medical purposes.

Also read: Delhi Weekend Curfew: Timings, what's open, what's closed, guidelines
Confirmed UK cases of the Indian variant of coronavirus  which scientists fear could evade current vaccines  have doubled in the past week, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Professor Paul Hunter, an epidemiologist at the University of East Anglia, analysed publicly available information on new variant numbers last Saturday and again yesterday and found that the number of genetically-confirmed Indian strain cases had risen in a week from 79 to 160. 'That's a big jump,' he said.

Because only around a quarter of identified Covid cases undergo genomic sequencing to identify the strain, he feared the true figure was at least 400.

Professor Paul Hunter, an epidemiologist at the University of East Anglia, analysed publicly available information on new variant numbers last Saturday and again yesterday and found that the number of genetically-confirmed Indian strain cases had risen in a week from 79 to 160. 'That's a big jump,' he said

He said: 'The number of Indian cases is possibly doubling every couple of weeks. It's a little concerning'

'The number of Indian cases is possibly doubling every couple of weeks. It's a little concerning,' he said.

The strain is worrying scientists because it has mutations which could help it escape antibodies that result from the current vaccinations and may make it spread more easily.

But Professor Adam Finn, a member of the Joint Committee On Vaccine and Immunisation, said he thought the concern was 'pessimistic'.

'The immunity vaccines give won't just disappear,' he told Times Radio.

Britain CAN beat Indian double mutant Covid variant: Doom-mongering scientists who warn of new lockdown are 'too pessimistic' and immunity from vaccines 'won't just disappear', says government's vaccine expert

The Indian Covid variant is unlikely to set lockdown easing back to 'square one' because immunity from vaccines 'won't just disappear', a leading immunology expert claimed.

Member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Professor Adam Finn said he expected a 'gradual erosion' of vaccine protection as the virus evolves.

But he said it was but not enough to 'scupper' the Prime Minister's road map, as one leading scientist had predicted.

Boris Johnson plans to remove all legal limits on social contact by June 21 - after non-essential retail shops and outdoor pubs and bars reopened this week.

On Friday, Imperial College's Danny Altmann said 'we should be terribly concerned' after 77 cases of a potentially vaccine-busting Covid-19 mutation first discovered in India were identified in Britain.

Professor Altmann told the BBC: 'They (variants of concern) are things that can most scupper our escape plan at the moment and give us a third wave. They are a worry.

But Professor Finn blasted Professor Altmann as 'a bit pessimistic' with his assessment.

The Indian Covid variant is unlikely to set lockdown easing back to 'square one' because immunity from vaccines 'won't just disappear', a leading immunology expert claimed. Pictured: A health worker takes a nasal swab sample of a woman to test for Covid-19 at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus railway station in Mumbai

He told Times Radio: 'We've all expected evolution of this virus to occur from the start.

Member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Professor Adam Finn said he expected a 'gradual erosion' of vaccine protection as the virus evolves.

'I also think that we know from other viruses and previous experience that the immunity that vaccines give won't just disappear.

'It will be a gradual erosion. It won't be back to square one. I would be really surprised if that happened.

'So, I think, possibly, that interpretation is a bit pessimistic.'

The Indian variant is thought to be the cause of a huge second wave of infections across the south-Asian nation.

The country, of more than 1.3billion people, had 176,000 new cases on Thursday - a rate of 127 cases per million people, compared to 23 per million in the UK.

But the Government has so far left India off the mandatory hotel quarantine list - unlike neighbouring countries Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Imperial College's Danny Altmann (pictured) said the UK should be 'terribly concerned' about the India variant

A Covid patient in Lok Nayak Jai Prakash in India. The country, of more than 1.3billion people, had 176,000 new cases on Thursday - a rate of 127 cases per million people, compared to 23 per million in the UK

In this aerial picture taken on April 16, relatives and friends gather to bury the dead bodies of Covid-19 coronavirus victims at a graveyard in New Delhi

That's despite experts believing that the Indian variant not only speeds up transmission, but also features an 'escape mutation' which could possibly impact on the effectiveness of vaccines.

It was earlier revealed that 77 cases of the variant had been discovered in the UK.

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE INDIA VARIANT? Real name: B.1.617 When and where was it discovered? The variant was first reported as being of concern by the Indian government in late March. The first cases appear to date back to October 2020. What mutations does it have? The two main mutations are named E484Q and L452R, which scientists suspect can help it to transmit faster and to get past immune cells made in response to older variants. Those mutations are routinely not found on other variants monitored by Public Health England. How many people in the UK have been infected with it? 77 people so far, according to a report published on April 15. Their locations are unknown. Advertisement

Public Health England said the strain - known as B.1.617 - was under investigation 'due to sustained international transmission'.

Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, said the variant featured two 'escape mutations'  E484Q and L452R.

These essentially make its easier for the virus to slip past antibodies - which a person can get through vaccinations or previous infection.

Professor Hunter told ITV: 'There's laboratory evidence that both of these are escape mutations.

'Basically, applying what we know about other human coronaviruses would suggest that this is going to be even less controlled by vaccine.

'But we don't know that for certain at the moment.'

Despite the concern, India is not currently on the Government's 'red list' for travel.

The red list sees people who have been in those countries in the previous 10 days refused entry to the UK.

British or Irish nationals, or people with UK residency rights, are able to return from red list countries but must isolate in a quarantine hotel for 10 days.

Boris Johnson is due to visit India later this month - in his first international since the Brexit deal with the EU was reached.

The UK is hoping to secure a 50billion trade deal with the south-Asian country.

Downing Street has defended leaving India off the hotel quarantine list and said the register is 'under constant review'.

Neighbouring Bangladesh and Pakistan, however, are included on the list despite their outbreaks being only a third of the size.

So far, seventy-three of the 77 cases have been in England and four in Scotland.

The first of them date back to February, The Guardian reports, although no announcement was made until yesterday.

Public Health England generally only makes the announcement when it becomes clear that the variant could be dangerous.

India's not on the UK's red list but Pakistan and Bangladesh are, despite currently having smaller outbreaks

Variations of the virus crop up all the time and when cases first appear it is difficult to tell if they are significant or not, or whether there is any trend.

A similar delay happened before testing started to pick up the South Africa variant. PHE officials knew that variant was spreading in Britain in December but didn't start testing communities to weed it out until February.

The Indian variant was first spotted by scientists in March when it was described by the government in New Delhi as a 'double mutant'.

They suggested that the variant had formed as a hybrid of two other strains and that it showed signs of being more infectious and less easily targeted by the immune system.

Two key mutations set it apart from others  named E484Q and L452R  with both of them found on the 'spike' that the virus uses to latch onto human cells.

These are not thought to be key mutations of any of the other variants on Public Health England's list, but have appeared in virus samples before.

Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist at Reading University, said at the time: 'As for the L452R mutation, we're still waiting for a proper definition of what it does.'

Surge testing is being done in London to weed out cases of the South Africa variant, which experts describe as 'the most worrying' strain

The arrival of the India variant in the UK, and the fact that the country is seeing a massive resurgence in Covid-19 cases, do not seem to have set off alarm bells in the Foreign Office.

WHICH COUNTRIES ARE ON THE RED LIST? Angola

Argentina

Bangladesh

Bolivia

Botswana

Brazil

Burundi

Cape Verde

Chile

Colombia

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Ecuador

Eswatini

Ethiopia

French Guiana

Guyana

Kenya

Lesotho

Malawi

Mozambique

Namibia

Oman

Pakistan

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Qatar

Rwanda

Seychelles

Somalia

South Africa

Suriname

Tanzania

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Uruguay

Venezuela

Zambia

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India is still not on the red list, which means travellers would have to go into hotel quarantine in case they have coronavirus, despite its close neighbours being on the list even though they have smaller outbreaks.

A No 10 spokesman said today: 'We add and remove countries based on the latest scientific data and public health advice from a range of world-leading experts.

'We keep it under constant review and we won't hesitate to introduce tougher restrictions and add countries if we think it is necessary.'

India is going through a rough second wave of the virus, with higher infection rates than during the first explosion in cases last summer.

A staggering 175,910 new cases were diagnosed yesterday, almost treble the 65,000 cases on April 1.

Boris Johnson will visit India on April 26 and his team insist 'all elements of the trip will be Covid-secure'.

It comes as Britain's daily Covid cases fell again yesterday as officials recorded just 2,596 positive tests  down 20 per cent in a week.

Department of Health bosses also posted 34 daily deaths  down 43 per cent on last Friday's figures.

And the most up-to-date hospital admission figures show the number of infected coronavirus patients needing NHS care plunged to 204 on April 12, compared to 235 the previous week.

Daily admissions were above 4,000 at the peak in January.

Another 129,782 first doses were also dished out on Thursday, taking the UK's total number of vaccinated adults to 32.5million.

Some 417,683 were also given second dose, with the number fully vaccinated now at 8.9million.

It comes as official estimates yesterday suggested England's coronavirus R rate could now be as low as 0.7 and infections are continuing to fall.

No10's scientific advisers predict the reproduction rate  the average number of people infected patients pass the virus on to  is no higher than 1.0. Last week SAGE said the figure was likely between 0.8 and 1.0.

Office for National Statistics surveillance data also suggested only one in 500 people in England had the virus at any point in the week ending April 10, a 34 per cent drop from the previous week.

For comparison, the rate during the darkest days of the nation's second wave in January was around one in 50 - or 2 per cent of the population.

Pubs and restaurants had not reopened for outdoor service for the time period covered by the ONS data, although schools had been welcoming back pupils for more than a month.
Safety worries about the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines in the United States and Europe have reverberated around the world, undercutting faith in two sorely needed shots and threatening to prolong the coronavirus pandemic in poorer countries that cannot afford to be choosy about vaccines. With new infections surging on nearly every continent, signs that the vaccination drive is in peril are emerging, most disconcertingly in the continent of Africa.

In many African countries, vaccination campaigns have been hindered by factors like science skepticism, limited or no efforts to educate the public, inefficient distribution systems and concerns over the extremely rare but serious cases of blood clots being investigated among a small number of people who received the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Those two vaccines, which require less stringent refrigeration, are crucial to efforts to immunize populations in poorer countries.

But in Malawi, some people are asking doctors how to flush the AstraZeneca vaccine from their bodies. In South Africa, health officials have stopped giving the Johnson & Johnson shot, two months after dropping the AstraZeneca vaccine because it was less effective against the dominant variant there.

Across the continent, public confusion over whether to get inoculated  and if so when and where to do so  has contributed to the expiration of doses. South Sudan saw 59,000 unused doses expire this month, and in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 1.7 million AstraZeneca doses have gone unused.
A dozen British charities have condemned Boris Johnson for rejecting an International Criminal Court probe into alleged war crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian Territories as political interference.

The charities have warned that Mr Johnsons criticism of the investigation sets a dangerous precedent, and the Palestinian mission in London said it undermines British credibilty globally.

Mr Johnson said in a recent letter to the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) network that the ICC investigation gives the impression of being a partial and prejudicial attack on a friend and ally of the UKs.

We do not accept that the ICC has jurisdiction in this instance given that Israel is not a party to the Statute of Rome and Palestine is not a sovereign state, he added.

The letter, which was tweeted out by the CFI, was welcomed by the CFIs chairman Stephen Crabb MP and CFIs president Lord Polak.

But 12 British charities including Christian Aid, Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights and Medical Aid for Palestinians slammed the statement as political interference, adding that the UK is setting a wholly dangerous precedent.

Separately the Palestinian mission in the UK called the letter a contradiction of international law and said it sets back efforts to secure a lasting and just peace in Palestine.

It marks a low point in UK-Palestine relations and undermines the UKs credibility on the international stage, they said in a statement.

Labour MP Julie Elliot sent a letter to Downing Street saying Mr Johnsons letter flies in the face of judicial independence and international law.

In March the ICC opened a formal investigation into alleged war crimes committed in the OPT by both Israelis and Palestinians, including the Israeli army and Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The ICCs chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, said she would examine the 2014 Gaza war, the 2018 Gaza border protests, and Israeli settlements in occupied territory.

Despite the fact that both Israelis and Palestinians could be in the dock, the Palestinian leadership, who initially requested that the ICC investigate, have warmly welcomed the move. International and local rights groups believe it is the first step towards getting justice for victims.

Israel has vehemently rejected the probe and vowed to fight back.

Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, angrily declared at the time that it was a perversion of justice and pure antisemitism.

Danny Danon, Israels former representative to the UN, even said Bensouda should herself be up in court.

Israels closest allies have also lashed out.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken tweeted that the US firmly opposes the investigation and said the US would continue to oppose actions that seek to target Israel unfairly.

Mr Johnson echoed that sentiment in his 9 April letter.

The joint statement by British charities rejecting the prime ministers letter, said: This investigation is bringing victims, survivors and their families one step closer to justice  but political interference by states, such as the UK, risks pushing that out of reach.

The Palestinians said, It is clear that the UK now believes Israel is above the law.

Israels Attorney-General published an opinion in December 2019 arguing the ICC has no jurisdiction as only sovereign states can refer the situation to the ICC and Israel has a valid claim over Palestinian Territories.

However, Palestine, although not universally recognised as a sovereign state, became a recognised member of the ICC in January 2015, allowing them to formally request the court investigate crimes. The international community widely discredits Israels claim over Palestinian lands.

Tensions between the Palestinians and the Israelis have soared over the last few days. Overnight on Thursday, the Israeli military said a projectile fired from the Gaza Strip landed in the south of the country. There were no reports of damage or casualties.

In response, Israeli aircraft early Friday hit three facilities belonging to Hamas, the militant group ruling Gaza.
Are you really going to do this? my partner Steve says.

Were sitting in a Jeep on top of a mesa in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park down near Californias border with Mexico, due west of the Salton Sea. The stark beauty of the cactus-speckled Colorado Desert and its badlands, dry lake beds and erosion-carved peaks spills out for miles in every direction.

Right in front of us is the Diablo Drop-off, a famously steep and uneven precipice that should only be attempted in favorable conditions with a high-clearance vehicle. Soft sands and occasional flash floods mean the drop can vary from mildly amusing to downright treacherous, but luckily for us, today it seems doable.

Why not, I say. How bad could it be?

I shift into four-wheel drive and begin rolling toward the drop-off as Steve quietly endures a panic attack. I tell him  and myself  not to worry, that the off-roading experts weve joined on this road-trip wouldnt let us drive the drop unless they deemed us capable. Its hard to say for sure, though, considering we just met them.

Just dont go sideways and youre golden, one yells.

If it seems surprising that were about to drive down a cliff in a California state park, well, you may not be familiar with Anza-Borrego. I didnt know about it either until a couple of weeks ago, when a friends parents returned from a road trip to Southern Californias deserts. They advised me to find some kind of off-roading vehicle specifically to explore Anza-Borrego, because it looked ridiculously fun.

Off-roading is controversial in many parks, of course, and the California Coastal Commission recently voted to phase it out in Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area. Anza-Borregos website states that off-roading is not allowed there, but a call with interpreter Sally Theriault clarified that the park's 500 miles of dirt trails were created specifically for driving.

If you stay in established roadbeds, youre fine, Theriault says. Its not looked down upon or anything around here.

ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images

In fact, seeing much of this near-600,000-acre desert park is actually dependent on having wheels, because on foot you wouldnt be able to carry enough water to visit its far-flung treasures. These include mud and wind caves, soaring slot canyons and eroded badlands, remnants of ancient Native American settlements and fossilized land and marine creatures from up to 5 million years ago, when the whole place was under a shallow sea.

To get myself and Steve to some of these little-explored spots, I put the word out in off-roading Facebook groups that I was looking for a guide and a vehicle, as our 2008 Pontiac Vibe seemed unlikely to suffice. Ryan Kennelly, whos been four-wheeling since the 1990s and considers himself an off-road ambassador, answered the call. He works for 4WP Engineering, a company that designs off-roading components for trucks, Jeeps and Ford Broncos, and as it happened, he and some co-workers had weekend plans to caravan through Anza-Borrego to test some new products. Would we like to join?

Yes, we would.

Ashley Harrell

Three days later, Kennelly and crew retrieved us from Blair Valley Campground, a giant lakebed strewn with Native American artifacts and soaring cacti. We were weary from a near-sleepless night thanks to some inconsiderate campers who were revving engines, slamming doors and racing in the wee hours. And this sort of thing is definitely a problem, Kennelly knows.

Just like with anything else, there are bad eggs, he says as he airs down our tires to create a more comfortable ride and make less of an impact on the trails.

We have three vehicles for six people: Kennellys driving his electric blue Toyota Hilux with Eric Perrine, 4WP Engineerings operations manager, in tow. Were in an upfitted white Jeep Wrangler that says Poison Spyder in black letters on the side, and Brooke Coffey, chief human resources officer with Transamerican Auto Parts, and his son Julien, a freelance video editor, are in their cherry red Ford Ranger. For communication, we each have walkie talkies.

Before we set off, Kennelly also goes over safety tips, the most important of which includes taking more than one vehicle if possible, and staying with your vehicle if you get stuck rather than trying to hike miles out of an unforgiving desert. He tells us to hold up fingers to explain to oncoming traffic about how many vehicles are behind us. Finally, he explains how to be good stewards of the land: by staying on trails, setting up rocks to cordon off where others have illegally gone off-trail and trying to educate other visitors.

Kennellys seen his share of poachers coming in with side-by-sides, otherwise known as utility terrain vehicles, which are not street legal  and therefore not legal in the park. Some try to use the park as a racetrack, he says, and this can mean disaster for desert wildlife, particularly the regions endangered and beloved bighorn sheep.

They should be toning it down and going exploring, Kennelly says.

Ryan Kennelly

Although were setting out in the morning, the thermostat is already pushing 90 degrees as we cruise over the Carrizo Valleys soft sand past oversized rocks and the occasional shrub or cactus, and through weathered sandstone formations that make up Canyon Sin Nombre. Along with a few other visitors in high-clearance, mostly four-wheel-drive vehicles, we are headed to the Arroyo Tapiado Mud Caves.

As the name implies, these caves are made of mud and they form when flood waters tunnel through thick deposits of silt. The caves interiors are dark and disorienting and can collapse without warning, which is a frightening prospect for many, according to Kennelly, who guides us with a flashlight through the narrow, sandy passage, making stops at openings he calls skylights.

My brother-in-law got to the first skylight and that was it, he says. He had to turn around. He was almost running.

A few visitors have gotten lost and died here, including Guillermo Pino, a college student who disappeared in one of the caves in 2012.

Today were passing plenty of other visitors, though, which feels reassuring, if slightly risky, given the pandemic. It also feels great to escape the heat.

Back in our vehicles, we roll through a sandy wash and up the mesa, where about a dozen rigs are parked. Some people are sitting beneath shade structures relaxing or eating, while others are out on the cliff admiring the scenery and watching us prepare for the drop.

Lightly tap the breaks all the way down, says Perrine, who will walk down behind our Jeep just in case.

Ashley Harrell

I take it super slow over the edge, probably riding the brakes too much. The front of the Jeep undulates over the rough track and makes curious crunching noises, and it almost feels like being in a boat and getting tossed around in a rough sea. I laugh because Im extremely nervous, and Steve remains silent, which is rare.

Theres a sheer drop off to our left, which Im worried we could careen over, and a large rock to our right, which Im worried we could slide into. But this vehicle is built to avoid such things, and within 45 seconds, weve conquered the drop and arrived in a sandy wash at the bottom. I hoot with relief, and Steve finally laughs. We agree that the Rubicon Express suspension being tested in our Jeep seems top notch and continue our journey to Sandstone Canyon.

This is one of my favorites stops on the list, Kennelly says over the radio.

Ryan Kennelly

The layers of the canyon began taking shape 5 million year ago, when mud, sand, gravel and rocks started eroding from the Vallecito Mountains. There are fossils of animals like extinct ancestors of camels embedded in the rock, and the twisting, tawny tributaries can become incredibly narrow  just barely allowing our vehicles to squeeze through in a couple of spots.

We park next to a soaring canyon wall that blocks the sun, and Kennelly breaks out a Mexican feast for lunch: ceviche thats been kept cold in a Smittybilt refrigerator hes testing for off-road vibration, along with shrimp and steak fajitas we cook up on a portable grill and propane stove. The meal is incredible, and as we eat Kennelly regales us with a legend of a treasure-filled Spanish galleon rumored to be buried in this desert.

He reads a lot of history books about the area and is knowledgeable about the Indigenous civilizations that once thrived here. So as much I enjoyed the off-roading part of our day  which ended with a jaunt through the alluvial fans of the Fish Creek wash and the Mad Max-like environs on Highway 78 north of the park  it was actually a short hike back at our campsite that proved most interesting.

Ashley Harrell

Kennelly led us down the 'Ehmuu-Morteros Trail, which teemed with large boulders and was dotted with juniper, agave and cholla. He told stories of the Kumeyaay village that once stood here, pointing out holes in rocks where the tribespeople likely pounded and ground the wild foods they had gathered, and pits where they likely roasted agave. He showed us pictographs, which unfortunately have been painted over in brighter colors, and cupules, a bunch of small round holes bored into the rocks, which nobody really understands.

They could have ritual significance, but they remain one of the many mysteries in the archaeological record, park literature says.

Ryan Kennelly

All the while, Kennelly kept his eye on the ground, searching for and often finding shards of thousand-year-old pottery and pieces of arrowheads, which are everywhere. Like so many other wonders of the park, finding these doesnt require a high-clearance or four-wheel-drive vehicle. But it is dependent on people leaving the treasures where they find them.

Each time Kennelly uncovers some pottery, he holds it up for us to see and photograph, then lays it back on the ground, readying it for someone else to discover anew.
Jagan hoped that Patnaik would agree for a meeting between the two in order to resolve the pending issues pertaining to the two states. (DC Photo)

VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has written to his Odisha counterpart, Naveen Patnaik, seeking to resolve all water-related issues between the two states.

Reddy reminded Patnaik that construction of Neradi Barrage across the river Vamsadhara along with necessary ancillary structures is permissible according to Vamsadhara Water Disputes Tribunal (VWDT) order.

The letter states, I would like to bring to your attention that the Vamsadhara Water Disputes Tribunal (VWDT) pronounced its final order and decision under section 5(2) of ISRWD Act, 1956 on 13.09.2017. The Tribunal order explicitly permitted the State of Andhra Pradesh to take up construction of Neradi Barrage across the river Vamsadhara along with necessary ancillary structures. It has also permitted construction of Left Head Sluice on the left side of Neradi Barrage to serve the requirements of the State of Odisha also.

The construction of Neradi Barrage is imperative and also in the best interest of both the states of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh as it caters to the dire needs of drinking and irrigation water requirements of the people of the backward and drought prone areas of Srikakulam District in the State of Andhra Pradesh and Gajapathi District in the State of Odisha.

Farmers of both the states in general and farmers of my state in particular are eagerly waiting for completion of the project. Moreover, about 75% of floodwater i.e. nearly 80 TMC is annually going waste into the sea. Water is the most important element for the preservation of life and being a finite commodity, if not managed properly, will result in shortages in near future, the letter said.

He recalled that Odisha has filed clarification before the VWDT and Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court wherein it has raised some issues, mostly pertaining to the function of Supervisory Committee. He stated that these issues could be amicably resolved before the commencement of operation of Neradi Barrage. He urged Odishas cooperation in the construction of the barrage by accepting publication of the VWDTs 13.09.2017 decision in the official Gazette in terms of Section 6 (1) of ISRWD Act 1956 for enabling construction of Neradi Barrage in order to relieve the suffering of the denizens of the most backward areas of Srikakulam district in AP and Gajapathi district in Odisha.

Reddy hoped that Patnaik would agree for a meeting between the two in order to resolve the pending issues pertaining to the two states.
Tsoukernik vs. Zuckerberg; King's Resort Owner Sues Facebook

April 17 2021 Will Shillibier

Leon Tsoukernik, owner of King's Resort, Rozvadov is suing Facebook for $24,000,000 worth of damages after a series of fake mobile adverts.

The lawsuit was first reported by Hospodarske noviny, a Czech daily newspaper, with Tsoukernik claiming eight figures in damages to the casino's "brand and reputation."

# Leon Tsoukernik sues Facebook!  King's Resort (@PokerroomKings)

Reputation and Brand of King's Damaged

Less than four weeks ago, Europe's largest card room warned on its website that malicious mobile adverts for online casinos were using pictures of King's Resort to encourage players to download the app, offering players a CZK 3,000 (115/$138) bonus when they signed up.

The adverts featured the phrase "The best Czech casino is now online!"

The only problem being that King's Resort does not operate an online casino, Tsoukernik told Hospodarske noviny, a Czech daily newspaper.

"Someone who cannot be traced and therefore doesn't even have a license to operate has decided to use our name, our casino, and advertise on Facebook," said Tsoukernik. "As a result, [Facebook] is helping fraudsters and takes money for it. That's why we're suing [them] for harm."

Pictures courtesy of King's Casino

Today King's Resort Twitter account said that they had been forced into legal action.

Because only licensed online casinos are allowed in the Czech Republic, Facebook has a duty to check these licenses while sites and operators would have to prove to Facebook that they owned licenses in order for them to continue operating Facebook pages.

Related: King's Resort Owner Leon Tsoukernik Scoops $1.5m Slots Jackpot

Facebook "Negligent" Claims King's

This is where things get interesting. According to the report, King's Resort have requested multiple times to have these fake adverts removed, as King's does not own an online casino and are in no way affiliated with these mobile adverts.

Tsoukernik says that they've approached Facebook and asked for the adverts to be removed, but had heard nothing back, leading to King's Resort opting to sue for 20,000,000 in damages they say as a result of Facebook's negligence.

"In other media, if we want to advertise, they require us to prove the license, trademarks for the logo and the like," said Tsoukernik. "Even two years ago, Facebook demanded it from us, so I don't understand how they can release such fraudulent advertising."

Tsoukernik vs. Kirk

This is not the first time Tsoukernik has been involved in a claim for millions, with Australian high-stakes poker player Matt Kirk previously suing him for $2m as a result of an unpaid loan from a heads-up match between the pair.

Tsoukernik then counterclaimed against both Kirk and the ARIA Resort & Casino, alleging that the Aria or individuals connected to the casino were backing Kirk financially.

King's Resort Remains Closed

Although due to host the 2021 WSOP Europe from November 19 to December 8, King's Resort has been closed for several months. It had reopened in May 2020 after a two-month closure, but there has been no announcement when the largest card room in Europe will reopen for 2021.
Bengaluru, April 17 : Notwithstanding the Karnataka government's claim that there is no shortage of beds in the hospitals, former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who tested positive for Covid -19 earlier on Saturday, was in for a rude shock when a private hospital in Bengaluru reportedly turned down his request for admission citing shortage of beds.

Senior Janata Dal (Secular) leader Kumaraswamy, who had been campaigning for the bypolls in Basavakalyan, returned to Bengaluru on Friday night, and as he was feeling exhausted, he chose to stay back at a hotel instead of going home.

On Saturday morning, Kumaraswamy tested positive for Covid-19. He intended to isolate himself at his farm house, but the doctors advised him to get hospitalised immediately.

However, Kumaraswamy failed to get admitted to a plush private clinic here, which is one of the most sought after hospitals by the VIPs in Karnataka, as the authorities reportedly expressed their inability to allot him a bed due to shortage of the same.

Later, he was allotted a bed in another plush hospital on the Bannerghatta Road, which he kept reserved due to a court hearing he needs to attend in connection with a case. Due to contracting the disease, the former CM will not be able to attend the hearing in person, and is likely to be present virtually.

Confirming this to the media, the JD(S) MLC Ramesh Gowda said that Kumaraswamy would get admitted to the hospital for treatment after attending the scheduled court hearing.

"If this can happen to one of the most influential persons in Karnataka, one can imagine what the situation is on the ground for the common man," Gowda said.

Meanwhile, after coming to know about the former CM's ordeal, Karnataka Health Minister K. Sudhakar tried to get him a bed, but in vain.

The state had reported 14,859 new Covid cases and 78 deaths on Friday, taking the total number of active cases to 1,07,315. The government is grappling with the private sector to raise the number of beds in the hospitals.

Sudhakar had said on Friday that there are around 1,000 beds in the government medical colleges and hospitals and around 5,000 beds in the private medical colleges reserved for Covid-19 patients.

With the exponential surge in Covid-19 cases leading to increased demand for beds, Sudhakar had appealed to the hospitals to only admit patients needing critical care.

"Almost 95 per cent of the infected persons are either asymptomatic or have only mild symptoms in this second wave. Only 5 per cent of Covid patients need hospitalisation. So I appeal that only those with severe symptoms must approach the hospitals for treatment.

"We have instructed the private hospitals to free beds for critical Covid patients. We have asked them to admit only those who need critical care, and to open quarantine centers in collaboration with hotels for asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients," the minister had stated.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
A New York father pulls his daughter out of Brearley with a message to the whole school. Is the dam starting to break?
Amnesty International has sharply criticized a request by Russian prosecutors to have the Anti-Corruption Foundation of imprisoned opposition politician Aleksei Navalny banned as an extremist organization.

Tens of thousands of peaceful activists and the staff of Aleksei Navalnys organizations are in grave danger, Natalia Zviagina, head of Amnestys Moscow office, said in an April 17 statement. If their organizations are deemed extremist they will all be at imminent risk of criminal prosecution.

The Amnesty statement also decried Russias long history of abusing anti-extremism legislation and said that if the courts grant the prosecutors request on labeling Navalnys organization extremist, the result will likely be one of the most serious blows for the rights to freedom of expression and association in Russias post-Soviet history.

On April 16, the Moscow Prosecutors Office asked the Moscow City Court to label as extremist three organizations tied to Navalny: the Anti-Corruption Foundation, the Citizens Rights Protection Foundation, and Navalnys regional headquarters. Prosecutors said the organizations were engaged in creating conditions for destabilizing the social and sociopolitical situation under the guise of their liberal slogans.

Under Russian law, membership in or funding of an extremist organization is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The move is the latest in a series of assaults on Navalny since he suffered a nerve-agent poisoning attack in August 2020. He and his supporters blame that attack on Federal Security Service (FSB) operatives acting at the behest of authoritarian President Vladimir Putin.

Navalny spent weeks in Germany recuperating from the attack. When he returned to Russia in January, he was arrested and later sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison on charges he says were trumped up to hinder his political activity.

Navalny has been on a hunger strike in prison since March 31, demanding he be examined by his own doctor amid what his supporters have described as a deliberate campaign by prison officials to undermine his health.

On April 17, the French daily Le Monde and other leading European newspapers published an open letter signed by more than 70 actors, writers, directors, and other cultural figures demanding that Navalny be provided adequate medical treatment.

As a Russian citizen, he is entitled to an examination and treatment by a doctor of his choice, read the letter, which was signed by Nobel Prize laureates Herta Mueller, Louise Gluck, Orhan Pamuk, and Svetlana Alexievich, among others.
As if New Jersey is not already among the most restrictive states for 'gun control', Governor Phil Murphy (D) has called for a dozen further control measures. His reason is stated as being that recent firearm murder events have "further emboldened us without question."

This is action that typifies the mind set of so many whereby good people's rights are to be further eroded using the excuse of homicidal violence, committed once again by 'the gun', and probably invoking one of the usual labels such as "common sense 'gun control'". There is of course no common sense involved when measures simply further infringe and can have near zero effect on criminal acts.

From NBC New York.com:

The measures, a mix of legislation and executive actions, would:  Set aside $10 million in the current budget to fund gun violence intervention programs;

 Require gun permit applicants to first pass as safety course;

 Mandate that all guns not in use be kept in a lockbox or gun safe;

 Increase the purchasing age for a firearm to 21, from 18;

 Mandate microstamping technology so that fired rounds can be traced;

 Require ammunition sales to be tracked electronically;

 Ban .50-caliber weapons;

 Close what Murphy called a loophole that allows those moving to the state to not have to meet New Jersey's requirements to get a gun;

 Make it easier to hold gun manufacturers liable for violence stemming from the use of firearms;

 Direct the state Education Department to overhaul active shooter drills to minimize the stress on students;

 Hold a gun safety summit among governors;

 Convene a gun safety commission within the state.

Most of these actions would be laughable if they weren't so blatantly useless for making any beneficial changes .....
New Delhi: Actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu, accused in the violence at Delhis Red Fort on Republic Day, was arrested again on Saturday (April 17) after being granted bail hours ago by a Delhi court.

Sidhu was arrested again by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police in a case filed by the Archaeology Department.

Earlier in the day, special Judge Neelofer Abida Perveen granted bail to Sidhu on a personal bond of Rs 30,000 and two sureties of a like amount. The court further directed the Punjabi actor to deposit his passport with the investigating officer and appear before the police station as well as the court as and when required.

The court ordered Sidhu, currently lodged in Tihar jail, to join police investigation as and when required.

Rejecting the prosecution's contention that the accused might abscond if released on bail, the court said, "The accused as per the own case of the prosecution is a well-known public figure with deep roots in society and such apprehensions are capable of being allayed by imposing stricter conditions," PTI reported.

Sidhu was arrested on February 9 in connection with the Red Fort violence on January 26 during a farmers' tractor parade against the Centre's three new agriculture laws.

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Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen arrives to receive a shipment of 600,000 doses of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines donated by China from ambassador Wang Wentian, at the Phnom Penh International Airport, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia February 7, 2021.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen Friday sealed off the capital Phnom Penh and nearby Takhmao city in Kandal province after residents mostly ignored his recent lockdown order in the two cities.

Hun Sen on Wednesday ordered a lockdown to go into effect Thursday. But in a statement Friday, he said people continued to travel outside their homes in disregard of public health.

The two cities, home to about 2.3 million people, are now isolated from the rest of the country for a 14-day period that started Friday.

I urged Phnom Penh and Kandal authorities to strictly implement the lockdown. Please declare those areas as lockdown areas. We must implement the law without exception, Hun Sen said, warning that the lockdown and isolation could even last 28 days or more.

He also ordered authorities to make sure that people are not allowed to travel between areas under lockdown.

Were not locking things down to kill people. The city officials are working to rescue the poorest people, Hun Sen said.

People in both cities said they cannot obey lockdown orders because they do not have adequate supplies of food.

When people dont have food, they are not afraid of becoming infected. They must think about their stomach first. How long can he lock the country down? Buth Buntenth, the founder of the Independent Monk Network for Social Justice told RFAs Khmer Service.

He also urged the government to close the borders with Vietnam.

A worker in a Phnom Penh garment factory told RFA he was running low on food because the authorities provided nothing in preparation for the long quarantine period, where he also has to pay rent and utilities without drawing a salary.

I dont know what to do. Authorities have ignored us. I ask the government for help because Im being quarantined for 14 days.

At the Din Han factory where the worker is employed, about 400 workers have tested positive.

Morm Chenda, another worker, told RFA she doesnt have enough food, including no access to milk for her children. She also must stay ahead of mortgage payments.

I am urging the government to allow us to return to work sooner because I am not allowed to delay my mortgage, she said.

I urge [the govt.] to allow us to return to work sooner because I am not allowed to delay my mortgage, she said.

Illegal criticism

National Police Spokesman Chhay Kim Khoeun told RFA that since the most recent COVID-19 outbreak that started Feb. 20, at least 30 people who criticized the governments response were arrested on charges of incitement.

But the spokesperson said arresting people for their COVID-19-related criticism was a last resort, employed only after they began incitement over the COVID-19 vaccine, refused to obey COVID-19 restrictions and harmed public health. He said police exhausted all options through issuing fines and providing education, but still arrests are necessary.

We dont know how long it will take to educate them, but before the law was approved, we had already educated them for some time, said Chhay Kim Khoeun.

Hun Sen welcomed the arrests in a message on his Facebook page. He urged authorities to detain anyone who violates COVID-19 laws.

We cant allow people to gather and drink and refuse to obey the law. I am glad about the news that those who abused the law were sent to court, said Hun Sen.

Much of the criticism of the government response is due to Cambodias use of a Chinese-made vaccine, which the head of the Chinese CDC has admitted have a lower efficacy than the two mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna.

RFA reported last week that Hun Sen ordered all civil servants to be inoculated with the Chinese vaccine or be fired.

Ros Sotha, the director of the Cambodian Human Rights Defenders Alliance said that people are not aware that expressing an opinion on Chinese vaccines can be considered a crime in Cambodia.

The people are not legal experts. They dont know that what they say is a crime, he said.

Am Sam Ath of local rights group LICADHO said most people dont know much about COVID-19 laws in Cambodia and lack information on vaccines. He urged the government to more effectively spread the word on new laws as well as information on the vaccines.

There should be clear information so that the people can avoid confusion. This will prevent people from becoming victims for exercising their freedom of expression, said Am Sam Ath.

As of Friday, Cambodia has confirmed more than 5,000 cases of the deadly virus, with 38 deaths according to World Health Organization figures.

Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
Former prime minister John Howard, a famous adversary as the two men duelled for the leadership of the Liberal Party through the 1980s, paid tribute to Mr Peacock on Saturday as a hugely significant figure in Australian politics. It was well known Andrew and I had our differences, but we well and truly buried the hatchet many years ago, Mr Howard said. I was very happy when he accepted my invitation to become Ambassador to the United States after I became prime minister. He carried out that role with great flair and distinction. Andrew Peacock at a Brisbane leaders forum in 2003. Credit:Robert Rough Mr Howard recalled a conversation in the early 1990s when then US president George Bush senior seemed invincible.

Andrew said to me that he thought the then governor of Arkansas, Bill Clinton, would get the Democratic Party nomination and go on to win the presidency, he said. Loading Not many people thought that at the time, but the fact that is how it occurred indicated his understanding of the ebbs and flows of American politics. Mr Peacock served in the governments of John Gorton, William McMahon and Malcolm Fraser before becoming opposition leader from 1983-85 and from 1989-90. He lost federal elections to Labor leader Bob Hawke in both tenures. Past Victorian Liberal Party president Michael Kroger believed his former father-in-laws greatest achievements were on the world stage.

He was Australias most prominent and trusted international voice for almost 30 years, Mr Kroger said. Mr Peacock entertaining film star Shirley MacLaine on a beach near Portland in 1982. Credit:Peter Cox He was a close friend of both Ted Kennedy and the Bush family  a confidante of prime ministers, presidents and premiers throughout the world. People would ring Andrew Peacock and he was trusted. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who inherited Mr Peacocks federal seat of Kooyong, said his friend and supporter was authentic, tough and carried a dry sense of humour. He will be remembered fondly by those on both sides of the political aisle as he played his politics as he pursued life - with vigour, dignity and the utmost decency.

Mr Peacock was best man at politician and broadcaster Derryn Hinchs 1983 marriage to Jacki Weaver. Hinch also fondly recalls accompanying him to gala nights starring Mr Peacocks once-upon-a-time flame, the American actress Shirley MacLaine. He was a very decent man, especially for a politician, Hinch said. He had friends on both sides of the house, which is hard to do. And believe it or not, he had principles. Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett said he and Mr Peacock would regularly share the details of their private and public lives over their 40-year friendship. One such conversation, in which they used most-colourful language to denigrate then Liberal leader Mr Howard, was recorded by a man with a scanner and leaked. Andrew Peacock and Malcolm Fraser watching the 1980 Melbourne Cup. Credit:Peter Mayoh Mr Peacock was subsequently sacked from his shadow portfolios. I cant ever remember him living a grudge, Mr Kennett said.
A picture dated 25 May 2010 shows Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (C-L) holding the hand of her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

A picture dated 25 May 2010 shows Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (C-L) holding the hand of her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Queen Elizabeth II bids a final farewell to her late husband Prince Philip on Saturday, at a funeral restricted by coronavirus rules but reflecting his long life of military and public service.

The ceremony with just 30 mourners behind the stately walls of Windsor Castle, west of London, will be watched by an expected television audience of millions, with the public urged to stay away because of the pandemic.

But people were still expected to turn out in Windsor, prompting barriers to be erected along the sweeping Long Walk to the castle gates patrolled by uniformed police.

In the town, one man who gave only his first name, Mark, told AFP: "There are hundreds of us today. People are not supposed to come. But this is a once-in-a-generation event.

"He (Philip) was really something."

At Buckingham Palace, the Queen's central London home, Cardiff-born chef Santosh Singh laid purple tulips as a tribute and to mark the end of an era.

"I love the royals. I think they're amazing... It's sad because in time, all this will change," the 57-year-old said.

The Duke of Edinburgh -- described by royals as "the grandfather of the nation" -- died on April 9, aged 99, just weeks after spending more than a month in hospital for treatment of a heart condition and an infection.

- Minute's silence -

Britain's longest-serving royal consort was an almost constant presence at the Queen's side during her record-breaking reign that began in 1952 as Britain rebuilt from World War II and as its global empire began to unravel.

His death, after 73 years of marriage, has left a "huge void" in her life, the couple's second son, Prince Andrew, said last weekend.

The Queen released a touching personal photograph of herself with Prince Philip, both looking relaxed and smiling in the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland in 2003.

Images of key moments in the couple's marriage were also shared on the royal family's social media accounts, as most newspapers reflected on her deep personal loss.

"The Queen bids farewell," headlined The Times.

At the service, the Dean of Windsor, David Conner, will pay tribute to Philip's "unwavering loyalty" to his wife, who turns 95 next week, the country and the Commonwealth, as well as his "courage, fortitude and faith".

Government Covid-19 regulations have forced hasty revisions to "Operation Forth Bridge", the long-rehearsed funeral plans for former Royal Navy commander Philip.

But the stripped-back ceremonial funeral will still feature members of the armed services he was associated with lining a short procession route through the immaculately trimmed grounds of the castle, whose history dates back 1,000 years.

His coffin will be borne to Windsor's historic St George's Chapel on a bespoke Land Rover hearse which Philip designed himself, repainted in military green.

A minute's silence will be observed across the country on the stroke of 3:00 pm (1400 GMT) before the funeral service begins.

- End of an era -

The Queen will lead mourners, as they pay their respects to the man she once called her "strength and stay", and whose death closes a remarkable chapter for Britain's most famous family.

The congregation will mostly be close family, including the couple's four children: heir to the throne Prince Charles, 72, Princess Anne, 70, Prince Andrew, 61, and Prince Edward, 57.

Also present will be Charles' eldest son William, 38, who will be joined by younger brother, Harry, 36, after he jetted back last weekend from the United States, where he now lives.

All eyes will be on the brothers -- whose mother was Charles' first wife, princess Diana -- after a reported falling out over Harry's move to California with his American wife, Meghan, and their stinging criticisms of the royals.

Meghan, heavily pregnant with her second child, was advised not to travel on medical grounds. Harry has had to quarantine since arriving from Los Angeles.

The brothers, who as young boys walked behind their mother's coffin at her funeral in 1997, will follow the procession on foot, but not side-by-side.

Between them will be their cousin, Princess Anne's son Peter Phillips, 43, which will likely fuel further rumours of the rift, even if it reflects royal protocol.
The Trans Am gained more notoriety in 1977 after a special-edition model was featured in the Smokey and the Bandit film. Firebird sales almost doubled from 1977 to 1979, despite the fact that the 1978 facelift was rather minor. But even though it was enjoying success, the late 1970s Trans Am was a disappointing car performance-wise.The restrictive fuel emission regulations and the oil crisis of the early 1970s put an end to the traditional muscle car as carmakers moved away from big-block power. Sure, Pontiac was still offering a 6.6-liter V8 in 1977, but at 200 horsepower it was making a little more than half the oomph of its 1970 predecessor. And this is where the Mecham brothers and their Macho T/A stepped in.Yes, the Macho is not a factory-built Trans Am. It couldn't be anyway since Pontiac so many restrictions to deal with. It was the work of Kyle and Dennis Mecham, the sons of Evan Mecham, who owned a Pontiac dealership in Glendale, Arizona. Frustrated by how slow and underpowered the once-exciting Firebird Trans Am had become, Kyle and Dennis set up DKM and started modding cars bought from their father's dealership.DKM started out with 26 Firebirds. The cars retained the stock appearance, but the underpinnings were upgraded for additional muscle. The W72 engine, a 6.6-liter V8 rated at 200 horsepower from the factory, was fitted with new four-barrel carburetor, a set of Hooker headers, and a muffler-free dual exhaust system. The Mechams also put the fake hood scoop to go use by installing cold air induction.The modifications resulted in an extra 50 horsepower, bumping the Trans Am's total output to 250 horses. While it was still far below 1970 and 1971 output levels, it was better than what any other American carmaker could offer at the time.To keep the extra oomph in check, DKM also added Koni adjustable shocks, wider tires, and a tweaked suspension setup. The result? The Macho T/A was a full second faster than the stock Trans Am on the quarter-mile.Although the car retained much of their stock appearance, they came with "Macho T/A" graphics on the doors and some examples were fitted with brightly colored racing stripes.As word got out and customers started coming to the Mecham dealership, DKM worked out new upgrades for 1978. The highlight was an optional turbocharger with seven psi of boost, which was enough to take the big-block V8 up to 325 horsepower. Far more powerful than the factory muscle cars of the era, the turbo Machos were also fitted with Doug Nash five-speed manuals for extra fun.The powerful Macho T/A was also expensive. A Trans Am fitted with the turbo package and all the other DKM goodies fetched an extra $3,000 on top of the sticker price. This made the Macho T/A as expensive as European premium cars of the era, so DKM didn't sell too many. Word has it the shop converted only 325 examples from 1977 to 1979, before killing off the project in 1980 as Pontiac switched to the unreliable 4.9-liter V8.There's no word as to how many Macho T/As survived to this day, but the car if finally getting some recognition alongside other dealer-built hot-rods from the muscle car era. These cars are starting to hit the auction block, usually changing hands for more than $30,000.Some have been sold for as much as $50,000 in recent years, which is more than most stock Trans Ams from the late 1970s. As of this writing, someone is selling one of only 204 Machos built in 1978 on Craiglist . A mint-condition example with with 92,000 miles on the odo, it's listed at $48,000. That's a macho price tag, but it comes attached to a rare bird.
Protesters marched in Oakland on Friday night to denounce police brutality.

Oakland police said that roughly 200 protesters were marching at MacArthur and Broadway. Authorities said there were reports of vandalism and fires. Some buildings had windows broken, including Target and a Volkswagen dealership.

Shortly after 10 p.m. police declared a gathering at Telegraph and 30th an unlawful assembly and instructed people to leave.

The march comes ahead of a verdict in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was tried in the police killing of George Floyd, the Black man who died after Chauvin pinned a knee on his neck for more than 9 minutes during an arrest in May 2020.

The police killings of Floyd and Breonna Taylor  a 26-year-old medical worker who was fatally shot by police in Kentucky last year prompted nationwide protests and demands to end police brutality and killings of Black people last summer.

The march also comes a day after video of a Chicago police officer fatally shooting Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old boy, last month  and just days after Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was fatally shot by a police officer in a Minneapolis suburb during a traffic stop.

Chronicle staff writer Lauren Hernandez contributed to this report.

Nora Mishanec is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email nora.mishanec@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NMishanec
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Seven former Cambodia National Rescue Party officials, including a few close aides of former party president Kem Sokha, were granted political amnesty and allowed to reenter the political arena.

King Norodom Sihamoni on Saturday signed royal decrees, allowing the seven former CNRP senior members to participate in political activity. Most notably, former CNRP lawmaker Yem Ponhearith and Kem Sokhas chief of staff, Muth Chantha, will now restart their political careers.

The five others are former lawmakers Lat Litai and Tout Khoeut and party executive members Chum Chandarin, Long Kimkhorn, and Yang Phannet.

The Supreme Court in 2017 dissolved the CNRP for allegedly attempting to overthrow the Cambodian Peoples Party government in a so-called color revolution. The high court also banned 118 of the partys senior leaders for five years.

But, in 2019 the government created an ad-hoc mechanism that allows former CNRP officials to return to politics only if they made a request to the government. So far, 21 former CNRP officials have been allowed to return to politics.

Interior Minister Sar Kheng sent a letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday, forwarding the seven politicians request for political rehabilitation.

Sar Khengs letter was widely circulated Saturday morning, hours before royal decrees granting political amnesty were published by the Information Ministry, making special mention of Yem Ponhearith.

Yem Ponhearith had been involved in diplomatic advocacy during his time abroad, Sar Kheng writes in the letter.

However, regarding domestic activities, all of the seven individuals have strictly complied with the court orders and have not been doing any significant activities related to politics or amounting to disturbance of national security or public orders.

Sisowath Thomico, another CNRP executive member who is still banned, said Kem Sokha had discussed the matter with him in March.

Yem Ponhearith and Muth Chantha decided together to make the request, Sisowath Thomico said, adding that Tout Khoeut and Lat Litai joined because they were close to Ponhearith.

Muth Chantha and Yem Ponhearith have been close allies of Kem Sokha, and have been most visible by his side following his release from de facto house arrest in November 2019 and during the commencement of a treason trial against him in early 2020.

VOA Khmer was not able to contact the seven former CNRP officials for comment on Saturday.

Sisowath Thomico said he, and Kem Sokha, were not planning to request political amnesty.

Speculation has been rife if Kem Sokha will reenter the politics, following the conclusion of his treason trial. There are four CNRP-linked parties in the political fray: the Khmer Conservatism Party, Cambodia Nation Love Party, Khmer Reform Party and Khmer Will Party.

Yim Sinorn, who leads a pro-opposition migrant worker movement in South Korea, on Saturday posted a photo of himself with Sokha, supporting the former CNRP presidents decision to not request amnesty.

With more people subsequently leaving, the cruise is getting emptier. But as long as this captain stands by his refusal to give up the cruise to navigate smaller boats, I will struggle with the remaining people to the end, he posted on Facebook.

CPP Spokesperson Suos Yara said the ruling party welcomed the seven politicians decision to request a return to politics.

The Cambodian laws are open to them. They have received their political rights back, this means it is up to them to exercise their freedom to join an existing party or to launch their own parties, Suos Yara said.
A North Alabama man is out on bond after Arab police say he killed a woman's dog.

"That night when I got home, and I couldn't find Jax anywhere, I found a hole in my wall that was not there when I left. There was blood on the side of my bed. It looked like footprints, and then, there was blood on my panel," explained Jill Burgett, dog owner.

Jax the dog

James Whitley James Whitley Jax the dog

Burgett is still piecing together the gruesome, and what had to be, terrifying and painful, last moments of her 3-year-old dog Jax's life.

"You could see that my baby was trapped. He had him trapped in my room. You could tell by the blood, I mean there was blood everywhere," said Burgett.

Arab police arrested Burgett's ex-boyfriend, James Whitley, this week, a little more than a week after Burgett says he beat her dog to death. She says once Whitley told her where to find the dog's body, her vet confirmed what happened.

"His injuries go from one end of his body all the way to the other," said Burgett.

Now, she wants justice.

"It's been tough. It's been really tough, but I'm going to make sure he pays. I'm gonna fight for Jax," said Burgett.

She explained she's heartbroken but not giving up.

Whitley is facing a felony animal cruelty charge. He was released on a $20,000 bond.
Chinese billionaire Jack Ma and his company Alibaba are being hounded by Chinese President Xi Jinping again - third time in less than six months.

On Monday, citing the state-run Xinhua News Agency, Nikkei Asia reported that four government agencies had carried out "joint regulatory talks" with Alibaba affiliate Ant Group.

The four were the People's Bank of China, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

Xinhua reported that Pan Gongsheng, one of the central bank's deputy governors, answered questions from reporters on behalf of the four departments.

He said the reason behind financial authorities questioning Ant Group again was to strengthen anti-monopoly and prevent the disorderly expansion of capital.

It was the new slogan that the Chinese Communist Party has been pushing since October -- curbing market monopolies and preventing the disorderly expansion of capital -- and not existing law that was cited first, reported Nikkei Asia.

However, Katsuji Nakazawa, in an article in Nikkei Asia wrote that the wielding of newly created rules to penalize e-tailer hints at political motive - Xi extending the tactics he used in his signature anti-corruption campaign to private companies -- with those rules, he cracked down on influential political foes, even those in China's highest echelon.

On Saturday, a long-dormant anti-monopoly law was suddenly and strictly applied in the form of a record USD 2.8 billion fine on Alibaba, equivalent to 4 per cent of Alibaba's domestic sales in 2019.

During the talks on Monday, the four regulatory bodies told Ant to transfer all financial operations, including the Alipay service, to a new financial holding company to be set up later and to subject them to strict monitoring and supervision by authorities, reported Nikkei Asia.

Chinese regulators had earlier held regulatory talks with Ant executives - in November, when Ant's plan to raise more than USD 34 billion in the world's largest initial public offering was blocked at the last minute and in December, Ant (Alibaba affiliate) executives were questioned again.

In China, where the party holds all the levers, the act of questioning a company's top executives hints at an unfavorable destiny. Questioned twice, and then a third time? said Katsuji.

As per him the shift may be related to party's next national congress, in 2022, where Xi is expected to extend his reign.

Xi has cemented his political standing within the party. But he has yet to tighten his grip on the business community.

Xi's uneasiness about private sector is related to Shanghai trauma of 2015, when stock market panic sent the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index tumbling 8 per cent, reported Nikkei Asia.

A team of investigators led by the then-vice minister for public security (police) entered the building of the China Securities Regulatory Commission in Beijing's financial district and declared a strict joint crackdown on malicious short selling.

The presence of the police signaled that the Xi leadership team detected a whiff of politics behind the whole affair.

That leadership team is now pressing private companies to get off the fence, show the flag and support Xi's political agenda, as it did to party members earlier in the anti-corruption campaign.

Xi aims to extend his reign, he needs to take control of the economic realm, as he has done with the political domain, opined Katsuji.

Moreover, there is also some political issues that might be involved - Ma's strong connections to China's "princelings," the children of party leaders; "second-generation reds," a smaller group of children whose parents joined the revolution before the 1949 establishment of the People's Republic; and guan er dai, children of government officials.

Xi himself is a second-generation red, being the son of former Vice Premier Xi Zhongxun.

Alibaba's rapid growth was supported by Chinese leaders before Xi took the helm. Ma had particularly strong connections to the "Shanghai faction," a group of people close to former President Jiang Zemin, reported Nikkei Asia.

The Shanghai faction is also called the "machine-building industry faction." For years, the Shanghai faction strongly influenced the industrial sphere. But with Xi having rapidly concentrated power, forces that are not close to Xi have had their political influence significantly eroded.

There are concerns about Ma's future. "Even if he is safe now," one pundit said, "there is no guarantee that he will remain so in the future."

Many influential business leaders have suddenly been sent to prison over the past eight years. Among them is Wu Xiaohui, the top official of Anbang Insurance Group, a private insurer that grew rapidly into the third-biggest player in China, reported Nikkei Asia.

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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Dhaka, April 17 : At least five workers in a Chinese joint venture coal-fired power plant were killed in police firing in Banshkhali of Bangladesh's Chittagong region on Saturday, the police said.

More than fifteen workers, all protesting for payment of dues, have also been injured.

Anwar Hossain, Chittagong Range Deputy Inspector General (DIG) confirmed to IANS on Saturday afternoon, five dead workers were identified as Rony of Chuadanga, Md. Rahad of Kishoreganj, Shuvo of Narsingdi, Mahmud Reza of Banshkhali, and Raihan from Noakhali. Raihan succumbed to his injuries at Chittagong Medical College Hospital, said the hospital's on-duty doctor Faysal Karim.

DIG Anwar Hossain said, workers of the power plant at Banshkhali's Gandamara have been protesting since Friday over their unpaid dues and work hours to allow them to perform Ramzan-time rituals. The angry workers, who resented the non-payment of dues attacked the power plant after a meeting between the management and their leaders failed to resolve the crisis.

He claimed, "When police intervened, they were attacked. Policemen were compelled to open fire after three of them were seriously injured," DIG Hossain said. He said fifty policemen were deployed at the power plant after the demonstrations started on Friday.

Fourteen injured workers were taken to Chittagong Medical College and Hospital (CMCH).

Locals said the workers have been agitating to press for four-point demand including payment of overdue salaries, half day work on Friday, enough time for Iftar and a hike in salary.

Controversy has dogged this joint venture coal-fired power plant since the very beginning when the buiseness tycoon S. Alam Group, one of the leading business conglomerates in Bangladesh, signed a joint venture agreement with two Chinese companies to set up the 1224 MW power project.

In 2016, four locals were killed in police firing in Banshkhali over land acquisition troubles.

The leader of the locals opposing the project was framed and jailed. In July last year, the S. Alam Group paid the penalty of 2 billion Bangladesh Takas to the government for keeping alive the controversial project.

The plant comprising two 612 MW generation units at Banshkhali in Chattogram was scheduled to start supplying electricity to the national grid from November 16, 2019.

However, the government's power department found during inspection that the S. Alam group and its Chinese joint venture partners have completed only around 25 per cent of the project by that time. A senior power department official said the group has paid a large sum, equivalent to the penal amount for one year's default, due to its failure in financial closure of the project.

The group has now got an extension to complete the project by 2022, the official said on condition of anonymity. A joint venture company, or JVC, comprising local S. Alam Group and two Chinese firms had inked power purchase agreement, or PPA, and implementation agreement, or IA, with the state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board, or BPDB, and Power Grid Company of Bangladesh Ltd, or PGCB, to implement the power plant five years ago.

The BPDB had provided the letter of intent to the JVC to set up the project on October 31, 2013. Two separate power companies under the JVC of SS Power I Ltd and SS Power II Ltd would separately implement the power plant project, as per the contract. Two Chinese firms -- SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Corporation and HTG Development Group - have 20 per cent and 10 per cent stakes respectively, while S. Alam Group has 70 per cent stake in the project. Apart from being a stakeholder, the Chinese SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Corporation is also the engineering, procurement and construction, or EPC, contractor of the project.

The way the project work has been advancing, S. Alam Group is unlikely to complete the project within the extended time too, said an insider.

The BPDB and the PGCB inked deals with S. Alam Group to implement the project under the Speedy Supply of Power and Energy (Special Provision) Act 2010 bypassing tender.

The law empowered the government with sweeping authority to skirt the existing laws in the energy and power sectors so that it can implement projects quickly.

The BPDB is supposed to purchase electricity from these power plants at a levelised tariff rate of US$ 8.259 cents for 25 years, as per the deal.

An executive of the S Alam Group, however, said five foreign banks have assured to provide around US$2.60 billion as loan to implement the project.

He said land development and other relevant activities like pile test, geotechnical work, basic design and constructing temporary jetty to import coal are ongoing.

Media workers were surprised, all the steps were taken without any Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and public consultation.

In April 2016 S Alam group was asked to revise its environmental impact assessment report (EIA) for the project.

In March 2018 it was reported that "The work of this plant was supposed to be completed in 2019, but the construction work has not started yet." According to S Alam Group, site development has begun and financial close was expected soon.

In November 2018, the Bangladesh Power Division warned S. Alam Group of annulling the plant's contracts over the delay in financial close. The company was given until December 31, 2018 to complete financial closing of its thermal power plant project.

In December 2018 PowerChina said prep work was underway on the project.

The plant is listed in Bangladesh's 2016 Master Plan "Revisited", an updated version of the country's energy plan released in November 2018. It is proposed for commissioning in December 2020 - although the timeline seems unlikely, given the lack of progress through 2018.
TRINIDAD and Tobago Unit Trust Corporation (UTC) executive director, Nigel Edwards, says the changes the 39-year-old financial institution is undergoing at this time are transformational.

The UTC is now in the middle of a three-year cycle of strategic changes that will culminate in 2023 and beyond, he said.
GEORGETOWN  A timber site could be home to a 2,500-acre solar farm as early as 2023.

Two representatives from Silicon Ranch, a solar panel company from Nashville, spoke to Georgetown County Council on April 13 about the project off Saints Delight Road, which would be the first of its kind according to the the company.

Describing itself as one of the largest independent power producers in the country, Silicon Ranch said it was attracted to this specific plot because of its ability to support the necessary infrastructure, its environmental makeup, community sustainability and its sheer size.

A key benefit of this project is the $300,000 per year in tax revenue it will produce for the city, economic development director Brian Tucker said.

"If we were to generate $300,000 a year of new revenue in single family homes, then we would be adding that many more cars to the streets, we would add that many more students going to schools that would then be utilizing government services," Tucker said. "And we want that, but if we can get revenue that doesn't tax our services that's even better."

The pine trees on the land now will be cleared by its current owner, Resource Management Services, before Silicon Ranch comes in to break ground. RMS's director of real estate and alternative income, Tom Hancock, said while the company cannot comment on the specific project, it plants upwards of four million seedlings a year in Georgetown and conducts business in accordance with best management practices and laws.

According to the USDA, a healthy 100-foot tall tree can absorb 11,000 gallons of water per year from the soil.

John Marcarelli, Silicon Ranch's vice president of business development, said the company would be willing to work with residents and groups in Georgetown "to the extent appropriate" to ensure as many trees are possible are either saved or replanted and that the area will be free of erosion.

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"We are always open to exploring additional opportunities that might benefit the community, but we haven't gone through our full environmental permitting process which will dictate a lot," Marcarelli said.

Coastal Carolina University research professor Tom Mullikin, who has years of experience in environmental issues such as energy production and farming, said the willingness of Silicon Ranch to work with the local community on this project is encouraging.

"These issues are really too large for government to handle by themselves, and it requires corporate leadership," Mullikin said. "The fact that they're open to that sort of collaboration is more than the first step, it clears the path to what could ultimately be a huge success story."

Silicon Ranch will invest more than $200 million into the project with no investment required from the county or taxpayers. Silicon Ranch will work with local power entities such as Santee Cooper, Central Energy and Duke Energy. Project construction is estimated to take 12-15 months and generate nearly 350 temporary jobs locally.

The third and final reading on the project could go before council at its next meeting on April 27.
Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a video summit with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Beijing, capital of China, April 16, 2021. [Xinhua/Li Xueren]

BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhua)  Chinese President Xi Jinping attended a video summit with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Beijing on Friday.

The leaders of the three countries exchanged in-depth views on cooperation in coping with climate change, China-Europe relations, anti-pandemic cooperation, and major international and regional issues.

Xi stressed that he always advocates building a community with a shared future for humanity and stands ready to strengthen cooperation with France and Germany on addressing climate change.

"I announced that China will strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. It means China, as the world's largest developing country, will complete the world's most dramatic reduction in carbon emission intensity, and realize carbon neutrality from carbon peaking in the shortest time in global history," he said.

He said the task is extremely challenging but China will deliver on its promise.

Xi said China has included carbon peaking and carbon neutrality in its overall plan for ecological conservation, and promoted the development of a green and low-carbon circular economy in an all-round way. China has decided to accept the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol and strengthen the control of non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gases such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), he added.

Responding to climate change is the common cause of all humanity, he said, adding that it should not be a bargaining chip for geopolitics, a target for attacking other countries, or an excuse for trade barriers.

Xi said China will adhere to the principles of equity, common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, promote the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, and actively develop South-South cooperation on climate change.

It is hoped that developed economies will set an example in reducing emissions and take the lead in fulfilling their funding commitments to provide adequate technical and capacity-building support for developing countries to tackle climate change, Xi said.

Noting that the COVID-19 pandemic is still spreading globally, and the world faces daunting tasks in global economic recovery, Xi said China-Europe relations are facing new development opportunities and various challenges. He called for firmly grasping the overall development direction of China-Europe ties from a strategic height.

China will expand high-level opening-up and create a fair, just, and non-discriminatory business environment for foreign-invested enterprises, including French and German companies, he said. He expressed the hope that Europe can also treat Chinese enterprises with such a positive attitude and work together with China to strengthen the China-Europe green and digital partnerships and enhance cooperation in combating the pandemic.

Xi said China opposes "vaccine nationalism" and a man-made vaccine divide, and is willing to work with the international community, including France and Germany, to ensure timely access to vaccines for the developing world.

China stands ready to work with the International Olympic Committee to provide vaccines to athletes preparing to enter the Olympic Games, he said.

Macron said that France welcomes China's announcement to become carbon-neutral before 2060. Such a massive commitment reflects China's initiative to assume significant responsibilities. France is willing to work with China to promote the further progress of France-China and Europe-China economic relations, help Africa achieve green development, and help developing countries reduce their debt.

Vaccines should not become a tool for competition among major countries, Macron said. He added that France is willing to strengthen cooperation with China on the equitable distribution of vaccines and strengthen coordination on regional issues, including the Iran nuclear issue.

Merkel said that it is extremely important for Germany, France, and China to strengthen cooperation in tackling climate change. The nationally determined contributions China announced are both ambitious and challenging and are very important in coping with climate change globally.

She said that Europe is willing to strengthen policy communication and alignment with China. China's economy realized a recovery growth first, which is good news for the world. Germany values the opportunities that the implementation of China's 14th Five-Year Plan brings to Germany-China and Europe-China cooperation, and is willing to deepen mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation with China, strengthen communication on issues such as the digital economy and network security, and treat enterprises from all countries equally and avoid trade barriers.

She expressed the hope that with joint efforts from both sides, the EU-China investment agreement will take effect at an early date.

The three leaders agreed that it is necessary to uphold multilateralism, fully implement the Paris Agreement, and jointly build a fair, reasonable, cooperative, and win-win global climate governance system, and promote this summit to achieve positive, balanced, and pragmatic results.

They agreed to strengthen climate policy dialogue and green development cooperation, and make climate change cooperation an important pillar in China-Europe cooperation.

All sides agreed to coordinate in running the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity to be held this year in China's Kunming, the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Britain, and the 7th International Union for Conservation of Nature's World Conservation Congress in the French city of Marseilles, to create a new pattern of global environmental governance.

The three leaders agreed to support COVAX, promote the healthy, safe, and orderly personnel exchanges, safeguard the smooth and stable industrial chain and promote the international economic and trade cooperation return to normalcy at an early date.

They also support the development of energy supply in developing countries in an efficient, clean, and diversified direction.

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a video summit with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Beijing, capital of China, April 16, 2021. [Xinhua/Yue Yuewei]

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a video summit with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Beijing, capital of China, April 16, 2021. [Xinhua/Rao Aimin]

(Source: Xinhua)
Biden admin. to reverse Trump's 'Protect Life' rule, restore Title X funding for abortion clinics

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Pro-life groups are slamming the Biden administration for pushing to reverse a Trump administration rule that banned the use of federal family planning funds from being used for abortions or to refer patients for abortions.

The Department of Health and Human Services released a proposed rule Thursday that would reverse the Trump administrations Protect Life rule. The rule, finalized in 2019, prevented health clinics that receive Title X family planning funds from performing or referring patients for abortions.

Abortion organizations referred to the regulation preventing family planning clinics from engaging in discussions or referrals for abortion as a gag rule. The Protect Life rule faced several court challenges, and appellate courts came to differing conclusions about its constitutionality.

The Biden administrations proposed revisions to the rule would remove the 2019 Final Rule requirements for strict physical and financial separation, allow Title X providers to provide nondirective options counseling, and allow Title X providers to refer their patients for all family planning related services desired by the client, including abortion services.

The Department of Health and Human Services concluded that the 2019 rule is not in the best interest of public health.

HHS maintains that the proposed rule will retain the longstanding prohibition on directly promoting and performing abortion, in addition to stressing that individuals and grantees with conscience objections will not be required to follow the proposed rules requirements regarding abortion counseling and referral.

However, the proposed rule change includes a requirement for service sites that do not offer a broad range of family planning methods and services on-site to provide clients with a referral for where they can access the broad range and ensure, when feasible, that the referral provided does not unduly limit client access to services, such as excessive distance or travel time to the referral location or referral to services that are cost-prohibitive for the client.

While an organization that offers only a single method of family planning may participate as part of a Title X project as long as the entire project offers a broad range of family planning services, offering only a single method of family planning could unduly limit Title X clients, especially low-income clients, by reducing access to a clients method of choice.

Jeanne Mancini, president of the pro-life organization March for Life, was among several pro-life activists who condemned the proposed rule change.

March for Life is strongly opposed to the Biden administrations proposed Title X rules, which appear specifically designed to bring Americas largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, back into the taxpayer funded program and keep pro-life organizations out," Mancini said in a statement.

These laws would mandate abortion referrals in violation of federal law and stand in direct opposition to the wishes of a majority of Americans who do not want their taxpayer dollars supporting the abortion industry. Abortion is neither healthcare nor family planning, and the Title X Program should not be funding it, she added.

Before enacting the Protect Life rule, Planned Parenthood was a recipient of Title X funding. Rather than comply with the Trump administration's new requirements, the abortion provider left the program.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the national pro-life grassroots organization Susan B. Anthony List, described the rule change as another example of how "Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have worked to pay back the abortion lobby that spent millions to elect them.

Coming on the heels of the Biden FDAs refusal to enforce safety regulations on dangerous abortion drugs, plus Bidens efforts to undermine the Supreme Court, their latest push to bail out the abortion industry proves there is no rule they wont rewrite or simply ignore to get their way," Dannenfelser said.

President Trumps Protect Life Rule respected both the plain statutory language of Title X and the strong majority of Americans who oppose using taxpayer dollars to pay for abortion on demand. Abortion is not family planning and Biden-Harris Democrats pursue this extreme, unpopular agenda at their political peril."

Pro-abortion groups reacted positively to the HHS' proposal.

Great News! The Biden-Harris admin just proposed ending the Title X gag rule! Planned Parenthood Action tweeted in response to the proposed rule change. This dangerous policy undermines the only federal program dedicated to providing sexual and reproductive health care to people with low incomes.

????GREAT NEWS! The Biden-Harris admin just proposed ending the Title X gag rule! This dangerous policy undermines the only federal program dedicated to providing sexual and reproductive health care to people with low incomes. pic.twitter.com/hxyoW4OHkM  Planned Parenthood Action (@PPact) April 14, 2021

Planned Parenthood Action claimed that the gag rule was designed to block access to @PPFA and other providers, creating barriers to reproductive health care, especially for those facing systemic barriers: people in rural areas, and Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities."

"The gag rule slashed the Title X networks patient capacity in half," Planned Parenthood Action argued. "The harm of this policy was devastating before  now COVID has revealed just how important reproductive health care is tied to our communities health and safety.

The American Civil Liberties Union posted a lengthy Twitter thread illustrating its approval of the proposed rule change.

The new rule would end the Trump policy that prohibited family planning clinics from providing Title X patients with referrals for abortion care and other requirements that resulted in the widespread loss of critical Title X providers  including 6 states that have none at all, the advocacy group explained.

The organization argued that the Trump administrations Protect Life rule had a disproportionately negative effect on racial minorities.

Systemic racism and inequality means that people of color are more likely to face worse health outcomes  even before the COVID-19 pandemic," the organization tweeted. "Historically, the majority of Title X patients are people of color.

Restoring the Title X program is critical to undoing the damage of the Trump years," the ACLU added. "Everyone should have equal access to comprehensive reproductive health care, regardless of their income or zip code.

Restoring the Title X program is critical to undoing the damage of the Trump years.



Everyone should have access to comprehensive reproductive health care, regardless of their income or zip code. #FixTitleX  ACLU (@ACLU) April 14, 2021

The Biden administrations proposed changes come after President Joe Biden signed a Memorandum on Protecting Womens Health at Home and Abroad on Jan. 28. The memo asked HHS to review the Protect Life rule and consider, as soon as practicable, whether to suspend, revise, or rescind, or publish for notice and comment proposed rules suspending, revising, or rescinding those recommendations.

A March 18 press release from HHS explained that the department plans to have any final Title X Final Rule in place by early fall.
The CPI(M) urged the US on Saturday to lift its ban on the export of vaccine material, alleging that it has hampered the production of vaccines in India due to a shortage of such materials.

In a statement, the politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said the stand of the Joe Biden-led US administration is one of "doublespeak".

"The scaling up of vaccine production in India is being hampered by the shortage of the intermediate material required for vaccine production. Much of this material such as filters, solutions and plastic bags come from the But the US administration has banned the export of vaccine material under its Defence Production Act.

"Despite requests by the Indian authorities, no relaxation or exemption has been given for the export of these items. The biggest vaccine manufacturer in the country, the Serum Institute of India, has been drawing attention to this problem for quite some time," it said.

Accusing the US of "doublespeak", the Left party pointed out that at the Quad summit held on March 12, a joint statement issued by the member-countries stated: "We will join forces to expand safe, affordable and effective vaccine production and equitable access to speed up economic recovery and benefit global health."



Further, the US promised to finance production of vaccines by an Indian company, Biological E Limited, to help India become a hub of vaccine production in the Indo-Pacific region, it said.

"The ban on exports of materials used in vaccine production goes completely against these stated aims. The (Narendra) Modi government, which sets much store on the Quad alliance, must ensure that the Biden administration keeps to its committed word and immediately ensure the supply of essential vaccine material to India. This is the least that must be done when India is facing a vaccine shortage in the face of an unprecedented surge of COVID infections," the CPI(M) said.

India, the US, Australia and Japan are the member-countries of the Quad or Quadrilateral coalition.

A record single-day rise of 2,34,692 cases and 1,341 fatalities have pushed India's COVID-19 tally to 1,45,26,609 and the death toll due to the viral disease to 1,75,649, the health ministry said on Saturday.

The number of active cases in the country has surpassed the 16-lakh mark, the ministry's data updated at 8 am showed.

Registering a steady increase for the 38th day in a row, the tally of active COVID-19 cases has climbed to 16,79,740 in the country, accounting for 11.56 per cent of its total caseload, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has dropped to 87.23 per cent.

(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.)
Variants from the United Kingdom and New York comprised 85 percent of Connecticuts COVID cases sampled last week, according to a new report.

About half of the cases sampled contained the U.K. variant known as B.1.1.7, Gov. Ned Lamont warned.

It could be as high as 50 percent now, Lamont said Thursday during his pandemic briefing. The bad news is its highly infectious, so while over half of our population has been vaccinated, its spreading fast in the other half of the population.

The good news is the vaccines work  it works against this variant, the governor added.

According to the latest report from Jackson Laboratory and the Nathan Grubaugh Lab at the Yale School of Public Health, cases of B.1.1.7 comprised about 51 percent of all positive COVID-19 cases sampled since the previous week.

That means B.1.1.7 cases increased about 9 percent from the previous week. All told, 945 cases of the variant have been identified in Connecticut through genomic sequencing, a process that involves testing samples from positive COVID-19 test kits.

In total, 85 percent of COVID-19 tests sequenced in the past week were either B.1.1.7, or another variant first detected in New York known as B.1.526. Only 12 percent of the samples were not deemed variants of concern, as B.1.1.7 is considered, or variants of interest as B.1.526 is classified.

The competition between B.1.1.7 (and) B.1.526 is quite interesting, and could have significant public health importance, Grubaugh, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Yale, wrote in a Twitter thread accompanying the reports release Thursday. Currently B.1.1.7 is winning, though things could rapidly change as more people get vaccinated.

The strain from New York comprised 34 percent of samples sequenced in the past week, down nearly 4 percent from the previous week. To date, there have been 478 cases of that strain reported in Connecticut. The strain has researchers concerned because it can contain mutations thought to help the virus evade monoclonal antibody treatments or vaccines.

The report is also tracking all variants with a mutation known as E484K, which is thought to help B.1.526 and other strains possibly escape the vaccines. With the drop in cases of B.1.526, the overall number of variants sequenced with that mutation is also down by a little under 8 percent from the week before.

I'll take this as good news with the caveat that other mutations are also likely important for immune evasion, Grubaugh tweeted.

The latest numbers on variants come as Connecticut edged closer to surpassing 8,000 deaths on Friday, with another five fatalities bringing the states official death toll from the virus to 7,995.

The daily positivity rate stood at 2.27 percent as 1,062 new infections were found in 46,768 tests. A net decline of 19 patients brought the states hospital census for the disease to 486.

B.1.1.7 has researchers concerned since studies have shown it can pass more easily from person to person, and because its thought to pose a greater risk of death to those who catch it.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes the variant is thought to spread about 50 percent more easily than the first strains of COVID-19. Its also likely to increase the severity of the disease based on hospitalization and fatality rates, according to the CDC.

However, researchers do not believe the variant has an increased risk to escape antibodies  whether as part of monoclonal antibody treatments given to people hospitalized for COVID-19, or in those who have been vaccinated or who previously had COVID-19.

When it was first detected earlier this year, the variant caused Britain to go back into lockdown as it quickly became the dominant strain there, Reuters reported. In Michigan, where cases are surging, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has said the variant is partly to blame, WXYZ reported.

Connecticut officials reported last month the first known death in a resident who had the B.1.1.7 variant, but its unclear how many people have been hospitalized or have died with the strain.

Not every person whos hospitalized has a genomic sequence done, said Josh Geballe, Lamonts chief operating officer.

Whats common about almost everyone whos being hospitalized right now is that they were not vaccinated, he added. These vaccines work against these variants very effectively. So if its a topic youre concerned about, my recommendation is go get vaccinated because you will almost certainly have very robust protection against severe illness that would land you in the hospital.
New Delhi: Bypoll to the Salt Assembly seat in Almora district of Uttarakhand began on Saturday (April 17) at 7 am.

People were seen queuing up outside polling booths to exercise their franchise amid elaborate security arrangements. "Elaborate security arrangements have been made to ensure peaceful polling in the constituency," Almora District Magistrate Nitin Singh Bhadauria was quoted by news agency PTI as saying.

The polling began at 7 am and will continue till 5 pm today. The Salt Assembly seat is undergoing bypolls as it was vacated after the death of sitting BJP MLA Surendra Singh Jeena due to COVID-19 in November 2020.

95,241 voters will cast their votes in the bypoll, out of which 48,682 are male and 46,559 female.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has pitched late Surendra Singh Jeenas elder brother Mahesh Jeena from the seat while Congress has fielded Ganga Pancholi.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand recorded the sharpest single-day spike of 2,402 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, pushing the active cases tally to 12,484. The Uttarakhand government has banned the entry of outsiders into the state secretariat here in view of the surge in COVID-19 cases.

(With PTI inputs)

Live TV
When Gov. Gavin Newsom visited Union City to mark the opening of vaccine eligibility to everyone 16 and older, he applauded the 24 million doses that have already gone into Californians arms. But a second metric, he said, was just as important.

The number Im most proud of, though not yet satisfied with yet, is the 4.84 million vaccines that have gone into our most impacted communities in the state, he said Thursday, referencing the fact that California has surpassed its goal to administer 4 million doses in the lowest income areas.

It is an important metric of our success in terms of these equity goals, Newsom said. But as a state, we still have a lot of work left to do.

Whether that work includes setting a new equity benchmark is unclear. When asked whether the state has set a specific target beyond having already achieved the 4 million shots, the California Department of Public Health did not directly answer. A plan to roll out additional equity strategies may be available soon, a department spokesperson said.

The agency highlighted its ongoing work with community-based organizations to bring vaccines to those disproportionately harmed by the pandemic. Officials pointed to one sign of progress: Since the state began allocating 40% of vaccine supply to the lowest-income ZIP codes in early March, the gap between the proportion of shots going each week to the wealthiest and the poorest communities has been reduced to three percentage points from 18.

Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle

Public health experts and community advocates worry that a lack of clear targets will exacerbate existing disparities in who gets shots.

Despite the states concerted efforts to ensure equitable vaccinations, disparities remain.

About 21% of total vaccines administered have gone to people in the lowest-income areas in California, compared with 30% to people in the highest-income areas, state data shows. The areas at risk of falling behind with expanded eligibility are not defined formally by race and ethnicity but take into account income, education level, housing and health care access. Those factors collectively align closely with communities that are primarily Latino, Black, and Asian and Pacific Islander.

While opening up eligibility to everyone might appear equitable, oftentimes it works in the most inequitable ways, said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, chair of UCSFs department of epidemiology and biostatistics.

She said open eligibility puts people who lack resources  such as computers to book appointments or cars to drive to vaccination sites  at a disadvantage to find a place in line.

The patients I talk to say, I cant take time off work to find an appointment, Bibbins-Domingo said.

According to state data, 23% of available doses have been administered to Latinos, who account for 39% of the states population. About 3% have been administered to Black people, who are 6% of the population. The proportion of white people and Asians receiving vaccinations also is below their share of population, according to the data, but the gap is narrower.

While I appreciate the states focus on equity in the words, I dont think the numbers are in keeping with the true disproportional burden, said Bibbins-Domingo.

The percentage of vaccinations each week in the lowest income quartile is growing, from 15% in late February to 25% in mid-April. Meanwhile, the percentage of vaccinations each week in the highest income quartile is falling, from 33% to 28% during the same period, according to state data.

Were moving in the right direction, Kimberley Goode of Blue Shield of California, which manages vaccine distribution for the state, said Wednesday during a meeting of the state Community Vaccine Advisory Committee. Were closing the gap, but clearly were not where we need to be.

The state recently announced a $60 million boost  including $7.6 million to Bay Area counties  that health care providers can use to expand clinics, staff, and weekend and evening hours in a bid to get shots to more people in the poorest areas.

Blue Shield said it will soon start a pilot program in low-income communities with low vaccination rates to try to improve results.

Whatever happens at the state level, counties and cities, as well as the nonprofit and philanthropic sector, say they are pushing ahead on local efforts to ensure that vaccinations are provided equitably.

Equity has been a top priority at every step of the vaccine distribution process, the Alameda and Contra Costa County health departments said in a joint statement. While mass vaccine sites are an important element to quick and efficient distribution, locations in neighborhoods and communities hardest hit by the pandemic also ensure that distribution is fair and equitable.

Contra Costa County plans to open new walk-up vaccination clinics in its hardest-hit regions, including Richmond and Antioch. With a daily capacity of 500 to 700 doses, the clinics are the kind of model that public health experts say is critical to reaching residents who might not otherwise seek the shots.

Overall, communities of color represent less than one-third of the 63 million people who are now fully vaccinated in the United States, but they are twice as likely to die from COVID-19  and three times as likely to be hospitalized as white Americans, according to data collected by the Rockefeller Foundation.

Last week, the foundation began a $20 million initiative to increase vaccinations in communities of color in five pilot cities, including Oakland.

The philanthropic funding will help Roots Community Health Center activate a network of mobile medical clinics and accessible vaccine sites to reach Oaklands low-wage individuals, people of color and women, officials said.

Those with least access to reliable technology and transportation, and whose work and family obligations prevent them from accessing health services, are at serious risk of being overlooked when it comes to not only receiving lifesaving vaccines but also lifesaving information they need if they become ill with COVID, said Dr. Noha Aboelata, the centers CEO and founder.

Such outreach is crucial to promoting equity, and because the well-being of the larger community could hang in the balance as this dangerous disease continues to mutate and spread, Aboelata said.

A key element of equity efforts by cities and counties has been partnering with community organizations for outreach.

Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle

Experts worry the current pause on administering Johnson & Johnsons vaccine could affect low-income communities and mobile sites, even though the shot accounts for just 4% of Californias vaccine supply.

Because it requires only one shot  in contrast to the two-dose regimens for the two other vaccines  Johnson & Johnsons product has been more convenient for people who might not come back a second time, or who are in harder-to-reach communities, such as homeless or homebound residents.

Public health experts say a majority of people want to get vaccinated but sometimes are seen as reluctant simply because they have trouble accessing the shots.

It is our on-the-ground experience, they may be harder to reach and faced with barriers, but are lining up in droves, said Bibbins-Domingo, who helped establish UCSFs pop-up vaccination site outside Glide Memorial Church in San Franciscos Tenderloin.

A HIT Strategies survey among people of color in Oakland, backed by the Rockefeller Foundation, found that 84% of respondents wanted to get vaccinated when eligible, but 62% did not know how.

Our goal is to eliminate racial disparities by increasing access and information about the vaccine through hyper-local community mobilization efforts, said Otis Rolley, senior vice president for the foundations U.S. Equity and Economic Opportunity Initiative.

The initiative aims to get 70 million people of color vaccinated by July, which would account for about 37% of available vaccine doses.

Without having equitable distribution, we will never get out of this pandemic, said Krutika Kuppalli, vice chair of the Infectious Diseases Society of America global health committee. It is our moral, ethical and human obligation to ensure that we do all that we can to work towards having an equitable distribution of vaccines.

Aidin Vaziri and Catherine Ho are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: avaziri@sfchronicle.com, cho@sfchronicle.com
WASHINGTON, April 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a statement from Acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk on Friday's announcement of the intended nomination by President Joe Biden of former NASA astronaut Pam Melroy to serve as the agency's deputy administrator:

"Pam's experience as an astronaut, space shuttle commander, and U.S. Air Force test pilot would bring to NASA a unique perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing the agency. Pam is driven by a desire to solve the biggest issues here on Earth, throughout the solar system, and beyond. She is a proven leader with bold vision and, if confirmed by the Senate, I look forward to working with her and Sen. Nelson to ensure NASA's future success."

One of only two women to command a space shuttle, Melroy logged more than 38 days in space. All three of her missions were assembly missions to build the International Space Station. After serving more than two decades in the Air Force and as a NASA astronaut, Melroy took on a number of leadership roles, including at Lockheed Martin, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Nova Systems Pty, Australia, and as an advisor to the Australian Space Agency. She currently is an independent consultant and a member of the National Space Council's Users Advisory Group.

Melroy's agency bio is available at:

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/melroy_pamela.pdf

For information about NASA's missions, discoveries, and activities, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nasa-statement-on-nomination-of-pam-melroy-for-agency-deputy-administrator-301270844.html

SOURCE NASA
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Just over a week since his death, Prince Philip was laid to rest today (April 17) at St. Georges Chapel in Windsor, where eyes around the world fell on the royal family, which was together in rare public view after an especially turbulent period.

The funeral convened 30 members of the royal family, including Prince William and Prince Harry, who traveled from California to the U.K. earlier this week for the occasion. The family reunion came just over a month since Harry and wife Meghan Markles explosive CBS interview with Oprah Winfrey, though the Queen has done everything in her power to diffuse any awkwardness, including forgoing military uniforms for members of the royal family, thus allowing Prince Harry and her son, the scandalized Prince Andrew, to save face after stepping down from official duties.

Prince Harry and Prince William were appropriately sombre as part of the royal procession, separated by their cousin Peter Phillips, who is the dukes first grandchild, as per royal protocol. However, after the funeral (photos below), Harry could be seen chatting with sister-in-law Kate Middleton, and joined her and William to walk back to the state apartments  a hopeful sign that the trio has indeed set aside their differences for the funeral.

The service itself was full of music, all chosen specifically  and, in some cases, especially commissioned  by the duke. There was no sermon or eulogy, and no members of the family spoke during the entire service. One commentator described the event as resolutely royal, with little to no personal affectations about the royal, as he would have wished.

More than 730 members of the armed forces are taking part in the funeral proceedings, in honor of the Duke of Edinburghs military background. In the hours leading up to the service, which began at 3 p.m. local time, various branches of the armed forces honored the royal with processions on the castle grounds, while the Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery made its way along the Long Walk in Windsor earlier this afternoon.

Its important to note that Prince Philips funeral is a ceremonial royal funeral, rather than a state funeral, which is usually reserved for a monarch. As such, despite the pageantry, its a much smaller affair than one youd expect for a senior royal.

The BBC carved out five hours in its Saturday afternoon schedule for coverage of the funeral, led by presenter Huw Edwards. The corporation has been in the crosshairs over the last week after pulling regularly scheduled programming on April 9, when news of the Duke of Edinburghs passing first broke, to air blanket coverage of his death.

The coverage, which usurped the MasterChef finale and other popular primetime shows, led the BBC to set up a dedicated complaints page to deal with the deluge of disgruntled viewers. More than a staggering 109,000 complaints were made.

Nonetheless, the Beeb made no apologies for its coverage and revealed on Thursday that the dukes funeral would receive five hours of air time on flagship channel BBC One. On BBC Two, regularly scheduled programming will continue for much of the day, though the funeral will air at 8 p.m.

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FIVE women who helped feed NHS staff during the pandemic are to mark their achievement by producing a cook book.

Jocelyn Lynch, Sue Remenyi, Jane Mather, Kristina Stitt and Sarah Wilkinson, who all live in Kidmore End, helped to deliver more than 1,700 homemade meals for staff working in the intensive care unit at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading.

The initiative started in January when an anaesthetist at the hospital, who also lives in the village, appealed for help via the villages WhatsApp group.

More than 40 villagers got involved by helping with cooking, delivering and fundraising.

Now, as the scheme is coming to a close with the coronavirus crisis easing, the women are to publish the cook book as a memento of the communitys effort.

The book includes many of the meal recipes used and photographs of the volunteers involved.

The group received numerous donations from villagers, church congregations and small businesses to buy ingredients, containers, labels and cool boxes.

Mrs Lynch, a retired entrepreneur, started co-ordinating the scheme in the second week of January. Within 10 days, 25 homemade soups and casseroles had been delivered to the unit thanks to 30 cooks, eight delivery drivers and the four other women who volunteered to help.

Mrs Lynch said: The Kidmore End ladies WhatsApp group, which has about 100 people and five NHS staff, received a message from a villager and an anaesthetist who works at the hospital.

She asked if anyone could cook a few meals for the staff in ICU who were exhausted and unable to get to a canteen without taking off all their PPE, and those on night shifts when the canteen and shops were closed.

They had nothing more than a toaster, a microwave oven and a fridge freezer and were expected to bring in their own food.

From the outset it was our intention to not only support the NHS staff but also to provide a sense of purpose and achievement for many people in the village whose spirits were flagging after being faced with yet another lockdown.

Morale was low and we needed something to keep us all going during the long winter months. The response was enormous.

Mrs Remenyi, of Tokers Green Lane, took the lead by arranging a cooking rota and six teams of five cooks were put together with two teams cooking once every three weeks, producing 50 meals a week at first.

This soon grew to nine teams with 120 meals being delivered a week with additional provisions of cake, fruit and bread rolls.

Another woman, a former parish councillor, looked after the supply of food containers and stock and liaised with villagers to help buy items from Costco.

Most of the food was provided by Mrs Mather, who runs Local Veg, a delivery scheme, from her home in Horsepond Road, Gallowstree Common, with fruit and vegetables from Dudmans of Berkshire in Emmer Green and meat from Carl Woods Butchers in Sonning Common.

The butcher provided a discount and Dudmans donated its produce and Stoke Row Store also helped with products. Both the butcher and Local Veg donated 200.

Mrs Wilkinson was Mrs Mathers right-hand man and organised the ordering and distribution of the food from her home in Butlers Orchard before cooks were able to pick up the ingredients from her home or the parish room in Wood Lane.

Mrs Stitt, who owns her own catering business, K S Catering, decided what meals would be cooked and once they were prepared, they were delivered to her home in Blounts Court Road to be labelled and checked for allergens.

She said: When we first started we tried to do five different meals of eight portions  soup, casserole, pasta, beef and chicken. We wanted to cater for as many people as possible with a variety. The hospital staff then asked us to stop doing the soups as they preferred the more substantial meals so we did more pasta dishes and added a risotto.

We had to make sure they were meals that could be frozen too, although most of the staff ate them as soon as they arrived.

Volunteers picked up the meals from Mrs Stitts home and delivered them to the hospital. They were offered money by the women for their petrol but refused.

The food was received by two matrons on the ward who told Mrs Lynch the staff were very happy with the meals and some junior doctors wanted to move to the village.

Before the scheme started, Mrs Lynch obtained advice from a livery company in London which was overseeing similar operations in the city.

She said: I had a wobble on day two thinking, What have I started? I was worried about hygiene and the best way to do the whole thing.

Richard Winstanley, of the Worshipful Company of Drapers, said to find someone on the wards who was happy for this to be done and understood what we were offering and to go for it. This gave me confidence to go on.

The Drapers also donated money to the scheme along with two other livery companies, the Coopers and The Weavers.

The Coopers made their donation in memory of Graham Foulis Brown, who had been vicar of the village and Sonning Common since 1990 before he died last year.

Funds were also raised by St John the Baptist Church in Tokers Green Lane and St Michaels Church in Peppard Road, Sonning Common.

Parishioners from both churches volunteered to be cooks and delivery drivers. Fellow villager Caroline McAslan raised 400 with Moira Lawrie, Sue Hedges and Ali Angell by knitting small chicks and rabbits for Easter. Mrs Lynchs husband Robert raised 600.

All the funds were overseen by Guy Hayne, who is manager of the Nationwide branch in Market Place, Henley.

Now the operation is being wound down as the lockdown restrictions begin to ease.

Mrs Lynch said: We now have sufficient funds to meet the costs until the end of April by which time we recognise that people will want to start making plans as we all come out of lockdown.

We feel this is therefore a natural time to finish and we understand that the wards are beginning to quieten down. That said, the wards are now full of younger people who, thank heavens, survive, but they do stay for longer  around four to five weeks.

The book, which is called Kidmore End Recipe Book  Cooks for Carers, will be published by Mrs Remenyis company, ACPIL, and will cost 5.

Mrs Remenyi and Mrs Stitt put the book together with a foreword from Mr Winstanley and a message of thanks from the intensive care unit staff that was written in a card.

The women said that lifelong friends had been made from the initiative and it had helped a lot of villagers get to know each other.

They thanked everyone else who helped, saying there were too many to name individually.

Mrs Lynch said: I think all the team at HQ, the cooks and the delivery drivers, and indeed the community of Kidmore End, can all feel proud of what we have achieved.

To order a colpy of the book, email joss.lynch@gmail.com
 First public plea deal struck by Capitol rioter, who agrees to cooperate and to reported guideline range of 41 to 51 months in prison | Main | "Applying Procedural Justice in Community Supervision" 

The title of this post is the headline of this new Washington Post op-ed by Nora Demleitner. Here are excerpts:

The Virginia Parole Board scandal gets worse by the day. The board stands accused of disregarding state law and its own procedures to facilitate the parole release of a few incarcerated men.

A watchdog report alleges that the board failed to consider the required input from victim families and did not inform them and prosecutors of pending releases. As some Virginia legislators demand further investigation, we should also question the role victims and their families and prosecutors should play in parole hearings in light of their outsize influence on the outcome. Release decisions should focus on reintegration and second chances. Only rarely do victims and prosecutors have relevant knowledge on these issues. For that reason, states need to roll back their involvement in release decisions....

Currently, victims and prosecutors effectively determine the outcome of parole decisions. All states, including Virginia, provide victims with opportunities to weigh in on impending parole releases. When they do, their impact is substantial. That may not be surprising as victims rights groups and prosecutors have labeled releases over victim objections another victimization. That means in many states, victims exercise a virtual veto over releases.

But inmates eligible for parole do not have to contend only with victims. In many states, prosecutors are explicitly invited to participate in hearings, either by providing their views in writing or in person. At least one study demonstrates the powerful impact of their testimonials. Prosecutorial recommendations against parole tend to lead to denials. Surprisingly, the opposite does not hold. Apparently, some boards only credit punitive prosecutors....

Victim participation in parole hearings, strongly supported by prosecutor associations, was an outgrowth of the victims rights movement. It promised to counteract the perceived leniency of the criminal justice system and give victims a voice. But participation fails to provide victims with real support and instead privileges punitiveness, never-ending symbolic revenge. Many victims do not participate in parole hearings. Their addresses may no longer be on file, or they decided to put the past behind them. Often only those victims who insist on continued incarceration have garnered publicity and prosecutorial support. That makes release random and largely dependent on the victim. This practice reinforces a system marred by vast racial, class and power inequities.

Release review, in the form of parole and other mechanisms, should not re-litigate the conviction offense but rather assess whether the incarcerated person will be able to reintegrate successfully and desist from crime in the future. It is about second chances. Prosecutors and victims, who have an opportunity to make their case at earlier stages  charging, plea bargaining or a trial and sentencing  will know little about the imprisoned persons suitability for release, which may first come up decades after the crime.

Deaths and serious crime leave a lasting impact that cannot be undone. Yet, when an offender becomes parole-eligible, retributive concerns should no longer play a role. Only in cases in which they could speak to reintegration and recidivism, such as when the incarcerated person recently threatened them, for example, is victim or prosecutor testimony relevant. Otherwise, their input does not advance the assessment of an incarcerated persons future prospects. There are more meaningful opportunities for their participation and for society and the criminal justice system to show their support for victims. Release decisions are the wrong moment.

In its next session, Virginias legislators should take another look at parole and recalibrate the focus of release hearings. Reintegration and second chances mean rolling back the involvement of victims and prosecutors. It is time to end this ill-guided practice of the carceral state that elevates punitive impulses above rehabilitation and second chances.
HALIFAX - Invasive species experts in Atlantic Canada are warning fish enthusiasts and aquarium retailers to inspect their fish tanks after zebra mussels were found in moss balls across the region.

In this undated file photo provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture is a group of zebra mussels. Invasive species experts in Atlantic Canada are warning fish enthusiasts and aquarium retailers to check their fish tank decor after invasive zebra mussels were found in moss balls across the region. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-U.S. Department of Agriculture via AP, File

HALIFAX - Invasive species experts in Atlantic Canada are warning fish enthusiasts and aquarium retailers to inspect their fish tanks after zebra mussels were found in moss balls across the region.

Zebra mussels are tiny creatures  700,000 can exist in a square meter of space  but they cause big problems. The mussels, native to the Black and Caspian seas in southeastern Europe, cause millions of dollars of damage each year to power stations and water-treatment plants around the world.

Reports of mussels found in moss balls  which are special kinds of algae often used as decor in aquariums  have been made recently in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, according to those provinces' invasive species councils, which work with governments and industry to prevent the spread of invasive animals and plants.

Now that the mussels have been found in the Maritimes, the councils are warning that prevention is key to stopping the spread of the creatures.

"While they may look inconspicuous, zebra mussels are considered to be one of the worlds worst aquatic invasive species," the councils said in a joint news release in March.

"They multiply extremely quickly, taking over areas to the point that they damage infrastructure, clog water intake pipes, endanger native freshwater mussel species, drastically alter ecosystem functioning, and make recreational areas like beaches unusable."

Kristen Noel, project coordinator of the Nova Scotia Invasive Species Council, calls the mollusks colonial mussels because they often out-compete other species for dominance in an ecosystem.

Because they are so small a lot of people think they're negligible but they cause a lot of damage, she said in a recent interview. Zebra mussels only get about as large as a thumbnail, making them easy to miss during their early stages of growth.

They can get into pipes, they can damage boats, infrastructure, watercraft, water treatment facilities.

The councils said the freshwater mussels were found on moss balls in Seattle, Wash., and have since been discovered in shipments to British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

If zebra mussels were to establish somewhere in Nova Scotia in the wild it would be near impossible to eradicate them, Noel said.

Hannah Morrison, project manager for the Prince Edward Island Invasive Species Council, called the creatures filter feeders" because they strain loose particles from the water for food. A large enough colony of mussels can change the quality of the water, she added.

Youll see them growing on things like infrastructure, beaches, even smaller organisms, Morrison said during a recent interview. The wily creatures can also quickly multiply and can survive out of water for extended periods of time, making them adept at invading non-native environments.

Unlike mussels native to Atlantic Canada, which spread by attaching themselves to a host, zebra mussel larvae are microscopic and can float freely in the water, Kristin Elton, project coordinator for the invasive species council in New Brunswick, said in a recent interview.

That's how they got into Canadian waterways in the 1980s. According to the Fisheries Department, the mussels entered the Great Lakes through ballast water discharged from ships and have since spread through much of Eastern Canada and the U.S.

People should properly dispose of their moss balls by freezing them for 24 hours or boiling them for at least a minute before throwing them into the trash. The councils also said aquarium owners should report any suspected zebra mussels to the federal Fisheries Department.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2021.

  

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-18 03:41:18|Editor: huaxia

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MOSCOW, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said Saturday that it had detained two members of the Belarusian opposition who were plotting a military coup, including assassination, against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

U.S. and Belarusian citizen Yuri Zyankovich and Belarusian citizen Alexander Feduta met secretly with so-called "Belarusian generals" at a Moscow restaurant to discuss details of the coup scheduled on May 9, when a Victory Day parade will be held in Minsk.

With the involvement of Belarusian and Ukrainian nationalists, the radicals planned a "color revolution" with measures including assassinating Lukashenko, seizing radio and television stations, and shutting down electricity to hinder the actions of law enforcers.

Before the meeting in Moscow, Zyankovich went to the United States and Poland for consultations, according to the FSB.

After documenting the secret meeting, Russian security agencies detained the conspirators and handed them over to Belarusian counterparts. Enditem
Apr 17, 2021 NR

The passing away of Tamil film star Vivek has come as a shock to the film industry. Celebrities of the film world expressed their condolences. Vivek had made a name for himself in the Tamil film industry with his comedy roles. He has excelled in his roles with a unique style. He has won the Tamil Nadu Government Award for Best Comedian five times. In 2009, the country honored him with the Padma Shri.

A.R. Rahman, Prakash Raj and many others took to Twitter to offer their condolences. Surya, Jyothika and Karthi went to Vivek's residence in Virugambakkam, Chennai to pay their last respects.

Vivek made his film debut in 1987 with Balachander's Manathil Uruthi Vendum. He was admitted to the hospital yesterday after suffering from a heart attack. He will be deeply missed by the South Indian film industry.

Vivek Pictures
New Delhi: In view of the rising COVID-19 cases in the national capital, the Delhi government has imposed a weekend curfew that has come into force since Friday (April 16, 2021) 10 PM and will remain in place till 5 AM on Monday.

The weekend curfew in Delhi has started on a day when the national capital witnessed its biggest single-day jump in COVID-19 cases. Delhi on Friday recorded 19,486 new coronavirus infections alongside 141 deaths.

Earlier on Friday, the Delhi Police warned that people venturing out of homes without valid reasons during the weekend curfew will face arrest and prosecution for violating anti-COVID regulations.

"If anyone is found moving without a valid emergency or movement pass for essential services or goods, they would be stopped and cases will be registered against them and they may also face arrests," PTI news agency quoted a senior Delhi police officer as saying.

Here's how to apply for e-Pass for Delhi weekend curfew:

1. To apply for an ePass for the Delhi weekend curfew, you will have to visit the Delhi government's official website at https://delhi.gov.in/.

2. On the home page, you will see a message flashing -- "Click Here to Apply for ePass for Night Curfew from 10:00 PM to 05:00 AM & Weekend Curfew."

3. On clicking the link, it will redirect you to a new page where you will be asked to select the language you want to continue. Select English or Hindi as per your convenience.

4. In the next step, you will see a question - "What do you need help with?" to which, you will have to select "e-Pass to travel during Night Curfew (10PM-5AM) or Weekend Curfew.

5. You will see a new page where you will have to provide all the details including contact number, name of the applicant, district, address of Office or place of engagement, type of service and e-pass type. You will also have to submit your ID proof (maximum file size: 4MB).

Here's what will remain open in Delhi on weekend curfew:

1. Only essential services to operate in Delhi during weekend curfew.

2. Curfew passes will be provided for marriages and other permitted activities or gatherings.

3. One weekly market will be allowed per day per zone.

Here's what will remain closed in Delhi on weekend curfew:

1. Malls, gyms, spas and auditoriums will be closed.

2. Cinemas halls to operate at 30% capacity only throughout the week.

3. People will not be allowed to dine-in restaurants, only home deliveries will be permitted.

Delhi has so far recorded a total of 8,03,623 COVID-19 infections, of which, 11,793 have succumbed to the virus while 61,005 are active cases.

ALSO READ | Delhi weekend curfew: DMRC changes frequency of metro trains, check details here
Now, the website has been redesigned to more broadly promote not only plasma, but also testing, vaccines and other treatments like monoclonal antibodies, which are synthesized in a lab and thought to be a more potent version of plasma. Its clinical research page also includes more negative studies about plasma.

Nevertheless, the Fight Is In Us is still running Facebook ads, paid for by the federal government, telling Covid-19 survivors that Theres a hero inside you and Keep up the fight. The ads urge them to donate their plasma, even though most blood banks have stopped collecting it.

Two of plasmas early boosters, Mr. Lebovits and Ms. Berrent, have also turned their attention to monoclonal antibodies. As he had done with plasma last spring, Mr. Lebovits helped increase acceptance of monoclonals in the Orthodox Jewish community, setting up an informational hotline, running ads in Orthodox newspapers, and creating rapid testing sites that doubled as infusion centers. Coordinating with federal officials, Mr. Lebovits has since shared his strategies with leaders in the Hispanic community in El Paso and San Diego.

And Ms. Berrent has been working with a division of the insurer UnitedHealth to match the right patients  people with underlying health conditions or who are over 65  to that treatment.

Im a believer in plasma for a lot of substantive reasons, but if word came back tomorrow that jelly beans worked better, wed be promoting jelly beans, she said. We are here to save lives.
Obama recently said that we need to "re-imagine policing." Without getting into whatever he meant by that, re-imagining policing would be a waste of time, effort, and money, which is always a major part of any Democrat "solution." Why? Because what we need, instead, is to re-imagine behavior, especially in certain cultures.

The left constantly preaches victimhood. If a person falls into a leftist victim class, it's always somebody else's fault. Whatever happened to personal responsibility? Not only are young being told this repeatedly, but many, especially in the inner cities, are taught to fear, disrespect, or even hate the police.

Radical leftists, given all the airtime they want by their compliant media, and even some Democrat members of Congress, are constantly harping about defunding the police or even abolishing the police. This has become cultural in the inner cities, and it is contagious, as a culture often is. Those leftists who foment this problem with police have blood on their hands. Until this is stopped and corrected  re-imagining behavior, if you will  we will continue to have police shootings.

Police have an incredibly dangerous job that, sadly, is becoming less and less respected  perhaps not so by most Americans, but by the radical leftists and their in-your-face press. A politician suggested this week that police should not even have weapons when pulling over a car.

Pulling over a car is one of the most dangerous things, along with domestic disputes, that police face. They may not know that a person in the car is wanted for murder or other felonies and is prepared to kill the police to avoid arrest. This mentality is part of the behavioral problems that the left deliberately foments, and that is worsened by schools in large Democrat cities that leave kids unable to get good jobs.

I know of one officer who started a "routine" traffic stop. As he got out of his vehicle, the driver leaned out and shot him five times with a .45. Luckily, he survived.

The need for re-imagining behavior can be proven by the one common factor in all police shootings, regardless of race or culture: the people shot disobeyed a police officer's command and resisted arrest. But for that factor, all the left's shining examples of poor victims would be alive today, or at least they wouldn't have died from a police bullet. Unfortunately, because it does not help the left's agenda of fostering victimhood and hatred of police, this factor is overlooked and never discussed in public.

Civics studies should return to the classroom, stressing respect for police and the law. Provide the kids with real-life examples of what happens when people disobey the police and actively resist arrest. Provide analogies to show why this is important.

If someone can disrespect our laws when dealing with police, why not simply be free to disregard other laws? Speed limits? Merely suggestions. Having a license plate, obeying traffic lights? Voluntary. Stealing someone else's property during a riot or even an ordinary afternoon? Why not? They had insurance anyway, and I wanted it. Buying and carrying a stolen firearm without a license? Everybody does it where I live, and I may need it to protect me from the police. The possible infractions get more and more serious as time goes on.

We should ask the students, and ask ourselves as well, what kind of society we want to have. One with laws that protect us and our property, or one where chaos reigns? Seattle and Portland or Boise and Austin? Venezuela or Switzerland?

The left has put us on a dangerous path, and we need to stop it. Wake up, America, and let's start imagining and doing things in a positive way. I suspect that America has had enough of doom-and-gloom indoctrination and would welcome some positive ideas.

Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko expressed confidence that in order to fight the new coronavirus, normal nutrition is needed. In addition, the head of state advised compatriots to work harder.

Lukashenko made the relevant statement during a clean-up in the agro-town of Alexandria, Mogilev region. Work harder, eat normally. I repeat all the time: we need to eat our local food, grown on our land, not the foreign products, he expressed confidence, BelTA informs.
Published:

12 April 2021





Why did you decide to study Mechanical Engineering at Queen Mary College (as it was known in 1968)?

I was good at mathematics and my uncle, who was an engineer, and my father, who was a watchmaker and thus dealt with very small engineering masterpieces, also helped sway my decision. I secured my place at Queen Mary College (QMC) via clearing and looking back I realise how fortunate I was. Initially when I found out I didnt get the grades for my top choices my heart dropped, but when QMC offered me a place, it lifted back up again.

At the time of applying for university I had to list six choices and because QMC was one of them, I was asked to go for an interview before my grades were confirmed. After attending my interviews, QMC stood out as one of the friendliest and it almost felt like a family. I was the first person in my immediate family to go to university and I had never been away from home before, so this first impression really comforted me.

What did you enjoy most about studying Mechanical Engineering? Do any modules or memories of your university days stand out?

I really enjoyed the mathematics component of the degree having come from a pure and applied mathematics background and by the end of my final year exams, I was one of the top performing students in the mathematics module. Although dynamics was the bane of my life, I ironically went on to pursue a career in this industry so the knowledge I acquired at QMC provided me with a solid foundation. Our engineering workshop at Marshgate lane, which is now located underneath the Olympic park, is quite vivid in my memory. I had the opportunity to gain practical, hands-on experience using tools such as drills and milling and welding machines. It was only when I joined the navy that I saw better facilities than the ones students had access to in this workshop!

I loved being part of the pedal car society; we participated in a 24-hour endurance pedal car race hosted by the University of Bristol and the car that I helped design and build in 1971 was such a tank that it exhausted most of the pedallers, but it did last the 24 hours! The next year, we reduced its weight by about 50% and we ranked 16 out of 100 which was quite something! In my final year I became team manager and created many fond memories which have stayed with me to this day. I was also part of the engineering society and I got involved on the peripheral when some of the guys were trying to capture mascots from other universities. During my time, it was customary to pinch a mascot from another university and then youd ransom it back and the ransom would go to charity!

What was it like to study during the 60s/70s? And how might your experience differ from the experience of current Queen Mary students?

Over the last 30 years, computing and telecommunications have radically changed the way we all live, work and communicate. When I was at QMC, I had a slide-rule and a paper notepad. I still have my slide rule with Queen Mary College and the Mile End address in Magic Marker on the case and this has become a curiosity which I occasionally show my grandchildren (7 at the latest count)! Calculators didnt come along until a few years after I graduated. For my first engineering job at Rolls Royce, I remember being taken around and shown the design office with people clicking away at mechanical adding machines  this was what we had to contend with before electronics came along!

Computer time in the late 60s was precious, programs were typed onto punched cards (one line per card!) and were submitted in batches overnight, and one typo or miscoded line and the card compiler failed, and it had to be edited and re-submitted again. Technology has certainly revolutionised university life and the way we learn nowadays, and this has become even more apparent throughout the COVID pandemic.

I loved being part of the pedal car society; we participated in a 24-hour endurance pedal car race hosted by the University of Bristol and the car that I helped design and build in 1971 was such a tank that it exhausted most of the pedallers, but it did last the 24 hours! The next year, we reduced its weight by about 50% and we ranked 16 out of 100 which was quite something!

What kind of jobs were available when you graduated in 1972? And please can you chart your career path up until the present day?

My degree has been a mark of achievement and status throughout my career. I graduated at a time when jobs were scarce like now, however, my degree was the key that unlocked my first engineering job in 1973 at Rolls-Royce, and it provided the knowledge and some of the skills needed to do it. I spent three years with Rolls-Royce working with industrial and marine turbines including a version of the gas turbines which powered the Concorde, and which powered navy ships. I then joined the Royal Navy as an Engineer Officer through their Direct Graduate Entry (DGE) scheme in 1976, and again without my degree, this route wouldnt have been possible. I was offered a four-year commission and I joined as a Lieutenant because the three years I'd spent with Rolls-Royce was counted as part of my seniority. In my lifetime Ive been able to visit over 60 countries and dependencies across the world and 33 of them were whilst I was in the Navy!

When I joined in the September, I was sent to Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC Dartmouth) and my induction was a huge shock to the system as I wasnt allowed out for the first four weeks, whereas prior to this I had been working for myself, I had a car, and Id been living in a flat in London. My days became regimented, I was up at six oclock every morning doing exercises, but I had almost zero expenses because the food, accommodation and the uniform was all provided. It was a tremendous opportunity and by the December I was in the Caribbean on a ship that was featured in a James Bond film! We officers under training spent some time in Trinidad and were flown back via Washington DC. Then I went to the Royal Naval Engineering College at Manadon in Plymouth for further training. As part of this training, I gained experience on most of the machinery that I would encounter at sea, and I then spent several months at sea gaining my "Steam Tickets". I was then appointed as an Assistant Engineer to a Frigate which deployed to the Far East. As part of this eight-month deployment we sailed through the Mediterranean and were the first Royal Naval Flotilla to transit the newly re-opened Suez Canal. We called in at the Seychelles, then on to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, and Singapore to name a few. My wife flew out to meet me in Singapore as we had married just before we left. I extended my commission to 8 years, then later the Falklands War changed the course of my career and I left in 1984.

When I left the Navy, I joined a German company in a technical sales role, and I did several excellent training courses on Dynamic balancing and Vibration Analysis in Germany which is where I finally got to grips with dynamics. After 5 years, I then moved to a consultancy which was a spin-off from Manchester University where I spent 15 years helping companies optimize their maintenance. I set up my own consultancy in 2004 and since 2015 work part-time training and mentoring in Vibration Monitoring and Analysis and support Standardisation.

Ive represented the UK on International Standards through the British Standards Institute (BSI) since 1986 and I now chair BSI's Committee on Mechanical vibration, shock and condition monitoring and Im a vice-president and fellow of the British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing (BINDT). I still teach vibration monitoring and I've had a book published by the BINDT with an ISBN number  which is my claim to fame! On the side Ive also been researching my family tree on and off for twenty years but COVID has given me the time to really focus on it. Ive now got a database of well over 2,500 people who are either related to me directly or related by marriage!

My degree has been a mark of achievement and status throughout my career. I spent three years with Rolls-Royce working with industrial and marine turbines including a version of the gas turbines which powered the Concorde, and which powered navy ships. I then joined the Royal Navy as an Engineer Officer.

You are now semi-retired, having had an extensive career of 48 years, what have been some of your career highlights?

In the Navy I experienced some real highs and some real lows. One time I remember we were acting as Fleet Contingency ship (FCS) which the navy keep at short notice for sea, and which act as stand-by ships to any ships in an active role. One Christmas we were FCS and many of us were on leave, we got a flash recall and we had to set sail on the 29th of December, however, this was one of the stormiest Decembers I've seen  we had huge waves crashing over the ship and then late that night suddenly the lights went out. We'd sustained slight damage in the bow area which allowed seawater through the deck into the switchboard for our twin 1 Megawatt Diesel Generators. Our roving watchkeeper fortunately wasn't in the switchboard when it occurred, but was close by. He said: "I was just about to go into the switchboard room and there was a bang and a bright green flash, which just missed me, then it went dark!" (The green flash was the copper bus bars vaporising.) This meant that we temporarily lost power to some of the ships radar, communications and some lighting. We rigged emergency power cables through the ship to bypass the damaged switchboard, and we limped back to Plymouth in time for New Year. Its not like you can call the AA when youre out at sea! We had our own Engineers and Technicians plus several Dockyard Teams working round the clock over the New Year to rebuild our switchboard.

Other highlights from my time at Rolls-Royce involve being able to visit a lot of gas turbine generation sites including, conventional and nuclear power stations. I have had privileged access to what goes on "behind the scenes".

My career since has taken me to lots of different locations and I've had the privilege of meeting lots of interesting people. I've worked on Industrial, Marine and Aero Plant in Power Generation & Distribution, Food, Airports, Hospitals, Banks, Automobile, Military, Communications, Pharmaceutical and Chemical, Onshore and Offshore Oil and Gas and many more.

What advice would you give to a prospective student considering studying Mechanical Engineering at Queen Mary?

Engineering in general sustains the way of life that we have, and this means that engineers will constantly be in demand. If you choose to study engineering, you are investing in your future as you will have a career for life. It is an industry that is constantly evolving and there are lots of interesting careers that you can pursue after your studies. Dont focus on what your eventual salary will be - I have never worked just for money, I've always tried to work at things that I enjoy doing.

In terms of Mechanical Engineering more specifically, my degree has meant that I have ended up in locations that resemble those found in a James Bond movie. I have visited places like CERN, and a power station in Scotland that's  of a mile underneath a mountain with giant hydroelectric turbines - both seem like being in a villains lair!

I am a strong believer in education and providing opportunity. For a student, if they dont have the technology, then they are totally isolated, therefore, helping to fund a computer via the Queen Mary Emergency Covid-19 Fund seemed like a good idea.

Thank you so much for your generosity in donating to the Queen Mary Emergency Covid-19 Fund. What prompted you to make a donation to this fund?

I received an email about the fund just after my 70th birthday and this set off some reminiscences. Ive never forgotten my time at QMC and the opportunities QMC gave me, so I'm happy to help in a small way now by passing back some of my good fortune. I remember what it was like being at university with very little money and I wouldnt have been able to go to university had I not been given a local authority grant and support from my parents.

I am also a strong believer in education and providing opportunity. My mother was a teacher and our family had the ethos that you should try and get as far as you can in life and take advantage of any opportunities that come your way. For a student, if they dont have the technology, then they are totally isolated, therefore, helping to fund a computer seemed like a good idea.

One of the things that weve been working on at BINDT is apprenticeships, from technician to engineer and degree level and we are trying to attract a variety of applicants, not just school leavers. I believe that you can upskill at any stage of your life, it is never too late to learn.

This profile was conducted by Alumni Engagement Officer, Nicole Brownfield. If you would like to get in touch with Simon or engage him in your work, please contact Nicole at n.brownfield@qmul.ac.uk.
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A police orderly attached to Shoban Tikari, Chairman of Takum local government council of Taraba, was on Saturday killed by suspected bandits who opened fire on the chairmans vehicle in Dogo-Gawa village in Takum LGA.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the deceased policeman was from the 67 Mobile Police Squadron, located in the area.

Mr Tikari, who confirmed the attack, said the militia, in their numbers, launched an attack on his motorcade while on his way to Takum, claiming the life of the deceased in the process.

The chairman, who declined giving the name of the deceased, called on the Federal government to deploy more security personnel to the area.

Takum and Wukari councils, in southern Taraba have in recent times witnessed a surge of bandit attacks leading to death of civilians and security personnel. (NAN)
WASHINGTON  U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4, on Friday dismissed President Joe Bidens announcement of sanctions against Russia as an insufficient response to the scope SolarWinds cyber attack and other Russian aggressions.

He urged the president to launch a cyber offensive against Russia to deter further interference and draw red lines about what will happen if Russia invades Ukraine or if Russia opposition leader Alexei Nalvany is killed.

I am broadly concerned that Joe Biden has not indicated a strong hand to [Russian President] Vladimir Putin, Himes, the number two Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said in an interview Friday.

The rebuke positions Himes as one of the strongest critics of the Biden administrations Russia and cyber policy, at least among Democrats. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Thursday Bidens sanctions were a forceful U.S. response, although he added sanctions alone will not be enough to deter Russias misbehavior and suggested strengthening U.S. cyber-security defenses.

On Thursday, Biden publicly blamed Russias foreign intelligence service, the SVR, for the SolarWinds attack in December that allows hackers to access the systems of 18,000 government and private entities.

In response to the cyber attack and Russian interference in the 2020 election, Biden announced sanctions against 32 people and entities accused of trying to influence the election and eight other people and entities associated with the countrys actions in Crimea. He also expelled 10 diplomats and barred U.S. financial institutions from purchasing Russian debt.

The United States is not looking to kick off a cycle of escalation and conflict with Russia. We want a stable, predictable relationship," Biden said. "If Russia continues to interfere with our democracy, I'm prepared to take further actions to respond.

Himes argued that President Barack Obama tried sanctions against Russia in 2016 and that had little effect on continuing cyber hacks. He called Bidens orders deja vu and said Biden might need to risk escalating conflict to have an effect.

Extract some pain, Himes urged Biden. Penetrate and shut down a bunch of government networks, erase a bunch of data, create some chaos in some oligarchs Swiss bank accounts  there is a long list of things we could do that would serve the dual purpose of creating some pain and demonstrating our capabilities which are immense.

Himes said he pressed the administration to take this step both publicly and behind closed doors in a Thursday House hearing with the director of the National Security Agency and other top intelligence officials.

The top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, also said Bidens actions were not enough.

While these sanctions are a necessary step, I am concerned they will ultimately fail to establish a credible deterrent. He urged action by the Biden administration against a Russian gas pipeline.

On Friday, Russia retaliated by sanctioning eight senior administration officials and expelling some diplomats.

Matthew Schmidt, associate professor of National Security at the University of New Haven, said Russia will eventually find its way around the sanctions Biden has imposed, although Bidens move on Russian debt-financing may have a longer term painful impact.

Schmidt also said Himes expectations of a what a targeted narrow cyber attack by the U.S. against Russia would accomplish were unrealistic.

As far as SolarWinds goes, I think one of the major differences that people dont think about is the Russian attacks are designed to attack the widespread economy, Schmidt. Thats different from what we do. If we attack Russia, and I am sure that we are engaging in offensive cyber operations as we speak, but when we do that, we are not trying to attack the Russian private sector in the way they are trying to attack us.

emilie.munson@hearstdc.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson
Windsor, April 17 : Princes William and Harry left St George's Chapel together and were seen chatting after the funeral service of Prince Philip on Saturday.

Prince Harry, who is also known as the Duke of Sussex, appeared to thank the Archbishop of Canterbury before speaking with Kate, the duchess of Cambridge and Prince William's wife, dpa news agency reported.

He was joined on his other side by Prince William and the two brothers carried on walking together while chatting.

It appeared their conversation was relaxed, with Prince William maskless as they walked and talked outside while Prince Harry kept his mask on.

While the duo have faced difficulties in their relationship over the last few months, however, they appeared to be friendly to each other at the service.

The queen led the royal family from the chapel, followed by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.

She had a brief conversation with the Dean of Windsor outside the chapel before being driven away.
Two shop staff who assaulted a man they believed was attempting to steal items from their workplace have been given a suspended sentence.

Dean Bheemal (33) and Victor Carvalho (23) both punched the man multiple times after CCTV appeared to show the victim spitting in the shop after they confronted him in April 2020.

A defence barrister acknowledged the reaction of the two accused had been unjustifiable but outlined this incident had occurred at the beginning of the first Covid lockdown when people were concerned, fearful and less was known of how it was transmitted.

Bheemal, of Adair Terrace, St Joseph Parade, and Carvalho, of Blessington Street, both in Dublin 7, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting the man causing him harm at Spar, Mountjoy Street, on April 26, 2020.

The two men had gathered a total of 3,000 which they brought to court.

Judge Martin Nolan said there had been a confrontation between the parties and while it appeared on the video there had been a certain amount of provocation the accused men's reaction was grossly disproportionate.

He said the assault, during which the victim was hit many times, had been very primitive involving punching only and no use of weapons such as knives or bottles.

He noted the accused men had pleaded guilty, co-operated with the investigation and brought 1,500 each to court. He said it seemed unlikely they would come before the court again.

I think it would be unjust to imprison them at this point, said Judge Nolan, and imposed a two year suspended sentence on both men. He ordered that the 3,000 be paid over to the victim and that a further 1,000 be gathered by each of the men within the next 18 months.

Garda Bryan O'Sullivan told Antonia Boyle BL, prosecuting, that gardai attended at the scene after being called by the shop and met the two accused men, who were members of staff.

Gardai spoke with Bheemal who told them there had been a confrontation with a man a few minutes prior and that the man had taken his phone before leaving. Bheemal invited gardai to view the CCTV and they observed Bheemal and Carvalho striking the man multiple times.

Gardai identified the man in the CCTV and shortly after he attended at Mountjoy garda station to say he had mistakenly picked up the phone from the floor and that he had been assaulted.

The man was visibly distressed and had blood on his face. He advised gardai he was going to hospital and later received a number of stitches over his eye.

He told gardai he had been in the shop that day and put a bar of chocolate in his pocket and a pizza under his arm. He said walked towards the cashier to pay for the items before trying to put the items back but staff would not let him. He said they called him Irish trash and a junkie.

He said the staff members punched him to the eyes and head and he was in fear for his life before managing to leave the shop. He later realised he had picked up a phone that was not his and attended at the station to return it.

Gardai returned to the shop and obtained the CCTV. Bheemal had gone home but Carvalho was still there. He told gardai that his manager had told him the man appeared to be stealing and he had challenged the man, who may have been barred from the shop, but he told Carvalho to fuck off.

Carvalho said he wanted the man out of the shop and an altercation ensued. He said the man spat on the floor and told him I could infect you. He acknowledged he had punched the man.

He said his phone fell out of his pocket and he saw the man picking up the phone.

Bheemal later attended at a garda station and outlined his version of events. He said the man had been observed on CCTV grabbing a bar of chocolate so he and his colleague confronted him.

He acknowledged he had given the man a few punches and said he had been concerned for his safety.

The garda agreed with John Moher BL, defending Bheeval, that his client had suggested that the gardai watched the CCTV and had not realised how unjustified his reaction had been.

The garda agreed with Michael Hourican BL, defending Carvelho, that it appears on the CCTV that something in the way of spitting had been done.

Mr Moher said Bheeval's reaction had been outrageous and wholly unjustified but submitted it had been a challenging situation and he had snapped. He said there had been a failure at first to appreciate his actions were are unjustified as they were.

He handed up a letter of apology from his client in which Bheeval explained he was a diabetic and as someone with an underlying condition the incident had been a red rag to a bull.

He said Bheevel was a charitable, hardworking and helpful man who was promoted to manager a number of years ago. He handed in numerous testimonials outlining he had delivered groceries to elderly and infirm people, been a role model to younger people and carried out charity work.

He said the reaction had been unjustifiable reaction but a reaction nonetheless that was not wholly without context. He submitted it was out of character.

Mr Hourican said the reaction of Carvelho was grossly disproportionate he was not advancing an excuse but submitted there was a context. He said the CCTV appeared to be consistent with the spitting described by his client.

He said this incident had occurred at the beginning of the first Covid lockdown when people were concerned and fearful and less was known of how it was transmitted.

Counsel handed in a letter of apology and submitted this was out of character for his hardworking client.
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A Coast Guard Station Grand Isle 45-foot Response Boat-medium boat crew member searches for survivors near the capsized SeaCor Power. The Seacor Power, an oil industry vessel, flipped over in a microburst of dangerous wind and high seas, Tuesday, April 13, 2021. (U.S. Coast Guard via AP)

Coast Guard: 2 More Capsize Victims Recovered Off Louisiana

PORT FOURCHON, La.Divers searching the site of a capsized lift boat off Louisiana recovered two more unresponsive crewmembers late Friday, the Coast Guard said after another day of frantic waiting by family members worried for the fate of those who went missing earlier this week.

Petty Officer Jonathan Lally, a Coast Guard spokesman, declined to elaborate on the latest two found and referred questions from The Associated Press to a local coroner.

A Coast Guard statement said commercial divers on the capsized Seacor Power lift boat found the crewmembers. But the Coast Guard said it was not releasing the names of any of those rescued, recovered, or still missing out of respect for the privacy of their families.

Our deepest sympathy goes out to the family, friends, and loved ones of everyone involved in this tragic incident, said Capt. Will Watson, commander of Coast Guard Sector New Orleans. We are using every asset available to us to continue our search efforts.

Crew members of the Coast Guard Cutter Glenn Harris pull a person from the water Tuesday, April 13, 2021, after a 175-foot commercial lift boat capsized 8 miles south of Grand Isle, La. (U.S. Coast Guard via AP)

Rescuers in the air and the sea have been searching for the 19 workers who were aboard the vessel, which is designed to support offshore oil rigs, when it overturned Tuesday in rough weather about 8 miles south of the Louisiana coast. Nine remain missing.

Right now, were hoping for a miracle, said Steven Walcott, brother of missing worker Gregory Walcott.

Six people were rescued Tuesday shortly after the vessel capsized, and one body was recovered from the water Wednesday. A second body was found Thursday night, according to a Coast Guard news release.

The boat has three legs designed to extend to the sea floor and raise the ship so it can serve as a platform for nearby rigs.

Dawn Saddler, sister of missing crewmember Gregory Walcott, talks to reporters as she leaves a briefing for family members by Coast Guard and NTSB officials in Port Fouchon, La., Friday, April 16, 2021. (Gerald Herbert/AP)

The hope of loved ones is that those still missing have found air pockets to survive inside the ship. But authorities havent reported any contact with anyone inside the ship since Tuesday. On Thursday, searchers knocked on the ships hull without response.

After a lift boat capsized in the Gulf of Mexico during a storm on Tuesday, people pause after leaving a briefing for family members by Coast Guard and NTSB officials in Port Fouchon, La., on Friday, April 16, 2021. (Gerald Herbert/AP)

Meanwhile, feelings of shock and worry were turning to frustration and anger for families of the missing.

It just keeps going on and on, said Frank Boeckl, whose nephew, Larry Warren, was among the missing workers. They need more divers in that water, and every family feels this way. Its not just me.

Time is of the essence because any air pockets will eventually become depleted of oxygen, said Mauritius Bell, diving safety officer at the California Academy of Sciences: At some point, its not survivable.

Divers had gone into the water Friday but came back up at mid-morning as the weather became too dangerous to continue, the Coast Guard said in a news release. They then resumed diving Friday afternoon, and the Coast Guard said they would continue searching through the evening, weather permitting.

Steven Walcott said the dive teams should have been working around the clock from the start. It was more complicated than it should have been, said Walcott, who like his brother has worked on lift boats for more than 20 years.

But he said he was trying to remain optimistic, knowing his brother would do what he needed to survive, but it was getting harder with each passing day. Were just keeping hope, he said.

Two of the missing workers had been communicating with rescuers by two-way radio Tuesday after the ungainly platform ship flipped over in hurricane-force winds that day. They were spotted clinging to the overturned hull but returned to seek shelter inside after a third man fell into the water and was lost.

Lafourche Parish Coroner John King identified the second lift boat worker found dead as 69-year-old Ernest Williams of Arnaudville, according to The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate. The other person found dead was David Ledet, a 63-year-old captain from Thibodaux.

Relatives of the missing have gathered at Port Fourchon, a sprawling base for much of the offshore oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico. The port, busy with cranes, cargo, and heavy equipment, is where workers from across Louisiana and beyond load up on a fleet of helicopters and ships that take them to the rigs for long stretches of work.

Its nerve-wracking for relatives waiting for news, said Chett Chiasson, executive director of the Lafourche Parish port, where families of the workers gathered Friday for a briefing on rescue efforts.

Obviously theres some frustration there, not knowing about their loved one and not hearing from their loved one, he said. At the same time, he said: Theres still some hope there.

By Stacey Plaisance, Kevin Mcgill, and Jeff Martin
French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he intends to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, RIA Novosti reports.

"In the near future, the president of the republic will hold talks with President Putin," the Elysee Palace informed.

According to RIA Novosti, possible date and other details are not specified.
Deep Yellow Limited ( ) (OTCQX:DYLLF) CEO John Borsoff tells Proactive the uranium exploration company has advanced towards a bankable feasibility stage with its Namibia-based uranium project. Borsoff says the group was 'very encouraged' with results from its pre-feasibility study, including a 12-year mine life, an NPV of $207M, and an operating cost of sub $30/pound. The group is now working on converting the remaining 50% of its project into reserves, increasing the mine life to 20 years.
The second and third months of the lunar year are the time for gourmet cooks to order banh trung kien, or ants egg cakes, a Cao Bang specialty.

In addition to banh ngai (wormwood cake) and banh san (cassava cake), merchants in the mountainous areas of Cao Bang and Bac Kan are also offering ants egg cakes online. The products are selling like hotcakes as they are the specialty of Cao Bang, available only at this time of the year.

Thuy, a petty merchant in Hoang Mai district in Hanoi, who sells ants egg cake on her Facebook page, said she can sell 300 cakes a day. The cakes are made by her parents and siblings in Cao Bang and carried to Hanoi for sale.

The cakes are very delicious as they have the typical taste of Cao Bang, she said, adding that though the demand is high, the cakes are not available year round.

The special cake, made of ants eggs, is the product of Tay ethnic minority people in Cao Bang and Bac Kan. They can only be made from early April to the end of May, or the second and third months of the lunar year. This is the time of black forest ants reproduction.

The cakes are made of glutinous rice, filled with ants eggs and wrapped with young leaves of fig trees. The cakes are made only with black ant eggs because they are nutritious, fatty and tasty.

The recipe is simple. Ants eggs, white and as big as a grain of rice, are taken from forests, cleaned, and fried with dry onion.

Some people use minced pork, crushed roasted peanuts and kieu (Allium chinese) leaves, mix with ants eggs for stuffing. But our cakes dont have pork or other materials. They only have ants eggs and kieu leaves, which is the traditional Cao Bang flavor, Thuy said.

The cake crust is made of glutinous rice flour. After preparation, the cakes are steamed for 45-50 minutes.

If cakes have two layers of leaves, people peel the outer layer. If cakes only have one layer, they can eat the leaves as well. They need to be preserved in refrigerators and steamed for several minutes before eating.

This cake can be eaten hot or cold depending on individual taste.

Thuy sells five cakes at VND60,000. The buyers are mostly city residents who seek food with an unusual taste.

Thao Nguyen
He transformed himself into a muscled Hollywood hunk for his role in the upcoming Marvel film Eternals.

And Kumail Nanjiani showed he's keeping up with his extreme fitness on Friday when he was spotted leaving his regular gym in Los Angeles while revealing his well-muscled arms.

The 43-year-old comedian and actor is likely trying to keep up his current workout routines following the announcement late last month that he had been cast in an upcoming Star Wars miniseries focused on Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Tickets to the gun show: Kumail Nanjiani, 43, showed off his astounding biceps in a blue tank top while leaving his regular gym in Los Angeles on Friday

Kumail looked like a bodybuilder in his sporty workout clothes, which included a dark blue tank top to show off his bulging biceps and veiny forearms.

He also wore a loose-fitting pair of black sweatpants and gray and red Adidas trainers.

The Big Sick star sported a shaggy black quarantine hairdo and wore a blue surgical-style mask to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

No fuss: He also wore a loose-fitting pair of black sweatpants and gray and red Adidas trainers

Film role requirement: He has developed a ripped physique in order to star in the Marvel film Eternals, about a group of aliens living among humans and protecting them

He has had to be particularly vigilant with masking and social distancing throughout the ongoing pandemic as his wife Emily V. Gordon is immunocompromised due to having Still's disease, a rare autoinflammatory disease.

The couple cowrote the 2017 dramedy The Big Sick, which dramatized the early months of their relationships and Gordon's illness.

Kumail starred as a version of himself, while Emily was portrayed by Zoe Kazan.

While they were still a new couple, she became seriously ill and had to be put into a medically induced coma before doctors were able to properly diagnose her and treat the illness.

The lovebirds married only three months after she recovered.

Safety first: He was careful to wear a mask, and he's been vigilant throughout the pandemic as his screenwriter wife is immunocompromised due to having Still's disease; seen in 2017

True to life: They dramatized the early months of their relationship, when she was put into a medically induced coma due to the disease, with the 2017 film The Big Sick, with Kumail starring opposite Zoe Kazan as his future wife

Following his 2020 Netflix comedy The Lovebirds, Kumail will return to the big screen in early November to appear in the Marvel superhero film Eternals, which also stars Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Kit Harington, Gemma Chan, Brian Tyree Henry and Salma Hayek, among others.

The film follows a group of immortal aliens living in disguise among humans on Earth who have secretly protected them throughout the ages, though they're forced to return to the job when another alien species threatens humanity.

The film is directed by Chloe Zhao, best known for her deliberately paced art film The Rider and her critical hit Nomadland, which is nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress for Frances McDormand.

Although plenty of fans have been wowed by Kumail's intense physical transformation for his role in Eternals, others have critiqued Marvel Studios and its parent company Disney for requiring their male actors to achieve Olympian looks that can't be achieved without intense training sessions and various supplements.

Mixed reviews: Some fans have ripped Marvel Studios and parent company Disney for requiring Kumail and other male stars to achieve unnatural levels of musculature for their superhero films

Although Eternals is already in post-production, he may be keeping up the workout routine to star in his next Disney project, the Star War Obi-Wan Kenobi miniseries.

The limited show will be released on the company's streamer, Disney+, and features an all-star cast that brings back Ewan McGregor as the wise Jedi knight, along with Hayden Christensen, who will presumably be playing some version of Darth Vader after playing Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels.

Joel Edgerton will also reprise his role as Luke Skywalker's Uncle Owen, while newcomers include The Queen's Gambit star Moses Ingram, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O'Shea Jackson Jr. and Benny Safdie, best known as half of the directing team responsible for Good Time and Uncut Gems.

So far, Kumail's role hasn't been revealed.
They had a warrant out for his arrest for a felonious assault

He was fleeing the police when he opened fire on them and they returned

Teague was shot dead by police in Ohio last month

It has now been revealed that his father, Andrew Teague, was killed last month

It's unclear what Saadiq was planning to do with the weapon

He also had rounds of ammunition and a gas mask in his bag

Cops who were performing a patrol spotted the tip of the rifle

He was charging his phone and had his AK-47 rifle poking out of his bag

Saadiq Teague, 18, was arrested in Times Square subway station on Friday

The father of an 18-year-old man arrested in Times Square with an AK-47 on Friday was shot dead by police in a shootout in Ohio last month.

Saadiq Teague, 18, was charged with several counts of criminal possession of a weapon, and one count of criminal use of drug paraphernalia after being found with an unloaded semi-automatic gun, ammunition and a gas mask.

He was on the subway platform at Times Square station and was charging his phone but the tip of his rifle was poking out of his bag.

Saadiq Teague, 18, was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon second degree, two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in third degree; one count for the assault rifle and one for ammunition, and no one count of criminal use of drug paraphernalia

Saadiq's father Andrew Teague, 43, was shot dead by police last month in Ohio

Cops who happened to be patrolling the station noticed and arrested him.

It's unclear what he planned to do with the weapon.

Teague's father Andrew, 43, was shot dead by Ohio cops last month after opening fire on them during a chase.

They had a warrant out for his arrest for felonious assault and were pursuing him in his car.

He drove away for them then stopped on a highway and opened fire.

The cops returned fire and killed him.

It remains unclear when Saadiq bought the gun, or if he did so legally.

He remains in custody in New York City and the FBI is investigating.

Andrew Teague led police on a chase in Columbus, Ohio, then opened fire on officers when he came to a stop. There was a warrant out for his arrest for felony assault

New York City Police Officers transport Saadiq Teague, 18, from the Columbus Circle Transit Bureau Police Station After being found with an unloaded semi-automatic gun, ammunition and a gas mask outside a Times Square subway station, in New York City
The UPS workers delivering vaccines to local clinics know exactly where the vials sit inside their trucks. They know to always carry the boxes, which are marked with a special tracking sticker, with two hands, and to place them gently on surfaces. They also know to lock their bulkhead door before they start driving.

Over 800 miles away at the two U.S. command centers in Louisville, Kentucky, UPS workers in headsets monitor every shipment on big screen monitors, using the embedded trackers in the stickers to locate them.

I think most of our drivers, our sorters, our unloaders, they know that theyre a key piece to getting these vaccines to clinics and hospitals so they can get to arms, said Dan Gagnon, vice president of global health care strategy and marketing for UPS. Everyones fairly motivated to get these things done, hell or high water.

And this is just one leg of the trip. The fragile, temperature-sensitive vaccine that a Danbury-area health care worker injects into a residents arm has a long journey to make.

From Memphis and Louisville to Connecticut and beyond

It starts when local providers place their weekly dosage order with the Department of Public Health. The department analyzes the requests alongside their federal allotment, and places their own order with the federal government, according to Maureen Fitzgerald, who runs COVID Communications for the CT Department of Public Health.

After a maze of requests and orders, the dose travels from the manufacturer to the UPS and FedEx carriers to designated local drop-off sites to health directors and other officials to clinic refrigerators and freezers and, finally, to the needle.

At FedEx, vaccines bound for Connecticut are picked up from Pfizer and McKesson facilities and flown in FedEx purple tail aircraft from Memphis to local airports like Bradley International Airport, according to an email from Savannah Haeger, a senior communications specialist for the company.

The average delivery time for vaccine moved by FedEx is less than 20 hours, and since December, their couriers have delivered more than 100 million doses in the U.S., Haeger writes. UPS has delivered nearly 140 million doses to 51 countries, according to Gagnon.

Both UPS and FedEx closely monitor packages bound for Connecticut and other states through technology embedded in the boxes.

We really wanted to make sure that we had eyes on these vaccines every second of the day, said Gagnon. Were always concerned about security.

To date, these security concerns center more on counterfeit vaccines than they do on vaccine thieves. Gagnon said overall their deliveries are welcomed by communities.

Most people, they celebrate the arrival of our drivers, Gagnon said. When they were receiving their first deliveries, many of the hospitals were making an event of it, as well they should.

A careful transfer of vaccine power

Once vaccines make it to the towns, they are put in the care of local officials and providers.

Each vaccine brand must be kept at a specific temperature, and the vials arrive in manufacturer packaging that includes a temperature gauge, providers said. After checking this gauge, local providers main focus becomes keeping the temperature controlled as the vaccine is moved around.

Most Danbury-area vaccine transport and safety protocol follow the same patterns, with the health director or a few staff transporting vaccine from drop-off locations to the clinics, storing the vials in locked rooms with refrigerators and freezers that are outfitted with temperature gauges, and continuously checking on the vaccine.

In Brookfield, vaccines are delivered and stored at town facilities and then delivered directly to the clinic at St. Josephs Catholic Academy by the towns health director and a staff member, according to First Selectman Steve Dunn. The health director loads the boxes into his car and drives them over. Theyre then put directly into the temperature-controlled refrigerator and freezer in a locked room at the clinic.

Any temperature changes fluctuations result in an immediate notification for officials.

These refrigerators cost $5,000, so they should be pretty good, Dunn said.

At the Connecticut Institute for Communities, known as CIFC, in Danbury, clinic freezers and refrigerators have locks on them that only a limited number of people have keys to open, said Katie Curran, chief operating officer and general counsel for CIFC.

CIFC opened their second clinic on Main Street Tuesday, where theyre offering Moderna.

The CIFC drop-off location for vaccine is close enough to their two vaccine clinics that Curran said they can just walk the vaccine over.

New Milford requires staff to physically check the vaccine at least twice throughout the day, according to Health Director Lisa Morrissey.

Twice a day someone just goes and checks the data logger, Morrissey said. No one wants to rely 100 percent on technology.

At RVNAhealth, the state requires the use of a digital monitor on the outside of the fridge and a probe that stays internal, monitoring the temperature every couple of minutes, according to April Rodriguez, the community health nurse manager at the Ridgefield-based organization

For us at RVNA, we have actual digital tags hooked up to the refrigerator to monitor any temperature excursions, said Rodriguez.

The vaccines are stored in a locked lab room at the RVNA clinic, and an alarm notifies Rodriguez if the temperature goes too low or too high, the nurse said.

So far, no one has reported any major mishaps with vaccine temperatures or deliveries.

And now that clinics have been receiving vaccines for several months, providers feel theyve mastered the transfer process.

I think, so far, weve really gotten it figured out, said Curran.
Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge has called on universities to bring all their local students back on campus straight away as parents, students and academics grow increasingly frustrated by some universities dragging their feet on the return to face-to-face learning.

Parents are worried about their childrens mental health and the National Union of Students has accused universities of cutting staff and costs under the guise of COVID-19 safety.

While some universities have most of their students back on campus, this is not uniform and other universities wont return to normal until August or will pursue a new normal.

Universities should absolutely have students back on campus, within the COVID-safe rules of their relevant state or territory, Mr Tudge said.

If we can have 50,000 people at a football match surely we can have COVID-safe face-to-face learning on campus. Our universities have to focus more on giving Australian students the best possible learning experience.
Burma Bomb Blasts Injure at Least Three Myanmar Regime Troops in Yangon

The regimes troop arrested young people on Saturday morning after conducting extensive searches in residential wards in Yangon. / CJ

At least three Myanmar regime troops were seriously wounded in a series of explosions in Yangon, the commercial capital, on Saturday.

Three homemade bombs exploded at around 2:00 p.m. at a General Administration Department office in Yangons Yankin Township, according to police sources.

The sources confirmed to The Irrawaddy that three junta troops were wounded seriously in the bomb explosion at the office, where troops established a base in March.

Of the three injured, one is in critical condition, the police sources said.

The bombs were thrown from the outside. We heard very loud blasts from the explosion. Later, ambulances took the injured people away, a resident of Yankin Township said.

Many military trucks arrived after the bombs exploded. No civilians dare to go outside, he said.

The Irrawaddy could not confirm whether the office was damaged due to the bomb blasts.

Another explosion occurred near the gate of a former military parade ground once used for Armed Forces Day on U Wisara Road in Yangon at around 4:15 p.m.

Witnesses said residents saw the smoke and heard a loud blast. Later, regime troops blocked the street and conducted security checks.

No one was injured in the explosion, a witness said.

A series of blasts also reportedly occurred on Friday night in Yangons Mayangone, Kamayut, Sanchaung and Yakin townships, according to residents.

Following the blasts, on Saturday morning, junta forces conducted extensive searches in residential wards in Sanchaung, Ahlone, Kamayut, and Mayangone townships. Vehicle searches were also conducted in some parts of Yangon. Some young people were beaten and arrested during the searches, according to witnesses.

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BBC TV presenter Kirsten O'Brien says the past year has been the most financially challenging of her life.

O'Brien, 49, who hosted the popular CBBC art programme SMart for a decade, says her top priority is balancing the books after a 'precarious year' for freelancers such as herself in the TV and arts industry.

She spoke to Donna Ferguson.

'Precarious': Kirsten and her husband are both freelancers

What did your parents teach you about money?

To seize the moment. My mother was one of those people who would go shopping, see a dress she really liked, and not buy it. Then she'd get home and wish she had. Eventually, she would go back to buy it, only to find it had sold out in her size. She died when I was 26. So I very much have a 'get the blooming dress' approach to life.

You can save frugally but pop your clogs early. I'm not saying that I go absolutely wild and spend a fortune, but I think life's too short and it could all end next week, so let's have a lovely time while we can.

Was money tight when you were growing up?

No. We weren't rolling in money, but I believe I was lucky. My dad worked as a civil engineer in the oil industry which meant we went all around the world  to Algeria when I was two, then Kuwait, Nigeria and Singapore.

Sometimes we lived in quite primitive conditions. For example, in Nigeria we rarely had electricity and the water came from the river and had tiny red worms in it. But in Singapore I went to a brilliant international school and got to experience the high life.

I was 12 when we came home to Middlesbrough. At that point, my mother got a job as a doctor's receptionist and I started at the local state school and had a classic middle-class upbringing.

Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?

Yes. Now is actually the most difficult financial time in my life. My husband Mark and I both work in the arts  he is a TV director. There is always a level of uncertainty around our incomes being both freelancers, but even when there have been gaps, work has always come in after a month or so.

In the last year, that hasn't happened. We haven't particularly worked through the pandemic and now is the biggest struggle we've ever had to cope with.

Before, we'd just muddle along, go out for a meal and everything would still get paid. But recently, we've had to look at how we can make our money stretch.

We're managing to pay our bills but it takes a lot more thought now  and budgeting. We're moving money from here to there to cover different payments.

Luxury: Kirsten has been a member of the Soho House in London (pictured) since 2000

How have you coped?

For the first time ever, as a married couple, we've had to scrutinise our incomings and outgoings to understand how our finances work, and how much we need to make between us every month.

Although it's been hard, the positive side is that we've got rid of some frivolous costs. For example, we've switched electricity supplier and reduced the amount we pay for our internet.

When you've got costs that potentially you can't meet, you question why you have them. Luckily, my husband got work recently as the series director of Channel Four programme The Great Pottery Throw Down.

Have you ever been paid silly money?

Yes, during a summer season at Butlin's in the mid-1990s. I was starting out as a presenter on CBBC and I was in a show in Bognor, Minehead or Skegness every Saturday from May to October. I got paid 750 a time which was exceptionally good money back then  the equivalent of around 1,500 today.

Sometimes I went on stage with puppet Otis The Aardvark, other times all I had to do was present. Often we'd get to stay over in Butlin's accommodation, so we could have a night out in the bar, too.

I couldn't believe how much fun I could have and get paid for it, while still doing my CBBC job in the week which covered all my bills. It was just brilliant and my wages went straight into my savings account. I saved enough from that one season to put down a 20,000 deposit on my first property, an ex-council flat in Camden, North London.

Biggest money mistake: Buying a Jeep on hire purchase four years ago

What is the most expensive thing you have ever bought for fun?

My Soho House membership in London. I've been a member since 2000 and it costs me 600 a year. It's a fun place to meet people and it brings me joy every time I go. It feels like a real luxury.

What is your biggest money mistake?

Buying a Jeep on hire purchase four years ago, shortly before I became pregnant with twins. We had to extract ourselves from the loan agreement and given we'd only had it five months we got stung. I will never buy another car on hire purchase again.

The best money decision you have made?

Buying that one-bedroom flat in Camden for 125,000 in 1997. I was so lucky to be able to save up for a deposit while renting in London in my early-20s. By fluke I bought at absolutely the right time  the bottom of the market. I renovated it and turned it into a two-bedroom flat. I've still got it and rent it out. It's probably worth about 500,000.

Do you save into a pension?

Yes, I do. I had a panicky feeling when I turned 30 and decided to start a pension. I don't throw a fortune at it but I do contribute every month. I don't invest in the stock market outside of my pension. Right now, I haven't got the head space for that.

Do you own any property?

Yes, my flat in Camden and my home  a four-bedroom semi-detached house in a village in Berkshire. We bought it in 2014 but I'd rather not say how much we paid for it. I don't think it's gone up massively in value.

What is the one luxury you treat yourself to?

Fancy coffee because I have to get up really early in the morning to work. At the moment, I wake at 5.50am so as to present the news on BBC Berkshire. So, proper posh coffee beans are my one luxury. I'll typically spend 6 to 8 on a bag of beans about once a fortnight.

What is your number one financial priority?

Balancing the books because it has felt like such a precarious year. We're not suffering compared to many other families and I wouldn't want to suggest that we are. But with three kids  Fox, nine, and three-year-old twins, Indigo and Kit  to look after, I've become more focused on the financial aspect of my life and understanding better what we're spending our money on as a family.
New Delhi, April 17 : Auto-rickshaw drivers in the national capital struggled to find passengers during the weekend curfew, with only a few of them being lucky enough to find passengers at bus and railway stations as Delhiites adhered to the curfew.

The roads in the national capital were mostly deserted and auto drivers were finding it tough to get passengers, as there was only relaxation for people involved in essential services and those going to railway stations or airports.

Rajendra Soni, General Secretary of the Delhi Auto Union said, "Since the resurgence of Covid-19, the situation of auto operators is not good as there is no work, even as the Delhi government has imposed a two-day weekend curfew. We are cooperating with the government." The auto union alleged that the Delhi government did not take auto operators into confidence and the police is troubling those who are plying without passengers going to airports or railway stations.

Malls, gyms, spas etc are closed due to Covid restrictions. Only exemptions for the weekend curfew are marriages and the government has issued a curfew pass for the same.

Auto driver Vinod said, "Due to weekend curfew, neither is there work nor passengers but I have to pay the auto rent." Another auto driver Durgesh alleged that the police is unnecessarily harassing them. Also, no hotels are open so the problem of eating meals is also there.

The auto drivers are only getting passengers at railway stations and bus stands.

The weekend curfew came into effect from Friday night in the national capital, except for essential services. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday morning repeatedly urged the people of Delhi to strictly follow the curfew.

"Due to Covid-19, there is curfew in Delhi on Saturday and Sunday. Please follow it. We all have to defeat the pandemic together," Kejriwal tweeted.

With the exponential spike in Covid-19 cases in the national capital, the state government on Thursday announced imposition of weekend curfew from Friday 10 p.m. to Monday 5 a.m. till April 30.

This is the first time in 2021 that the national capital will witness curfew on weekends and it is likely to be extended if Covid cases continue to surge.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has already made it clear that only essential services are exempted from the Covid restrictions. Interstate transport would continue uninterrupted.

There would be no restrictions on movement of people for medical purposes and home delivery food services would be allowed.

There is a strict curb on dining out in restaurants.

A total of 19,484 fresh Covid-19 cases were reported in Delhi on Friday night, which was the highest daily Covid tally in the capital.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
A Manitoba-backed COVID-19 vaccine is showing great promise, although its unlikely to receive federal approval before early 2022, its developer says.

A Manitoba-backed COVID-19 vaccine is showing great promise, although its unlikely to receive federal approval before early 2022, its developer says.

Providence Therapeutics chief executive officer Brad Sorenson said enrolment in the Phase 1 trial of its messenger RNA vaccine is complete, and the preliminary data from a blinded study show its immune response to be equal or better to that of similar Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech products.

"If what were seeing now is confirmed... we will have a best-in-class vaccine," he said in an interview this week.

Sorenson said Providences product is producing "substantially lower" numbers of adverse events than other mRNA vaccines, and indications are it can be stored in refrigerators, rather than freezers.

He said the initial test data will be made public soon.

In February, Premier Brian Pallister announced Manitoba had signed a deal with the Calgary-based company for two million doses of the yet-to-be-approved vaccine.

The formal contract has yet to be signed, but the Progressive Conservative government has committed to making a non-refundable payment of $7.2 million to Providence.

A provincial spokeswoman said no money will flow to Providence until a formal contract is finalized.

Sorenson said he expects the deal to be completed next week. The province has promised to release full contract details once the agreement is finalized.

Providence plans to initiate its Phase 2 trial in June, and, if all goes well, begin the third and final trial in September. The company will be seeking approval for its vaccine in January or February at the latest, its boss said.

Thats several months later than the company originally planned, but Health Canada denied its bid to combine its Phase 2 and 3 trials.

Providence Therapeutics boasts the first fully made-in-Canada COVID vaccine to begin Phase 1 human trials.

While product approval will not occur until the initial rounds of pandemic vaccinations in Canada are completed, Sorenson is unconcerned.

If it turns out Manitoba doesnt need the doses, he is confident there will be other buyers, particularly abroad.

Theres also considerable evidence COVID-19, in one form or another, will be with the world for some time, and opportunity for the province to recoup its investment.

Federal Procurement Minister Anita Anand said Canada is in the midst of negotiating new vaccine contracts to secure supplies for booster shots if needed next year.

Dr. Anand Kumar, a University of Manitoba professor of medicine, said there is "a very high probability" Manitobans will require some form of novel coronavirus immunization for years to come, due to variants and virus resistance to original vaccines.

"So, just as we have to give annual flu shots, my strong suspicion is that were going to have to give annual or biennial COVID shots," he said.

Kumar is a strong supporter of made-in-Canada supplies of vaccines. So far during the pandemic, the country has been at the mercy of international suppliers. That has led to delays in getting jabs in arms.

"I think without a shadow of a doubt Canada needs to have its own vaccine production capability, and the more the better," Kumar said.

When Pallister announced the deal with Providence, the Manitoba government said it would make a 20 per cent down payment of the value of the contract ($7.2 million) and pay an additional 40 per cent once the vaccine was approved by Health Canada. The remainder of the money would be paid upon delivery of the vaccine.

Sorenson said he did not want to sign the formal contract with Manitoba until the company had a clearer idea of the vaccines effectiveness and expected approval date.

"I wanted to have clarity that this was going to be an extremely successful vaccine. We have that now," he said. "So I am extraordinarily comfortable doing this deal and that the province of Manitoba is going to look like geniuses."

While Manitoba has stepped up to the plate, federal funding will be critical to ensuring Canada reaps most of the benefits of the domestically produced vaccine, Sorenson said. Thats not materialized yet.

"We have a world-class vaccine, and I am getting very serious inquires from outside of Canada and my nightmare scenario is Canada doesnt step up and I am forced to sign the deals for other countries to advance the program, and then Canada is stuck in a bad spot while Im exporting vaccines," Sorenson wrote in a follow-up email.

"Ideally, Canada steps up and orders doses for 2022, provides a deposit, gets the first doses produced... and I sell the balance of 2022 capacity outside of Canada."

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
How to Ask a Girl Out

Trying to Get Her to Go Out With You? Read This First

The AskMen editorial team thoroughly researches & reviews the best gear, services and staples for life. AskMen may get paid if you click a link in this article and buy a product or service.

Where to Find Dates Online:

Approaching a woman to ask her out on a date is nerve-wracking for the most steely-nerved among us. There's the potential for embarrassment and rejection, and that's enough to put most of us off the prospect altogether. Unfortunately, like trips to the dentist, it's something that has to be done. Putting yourself out there is a risk, but there's no other way to find that sweet, sweet reward.

And as your father was probably fond of saying: Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If you want to go on dates, you are going to have to run the gauntlet at some point in your life.

You can't guarantee success, of course, but there are certain strategies that you can employ to maximize your chances of getting a "yes" when you ask someone out on a date. Whether you're face-to-face or over text/on an app, it's all about the approach (and standing out in a cute, not creepy, way). Below, you'll find a few simple steps to give you the best possible chance of landing a date with the girl of your dreams.

1. Do Some Basic Due Diligence to See If She's Even Available

When asking someone out, this is the first box you must check.

If the woman you're hoping to go on a date with isn't even single, you're going to be shot down pretty quickly, and that's a waste of time for everyone (although, not bad practice!). It's not always possible to find out ahead of time whether or not she's single, especially if she's a stranger in a bar, but if it's someone you know through friends or someone who is obviously single since you matched on an app, that's a clear sign she's interested in dating.

That being said, she might not necessarily be interested in dating you. Yes, like mentioned above, matching on an app at least means she likes you at first glance  but feel it out. If the conversation goes stale fast, it might not be a perfect match. Approach with caution, be the class act gentleman you are, and just see where things go.

2. Gauge Her Level of Interest

It's possible to get some idea of how well things will go for you before you've so much as spoken a word. It's best not to go in cold when asking a girl out, so spend some time gauging her level of interest ahead of time by paying attention to her body language and nonverbal cues.

Have you spoken to her before and, if so, how well did the interaction go? What was your level of rapport like? Does she make sustained eye contact with you and touch you in a playful way? These can all be indications that she's interested in you on some level, so try to pay attention to these details before you make your approach.

3. Make Sure the Scene Is Conducive to Success

When you decide to approach the girl you've picked, the setting needs to be conducive to success. It can be embarrassing, for example, to ask a woman out if her friends or family are around and within earshot, and likewise if she's busy doing daily activities like commuting or shopping for groceries. It's likely she won't want to be disturbed in this case, and you're more likely to get an annoyed "no thanks" when you ask in inconvenient settings.

The ideal setting is going to depend somewhat on how well you already know this girl and where you tend to run into her most often (through a circle of friends versus occasionally bumping into her at your local bar, let's say). Try to be conscious of asking her out in an environment where romantic advances are likely to be welcome.

If you make her feel comfortable and be respectful, she's much more likely to want to spend more time with you.

4. Look Your Best

This is a basic step, but one that men sometimes slip up on. You will drastically increase your odds of success in-person if you have a fresh haircut, clipped fingernails and smelling good. Consider your outfit, too; there's no need to be wearing a three piece suit, but make sure you are tidily dressed.

Despite your initial thoughts, how you look is not merely a superficial consideration. In fact, looking your best gives an indication of your level of self-respect and attention to detail, and these are important cues that women will be picking up on. Again, you don't need to be dressed like the nines and looking like a male model at all times.

The point here? Be fresh, clean and radiating self-respect.

5. Approach With Confidence

We know it's not always easy, but if you're approaching a girl with fiddling hands and eyes darting nervously around the place, you're not going to have as much luck asking her out as if you stroll up confidently and with open body language and strong posture. If you struggle in this area, the "fake it 'til you make it" maxim applies.

Asking someone out is usually at least a little bit awkward on both sides, so it doesn't need to be a perfectly seamless interaction, but try to have a level of good-faith humor if the conversation gets a bit bumpy. Basically, try to talk to women with the same ease with which you'd speak to your colleagues or friends, but with a more flirty tone.

And if you're asking them out on an app or over text, well, use that to your advantage. Pace yourself, don't use words you're unfamiliar with and don't beat around the bush. Sure, instead of watching their facial reactions, you're forced to wait for a response that may never come at all, but that's just a part of the dating game.

You can only do so much, and if one person isn't right for you, it's on to the next one.

6. Have a Basic Script Ready

There's no need to have every single line you're going to say polished and rehearsed, but it's a good idea to have a basic idea of what your approach will be ahead of time. Make a mental note of how you're going to open, what you'll say in the interim and how you are going to phrase asking her out.

Be straightforward and polite with your intentions clear. There's no point darting around the fact that you're looking for a date, so just use straightforward language rather than fumbling over incomplete sentences that don't make sense. That way, there's less room for confusion, and more of a chance you'll receive a positive response.

7. Have a Follow-Up Idea to Your Initial Plan

Let's say she says "yes" when you ask her out on a date. Congratulations! That's the ideal result, but now, you're going to need to think about what to say next. If you're left stuttering once she asks what you'll do on the actual date, it'll be clear that you've given it no consideration.

RELATED: Everything You Need to Know About Going on a First Date

Dinner or drinks at a nice bar are a pretty safe fallback option, but avoid saying something like, "I don't know, what do you want to do?" It makes you look flaky, indecisive and puts the work on her to think of an idea even though you're the one who has requested the date.

Propose an activity and set a time, and let the rest play out naturally. Sure, you can interact before the first date, but expect a lot of that initial conversation to take place on the date itself.

8. Be Chill About Rejection

Fingers crossed it doesn't get to this point, but rejection is a normal (and healthy) part of asking women out on dates. If she's not into the idea of going out with you for whatever reason, you're going to have to take it on the chin.

Don't pester her or repeatedly ask like a three-year-old who's been told he can't have a friend over or play with his toys. Flash her a smile, say something polite and low-key, and walk away. Try not to take rejection too personally, either  it happens to everyone, and there's a good chance it's not about you. The more relaxed you are about dealing with it, the less it seems like a terrible, self-esteem-crushing fate when it does occur.

None of these steps are rocket science, but they will help the interaction to go as smoothly as possible and maximize your chances of landing a date. Remember, it's a numbers game, so don't give up after your first rejection.

She's out there, it might just take some time to find her.

BONUS: Try Online Dating

Not all dates stem from asking someone out in person, and while a lot of the above tips apply to online dating too, they don't get you much closer to asking someone out online. Here are the top AskMen picks for dating sites you should try:

Zoosk

AskMen Recommends: You may not have heard of it before, but Zoosk is sort of the little engine that could of online dating. With the highest ratings of any site in AskMen's online dating reviews, Zoosk is our top pick if you're looking for the best site out there. Well-designed, easy to use and packed with singles, it's a solid option no matter what you're looking for.

Check out Zoosk

Match

AskMen Recommends: If you're the type of person who gravitates towards name brands, consider Match. The well-known dating site has been around since the '90s, making it perhaps the most successful dating site of all time. And far from being stuck in the past, Match has evolved with the times, offering you a great, modern online dating experience.

Check out Match

Coffee Meets Bagel

AskMen Recommends: Coffee Meets Bagel is very reward-driven, giving you a limited number of matches each day, based first on the mutual friends you share on Facebook with the number of matches increasing each consecutive day you log on. The concept of matching people based on mutual friends isn't new, but because of how the dating platform is designed, it simply works well  as in, without being creepy or overly forward. And with the limited pool you're offered, it means you're not throwing around right swipes on whim. Quality over quantity is their game, and it's one that's fun to play.

Check out Coffee Meets Bagel

EliteSingles

AskMen Recommends: If you're looking for someone serious to get serious with, EliteSingles might be the option for you. The site bills itself as being for ambitious and successful people, so if you're, say, a doctor or a lawyer looking for someone like you to settle down with, this might be just what the doctor (heh) ordered.

Check out EliteSingles

Bumble

AskMen Recommends: Bumble helps to take the stress off gents as it's the ladies who have to make the first move. That saves you the trouble of crafting the perfect opening message that could ultimately get ignored. Bumble has also built formidable user base with over 50 million registered users, with estimates that nearly half are female. In other words?The app is your dating oyster.

Check out Bumble

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Mauldin is considering forming an economic development corporation aimed at attracting businesses to the city.

The publicly funded entity would be separate from the city but operated by a board appointed by, and accountable to, City Council. Forming the corporation was a key topic of discussion at an economic development workshop April 16 at City Hall.

Currently, City Council and staff  primarily Community Development Director Van Broad and City Manager Brandon Madden  are responsible for engaging prospective businesses to discuss their needs and gauge interest. The visibility of a public body can present a challenge during negotiations, when companies prefer confidentiality.

Forming a separate corporation would give the city more flexibility and discretion when courting businesses, Broad said during the workshop.

The move would also bolster Mauldin's investment in future growth, hiring a full-time staff to identify and develop opportunities, as well as cater to prospective and existing businesses. Depending on what council decides, funding for the corporation could be anywhere between $200,000 and $500,000 annually.

Councilman Taft Matney said during the meeting that a staff focused on economic development is becoming necessary as Mauldin increasingly becomes a hub for development, and as economic competition heats up across the Upstate.

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"We have a lot of opportunities ahead of us," Matney said. "I genuinely believe we need a dedicated arm to foster those."

Madden told council it had multiple options for funding the potential corporation, from an annual allotment from the city's general fund to dedicating a percentage of its business license revenue.

During the meeting, staff and council members pointed to the success of the Greer Development Corporation and the Greenville Area Development Corporation  which has created $55 billion in economic impact in the 20 years since its inception, according to a commissioned study  as examples of such groups driving growth.

The exact form the governing board would take is unclear, but Madden suggested he and two council members would likely be a part of it, along with other appointees put in place by council.
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An excerpt from The Big Lie: How One Doctors Medical Fraud Launched Todays Deadly Anti-Vax Movement.

Inside the Royal Free Hospital in London, scores of reporters, physicians, and hangers-on packed the Atrium conference room, waiting for a press briefing to begin for five medical specialists who would deliver what would prove to be a historicand dangerousannouncement.

It was February 1998. Journalists reviewed the embargoed press release they had received revealing the news: A Royal Free study may have discovered a link between autism in children and a gastrointestinal disorder. A sentence earth end noted that symptoms of the disorder sometimes emerged after a child had received the triple vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubellaknown as the MMRand suggested that more research into a possible link should be conducted.

The five scientists entered the room. They had already agreed to sidestep any broad pronouncements about vaccines, given that the study, involving just twelve children, established no causal relationship between the vaccine, the disorder, and autism. In fact, the link bordered on little more than anecdotebarely enough to justify further research. The researchers decided to discuss only the gastrointestinal condition and autism.

Then things took a jarring turn. A journalist asked the dean of Royal Free, Arie Zuckerman, whether parents should continue immunizing their children. Zuckerman threw the question down the table to Andrew Wakefield, the tall, boyishly handsome lead researcher. Zuckerman waited to hear Wakefield sing the praises of vaccination.

Instead, Wakefield blindsided his colleagues. I believe there are sufficient anxieties for a case to be made to administer the three vaccines separately, he intoned. I do not think that the long-term safety trials of MMR are sufficient for giving the three vaccines together.

Wakefields words floored Zuckerman. Not only had he broken their agreement, but he was giving recommendations unsupported by their study or by any other research. No data, no hypothesisnothing suggested that the MMR should be abandoned for separate inoculations. Wakefield, a gastroenterologist with no expertise in immunizations, was making a recommendation that none of them had even considered.

Worse, separate vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella did not exist in any Western country. By slamming the MMR in favor of individual vaccines made by no one, Wakefield could be interpreted as suggesting that parents cease inoculating their children entirely for three deadly diseases.

These unsupported musings could not go unchallenged, Zuckerman decided. He interrupted his colleagues reckless assertions and passed the question to Simon Murch, a pediatric gastroenterologist whounlike Wakefieldworked with children.

I have full confidence in the MMR vaccine, Murch said. If the study caused a scare and led to cutbacks in immunizations, he added, measles cases would surely go up.

This wasnt enough. Zuckerman jumped to his feet and pounded a lectern. Measles is the eighth most common cause of death in the world today, and 250 million doses of MMR have been given in Western Europe, he said sharply. The MMR campaign has been shown to be safe and effective.

It was too late. In the weeks and months that followed, Wakefields comments, amplified by the media megaphone, set off a global panic about the purported dangers of the MMR vaccine. Wakefield would stoke this fear for years, delivering lectures and speaking to any reporters who would listen to his theories.

Epidemiologists, virologists, and other infectious disease specialists argued against this unqualified doctor as they produced comprehensive research refuting his claims. They had little success. For a public already deeply suspicious of drug companies and their relationships with doctors and government officials, Wakefields assertion of a connection between the MMR and autism validated misguided beliefs and transformed a once-unknown researcher into a superstar. He was portrayed as a hero fighting for children while staving off dark forces in the pharmaceutical industry and the medical establishment.

Years passed before the ugly truth emerged: It was all a fraud. Wakefield had engaged in transgressions of audacious proportion by fudging and misreporting data while lying to colleagues not only about his own conflicts of interest, but about the families whose children figured in his research. A British medical council found his actions irresponsible and dishonest and stripped him of his license. Wakefields career crashed, his reputation in tatters.

Why did he do it? Popular belief presumes Wakefields motivation as a thirst for riches and fame, but the truth is more complex. Wakefield was a man obsessed, driven by a pet theory, and furious that colleagues and the government refused to confer the acclaim he believed his work deserved. Combined with a character that relentlessly adopted viewpoints that contradicted the evidence, it made him that most dangerous of deceivers: a man with unyielding faith in a falsehood. At bottom, however, was a basic fact that had little to do with malfeasance or psychological eccentricity: Wakefield, quite simply, was an utterly incompetent researcher.

Yet medical researchers who suspected something improper in Wakefields study largely remained silent, committing their faith to a review system not designed to catch fraud, and frightened about leveling the most serious charge possible against a scientist and then being proved wrong. Meanwhile, Wakefield kept himself in the limelight by spewing nonsense to journalists hungry for scoops and politicians eager for headlines.

The account of Wakefields deceptions is no mere history lesson about a sordid tale from the archives of research. Despite his exposure as a fraud, Wakefield transformed himself into a champion of truth for the gullible. Leaving England in disgrace, he moved to the United States, where he is lauded by those who oppose vaccines, known as anti-vaxxers, as one of the few health experts who can be trusted. Through the support of his acolytes, Wakefield became wealthy through speaking engagements, mingled with celebrities associated with the anti-vax movement, including the former supermodel Elle Macpherson, who is now his girlfriend. He also caught the attention of Donald Trump, who repeated Wakefields claim that vaccines cause autism at a 2015 debate, and he continued to do so throughout his campaign. Just weeks before the 2016 election, Wakefield was granted an audience with Trump, whose vaccines-cause-autism rhetoric became an established part of his repertoire of lies.

Most notably, Wakefield is loudly condemning COVID-19 vaccines, declaring that the disease is not serious and that fighting it has only caused harm. On April 16, Wakefield shared his theories at the Health and Freedom conference in Oklahoma City. As of this writing, nearly 600,000 Americans have died from COVID-19.

This is why its vital to understand the full extent of Andrew Wakefields fraud. His story is not some remnant of the past; he continues to spread lies, to people who dont know his history, who dont understand what he proved and what he didnt, who dont recognize that he could well be the most dangerous charlatan to emerge in modern medicine.

Kurt Eichenwald is a journalist and author of The Big Lie: How One Doctors Medical Fraud Launched Todays Deadly Anti-Vax Movement.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
Nicolas King has typed notes into his phone for the past seven years documenting scary behavior by a frequent visitor to his block and the numerous 911 calls he and his neighbors made in response.

There were the loud screaming matches peppered with threats hed hear from 112 Eureka St., the top apartment in the building next door. The times the visitor threw rocks, eggs and yogurt containers at the building. The time he put a lit flare through the mail slot. The time he smashed in a door with a can of paint. The time he scaled scaffolding on Kings building in the middle of the night.

Kings notes from March 5 are the most shocking of all.

He burned down 112. Our house is on fire.

Lucian Ruiz, 33, sits in County Jail on $400,000 bail, ordered at a preliminary hearing Wednesday to stand trial on a host of charges including arson, assaulting two police officers, threatening two police officers and possessing an incendiary device. He is due back in court April 28.

Meanwhile, five households in the Castro  including three families with kids, one of them a newborn  were burned out of their homes, displaced during a pandemic and their belongings ruined.

And the saddest part of all, say neighbors and a city supervisor, is city officials knew from the scores of 911 calls and other reports over nearly a decade that Ruiz made life hellish for the residents of the flats on Eureka Street. He clearly needed help. And, the neighbors and supervisor say, he clearly didnt get it.

Nick Otto / Special to The Chronicle

On March 5, a neighbor called 911  yet again  after hearing screaming from 112 Eureka. Ruiz regularly visited a tenant in that unit, and they often fought loudly, neighbors said.

Police officers arrived at 11:32 a.m. and, according to a statement from the department, made contact with an adult male armed with a knife who fled from the officers. As they searched for him, they noticed smoke coming from a building on the block and summoned the Fire Department.

What happened over the course of the next few hours is murky, but police with shields, rifles and dogs evacuated numerous homes in the area to search for the suspect. Police said they took Ruiz into custody at 2:23 p.m.

King took a photo near the start of the commotion that shows a man he says he recognized as Ruiz standing on the back balcony of 112 Eureka. In the photo, the man on the balcony is naked and has a yellow tourniquet tied to his upper left arm as black smoke billows above his head.

Rachel Marshall, a spokesperson for the district attorney, said police had not booked Ruiz for any crimes since 2017. But numerous neighbors said police responded to their block for complaints about Ruiz again and again. It appears this is one more example of police knowing about a disturbed person, but not having the tools to address the problem until a predictable catastrophe strikes.

Ruiz is being represented by Deputy Public Defender Chris Fox-Lent, who said Ruiz was experiencing a schizophrenic episode the morning of March 5. Fox-Lent said there was no crisis occurring when police arrived, but that police insisted on entering 112 Eureka, and one officer drew his gun and pointed it at Ruiz.

This predictably escalated the situation and is a clear example of problems caused when police respond to mental health situations, Fox-Lent said in a statement, adding it was officers insistence on entering the apartment that led to the true crisis.

For a supposedly innovative, progressive city, San Francisco is still doing little to address rampant mental health and drug addiction issues and seems to waffle between ignoring them or leaving them to police officers who are ill equipped to handle them. Too often, officials throw up their hands until a crime occurs, and our jail system continues to be disproportionately filled with people who have mental health problems or are addicted to drugs. And theyre often released without the treatment they need.

I fear that hell be back in the neighborhood before I am, said King, who is bracing for the double whammy of dealing with his insurance company and getting rebuilding permits from the citys notoriously slow Department of Building Inspection.

King, who works in special projects for the citys Public Works Department, has worked at City Hall since 2005. He also served as a legislative aide to former Supervisor Bevan Dufty and as a policy adviser to former Mayor Gavin Newsom, now Californias governor. If someone as well connected as him cant get help for a bubbling neighborhood crisis, nobody can.

I know the system inside and out. Imagine pleading for help from exactly the right people and this still happens, he said. How can there not be a plan? No more thoughts, prayers and task forces. Where is the plan?

There are finally small beginnings of a plan including the citys new street crisis teams which aim to solve drug and mental health crises without relying on police officers. Clearly, those need to be expanded as quickly as possible. The long-discussed meth sobering center is finally planned to open this fall, and a long-discussed psychiatric respite center should open next month. (Long-discussed could be a descriptor of pretty much anything related to City Hall.)

Were going at a horse-and-buggy pace, and it feels like we need to be in a race car, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said.

His district includes Eureka Street, and he visited Kings block a couple of years ago to hear neighbors concerns about Ruiz.

This seems like Exhibit A for what we think is wrong with how our systems are failing to help people like Lucian, Mandelman said. Lucian is sick. The nonintervention in his life has not helped him and has caused serious harm.

Very serious harm.

Beth Clark, who lived in the apartment underneath 112 Eureka with her husband and two boys, said that when the fire was put out and Ruiz was apprehended, officials said her home would probably be broken into and ransacked that night because burned homes usually are in the city.

They allowed her to grab some valuables, and she saw water pouring into her apartment from upstairs and the ceiling falling in.

I was sobbing. It was terrible, she said. Seeing the destruction of it all and knowing it was totally preventable.

The police were very upset that theyd been dealing with this guy for so long, she continued. I said, Hopefully, this arson thing will get him put away for a long time, and an officer said, Dont count on it. But he set the house on fire knowing there were children right below him.

Clark said she called 911 about Ruiz 10 or 15 times over the years, and her husband had called several more times.

Randall Kikukawa and his husband lived below Clarks apartment, and he said he saw Ruiz many times over the years, sometimes sleeping on his stoop, sometimes mumbling to himself and sometimes screaming and cursing.

Kikukawa likened the citys inability to help Ruiz to its inability to address dangerous streets until after a pedestrian has died. Then, theres a new stoplight or a new crosswalk, but only then.

Theres no proactive response. Only reactive, he said. After this fire, after hes been arrested, after everything, now were doing something about it?

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight appears Sundays and Wednesdays. Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hknightsf Instagram: @heatherknightsf
A Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Tab leak surfaced online anew when tipster Yogesh (@heyitsyogesh) posted on Twitter about the rumored tri-fold tablet, Techradar reported.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Tab, as a triple-folding tablet, has been previously leaked online some time in December 2020. It came after a tweet from leaker Tron (@cozyplanes), per Gizmo China.

This 2021, the South Korean tech giant is set to roll out more folding smartphones, such as the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and the Galaxy Z Flip 3. Lite Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip lite variants might also join the big reveal later this year.

Apart from foldable smartphones, Tron also hinted at the possible launch of a transparent display phone this year.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Tab Features

As a triple-foldable tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Tab is rumored to be a mobile device with a display divided by two hinges, acording to Gizmo China.

Xiaomi and TCL teased their respective triple-folding smartphone concepts through renders and a prototype back in 2019. Samsung might adopt a design based on what the two Chinese manufacturers presented for the Galaxy Z Fold Tab.

In fact, TCL recently introduced the Fold N' Roll, another design concept of a tri-fold mobile device.

Should the Galaxy Z Fold Tab be similar to the Fold N' Roll, it means that the new Samsung device would be a smartphone that could transform into a phablet or a tablet as you unfold it.

Read Also: TCL Fold N' Roll Teased as 3-in-1 Gadget--Dragonhinge Technology, Specs and Other Features

Apart from the triple-folding feature, the Galaxy Z Fold Tab might support the use of Samsung's hybrid S Pen.

Details about the new S Pen remain scarce at the moment. Apart from that, it is anticipated to launch along with the Galaxy Z Fold 3, connects via Bluetooth, and it will be different from the past S Pen models.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Tab will also brandish an ultrathin glass (UTG) better than the one found on current Samsung folding smartphones.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, the Galaxy Z Fold 2's successor, is also expected to integrate the new glass material like the upcoming tablet.

Other than these speculations, details about Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Tab specs, such as display size, processor, cameras, storage, and connectivity, are not yet available on the Internet.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Tab Release Date

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Tab release date might occur following the official launch of the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and the Galaxy Z Fold 3, as per Yogesh's tweet.

He added that the Galaxy Z Fold Tab might appear as a teaser during the launch of the next-generation Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy Z Fold, which could happen some time in August this year.

Samsung might start shipping the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 during the first quarter of 2022, a year when more rollable and scrollable mobile devices are set to launch, as per Tron's tweet.

One of these supposed rollable smartphones was from LG. The Korean tech giant, however, eventually decided to close its mobile business, so that one has no chance of seeing the light of day.

Related Story: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G Specs and Price: How to Get $100 Discount or More!
Two Russian spies accused of carrying out the Salisbury novichok nerve attack have now been linked to a bomb attack on a factory in the Czech Republic in 2014.

Czech police said on Saturday they were searching for two men carrying various passports, including Russian passports in the names of Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov.

The aliases match those used by the suspects - whose real names are Alexander Mishkin and Anatoliy Chepiga - accused by Britain of poisoning turncoat Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury in 2018.

Czech police believe the men passing themselves off as Petrov and Boshirov were members of a Russian spy cell involved in an explosion in an ammunition warehouse in October 2014, which killed two contractors working there.

Czech police have issued an alert for information about two suspected Russian spies who used passports in the name of Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov - the same passports used during the 2018 Salisbury novichok attacks - in a warehouse bombing in October 2014

Czech police issued the alert this evening for the two suspected Russian agents who have been linked to a bombing in October 2014 which killed two people

During their visit to Salisbury, former KGB spy Sergei Skripal, right, and his daughter Yulia, left, received life-threatening doses of a chemical agent novichok

Czech authorities yesterday accused the men of causing an explosion on October 16, 2014 at a warehouse with 58 tonnes of ammunition. It was followed months later by another big blast at a nearby warehouse with 98 tonnes of ammunition

Czech authorities said the men are suspected of operating in the country between October 11, when they arrived in Prague, and October 16, the day of the blast.

They say the men travelled from Prague to the eastern village where the blast took place - destroying a warehouse containing 58 tonnes of ammunition - and then left the country shortly afterwards.

Another explosion, which took place in December 2014, then destroyed another warehouse at the same site containing 98 tonnes of explosives - but Czech authorities have not said who they think is responsible for that.

Investigative website Bellingcat, which revealed the true identities of both Petrov and Borishov, has previously reported that Petrov - or Mishkin - was in Prague earlier in 2014.

Mishkin was in Prague for eight days from January 26 until February 2 alongside a man named Denis Sergeev - who is also a suspect in the Salisbury poisoning.

Sergeev, who used the alias Sergey Fedotov, is thought to have provided Mishkin and Chepiga with support during the Salisbury mission - including calling them after the attack to tell them to head back to Russia.

It is not known why Mishkin or Sergeev were in Prague just months ahead of the warehouse bombings.

Col. Mgr. Jaroslav Ibehej of the NCOZ issued the notice for the two men who were first using Russian passports with the names Alexander Petrov, born on July 13, 1979 and Ruslan Boshirov, born April 12, 1978.

The pair then switched to one Moldovan passport in the name of Nicolai Popa, born July 18, 1979 and a Tajikistan passport in the name of Ruslan Tabarov, born October 23, 1975.

According to Czech police they were first in Prague, and later in the Morovian-Silesian region and then finally in the Zlin region.

The investigation relates to a decision by the Czech government to expel 18 Russian diplomats identified by local intelligence as secret agents of the Russian SVR and GRU services that are suspected of involvement in a 2014 explosion.

Foreign Minister Jan Hamacek said: 'Eighteen employees of the Russian embassy must leave our republic within 48 hours.

Prime Minister Andrej Babis said Czech authorities had 'clear evidence' linking GRU officers to an explosion in an ammunition warehouse in 2014 which left two people dead.

'We have good reason to suspect the involvement of GRU officers from unit 29155 in the explosion at the ammunition warehouse in Vrbetice' in the east of the country, Babis said.

He added he had received the information on Friday, without explaining why it had taken so long.

The pair claimed they had visited Salisbury to see the spire of the historic cathedral

Czech Prime Minister Adreij Babis, right, and his foreign minister Jan Mamacek, left, today announced a decision to expel 18 Russian diplomats in relation to the 2014 attack. Czech police issued an alert for the two men suspected of being involved in the attack

UK authorities believe the two Russians are responsible for the Salisbury attack. Now Czech authorities believe the same men were involved in the bombing of a warehouse in Vrbetice, in the east of the country. The bombing of an ammunition warehouse left two people dead

'The explosion led to huge material damage and posed a serious threat to the lives of many local people, but above all it killed two of our fellow citizens, fathers of families,' Babis said.

Hamacek, who is the interior minister and also an interim foreign minister after his predecessor was sacked earlier this week, said he was sorry the incident would 'fundamentally damage Czech-Russian relations'.

'We are in a situation similar to that in Britain following the attempted poisoning in Salisbury in 2018,' he said, referring to the case of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal who survived a nerve agent poisoning in Britain.

Russia denied involvement but some 300 diplomats were sent home in subsequent tit-for-tat expulsions.

Hamacek said he had summoned Russian ambassador Alexander Zmeyevsky on Saturday evening to tell him about the decision.

On Thursday, the Czech Republic's neighbour Poland said it had expelled three Russian diplomats for 'carrying out activities to the detriment' of Poland.

Warsaw also expressed solidarity with the US, which earlier that day had announced sanctions and the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats in retaliation for what Washington said was the Kremlin's US election interference, a massive cyber attack and other hostile activity.
A growing number of unfilled appointments and low uptake among nursing home workers are early signs that vaccine hesitancy is becoming an issue in Pennsylvania, prompting state officials to sound the alarm Friday and urge residents to get their COVID-19 shots as quickly as possible.

After months of demand outstripping supply, vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna are more readily available, and the Wolf administration said the challenge now is to assuage the concerns of people who are reluctant to get it.

A Muhlenberg College poll out this week found three out of 10 respondents do not plan to get the vaccine.

Gov. Tom Wolf and state health officials on Friday toured a community vaccination clinic in Hershey that had openings. In nearby Lebanon County, a mass vaccination clinic reported hundreds of available slots, something that might have been unthinkable weeks ago when providers were swamped with requests but didnt have enough doses to give out.

The appointment availability does give us cause for concern because its indicative of hesitancy, which really is the challenge to come, said Alison Beam, the states acting health secretary, who joined Wolf at a news conference.

She said the fact that nearly half of Pennsylvanias nursing home workers have declined the vaccine is further evidence of how far we have to go and how much of a challenge overcoming this vaccine hesitancy will be in the near future.

Only 53% of staff in skilled nursing facilities have opted to get the vaccine, according to Health Department data, even though the shots have been available to them for months.

With supplies increasing, the state expanded eligibility to everyone aged 16 and older this week. To date, Pennsylvania has vaccinated more than 40% of its eligible population, not including Philadelphia, which gets its supply directly from the federal government and runs its own program.

Philadelphia reported Friday that its hospitals, pharmacies and mass vaccination sites are also suddenly having difficulty filling open slots, prompting city officials to abandon its phased rollout in favor of universal eligibility days ahead of schedule.

It is a sign that the people who are most eager to get the vaccine have probably already been vaccinated, said Dr. Thomas Farley, the city health commissioner. Now, he said, we will have to work harder to persuade people to be vaccinated and make it easy for them.

The reasons why some people remain hesitant tend to be similar across demographic, geographic and political groups, said state Health Department spokesperson Maggi Barton, and include safety, efficacy and benefits for a post-vaccine world.

While the decision to get vaccinate or not remains a personal one, she said, the state is arming our communities with vaccine facts because good information leads to good decisions.

In Yeadon, a Philadelphia suburb thats been especially hard-hit by COVID-19 and where 88% of the residents are Black, volunteers planning a weekend vaccine clinic said that access  not just hesitancy  is at play.

Black people are getting vaccinated at lower rates than white people, according to state data. But when local organizers began marketing the Yeadon clinic  and made it easy to sign up  they quickly filled all available slots.

We took it to where the people were, said organizer Melinda Emerson of Jack and Jill of America, an organization of African-American mothers whose local chapter is sponsoring the clinic.

Theres definitely hesitancy, Emerson said, but some people dont have internet. Somebodys grandmom doesnt know how to go online and get an appointment.

Statewide, Pennsylvanias vaccine providers have been administering more than 100,000 shots per day, with more than 4.5 million people receiving at least their initial dose.

The governor said he plans to get his first dose on Monday in York.

The more people who get vaccinated, the safer all of us are going to be and the sooner we can get out of this, he said. These vaccines are the way we can fight back and actually move on to the life that wed like it to be.

State officials said Friday theyre planning a print and digital media campaign to get that message out.

Following guidance from the federal government, Pennsylvania this week paused use of Johnson & Johnsons single-dose vaccine while health experts investigate reports of extremely rare blood clots.

The J&J vaccine has played a small role in the states overall vaccine rollout to date, though the pause forced the cancellation of some vaccine clinics and affected programs targeting prison inmates and corrections officers as well as food and agricultural workers and other groups.

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 06:25:41|Editor: huaxia

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A woman with a face mask pushes her trolley after shopping at a warehouse store in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on April 16, 2021. On Friday afternoon, Canada reported 6,771 new cases of the COVID-19, bringing the cumulative total to 1,103,441, including 23,535 deaths, according to CTV. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua)

OTTAWA, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) on Friday urged the Canadian government to take unprecedented measures to stem the COVID-19 spread across the country amid a new surge of coronavirus cases.

"As the third wave of the pandemic wreaks havoc on the healthcare and public health systems, healthcare providers, and patients, we are at a critical juncture where a truly national approach to combatting COVID-19 will make the difference between more or fewer lives saved," Ann Collins, president of the CMA, said in a statement. "This country must come together to help support provinces most severely impacted."

On Friday afternoon, Canada reported 6,771 new cases of the COVID-19, bringing the cumulative total to 1,103,441, including 23,535 deaths, according to CTV.

Over the past week, there have been over 8,600 new cases reported daily on average, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada on Friday.

During the same time, the number of people experiencing severe and critical illness continues to rise. On average over 3,400 people with COVID-19 were being treated in hospitals each day, including 1,050 people being treated in intensive care units, representing increase of 34 percent and 22 percent, respectively, compared to the prior week.

In the statement, the CMA called for marshaling national resources, applying restrictive health measures and prioritizing national collaboration.

It added that province-to-province collaboration and national leadership are needed to address the scale and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and recommended sharing health care resources across provincial and territorial borders to support areas that need help the most.

The CMA called on the Canadian government to alter its vaccine distribution and prioritize areas that have an urgent need for vaccines rather than the government's current per-capita approach. It also said that an enhanced form of paid sick leave is required.

At a press conference on Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government is working with provincial governments on the per-capita allocation of vaccines.

As of Friday afternoon, more than 9,475,653 doses of approved COVID-19 vaccines have been administered across Canada, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada,

The CMA noted that further restrictions must be considered for provinces with lower COVID-19 transmission rates than in Ontario and Quebec in order to support other jurisdictions in dire circumstances.

"These are strong measures, but they are absolutely needed," Collins said. "We are one country, and it's time we start acting as one by deploying resources where they are most needed. If we can't achieve this through voluntary cooperation, then more and stronger measures might be needed."

The call to action came as medical experts warned that Ontario province could see more than 10,000 new COVID-19 cases daily in May if the current trends continue. Enditem
One of the most enduring images of Prince William and Prince Harry will always be the sight of them walking together behind their mother Diana's coffin in 1997. On that occasion they were flanked on either side by their grandfather, Prince Philip, and their father, Prince Charles  with Diana's brother, Charles Spencer, in the middle.

The eyes of the nation were transfixed by those two young boys as they carried out their agonising duty. Harry in particular, then a diminutive 12-year-old, cut such a small and forlorn figure. It was in that moment  so vulnerable and yet so brave and steadfast  that he won a special place in our hearts.

Over two decades on, and once again the brothers yesterday found themselves side by side in grief. Only this time, of course, there was no wise Duke of Edinburgh at their elbow. And the man who walked between them, Peter Phillips, was not there to provide moral support to two grief-stricken brothers, but to keep Diana's feuding sons, once so close, firmly apart.

Prince William and Prince Harry, once inseparable, now at loggerheads. Strip away the titles and it could almost be an EastEnders storyline: Grant and Phil Mitchell ('hold me back, Sharon!'), Cain and Abel  it's the eternal struggle, just a different script

The death of Prince Philip is a great sadness at a time of even greater sadness for so many. Yesterday's service at St George's Chapel exemplified the spirit of the late Duke: sublime in its spartan simplicity, nimble and faultless in its execution, elegant and dignified and  for a grand State occasion  incredibly poignant and personal

The whole family has been rocked by that interview, not least because since it was broadcast so much of what was said seems to have unravelled, including Meghan's assertion that the Archbishop of Canterbury married them three days before the official wedding in their 'back yard'

The death of Prince Philip is a great sadness at a time of even greater sadness for so many. Yesterday's service at St George's Chapel exemplified the spirit of the late Duke: sublime in its spartan simplicity, nimble and faultless in its execution, elegant and dignified and  for a grand State occasion  incredibly poignant and personal.

The enormity of the Queen's loss was brought into sharp focus by the stark circumstances, dictated by Covid, that saw her sitting utterly alone in front of her husband's coffin. She looked so small and so bleak, more like a little Italian widow than a Monarch, a great Queen who has outlived and outlasted them all. And in her moment of grief was reflected the experience of countless of her subjects, far too many of whom have had to say their farewells to loved ones in similarly solitary circumstances.

And yet, for all that yesterday's service paid tribute to their long marriage and to the Duke's 'resolute faith and loyalty' and 'life of service', for all that it was a reminder of the stirring power of faith and the pomp and majesty of the Monarchy, all set beneath a glorious blue April sky, the eye could not help being distracted, once again, by the those two brothers walking, once again, behind a coffin.

Prince Harry was sat directly across from his older brother and his wife Kate having flown in without his wife Meghan

The Queen stands alone as she watches Prince Philip's coffin being carried by soldiers on its final journey into St George's Chapel, Windsor today for the funeral of her beloved husband

The Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke of Cambridge look towards Philip's coffin before it was lowered into the Royal Vault

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Snowdon David Armstrong-Jones, Peter Phillips, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence prepare to set off from the castle behind the coffin

The Queen's Bentley followed the coffin from the castle to the church, behind the Land Rover and her family marching together

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby praised the extraordinary life of the Duke of Edinburgh

Prince William and Prince Harry, once inseparable, now at loggerheads. Strip away the titles and it could almost be an EastEnders storyline: Grant and Phil Mitchell ('hold me back, Sharon!'), Cain and Abel  it's the eternal struggle, just a different script.

Because let's not forget: it was barely a few weeks ago that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex sat down in front of Oprah Winfrey and fed the Royal Family through a shredder. Even as Prince Philip was nearing the end  and they must have known it  they had no qualms about lobbing the most egregious accusations of racism and bullying over the pond, fuelling every absurd conspiracy theory under the sun and painting themselves, and Meghan in particular, as innocent victims of a vicious and ruthless regime. It was heartless and cruel, and calculated to wound. Which it did. Most notable was Meghan's claim that the Duchess of Cambridge made her cry over the bridesmaid dresses for her wedding, and that a member of the family had made racist comments about the colour of Archie's skin.

The whole family has been rocked by that interview, not least because since it was broadcast so much of what was said seems to have unravelled, including Meghan's assertion that the Archbishop of Canterbury married them three days before the official wedding in their 'back yard' (I wonder whether that little embarrassment was mentioned after the service over the cucumber sandwiches).

But it is the character assassination of the Duchess of Cambridge that has angered senior Royals so much, not just because it is so deeply unfair and unrepresentative of her personality, but also because she and Harry used to be such close friends.

From William's point of view, this attack on his wife feels like the ultimate betrayal, below the belt and unworthy of Harry.

And just as Harry has justified his recent decisions as necessary in order to protect his wife, so William has felt compelled to stand up for the woman he loves and who has been such a source of strength to him.

Never in his life has he experienced anything like this: William is not just grieving for the loss of his grandfather, but for the loss of the brother he once knew.

So no wonder poor Peter Phillips looked a tad nervous as they walked behind the coffin towards St George's Chapel. Those must have been the longest eight minutes of his life, stuck between those two. William's chiselled jaw visibly tense and his face flushed, Harry tight-lipped, occasionally sneaking a half sideways glance  unreciprocated  at his brother. As they walked to the stirring music of the military band, the roar of the guns and the tolling of bells, I couldn't help wondering what was going through Harry's mind. Was he wishing he was back home in Montecito, crystal-infused water-bottle and meditation manual in hand, or shopping for turmeric root in the organic market? Or was he perhaps feeling a little nostalgic for the last time he was at St George's Chapel, at his wedding in May 2018. Wondering, perhaps, how it came to be that he should find himself there again just a few years later in such very different circumstances, a virtual exile in his own land, stripped of his beloved military affiliations and with a feud hanging over him and his family.

A feud, let us not forget, entirely of his own making.

As he listened to the spine-tingling singing, was there perhaps a tinge of regret in his heart? After all, this is the world Harry belongs to, this is who he is and who he should be. This is his birthright, these are his people, his history.

Was it really worth throwing all this away just to make dreary documentaries for Netflix?

Maybe in his mind it was. Because unlike Prince Philip, Harry seems unable to appreciate what all of us, looking on yesterday, could clearly see: what a great privilege it is to be part of this world. That however frustrating it can be at times, however tedious and difficult and limiting, being a member of the British Royal Family means being part of something timeless and magnificent, something bigger than any one person or ego.

And yesterday in St George's Chapel was a reminder of all that. How vulgar and vacuous by comparison to such quiet dignity that Oprah interview now seems, with its petty score-settling, self-serving hand-wringing and faux outrage.

How one-dimensional and short-sighted compared to the great panorama of history, the great roll-call of duty and sacrifice before us in Windsor.

And above all, how mean-spirited and wrong-headed the attack on the Duchess of Cambridge. Because the Princes who walked out of St George's Chapel were very different in demeanour to the ones who walked in  and by all accounts it was Kate who broke the ice.

The Royal Family stand at the bottom of the steps of St George's Chapel as the coffin is carried up into the church

For 16 years Prince Philip tinkered and toiled on a secret project he knew he would never live to see used - the hearse to carry his own coffin

Prince Philip lifts his hat during his final public engagement in 2017 with his beloved Royal Marines, whose leaders will help carry Philip's coffin today

For the next month at least the Queen will draw on a supply of black-edged writing paper for all her correspondence, in line with royal tradition, and just as she did after the death of the Queen Mother in 2002

The Duke of Edinburgh (pictured in 2014) will be buried on Saturday afternoon at around 3pm

It was she with whom, after the service had concluded and the Queen had left the Chapel, Harry was seen conversing before walking ahead to join William. And she who, sensing a rapprochement, then fell back discreetly to allow the pair to exchange a few quiet words. So very typically Kate: an act of self-effacing kindness for the greater good.

Who knows what was said; who knows where this leaves them. It hardly seems possible that in those few moments all the pain and betrayal of the past few weeks could have been erased.

But it is testimony to the Duchess of Cambridge's incredible generosity of spirit that she should be the one to extend an olive branch, despite being very much the injured party.

If Harry has any sense left whatsoever, he may want to reflect on this fact, and consider himself very lucky to have such a kind and forgiving influence in his family.

He may want to look around and see that, OK, they may not be perfect; OK, they may not always have the right words or the wokest of sentiments; OK, they have their own troubles and tribulations; but his family love him very much, and are willing  even in the midst of their own grief  to show it.

Time to wake up, Harry, and smell the oat chai latte.

FEELING THE PAIN: Sad Harry, left, before the funeral. Above left: Distanced from William as they walk. Above: The brothers break the ice
Kerrville, TX (78028)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
A data breach at the Christian fundraising platform GiveSendGo has exposed the names of public officials and police officers, who donated money for the defense of fascist teenage shooter Kyle Rittenhouse and other extreme right-wing causes.

Kyle Rittenhouse during an extradition hearing in Lake County court, October 30, 2020, in Waukegan, Illinois [Credit: AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, Pool]

Many of the individuals who made contributions also submitted written messages of support along with their donations. They were identified because they used their official email addresses to make their submissions on the GiveSendGo crowdfunding website. Although the contributors attempted to conceal their identities by listing themselves as anonymous donors, their email addresses were captured by the site server and downloaded during the data breach.

The GiveSendGo data set was provided by hackers to data transparency activists at Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets), who then shared the information with journalists at the Guardian and The Hill. According to a description of the data set on the DDoSecrets website, it includes, Donor information for every campaign on the Christian fundraising platform GiveSendGo, best known for being used by far-right extremists like the Proud Boys. The site has allegedly also been used to fund and defend insurrectionists who were involved in the January 6 coup attempt, as well as those pushing claims of election fraud.

One example published by the Guardian is a donation of $25 made in support of Kyle Rittenhouse on September 3 from an email address associated with Sgt. William Kelly, the executive officer of internal affairs at the police department in Norfolk, Virginia. The donation was accompanied by a message that reads, God bless. Thank you for your courage. Keep your head up. Youve done nothing wrong. Every rank and file police officer supports you. Dont be discouraged by actions of the political class of law enforcement leadership.

On August 25, then 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse traveled from his home in Antioch, Illinois to Kenosha, Wisconsin to volunteer as a member of an armed militia in the midst of growing protests against the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old black man, in front of his children two days earlier. Later that night, Rittenhouse fired his AR15-style rifle numerous times during confrontations with protesters, killing two men and seriously injuring a third.

Based on video evidence and eyewitness descriptions, the shooter was charged with five felony counts, including first-degree intentional homicide in the death of Anthony Huber, 26; first-degree reckless homicide in the death of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36; and attempted first-degree intentional homicide against Gaige Grosskreutz, 26, who was struck by a bullet in the bicep and survived.

Rittenhouse turned himself in the following morning after driving back to Antioch the night before and was held for two months in the local jail until his extradition to Kenosha on October 30. From the start, Rittenhouse was hailed by the far right as a hero and backed by President Donald Trump. Several organizations launched a national fundraising campaign for his legal defense and raised the $2 million required for Rittenhouse to post bail at his arraignment on January 5 where he pled not guilty to all charges.

The GiveSendGo website still hosts details of the Rittenhouse campaign, which says it was launched by friends of the family. A total of $585,940 was raised by the crowdfunding site, and it includes a statement by the fascist attorney Lin Wood. A leading figure in the effort to mobilize support for teenage fascist and, along with Trump, a proponent of the claim that the shooter was acting in self-defense, Wood makes the claim that Rittenhouse is a political prisoner.

Another campaign exposed by the data breach is the effort to raise money and build support for Rusten Sheskey, the Kenosha police officer who shot Jacob Blake in the back seven times on August 23. The Support Rusten Sheskey crowdfunding campaign on the GiveSendGo platform raised thousands of dollars from dozens of donors most of whom used private email addresses.

However, the Guardian reported that Two $20 donations to Sheskeys fund were associated with email addresses of a pair of lieutenants in Green Bay, Wisconsins police department. One, given under the name, GBPD Officer, was tied to an address associated with Chad Ramos, a training lieutenant in the department; another anonymous donation was associated with Keith A. Gehring, who is listed as a school resources officer lieutenant.

A third donation was connected with the official email address of Officer Pat Gainer of the Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin police department, and under the screen name PPPD Motor 179, a message was included which said, Stay strong brother. In the end, the Kenosha County District Attorney declined to bring charges against Sheskey, and the officer returned to the police force on March 31.

Other campaigns with anonymous donations on GiveSendGo came from city employees of Houston, Texas, who opposed the actions of the police chief, Art Acevedo, who fired four Houston cops in April 2020 after they shot and killed Nicolas Chavez, who was on his knees and suffering from a mental health crisis. The Guardian reports that a $100 donation was associated with the email address of Samuel Pena, the city fire chief, who had previously stated publicly that he supported Acevedo.

Another anonymous donation of $400 was attributed to an email linked to Chris Andersen, an author and 39-year veteran of the Houston police department, that carried the comment: I think that Chief Acevedo is part of the unrecognized form of police corruption that Chris Anderson [sic] wrote about in his book. Hang in there guys!!!

The revelation that there is support for fascists like Rittenhouse and campaigns to defend officers involved in police violence and murder comes as no surprise. It was reported in October by NBC News, for example, that federal law enforcement officials were directed to make public comments sympathetic to Rittenhouse. The memo also included a series of talking points distributed by Homeland Security officials that aimed to counter the media presentation of the fascist group Patriot Prayer as racists.

Meanwhile, it has been established as fact that a substantial percentage of the right-wing mob that attacked the US Congress on January 6 were former or current law enforcement officers or active or retired US military personnel. Additionally, at least two leaders of the fascist Proud Boys organizationEnrico Tarrio and Joseph Biggswere active FBI informants at the time of the January 6 coup attempt.

Along with previous exposures of participants in white supremacist and neo-Nazi organizations within the ranks of the US military, the GiveSendGo revelations provide concrete evidence that support for right-wing and fascist political movements is active and widespread in US law enforcement at the national, state and local levels.
From 1891 to 1924, there was one constant at any fire of consequence which occurred in Auburn, N.Y.

Archie Goodwin would be there.

Newspapers nicknamed him the citys Irregular Fireman, a man who, although he was denied a chance to serve his community as a member of the Auburn Fire Department, did not let that stop him.

His inspiring story of overcoming obstacles is both heartwarming and heartbreaking and, ultimately, triumphant.

So, here is the story of the Auburn man who started his own one-man fire department, accompanied by his beloved pony, Thelma, Americas Strangest Fire Horse.

***

William Archie Goodwin was born in Auburn on Oct. 24, 1874.

From the beginning he was said to have three interests: the circus, which he never missed, railroads and fighting fires.

Being an Auburn firefighter was his dream, but they were dashed at a young age.

He was too short.

Standing just 5-foot, 2 inches tall, he missed the departments height qualification by five inches.

Undeterred, Goodwin would start his own private fire department in the barn behind his brother-in-laws home on Sherman Street and, first with his pony Daisy and then Thelma, not miss a fire in Auburn from 1891 to 1924, an astounding 33 years of service.

Despite working as a milkman, or at the International Harvester plant, or for his brother-in-law at the National Rug Company, Goodwins hobby came first.

- This 1910 photo of Auburn Fire Department Hose Company Number 5 is what an example of what what Archie Goodwin wanted to join. But he was five inches to short. Courtesy of the Cayuga MuseumCourtesy of the Cayuga Museum of History and Art

When he was peddling milk, as he put it, and a fire alarm sounded, he would abandon his route to join the action.

At the Harvester plant I was in the stock room, near the gates, and they used to let me go if the fire was near, he told the Syracuse Herald in 1931.

He studied the movements of Auburns firefighters and how they hitched their horses to their wagons for maximum speed and brought these techniques to his small operation.

Goodwin lived in his own fire house, wore his own uniform, maintained, drove his own bright red fire wagon, and answered his own electric fire gong, anytime day or night.

He even had his own greased fire pole.

When his small rig arrived at the scene, he would aid the real firefighters anyway he could.

At the Ross Grocery fire in 1906, he worked all night.

At the twine shop fire on Sept. 4, 1907, I worked half the night, he told a reporter.

He was given $4 for his efforts on that occasion.

A 1926 Associated Press story said that he experienced all the thrills of the regular fireman  except the pay envelope.

In 1905, after his pony Daisy died, he acquired Thelma, a plucky, and sleek jet back pony, from the ironically named Shortman Barnett of Skaneateles.

(Yes, the man who was denied a role with the fire department because he was too short, received his long-serving pony and best friend from a man named Shortman!)

Their formed quite the partnership.

He slept in a bunk just 20 feet from her stable and devised an electric harness system, which would drop down onto Thelmas back whenever a fire alarm was picked up by Goodwins improvised alert system. She understood what the sound of the gong meant and moved into position beneath the harness.

Their personal record for hitching up was 20 seconds.

It appears Goodwin never married, and in many ways, Thelma was his family. He affectionately doted on her.

At 5 oclock in the morning I give her grain, he told the Herald. At 11 oclock I give her hay and at 5 oclock I give her grain again. Her bedding is aired every day and is spread at the same time every night.

The unlikely pair earned the respect of the Auburn Fire Department and they became local and then national celebrities.

The regular firemen accepted their friend affectionately and he and his rig were always passed through the lines, the Herald said.

Local firefighters referred to Goodwin at their Battalion Chief.

The department eventually recognized the pluck of the little man whose body was too small to meet the requirements, the AP reported, but whose faithfulness and pluck were those of a giant.

The pairs incredible streak of service ended after a freak accident.

On June 17, 1924, Goodwin went to a circus performance in Syracuse and was returning to Auburn on a trolley car.

Arriving home, he stepped off the platform of the trolley before it had stopped and he fell headfirst to the pavement, landing on his head and shoulders.

He fractured his skull and collarbone and remained in the hospital for weeks.

As a result of the accident, Goodwin would suffer spells of vertigo. He never dared to drive his rig again through traffic to fires.

His firefighting career was over. But he still kept a pair of his pants tucked into his boots at the foot of his bed and Thelma continued dutifully getting into position whenever the fire alarm sounded.

He transitioned into something of a beloved town character, whittling toys for children and giving them rides on his wagon pulled by Thelma.

The Syracuse Herald ran a profile of Archie Goodwin on April 12, 1931, almost seven years after a serious injury had ended his one-man and one-pony fire department. But he still dressed the part and hitched up Thelma for a photographer. Courtesy of World ArchivesCourtesy of World Archives

Goodwin was seen as a throwback to a simpler time.

A true fireman, a friend of boys, a lover of horses. Chief Goodwin enjoys an existence apart from the rush of reeking gasoline traffic a few rods away, the Herald said.

The newspaper stories which carried his story of his one-man fire department, which became a spotless museum to firefighting history, his unfortunate accident, and his pal Thelma, nicknamed Americas Strangest Fire Horse, made him known all over New York state and the country.

Goodwin began keeping a register so that visitors to his fire barn could sign their names.

It seemed that many out-of-town guests to Auburn had to make a stop there.

In just under three years, more than 6,000 people came to see Goodwin and Thelma, from 49 cities and villages in New York, from 11 states, and as far away as Canada, Scotland, Jamaica, and Panama.

On June 13, 1932, Thelma died at age 37. She did so with Goodwins arms hugging her neck and his cheek pressed against her muzzle.

Thelma has made her last hitch, was all he could muster to say when he called the office of the Auburn Citizen-Advertiser with the sad news.

Today is the first in 45 years that I have not had a pony to care for in the morning, Goodwin said later.

Her passing made the June 27, 1932, edition of Time magazine.

He had her buried at a farm near Aurelius.

I couldnt think of Thelma going to the city scavenger, Goodwin told the reporter, while sobbing.

The loss of his beloved pony seemed to have put Goodwin into a deep depression. He refused all offers of a new pony.

If Thelma was too old to live, so am I, he remarked.

I thought of burying our register with Thelma. Goodwin said. But maybe others will come in to see me, even if she Is gone, and I want to keep their names, too, along with my memories of Thelma.

They did.

Children began appearing at his fire station less than 48 hours after the ponys passing.

Like other fire houses, it became a polling place, and each registration, primary and election day, hundreds of people stopped by to vote and chat with Goodwin and view his collection of souvenirs.

In August 1948, Auburn celebrated its centennial.

As part of the week-long festivities, City Manager George Train and Fire Chief James Doyle made a special trip to Sherman Street to see Auburns retired Irregular Fireman.

Finally, in recognition of loyalty and services willingly given, Goodwin was made an honorary member of the citys fire department.

When he was given a badge, inside the small barn surrounded by his mementoes and memories, Goodwin called it his proudest moment.

Archie Goodwin died less than a year later, on April 25, 1949, at the age of 74.

Read more

1921: Syracuses city veterinarian gets taken for a ride while playing first buffalo hazard in golf history

1921: Marcellus gripped with feelings of sorrow and relief after a train hits truck filled with kids

1931: SU student builds and rides (briefly) a rocket sled on Oneida Lake

Check out our true-crime podcast

An invention from Upstate NY soon became the preferred method of execution across the United States -- the electric chair. In The Condemned, we trace the history of the chair through the stories of five men who were sentenced to death for their crimes. Explore our series here.

This feature is a part of CNY Nostalgia, a section on syracuse.com. Send your ideas and curiosities to Johnathan Croyle at jcroyle@syracuse.com or call 315-427-3958.
from India



witnessed over 18 per cent growth to USD 24.44 billion during the last financial year against USD 20.58 billion in FY20, Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) said on Saturday.

"We have observed a big leap in our exports in the month of March 2021 which is USD 2.3 billion (figures for March are provisional) and is highest among the exports of all the months of this financial year, the growth rate for this month is 48.5 per cent against the exports in March 2020 (USD 1.54 billion)," Udaya Bhaskar, Director General of Pharmexcil said in a release.

Growth rate seems relatively big as the exports of March 2020 was crunched due to lockdown across the world and supply chain disruption, he was quoted as saying.

When the global pharma market is negatively grown by 1-2 per cent in 2020, there is a big surge in demand for Indian made generics owing to its quality and affordability, the official said adding Drug formulations and Biologicals is the second largest Principal commodity being exported by India.

The body is expecting big growth in Indian vaccine exports in the coming years and the government policy on PLI (production Linked Incentive) scheme will also help the domestic pharma to grow by reducing import dependence and develop export potential in the days to come as most of the countries are looking at India for APIs ( active ingredient) he said.

North America is the largest exporting region for Indian pharmaceuticals with more than 34 per cent share.

Country wise exports to the US, Canada and Mexico have recorded a growth of 12.6, 30 and 21.4 per cent respectively.

South Africa being the second largest exporting country, recorded a big jump of 28 per cent growth while Europe was the third largest exporting region which has recorded approximately 11 per cent growth over previous year.

(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.)
I received a thoughtful thank you note from one of our Chamber volunteers with this quote from Earl Nightingale:

All you need is the plan, the road map and the courage to press on to your destination.

It seems so appropriate during this challenging period. We are fortunate, because we know what we must do in order to move forward in building a vibrant business community. There is no doubt we are surrounded by a strong group of volunteers leading our Chamber Committees.

Here is an overview of each written by the chairs and co-chairs.

Ambassadors: Jade Athas and John Seagrave, Co-Chairs: A dedicated and hardworking committee, Ambassadors of the NW CT Chamber assist in the membership and retention efforts vital to Chamber sustainability. These Ambassadors, in conjunction with larger efforts of the Membership Committee, will often be the first point of contact for new members, engage prospective members, and build goodwill with existing members. Finding an ambassador at events is easy too. They are often the most social members with a labeled name tag introducing 2 new members to one another!

Government Relations: Christina Emery, Chair: The Government Relations Committee serves as a forum for local businesses, nonprofit organizations, municipalities and elected officials to collectively shape economic policy in the business climate of Northwest Connecticut. Guided by the Chambers lobbyist, Mike Rell, the Committee tracks legislation, informs membership of potential changes or creation of new laws, and establishes dialogue with local legislators. The Committee publishes an annual Legislative Agenda to highlight policies that promote a healthy business climate and a strong, diverse and sustainable local economy.

Health Council: Kevin OConnell, Chair: The Health Council provides Chamber members with the business perspective they need on key health care issues facing our community. We support efforts to grow workforce development opportunities, collaboration between local heal care businesses, and represent the interests of organizations across the continuum of care. We are also concerned about the wellness of our community and work to promote healthier lifestyles.

Insurance Committee: Richard Whitbeck, Chair: The Insurance Committee provides Chamber members with resources for employee benefits and healthcare insurance in conjunction with the Chamber Insurance Trust. The resources enable members to find core, traditional and alternative products to help manage their benefits and costs. We are committed to addressing the major challenges that employers experience with ever increasing costs and the diversity of workforce needs.

Manufacturing Coalition: Even Berns, Chair: An example of the Chamber wide-ranging services includes the Manufacturers Coalition that uniquely benefits and size manufacturing company in the region. The Chambers knowledgeable, engaging staff brings companies together with educational and economic development resources to address issues manufacturers face - like recruitment and retention, workforce development, training, legislation and so much more. Through the Chamber, we actively network with other local business leaders to share best practices which has been especially effective in 2020 as we learned how to manage through COVID successfully.

Membership Committee: Alan Colavecchio and Lance Leifert, Co-Chairs: The Membership Committee looks at every aspect of the Chamber member experiences and benefits. Three subcommittees revise and develop new programs, benefits, promotions, events, communication vehicles, and ways to support the Chamber staff. They include: Ambassadors (outreach to new and renewing members), Hospitality (plan and encourage networking at events), Marketing and Communications (advise, support and assist the staff, other committees and Board with initiatives.

Restaurant & Retail: Betsy Paynter, Chair: The Restaurant & Retail Committee provides the opportunity to discuss issues and/or challenges within the industry as businesses evolve during these unusual times. Guest speakers bring resources to the table so that members learn about federal and state programs, marketing and collaborative ways to connect with other businesses to share ideas and best practices.

Small Business Council: Erick Royer, Chair: The Small Business Council was created with the goal to bring together leaders and decision makers of companies to discuss challenges, share solutions and work as a back-office consortium. Many small business owners have issues that they stumble upon throughout their workday that may present a new and different experience, The Council is the mechanism for coming up with answers to their concerns as well as leading members to the resources available.

Needless to say, we are most grateful to these leaders for their commitment and support of the entire business community and the Chamber. Together we will reach our destination!

JoAnn Ryan is President & CEO of the NW CT Chamber of Commerce. You can reach her by email: joann@nwctchamberofcommerce.org or phone: 860-482-6586.
Amanda Burke covers Pittsfield City Hall for The Berkshire Eagle. An Ithaca, New York native, she previously worked at The Herald News of Fall River and the Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise. Find her on Twitter at @amandaburkec.
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Andrew Peacock was one of the most capable, engaging and committed politicians you could ever know. He was accessible, thoughtful and sincere.

He was no souffle nor was he a colt. He was a professional, pragmatic and focused politician. He had a talent that drew people into his orbit  a charm, a self-deprecating wit, a certain style that grabbed the attention of friends and foes, inside and outside the arena of politics.

Andrew Peacock talks to Brisbane leaders forum, May 26, 2003. Credit:Robert Rough

Underneath and not readily seen, was a forensic character determined to do the job he was given. As foreign minister, as in the other portfolios he held, he was relentless in his pursuit of the best outcomes in the major issues that crossed his desk.

It is many years since he was actively involved in Australian politics but those who knew him have been outspoken today in their gratitude for his help and support over a long period of time.
Addressing multiple dog intrusions that hampered operations of runways inside Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City recently, the Southern Airports Authority (SAA) has urged military units stationed near the local airdrome to strictly monitor their canines.

The SAA has sent official letters to several military divisions as well as the management board of Tan Son Nhat Airport guards to request the cessation of animal keeping in Tan Son Nhat Airport and surroundings.

Earlier on March 30, the authority in cooperation with the army forces found six uncaged dogs while examining animal keeping activities in the Tan Son Nhat Airport environs.

The cohort required the military units, who own the dogs, to bring them out and promise not to keep animals in the area again.

However, during an inspection on April 7, the airport authority still found dogs being kept in the same area.

Following this, SAA officials have urged the commanding officers of Tan Son Nhat Airport military guards to enforce a stop on animal keeping in the military site near the airdrome runways.

Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City is utilized for both civilian services and military purposes, with the civil area located in the east and the south while the military area is located in the west and the north of the airport.

Dog invasion has recently emerged as a problem for the airport as the animals have repeatedly shown up on the runways, obstructing operations of the airport and requiring staffers to capture them.

Cam Ranh Airport in the southern Khanh Hoa Province has also reported cases of dog invasion recently, with one entry of a dog on the E3 runway causing as many as four flights to be halted.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has required relevant agencies to address this problem in an official letter.

More specifically, the management authority of Cam Ranh Airport must cooperate with military units stationed in the area to examine possible failures in the airport fence line, as well as enforcing a no-animal policy in the airport environs.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Normally, the Queen is a pillar of strength for her family and the balm for the nation's soul. But yesterday, on an occasion of deep sorrow and rare glories, it was she who required succour.

When, for instance, the national minute's silence froze the scene inside St George's Chapel in the great walled enclosure of Windsor Castle.

And again when the Last Post cast its mournful spell and she bowed her head, appearing to wipe away a tear.

But never was the blast of goodwill from her country needed most than when she stood  desolate, masked, alone, without even a hand to squeeze  watching the coffin bearing her husband of 73 years sink dramatically beneath the chapel's marble floor.

Prince Charles walks behind the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin at it makes its way to St George's Chapel

Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, Prince William, Peter Phillips, Prince Harry, Earl of Snowdon and Timothy Laurence follow the coffin in the ceremonial procession

The Queen stands alone as she watches Prince Philip's coffin being carried by soldiers on its final journey into St George's Chapel, Windsor today

Her Majesty then put on her spectacles as she sat alone and looked towards the altar during the poignant service

It moved almost imperceptibly, descending to a vault where the Duke of Edinburgh, who died aged 99, will rest temporarily among other Royals, among them Henry VIII.

But what comfort the Queen must have drawn from this melding of pageantry and solemnity.

For that we must give thanks to the Duke, who planned it all to the last glorious detail, from the clockwork set-pieces to the spellbinding choral music. Philip of Greece, the outsider, who in death showcased the best of Britain.

Many images will linger. There was his coffin, wrapped in his personal standard, framed by the steps of the chapel's majestic West entrance and, behind it, a perfect blue sky.

And Prince Charles, at the foot of the steps, his eyebrows knitted in a troubled frown, leading a V-formation of senior Royals during the National Anthem.

At the end there was something to gladden hearts: a hint of reconciliation. Along with other senior Royals, Prince William and Prince Harry eschewed waiting cars and walked together up the hill, deep in conversation.

Overall, it was perhaps not quite the 'no fuss' funeral that we were led to believe. There was too much pomp  of the good kind  for it to be in any way pedestrian. Pageantry was provided by the many regiments and military units connected with Philip over his long association with the Armed Forces.

Even the modified Land Rover bearing his coffin, which the Duke helped design and which had threatened to lend an eccentric edge, somehow struck the right note as it glided past soldiers who lined the route to the church, their uniforms glittering in the spring sunshine.

A ceremonial gunfire at nine locations across the UK and in Gibraltar marked the start and end of the national minute's silence.

No planes landed or took off at Heathrow for six minutes, and all major sporting events were rescheduled to avoid a clash with the funeral.

In the streets outside the castle, the minute's silence lasted for four before the crowd  who could not resist the lure of history despite requests to stay away  began applauding and there were cries of: 'We love you.'

The silence meant that when the coffin was manoeuvred off the hearse, all that could be heard was the pallbearers' shoes on gravel and the way they clicked as they ascended the West Steps.

The Duke, of course, had no influence over the harsh coronavirus rules that divided the 30 members of his family, ranged across the chapel quire.

Those same rules shaped much of the day, preventing congregational singing, but they afforded him what he wanted  minimal fuss  in other ways.

Members of the royal family follow the coffin into St George's Chapel during the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh

(Top row, left to right) Zara and Mike Tindall, Jack Brooksbank, Princess Eugenie, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Princess Eugenie, (front row, left to right) the Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke of Cambridge, the Earl of Wessex, James Viscount Severn, the Countess of Wessex, Lady Louise Windsor, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Prince of Wales during the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh

Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of York during the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh in St George's Chapel this afternoon

The Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke of Cambridge look towards Philip's coffin before it was lowered into the Royal Vault

Prince Harry was sat directly across from his older brother and his wife Kate having flown in without his wife Meghan

Viscount Severn, (L), Sophie, Countess of Wessex (C) and Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor sit together in chapel waiting for Prince Edward to sit with them

Princess Eugenie of York (R) and her husband Jack Brooksbank sit quietly together with their hands clasped

Queen Elizabeth II (top right) and the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby watch as the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin is carried into St George's Chapel

The funeral was his last word and how eloquent it was. Among the mourners was Countess Mountbatten of Burma, 67, previously known as Lady Romsey and later Lady Brabourne, who was Philip's carriage-driving partner and one of his closest friends.

At the back of the chapel sat three of Philip's relations who travelled from Germany. Their inclusion was a reminder of how none of his sisters  who all married German princes  were allowed to attend his wedding in 1947 because of anti-German sentiment.

They might have gone unnoticed among a sea of guests but in this select band, they couldn't help but appear conspicuous. It was a reminder of the long-dead Establishment figures who disdained Philip back in the 1940s because of his blood: a Royal cocktail of German, Danish and a dash of Russian.

The Queen knew it was his day. In life, some of her husband's contradictions were writ large. The alpha male who played second fiddle, who always walked a few steps behind his spouse.

Yesterday, in her State Bentley, accompanied by her lady-in-waiting Lady Susan Hussey, it was the Queen who trailed behind her husband, at the rear of the procession.

On the coffin lay a wreath of white blooms, including roses and lilies chosen by the Queen, and a card, edged in black, and simply reading 'In loving memory' that she had hand-written.

In bright brilliant sunshine, the funeral procession made its way through the precincts of the castle.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby praised the extraordinary life of the Duke of Edinburgh

Prince Harry (right) looks towards his grandmother on a row also occupied by Princess Anne and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence and Prince Andrew

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, are joined by members of the royal family during the service

Members of the Royal family march behind the coffin during the ceremonial funeral procession of Prince Philip

All of Philip's children  the Prince of Wales, Princess Royal, Duke of York and Earl of Wessex  walked behind his coffin.

They were joined by the Duke's grandsons  the Duke of Sussex, Duke of Cambridge and Peter Phillips  Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Princess Royal's husband, and the Queen's nephew, the Earl of Snowdon.

The Royals walked in step as a military band played, each staring straight ahead into the sun as they descended the hill to the chapel. Inside, the Queen sat apart from her children, while William and Harry were positioned opposite one another across the aisle.

The Dean of Windsor, the Right Reverend David Conner, paid tribute to Philip: 'With grateful hearts, we remember the many ways in which his long life has been a blessing to us.

We have been inspired by his unwavering loyalty to our Queen, by his service to the nation and the Commonwealth, by his courage, fortitude and faith.

'Our lives have been enriched through the challenges that he has set us, the encouragement that he has given us, his kindness, humour and humanity.'

His love of the sea and long association with the Royal Navy permeated the service. A reduced choir of four sang the hymn Eternal Father, Strong To Save, traditionally associated with seafarers and the maritime armed services.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby said: 'We remember before thee this day Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, rendering thanks unto thee for his resolute faith and loyalty, for his high sense of duty and integrity, for his life of service to the nation and Commonwealth, and for the courage and inspiration of his leadership.'

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Snowdon David Armstrong-Jones, Peter Phillips, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence prepare to set off from the castle behind the coffin

The Queen is greeted by the Right Reverend David Conner, Dean of Windsor, as she arrives at St George's Chapel followed by Camilla and Kate

Princess Anne (right) and Prince Edward (left) walk together during the funeral of Britain's Prince Philip

The Duke of Cambridge, the Duke of Sussex and Peter Phillip walk up the West Steps outside St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle

Pall Bearers carrying the coffin of the Duke of Edinburgh enter St George's Chapel followed by members of the royal family

Philip's coffin had his navy cap and a sword given to him by the Queen's father when they married 73 years ago

The Duke's coffin sat on a catafalque covered in purple velvet. And then Philip, the Queen's strength and stay, this towering fixture of a fading epoch, was finally gone.

Perhaps it will be said, if not now but in years to come, that something of the nation's fabric disappeared with him.

A mournful lament was played by a Pipe Major from the Royal Regiment of Scotland and, as he walked away from the chapel, the music faded until he finally stopped.

In the nearby nave, the Last Post was sounded by buglers from the Royal Marines and moments later the Reveille was played by the State Trumpeters of the Household Cavalry.

Philip served as Captain General of the Royal Marines for more than six decades and at the end of the service the buglers sounded Action Stations.

Members of the royal family follow Prince Philip's coffin towards St George's Chapel

The short piece was a fitting finale and is played on a warship to signal all hands should go to battle stations.

Finally the National Anthem was sung by the reduced choir as the service came to an end and the Royal Family followed the Queen out of the chapel. On her way out, she glanced down at the opening to the Royal Vault.

In loving memory, Lilibet's wreath... White blooms including lilies, roses, freesia and sweet peas are placed on top of Prince Philip's coffin A wreath of white blooms including lilies, roses, freesia and sweet peas was placed on top of Prince Philip's coffin. They were chosen by the Queen and included a handwritten card written by his wife of 73 years. Edged in black, the note poignantly said: 'In loving memory'. What was written below was hidden in the flowers but some reports have suggested the Queen signed it off as 'Lilibet.' It is the nickname she was given as a child and is used by her closest family members. The Queen signed 'Lilibet' on the flowers at her mother's funeral in 2002. Advertisement

As a little girl, some 85 years earlier, she witnessed her grandfather taking his leave the same way.

And nearly two decades later, in 1952, the same mechanical lift hidden under a slab in the aisle was used to lower her father, King George VI, into the tomb.

How to distil the memories from a vast portfolio that must have floated across her mind's eye yesterday?

Beyond the castle walls hundreds gathered to pay their respects. Among them was Erica Myers Davis, a council member of the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League.

She explained: 'I was part of Operation Forth Bridge, Philip's funeral plans. Had it not been Covid times, I would have been marching in the procession.'

Andrew Try, chairman of the Royal Windsor Rose and Horticultural Society, recalled how the Duke had once playfully 'chatted my wife up' at a Diamond Jubilee event. 'He was a very charming character. He had a twinkle in his eye.'

Well-wishers gathered outside Buckingham Palace, too. Royal Navy veteran Mark Elphick said: 'I wrote the Duke a letter when he retired from public service and I got back a beautiful handwritten letter, not written by his secretary but by the Prince himself. He was one of us, a genuine bloke.'

Back in Windsor, one woman, Maureen Raine, 84, recalled how she played truant from school to see the Duke at some long forgotten municipal engagement in the late 1940s.

Still remembering his film star good looks, she said: 'Some of the older girls were singing a popular song of the time to him. It was (I'd Like To Get You On A) Slow Boat To China. And who could blame them  he was gorgeous.

'I think many people have been affected more by his death than they imagined.

'He was a man of great dignity, from a different age, and I don't suppose we'll see his like again.'
States have long grappled with how to best handle the obstruction issue. After court data showed more than 1,400 citations in one year for people driving on Maryland highways with windshields obstructed by objects or materials, the state changed its law in 2017. The violation is no longer a primary offense, which would justify a traffic stop, but a secondary offense, which can only be cited after a motorist has been pulled over for something more serious, such as speeding.
Mumbai, April 17 : Actor Rannvijay Singha never bothers about what position he enjoys in the industry, as long as he can provide for his family.

"My priorities are not about making a place (in the industry) or not, that is not the question. (The) Question is if I have been able to provide for my family, friends and people around me. Yes, I have done that," he told IANS.

The actor says this has been his goal all along. "Whether it was as an actor, presenter, influencer or brand ambassador, the intention of working for me was to provide," he says.

Rannvijay, who is currently a part of the series "Sumer Singh Case Files: Girlfriends", is known for hosting reality shows such as "Roadies" and "Splitsvilla". He says he is lucky that his work revolves around the things that he is passionate about.

"The kind of things that I enjoyed were adventure, sports, family. My career is what my passions are. So I can enjoy and have fun. It makes no difference if I have a place or not in the industry. There are no ranks here. It's not like the army. For different people, priorities are different," he says.

"Sumer Singh Case Files: Girlfriends" casts him as a cop.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga asked U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. on Saturday to provide additional supplies of COVID-19 vaccine to Japan, Japanese officials said.

Suga made the request during telephone talks with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on the last day of his three-day visit to Washington for a White House meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden.

Bourla was quoted by the officials as saying Pfizer would like to promote consultations about the request swiftly and coordinate closely with the Japanese government.

The talks came as Japan trails far behind Britain, the United States and elsewhere in providing vaccinations to people.

Japan relies solely on imported coronavirus vaccines, and Pfizer's vaccine is the only one the country has approved so far. - Kyodo
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Story by SARA BURNETT and MICHAEL TARM, Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP)  Newly released video that shows a Chicago police officer fatally shoot a 13-year-old will be key evidence when prosecutors consider a case against the officer and are confronted with both the emotions surrounding the chilling footage and legal precedent that makes it difficult to bring charges against law enforcement.

Video of last months encounter was released Thursday and provoked an outpouring of grief and outrage. It shows Officer Eric Stillman shooting Adam Toledo less than a second after the boy drops a handgun, turns toward Stillman and begins raising his hands.

Some viewers have called for Stillman to be charged or fired. But for others, the video shows how difficult such decisions might be for prosecutors and police higher-ups, with an officer making a quick decision to shoot after chasing a suspect down a dark alley while responding to a report about gunshots.

Whether Stillman is charged will be up to the Cook County states attorneys office, which will get the Civilian Office of Police Accountabilitys report after the independent board completes its investigation.

Several legal experts said Friday that they dont think Stillman could be charged under criteria established by a landmark 1989 Supreme Court ruling on the use of force by police, though another said prosecutors might see enough evidence to justify an involuntary manslaughter charge and let a jury decide guilt or innocence.

The killing of Toledo, who was Latino, by Stillman, who is white, adds to already-heightened tension over policing in Chicago and elsewhere in the U.S., particularly in Black and Latino communities. The videos and other investigative materials were released against the backdrop of the trial in Minneapolis of former Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd and the recent police killing of another Black man, Daunte Wright, in one of that citys suburbs.

Around a thousand people gathered Friday evening in a park on Chicagos northwest side, some holding signs that read, stop killing kids and CPD cant be re-formed. A brass band played music as the crowd chanted, no justice, no peace.

Andrea Fernanda Serrano kneels as she pays her respect to the site where 13-year-old Adam Toledo. was shot by police now marked with a mural in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, Friday, April 16, 2021, a day after the body camera video release of fatal police shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar)AP

Dulce Rodriguez, 34, held a sign that read, We are Adam Toledo. Her 5-year-old daughter, Vida waved a large Mexican flag.

That couldve been anybodys kid, said Rodriquez, who lost a cousin to gun violence last June.

Police didnt do anything. They entice it, she said, referring to gun violence within under-resourced neighborhoods like where she lives. We do better when theyre not there.

Although Mayor Lori Lightfoot implored the public to keep the peace and allow the police review board to complete its investigation, some had already made up their minds about what happened to Toledo, whose mother described him as a curious and goofy seventh grader who loved animals, riding his bike and junk food.

Speaking Friday on the floor of the Illinois House, state Rep. Edgar Gonzalez, who lives four blocks from where Toledo died, called the killing a murder and expressed frustration at what he described as a too-familiar pattern of police abuse.

So if you put your hands up, they shoot. If you put your hands down, they shoot. If you walk, you run, you hide, you sleep, you do exactly as they say, they still shoot, Gonzalez said. So I ask the members of this chamber, what are we supposed to do?

A memorial near the spot where 13-year-old Adam Toledo was shot by a police officer in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood, Friday, April 16, 2021, a day after the body camera video was release of the fatal shooting. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar)AP

When asked about the video Friday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki called it chilling and a reminder that across the country, law enforcement uses unnecessary force too often, resulting in the death of Black and brown Americans. She said she didnt know if President Joe Biden had watched it.

Stillman was responding with other officers to reports of shots fired in Little Village, a predominantly Hispanic, working class neighborhood of the citys southwest side, at around 3 a.m. on March 29. Nineteen seconds elapsed from when Stillman got out of his squad car to when he shot Toledo. His jumpy, nighttime bodycam footage shows him chasing Toledo on foot down an alley for several seconds and yelling Police! Stop! Stop right (expletive) now!

As the teen slows down, Stillman yells Hands! Hands! Show me your (expletive) hands!

Toledo then turns toward the camera, Stillman yells Drop it! and midway between repeating that command, he opens fire and Toledo falls down. While approaching the wounded boy, Stillman radios in for an ambulance. He can be heard imploring Toledo to stay awake, and as other officers arrive, an officer says he cant feel a heartbeat and begins administering CPR.

Other video footage released Thursday shows that Toledo had a gun in his right hand just before he was shot, and Stillmans bodycam footage shows him shining a light on a handgun on the ground near Toledo after he shot him.

In its 1989 ruling, the Supreme Court said officers use of force may be legal if they truly believed their lives were at risk in the moment  even though, in hindsight, it becomes clear they werent actually in danger.

The legality of a deadly shooting, the high court said, must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight. Similar wording is incorporated into Illinois law and the Chicago Police Departments use-of-force guidelines.

Stillman knew Toledo had a gun within a second or two of shooting him, and the officer knew shots had been fired in the area minutes earlier, said Phil Turner, a former federal prosecutor in Chicago.

I dont think there is any question that any other reasonable officer would have acted in the same way that officer acted, Turner said. It was such a split-second decision. I dont think the officer will be charged.

Stillmans attorney, Tim Grace, said the officer was faced with a life-threatening and deadly force situation and that All prior attempts to deescalate and gain compliance with all of the officers lawful orders had failed.

But Adeena Weiss-Ortiz, an attorney for Toledos family, told reporters its irrelevant whether Toledo was holding a gun before he turned toward the officer.

If he had a gun, he tossed it, she said. The officer said, Show me your hands. He complied. He turned around.

Stillman, who served in Afghanistan with the Marines and is a staff sergeant in the Selected Marine Corps Reserve, joined the police department in 2015, according to an incident report from the shooting.

During his six years with the department, Stillman has been named in at least four use-of-force reports, according to data collected by the Invisible Institute, a Chicago-based group that tracks police misconduct. In each report, the subjects were listed as Black men in their late 20s or older. The reports include a takedown/emergency handcuffing in 2017, and wristlocks, takedowns/emergency handcuffings and strikes with an open hand in 2018 and 2019.

Alison Flowers, who heads the institutes investigations, called the number of reports concerning, adding, Usually, we see that level of activity more over the course of a long career, not in a matter of just six years.

In addition to posting Stillmans bodycam footage, the review board released footage from other bodycams, four third-party videos, two audio recordings of 911 calls, and six audio recordings from ShotSpotter, the technology that led police to respond to the sound of gunshots that morning.

Toledo and a 21-year-old man fled on foot when confronted by police. The man, Ruben Roman, was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest but was later charged with felonies including the reckless discharge of a firearm, illegal use of a weapon by a felon and child endangerment. He was ordered held on $150,000 bond.

Right after the shooting, people in the community started calling on the review board to release any bodycam footage of it. The Chicago Police Department has a long history of brutality and racism that has fomented mistrust among the citys many Black and Latino residents. And the city has a history of suppressing damning police videos, including its efforts to prevent the release of footage of the 2014 killing of Laquan McDonald by a white officer who was eventually convicted of murder.

___

Associated Press writers John OConnor in Springfield, Illinois, Don Babwin, Kathleen Foody and Sophia Tareen in Chicago, and Corey Williams in West Bloomfield, Michigan, contributed to this report.

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Fans of MTVs The Challenge will surely tune in for the end of season 36, Double Agents. And The Challenge: All Stars is also airing on Paramount+. But fans are surely wondering whats going on with season 37. While MTV has yet to formally announce the return of the show, it seems rumors are already circulating about where the new season will be located. Heres what we know.

[Spoiler alert: Potential spoilers for the cast of The Challenge Season 37.]

Is MTVs The Challenge filming now? Season 37 is underway

Rory Kramer, Ashley Mitchell, and Johnny Bananas Devenanzio of MTVs The Challenge | Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for MTV

RELATED: The Challenge: Aneesa Ferreira Said Lolo Jones Should Never Come Back on the Show

MTVs The Challenge has a serious fan base, and its no surprise the show will be back for season 37. While MTV has yet to make the official announcement, filming has allegedly begun.

According to Screen Rant, a spoiler account on Twitter is divulging season 37 secrets. The account GamerVev noted pre-production is underway. Its also reported that mandatory quarantine is happening for the new cast starting on April 11, 2021, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Screen Rant notes not every contestant quarantining will make it on to the show, as MTV wants to have a surplus of cast members available in case someone does test positive. But its a promising sign that quarantining has reportedly begun.

So, who is currently gearing up to go on the show? Nany Gonzalez, Nelson Thomas, Nam Vo, Tori Deal, Devin Walker, Liv Jawando, Fessy Shafaat, Ashley Mitchell, Cory Wharton, Big T, Josh Martinez, Kaycee Clark, Aneesa Ferreira, and Kyle Christie are all reportedly coming back for back-to-back seasons following Double Agents. Veteran player Amanda Garcia will also reportedly return.

Where is The Challenge location for season 37?

Which Challenge competitor do you think is overdue for a win? https://t.co/PKmLdO3xdg @GEICO  Bad Gal TJ (@ChallengeMTV) April 14, 2021

So, where will the new season of MTVs The Challenge take place? The rumor suggest Croatia is the next location. While the last few seasons of the show had contestants in colder climates, it looks like the warm sun will be back for the next season.

Showrunner Emer Harkin spoke to Variety about filming in Iceland for season 36, too. It seems production wanted Iceland for its picturesque beauty, but also, because contestants couldnt travel for the finale, they needed to take that into consideration.

Traditionally, I scout a couple of months in advance, so Ill go to multiple countries and check what they have on offer, Harkin continued. That was simply not possible this time. She then had to take virtual tours to scout the location. Being able to do that virtually was really, really eye-opening [but] its also quite daunting because you can never underestimate the advantage of having boots on the ground and really seeing and feeling a location, she added.

Past competitors had a hard time with the colder, bleaker locations

Place your bets, who do you think will win #TheChallenge36? https://t.co/Fjzm1E3TER  Bad Gal TJ (@ChallengeMTV) April 12, 2021

Competitors on past seasons of MTVs The Challenge talked about the difficulties of a colder climate. On Total Madness, Johnny Bananas Devenanzio said it was one of the most depressing seasons hed ever been on due to the bunker living and bleak outdoors.

I have never known in my life what true depression feels like until I lived in this bunker for eight weeks, Devenanzio told the Challenge Mania podcast. Living underground, breathing artificial air, no natural light. Seasonal affect disorder, you not being able to see actual light, really does a number on the human body and on the mind. And I got to a point on this show where  I felt like I was depressed, dude. I have nothing to look forward to.

If Devenanzio returns, were sure he can look forward to the warm sun in Croatia, but it doesnt look like hes on the list of possible contestants to join the cast for season 37.

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US President and Japan Prime Minister on Friday (local time) reiterated their calls for a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

The meeting between Biden and Suga is their first face-to-face meeting since the US President took office in January.

According to a joint leaders' statement posted on the White House website, the two leaders exchanged views on the impact of China's actions on peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and the world, and shared their concerns over Chinese activities that are inconsistent with the rules-based order, including the use of economic and other forms of coercion.

"We will continue to work with each other based on universal values and common principles. We also recognize the importance of deterrence to maintain peace and stability in the region. We oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East China Sea," the joint leaders' statement read.

The two leaders also reiterated their objections to China's unlawful maritime claims and activities in the South China Sea and reaffirmed our strong shared interest in a free and open South China Sea governed by law, in which freedom of navigation and overflight are guaranteed, consistent with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

"We underscore the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues. We share serious concerns regarding the human rights situations in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region," the leaders' joint statement read.

"Together, we will continue to work with allies and partners, including with Australia and India through the Quad, which has never been stronger, to build the free, open, accessible, diverse, and thriving Indo-Pacific we all seek. We support ASEAN's unity and centrality in the Indo-Pacific, as well as the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific," it added.

The leaders' statement also stated that Washington and Tokyo will "support a transparent and independent evaluation and analysis, free from interference and undue influence" of the origins of the COVID-19 outbreak and for investigating outbreaks of unknown origin in the future.

"Our governments will continue to meet at all levels, including to coordinate and implement our policies toward realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific. Above all, we renew our investment in the very idea of steadfast alliances - knowing that our partnership will make security and prosperity possible for both our peoples for decades to come," the statement read.

The US also extended its support towards Japan for holding a safe and secure Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer. Both leaders expressed their pride in the US and Japanese athletes who have trained for these Games and will be competing in the best traditions of the Olympic spirit.

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea and has overlapping territorial claims with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan.

China has been increasing its maritime activities in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea over the past few months, partly in response to Beijing's concerns over the increasing US military presence in the region because of escalating Sino-US tensions.

Beijing's rising assertiveness against counter claimants in the East and South Sea has resulted in unprecedented agreement across the Indo-Pacific.

(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 winners of last weekend's general elections in Peru begin campaigning this Friday for the presidential runoff in June.

Leader of the Fuerza Popular (Popular Force) party Keiko Fujimori called on her opponent Pedro Castillo to stop dividing citizens and to make known his proposals for the second round of the 2021 elections.

For his part, Castillo, presidential candidate for the Peru Free political party, has called for non-aggression and invited Fujimori to "shake hands" if they coincide in their campaign.

The country's elections have come at the worst moment of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 54,000 people and infected more than 1.6 million.

If elected Keiko Fujimori could become Peru's first female president in two hundred years since the country proclaimed its independence from Spain in 1821.

Fujimori, daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, aspires to govern with an "iron fist", in reference to the decade-long rule of her father 1990-2000, who is in prison after being sentenced to 25 years in jail for corruption and the murder of 25 Peruvians.

She has promised to free him if she comes to power.

Castillo proposes to elaborate a new constitution to replace the last, established in 1993, to expel foreign criminals and welcome those who come to work and study.

He promises to nationalize mining, oil and energy deposits, announcements which could alarm investors.

Although Castillo is a leftist, he also has conservative positions: he is against the gender approach in the school curriculum, opposes abortion and equal marriage.

The run-off election will be held on Sunday, June 6, 2021.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson's Remarks on Negative Content Concerning China in US-Japan Joint Leaders' Statement

2021/04/17

Q: On April 16 EDT, US and Japanese leaders released a joint statement after their meeting, expressing concern over issues relating to Taiwan, Diaoyu Dao, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and the South China Sea. Does China have any comment?

A: Taiwan and Diaoyu Dao are both Chinese territory. Issues relating to Hong Kong and Xinjiang are purely China's internal affairs. China has indisputable sovereignty over islands in the South China Sea and waters around them. The US-Japan Joint Leaders'Statement grossly interferes in China's domestic affairs and severely violates basic norms governing international relations. China deplores and rejects it. We have stated our solemn position to the US and Japan through the diplomatic channel.

While talking about "free and open", the US and Japan are actually ganging up to form cliques and fanning bloc confrontation. This anachronistic move runs counter to the aspiration for peace, development and cooperation shared by the overwhelming majority of countries in the region and beyond. It will only enable the world to see with increasing clarity the detrimental nature of the US-Japan alliance, which attempts to undermine regional peace and stability.

We urge the US and Japan to take China's concern seriously, abide by the one-China principle, and immediately stop meddling in China's domestic affairs and harming Chinese interests. China will take all necessary measures to resolutely defend its sovereignty, security and development interests.
President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Joe Biden will hold their first in-person next month in Washington, D.C., Cheong Wa Dae confirmed Friday. EPA-Yonhap



By Jung Da-min



The denuclearization of North Korea is expected to top the agenda during the first summit between President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Joe Biden, which will be held late next month, a Cheong Wa Dae official said Friday.



The two heads of state are also expected to address strained relations between South Korea and Japan and discuss how to deal with an assertive China in the Indo-Pacific region.



Earlier in the day, the presidential office confirmed a White House announcement made hours previously that President Moon will travel to Washington, D.C. in late May at Biden's invitation.



Cheong Wa Dae said the summit is expected to focus on how to handle North Korea's denuclearization under the new U.S. administration. The Biden government is now in the final stages of its policy review on the Kim Jong-un regime.



"President Moon's visit to the United States will take place around the time when the results of the U.S. government's policy review on North Korea will be announced, so it will serve as an opportunity for South Korea and the U.S. to work together from the beginning to the end of the review of the policy," the official told reporters.



The summit between Moon and Biden will come about a month after the meeting between Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga set for Friday (local time) in Washington, D.C.



White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a press briefing Thursday that a prominent issue during the summit would be regional security, including the countries' joint commitment to the denuclearization of North Korea and how to approach China with shared coordination and cooperation.



But what's drawing more attention is the messages Washington will give to Seoul and Tokyo, both allies of the U.S., as ties between the two have worsened over their wartime history, trade and Tokyo's recent decision to discharge contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.



A senior U.S. official told reporters Thursday that Biden wants to discuss the deterioration of relations between South Korea and Japan during his first in-person summit with Suga.



"It is concerning to us, even to the point of being painful for us, to see relations between Japan and South Korea fall to the current level. The political tensions are such that we believe it actually impedes all of our abilities to be effective in Northeast Asia, and I think the president will want to discuss this in some detail with Prime Minister Suga," the official said.



Meanwhile, Cheong Wa Dae and the White House showed differences in their choices of words on the issue of denuclearization talks with North Korea. While Cheong Wa Dae chose to use "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," the White House kept using "denuclearization of North Korea."



Regarding the issue, Psaki said Washington is concerned about the intentions of the North Korean leadership. Some North Korea watchers said the Biden administration is concerned that Pyongyang could use the term, "the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," as a pretext for arms reduction talks.



Cheong Wa Dae said Moon and Biden would also discuss cooperation on a wide range of issues, including the COVID-19 pandemic, how to boost their economies as well as the climate crisis.



"The Biden administration has announced its plans to boost infrastructure spending and is reviewing the supply chain of four key materials semiconductors, batteries, rare earth elements and pharmaceuticals  and has been in consultation with South Korea on how the countries could cooperate in those fields," said the Cheong Wa Dae official.


The 'shellfish war' between the UK and the EU moved closer to a resolution last night after fishermen around the country were given the green light to export their catches to the continent.

No 10 was left furious earlier this year when the EU suddenly announced a ban on the export of live mussels, oysters, clams and cockles in what was viewed as an act of revenge for Brexit.

The European Commission said it would not accept crustaceans fished from Britain's so-called Class-B waters  which account for the vast majority of the produce  on the grounds of 'purity', despite Ministers being able to point to correspondence in which Brussels assured the UK that the exports would be allowed if accompanied by the right health certificate.

The 'shellfish war' between the UK and the EU moved closer to a resolution last night after fishermen around the country were given the green light to export their catches to the continent. Picture: File image

But now, in a review, the independent Food Standards Agency has upgraded the waters off Kent, Essex, Devon, Cornwall and Northumberland to Class A.

So shellfish caught there can avoid the EU ban without further purification treatment because they are deemed safe enough for direct consumption.

A Government source said: 'The ban on the import of shellfish from Class-B waters was without scientific or technical justification.

'They effectively changed the law to justify their position in blocking the trade, despite clear indications that the export from Class-B waters for purification could continue after the transition period.

'This resulted in damage to markets on both sides of the Channel.'

Addressing suspicions that Ministers manipulated the system to foil the EU, the source added: 'The independent review was conducted according to long-standing and stringent protocols on health standards.

The European Commission said it would not accept crustaceans fished from Britain's so-called Class-B waters. Picture: File image

'The UK is a world leader in environmental and health standards, and we take our responsibilities on food exports extremely seriously.

'More produce from UK waters will now be eligible for export to the EU again, boosting the British fishing industry.'

Environment Secretary George Eustice had been so infuriated by the Brussels ban that he considered blocking imports of fashionable mineral waters such as San Pellegrino and Perrier in retaliation by ending Britain's 'rollover recognition' of natural mineral waters.

EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides  or 'Calamity Kyriakides' as she is dubbed in Whitehall  has refused demands from Mr Eustice to meet to resolve the dispute.

One Minister has said privately the rows were due to Brussels 'trying to punish us for daring to become a nation state'.
LANSING, MI - For the first time in several months, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republican leaders in the Michigan Legislature actually agree on something.

Whitmer this week opted to generally avoid imposing significant new COVID-19 restrictions, even though the states case and hospitalization rates are the worst in the country. Instead, the governor pushed once more for more people to get vaccinated and comply with mask-wearing and social-distancing guidelines.

Read more: Whitmer says Michigans COVID-19 surge is due to variants and non-compliance, not a policy problem

Both Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, and House Speaker Jason Wentworth, R-Clare, praised the governors decision, which was against the advice of CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, who suggested Monday that Michigan shut things down.

Shirkey applauded Whitmer in a Wednesday tweet.

I applaud @GovWhitmer for resisting the tremendous pressure to lock our state down and trusting Michiganders to do the right thing.  Sen. Mike Shirkey (@SenMikeShirkey) April 14, 2021

Gov. Whitmer is right to reject calls for new restrictions and shutdowns, Wentworth said in a statement, echoing the push for more residents to get vaccinated. This is no time to go backward in our fight against COVID.

The state did on Friday order expand mask rules to children age 2 to 4 years old, and extended the mask mandate and gathering restrictions to May 24.

The Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association, which has been critical of Whitmers administration throughout much of the pandemic, celebrated the relatively mild expansion of mandatory COVID-19 precautions.

We laud the difficult, but appropriate decision today by MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel to extend the existing Epidemic Order, said MRLA CEO Justin Winslow While the Order maintains limits on occupancy in restaurants, banquets and event centers, it very importantly opts not to close them a third time as has been suggested by some.

Whitmers administration did, however, face some backlash this week.

Travel advice flouted

There was blowback after Hertel, director of the states Department of Health and Human Services, took a spring break trip to Alabama despite her own departments recommendation not to travel.

Hertel confirmed that she received her second COVID-19 shot on Wednesday, April 14, meaning she wouldnt be considered fully vaccinated until at least April 28.

Travel increases your chance of spreading and getting COVID-19, the departments travel advisory states. We recommend that you do not travel at this time.

While the document goes on for two pages on how to protect yourself from COVID-19 if you travel, Republicans were quick to denounce Hertels trip as hypocritical. Tricia Foster, Whitmers chief operating officer, also was dragged last week for a trip to Florida.

Maybe, they learned some good, freedom-loving things down south, said House Rep. Steven Johnson at the beginning of a Thursday, April 15 House Oversight Committee meeting.

Whitmer called the criticism of her officials partisan attacks.

The governor also faced criticism this week after making a false statement that there have never been travel restrictions in Michigan.

There just havent been, she said.

Whitmer ordered residents to stay home on March 23, 2020, with most travel banned. People could leave their homes for essential functions such as shopping for groceries, and non-residents could travel to leave the state. Whitmer also banned the travel between vacation homes in April 2020.

The statement earned the ire of Republicans such as Rep. Thomas Albert, R-Lowell.

The governor is allowing double standards and trying to inaccurately rewrite history, he said in a statement. The people of Michigan deserve better.

Johnson and Johnson vaccine paused out of abundance of caution

A wrench was thrown into Michigans rapidly developing immunization strategy this week when federal health officials advised halting the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Michigan agreed to pause use of the single-dose COVID-19 vaccine while federal regulators further investigate a handful of rare but severe cases of blood clotting post-inoculation.

On Tuesday, April 13, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the temporary pause after becoming aware of six concerning reactions out of more than 6.8 million doses administered across the country.

Here is everything you need to know about the pause.

Read more: Heres what we know about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause

Federal regulators havent provided a timeline for when use of Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine might resume, but they dont expect it to be prolonged.

The timeline will depend obviously on what we learn in the next few days, however we expect it to be a matter of days for this pause, said Dr. Janet Woodcock, acting commissioner for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, during a virtual press call Tuesday, April 13.

Read more: CDC expects pause of J&J vaccine to be matter of days as experts study extremely rare blood clots

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson Nicole Hester/Mlive.com

Democrats continue push against Senate Republican voting bills

Various groups vehemently opposed a 39-bill package introduced by Senate Republicans last month to change election law, particularly aimed at controlling the absentee ballot process.

First, Ford, General Motors and more than 30 Michigan corporations issued a joint statement Wednesday denouncing the bills. Hours later, the Detroit chapter of the NAACP rallied on the state Capitol steps to protest the legislation.

Read more: Ford, GM, slew of Michigan corporations denounce Senate Republican voting bills

They would place democracy on a ventilator, said chapter President Dr. Wendell Anthony to a crowd of about 100. They dont provide greater access, but a grand scheme to suppress the rights of a select group of Michiganders.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson signaled her office will fight the bills, calling them poisonous.

This is an attack on our democracy and the American values that make our country strong, Benson said at a Thursday press conference. They are deceiving the public by claiming their bills improve election integrity when they simply make it harder for all citizens to vote. So dont believe them.

These proposals are based on the lies that sought to undermine the will of the voters in our democracy last year. And they should be seen for what they are: an extension of those same lies, seeking to continue to undermine the will of Michigan citizens.

A hearing to discuss the bills was scheduled in the Senate Election Committee on Wednesday afternoon, but the unexplained absence of Sen. Ruth Johnson, R-Holly, delayed it. The former secretary of state is one of the packages lead sponsors.

The bills are scheduled for a hearing next Wednesday, April 21.

More on legislation:

Members of the House Judiciary Committee debated modernizing the states distracted driving bills. Measures include more exemptions for hands-free devices, but also higher fines and banning social media usage while driving.

Read more: Modern updates to texting while driving law debated in Michigan House
HARTFORD  The Hartford will pay $650 million to help settle sexual abuse claims against the bankrupt Boy Scouts of America, according to an agreement announced Friday by the insurance giant and the BSA.

That payout to a proposed settlement trust to compensate abuse survivors would supplement contributions from the national BSA, local councils, participating chartered organizations and other participating insurers, according to a statement issued by the BSA.

The claims covered in the settlement between The Hartford and the BSA are related to policies mostly issued in the 1970s, although the company did not specify the number of claims. In exchange for the $650 million payment, the BSA and its local councils would fully release The Hartford from any obligation under policies it issued to the BSA and its local councils, according to the company.

We are pleased with the significant progress we have made in our Chapter 11 case through ongoing mediation, the BSA said in its statement. Our agreement with The Hartford is an encouraging step towards achieving a global resolution that will promote the BSAs efforts to equitably compensate survivors and continue the mission of scouting.

The agreement was reached after extensive negotiations, The Hartford said.

In the third quarter of 2021, The Hartford and the BSA hope to receive court approval for their agreement, but this could be delayed for various procedural reasons, the company also said in its announcement.

Based in Irving, Texas, the BSA sought bankruptcy protection last February in an effort to halt hundreds of lawsuits and create a compensation fund for men who were molested as youngsters decades ago by scoutmasters or other leaders.

On Monday, attorneys for the BSA told a Delaware bankruptcy judge that they planned to file a new re-organization plan, after gaining little support for a previous proposal that had been criticized by attorneys for abuse victims.

The BSAs previous plan called for a $300 million contribution by local councils to a victims trust, about $115 million in cash and non-insurance assets from the BSA, as well as the assignment of BSA and local council insurance policies. In return, the 253 local councils and thousands of sponsoring organizations would be released from further liability.

An official tort claimants committee, which acts as a fiduciary for all abuse victims in bankruptcy, has estimated the value of approximately 84,000 sexual abuse claims at about $103 billion, describing those estimates as extremely conservative.

We are committed to continuing our mediation efforts with all parties and look forward to sharing additional updates as these discussions progress, the BSA added in its statement.

The Hartfords $650 million payout represents a pre-tax number, with the companys announcement outlining other financial repercussions.

The Hartford estimates unfavorable prior year development of approximately $225 million, before tax, in first quarter 2021 that includes, among other items, a charge to increase reserves for the BSA settlement above the amount previously reserved for this exposure, the announcement said.

In addition, the company estimates that current accident year catastrophe losses, net of reinsurance, of approximately $214 million, before tax, including approximately $176 million, before tax, from February winter storms in Texas and other areas.

Unrelated to the BSA settlement, The Hartford is facing an uncertain future after it rejected last month a proposed $23 billion acquisition by insurance multinational Chubb.

State legislators are concerned about how a prospective acquisition would affect The Hartford. Ranking No. 160 on last years Fortune 500 list, it represents the second-largest publicly traded insurance company headquartered in Connecticut and employs about 6,100 in the state.

This article contains reporting from The Associated Press.

pschott@stamfordadvocate.com; twitter: @paulschott
According to one of Philip Larkins most famous poems, sexual intercourse began in 1963  which was, he noted, rather late for me.

As with much else in Larkins life however, this was not entirely truthful. Because by 1963 he had been enjoying sex for a good 18 years, with many, many women.

He may have been a late starter  he was a virgin until he was 23  but, once under way, the man who was to become one of our most celebrated poets adopted a sexual template of juggling two or three women throughout his life.

His two most enduring relationships, with fellow librarian Maeve Brennan, in Hull, and English lecturer Monica Jones, in Leicester, lasted longer than many marriages (although he also betrayed them both with a third long-term lover, his secretary, Betty Mackereth).

Philip Larkin enjoying sex with many women. His two most enduring relationships, with English lecturer Monica Jones, in Leicester, lasted longer than many marriages (pictured together)

Alongside these relationships were many other shorter liaisons with adoring admirers.

But it was Monica who was the love of his life, for 37 painful, turbulent but fiercely creative years.

She both underpinned and reassured him of his poetry  to the detriment of her own career and at considerable emotional cost.

He was the only man she ever slept with: she stayed faithful to him throughout her life, despite his refusal to commit to her.

His constant betrayals made her angry and depressed. Above all, she was dreadfully lonely and driven to despair by his behaviour.

While she lived and worked in Leicester, seeing him occasionally at weekends when it suited him, he lived Monday to Friday with Maeve in Hull, where they were publicly acknowledged as a couple.

Larkin was cruel to her in other ways, too. He provided his friend Kingsley Amis  who at that point had yet to meet her  with mocking detail of her looks and personality which Amis used to mercilessly lampoon her in his best-selling novel Lucky Jim.

That portrait of anti-heroine Margaret Peel, a harpy with garish clothes, haunted Monica for the rest of her life.

It was Monica who was the love of his life, for 37 painful, turbulent but fiercely creative years. She both underpinned and reassured him of his poetry (pictured together)

Larkin was in some ways ashamed of Monica  especially her garrulity. He once wrote to her to instruct her to never say more than two sentences or very rarely, three without waiting for a reply or comment from the person she was talking to.

In my view you would do much better to revise, drastically, the amount you say and the intensity with which you say it . . . youve no idea of the exhausting quality of yourself in full voice.

This was one reason he rarely went out with her in public. And yet he never left her. Why?

According to Martin Amis, it was because he didnt have the guts.

Andrew Motion has another view: that Larkin was trapped in a sexual bipolarity between Maeve, who as an ardent Catholic refused to sleep with Larkin for years, indulging instead only in heavy petting, and Monica, with whom he had an all-the-way relationship which satisfied (his word) his randiness.

But there was more. With Monica, Larkin had a meeting of minds.

She felt exactly the same about literature as he did and she helped erect around him the scaffolding which let his poetry happen.

That union of critical sensibility was a main supportive strand of their almost four-decade relationship.

As it happened, it was Monica who would have the last hurrah. Their last years, when they were finally living together, were the only years they could have called content.

And at the end of his life, on his hospital bed, Larkin wanted only to see Monica to tell her I love her.

I am fortunate to be the first scholar to have had full access to sections of the vast archive of Monica Joness letters to Philip Larkin in the Bodleian Library: 54 boxes of lonely misery.

And every piece of writing contained in them is addressed to one man.

I am also the last living witness to what Miss Monica Jones actually was in her prime. She taught me as an undergraduate at Leicester and later we became friends.

His constant betrayals made her angry and depressed. Above all, she was dreadfully lonely and driven to despair by his behaviour

I want now to salvage the slandered Monica Jones from the versions of her which circulated in her life and still circulate: the grim old bag (Kingsley Amis); a beast . . . who resembled an all-in wrestler who starved the poetry out of Larkin (Martin Amis); insufferable . . . frigid, drab and hysterical (Christopher Hitchens).

Her 2,000-odd letters to Philip are the last unclimbed peak in the Larkin range. And from the unplumbed depths of the boxes of letters one can exhume a Monica Jones to stand alongside him.

And which was  at the time I knew her  the real Monica? The woman who was cool as a cucumber, a calm and collected friend and teacher?

The witty woman I ate, drank, conversed and on occasion holidayed with?

Or the private Monica writing desperate, often drunken, letters to the only man she could love, who was so painfully seldom with her to receive her love?

Monica and Philip met in 1947 at Leicester University, where she was a junior lecturer and he a junior librarian.

They were drawn together by the fact that they had both been awarded glittering Firsts in their English degrees at Oxford.

Monica was also sexy. Indeed, when their relationship was fully established Monica posed, for Larkins camera and for his private delectation, as a Playboy Playmate.

They slept together for the first time in July 1950, and many more times before he left for a new job in Belfast later that summer. Her letters to him over the next weeks are an endless babble of love.

But by 1955 things had changed. Back from Belfast, where he had enjoyed many more affairs, Larkin took up a new job in Hull.

At 32 he was, he boasted, the youngest university head librarian in Britain, with double his previous salary. Not to mention a new, young and attractive trainee librarian named Maeve Brennan.

That same year his second volume of poetry, The Less Deceived  dedicated to Monica  was published, to critical acclaim. His reputation shot up like a rocket.

In 1955 his second volume of poetry, The Less Deceived  dedicated to Monica  was published, to critical acclaim. His reputation shot up like a rocket

Monica meanwhile had been harnessed by the new head of English at Leicester, whom she detested, as the department workhorse  40 tutorials a fortnight, five lectures a week, hundreds of exam scripts to mark. Departmental stars shot past her to their readerships, chairs and sabbaticals, and Monica picked up their teaching slack.

In October 1955, another miserable term starting, she burst into wailing realisation: Do you know that in this January I shall have been in this place for ten years.

I cannot bear to think of it  my best years they should have been . . . Im really wretched: my best years and nothing to show . . .

I dont deserve the dignity of being miserable, ridiculous is what I am . . . with every year you get a sort of gain  I just get loss and shrinkage . . . Why arent you coming tomorrow?

She accepts he no longer finds her sexually inflaming. Her self-laceration goes on for 16 sides, finishing: I think of you all the time.

But Monica, like Larkins mother, was an obligation, to be kept out of the way and seen by rota.

I wish we were nearer & could be together oftener, she tells him. As Maeve was, Monday to Friday 48 weeks a year.

For Monica, stress piled on stress. Her mother died in October 1959, followed two months later by her father.

The following week Arthur Collins, the former head of the English department at Leicester, whom Monica adored, also died.

All she had left was Philip. But as she was beginning to realise, for him poetry came first, and perhaps Maeve did, too.

In the summer of 1960 I arrived at University College, Leicester as an undergraduate in English.

My spirits were not high. To be accepted at Leicester, I felt, was to have failed everywhere else in academic life.

I was plumb wrong. I had struck it lucky and didnt yet know it. Monica Jones was the main stroke of luck.

Miss Jones hated the new lecturing style of tossing out a few bright ideas to spare students the effort of thinking.

Their last years, when they were finally living together, were the only years they could have called content

She threw pepper in the eyes of her listeners  proper lectures, she called them.

I can tell you I wish I could attend your lectures! said Philip. I was obliged to attend them but, after my first experiences, would have crawled over broken glass to hear them.

They were, and I speak now from half a centurys listening to many of the best lecturers in my business, tops.

What I didnt realise at the time was just how unhappy she was.

Despite his glum verdict, the Sixties were the years of Larkins ascension. Honours, fame and even showbiz glamour (he was now the Ringo Starr of verse, he jested), showered on him.

He was feted by women and his simmering affair with Maeve Brennan was about to begin seriously.

But for Monica, the Sixties  which began when she was 38 and ended when she was 47  were a decade of loss, ageing and betrayal.

Her letters from those years are a chronicle of woe, career failure, and  above all  loneliness.

Christmas 1960 was, as usual, wretched. She spent it alone and got by on soup. Her last written words for the year are: I dread the whole of the rest of my life.

But none of that was known by me at the time. Looking back, it is hard to do justice to the ways in which she enriched my life and enabled my career  she gave me the push I needed to apply (and get) my first job in academia, while her clarities about authors (Yeats and Lawrence: silly, Hardy, Thackeray, Trollope and Scott: gold) offered a way through the maze of my confused life, universe, literature and everything.

By the early 1960s in Leicester Id gathered an entourage. We became her boys and spent many happy evenings with her at her local, the Clarendon.

Larkin himself drank there with her on Sunday lunchtimes when he was in town.

She could count on seeing him about one weekend a month at this time of her life if she was lucky.

I met him I suppose a dozen times. On those who were genuinely nearest to him, he exercised vampiric force: he somehow sucked the life out of you.

Monica made the point eloquently. I do wish you could just see me sometimes; I am dull and boring and ignorant with you, I know, but with people less clever and exacting (I dont say that sarcastically; being with others shows me how much cleverer you are than anybody, really), I can sparkle, be funny, be quick and clever . . .

Monica and Philip met in 1947 at Leicester University, where she was a junior lecturer and he a junior librarian

We students found her, as she describes, fun and good company. A studiously good-looking woman, sharp on repartee, who bought her rounds.

Monica told Philip that I was a great boozer. I was, in fact, pre-alcoholic, and so was she.

In retrospect she dated 1959  my worst year  as the start of her drift into alcoholism.

But her life had been difficult for some time by then, not least because her own career was stagnating while Larkins soared. To make matters worse, his sexual interest in her was waning.

He visited Monica when it suited him, and they took an annual holiday, usually on Sark in the Channel Islands. (I have bought a new swimsuit, wrote Monica in July 1960, too small, as you directed.)

Then in the summer of 1964, Philip gave her to understand that he and Maeve had definitely split up. Monica was thrilled  but also found it in her heart to feel sorry for Maeve: She isnt used to being alone, as I am, she wrote to him afterwards. I hope I have not behaved badly . . . did you say she had dogs?

Philip could not bring himself to tell the truth. He and Maeve had by no means parted and would be joined as lovers for a further 14 years.

When she learned she was yet again deceived, Monica came near to losing her mind.

By 1965 Monica was becoming seriously worried about her solitary drinking: I dont drink terribly hard but I am near enough alcoholism to be sometimes unable to stop . . . 

Drink, when it takes over, drives her to erotomania.

She tells Philip: I sit here naked at midnight on the floor before a good fire with work to do.

I have thrown off the dressing gown because the room is hot. My urgent nipples make me think of you, but I know that at present you dont care for the like of that. I hope you will again sometime.

Please try to send me a little letter, she writes, after another solitary Christmas.

I suppose Im trying to press down the manhole cover on my awful feeling about life . . . Its just as well I havent got any children . . . Youd like me better . . . if everything around me, and everything I did, didnt cry out FAILURE . . . Im surprised and disappointed by myself. I expected better of myself.

Monicas last years in post at Leicester are a chronicle of indignity. She turned up drunk to an examiners meeting at 9am; alone, she drank all night and took to calling junior members of the department in the early hours.

Everything had been worn away, leaving only her love for Philip.

And yet, although she drank on till her dying days, the Seventies proved one of the few phases of her adult life which were  no other word for it  happy.

The decade began with what must have tasted to Monica like signal revenge.

In June 1970, Philip was given an Honorary Doctorate by Leicester. Monica  dishonoured by the English department there for 25 years  was by his side in her Oxford MA gown, a memento of what had first bound them together.

She also collaborated with Philip on The Oxford Book Of Twentieth-Century English Verse.

In totality it was a Larkin-Jones map of 20th-century poetry and sold like hot cakes.

Because it was right, Monica would have said. Although he was still with Maeve when he was in Hull, it was Monica who was now his consort and seen with him in public.

A crowning moment, in April 1974, was to attend one of the Queens parties at Buckingham Palace.

A photograph of them outside the gates shows her looking 20 years younger than Philip.

They were there again for the award of his CBE in 1975, while at the 1977 Booker dinner Philip, as chair of judges, she as plus-one, were at the Guildhall front table. She had read more of the long-list than most people at the banquet.

In 1978, he abruptly ended his relationship with Maeve.

Philip, Maeve frigidly records in her memoir, had finally determined to end the vacillation of 18 years and pledge himself to Monica Jones.

There was an unstated reason for his dumping Maeve. In 1975. Larkin had begun his affair with another library colleague, Betty Mackereth.

So he vacillated on, but less passionately; his and Bettys relationship was almost certainly celibate in later years.

His body was wrecked  both he and Monica had let themselves decline into terrible physical shape. Alcohol was the culprit. We cant give it up, Monica told me as early as 1964.

And nor could they give up each other.

It was for Monica that Larkin wrote what has become perhaps his most famous line.

In New Year 1956 they had visited Chichester and its cathedral. This visit inspired his most loving offering, designed as a 1956 Valentine poem for her  something special.

The gift poem was An Arundel Tomb, which finishes with the line What will survive of us is love.

That line is inscribed on Maeve Brennans tombstone.

Yet in his will (he died in 1985, 18 years before Maeve and 15 years before Monica) he left virtually everything of value to Monica. His bequest was bountiful.

In 1995, Monica was receiving 70,000 a year from Philips booming literary estate. Maeve got nothing. Like the wasp, he could sting after death.

The poem had been a high point for Monica.

He loved her: the world would now read the fact. But the annual pattern of their relationship had remained unbroken.

Larkin needed the love, companionship and (to stretch the word) worship of women  as much for his poetry as for himself. It was, perversely, a kind of creative stimulus.

The cost to both him and Monica in terms of life-loss were large. She, at least, paid it not voluntarily but knowingly.

Knowing too how terribly it would hurt. She could complain but never let go of him: or he of her.

Her letters are her monument to the only relationship that, at the end, mattered. As Larkin might have paraphrased his most famous last line: What will survive of us is letters.
A Jackson County jury has issued a guilty verdict against a Greenwood woman accused of first-degree murder, recommending life without parole in the death of a 52-year-old man fatally shot inside his Kansas City apartment in 2017.

Caitlyn Riffle, 28, was found guilty Friday of the first-degree murder charge brought by state prosecutors along with a lesser charge of armed criminal action, the Jackson County Prosecutors Office announced. Riffle is scheduled to be sentenced in June.

According to court documents, Riffle was an accomplice of alleged trigger-man Patrick Powell, who was convicted by jury trial two years ago in the killing of Rodney Thurber. She was accused of conspiring with Powell to kill Thurber.

In interviews with police, Riffle allegedly stated she was living with Powell at the time of the murder and had asked that a handgun be stashed in Thurbers residence. Shortly before Thurber was killed, a witness who lived with Thurber told police a woman later identified as Riffle had come to the apartment to retrieve the handgun.

In November 2017, officers responded to a shooting call in the 4600 block of Tracy Avenue. They found Thurber with multiple gunshot wounds, court records state, and he was declared dead at the scene.

The witness to the shooting told police she and Thurber were inside the apartment when a man later identified as Powell knocked on the door. The witness and Thurber were answering the door as Powell allegedly burst in and shot Thurber twice.

Powell was accused of taunting Thurber and shooting him again as he lay on the apartment floor, court records state.
Razm.info continues to publish the names of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war martyrs ever since September 27, 2020, about whom official Armenian sources have not yet announced, although most of them were buried months ago, Razm.info reported.

More than five months have passed since the trilateral statement on the ceasefire, but the official Armenian sources have not published a single list of the Armenian casualties of this war.

Various state agencies regularly publish different and incomplete lists which partly coincide and partly differ; there are repetitions and mistakes, too, on these lists.

The respective numbers provided by officials and government agencies also contradict each other, and ambiguous or vague wordings are often used.

It is also not clear whether these statistics include the fallen residents of Artsakh, especially those killed during the first half of the war.

For five months now, the Razm.info team has been trying to compile a single list of the fallenand by using open sources. Relatives and acquaintances of the fallen also provide respective information.

They are now working on a separate website about the 44-day war, and this website will include a full listas much as possibleof the fallen.

Prior to the launch of this new website, however, they have published another 71 names of war casualties about which official Armenian sources have remained silent to this day.
American spy agency leaders met on Wednesday to discuss the biggest "unparalleled" threat facing the United States today and how the Chinese have manipulated WHO to cover up the true COVID-19 origins.

Leaders of the U.S. National Intelligence agency met on Wednesday's Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing, during which they named China an "unparalleled priority" in the discussion of "Worldwide Threats."

The agency had come together for the first time since January 2019, as former President Donald Trump did not send the committee to testify on the supposed annual event last year. During this year's hearing, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines stated that the agency has found "indications" that China is influencing the WHO investigation of COVID-29 origins.

According to the Epoch Times, Republican Brian Fitzpatrick asked Haines whether the United States should have any concerns about the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) ties to the World Health Organization (WHO). Haines responded, "We've certainly seen indications that China is trying to influence the World Health Organization's efforts in this area."

This development is unsurprising after news of China continuously trying to control the WHO investigation of COVID-19 origins. Previously, it was found that China had veto powers over the team that was to investigate the Wuhan virology lab, which was soon absolved by WHO, claiming it was "highly unlikely" that COVID-19 began with a lab leak.

Even WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus felt that the investigation concluding the lab leak was "extremely unlikely," was unsatisfactory. He recommended that there should be "further investigation" into the lab leak theory.

When asked if the U.S. intelligence agencies agree with Ghebreyesus, Haines said that the agencies "do not make the assessment that the WHO report made," but rather are probing both the lab leak theory and the theory that the coronavirus was of natural origin.

Last week, a team of scientists came together in an open letter calling for a full, independent investigation of COVID-19 origins after the report released by WHO contained "incorrect, disputed, contradictory and imprecise statements" that were outlined in the letter.

Led by former National Security Council director Jamie Metzl, the open letter calls out China for their lack of transparency and for failing to enable investigators to access critical records and biological samples that would provide important insights into how COVID-19 truly began.

Aside from discussing how China is influencing the WHO investigation over COVID-19's origins, the U.S spy chief and leaders also discussed how Beijing is "a near-peer competitor challenging the United States in multiple arenas," Haines said as per Reuters. Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray added that the FBI "opens a new investigation linked to China every 10 hours."

The meeting with the U.S. spy chief and intelligence leaders focused on technology and how threats from hacking and the "malign influence of social media '' can impact national security. Panel Republican Vice Chairman Marco Rubio admitted that the technology environment of today allows for the U.S.' adversaries to "wreak havoc." Wray added that social media has become the "key amplifier" to "domestic violent extremism and malign foreign influence."
Angry Michigan parents are demanding the state drop requirements for children to wear face masks in the classroom, despite a surge in coronavirus cases.

Dozens of mothers and fathers from Hudsonville near Grand Rapids, attempted to barge their way into a school meeting to insist mask were no long compulsory on school grounds.

More than 50 parents, most of whom were not wearing masks showed up to the Hudsonville Board of Education meeting in the hope of explaining their position to board members.

Angry parents who want their children to be able to go to school without wearing masks showed up to a school meeting at Hudsonville High School on Thursday

The parents demanded face mask rules for kids be scrapped

But anger boiled over after not all of those attending were able to get inside the meeting room due to capacity restrictions which only allow 80 people inside.

School District Superintendent Doug VanderJagt has said the district will continue to follow guidelines from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and require masks to be worn.

'If we knew there was going to be 400 people that wanted to get in here, we'd have just had the meeting online,' he said to MLive. 'We didn't know how many to expect, otherwise we could have had a bigger venue and gone outside or virtual.

'Our parents' voices are extremely important for us to understand the pulse of the community, but right now it's not enough for us to get rid of masks. As soon as it becomes an option, that's a different conversation, but right now it's not,' VanderJagt said.

Parents who attended found they were not allowed inside the meeting which only angered them further

There were limits on the numbers allowed inside which made parents angrier as they were forced to wait outside

Parents were eventually asked by security to leave the school premises

After the doors were sealed and locked, parents decided to bang on the outside of the auditorium in order to be let in shouting 'let us in' until school security guards broke up the crowd.

One mother-of-five said she had 'deep concerns' about schools requiring masks be worn at school which she believes is 'physically not healthy.'

'I think that's a decision that a parent should be able to make given the harmful side effects that might occur because of it. There is not really any scientific evidence to back up the effectiveness of masks for transmitting a virus,' Jeanette Schuiteman said.

'The fact that there's no parents keeping an eye on teachers and what's going on, there's so much potential for wrong things to happen,' she said.

Plenty of other parents were left standing around outside in the cold

Schuiteman who has a boy in the 11th grade spoke of her frustration after her son began failing once remote learning became the norm.

After trying to schedule an in-person meeting with her son's teacher to discuss his progress, she was told that such a rendez-vous would not be allowed with parents not being allowed into school buildings.

'It doesn't make any sense to me. Students are coming into contact with us and coming into contact with all the other students, so it's as if I were already coming into contact with the students because my students are in the school. So it seems like a silly rule that doesn't make a lot of sense,' she said.
A high-level manager and systems administrator associated with the FIN7 threat actor has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday.

Fedir Hladyr, a 35-year-old Ukrainian national, is said to have played a crucial role in a criminal scheme that compromised tens of millions of debit and credit cards, in addition to aggregating the stolen information, supervising other members of the group, and maintaining the server infrastructure that FIN7 used to attack and control victims' machines.

The development comes after Hladyr pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit computer hacking in September 2019. He was arrested in Dresden, Germany, in 2018 and extradited to the U.S. city of Seattle. Hladyr has also been ordered to pay $2.5 million in restitution.

"This criminal organization had more than 70 people organized into business units and teams. Some were hackers, others developed the malware installed on computers, and still others crafted the malicious emails that duped victims into infecting their company systems," said Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa A. Gorman.

"This defendant worked at the intersection of all these activities and thus bears heavy responsibility for billions in damage caused to companies and individual consumers."

Also called Anunak, Carbanak Group, and the Navigator Group, the malware campaign unleashed by FIN7 is estimated to have caused overall damage of more than $3 billion to banks, merchants, card companies, and consumers.

The attacks involved targeting the restaurant, gaming, and hospitality industries by sending spear-phishing emails containing decoy documents with the goal of plundering customer payment card data, which were then used or sold for profit in online underground marketplaces at least since 2015.

In the U.S. alone, FIN7 has been responsible for the theft of more than 20 million customer card records from over 6,500 individual point-of-sale terminals at more than 3,600 separate business locations. Besides the U.S., FIN7 attackers left their fingerprints in a string of orchestrated intrusions against retailers in the U.K., Australia, and France. Some of its high-profile victims included Chipotle Mexican Grill, Chili's, Arby's, Red Robin, and Jason's Deli.

At the sentencing hearing, Hladyr said he had "ruined years of my life and put [his] family through great risk and struggle."
Sexual abstinence and 'purity culture' are often conflated but aren't the same, Tim Keller explains

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What's often referred to as "purity culture" is not the same thing as remaining sexually abstinent outside of marriage, though many conflate the two, according to Tim Keller, founder and former pastor of Redeemer Church in New York City.

Keller explained in a Facebook post that in the early church, the Christian sexual ethic  that "sex was only for within a mutual, whole-self-giving, super-consensual life-long covenant"  was "revolutionary," given the prevailing Greco-Roman ethic of the day.

"It was based on a radical egalitarian principle that the husbands body belonged to the wife, and the wifes to the husband (1 Corinthians 7:4). That meant that anyone who within marriage exploited or abused was violating the Christian sex ethic just as much or more as those who had sex outside of marriage," he said.

In the Greco-Roman era, men of higher social status were permitted to demand sex of anyone of lower social status even if they were married.

By contrast, purity culture is a phenomenon that arose in recent decades in some churches with the ascendancy of the book I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris, a book Harris has since apologized for and now rejects.

The book overshot Scripture and elevated specific behaviors, including sex outside of marriage, as "unforgivable sins," Keller said, and "went far beyond the Christian sex ethic to argue that you should not date or even kiss someone unless you were sure you were going to marry them."

"However, to say sexual abstinence outside of marriage is automatically 'purity culture' is at best historically naive and uninformed and at worst deliberately dishonest. They are not the same. Those who are angry at the abuses of purity culture are right to be so," Keller added.

"It has done harm and it should be called out and lamented. There is a difference."

His words come two years after Harris apologized for his book and subsequently announced that he no longer identifies as a Christian and his marriage was over. Harris' public deconstruction came amid an ongoing push within some progressive religious voices, such as Bromleigh McCleneghan, author of Good Christian Sex: Why Chastity Isn't the Only Option - And Other Things the Bible Says About Sex, who are calling for the abandonment of the historic Christian sexual ethic altogether, in part because of the damage that the purity culture of the 1990s has wrought.

Other voices, such as Juli Slattery, who leads a ministry called Authentic Intimacy and is the author of Rethinking Sexuality: God's Design and Why It Matters, have since responded to the pushback against purity culture, acknowledging the harms that it caused while distinguishing between the overemphasis on sexual morality and abstinence within purity culture and God's redemptive plan for human sexuality showcased in the entirety of Scripture.

"Every sexual issue is at heart a spiritual issue. When sex becomes confusing, it causes us to reexamine what we believe about God. Getting sex wrong usually begins and ends with getting Gods character wrong," Slattery wrote in a March 3 blog post on the overreach of purity teachings.

"The purity movement taught a God who gave us moral rules to follow, but underemphasized His redemptive nature. In our current day, we teach about Gods love and mercy, but tend to skip past His holiness and righteous judgment. This is a grave danger of which every Church generation must be aware," she said.
"Typically what we all hear about is the farmers don't want to give up any land for production, and nothing is black and white like that, but Todd DuMond and OWLA have a close working relationship and this is an example of what comes from that partnership," Hall said.

Hall and DuMond were among those hammering the cane into the Earth Saturday. DuMond said taking care of the soil and the lake is beneficial to the lake to his farm and "to everybody." His farm has implemented a series of measurements to filter water that flows through his crop field, noting the tremendous amount of time and effort into these efforts.

Tim Volk, associate professor at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, brought 1,500 willow canes, with two different kinds of willow. He said he was happy to get involved, and was glad so many volunteers were helping out.

"I think this is great, the fact that they could organize this many people to come out. One, it makes it easier, but I think any time people come and do this sort of thing, it just gives them a little more sense of ownership on what's going on in the lake and their community," Volk said.
The driver of Prince Philip's custom-built Land Rover hearse spent a week practising the right speed before the 4x4 took centre stage transporting the duke's coffin to St George's Chapel.

Soldiers from The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) had responsibility for ensuring the vehicle stuck to its precise route and timings, after several days of intense rehearsals.

The hearse, which Philip took an active role in modifying over 18 years, was at the heart of the service today.

The duke was heavily involved in plans to make sure it had a military green paint job, while adding features such as the open top rear and devices to keep the coffin in place.

He began the bespoke project in collaboration with Land Rover in 2003, adding other adjustments as recently as 2019, when he was 98.

Corporal Craig French, 29, said before the service: 'For the past week I have been rehearsing for the role of Land Rover Commander for the Royal Hearse and it is my job to support the driver, so essentially I ensure that the driver puts the vehicle in the right place at the right time and whether to speed up or slow down.

'We have done a lot of practice over the last few days and you get to feel what the correct speed is, and we know what pace we have to be at. It's now like second nature.

'There are also a couple of difficult sections on the route and on either side, there are people accompanying the hearse, so it is important to keep a safe distance.'

Members of the Royal Family follow the hearse, a specially modified Land Rover, during the funeral of Britain's Prince Philip

The purpose built Land Rover Defender hearse at the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle

The modified Land Rover hearse carries the coffin as members of the Royal Family follow behind during the ceremonial funeral procession

Meanwhile, Deputy Colonel Commandant of The Rifles, Major General Rupert Jones, son of Herbert 'H' Jones, who was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross by the Queen for his heroism in the face of battle with the Argentinians in 1982, carried the Duke on his final journey today.

Major General Jones was joined as a pallbearer by Lt Alec Heywood, a Grenadier Guard whose grandfather served at both the funeral of George VI and the Queen's coronation. He will be in command of the bearer party carrying Prince Philip's coffin.

H Jones, as he was known to all his comrades, was killed as he led the 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, into battle on the occupied British islands in the south Atlantic. He was mortally wounded by machine gun fire as he personally led the attack near Goose Green.

His son, Major General Jones, is a leading office in The Rifles. Philip, who served heroically in the Royal Navy during the Second World War was Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment, one of 42 appointments he enjoyed in the British armed forces and the Commonwealth.

Pallbearer Deputy Colonel Commandant of The Rifles, Major General Rupert Jones (left), is the son of Herbert 'H' Jones (right), who was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross by the Queen for his heroism in the face of battle with the Argentinians in 1982.

Prince Philip lifts his hat during his final public engagement in 2017 with his beloved Royal Marines, whose leaders helped carry Philip's coffin today

The Jaguar Land Rover that was be used to transport the coffin of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at his funeral. He helped design it himself

Lt Alec Heywood led the unit from The Queen's Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards as it moves the coffin from Windsor Castle's private chapel to the inner hall before the start of the funeral procession.

As a third generation Grenadier Guard Lt Heywood's family have a long history of service in the British Army. His grandfather captained The Queen's Company at George VI's funeral and the Queen's Coronation in 1953.

Lieutenant Alec Heywood, a third generation Grenadier Guard, commanded the Grenadier Guards bearer party. His grandfather was the captain of The Queen's Company at George VI's funeral in 1952 and the Queen's Coronation a year later.

The Duke of Edinburgh's beloved Royal Marines accompanied his funeral on its final journey.

Commandant General Royal Marines Major General Matthew Holmes also walked alongside the hearse during the procession.

Philip's first major appointment after his naval career ended in 1953 was as commander of the marines. His grandson Prince Harry took the role in 2017 until the Queen stripped him of all his titles when he quit as a frontline royal with his wife Meghan Markle.

Other pallbearers included Brigadier Ian Mortimer, Colonel of The Queen's Royal Hussars, Lieutenant General Roland 'Roly' Walker, Regimental Lieutenant Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, and Brigadier James Roddis, Deputy Colonel of The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Lieutenant General Paul Jaques, Master General of the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), the regiment who helped Philip design his Land Rover hearse, also helped carry the coffin, as will Lieutenant General Sir James Hockenhull, Colonel Commandant of the Intelligence Corps, and Group Captain Nick Worrall, Station Commander RAF Northolt Group.

Commandant General Royal Marines Major General Matthew Holmes also walked alongside the hearse during the procession. Group Captain Nick Worrall, Station Commander RAF Northolt Group, also accompanied the coffin

The British army's Lt. Gen. Paul Jaques (centre), Master General of the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), the regiment who helped Philip design his Land Rover hearse, also helped carry the coffin

Other pallbearers included Brigadier Ian Mortimer (left), Colonel of The Queen's Royal Hussars, Lieutenant General Roland 'Roly' Walker, and Lieutenant General Sir James Hockenhull (right), Colonel Commandant of the Intelligence Corps

Military duties began hours before the funeral at 3pm on Saturday afternoon, with Philip's coffin - covered with his personal standard and surmounted with his sword, naval cap and a wreath of flowers - moved at 11am by a Bearer Party found by The Queen's Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, from the private chapel to the inner hall of Windsor Castle.

By 2.15pm, the service detachments recognising Philip's special military relationships was in position in the Quadrangle, which was also lined by the Household Cavalry and The Foot Guards.

The Band of the Grenadier Guards, of which Philip was Colonel for 42 years, led the procession to St George's Chapel.

They were followed by the Major General's Party, and then the Service Chiefs, which included the Chief of the Air Staff, Naval Staff and Defence Staff.

Philip had a distinguished career in the Royal Navy and while he gave up active service in 1951, he remained closely connected to it and other military elements throughout his public life.

The coffin, transported from the castle to the chapel in a specially-modified Land Rover Philip helped to design, was flanked by pallbearers drawn from the duke's special relationships - the Royal Marines, regiments, corps and air stations.

The route of the procession was lined by representatives drawn from the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the Highlanders, 4th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland and the RAF.

Minute Guns were fired by The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery from the East Lawn for the duration of the procession and a Curfew Tower Bell will sound.

As the procession approached Horseshoe Cloister, the Band of the Grenadier Guards stopped playing and marched through into Denton's Commons.

The Rifles Guard of Honour, positioned in Horseshoe Cloister, gave a royal salute and the national anthem will be played.

In tribute to Philip's Naval service, a Royal Naval Piping Party of 1 Chief Petty Officer and 5 Ratings was present.

The piping party piped the 'Still' once the Land Rover is stationery at the foot of the steps.

A bearing party of Royal Marines then carried the coffin up the steps and pause for a minute's silence.

The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Dean of Windsor received the coffin.

Inside the chapel, Philip's insignia - the medals and decorations conferred on him by the UK and Commonwealth countries - together with his Field Marshal's baton, Royal Air Force Wings, and insignia from Denmark and Greece, were pre-positioned on cushions on the altar.

The Last Post was sounded by buglers of the Royal Marines from the west end of the Nave.

Buglers of the Royal Marines sounded Action Stations during the service at the duke's request.

It is played on a warship to signal all hands should go to battle stations and is sometimes featured at funerals of naval men.

Members of the royal family did not wear military uniform, but instead the royal men will wear morning coats with their medals while the women will wear day dresses.

Land Rover hearse that Philip designed himself: Open top Defender TD5 130 was custom built to Duke's orders at manufacturer's Solihull factory in 16-year project - including new coat of military green paint

For 16 years Prince Philip tinkered and toiled on a secret project he knew he would never live to see used - the hearse to carry his own coffin.

Now, two days before his funeral on Saturday, the custom-made Land Rover designed by the Duke has been unveiled for the first time.

His work on the bespoke Land Rover Defender TD5 130 chassis cab begun in 2003, the year he turned 82, and was finished aged 98 in 2019.

The open-top rear has been modified to fit his coffin and equipped with special rubber grips on silver pins - known as the 'stops' - to keep it secure while it makes the journey through Windsor to St George's Chapel.

A military man to his core, Philip also requested the original Belize Green paintwork was changed to Dark Bronze Green like those used by the armed forces.

Now, two days before his funeral on Saturday, the custom-made Land Rover designed by the Duke has been unveiled for the first time

The Land Rover Defender hearse that will carry Philip's coffin is seen for the first time as it is driven into Windsor Castle today

His work on the bespoke Land Rover Defender TD5 130 chassis cab begun in 2003, the year he turned 82, and was finished aged 98 in 2019

The open top rear has been modified to fit his coffin and equipped with special rubber grips on silver pins - known as the 'stops' - to keep it secure while it makes the journey through Windsor to St George's Chapel

For 16 years Prince Philip tinkered and toiled on a secret project he knew he would never live to see used - the hearse to carry his own coffin

The military green repaint was one of many modifications Philip made to the vehicle, that was first built a the manufacturer's Solihull factory.

With heavy duty wheels and angular structure, the sturdy design stands testament to the Duke's penchant for engineering and functionality.

Indeed, Jaguar Land Rover's chief executive has admired Philip's handiwork, hailing his 'impressive knowledge and deep interest in vehicle design, engineering and manufacturing'.

Land Rover has maintained the vehicle since it was built and has prepared it for the funeral in collaboration with the Royal Household.

Chief executive Thierry Bollore said: 'We are deeply privileged to have enjoyed a very long and happy association with the Duke of Edinburgh over many decades.

'We are also honoured that the Land Rover which the duke designed will be used at the funeral on Saturday.

'The duke was a tremendous champion for design, engineering and technology.

'During his visits to our sites he engaged with hundreds of employees and demonstrated his impressive knowledge and deep interest in vehicle design, engineering and manufacturing.

'The duke was a truly remarkable man and will be greatly missed.'

The military green repaint was one of many modifications Philip made to the vehicle, that was first built a the manufacturer's Solihull factory

Details on the vehicle include matching green hubs, a black front grille, a single cab and no registration plates

With heavy duty wheels and angular structure, the sturdy design stands testament to the Duke's penchant for engineering and functionality

Details on the vehicle include matching green hubs, a black front grille, a single cab and no registration plates.

The Duke used Land Rovers throughout his adult life and granted his Royal Warrant to Land Rover over 40 years ago.

He visited Jaguar Land Rover's manufacturing facilities on numerous occasions over the decades and accompanied the Queen when she opened Jaguar Land Rover's new Engine Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton in 2014.

The Land Rover's original role would also have been to transport the duke 22 miles from Wellington Arch in central London to Windsor, but the coronavirus pandemic curtailed the long-held plans for military parades in honour of Philip through the streets of both the capital and the Berkshire town.

It will be flanked by pall bearers reflecting the duke's special relationships with the military, the Royal Marines, Regiments, Corps and Air Stations.

Palace officials have told how the duke's interest in design sparked his desire to make the Land Rover and include it in his funeral plans, codenamed Operation Forth Bridge.

Two Land Rovers were made for 'belt and braces' in case a backup was needed.

In 2019, the duke, then 97, was driving a Land Rover Freelander when he was involved in a serious car crash involving a mother and a baby.

The car Philip was driving was hit by another vehicle when he pulled out of a driveway on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk on to a busy A road, after being dazzled by the low sun.

The duke's car flipped over and he was trapped, and had to be rescued through the sunroof by a passing motorist. He was miraculously unscathed.

The baby was unhurt, but both women in the other vehicle had to be treated in hospital, and one broke her wrist.

Three weeks after the crash, Buckingham Palace announced that Philip's driving days on public roads were finally over and that he had voluntarily surrendered his driving licence.

The CPS later confirmed Philip would face no action over the crash.
Last Friday evening, Darrin Reay left his home in southwest Colorado to meet friends at a remote camping spot he loved surrounded by sandstone cliffs in the desert beyond Moab, Utah.

When he arrived, he was alarmed to hear the suggestion of climbing a bolted route. Reay knew of no drilling on this certain slab, no anchors to hold climbers' clips. And that was for the good of ancient art on the rock above, left by Indigenous people more than 1,000 years ago.

"I started climbing," Reay recalled, "and I look up, and all of a sudden I'm standing before a giant petroglyph with a line of bolts going right through the middle of it."

He was "horrified and angry." He called his old mentor, Stewart Green, the Colorado Springs-based writer and historian who is something of an authority in American climbing, an advocate born from the sport's 1970s emersion in the West.

Green couldn't believe it. "What the hell?" he remarked.

Thus sparked an online storm of outrage that swirled with fears of lost privileges for climbers in the legendary desert, where long before them Ancestral Puebloans and Fremont people left their marks  sacred places for descendants today, reminders of the culture that came first in the region.

Bolts have since been removed from the outcrop known as Sunshine Wall north of Arches National Park. But damage to the petroglyphs is forever, said Elizabeth Hora, archaeologist for the Utah State Historic Preservation Office.

Hora called damage "shockingly common" around the state.

"And it's heartbreaking, and it's a little different every year," she said. "People are very creative in the way they damage things, which just means we don't have a very good understanding of what it is driving behaviors.

"But we firmly believe here in our office that shaming and blaming is not the way to make change."

She considered herself and colleagues "horrified" by what they read across social media: comments threatening to kill the perpetrator.

Richard Gilbert, 36, of Colorado Springs has confessed guilt. Along with death threats, he told The Gazette someone proposed his hands be cut off.

"I deserve it," he said of the scorn. "I'll take it."

Late last month, Gilbert said, he posted a description of his bolted route that he called Peaches, rated a gentle 5.3. This description came with his mention of "graffiti."

Upon reading comments to the post, Gilbert said he became convinced late Sunday that he mistook the images. Soon after, he said, he left the Springs to report to a ranger at Moab's Bureau of Land Management field office.

Under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, first-time violators could be fined up to $20,000 and imprisoned for up to one year.

In a statement to The Gazette on Thursday, the BLM declined to provide details "as the placement of the climbing bolts is an active, ongoing investigation." The statement added: "We ask the public to let the appropriate authorities determine next steps. The BLM does not endorse harassment or threatening behavior."

On Thursday, Gilbert said he had yet to hear from authorities. He said he was getting rid of his outdoor gear.

"Kinda crazy," he said. "You're out there making some routes for some disabled guys and young kids, and then you're sitting in prison."

Gilbert said he was medically retired from the military and had been climbing since 2006, traveling to crags around the country after becoming inspired through Wounded Warrior Project.

In recent years, he had been bolting routes "so that there's better access for people not just with disabilities," he said, "but also for people learning to climb." While not illegal on all public land, bolting for the sake of low-grade routes is frowned upon in climbing circles.

"Mistakes are made, and that doesn't make it any better I know," Gilbert said. "It's not. I made a mistake."

They're happening more in Utah's archaeologically-rich landscape, Hora said. She said there was "an explosion" in 2020, the pandemic year marked by unprecedented outdoor crowds, which coincided with reports of spray paint and degradation also to sensitive geology around the Pikes Peak region.

Malicious intent was rare in Utah's famed canyonlands and deserts, Hora said.

"We make mistakes," she said. "And to be totally honest, my hands are not clean in this either. As an archaeologist here and someone who loves the outdoors and does care about archaeology and prehistoric rock art, I see I'm the one who didn't equip people with the information and knowledge to make good choices."

That's the goal of the new, multi-agency Stop Archaeology Vandalism initiative.

And it should be the goal among climbers, Green said.

"Especially now with the increased number of use, we really need to adopt a Leave No Trace ethic," he said. "A lot of people nowadays are coming out of gyms, and they're having a lot of fun and not really thinking about all we have to do to be a responsible user group."

In a joint statement condemning the bolts at Sunshine Wall, some of the nation's lead climbing organizations called archaeological education "essential," saying "the cultural and spiritual value of these places cannot be measured."

Land managers have closed climbing areas for past infractions. Reay worried this one would represent another crack at the sport's existential core.

"The history of rock climbing is someone did something crazy no one else had done before and risked their life doing it. I don't want us to have to ask for permission to do that," he said. "But at the same time, if people can't do it responsibly, we're gonna be regulated and not allowed to do it again."

Born and raised on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, Reay considered Gilbert's act "sacrilegious." Reay called it "arrogant and ignorant."

"My main reason for sharing the story is to try to educate other climbers and the public not to repeat these mistakes," Reay said.

Gilbert said that was his aim, too. He said he has connected with advocacy groups to help spread the message.

"There's no reason for this to have ever happened," he said, "and it definitely never needs to happen again."
People stand outside a FedEx facility near Indianapolis International Airport after a shooting with multiple victims was reported late Thursday night, April 15, 2021. (Mykal McEldowney/The Indianapolis Star via AP) PHOTO:Mykal McEldowney/The Indianapolis Star via AP

A body is taken from the scene where multiple people were shot at a FedEx Ground facility in Indianapolis, Friday, April 16, 2021. A gunman killed several people and wounded others before taking his own life in a late-night attack at a FedEx facility near the Indianapolis airport, police said. PHOTO: (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

19-Year-Old Identified As FedEx Shooter

By The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS - The man who killed eight people at an Indianapolis FedEx facility was identified Friday as 19-year-old former employee Brandon Scott Hole  who authorities said was questioned last year by the FBI.Holes mother had called police last year saying she was worried he might try to commit suicide by cop, said an FBI spokesman.According to a police report, Hole was arrested on March 3, 2020, when police seized a shotgun from dangerous person, local station WTHR-TV reported.Officials said the killer was last employed by FedEx in 2020.Eight people were killed late Thursday night in a shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, and the shooter killed himself.

Several other people were injured when gunfire erupted at the facility near the Indianapolis International Airport.

At least four others were hospitalized, one with critical injuries. Two people were treated and released at the scene.



It was at least the third mass shooting this year in Indianapolis alone. Five people, including a pregnant woman, were shot and killed in January, and a man was accused of killing three adults and a child before abducting his daughter during at argument at a home in March.

A witness told WTHR-TV that he was working inside the building when he heard gunshots.

I see a man come out with a rifle in his hand and he starts firing and he starts yellin stuff that I could not understand, Levi Miller said. What I ended up doing was ducking down to make sure he did not see me because I thought he would see me and he would shoot me.

Family members gathered at a nearby hotel to await word on loved ones. Some said employees arent allowed to have their phones with them while working shifts at the facility, making it difficult to contact them, WTHR-TV reported.

This was the latest in a recent string of mass shootings across the U.S. Last month, eight people were fatally shot at massage businesses across the Atlanta area, and 10 died in gunfire at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado.
New Jersey is getting fewer applicants to apply to become police officers in the wake of nationwide protests and a global pandemic, officials said, even as leaders and activists agree departments need to diversify.

The problem is especially acute for the states largest agency.
The great victory of Azerbaijan in the 44-day Patriotic War did not only create a new reality in the region but also ushered in a novel phase of the Azerbaijani relations with partner countries and international organizations. Overall, this war can be called a tester for the determination of the true nature of bilateral relations with Azerbaijan. As Daily Times writes, countries shown true friendship with Azerbaijan have successfully passed this test, laying the foundation for further strengthening mutual relations.

Pakistan has also exhibited an exemplary case of friendship by unswervingly supporting Azerbaijans just cause. Our relations with Pakistan, the state supporting the just position of Azerbaijan for almost 30 years, and the settlement of the former Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict only within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, stems from the will of our brotherly nations with common historical, religious, and cultural roots. It is gratifying that our strategic partnership, built on solid foundations, has been developing upward yearly. Specifically, the determination of Pakistan to restore the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan has always been greatly appreciated. Pakistan has also been one of the closest supporters of Azerbaijan on international platforms. The mutual support of our countries in an international arena has further strengthened our bilateral ties and connections. It is no coincidence that Pakistan is a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the international and regional organization always standing by the side of Azerbaijan.

It should be noted that Pakistan has also been among the signatories of several resolutions adopted by the OIC on the former Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, expressing unequivocal support for Azerbaijans position of justice based on international law and its principles. In April 2016, at the XIII Summit held in Istanbul, the Contact Group on Armenias aggression against Azerbaijan was established within the framework of OIC and foreign ministers of respective states. The first meeting of the Contact Group consisting of 7 member states was held in 2016 as part of the Istanbul Summit. Over the years, the Group, also including the brotherly state of Pakistan, has focused its mission on accelerating the resolution of the conflict and drawing the attention of key powers to the long-existent territorial issue. The first meeting of the Contact Group on Nagorno-Karabakh was held within the framework of the 71st permanent session of the UN General Assembly. In short, the short-term, however, an effective course of activities by the Contact Group has further contributed to raising awareness by drawing particular attention to the conflict.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation similarly exhibits a real example in the post-conflict period. At the novel stage, both the OIC and the Contact Group are working to ensure lasting peace in the region.

During his visit to Azerbaijan in the first week of April, at a meeting with President Ilham Aliyev, OIC Secretary-General Yusuf bin Ahmad Al-Osaymin again reiterated the victory of Azerbaijan as a victory for the whole Islamic world. As Mr. Osaymin stated Your issue was a matter of justice  the lands belonged to you, the international law was on the side of you, supporting you by its adopted resolutions Organization of Islamic Cooperation was also with you.

Here we talk about 20 percent of the territory of your country, a huge part of Azerbaijan. Thank God, your wisdom and patience had its worth, and the issue was resolved positively and justly. For this sincerity and friendly attitude, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Aliyev awarded His Excellency Mr. Osaymin with the Order of Friendship. This order in the person of His Excellency Mr. Osaymin was an appreciation of Azerbaijan for the objective and just position of the OIC. As noted during the meeting, the 44-day war put an end to the 30 years of occupation of historical and lawful Azerbaijani lands that previously led to the suffering of more than one million Azerbaijanis and the destruction of our cities and towns.

As foreign journalists and diplomats visit the liberated territories, they get a chance to view the massive deconstruction committed by Armenians. All cities, villages, towns, historical and religious sites, mosques, and cemeteries were destroyed, looted, and desecrated. The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev rightly noted these acts as a manifestation of vandalism, Islamophobia, and hatred towards Azerbaijanis. Hence, our cities were not destroyed during the First Karabakh War, but later  during the occupation. This was a deliberate policy of Armenians to erase the Azerbaijani and the Islamic heritage to alter the origins of the historical lands of Azerbaijan. Seeing Armenian vandalism, members of the Contact Group on the settlement of the former Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict also got acquainted with these facts.

As soon as the war ended, Azerbaijan commenced the restoration work on its recently liberated historical lands. Azerbaijan wants our brothers from the Islamic world to visit the recently-freed areas to get acquainted with the reconstruction process and see what Armenians have done to our historical heritage for almost 30 years. Using mosques as stable sites is an insult to the whole Islamic world. By ending 30 years of occupation, Azerbaijan has prevented years of vandalism and terror against Islamic heritage otherwise yet to come. We will restore all our religious monuments with their original and authentic images. Friendly and brotherly states to Azerbaijan will also be closely involved in this process.

At the new phase, OIC can be closely involved in the reconstruction process in Karabakh. It was respectively stated by the President of Azerbaijan during a meeting with the Secretary-General of OIC. Azerbaijan will be utterly glad to see the OIC by its side also in the future, as after the start of the reconstruction process.

The members of the Contact Group of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) got an opportunity to visit Ganja, the second-largest and beyond conflict zone city in Azerbaijan, subjected to horrific war crimes and banned missile strikes during the war.

The impressions of the delegation on Ganja, the city where dozens of innocent civilians were killed and civilian infrastructure was destroyed due to Armenian missile strikes, were terrifying and impressive. The members of the Contact Group will shortly prepare a report on the results of these important visits. The delegation also plans to share its impressions from the visit to the liberated territories at a meeting of OIC foreign ministers in Islamabad next year.

The Islamabad meeting aims to call upon the support for the restoration of the liberated territories of Azerbaijan. Overall, after the restoration of its territorial integrity to turn Karabakh into a paradise, Azerbaijan is still continuously working to convey the Karabakh realities to the international community in the post-conflict period. In this regard, Azerbaijan always welcomes, appreciates, and needs the support of its friendly and brotherly states.
New Delhi, April 17 : Considering the alarming daily spike in Covid cases and reports of highest single-day surge of 2,34,692 new cases in the last 24 hours, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a review meeting related to the pandemic at 8 p.m. on Saturday.

The meeting was planned after the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan earlier chaired a high-level review meeting with the Health Ministers of 11 states and UTs to review measures taken by the states and UTs for prevention, containment and management of the recent surge in Covid-19 cases.

The Prime Minister will discuss the deadly second wave of the coronavirus pandemic and the national vaccination drive. This will be the Prime Minister's second Covid-related meet in two days, and third since last week.

The meeting is related to frightening spike in daily cases as over two lakh cases are being registered for the last three days in the country as well as over 1.5 lakh per day since April 11 and over a lakh per day since April 7.

The Prime Minister held a similar meet on Friday of several ministries and was briefed on the government's efforts to meet rising demand for medical oxygen to treat critically ill Covid-19 patients.

The Prime Minister also held a video conference with Chief Ministers of some of the worst-affected states.

The surge in cases has left the country's already-battered health care infrastructure on the verge of collapse, with hospitals overflowing, doctors disillusioned and fatigued, and critical medical equipment - like ventilators and oxygen cylinders in perilously short supply.

At least 11 states with highest Covid cases have red-flagged low oxygen reserves. Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal, Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh are reporting an unprecedented surge in new Covid cases.

Oxygen is desperately needed at hospitals and Covid-19 facilities to help people with advanced Covid-19 symptoms, who are often unable to breathe on their own and could die if not aided.

These states have also raised shortage of beds that has forced patients to share those available in hospitals. Ambulance services are also badly affected in many states as thousands who have either tested positive for Covid-19 or are suspected of carrying the virus, being rushed to hospitals.

Ten states of the country on Saturday accounted for 85.83 per cent of the new deaths in which Maharashtra, Delhi and Chhattisgarh reported more than half of the total number registered in the last 24 hours.

A total of 1,341 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) said on Saturday.

Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties (398) followed by Delhi (141), Chhattisgarh 138, Uttar Pradesh (103), Gujarat (94), Karnataka (78), Madhya Pradesh (60), Jharkhand (56), Punjab (50) and Tamil Nadu (33).

India's daily new cases continue to rise with 2,34,692 new cases registered in the last 24 hours.

Ten states, including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan report 79.32 per cent of the new cases.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The Member of Parliament for Kwesimintsim constituency in the Western Region, Dr Prince Hamid Armah, has donated food items and an undisclosed amount of money to Muslims in the constituency, who are preparing to begin the holy Ramadan month of fasting.



The items, which include thirty bags of sugar, thirty cartons of milk, thirty cartons of tea and fifty assorted cartons of soft drinks, were presented to representatives from the various mosques in the constituency in a short ceremony on Monday, April 12, 2020.



The items were presented on behalf of the Member of Parliament by Mr Jerry Hanson, Constituency first vice chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Abubakar Ibrahim, deputy Nasara coordinator of the party in the constituency and other party stalwarts.



Presenting the items, Mr Hanson said the gesture was in support of the Muslim community as they embark on the month of fasting and prayer.



He said the donation was one of many ways in which Dr Armah will be supporting the community and pledged that the MPs continued support and assistance to the community.



He asked Muslims in the constituency to pray for the constituency, the country and leaders at all levels so they can give off their best for the people.



Sheikh Abdul Rahman of the Kwesimintsim Central Mosque, who received the donation on behalf of the community, expressed his gratitude for the donation. The items are to be distributed to the all mosques in the constituency.



Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar and is observed with fasting and prayer by all Muslim faithful around the world to commemorate Prophet Mohammed first receiving the Holy Quran.



The fasting is expected to commence tomorrow.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Editorial Board of Politique Internationale interviewed Armenias former Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian. The interview reads as follows:

Politique Internationale  A simple question to begin with: who started the last war in Nagorno-Karabakh [(Artsakh)]?

Edward Nalbandian  There is no doubt who started. The first war in 1992-94 and the military aggression in April 2016 as well as the new war in September-November 2020 was launched by Azerbaijan. During the first war as well as in 2020 this country used mercenaries closely linked to notorious terrorist groups which was confirmed by high officials in Moscow, Paris, Washington and other capitals as well as in several international organizations. It can be said that during the war of 1992-94 and military agression in April 2016 Bakou enjoyed moral and military support of Ankara, and it is no exaggeration to state that Turkey along with Azerbaijan was the initiator and actually also a direct participant of the last war.

This large scale 44 days war with the use of all kinds of military weapons was a gross violation of the trilateral ceasefire agreements signed by Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia in 1994-95 that had been in force for 27 years and which have no time limitations. Since then Russia, the United States and France, the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, have been calling for the unequivocal implementation of these agreements.

The war was a gross violation of one of the Basic Principles for the settlement of the conflict proposed by the Co-Chairs, namely, the principle of non-use of force or the threat of force which during many years was included practically in all statements and documents on Nagorno-Karabakh adopted on the level of Ambassadors, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Presidents of the Co-Chair countries.

The war was a gross disdain for the UN Secretary-Generals Appeal for Global ceasefire in the context of pandemic issued on March 23, 2020 as well as a breach of correspondent consensual resolution N 2532 adopted by the UN SC on the July 1, 2020.

Therefore this war was not only an aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian people but also a direct act of defiance by Azerbaijan and Turkey against the Co-Chair countries, i.e. Russia, the United States and France, as well as the whole international community.

The question as such - who started the war - is exceptionally important as it also includes the context: who is responsible for thousands of men killed, wounded, maimed, missed, who is responsible for catastrophic devastations, for gross violations of human rights? Nobody can close eyes to all this, especially in front of those who shamelessly brag about their deeds.

War is a crime, that victory does not excuse, - said Voltaire.

P.I. - The co-chairs made a lot of efforts to prevent the escalation. Why those efforts did not work?

E.N. - For a very simple reason.

Azerbaijan, unlike Armenia, has declined the proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to confirm the obligation to achieve the settlement of the conflict exclusively by peaceful means. The Co-Chairs have offered more than once to enhance the capacities of the team of Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office in regard to monitoring the respect of the ceasefire regime. They offered to create a mechanism for investigation of violations of the ceasefire. On several occasions even agreements on the mechanism were achieved. Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh agreed to implement them. It was Azerbaijan that sabotaged these agreements, and there was no doubt whatsoever, as this country was trying to escape the direct responsibility for the violations of ceasefire, even though it was crystal clear which side was the violator  even without any mechanisms in force. As it is evident now who started the war.

The question as such  who started the war  is exceptionally important as it also includes the context: who is responsible for it? Who is responsible for thousands and thousands of men killed, wounded, maimed, missed, who is responsible for catastrophic devastations, for gross violations of human rights? Nobody can close eyes to all this, especially in front of those who shamelessly brag about their deeds.

War is a crime, that victory does not excuse, - said Voltaire.

P.I.  Was it possible to avoid the last war in Nagorno-Karabakh?

E.N.  Yes, it was possible to avoid the war and it should have been done.

Leaving the post of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia in May, 2018 I made a statement, emphasizing the importance of the continued efforts for preservation, strengthening and

further improvement of all what had been worked out during the years of negotiation process so that a peaceful settlement could be achieved.

It was obvious that any digression from the above mentioned could have unpredictable consequences. That was also the point of view of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

Before 2018, having led itself into an impasse in the negotiation process, Azerbaijan time and again threatened to go to war but never acted on this threat  afraid to risk open opposition to the Co-Chair countries, three permanent members of the UN SC Russia, the United States and France which have the international mandate for mediation in the conflict settlement, and therefore afraid of the risk to confront the entire international community. Nevertheless, Baku used multiple violations of ceasefire and regularly sabotage of the negotiation process in order to provoke Yerevan to abandon the negotiations, in order to shift to Armenia the responsibility for the failure of peace process. Regardless of all efforts, the Azerbaijani side couldnt achieve its goal. What is more, the position of Armenia was practically becoming more and more in line with the position of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, which was more than once echoed in public statements.

At the end of March 2016 Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan being in Washington refused to meet with the Co-Chairs in protest against their position and proposals on Nagorno-Karabagh.

Having failed in the field of diplomacy, Azerbaijan in April 2016 unleashed aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh, trying by use force to impose its vision in the framework of the negotiation process. In that time practically the entire international community called for immediate cessation of military action - with the exception of Turkey which supported the aggressive behavior of Azerbaijan. After a couple of days it was obvious that the military operation started by Azerbaijan was failing. On the 5th of April, three and a half days after the beginning of the hostilities, with active mediation of Russia a verbal agreement was reached on the restoration of the ceasefire according to the above mentioned trilateral agreements of 1994-1995. As a response to Bakus attempts to cast a doubt on the validity of these agreements, the Co-Chair countries adopted a series of statements in the period of 2016-2018 demanding the unconditional compliance with the ceasefire agreements of 1994-1995.

Therefore Baku had failed to achieve its military and political goals. Unmistakable attestations of that are the results of summits on Nagorno-Karabakh held in Vienna on May 16, 2016, in St. Petersburg on June 20, 2016 as well as many following statements adopted by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, including Joint Statements of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Russia, the United States and France on the sidelines of the OSCE Ministerial Council Meetings in Hamburg on December 8, 2016 and in Vienna on December 7, 2017. This being said, Armenia expressed its solidarity with the position of the Co-Chair countries.

P.I. - What happened after the change of Government in Yerevan in 2018?

E.N. - After May 2018, the situation began to change and not in favor of Yerevan  because of serious diplomatic miscalculations, ill-considered statements and actions of the new Armenian leadership. The Armenian side came forward with a statement that it intends to begin the negotiations "from its own point practically abandoning the accumulated results of the preceding negotiation process, but at the same time was unable to explain even to the Co-Chairs where that point was and what this approach meant. During the previous years it was time and again asserted that Armenias position echoes that of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs position but now Yerevan became the non-constructive side in the eyes of the international community. The new leadership of Armenia went even further, starting to voice doubts that the conflict could be settled through the negotiating process and even declaring that war is unavoidable.

Baku had got what it was unable to attain during many years  as a pretext for war it could use the accusation that Armenia refuses to negotiate. Nevertheless it was Azerbaijan that in the period between 2008 and 2018 refused all proposals made by the Co-Chairs not only for political settlement of the conflict but also for strengthening of confidence building measures and consolidation of ceasefire regime. Therefore the main culprit in the non-settlement of the conflict as well as, I will repeat it again, the main culprit of the provocation and unleashing of war in September 2020 is none other than Azerbaijan.

If one side is preparing for war, and it is hardly a secret that Azerbaijan was preparing for war for a long time, and the other side is of the opinion that war is unavoidable but does not do everything necessary to prevent that war, then war becomes inevitable. But even in the case when your adversary embarks on a military adventurism it is possible to stop it, if you are prepared to launch an appropriate response and if you have secured unquestionable support and understanding from the side of your allies and the international community who are ready to do everything possible in order to put an immediate stop to the military action. Such a development we witnessed in April 2016 when the war was stopped after three and a half days.

To those who even in Yerevan continue to insist that nobody could have guaranteed that negotiations which have lasted for almost 30 years would have resulted in a settlement in the near future, I would reply with the well-known saying: Better 40 years of negotiations than 40 days of war. Especially, when the negotiations were moving in the right direction and Armenia was not negotiating for the sake of negotiating but was oriented towards a settlement and the approaches of the Co-chairs and of the Armenian side had practically harmonized.

P.I.  What was the evolution of the negotiation process for the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict from 2008 to 2018 and what were the respective positions of Armenia and Azerbaijan?

E.N.  For many years Azerbaijan was insisting that the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh problem should be based only on the principle of territorial integrity, while the international community represented by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries  the Russian Federation, the United States and France  stated that the settlement of the conflict should be based on three principles of the international law conceived as an integrated whole: non use of force or the threat of force, territorial integrity, peoples right to self-determination. What is more, the Co-Chairs emphasized that prioritizing of just one of these principles would undermine the peaceful settlement.

Three principles of the settlement, among them the principle of the right to self-determination were included in the so-called Basic Principles of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement the draft of which was proposed by the Minsk Group Co-Chairs in Madrid in November 2007, during the OSCE Ministerial Council and became well-known as the Madrid document or the Madrid Principles.

These three principles were officially pronounced in five statements on Nagorno-Karabakh by the Presidents of Russia, the United States and France adopted in 2009-2013 in lAquila, Muskoka, Deauville, Los Cabos and Enniskillen as an important foundation for the solution of Nagorno-Karabakh problem.

Thanks to the efforts of Armenian diplomacy, these principles of settlement, including the principle of self-determination, for the first time were included in the Statement by the three Co-Chairs and Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Azerbaijan in December 2009 in the OSCE Foreign Ministerial Council in Athens, i.e. under these three principles, including the principle of self-determination, Azerbaijan also put its signature. Nevertheless, later Baku refuted this move. Regardless of this refusal, the Co-Chair countries during all the following years up to 2018 time and again emphasized the importance of conflict settlement based exactly on these three principles.

P.I. - How Azerbaijan rejected the agreements reached?

E.N. - Until the adoption of the Maindorf declaration of the Presidents of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan on the 2nd of November 2008 Baku refused to negotiate on the basis of the Madrid Principles. Beginning with December 2008 until the summit of the Presidents of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in Kazan on June 24, 2011 sides were negotiating the approval of the Basic Principles with the mediation of Russia and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. During this process 12 bilateral (Armenia and Azerbaijan) and trilateral (Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan) meetings of Presidents, thirty meetings of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs were held. Azerbaijan was always refuting the achieved agreements. The culmination was the Kazan Summit when Azerbaijan, contrary to expectations, refused the practically approved text, putting forward 12 amendments.

Working documents prepared by the Co-Chairs in the period from November 2007 to June 2011 - as the first step toward the settlement of the conflict with the aim that after their being agreed upon, they would serve as the basis for the peace agreement which would be legally binding, were handed over to the OSCE Secretary-General for depositing in Vienna.

Armenia had repeatedly emphasized that a comprehensive and long-term settlement is not possible without the participation of Nagorno-Karabakh. That was reflected in all working documents of the negotiation process.

P.I. - Thus the negotiation process was at an impasse

E.N. - This is absolutely not true.

Notwithstanding Azerbaijani sides refusal of practically all proposals made by the Co-Chairs we cannot say that the negotiation process had reached an impasse. Rather it was Azerbaijan that was more and more backing itself into a corner.

Intensive negotiations continued also after 2011 until 2018: 10 summits, more than 30 meetings of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, tens of separate meetings with Ambassadors-Mediators of the Co-Chair countries.

In 2011-2013, despite multiple calls by Russia, the United States and France - the Co-Chair countries, as well as a number of international organizations to continue, accelerate, conclude the process of agreement over the Basic principles, Azerbaijan rejected all proposals made by the Co-Chairs declaring that the agreement over the Basic Principles is futile and proposing to move on and draw up the peace agreement.

The Co-Chairs and the Armenian side expressed their doubts about the possibility of drafting a peace agreement when it was not possible to reach agreement over the basic principles of the settlement.

P.I. - And what happened next?

E.N. - From 2014 to 2018 Russia and the Co-Chairs continued their efforts searching for ways to find a settlement on the level of thoughts aloud method. After the project of the Basic Principles, that had been discussed during Kazan Summit and deposited in the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna as the last working document, there was no document on the negotiating table which would be a subject of negotiations between the sides. It is no coincidence that Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia several times declared that there were no working documents apart from those deposited in the OSCE. There was no Lavrovs document or any other paper. There was a search, a brainstorming on the level of ideas, said [Russian FM Sergey] Lavrov.

All these ideas, suggestions were handed over to the sides in the format of non paper. All of them were different just in form, not in essence, compared to the document discussed in Kazan Summit 2011. For example, one of the last versions of these non-paper had taken the form of three coherent documents comprising a single entity that as a whole had preserved practically all elements of the Kazan document. It was high performance of the art of diplomacy by Sergei Lavrov, the main goal of which was a search for a compromise solution. And this creative approach was supported by the two other Co-Chairs. All those suggestions formed a solid basis which encapsulated a complex approach to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In addition, Yerevan declared that the approach of the Co-Chairs was in line with the position of Armenia, and that the Armenian side was ready to continue the negotiations upon this basis to search for a way to settlement. Still, Baku rejected even those proposals

Declining practically all proposals, initiatives of the Co-Chair countries, regularly taking a step back from already reached agreements, Azerbaijan, in fact, in matters of the conflict settlement juxtaposed itself not only to Armenia but also to the international community.

The international community and Armenia, in fact, began to speak a common language: there is no alternative to the exclusively peaceful solution of the problem based on the international recognition of the right to self-determination of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and guarantees of its security.

P.I. - According to some sources, Russia and other Co-Chair countries offered to hand over to Azerbaijan 7 Armenian controlled territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabagh with nothing in return in terms of status, security guarantees

E.N. - Its a lie. The same applies to the absurd assertions that, allegedly, before 2018, the negotiations concerned the granting of Nagorno-Karabagh just only autonomy within Azerbaijan. ( In any case, Armenia could not agree to that kind of proposal, since it would return the conflict to its origins and would not give a possibility to resolve it). Such allegations not only fail to comply with the facts, but neither can withstand criticism. One can ask a very simple question: if those allegations were true, and all the proposals of the Co-Chairs were only in Bakus favor, why it happened so that it was the Azerbaijani side which up to 2018 declined all these proposals? And why on a cabinet meeting on October 18, 2016, Aliyev made a statement that the international mediators behind closed doors are putting pressure on Azerbaijan to achieve his consent to the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh?

P.I. - What concrete parameters on the conflict settlement were put forward by the Co-Chair countries?

E.N. - All proposals made by the Co-Chairs envisioned a package solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem with phased implementation in conjunction with all interrelated components of the settlement.

1). The final legal status

It was envisioned that the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh would be determined through a legally binding expression of will of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh. It was emphasized that the wording of the question or questions to be voted on would not be limited in any way presupposing the choice of any status. Belonging to the population of Nagorno-Karabakh that would take part in voting were considered persons of any nationality in the same proportion that had existed in Nagorno-Karabakh in 1988 according to the results of the last census held before the conflict. In that time Armenians were more than 76% of the population.

2). Interim status

Until the determination of the final legal status, Nagorno-Karabakh would receive an interim status with detailed description of all modalities including the formation and functioning of legislative, executive and local authorities, formation and functioning of courts, law enforcement forces, self-defense forces, obtaining of observer status in the OSCE as well as the right of membership in international organizations which would not see the interim status of Nagorno-Karabakh as an obstacle; conducting of external relations in the fields presupposed by the agreement, receiving of direct foreign investments, assistance of international donor organizations and foreign countries and access to international markets. In reality it meant status quo plus.

3). Security guarantees

The context of the interim status presupposed multilayer security guaranties: commitment of Azerbaijan to non-use of force against Nagorno-Karabakh, an international peacekeeping operation with deployment of peacekeeping forces, recognition of Armenias role as guarantor of Nagorno-Karabakhs security, entrusting security by the self-defense forces of Nagorno-Karabakh, security guarantees by the Co-Chair countries as well as adoption of a special UN SC resolution aimed at fulfillment of these goals.

4). Corridor linking Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia

Until the determination of the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh security and all questions concerning the use of the Lachin corridor were to be provisioned and solved by Nagorno-Karabakh authorities under the terms of status quo existing at the moment of the entry into force of the peace agreement. The final status and the width of this corridor were to be determined in the context of determination of the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh. In any case, the talk was not about 5 km of width but about many times wider corridor.

5). Return of territories

In the framework of the package agreement, recorded in the peace agreement on such interrelated parameters as the determination of the final status and interim status, corridor and other elements, after precise international and other guarantees and security measures including the guarantees by UN SC, after entry into force of the peace agreement, envisaged return of five districts: Agdam, Fizuli, Jabrail, Zangelan and Kubatli which were to be demilitarized and peacekeeping forces were to be deployed in these districts, i.e. in surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh territories, not in Nagorno-Karabakh proper.

Return of a non-corridor part of Lachin and Kelbajar was envisaged in connection with the agreement on the organizational issues of the free expression of the will by the population on the determination of the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Nevertheless, as was stated already in the Kazan document, the sides were to aspire to coordinate these issues in such a way that the respective arrangements would be applied 5 years after the peace agreements entry into force.

6). The opening of communications

In the framework of implementation of the agreement about the conflict settlement the Kazan document, as well as non-papers that were made afterwards, offered to cancel all the reservations and dissenting opinions from respective international agreements which limited the freedom of

communications, lift the blockades, ensure unimpeded transportation and other communications, open all borders and communications going through the territories of all sides. During the entire negotiation process of 2008-2018 the talk was about opening in the context of a comprehensive settlement of the conflict of all communications in the whole region and not of communications between concrete districts.

P.I.  May we say that the Statement by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia on November 9, 2020 finally ended the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as is claimed by Baku?

E.N. - Adoption of the joint Statement of the Presidents of Russia, Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Armenia on November 9, 2020 reached cessation of all hostilities in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. After three futile attempts to reach a ceasefire on October 10, 18 and 26 the reliability and strength of the compliance with the new ceasefire, which had entered into force starting with November 10, 2020, was guaranteed by the deployment of Russian peacekeeping forces along the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh and Lachin.

Thanks to Russias efforts military action was ceased and a humanitarian disaster was avoided. This is an important achievement. But we still have a long way to go in order to reach a comprehensive settlement.

If we compare what was the subject of negotiations for many years under the auspices of the Co-Chair countries, enhanced to the level of the Presidents of Russia, France and the United States, with what we have after the aggression of Azerbaijan and Turkey against Nagorno-Karabakh then it is obvious that the war by no means contributed to establishment of conditions beneficial for the conflict settlement. Rather the opposite is true.

It is no coincidence that the Presidents of Russia, the United States and France not just once stated in their joint statements on Nagorno-Karabakh in Deauville, in Los Cabos and in Enniskillen that the use of force would not lead to the solution of the conflict, it would only have disastrous effects for the population of the region, would prolong their misfortunes and suffering, would lead to numerous casualties, further increase of the number of refugees And, by the way, the Presidents declared then that renewed use of force would be condemned by the international community.

The root cause of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is Bakus refusal to respect the right of self-determination of Nagorno-Karabakh people. The first as well as the last war was initiated by Azerbaijan exactly with the goal to prevent the realization of this fundamental right of Nagorno-Karabakh people.

Nagorno-Karabagh conflict cannot be settled without elimination of its root causes.

P.I. - What did Azerbaijan get as a result of the last war?

E.N. - As a result of the last war Baku obtained control over 7 regions surrounding Artsakh, occupied a substantial part of NKR and, as an extra bonus imposed an agreement on communications that would provide link between the Western regions of Azerbaijan and Nakhijevan and further with Turkey. Baku pretends that now all problems are solved and the conflict has ended. But that is not the case.

It is no coincidence that the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Russia, France as well as the Undersecretary of State of the USA in the framework of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Tirana on December 3, 2020 called upon Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume negotiations in order to solve still unsolved problems according to the well-known Basic Principles and elements that I have presented in detail in my answers to your previous questions.

P.I. - What questions remain unresolved?

E.N. - The main problem  the question of Nagorno-Karabakhs status, of the right of its population to self-determination remains unsolved. It is this problem which runs through all proposals of the Co-Chair countries as they have always understood and still understand that without its consideration all talks about conflict settlement are self-delusional.

Now, after the war in the autumn of 2020 Baku claims that the question about the status is closed, but on the other hand, it is not hiding its intention to change the demographic composition of the region by means of return there not only of persons displaced in the result of the conflict, but also by settlement of considerable number of new settlers in order to eliminate the possibility to open the question about the status in the future. It is obvious that in the case of future attempts to solve the problem of the status through free expression of the will the approach to the participation therein of population of the region should remain the same as it has been for many years for the Co-Chairs - in the same proportion which existed in Nagorno-Karabakh in 1988 before the beginning of the conflict. If this approach was adopted after the first war and remained unchanged for the whole period afterwards, then why should it be changed after the last war?

Those who declare that the war has changed the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and it should be accepted as a fait accompli, pour water into the mill of Aliyev. The President of Azerbaijan pretends that he has proved that the law of force is the main instrument of the international relations and, allegedly, that is why the whole world takes as fait accompli what he has gained by use of force. Is such an approach really acceptable for the international community?

After the cessation of hostilities it is necessary to seek for ways for a genuine, comprehensive, long-term resolution of the conflict.

P.I.  To what extent the sides are ready to fulfill the agreements presented in the Statement on November 9, 2020?

E.N.  I would formulate this question slightly differently: to what extent Azerbaijan is ready to fulfill the agreements?

The whole experience of the last years gives reason to doubt. Baku expects the unquestionable fulfillment only of those agreements that it sees beneficial to itself and in the process of their implementation also tries to add to them new demands. As for the fulfillment of other agreements the Azerbaijani side immediately raises doubts.

That is amply demonstrated by the paragraph 8 of the Statement that concerns the exchange of POWs, hostages and other detained persons as well as the bodies of the killed. In spite of respective requirements of the Co-Chair countries and several international organizations that call for a speedy fulfillment of this obligation Baku has turned this quite sensitive humanitarian issue into an object of manipulations, bazaar-style bargaining and blackmail.

P.I. - Are there any other concerns?

E.N. - In the already mentioned statement made during the OSCE Ministerial Council in Tirana the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Russia, France and the Undersecretary of State of the United States emphasized the importance of protection of the historical and religious heritage in the region. It is hard to believe that Azerbaijan has really heard this call. For several years hundreds of Armenian churches, monasteries, objects of religious worship, cemeteries, thousands of medieval khachkars [(cross-stones)] have been destroyed by Azerbaijani authorities aiming at the annihilation of historical, cultural, religious heritage of the people, who for many centuries had lived in this region. Today just like in the past, Baku is obstructing the attempts of the UNESCO mission and representatives of other competent international structures to come to the region for monitoring and protection of cultural sites and places of worship.

Baku is trying to convince the whole world that Artsakh is a part of Azerbaijan, that the Armenians of Artsakh are citizens of Azerbaijan who will be able to live in the tolerant Azerbaijani society. What kind of tolerance is that if in Azerbaijani textbooks Armenians are still presented as mortal enemies, if murderers who decapitate Armenians are hailed as heroes by Azerbaijani leadership that calls upon the Azerbaijani youth to follow their example? What kind of tolerance is that if the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of several countries warn their citizens with Armenian surnames not to visit Azerbaijan where they could be persecuted just because they are Armenians? The reality is such that Armenian-citizens of other countries find themselves behind the bars upon coming to Azerbaijan. I think you would agree that this is a very peculiar demonstration of tolerance. What would be the fate of any inhabitant of Artsakh who is exposed to the tender mercies of Azerbaijani authorities?

There is still a long way to go in order to overcome such demonstrations of intolerance and hatred that dont correspond even to the most rudimentary norms of the civilized world. But that could be done only after a comprehensive settlement of the conflict. It isnt much helped by the last war as well as by all previous military hostilities, war crimes, gross violations of humanitarian law. Yes, the Presidents of the Co-Chair countries were right, when they declared that the use of force cannot lead to the settlement of the conflict.

P.I.  Is it possible to say that there is no more danger of renewed military hostilities in the zone of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?

E.N.  The presence of the Russian peacekeepers in the zone of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a security guarantee and a serious obstacle to the renewal of war.

Nevertheless, there is still danger of destabilization in the region. Russia, the United States and France in the Statement on December 3, 2020 called for immediate removal of foreign mercenaries from the region. Until this very day representatives of several international bodies express their concern regarding the continued presence of mercenaries in the zone of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict which endangers the safety and stability in the region. Who brought these mercenaries to the region? It is no secret  Turkey and Azerbaijan.

After the end of war in Nagorno-Karabakh, Baku adorned with Turkish and Azerbaijani flags, saw a joint Turkish-Azerbaijani military parade of winners during which Azerbaijani and Turkish troops marched. Apparently, so that there was no shadow of doubt who was leading the military aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh. The Presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey both held provocative speeches during the parade. Aliyev voiced territorial claims against Armenia, pronouncing that Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, as well as Zangezur and Sevan are historical territories of Azerbaijan. As for Erdogan, looking back into the history of Ottoman Empire, he exclaimed: Today, may the souls of Nuri Pasha, Enver Pasha, and the brave soldiers of the Caucasus Islam Army, rejoice! In the memory of generations they have remained as instigators and perpetrators of hideous crimes: mass murders and pogroms, Armenian Genocide, that resulted in the death of 1,5 million persons.

The provocative statements and and hostile actions continue

There is ample reason for the international community to think seriously about it, since it is not only about the threat to Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia but also to the regional and international security and stability.

(1) Azerbaijan, unlike Armenia, rejected as a basis for negotiations five statements by the Presidents of Russia, the United States and France on Nagorno-Karabagh made in LAquila, Muskoka, Deauville, Los Cabos and Enniskillen. Armenia, unlike Azerbaijan, welcomed all 9 statements on Nagorno-Karabagh made from December 2008 to December 2017 on the level of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs in the framework of the OSCE Ministerial Councils as well as the statements adopted at the OSCE Astana Summit in 2010. Bakou refused to support those statements or hereafter took a step back. Azerbaijan, unlike Armenia, rejected the agreements reached at the Summits of St. Petersbourg on June 17, 2010, Astrakhan on October 27, 2010, Sochi on March 3, 2011, Kazan on June 24, 2011, Sochi on January 23, 2012, Vienna on May 16, 2016, St. Petersbourg on June 20, 2016, Geneva on October 16, 2017.

Interview conducted on April 2, 2021
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  Last summer was rough on the Rio Grande.

This year is shaping up to be just as bad or worse, federal water managers said Thursday, as New Mexico battles a historic drought, below average snowpack and a grim summer forecast.

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation hydrologist Ed Kandl said during a presentation of the agencys annual operating plan for the Rio Chama and Middle Rio Grande that summer river projections are dismal for Albuquerque all the way to Elephant Butte Reservoir.

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Kandl said Rio Grande flows in Albuquerque could dip below a mere 200 cubic feet per second as soon as late June or early July.

Its even more bleak the farther south you get, he said. We could potentially see a dry river (in the San Acacia reach) sometime in June lasting all the way to the end of irrigation season in November.

Water managers use current snowpack to help predict reservoir levels and river flows for the coming months, factoring in soil moisture and temperature and precipitation forecasts.

High-elevation sites near the Colorado-New Mexico border never reached average snow levels this year, and are already beginning to melt.

Normally the high-level sites take a lot longer to start to melt, Kandl said.

Irrigation districts and municipalities face tough decisions this summer if Rio Grande flows pan out as expected.

This could be our only saving grace this year, is if we have a decent monsoon season, Kandl said.

Agencies pieced together water supply during last years hot, dry summer to boost Rio Grande flows.

But many of those fail-safe options are not available this year.

In July, Rio Grande Compact commissioners from Colorado and Texas approved a release of more than 11 billion gallons from El Vado Reservoir to benefit central New Mexico.

The water helped keep the river barely flowing through Albuquerque in the late summer months.

Agencies cant store more water this year in the states main reservoirs because of Rio Grande Compact restrictions.

Carolyn Donnelly, Bureau of Reclamation water operations supervisor for the Albuquerque area, said its been about 30 years since the river stretch running through the city went dry.

We really have to see what happens as the year goes on, but it seems that thats where were going to be focusing our efforts, is keeping as much of the reach above the Isleta Diversion Dam wet, Donnelly said.

Theresa Davis is a Report for America corps member covering water and the environment for the Albuquerque Journal.
Nearly 17 years after its 2004 finale, Friends is finally off its break, returning to television for a special spin-off episode, which wrapped filming earlier this month. Amid these exciting times, we decided to show you that we'll be there for you, when the stories starts to pour (in), so here are three things to know about the impending reunion -- so you can say someone told you life was gonna be this way.

1. All six friends  and much of the original creative team  are returning.

It seems we're going to get updates on what each of the six leading characters have been up to over the past almost two decades, with Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, Courtney Cox and Lisa Kudrow all set to return, according to a press release from HBO Max, per Glamour. However the show's star-studded cast aren't the only original creative team making a comeback  the show's creators, Marta Kauffman and David Crane along with the series producer, Kevin Bright are all signed on to executive produce, a joint effort with The Late Late Show With James Corden's Ben Winston. Winston will also direct the special, which as of publication, does not have a publicly announced air date or title, although some fans speculate it will be called The One With The Reunion.

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2. The show will not be scripted.

While some fans may be hoping for a fully realized plot arc, written gags, and classic banter akin to the sitcom's beloved episodes, it seems the single installment may have a different feel, at least according to some of the show's stars. Back in January 2020 Kauffman first hinted at the idea of an unscripted reunion, telling reporters covering the Producer Guild Awards that if Friends were to return, the reunion would be relatively informal. If it was the right thing, if it were the six of them together reflecting, talking about their experiences, and the episodes, then Im totally behind it," she said. Nothing scripted. We will not do anything scripted.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain is committed to eliminating violence against women and all forms of discrimination including, domestic violence, Bahraini parliamentarians told an international parliamentary strategic dialogue.

The parliamentarians also told the Inter-Parliamentary Union that the Kingdom has a National Strategy for the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence.

The move came as Dr Ibtisam Muhammad Saleh Al-Dalal, the chairman of the Women and Child Affairs Committee of the Shura Council, and Ahmed Mahdi Al-Haddad, the Human Rights Committee chairman, took part in the International Parliamentary Strategic Dialogue on Violence against Women and Girls during Corona.

Dr Al-Dalal and Al-Haddad confirmed that the Kingdom had taken many steps to end domestic violence.

Bahrain, they said, maintains a database and statistics to monitor and follow up domestic violence cases through an advanced electronic platform. This programme has enabled the authorities to follow up the cases and give victims access to health, psychological and social services provided by state institutions.

Dr Al-Dalal and Al-Haddad also told the meeting that the programme works to strengthen the national strategy for advancing Bahraini women 2013-2022. It will assist Ministry Interior officials, civil society organisations, and media partners in combating domestic violence.

The Supreme Council for Women headed by Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, Wife of His Majesty the King, launched the National Strategy for the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence.

They also pointed out that the National Strategy complies with the seventeen goals for sustainable development. This strategy is designed to secure and promote the rights of Bahraini women, combat all forms of violence against them, and meet the requirements of Bahraini women. (2013-2022) and strengthening family and community contact.

The meeting discussed the contributions made by Bahraini women in combating the deadly pandemic, with the National Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus (COVID-19), and at the front lines.
The Texas Legislature is considering a bill that would allow a public college or university to revoke a faculty members tenure if they file a civil lawsuit against a student.

The legislation, filed by Republican Houston Sen. Paul Bettencourt, was inspired by a University of Texas at Austin professor who filed libel lawsuits against multiple students who accused him of promoting pedophilia with his research and called for his removal. One of the students sued by the teacher is the daughter of Allen Blakemore, a prominent conservative political consultant who has worked for Bettencourt.

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UT-Austin classics professor Thomas Hubbard, who is tenured, studies ancient pederasty, or the sexual relationship between a man and young boy, which multiple students raised concerns with in 2019. Hubbard taught a class called Mythologies of Rape, and published academic writing about the age at which boys can consent to sexual relations, including an article titled "Sexual Consent and the Adolescent Male, or What Can We Learn from the Greeks?"

At the time, former UT-Austin President Greg Fenves said he found the content outrageous, but he maintained that academic research, including the study of controversial or offensive ideas, is protected by the First Amendment.

Bettencourt said in a Senate Higher Education Committee hearing this week that he was shocked when Hubbard took a dispute at a low level and escalated it to the courts without trying to first resolve it within the university's grievance system.

The professor has to be the adult in the room. While the students are probably over 18, theyre very young and inexperienced, Bettencourt said. Once they end up in a courtroom, that student is stuck in a civil litigation for probably two years or more.

Hubbard said in an email he made multiple requests to the university to resolve the situation with students internally, but they were rejected.

The University did appoint a special committee to examine my teaching record, and that committee reported that they found no evidence of my introducing irrelevant or inappropriate material into my teaching, Hubbard wrote. I agree that litigation should always be a last resort, but in this case, it was the only resort given the absence of cooperation from the University.

In 2019, students protested at Hubbards house, banging on the door of his house and vandalizing his home. He has since relocated to California and works for UT-Austin remotely.

One of the students who Hubbard sued is Sarah Blakemore, the daughter of a prominent Republican political consultant. Allen Blakemore serves as Lt. Gov. Dan Patricks campaign strategist and spokesperson, and has done campaign work for Bettencourt and other Republican lawmakers.

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According to the Austin American-Statesman, Sarah Blakemore signed up to take Hubbards class in 2019, but dropped it after she read his research. Court documents allege she passed around a flyer with false statements about his research and courses.

I understand everyone has their own academic license, but I dont think its appropriate for teachers at a public university to be promoting breaking the law, Sarah Blakemore told the Statesman in 2019. She declined to comment to The Texas Tribune at the advice of her attorney.

In a statement, Allen Blakemore said he has spent tens of thousands of dollars defending his daughter against the lawsuit.

To think that this could happen to anyone is what has gained the attention of the Texas Legislature, he wrote. Since the University of Texas has not even attempted to protect my daughter, Im glad the Texas Legislature will.

Bettencourt denied that he filed the bill as a favor to Blakemore, calling the question hogwash.

This comes from the media reports and just the outrage over the fact that weve got any students, don't care who it is, [getting sued] Bettencourt said. Tenure grants protection of freedom of speech to the professor but none to the student and so it's not a level playing field.

UT-Austin officials did not respond to questions regarding the lawsuit by The Tribune's deadline.

In Wednesdays hearing, Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, raised concerns about the bill limiting a persons access to the courts based on their profession.

I don't want to create a perverse incentive that student misconduct, whether it's libel or something more physical, that professors are placed in a position of having cause of action in front of court, but to receive that justice I may very well find myself vacating my tenure, he said.

But Bettencourt said the bill would not automatically revoke tenure if a professor sues a student. While he noted that its rare for professors to sue students, he said the bill would offer universities the option and tell professors if you take that step, there could be consequences.

Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, filed another bill that would shorten the tenure review period for faculty from every six years to every four years. It also broadens the reasons universities could revoke tenure, including sexual harassment, fiscal malfeasance, plagiarism, conduct involving moral turpitude and other good causes.

Both bills were left pending in committee.

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Creighton argued the case involving UT-Austin, and others have raised questions about whether the tenure process in Texas is working as intended, linking the practice to concerns about stifled free speech on campus and the politicization of higher education.

Tenure is an invaluable tool to recruit faculty and researchers in certain circumstances, but tenure also provides censorship and some examples of cancel culture, Creighton said, raising concerns with professors advocating particular positions or curriculum in the classroom that may or may not be appropriate.

The Texas Faculty Association, which represents professors across the state, opposed both bills.

A faculty member could face the revocation of tenure and the loss of their livelihood for exercising their right as citizens to seek protection under civil law in the same manner as any other citizen, wrote Lisa Dawn-Fisher, a lobbyist for the association, in written testimony.

Tenure is a well-established practice in higher education that protects a professor's academic freedom and ability to research controversial topics without fear of termination. According to experts, it is almost unheard of for a faculty member to lose tenure and remain employed. Typically, professors are dismissed for cause, including incompetence or some other misconduct.

The practice has been under attack for decades by conservative lawmakers who have complained left-leaning professors are indoctrinating students and silencing conservative students' free speech under the protection of tenure.

Six years ago, Wisconsin made national news when former Republican Gov. Scott Walker broadened the reasons a faculty member could be laid off at public universities. This year, some Iowa lawmakers tried to ban tenure at public universities, though the bill failed to make it out of committee.

This is legislative micromanagement that will have little impact on improving faculty work, teaching, research, service, the student experience, said Michael Harris, a professor at Southern Methodist University who studies tenure policies. This is more about scoring political points than anything having to do with what's actually happening in the classroom.

In the bill analysis, both lawmakers argue tenure also allows professors to become unproductive and prevents new faculty from getting hired, but experts say there is little data to back up either of those arguments.

Its a nice rhetorical Boogeyman, Harris said. But it does not bear out in the sense of reality, and certainly not enough to upend a system that protects faculty to make sure that we do get scientific discoveries and research that is free from political influence.

He said his current research shows a trend that universities have increasingly raised the bar to award tenure, urging faculty to be more productive in the classroom and to perform more research before granting it.

The number of tenured faculty has also declined by 10% nationally since 2000, according to federal data. Just 45% of full-time faculty across the country had tenure in 2018-2019. Harris said that is due in part to states disinvesting in higher education and universities hiring more non-tenure track and part-time faculty, who are less expensive to pay.

Dawn-Fisher also said shortening the tenure review period will make Texas less competitive as high-ranking scholars will choose to work elsewhere. But in Wednesdays hearing, Creighton said when these rare, but high-profile cases come up, they hurt the reputation of Texas public universities.

We talk about free speech in public square, but there is a significant amount of damage when that contract protects that professor in ways that are granted through employment and through those protections that so many others in other respective fields of work are not protected, he said. Yet the public square and free speech provisions in those arguments are allowed to diminish that very brand, hurting so many as well as the institution itself.

Creighton did not respond to a request for an interview.

Disclosure: Southern Methodist University and University of Texas at Austin have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans  and engages with them  about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
According to the findings of an investigation by the State Department's internal watchdog, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his wife, Susan, violated ethics rules by misusing government money for personal advantage.

Mike Pompeo and his wife made more than 100 demands to State Department staff that were considered personal. The Inspector General's office compiled a report in reaction to a whistleblower lawsuit.

For officials with whom Pompeo had a nongovernmental connection, the demands involved sending Christmas cards, making dinner plans, caring for their pets, purchasing tickets, and planning events.

Mike Pompeo, wife, used state resources for personal advantages

The report noted that Pompeo's wife directed the senior advisor to purchase presents such as gold nut bowls for guests at dinners that seemed personal rather than relevant to State Department business. According to Fox News, the State Department's policy on whether discretionary grants should be used in this way should be clarified, the inspector general recommended.

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Pompeo has violated federal standards of ethical conduct, according to the Inspector General's office. However, Mike Pompeo is not subject to legal sanctions because he is no longer Secretary of State, said the office. Pompeo joined Fox News earlier this month as a contributor.

Investigators discovered emails wherein the Pompeos attempted to persuade workers to book movie tickets, let their dog out, and even avoid paying an $8 charge to get a cake cut on their son's birthday. According to the IG, none of it was government business.

The report found that in June 2018, the Secretary ordered a career employee to make a Sunday brunch reservation for him and his wife at the Cheesecake Factory, referring to the famous chain restaurant. The report backs up recent claims that the Pompeos made their staff perform duties related to their dog's wellbeing.

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Mike Pompeo, wife allegedly asked staff to do personal requests

Staff was also hired to assist with carry-out meals at the Pompeo's, Daily Mail reported. "In July 2018, Mrs. Pompeo ordered a career staff member to accompany the wife of Department Counselor Ulrich Brechbuhl to help her pick up dinner from a restaurant for the Pompeos and the Brechbuhls before a social outing," based on another restaurant booking example. When Pompeo was in office, he and his family remained in government housing.

That did not save Mrs. Pompeo from attempting to avoid paying a caking fee on a visit to a New York restaurant. In a late December interview with investigators, Mike Pompeo stated that he had not paid the staffer or anyone individually for jobs that he either regarded to be relevant to government business. Or to be little favors that long-time associates would regularly do for each other.

On the other hand, the inspector general pointed out that the ethics laws made no exception for minor special favors, as per the NBC News. It said, "Rather, the rules forbid any use of a subordinate's time for personal purposes unless money is received."

The lawyer, William Burck, said in a response attached to the document that the report was biased and unfit for publishing. Pompeo had shaken up the inspector general's office by firing the former chief, something some said was done to halt potentially embarrassing probes into his time at the department.

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TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - The Indiana State Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration will be holding their bi-annual 'Drug Take Back Day'. Saturday, April 24th is National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. And the D.E.A. and I.S.P both say this event is vital for public safety and for public health.

Medicines that sit in your home cabinets are highly susceptible to misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are high as well as the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.

Seargent Matt Ames with I.S.P. says that this 'Drug Take-Back' event is important for everyone in the community.

"We don't want people to take those and flush them down the toilet, of course, because that can cause damage to our water system. And also we don't want those types of drugs falling into the wrong hands of individuals."

News 10 reached out to the Hamilton Center to speak with Mark Collins, who is the Chief Clinical Officer. He gave us just a few statistics about how dangerous prescription drugs can be.

"Over 9.7 million people misuse prescription pain relievers. 4.9 million people misuse prescription stimulants. And over 6 million people misused prescription tranquilizers and sedatives. It's a huge issue."

He also says this event in particular is an easy way to prevent a serious problem that is plaguing the United States.

"It's a way to prevent drug overdose without actually doing anything to help prevent drug overdose. Something very simple that you can do. "

One of the drop off locations will be at the Meadows Shopping Center in Terre Haute from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM on Saturday, April 24th.

Multiple locations will be holding this event on April 24th.

To find a location near you, click here.

You can also visit the Indiana State Police Drug Take-Back location at www.in.gov/isp/2382.htm

The Drug Enforcement Administration's website is also a great resource to find locations and more information regarding National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.
Nearly 100 students and faculty members from Bryn Mawr School, Roland Park Country School and Gilman School took to the streets Friday morning to protest the treatment of a former teacher.

Earlier this year, Adrienne Knight, a Black Bryn Mawr teacher, resigned after posting a video to YouTube detailing her experience with a white student who allegedly told her to go fetch me something during class. Knight does not name the student in the video.

According to Knights account in the video, the student glued a sheet of notebook paper to a desk. When Knight asked her about cleaning up the mess, she said, the student replied, Im not going to clean it up, but if you want to go fetch me something to do it, then you can do it. It is unclear what interactions took place between the school and Knight before the resignation.

Niara Robinson, a teachers assistant at Bryn Mawr who is Black, said she understood the hurt in the community in light of Knights resignation, adding theres a negative connotation to using the word fetch when addressing a Black person.

I only got a chance to work with her a short period of time. It was clear to me that she was connected with the students, Robinson said.

Knight couldnt be reached for comment. She worked at Bryn Mawr for four years and served as middle school drama and seminar teacher, according to a school announcement March 8.

The walkout was organized by Black at the Tri-Schools, an Instagram page founded following the death of George Floyd last year at the hands of police in Minnesota. It focuses on telling the stories of Black students at the three private, predominantly white schools. As of Friday, it had about 3,800 followers.

Students said they walked out of school Friday in solidarity with the former teacher. Signs read: Recognize Black Faculty, Justice for Ms. Knight, Stop Silencing Black voices and We are not Targets. We are Humans and there were chants of Black Lives Matter.

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They walked from the Northern Parkway bridge that connects Gilman to Bryn Mawr up to Roland Avenue, down to Charles Street, around Bryn Mawrs building and then back by the bridge on the main road.

Zahni Jackson-Garrett, a 2012 Bryn Mawr graduate who is Black, said she wants to see Black childhood protected at the school.

Id like the Black Bryn Mawr community to continue to organize and to recognize its power. I want Bryn Mawr to get free, said Jackson-Garrett, founder of a workshop named Bryn-Mawr Black Girl. If I could make one demand of the institution, it would be to listen to the students voices. The school seal depicts a daisy bending toward a sunburst. The students are the sunburst. The institution bends to their vision.

Grace OKeefe, a former teacher at Bryn Mawr, said she witnessed plenty of incidents at the school where Black voices have been silenced.

OKeefe, who oversaw eighth-graders speeches, said she was asked to have a speech by a Black student that mentioned race reviewed by the administration before it was given.

Bryn Mawrs systemic racism cannot be improved without employing more faculty of color. But, as many of you are aware, BMS has a decades long pattern of alienating, pushing out, and firing Black faculty, she wrote on an open letter on the Instagram page.

OKeefe said Knight resigned without a job lined up. So, OKeefe set up a GoFundMe page for her nearly a month ago. As of Friday morning, $5,800 had been raised.

Officials at the three schools said theyve attempted to create a more inclusive environment.

Bryn Mawr officials on Thursday declined to comment on questions pertaining to Knights resignation, citing the schools personnel policy.

We are aware of the Black at the Tri-Schools Instagram account and have taken very seriously the stories and experiences that have been shared since last summer, Deborah Baum, a spokesperson for Bryn Mawr, wrote in an email. We have met with students, families, employees and alumnae who have come forward to bring voice to their experiences, and the school committed to meaningful and lasting change through our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Plan.

Caroline Blatti, head of Roland Park Country School, said the school is working on a diversity, equity and inclusion plan as well as forming an all-school DEI employee team.

We are a collaborative community working together to grow and learn on our DEI journey. We recognize the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion is intentional and necessary; therefore, this past year our time spent with students, parents, and community has been significant as we seek to confront our complex history at RPCS, she said.

Brooke S. Blumberg, a representative for Gilman, said in an email, We monitor social media very closely, including the Black at the Tri-Schools Instagram account. While it is our policy not to comment publicly on student matters, rest assured that we take very seriously what is being shared on social media (any platform) and do our best to personally reach out to individuals who have bravely shared their stories.

But many of the conversations that have attempted to address race have not been sincere, said the co-founder of the TriSchools Instagram account, who asked to remain anonymous because she didnt want her story to overshadow other Black students experiences.

There has not been progress, especially with Ms. Knights incident. That goes to show what theyre saying is not being put into action, she said.
A former Labour Minister is one of several peers facing calls to quit their second jobs in lobbying companies as the sleaze scandal engulfing Westminster grew last night.

Lord Myners, who was a Treasury Minister in Gordon Browns government, is chairman of PR giant Edelman and vice chairman of the consultancy Global Counsel.

Last night, Sir Alistair Graham, ex-chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, said peers should be banned from working for lobbying companies.

Lord Myners, who was a Treasury Minister in Gordon Browns government, is chairman of PR giant Edelman and vice chairman of the consultancy Global Counsel

Former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, pictured here in 2013 with Shirley Williams is also facing questions over his advocacy work on behalf of Facebook

Lord Myners, a former chairman of Guardian Media Group who was closely involved in Mr Browns response to the financial crash, was hired in 2015 to provide strategic counsel to Edelman, which has counted Microsoft, Shell and Unilever among its clients.

He was also given a role at Global Counsel, a consultancy founded by Labour ex-Minister Lord Mandelson, which has advised governments and BP, and has forged controversial links with Chinas government.

The company says on its website that it helps clients see opportunities in politics, regulation and public policy.

He declined to clarify how much time his Edelman role takes. The firm said he provides advice to the UK management team. He does not advise any of Edelmans clients nor does he lobby on their behalf.

But Sir Alistair told The Mail on Sunday: The companies who employ these peers are hoping that behind the scenes they will be able to influence Government policy in some way. Thats the reason they are paying them. Its privileged access theyre purchasing.

Peers should concentrate on safeguarding the public interest rather than seeking second incomes from working for lobbyists.

The Mail on Sunday can also reveal that Sir Nick Clegg, the former Deputy Prime Minister who leads lobbying for Facebook, retains a security pass allowing him access to Parliament  and only agreed to relinquish it after being contacted by this newspaper. It comes as:

Tories hunt for spies in No 10 and Whitehall suspected of leaking information to Labour;

David Cameron faced scrutiny for his backing of a 700 million UK-China investment fund, and attempts to lobby a German official for Greensill Capital  the firm for which he lobbied Ministers for access to Government-backed loans, triggering the lobbying firestorm;

Lord Eddie Lister, one of the Prime Ministers most senior advisers, owns shares in a firm that has won nearly 1million in Government contracts since he joined Downing Street;

The Tories accused Labour general secretary David Evans  one of Sir Keir Starmers closest allies  of cronyism after one of his firms won contracts worth six figures from a council where his former lover holds a top position.

Pressure mounted on Matt Hancock as details emerged of Mr Camerons emails lobbying on behalf of Greensill, in which the former PM said the Health Secretary was extremely positive about its proposals.

Lord Myners, who has not voted or spoken in the Lords since April 2019, has urged the Commons Treasury Committee to investigate Greensill.

He said Mr Cameron must have been wearing very effective blinkers to have not had serious suspicions about the Greensill business. He was upfront, he was quite actively involved, and to me, the questions over Greensills business were quite evident within an hour or so of meeting the man [its founder, Lex Greensill].

Lord Myners is the latest peer to face questions over his outside interests. Baroness Fall, who was deputy chief of staff to Mr Cameron when he was Prime Minister, has a paid role at Brunswick, one of the countrys biggest lobbying firms.

She has denied lobbying politicians or civil servants on behalf of the firms clients.

Former PM David Cameron, pictured, is facing major questions over his dealings with Greensill and his attempts to lobby members of Boris Johnson's government

Lord Maude, a Minister under Mr Cameron, runs a consulting firm that advises governments including Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan, alongside his seat in the Lords and his current Cabinet Office role.

Former Lib Dem leader Sir Nick, who joined Facebook in 2018, is one of about 250 former MPs with a Category X pass, available to former members. It gives Sir Nick uncontrolled access to Parliaments facilities, including MP-only areas.

Critics claim the passes give lobbyists close access to lawmakers, while Sir Alastair said yesterday they should be totally banned, and passholders should only be those who genuinely work in the House of Commons or House of Lords.

In government, Nick Clegg vowed to reform lobbying and bring in a cleaner, better politics after a scandal in which MPs and peers offered Parliamentary services for money.

He said in 2013: Westminster remains a place where power is hoarded, decisions are opaque and the people who take those decisions are not properly held to account. Our political system has long been crying out for head-to-toe reform.

Other ex-MPs with Category X passes include Michael Dugher, former MP and Labour vice chairman, who is chief executive of the Betting and Gaming Council, which lobbies for the gambling industry.

Phil Woolas, a minister under Brown and Tony Blair and quit Parliament in 2010, still has a pass while working for consultants that advise on Government and Parliament policies.

Facebook said: Sir Nick has never used his pass since he joined Facebook and would be happy to return it.

Pressure is mounting to tighten lobbying rules and links between Ministers, officials, peers and firms following revelations about Mr Camerons lobbying for Greensill Capital.

Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds has written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak demanding answers to 21 questions about Greensill, including his own communications with Mr Cameron.
Armstrong Valley Winery will celebrate its 10th anniversary in May.

Its located on 100 acres of historic farmland dating back to 1769, according to the website. Robert Armstrong created the homestead, which includes a main stone house, barn, summer kitchen, outhouse, tack house, ice house, granary and stable. The original property was given to Armstrong by the Penns (probably as payment for military service) and included roughly 200 acres.

Dean Miller and Jake Gruver have repurposed the property, turning the homestead into a destination spot and the 20 acres of the land into vineyards. In addition, they constructed an events building within a couple of years after opening, expanding their ability to hold weddings and other events throughout the year.

During the first few years, Armstrong Valley produced largely dry wines but that portfolio has expanded and diversified with each passing year. Heres a link to the current list. There are still sweet wines but also a line of dry white and red wines in addition to a Port, a number of fruit wines and an extensive group of semi-sweet and semi dry wines.

Located in Halifax, Dauphin County, it remains an active member of the Hershey Harrisburg Wine Country trail. Armstrong Valley is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and opens at noon Sundays through Fridays. the address is 212 Rutter Road.

Below is the latest in the 6 Questions series of interviews with winemakers and owners of East Coast wineries, which looks behind at what has been a turbulent year and, with optimism, looks ahead. Thanks to Dean Miller for taking these on.

Q, I see you have your spring festival coming up May 1. Tell the readers about what you have planned How many years youve been doing this? Is it the biggest thing you do there?

A, Weve been doing the spring, summer and fall festivals the year after we opened [so, 2012 til now]. Of course, we didnt do any of our festivals here, or away, last year in 2020 because of COVID. Our fall harvest festival is usually our biggest festival here at the WInery, mostly because Fall is cooler and it denotes the time of year that people associate with the harvesting of grapes. However, each festival we have here has a different feel, with its own unique flavor, so to speak.

2, How many acres are you farming now and are you making everything from your grapes? Are you looking at doing any planting or replanting this year or next? Interested as much in wineries looking at new grapes or maybe replacing vines that just arent cutting it as the climate changes.

A, We currently have about 20 acres of grapes for winemaking. And, yes, all the grapes we grow go into our wines. We usually do some additional planting of vines every year, but only to replace dead ones or ones that might have gotten a virus or disease. We try to keep our vines healthy and remove ones that might cause issues with other vines. So far, all of our grape varieties are fine with the climate and weather we have here in PA. The vines like it drier during the year, so a little warmer is better for us.

3, What are a couple of your biggest sellers and has that changed since you opened? Any new products or new releases you are unveiling this spring that you want to talk about?

A, When we first opened, Concord and Niagara were the favorites, both sweet. Since then, we have had several other new concoctions that have become favorites, like Polecat, Fuzzy Navel, and Midnight Desire.

These are all sweet wines, but we also work very hard on our dry selections, both red & white. Our Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Franc, and Chambourcin, all dry wines, are very good, if I say so myself. We are very pleased with the 2020 vintages of our dry wines and think they will show very well.

4, Any plans to do anything else on the property or do you have it at a place youre comfortable with? Are you getting back some of the events that had to be curtailed during the lockdown such as weddings?

A, We are never comfortable with the property. LOL That being said, we are working on some updates to some of the systems that run our operation; these include HVAC, lighting, and seating areas. Also, we purchased some wine-centric equipment to make our winemaking better and easier  very excited to use them for the coming fall harvest.

Much of our events from last year were cancelled or postponed. We are getting back to some normalcy this year in that area. Our events for 2021 are filling up fast. I think people are getting on with their lives after being on hold for so long, so they are very excited to be having their events again.

Armstrong Valley Winery's tasting room, one of several areas on the property where visitors can relax.

5, What has the past year been like there but more important, looking ahead, are there things you did during the pandemic that you figure on continuing well into the future? You doing tastings these now or flights? Also, I am curious how much youre bringing food trucks in there. Every weekend?

A, Everything kinda went upside down in March 2020. But, since we were a producer of a beverage, we were allowed to stay open. However, we only sold for takeout, with no consumption on the property. The one thing that exploded was online sales. In 2019, we only had about 170 online sales the whole year. But, in April 2020, we have 745 in just that month! It was crazy. The PLCB stores were closed at that time, so I think people needed a place to get some wine. We had 2 staff people everyday just to fulfill orders. The one thing that came from that experience was that people were more comfortable buying online from us. We have a much higher ratio of online sales now than before COVID-19 shutdown. One good thing, I guess. We now also have wine flights, which we didnt have before. Again, a little different tasting experience, but a good one.

We will have food trucks on occasion, but usually only when we have some kind of special event, like our Easter egg hunt the Saturday before Easter. People do like to have a food option.

6, Ten-year anniversary in May, yes?? I feel like I just wrote the story on your opening. If its indeed the 10th, are you planning anything? And what do you know now about this business that you didnt when you two started this venture?

A, We are having a little music and some food trucks for May 30 & 31 (Sun/Mon). We are also going to release a 1.5-liter bottle of our Armstrong Red Commemorative 10th Year Anniversary wine. Signed by us, Jake & Dean, and numbered. Only 100 bottles will be sold.

What do we know now? LOL..! Its a lot more work and takes a lot more money than you would think! And, dont expect to get rich. The old saying is, How do you make a small fortune having a winery? Start with a large fortune! Since we live on the property, we are never really away from it. This can be both good and bad. We do try to get away when we can, but there is always something to be done, either in the vineyard, wine cellar, tasting room or grounds. What has been amazing, though, is the response from the community. Never thought we would get this much support and have this many people patronize our winery. Very blessed in that respect. Also, were very surprised from how far away people have travelled to be here. So, we try very hard to make the customer our No. 1 priority, because we wouldnt be here if werent for our customers.

ALSO READ: No surprise that this central Virginia producer is part of the new Gold Medal Wine Trail

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LONDON  Britain's Prince Philip was remembered for his "unwavering loyalty" to his wife, Queen Elizabeth II, according to the order of service for his funeral Saturday, which he helped plan.

There was no eulogy or sermon at the ceremonial funeral, which was set to reflect his close ties to the military as well as personal elements of the Duke of Edinburgh's life, Buckingham Palace said.

The dean of Windsor, the Rev. David Conner, who led the service, said, "We have been inspired by his unwavering loyalty to our queen, by his service to the nation and the Commonwealth, by his courage, fortitude and faith."

"Our lives have been enriched through the challenges that he has set us, the encouragement that he has given us, his kindness, humor and humanity," he added.

Ahead of the service, which began at 3 p.m. local time (10 a.m. ET), Philip's coffin was transported on a specially customized Land Rover, which he helped design, from the inner hall at Windsor Castle to St. Georges Chapel, which also sits on the grounds of the 11th-century palace.

Prince William; his brother, Prince Harry; and their father, Prince Charles, joined other members of the royal family in a procession behind it.

As Philip's coffin was removed and carried to the west steps of the chapel, it rested for a minute of national silence.

Members of the royal family who walked in the procession were then conducted to their places in the abbey as the choir sang. The dean of Windsor then said the bidding.

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Only 30 guests were allowed to attend after the funeral was scaled down because of British coronavirus restrictions. Those not in a family bubble, including both the queen and Harry, were forced to sit alone, around 6 feet apart from other attendees, in line with current Covid-19 rules.

The choir then sang Eternal Father, Strong to Save, which is traditionally associated with the Royal Navy and the palace said reflected Philips military service and lifelong support of the armed forces.

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An adaptation of Psalm 104, which Philip requested be set to music by William Lovelady, was then sung. Following this was a piece that Philip specially commissioned for the St. Georges Chapel choir. It was also featured at a concert celebrating the dukes 75th birthday.

The palace said there would be no singing by the congregation in line with government coronavirus guidelines.

Related: Prince Philip, confidant and companion to Queen Elizabeth II, was the longest-serving consort of any British monarch.

After the coffin was lowered into the royal vault, Philip's many titles were proclaimed and a lament was played by a pipe major of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

At the end of the funeral service, the buglers of the Royal Marines sounded Action Stations, a traditional announcement made on a naval warship to signify that all hands should go to battle stations, as requested by Philip, the palace said.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the most senior bishop in the Church of England and the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, then pronounced the blessing before the national anthem was sung by the choir.

Ahead of the service, the royal family shared a private photograph of the queen and Philip, taken in 2003 by Sophie, Countess of Wessex, the wife of the couples youngest son, Prince Edward, when they were in the Scottish Highlands.

The royal couple look relaxed against a wild backdrop, with the duke lying back and propping himself up on his elbow. Both are smiling warmly at the camera.

The royal family also shared a montage of photos of Philip along with a poem written by Poet Laureate Simon Armitage.
The hunt is on for Redthroat. 'It's pretty clear we've got a Labour mole inside Government,' a Minister tells me. 'There were suspicions before the Greensill affair, but this has basically confirmed it. It's the only explanation for where all this stuff is coming from.'

It was Keir Starmer  ironically dubbed Captain Hindsight by Boris  who provided the first clue. Ministers and officials had become unnerved by the way he kept pre-empting major policy announcements with his own identical proposals.

It also became clear to journalists and other Westminster insiders that Starmer's team had exceptionally good intelligence on the moves and moods within Downing Street.

Then, finally, the Greensill scandal broke. And Shadow Ministers were suddenly armed with so many texts, business cards and meeting dates it was if they had been sitting in the Treasury themselves. 'It's been destabilising,' one Minister admits. 'No one knows what's going to come out next. None of this is properly sticking. But it just takes so long to work out what's actually gone on and provide a proper response.'

The hunt is on for Redthroat. 'It's pretty clear we've got a Labour mole inside Government,' a Minister tells me. 'There were suspicions before the Greensill affair, but this has basically confirmed it. It's the only explanation for where all this stuff is coming from'

Last week, allies of former PM David Cameron (left) accused aides loyal to Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove of deliberately fanning the Greensill flames

On the record, Labour are refusing to confirm they have a source inside Government. 'We're just not commenting on this,' said a Starmer spokesman. But off the record, one official told me: 'We've been getting some very juicy stuff from some unusual places. You'd be surprised where it's coming from.'

Ministers believe they now know precisely where it's coming from. And why.

It's now ten months since Boris's most senior adviser Dominic Cummings boasted 'a hard rain is going to fall' on the Civil Service. Ultimately he was ousted in the Carrie Coup  organised by the PM's partner, Carrie Symonds  before he could drive through his plans to reform the Whitehall bureaucracy. But Sir Humphrey has not forgotten. And he has not forgiven.

With Cummings' departure, the Civil Service has become emboldened.

'They think they've won,' a Minister tells me. 'Their view is a hard rain did fall. But it fell on Cummings and all his weirdos and misfits.'

Now a downpour of sleaze allegations is hitting the Government. And the belief is that it's civil servants who are the rainmakers. 'Look at the texts that have been coming out,' explains one Minister. 'We're being hit with all these Freedom of Information requests. Everything's being entered into the system so we can judge what is or isn't relevant. But then it's coming out anyway.'

It was Keir Starmer (pictured)  ironically dubbed Captain Hindsight by Boris  who provided the first clue

The finger of suspicion is currently pointing in one direction. 'You don't need to be a genius to work out which department is behind all this,' says another Minister. 'It's the Cabinet Office.'

Last October, I was told Cabinet Office officials were in the process of drawing up a secret dossier to deploy against senior Johnson officials. And last week, allies of former PM David Cameron accused aides loyal to Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove of deliberately fanning the Greensill flames.

But now attention is again turning towards career civil servants. 'They've hung us out to dry,' one Minister complains. 'It's impossible to get them to give clear advice on any of this stuff, and when they do give advice, it's impossible to get them to stand behind it. I've gone to my officials and said, 'OK, what are the rules on this?' And they've been saying, 'Well, it's complicated...' The tension being created between Ministers and their mandarins has been further exacerbated by the spectacle of former Civil Service head Lord Kerslake roaming the broadcast studios, expressing 'shock' and 'concern' at the Greensill saga. 'Kerslake's fingers are all over this,' one Minister seethed. 'And he's tight with Labour.'

For his part, Kerslake has rejected as 'complete nonsense' the idea that he is involved in the Greensill briefings.

But someone definitely is. Although others believe Labour may actually have multiple sources handing them their Greensill ammunition  which is creating its own tensions within the party.

'When Starmer's people get stuff you can tell, because they try to give it to Rachel Reeves. They're trying to boost her and bypass [Shadow Chancellor] Anneliese Dodds,' says one Shadow Minister. 'But Anneliese has her own contacts in the business community. And they're leaking her some stuff as well.'

To many of the Government's enemies, this attempt to shift focus on to the activity of civil servants will be seen as an attempt to pass the buck on the sleazy manoeuvring of a former Tory PM. Indeed, it may actually be less indicative of 'Tory sleaze' than 'Tory paranoia'.

Sir Humphrey has teeth, and he isn't afraid to use them. While Priti Patel's critics rushed to lambast her over the findings of Sir Alex Allan's bullying inquiry, they chose to overlook one significant finding. 'The Civil Service itself needs to reflect on its role during this period,' he wrote

Perhaps there is no Redthroat. Everything that has emerged in relation to Greensill may have done so without Sir Humphrey's helping hand.

But the friction Greensill has created between Ministers and their officials is real. And it has exposed a number of significant truths about our nation's governance.

One is that Cummings' influence will continue to define the course of this Government for as long as Boris Johnson remains in office. When Cummings left, many Ministers, officials and civil servants breathed a deep sigh of relief. Well, they shouldn't breathe too easily. Because while Dom may have gone, the fires he ignited are still smouldering.

Another is that we need to recalibrate our view of the Civil Service. Whenever an issue like Greensill explodes, and the mandarins find themselves in the firing line, people queue up to defend them. They are presented as selfless public servants, with no inclination to paddle in the murkier waters of the political world they inhabit.

Don't you believe it. Sir Humphrey has teeth, and he isn't afraid to use them. While Priti Patel's critics rushed to lambast her over the findings of Sir Alex Allan's bullying inquiry, they chose to overlook one significant finding. 'The Civil Service itself needs to reflect on its role during this period,' he wrote.

When Cummings (pictured) left, many Ministers, officials and civil servants breathed a deep sigh of relief. Well, they shouldn't breathe too easily. Because while Dom may have gone, the fires he ignited are still smouldering

'The Home Office was not as flexible as it could have been in responding to the Home Secretary's requests and direction. She has  legitimately  not always felt supported by the department.'

Greensill is providing little evidence the Civil Service has taken up that invitation toward circumspection. I don't believe this is the momentous scandal others say it is. But the most substantive revelation doesn't actually relate to Ministers. It was the discovery that Bill Crothers, the mandarin in charge of Government procurement, took on a role with Greensill while still working for the Civil Service.

Labour are attempting to guide people's attention towards 'Tory sleaze'. But if there are lessons to be learnt from the Greensill saga, one of the main ones should be how it's rumbled an unofficial but highly lucrative retirement scam for Civil Service high-flyers.

Which isn't necessarily what Redthroat intended. But they are in too deep now. So it's a race against time. Can Ministers identify Labour's mole before he  or she  strikes again? Or will they awake to see more of their texts and meetings splashed across front pages?

Feel free to place your own bets. But my money's on Redthroat.
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CHICOPEE  A colonel with 33 years of experience in the Air Force and Air Reserve, including flying combat missions during Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom, will become the new commander of the Reserves 439th Airlift Wing.

Col. Joseph D. Janik, who began work at Westover Air Reserve Base this week, will officially assume command of the wing in a ceremony scheduled for May 1, said Lt. Kristine MacDonald, public affairs officer for the wing.

Janik succeeds Col. Craig C. Peters, who served as Westovers commander for the past two years. Peters, whose last day at work was Tuesday, is retiring after a 37-year career in the military, she said. Peters, who grew up in West Springfield, and his wife, Cathie, a graduate of Chicopee High School, have ties to Western Massachusetts.

Janik, who grew up in Buffalo, New York, will be the fourth commander at Westover since 2016. Most commanders in the recent past have stayed in the position for two years or less before being promoted and reassigned to other positions in the Air Reserve.

He most recently served as commander of the 910th Airlift Wing at Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Ohio for the past two years. Previously he had been that units vice commander from November 2017 to February 2019. The 910th flies C-130H Hercules aircraft on airlift and aerial spray missions.

There are about 1,300 Reservists at Youngstown. Westover, which is Chicopees largest employer, has about 5,500 employees, including civilians, part-time Reservists and those who work civilian jobs at the base full-time and are also Reservists.

Janik began his military career in 1989 as an Air Force tactical aircraft maintenance specialist assigned to the 20th Fighter Wing, stationed in England. After four years of active duty, which also included an assignment in New Mexico, he joined the Air Reserve as a member of the 328th Airlift Squadron in Niagara Falls, New York. After graduating from Officer Training School and pilot training he returned to Niagara Falls, flying the C-130 Hercules.

Janik holds a masters degree in aeronautical science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a bachelors degree in business administration from State University of New York. He also has attended the Air War College and Air Command and Staff College in Alabama and Squadron Officer School.

The change-of-command ceremony will include many of the military traditions but will be scaled back and modified because of the COVID-19 pandemic, MacDonald said.

Most of the attendees will be limited to dignitaries, commanders and chiefs of different units on the base to allow for social distancing. The event will be streamed live and posted on the Westover Facebook page so members of the 439th Airlift Wing and community members can watch, she said.

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London, April 17 : Visitors and residents of Windsor gathered on the streets of the town watching the funeral service of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II, on their mobile phones.

Prince Philip is being laid to rest at the Windsor Palace in a small family affair due to Covid-19 restrictions, the dpa news agency reported.

After a minute of almost complete silence at 1400 GMT (7:30 pm IST), people in front of the castle began clapping.

The streets are said to be "full", however, several people started to leave the castle once the service began.

Laura Griffiths from the West Midlands told dpa: "I wanted to be part of it. It's our Royal family so I felt I needed to pay my respect in person even though we were advised not to." "I feel very sombre. It's a very sad day. A very sad day for the queen and the Royal family. I've always been a rule-breaker so I broke them today of all days," she added.

The police have warned people to stay away from the castle as gatherings are in breach of the coronavirus restrictions.
U.S. intelligence agencies debunked on Thursday what was treated as blockbuster election-year reporting last summer of an anonymously sourced story in The New York Times claiming the Kremlin placed bounties on American troops in Afghanistan.

President Donald Trump, went the tale, deliberately downplayed the aggression to appease Russia and accelerate the timeline to withdraw U.S. forces. Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, currently number three in House leadership, was a primary purveyor of the fake news.

The United States intelligence community assesses with low to moderate confidence that Russian intelligence officers sought to encourage Taliban attacks on U.S. and coalition personnel in Afghanistan in 2019 and perhaps earlier, a senior administration official said, according to the readout of a call with reporters in the Daily Beast.

Officials said their conclusion of low to moderate confidence in the story, which effectively means its at best unproven and potentially false, came in part because it relies on detainee reporting, an often unreliable source of intelligence on which to base such explosive claims.

As the story picked up traction in the corporate press, however, Cheney appeared to sense a prime opportunity to capitalize on what was treated as a scandal, to not only undermine Trump, but also justify a prolonged military presence in the region while the administration took steps to pull out. Neither to Cheney, nor legacy media, appeared to hesitate due to the claims poor sourcing.

The viral public post below generated a series of news stories in major publications including Axios and The Hill, and was cited in dozens of others while catching airtime on national networks as an admonishment to the president of her own party.

If reporting about Russian bounties on US forces is true, the White House must explain:

1. Why werent the president or vice president briefed? Was the info in the PDB?

2. Who did know and when?

3. What has been done in response to protect our forces & hold Putin accountable?  Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) June 28, 2020

Two days later, Politico, in an article titled, Cheney takes on Trump, wrote, in her latest rebuke of Trump, Cheney openly questioned whether the president was aware of reports that the Russians offered Afghan militants bounties to kill U.S. troops and demanded the administration take a more aggressive posture toward the Kremlin.

Cheney was persistent in pushing the story, much to the frustration of colleagues and even allies on Capitol Hill as she continued an inner-party crusade against the president in an election year from her position as House conference chair.

FWIW, quite a few people in recent weeks who generally like Cheney  including those not on the Hill  were extremely disappointed with how she worked so hard to help the NYT spread its false anti-Trump story about Russia bounties. https://t.co/rM1dbnMI6U  Mollie (@MZHemingway) July 21, 2020

On June 29, Cheney released a joint statement with Texas Republican Rep. Mac Thornberry perpetuating the claims U.S. intelligence eventually conceded were a fake news story after Trump left office.

...

Cheney also pursued an ulterior motive to advance an interventionist foreign policy by amplifying the story alongside Democrats, as chronicled here by Glenn Greenwald in the Intercept. The at-large Wyoming congresswoman capitalized on the report of Russian bounties to sponsor an amendment with Colorado Democratic Rep. Jason Crow to prevent the White House from reducing the number of troops in Afghanistan to below 8,000, action the Trump administration was actively preparing to finalize.
Background reports | How to obtain this publication | Further information | Contact

March 2012

ISBN: 9789264168053 Improving water quality is consistently ranked as a top environmental concern in OECD public opinion surveys. The key challenge for policy makers in addressing water quality issues in agriculture is to reduce water pollution while encouraging higher water quality for recreational and other uses.



This book examines linking policies, farm management and water quality. It looks at recent trends and prospects for water pollution from agriculture and the implications of climate change. It assesses the costs and benefits of agriculture's impact on water systems, and presents case studies of policy experiences from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the Baltic region, France, the United Kingdom and the European Union in general.



Finally the report provides a set of recommendations for countries for meeting the challenge of improving agricultural water quality.



 Key messages and executive summary (pdf, 17 pages, 830 KB)

Table of contents

Chapter 1. Linking policies, farm management and water quality

- The challenge

- The Polluter-Pays Principle

- The policy mix and interactions affecting water quality in agriculture

- Farm management practices and hydrological properties and processes

- Challenges in the interaction between farm management practices and water quality



Chapter 2. Agriculture and water quality: Sources, trends, outlook and monitoring

- Sources of water pollution from agriculture

- The contribution of agriculture as a source of water pollution

- Overall trends of the impacts of agriculture on water quality

- Medium-term outlook and implications of climate change

- Issues related to monitoring water quality in agriculture important for policy makers



Chapter 3. Monetary costs and benefits of agricultures impact on water systems

- Key components in measuring the costs and benefits of agriculture on water quality

- Information needs to provide monetary cost and benefit estimates

- A survey of OECD countries impact estimates

- Further research



Chapter 4. OECD policy instruments and mixes addressing water quality issues in agriculture

- Economic instruments

- Environmental regulations

- Information instruments and other persuasive approaches to address water pollution



Chapter 5. OECD policy experiences in addressing water quality issues in agriculture

- Addressing nitrate water pollution from agriculture in the European Union

- Lowering pollution of the Chesapeake Bay, United States: The role of agriculture

- Reducing salinity in agriculture to improve water quality: The case of Australia

- Implementing water quality trading for nitrogen pollution in Lake Taupo, New Zealand

- Improving research on diffuse source water pollution: France and the United Kingdom

- Reforming governance to address social concerns with water quality in New Zealand

- Addressing transborder pollution: The Baltic Sea, eutrophication and agriculture

- Establishing co-operative agreements to address diffuse source pollution



Chapter 6. Moving towards sustainable water quality management in agriculture

- Policy challenges

- Policy responses

- Policy reforms

- Policy governance and institutions

Background reports

Water Quality and Agriculture: Meeting the Policy Challenge is supported by the following reports which are free to access and download in PDF format:

Agriculture and Water Quality: Monetary Costs and Benefits across OECD Countries

Andrew Moxey, Pareto Consulting, United Kingdom

Andrew Moxey, Pareto Consulting, United Kingdom Sustainable agriculture

Robert Diaz, Institute of Marine Sciences; Nancy N. Rabalais, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium and Denise L. Breitburg, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, United States

Robert Diaz, Institute of Marine Sciences; Nancy N. Rabalais, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium and Denise L. Breitburg, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, United States New and Emerging Water Pollution arising from Agriculture

Alistair Boxall, Environment Department, University of York, United Kingdom

Alistair Boxall, Environment Department, University of York, United Kingdom Sustainable agriculture

James Shortle, Penn State University, United States

How to obtain this publication

To read Water Quality and Agriculture: Meeting the Policy Challenge:

Browse the book online for free and order your copy at the OECD Online Bookshop

Download the entire book and individual chapters from the OECD iLibrary (subscription access)

(subscription access) Login to our publications and statistics site for journalists (accreditation and registration required)

(accreditation and registration required) Government officials who are registered to use OLIS, the OECD committee information service, can consult this publication under the 'Books' tab when they log in to the OLIS site.

Further information

Find out more about OECD work on water use in agriculture by visiting www.oecd.org/agriculture/water.

Contact

For queries relating to OECD work on water , write to water@oecd.org

, write to water@oecd.org For queries relating to OECD work on agriculture, write to the OECD Trade and Agriculture Directorate at tad.contact@oecd.org
Today

Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 52F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph.

Tonight

Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 52F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph.

Tomorrow

Sunny. High 79F. NNW winds shifting to E at 10 to 15 mph.
THE widespread return of students to the University of Limericks campus has edged a bit closer with the introduction of a new symptom tracker.

For the next three weeks, students attending on campus to use the library or attend lectures will be asked to complete a day-pass form to allow access.

The students are asked to complete a Covid-19 symptom tracker, with a green pass allowing entry onto the campus.

A red pass means students must stay at home and contact their local GP or the student health centre.

The day-pass portal was made available to students from this Monday, April 12, and as an incentive to take part, everyone who uses it is being entered into a draw to win a 100 gift card.

Nigel Healey, the interim provost and deputy president at the University of Limerick said: The use of the UL student Covid-19 day portal will further strengthen Covid-19 protocols which are already in place and ultimately help prevent the spread of Covid-19 within the UL campus community.

Its important all students scheduled for on-campus learning in April take part in trialing the portal to help us plan for a more normal student experience during the next academic year.

Almost all classes at UL have been taking place virtually, with only a bare minimum of students attending the campus.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 18:33:08|Editor: huaxia

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VIENTIANE, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Laos recorded four new cases of COVID-19, raising the total in the country to 58, according to the Lao Ministry of Health on Saturday.

Director General of the Department of Communicable Disease Control under the Lao Ministry of Health Rattanaxay Phetsouvanh told a press conference on Saturday that the four new cases include a 25-year-old woman who returned to southern Laos' Khammuan province from Thailand.

Another two cases are a 32-year-old man and a 24-year-old man who returned to southern Laos' Savannakhet province from Thailand.

The last case is a 25-year-old Lao woman who returned to central Laos' Bolikhamxay province from Thailand.

Laos has now confirmed 58 cases of COVID-19, with nine people undergoing treatment in hospitals.

The country reported its first two COVID-19 cases on March 24 last year. Enditem
HOUSTON, April 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Stellus Capital Investment Corporation (NYSE: SCM) will release its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 on Thursday, May 6, 2021, after the close of the stock market.

Stellus Capital Investment Corporation will host a conference call to discuss these results on Friday, May 7, 2021 at 10:00 AM, Central Daylight Time. The conference call will be led by Robert T. Ladd, Chief Executive Officer, and W. Todd Huskinson, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, Treasurer, and Secretary.

Conference Call Details

Via Phone: Dial 800-367-2403 (domestic). Use passcode 9320687. Starting approximately twenty-four hours after the conclusion of the call, a replay will be available through Saturday, May 15, 2021 by dialing (888) 203-1112 and entering passcode 9320687.

Via Live Webcast: Connect via the Public Company (SCIC) section of our website at www.stelluscapital.com, under the Events tab. A replay of the conference will be available on our website for approximately 90 days.

About Stellus Capital Investment Corporation

The Company is an externally-managed, closed-end, non-diversified investment management company that has elected to be regulated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Company's investment objective is to maximize the total return to its stockholders in the form of current income and capital appreciation by investing primarily in private middle-market companies (typically those with $5.0 million to $50.0 million of EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization)) through first lien, second lien, unitranche and mezzanine debt financing, and corresponding equity investments. The Company's investment activities are managed by its investment adviser, Stellus Capital Management, LLC. To learn more about Stellus Capital Investment Corporation, visit www.stelluscapital.com under the Stellus Capital Investment Corporation link.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements included herein may contain "forward-looking statements" which relate to future performance or financial condition. Statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements and are not guarantees of future performance or results and involve a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including those described from time to time in filings by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement made herein. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release.

Contacts

Stellus Capital Investment Corporation

W. Todd Huskinson, (713) 292-5414

Chief Financial Officer

[email protected]

SOURCE Stellus Capital Investment Corporation
New Delhi: HDFC Bank, on Saturday, reported an 18.2% year-on-year rise in net profit for the quarter ended March 2021 to Rs 8,186.51 crore, a tab bit lower than the expectations of Dalal Streets financial analysts.

Meanwhile, Indias largest private sector lenders net interest income grew 12.6% year-on-year to Rs 17,120.2 crore in Q4 FY21. The bank was expected to post a 23% hike in net profit to Rs. 8,550.3 crore, along with a ~12% jump in net interest income to Rs 17,000 crore, according to analysts estimates.



The bank has decided not to go ahead with any dividend sharing plans. Given that the current 'second wave' has significantly increased the number of Covid-19 cases in India and uncertainty remains, the board has considered it prudent to currently not propose a dividend for the financial year ended March 31, 2021," the bank said in its official statement.

HDFCs gross non-performing loans ratio stood at 1.32% in Q4 FY21 against 1.38% on a proforma basis in Q3 FY21. Notably, HDFCs subsidiary HDB Financial Services posted a decline in net profit from Rs 341.7 crore in Q4 FY20 to Rs 284.6 crore in this quarter. However, HDBs gross NPA ratio improved to 3.9%, while net interest income surged 15.4% to Rs 1,252 crore.

On the National Stock Exchange, HDFC shares traded flat on Friday, and the impact of quarterly results is likely to be seen on Monday.

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New Delhi: Actor Sonu Sood took to his social media handle and announced that he has tested positive for the deadly novel coronavirus infection. The good samaritan in his post, assured his fans that he is all fine and is always ready to help them.

Sonu Sood updated about his COVID-19 condition and wrote: Hi Everyone, This is to inform you that I have tested positive this morning for COVID-19As a part of precautions I have already quarantined myself and taking utmost care...But don't worry this gives me ample time to solve your problems. Remember I'm always there for you all. - Sonu Sood

The actor after getting his first dose of coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday (April 7, 2021) urged the government to start the drive for people as young as 25.

The 47-year-old actor, who hogged the spotlight for helping migrants reach their homes during the coronavirus-triggered lockdown last year, is now encouraging people to receive the vaccine dose.

He also launched "Sanjeevani: A Shot of Life" - a vaccination drive campaign to create awareness.

The COVID-19 vaccine is currently available to all Indians above the age of 45 years.

The actor recently arranged for as many as 10 oxygen generators for COVID-19 patients in Indore.
Guwahati, April 18 : Apprehending poaching by the rival party, the main opposition Congress in Assam on Saturday assembled its candidates at a hotel here, party sources said, adding they would stay there till the results of the recently held Assembly election are declared on May 2.

"Congress candidates would remain together at a hotel till the results of the Assembly elections were declared on May 2," a party leader said.

AICC General Secretary and the party's Assam in-charge Jitendra Singh claimed that the "Mahajot (grand alliance) would secure a big majority in the 126-member assembly".

Congress leaders held a closed door meeting in Guwahati on Saturday.

Congress Legislator Party leader Debabrata Saikia said Saturday's meeting is "almost a normal meeting after the election and some strategies were taken in the meeting".

After a week's stay in the Congress-ruled Rajasthan, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) candidates returned to Assam on Friday after the Covid-19 cases were rising in the west Indian state.

The AIUDF is a partner of the 10-party "Mahajot".

Another ally of the grand alliance, Bodoland People's Front has shifted its candidates from Assam to a neighbouring country fearing poaching by rival camps.

The 3-phase polls in Assam concluded on April 6 and results will be declared on May 2.
The impressive abode, conservatively estimated to be worth $15 million, was a long way from the cramped little flat she first lived in at Darling Point with four girlfriends after arriving in Sydney in 1963. It really is an extraordinarily successful fashion business in Australia, says Womens Wear Dailys Australian correspondent Patty Huntington. What happens in the future is a big question for the Zampatti family. Will they promote from within, one of the design assistants perhaps? Or will a new head designer be installed from outside? This is a situation every fashion house has had to contend with when their creative head has died, from Dior to Chanel. It would be a brilliant opportunity for a young designer with strong tailoring talents, someone like a Dion Lee or Carl Kapp perhaps ... or even Carlas daughter Bianca Spender. That the labels founder and head designer managed to keep it an entirely private and family-run business speaks volumes to Zampattis tenacity and business acumen, especially as so many of her peers have disappeared over the years. The Australian fashion landscape is littered with labels that have either collapsed under crushing debt or been sold by their namesakes to larger corporations, only then to slowly vaporise into nothing.

While Zampatti was clearly at the helm of her label right to her end, she was not alone. Several senior designers would work with her on collections, travelling the world with her to canvas trends. But it was Zampattis keen eye and editing prowess that would ultimately cast the final vote on what garments made it to the public. Loading Those same designers could easily continue doing what they have done for the foreseeable future, but ultimately all design houses need a captain to steer their creative vision, just as Yves Saint Laurent stepped in when Christian Dior suddenly died from a heart attack, and Karl Lagerfeld eventually took the reins at Chanel after the death of Coco. During Thursdays funeral mass at St Marys Cathedral, Zampattis three children addressed the congregation, Alex revealing to the packed pews the siblings joked his mother considered her label a fourth and sometimes favourite child. His younger sister Allegra Spender, considered to have a keen business mind, pledged to carry on her mothers legacy.

We will miss her warm presence, her perspective, her sense of fun, her love and care of us and the joy she took from the world. We are very proud of you Mum, she told the cathedral. We are committed to continuing your legacy of inspiring, empowering and supporting women. Madame Lashs legacy plans Gretel Pinniger, also known as Madam Lash. Credit:Simon Bennett While Gretel Pinniger, aka Madame Lash, was reminiscing about her glorious past last week with PS, it is her immediate future that has been making waves around the famous dominatrixs old stomping grounds in Surry Hills. Pinniger has lodged a development application with City of Sydney Council to convert the historic de-consecrated church she has owned for nearly 40 years, The Kirk, into a boarding house. So far the proposal has attracted 30 objections from locals unhappy with the plans. Indeed, over the years she has met with similar resistance over previous proposals that never materialised.

But this time she says the plans have a far greater urgency. Pinniger, 75, says her intention and desire is to leave a lasting legacy for Sydneys creative community, explaining the proposal also includes artists residents and studios, which are to be paid for by developing the site into an ongoing business. An artists impression of the plans for Pinnigers historic de-consecrated church, The Kirk. The design itself is truly a thing of beauty. Its like something out of Game Of Thrones, with huge copper tiles adorning the new roof like a dragons scales. I dont want to create something ugly, the intention is to provide a thing of beauty for generations to come ... but it also has to pay for itself in the long run, Pinniger told PS. Ive owned the place for 38 years. I havent been able to host events there because it no longer meets the safety requirements. Ive paid an awful lot of land tax and rates over the years, and I continue to do so because I dont want to see the place go and be demolished for more ugly apartments. I am trying to provide a creative space for artists and performers to exist, under my roof and my grace.

And if she fails to convince her neighbours and the council, Pinniger fears she will have no choice but to sell the historic site, which has long been a landmark on Cleveland Street, complete with the huge bronze doors featuring erotic depictions she installed decades ago. And that will be very sad for all of Sydney, she said, and not just the immediate neighbours. Bling club The diamond ring being auctioned with an estimated price range between $990,000 and $1.2 million. Sydneys second-hand jewellery market is red-hot with two major upcoming auctions being held by Leonard Joel and Bonhams attracting plenty of attention. First cab off the rank is the Leonard Joel Important Jewels auction in Woollahra on April 20, and the undisputed star of the show will be the humungous diamond ring being sold by an unnamed investor. The seller only bought the diamond, mined in Canada, a few months ago and could pocket somewhere between $990,000 and $1.2 million, making it potentially the most expensive diamond ever to be offered in Australia.

The magnificent 25.02 stone was cut from a 47.961 carat rough. Since arriving in Australia it has sat mostly in a safe, but was recently set into a ring by a Strand Arcade jeweller so potential buyers could try it on. It went on view on Friday. The upcoming Bonhams auction includes pieces from a Singaporean beauty queen. Bonhams jewellery expert Fiona Frith says that for many buyers, it is the story behind the jewels  who owned them and where they were acquired  that holds almost as much appeal as the stones and settings. Last year Bonhams secured more than $2 million for an unidentified Australian family who needed to offload a pair of large sapphires. The auction house soon realised they were rare Kashmir sapphires, and in the middle of the pandemic sent them to New York where they were snapped up for 100 times what the family had hoped they were worth. Bonhams next jewellery sale happens on April 27 and includes the glittering collection of an unnamed late Sydney socialite who travelled south-east Asia and amassed an extraordinary collection of pieces by Greek society jeweller Ilias Lalaounis along with other remarkable creations in amber and jade.
Chennai, April 17 : Tamil movie comedian and Padma Shri recipient Vivekh passed away on Saturday at a private hospital here. He was 59.

He was admitted to SIMS Hospital on Friday morning after showing "acute coronary syndrome with cardiogenic shock".

Vivekh who was in a critical condition was put on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) support, the hospital said.

Vivekh was brought to the emergency ward of the hospital in an unconscious state at about 11 a.m. on Friday by his family members, the hospital said.

The hospital said he was resuscitated in the emergency room by specialists and later underwent an emergency coronary angiogram followed by an angioplasty.

According to the doctors, Vivek had complained to his family members about chest pain.

Condoling his death, Telangana Governor and Lt.Governor of Puducherry Tamilisai Soundararajan said Vivekh through his comedy dialogues had spread good social messages and earned the sobriquet "Chinna Kalaivannara" or Little Kalaivannar (Late Tamil movie comedian N.S. Krishnan had the sobriquet Kalaivannar) and was also an environmentalist in planting lakhs of tree saplings.

Vivekh born as Vivekanandan in Kovilpattin, Tamil Nadu, made his entry into the Tamil movie field in 1987 in the movie "Manathil Urudhi Vendum" directed by the late K. Balachander.

Soon he was in great demand and has acted with top heroes like Rajinikanth, Vijay, Ajith, Surya and others. He has acted in over 200 movies.

Vivekh was awarded the Padma Shri in 2009 and the Kalaivannar award from the Tamil Nadu government.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
PHILADELPHIA (AP)  Philadelphia police and city officials outlined their plans Friday to respond to protests and any potential unrest following the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, charged in the death of George Floyd.

Closing arguments in Chauvins trial are scheduled for Monday, and city officials say they have learned from their mistakes in responding to the protests against police brutality and racial injustice after Floyds death in late May. The city and police faced intense criticism after several videotaped encounters between police and protesters, including the use of tear gas and less lethal projectiles against a group of protesters trapped on Interstate 676 as they tried to retreat up a steep embankment.

Mayor Jim Kenney and Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw also faced harsh criticism in two audits of the planning and response to the protests in Philadelphia in May and June, punctuated by days of unrest, multiple clashes between officers and protesters, burning of police cars and instances of opportunistic thefts and vandalism in several neighborhood business districts.

Friday, Kenney said he and other city officials have been monitoring the trial and preparing for any unrest. And while some of that response includes increased police presence and resources, the city is also placing an emphasis on offering mental health services to residents and partnering with community and religious groups to offer safe spaces to deal with emotions and potential anger from the verdict.

What is needed is behavioral health support, not an armed response, Kenney said.

The city will host a series of virtual events so people can gather as a community after the verdict, as well as partner with neighborhood groups to make sure there are safe in-person events for people to meet up if they need support.

City officials also worked with the business community to set up civilian watches in the business corridors during the next three weeks so police can be alerted quickly about any opportunistic thefts or business vandalism.

Kenney said that the city realized it had overpoliced some neighborhoods while other communities felt abandoned during the response this summer, and efforts are going to be made to make sure all communities have an adequate number of officers.

Outlaw said all days off for officers had been canceled for the next three weeks and that people would notice a stronger police presence on foot, bicycle and horseback in neighborhoods.

The city had previously placed a moratorium on using tear gas during protest events after the response this summer. But Outlaw said Friday while tear gas will not be used to control peaceful protests, she was not comfortable removing it from officers available tools in all situations.

Leaders from the Pennsylvania National Guard and the State Police are stationed at the citys Emergency Operations Center to be able to make decisions about activation or placement of additional resources quickly. Kenney said two barracks have been identified outside of Philadelphia where guardsmen could be stationed in preparation, but it was unclear from city officials statements Friday whether they would be sent to those locations prior to a verdict.

On Friday, Gov. Tom Wolf signed an order activating 1,000 members of the Pennsylvania National Guard to support local officials in Philadelphia. Wolfs office said the city requested the support of the Guard.
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The Duchess of Cambridge was the picture of dignified grace in Her Majesty's jewels at the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral today.

Kate Middleton paid a touching tribute to both the Monarch and to her own late mother-in-law as she wore the Queen's pearl choker, from Her Majesty's personal collection, to the poignant service in Windsor this afternoon.

The Japanese Pearl choker necklace was worn by Kate for the Queen and Prince Philip's 70th wedding anniversary dinner at Windsor Castle in 2017, and by her late mother-in-law Princess Diana in 1982.

The Queen loaned it to Diana, who loved pearls, for a banquet given by Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus of the Netherlands at Hampton Court Palace during the Dutch royal family's visit to the UK - one of her first royal engagements a year after her marriage to Prince Charles.

The Queen asked for the choker to be made from 'the finest cultured pearls' which were a gift from the Japanese government. It has four strands of pearls with a central curved diamond clasp.

The Monarch wore the choker in the 1980s and 1990s, and to a dinner celebrating former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's 70th Birthday in London in 1995.

The Duchess teamed a chic black 1,605 Roland Mouret dress with an asymmetrical neckline - the same she wore for the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance in 2018 - with a black face covering and a Philip Treacy velvet pillbox hat.

She paired her outfit with the Bahrain Pearl Diamond Drop Earrings which also came from Her Majesty's private collection, and were also worn by Diana in 1982. The earrings were crafted from pearls gifted to the Queen and Philip from the ruler of Bahrain at the time of their wedding in 1947.

Mother-of-three Kate has not been seen since news of Prince Philip's death was announced last week but the official Kensington Royal Instagram account shared a photo of the Duke of Edinburgh with Prince George in tribute.

Though she has taken part in numerous royal events over the years, today was the first major royal funeral the duchess has attended.

Kate and Prince Philip enjoyed a good relationship, with Prince William saying he was thankful that Kate, who married into the royal family in 2011 after meeting William nearly a decade earlier, had 'so many years' to get to know his grandfather.

Kate Middleton paid a touching tribute to both the Monarch and her late mother-in-law as she wore the Queen's pearl choker, from Her Majesty's personal collection, to the poignant service in Windsor this afternoon

Kate was impeccably dressed for the occasion and once outside the chapel, the Duchess wore a long buttoned coat over her Roland Mouret dress

The Queen asked for the four-row Japanese Pearl Choker to be made from 'the finest cultured pearls' which were a gift from the Japanese government. Pictured left, Her Majesty in the choker in 1983. Right, The Queen loaned it to Diana, who loved pearls, for a banquet given by Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus of the Netherlands at Hampton Court Palace during the Dutch royal family's visit to the UK - one of her first royal engagements a year after her marriage to Prince Charles

Catherine appeared to be fighting back tears as she waited inside the chapel alone, before the arrival of her husband

After the service, Kate walked out with her husband and Prince Harry, before chatting to the Duke of Sussex

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge fought back tears as the Duke's coffin was brought in to the chapel

Inside the chapel, the couple were reunited and sat throughout the ceremony with their heads bowed

While William was joined in a bubble arrangement with his wife the Duchess of Cambridge, Harry sat alone

Catherine looked on as pallbearers carried in the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin

Kate stood alone outside the chapel. Her sister-in-law Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, remained in the United States, having been advised not to fly while pregnant with their second child

The Duchess made a touching nod to Her Majesty and the late Princess of Wales with the choker

The Duchess of Cambridge in a car following the hearse on the grounds of Windsor Castle

Catherine stood alongside Sophie Wessex and daughter Lady Louise, Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi

The Duchess bowed her head as the procession made its way into St George's Chapel, in the grounds of Windsor Castle

The Duchess finished off her look with elegant make-up and wore her brunette locks beneath a black hat and veil

The mother-of-three finished off her look with simple velvet stilettos and accessorised with a black clutch bag

The 39-year-old's pearl drop earrings worked perfectly with the Japanese choker necklace

Kate was a picture of elegance, wearing her hair in an elegant up-do and showing off her pearl drop earrings

The 39-year-old stood outside St George's Chapel beside the Duchess of Cornwall

Kate Middleton, 39, who enjoyed a good relationship with her husband's grandfather, was photographed leaving for St George's Chapel in the back of a car

The couple were taken from Kensington Palace to the funeral in Windsor in a Land Rover

Kate's wardrobe: Duchess teams the Queen's own jewels with chic designer dress Dress: Roland Mouret Kate wore a chic black 1,605 Roland Mouret dress with an asymmetrical neckline - the same she wore for the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance in 2018 Coat: Catherine Walker 'Beau Tie' custom black coat Hat: Philip Treacy Necklace: Her Majesty's Japanese Pearl Choker The Japanese Pearl choker necklace was worn by Kate for the Queen and Prince Philip's 70th wedding anniversary dinner at Windsor Castle in 2017, and by her late mother-in-law Princess Diana in 1982. The Queen loaned it to Diana, who loved pearls, for a banquet given by Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus of the Netherlands at Hampton Court Palace during the Dutch royal family's visit to the UK - one of her first royal engagements a year after her marriage to Prince Charles. The Queen asked for the four-row Japanese Pearl Choker to be made from 'the finest cultured pearls' which were a gift from the Japanese government. It has four strands of pearls with a central curved diamond clasp. The Monarch wore the choker in the 1980s and 1990s, and to a dinner celebrating former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's 70th Birthday in London in 1995. Earrings: Bahrain Pearl Diamond Drop Earrings A present to the Queen from the kingdom of Bahrain to celebrate the Queen's wedding to Prince Philip in 1947, these exquisite pearl earrings were hidden away from public view for many decades but have recently been seen once more. The Countess of Wessex has sported the diamond-supported pearls. And Kate, who is known to adore a pearl earring, also wore them while staying at Balmoral during the summer of 2018. Advertisement

During the poignant event attended by the Queen and his children and grandchildren, the duke was described as enriching the lives of all those he knew with his 'kindness, humour and humanity'.

Kate was driven from Kensington Palace to Windsor with her husband in a Land Rover before William left her to join the procession with other members of his family.

Their sister-in-law Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, remained in the United States, having been advised not to fly while pregnant with their second child.

The Duke of Sussex and Duke of Cambridge sat opposite one another in St George's Chapel, as the brothers bade farewell to their grandfather.

The men, who have had a difficult relationship in recent years, faced each other in the quire as part of just 30 family members for the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral.

While William was joined in a bubble arrangement with his wife, Harry sat alone.

The brothers, whose fraught relationship has been characterised by internal rowing, could be seen chatting together after the service concluded.

William paused briefly to walk in step with his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, and his younger brother, as the mourners made their way out of St George's Chapel in the spring sunshine.

Though still wearing his face mask, Harry appeared to smile briefly in the direction of Kate, his sister-in-law, as the three strolled together, away from the rest of the family.

Though the content of their conversation could not be heard, such civility is likely be welcomed by many as a tacit thawing of the brothers' frosty relationship.

Moments later the brothers walked together, alone, with Kate in conversation with Zara Tindall, William and Harry's cousin.

A number of Kate Middleton's personal photos have also been used in social media tributes over the last week, including one shared by Mike Tindall last night.

A snap of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh with seven of their great-grandchildren was also released last week, which was taken by the Duchess of Cambridge in Balmoral in 2018.

William said of Philip in his tribute: 'My grandfather's century of life was defined by service - to his country and Commonwealth, to his wife and Queen, and to our family.

'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.

'I will always be grateful that my wife had so many years to get to know my grandfather and for the kindness he showed her.'

William said he had used the duke's example of a life of service as a guide and was lucky to have had him there during 'good times' and difficult ones.

William said he and Kate have pledged to follow the duke's wishes and support the Queen.

'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,' he said.

'I will miss my Grandpa, but I know he would want us to get on with the job.'

Kate paid a touching nod to both the Queen and her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana (right), by wearing the stunning pearl choker

The 39-year-old wore a simple black face covering to mach her mourning attire - pairing it with the decades-old pearls

The mother-of-three is wearing a pearl choker from the Queen's own collection - which was once worn by Kate's late mother-in-law, Princess Diana at a state banquet for the Netherlands in 1982

Top row, from left: Mike Tindall, Zara Tindall, Jack Brooksbank, Princess Eugenie, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Princess Beatrice, (front row, left to right) the Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke of Cambridge, the Earl of Wessex, James Viscount Severn, the Countess of Wessex, Lady Louise Windsor, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Prince of Wales

The Duchess inside the historic chapel, awaiting the start of the service before she was joined by her husband

Despite the sad occasion, Catherine looked resplendent in the choker and matching pearl earrings

Members of the royal family await the coffin carrying the Duke of Edinburgh

Kate's tailored coat featured bow detailing - matching her black fascinator perfectly

The Duchess of Cambridge travelled with husband Prince William in the back of a car

The mother-of-three wore an elegant pearl necklace, black face covering and black hat with lace mesh covering her eyes

The pair kept their masks on inside the back of the car, as they were driven from London to Windsor

William's wife was sombre in the back of the car as it drove her to the grounds of the chapel

The Duchess of Cambridge was chic in a Rouland Mouret dress and stilettos, with her hair pinned back beneath a pillbox hat

She clasped a gold and black clutch bag and black satin gloves and kept her mask on outside the chapel

Kate looked deep in conversation with the Duke of Sussex as they reunited for the first time in months

The Duchess wore her asymmetric Rouland Mouret dress in the car before wearing an overcoat once outside

A fleet of Rolls Royce cars dropped the royals outside the chapel before they lined up to watch the procession make its way past

Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge arrives for the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle

The Duchess of Cambridge arrives at St George's Chapel for the funeral without her husband, who was part of the main procession

Kate outside St George's Chapel for the funeral followed by Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall who arrived at the ceremony without her husband, who was part of the main procession

Though Kate was taken to Windsor with her husband William, she arrived at the chapel in a car alone

The Duchess swapped the Land Rover for a Rolls Royce one she had arrived in the grounds of Windsor Castle

Kate Middleton, 39, who enjoyed a good relationship with her husband's grandfather, wore the Queen's pearls paired with drop pearl earrings - both from Her Majesty's personal collection

Kate also wore a chic black 1,605 Roland Mouret dress with an asymmetrical neckline - the same she wore for the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance in 2018

Harry and William walked back to the castle in the spring sunshine with Kate, speaking for the first time in a year

The brothers then moved ahead of a group including Kate and Sophie Wessex as experts said they hoped the brothers would rebuilt their relationship

The royals all sat in their own household bubbles with Prince Charles and Camilla closest to the coffin. Then it was the Wessexes, the Cambridges in the front row. Then it was Beatrice, Eugenie, the Tindalls on the back row

Prince Harry and Prince William seemed locked in conversation as they left St George's Chapel following Prince Philip's funeral service

Prince Harry and Prince William walked close together after leaving the funeral service. They appeared to be chatting as they walked

The brothers were locking in conversation with Kate Middleton a short distance behind after they left the funeral service

Brothers Harry and William appeared to share words while Harry also looked locked in conversation with Kate Middleton after leaving the service

Prince Harry and Prince William were joined by Kate Middleton as they left the church following the funeral service

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Prince Philip's funeral service at St George's Chapel in Windsor this afternoon

The Duchess of Cambridge arrives at St George's Chapel for the funeral followed by Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall arrived at the ceremony without her husband, who was part of the main procession

The Duchess of Cambridge arrives at St George's Chapel for the funeral followed by Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall arrived at the ceremony without her husband, who was part of the main procession

William and Kate leave Kensington Palace ahead of their first meeting with Prince Harry for more than a year following the turmoil of Megxit

Kate and Prince Philip enjoyed a good relationship, with Prince William saying he was thankful that Kate, who married into the royal family in 2011 after meeting William nearly a decade earlier, had 'so many years' to get to know his grandfather. Pictured, in 2017

The Duchess of Cambridge has not been seen since news of Prince Philip's death was announced last week but the official Kensington Royal Instagram account shared a photo of the Duke of Edinburgh with Prince George in tribute
"There is a case for suggesting the development of some kind of continuing international dialogue", Sir John Krebs, who is Professor of Zoology at Oxford University and the chairman designate of the future U.K. Food Standards Agency, told delegates at the close of the three-day conference.

How such a dialogue could be formalised would need to be discussed by governments in both the developed and the developing world, he said, adding that in his view its purpose would be "to inform rather than to make policy". He recommended, however, that such a panel, if it is created, should deal not only with the agricultural and food aspects of biotechnology but also with a range of other issues including trade, economic development, and environmental and ethical questions. It should take science as its starting point but build on work already being done in other fora. "If such an international discussion did go forward, it would have to be based on science," Sir John declared. "But it has to be science plus the broader issues of economic development, trade and other concerns that we have heard here."

Commenting on the suggestion, the Secretary General of the OECD, Donald J. Johnston, said he agreed that it is "an idea that we should take a hard look at." Any decision would be up to governments, he noted, but he added that the OECD would be well placed to facilitate such an international dialogue, as it already does in other areas ranging from sustainable development to electronic commerce.

The Edinburgh conference -- titled GM Food Safety: Facts, Uncertainties and Assessment (28 February-1 March) -- brought together 400 participants from more than 40 countries representing governments, industry and civil society organisations, including Greenpeace International, Friends of the Earth and GeneWatch. Hosted by the U.K. government, the conference forms part of an ongoing programme of work at the OECD on biotechnology. Its conclusions will serve as input into a report that the OECD will submit to the Group of Eight industrial countries for their summit at Okinawa, Japan, in July 2000.



This follows a request from the G8 leaders at their summit in Cologne in June 1999 that the OECD "undertake a study of the implications of biotechnology and other aspects of food safety," and an earlier endorsement of the OECD's biotechnology programme by OECD ministers in May 1999.

In a draft summary, the two rapporteurs of the conference ' Dr. Peter Tindemans, a Dutch scientific consultant to governments, international organisations, and other public and private bodies, and Iain Gillespie, a British civil servant currently working at the U.K. Department of Health ' said its purpose had been to seek common ground on whether and how applications of GM technologies in the food and crops sector serve the needs of society. They added that the conference also scrutinised critically whether the systems in place for the assessment of the risks and benefits of GM food are considered trustworthy by governments, industry, scientists, social interest groups and regulatory agencies.

The rapporteurs identified a number of points on which they said there was general agreement among the majority of the participants. These, they said, included the need for a more open, transparent and inclusive debate and for openness and transparency in the policy process, as well as an acknowledgment that there is potential benefit to be gained from GM technology. In addition, they noted, many consumers eat GM foods and no significant effects have yet been detected on human health.

The rapporteurs added, however, that on many issues there continued to be opposing views. Some participants, they observed, regard human health aspects of GM foods as inseparable from wider issues, such as the impact on the environment, trade and socio-economic factors and belief systems. There was also disagreement on whether genetic modification is part of a continuum in the development of tools for plant breeding, or a fundamental change in the way new crops are produced, necessitating new ways of assessing food safety.

A further point of contention concerned the issue of whether individual countries should be allowed to develop GM technology for food production according to their own needs, or whether there should be a global moratorium on GM crops. In addition, there was a lack of complete agreement on such issues as the mandatory labeling of GM foods, the usefulness of feeding trials in animals of GM foods and on the process of assessing consumer concerns. Finally, a need for further work was identified in relation to the potential long-term effects of GM food on human health, worker safety and the environment.


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The Black men at the edge of the crowd wear yellow patches on protective vests that identify them as members of the Minnesota Freedom Fighters, a group formed to provide security in Minneapolis north side neighborhoods during unrest following the death of George Floyd last year. They are not shy about casting a forceful image  the groups Facebook page features members posing with assault-style weapons and describes itself as an elite security unit  but on Friday the Freedom Fighters didnt appear to be armed and said they intended only to encourage peaceful protesting.
Charles Spencer praised the Duke of Edinburgh's 'stunningly moving' funeral today.

The brother of the late Princess Diana, 56, took to Twitter on Saturday after Prince Philip's funeral on Saturday afternoon to describe the ceremony as 'moving'.

Charles was not in attendance at Saturday's funeral, which only saw a scaled-back 30 guests in attendance due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

After the funeral, which was broadcast live on UK television channels including the BBC, Charles simply tweeted: 'Goodness - what a stunningly moving ceremony.'

The brother of the late Princess Diana, 56, took to Twitter on Saturday after Prince Philip's funeral on Saturday afternoon to describe the ceremony as 'moving'

Earl Spencer's simple tribute came after the royal family gathered at St George's Chapel on Saturday afternoon to pay respect to the late Duke of Edinburgh.

The Queen's four children, eight grandchildren and their respective spouses came together to support Her Majesty following the death of her husband last week at the age of 99.

All 30 guests who attended the intimate funeral amid the Covid-19 pandemic kept themselves protected by wearing black face masks covering both their noses and mouths.

The funeral saw Charles' nephews Prince Harry and Prince William reunite for the first time since Harry's interview with Oprah, although they were separated by cousin Peter Phillips during the royal procession behind Prince Philip's coffin.

Charles was not in attendance at Saturday's funeral, which only saw a scaled-back 30 guests in attendance due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, but tweeted after the ceremony (above)

The funeral saw his nephews Prince Harry and Prince William (pictured during the ceremonial procession) reunite for the first time since Harry's bombshell interview with Oprah

It comes after a royal expert claimed that walking behind their grandfather's coffin would bring back 'difficult memories' for Prince William and Harry of 'losing their mother'.

Following Princess Diana's death, William and Harry walked behind her coffin alongside Earl Spencer, Prince Charles, Prince Philip as it made its way to Westminster Abbey.

Speaking to FEMAIL before the funeral, royal expert Penny Junor said it would bring back 'difficult memories' of Princess Diana's funeral for William, Harry and Charles.

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.'

Earl Spencer joined the two young brothers, as well as Prince Philip and Prince Charles, to walk behind his elder sister the Princess of Wales' coffin following her death in 1997.

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)

Charles, Earl Spencer, has been married three times, firstly to Victoria Lockwood, then second wife Caroline Freud and lastly to Karen Spencer (pictured in 2018)

Charles married Canadian-born Karen Villeneuve at the Spencer's Northamptonshire estate in 2011 after separating from second wife Caroline Freud in 2007. He was married to first wife Victoria Lockwood from 1989 to 1997.

Charles, the only surviving son of France Shand Kidd and John Spencer is custodian of Althorp.

Diana had an older brother, John Spencer, died within ten hours of his birth on 12 January 1960.

Charles has been married three times, firstly to Victoria Lockwood, with whom he has Lady Kitty Spencer, 30, twins Lady Eliza Spencer and Lady Amelia Spencer, 28 and Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp, 26.

He also has Edmund Spencer, 17, and Lady Lara Spencer, 15, from second wife Caroline Freud, who was previously married to PR guru Matthew Freud.

With his current wife Karen, he has one daughter, Charlotte Diana Spencer, eight.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 07:19:51|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution to approve the UN secretary-general's proposal on the composition and operational aspects of a cease-fire monitoring component of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

In an April 7 letter to the Security Council, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres proposed a "phased deployment for the UNSMIL cease-fire monitoring component, which would require an initial maximum number of 60 monitors."

Resolution 2570 requests that UNSMIL should provide support to the Libyan 5+5 Joint Military Commission and the Libyan Cease-fire Monitoring Mechanism (LCMM), including through the facilitation of confidence-building measures and the scalable and incremental deployment of UNSMIL cease-fire monitors once conditions allow.

It underlines the importance of the 5+5 Joint Military Commission developing plans for the LCMM; the timeline, size and geographical deployment of the UNSMIL cease-fire monitoring component; clear milestones; the expected end state and security arrangements to secure the UNSMIL cease-fire monitors.

The resolution expresses the Security Council's intention to review the progress toward the deployment of UNSMIL cease-fire monitors by Sept. 15, 2021.

It requests that the independent strategic review of UNSMIL should take into account the cease-fire monitoring component, and further requests the secretary-general to consult the Security Council on any increase to the initial maximum number of cease-fire monitors.

The resolution calls on all Libyan parties to ensure full implementation of the Oct. 23, 2020 cease-fire agreement and strongly urges all UN member states to respect and support its implementation, including through the withdrawal of all foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya without delay.

It calls on the interim government to make the necessary preparations for free, fair and inclusive national presidential and parliamentary elections on Dec. 24, 2021, as set out in the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum roadmap. Enditem
Nonprofits that hold community events at the Horseshoe Complex arent allowed to bring their own water bottles to the facility, which became an issue recently after 4,000 residents standing in line for a backpack drive were told they would need to purchase water at $3 a bottle.

County Judge Terry Johnson told the Reporter-Telegram hes received complaints from nonprofits that work with children and youth sport leagues about not being able to bring water for child participants to the facility. He said the organizer of the backpack drive with thousands of attendees had purchased packs of water and was told by Horseshoe staff that he couldnt distribute them.

Midland County commissioners on Friday considered an agenda item by Johnson that would grant an exception for nonprofits, but some said that would violate the existing contract with Horseshoe Hospitality Services.

What we determined many years ago was that concessions were granted by the contract to (Horseshoe Hospitality), said Commissioner Randy Prude. And what we determined as a court was that we were not going to allow people  nonprofits, profits, anybody  to furnish their own concessions.

Prude said that hes spoken to Horseshoe Hospitality President Joe Kelley about the issue, and Kelley suggested charging a fee of $1 per bottle to nonprofits that want to bring their own water.

The fee would be to cover the cost of labor to clean up any water bottles, Prude said.

Kelley and Commissioner Scott Ramsey, who serves as a liaison to the Horseshoe, were not present for Fridays meeting. The Commissioners Court opted to table the item for a later date.

The contract between Kelley and the county, which provides $1.2 million annually in operational expenses to Horseshoe Hospitality, has come under question previously.

In June 2020, a report from the County Auditors Office stated that Kelley misused county funds by providing them as incentives to private promoters. Public funds from a county government cannot be used to make gratuitous grants, except in cases with a legitimate public purpose, under the Texas Constitution. Kelley said the incentives were legitimate business expenses.

County commissioners on Friday discussed revisiting the auditors findings in that report and making changes to the contract if deemed necessary. Prude suggested scheduling a work session with the Commissioners Court, Kelley, County Auditor Veronica Morales and County Attorney Russell Malm.

Lets come up with a recommendation that we all on both sides can say this sounds like a good idea to me, and that way well be in the same boat from now on, Prude said.
New Delhi, April 17 : In line with the graded, pre-emptive and pro-active approach, the Centre on Saturday granted a fresh supply of ventilators to Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh -- states reporting a chunk of daily Covid-19 positive cases.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan made the announcement while chairing a high-level review meeting with the Health Ministers of 11 states and UTs.

Organised to review measures taken by the states and UTs for prevention, containment and management of the recent surge in Covid-19 cases,the meeting lasted more than three hours in which Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal, Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh took part. These states are reporting an unprecedented surge in new Covid cases.

Reminding the Health Ministers that 34,228 ventilators were granted to the states by the Centre last year, Harsh Vardhan assured a fresh supply of the lifesaving machines: 1,121 ventilators are to be given to Maharashtra, 1,700 to Uttar Pradesh, 1,500 to Jharkhand, 1,600 to Gujarat, 152 to Madhya Pradesh and 230 to Chhattisgarh.

Detailing the number of beneficiaries vaccinated in each targeted segment of the population, the Minister also addressed the perceived issue of vaccine shortage.

The total consumption of vaccines so far (wastage included) has been approximately 12,57,18,000 doses against the 14.15 crore doses provided by the Centre to the states. About 1.58 lakh doses are still available with the states while another 1,16, 84,000 are in pipeline, to be delivered by next week.

"Stocks of every small state are replenished after seven days. For big states, the time period is four days," the Minister added.

Emphasising that "there is no shortage of vaccine", Harsh Vardhan strongly pushed for the further ramping up of vaccination exercise.

Presented a snapshot of unprecedented rise in new cases at the outset, the Minister noted that India reported its highest single-day spike on April 12 which was also the highest number of daily new cases reported in the world.

India contributed 22.8 per cent of the total cases reported worldwide on April 12.

"India is currently reporting the sharpest growth rate of 7.6 per cent in new Covid cases, which is 1.3 times higher than case growth rate of 5.5 per cent reported in June 2020. This is leading to an alarming rise in daily number of active cases, which currently stand at 16,79,000," said the Minister.

There is also a sharp growth of 10.2 per cent in the number of deaths. The widening gap between daily new cases and daily new recoveries reflects that the infection is spreading at a much faster rate than recoveries with consistently growing active cases.

All the 11 states and UTs have already crossed their highest reported daily case threshold with some districts like Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Nashik, Thane, Lucknow, Raipur, Ahmedabad and Aurangabad also following the same pattern.

Almost all the states raised the issues of augmenting supply of oxygen cylinders, stepping up supply of Remdesivir in hospitals, adding to the ventilator stock, and enhanced supply of vaccine doses.

Many of them raised the issue of dovetailing the medical oxygen supply lines and the capping of prices of essential drugs like Remdesivir which has been sold in the black market at exorbitant prices.

The double mutant strain in Maharashtra was a key point of concern in the meeting.

The Delhi government requested for additional beds in central government hospitals as was done in 2020 to help tide over the emergent health crisis.

Taking note of the active surge in cases witnessed since last February in which most states have now crossed their highest tally, the Minister exhorted the states to plan in advance and increase Covid hospitals, oxygenated beds and other relevant infrastructure to deal with any further surge in cases.

He requested the states to give special focus on the prominent five-six cities in their administration, map medical colleges to either these cities or adjoining two-three districts.

The states were asked to seek out positive cases with the onset of early symptoms so that prompt and effective treatment checks the deterioration of health in the diseased. Large containment zones for achieving community quarantine were also suggested as a strategy.

The Union Minister reminded the states to send the clinical and epidemiological pictures to assess genomic mutants of the pathogen to the coordinating INSACOG nodal officer and attempt to correlate the public health scenario with the clinical picture.

Health Ministers of states and UTs who joined the meeting included T. S. Singh Deo (Chhattisgarh), Satyendar Jain (Delhi), K. Sudhakar (Karnataka), Prabhuram Choudhary (Madhya Pradesh), Rajesh Tope (Maharashtra), Jai Pratap Singh (Uttar Pradesh), K. K. Shailaja (Kerala), Raghu Sharma (Rajasthan).

Health Secretaries, Additional Chief Secretaries and Principal Secretaries (Health) of all the states and UTs attended the event virtually.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
President Joe Biden will host South Korean President Moon Jae-in for meetings on a still-to-be announced date in the latter half of May, the White House announced on Thursday.

It will be Biden's second opportunity to sit in person with a foreign counterpart since he took office during the pandemic.

Biden is scheduled to meet with Japan's prime minister at the White House on Friday.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked by reporters if Biden was sending a message to China with his first two in-person White House guests.

"These relationships have a range of areas of cooperation," Psaki said. "It is an opportunity to discuss those in person," and she anticipated China would come up in those face-to-face talks.

The visit by South Korea's president will follow visits to Seoul by the secretary of state and defense secretary.

The White House earlier announced the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats and sanctions against dozens of people and companies.

The moves are to hold the Kremlin accountable for interference in last year's presidential election and the cyber hacking last year of federal government agencies.

The sanctions, announced Thursday, represent the first retaliatory actions announced against the Kremlin for the hack, familiarly known as the SolarWinds breach.

Russia swiftly denounced the actions and warned of retaliation.

The U.S. measures signal a harder line against Russian leader Vladimir Putin, whom President Donald Trump was reluctant to criticize even as his administration pursued its own sanctions.

"Our objective here is not to escalate," Psaki said. "Our objective is to impose costs for what we feel are unacceptable actions."

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
COTTAGE GROVE, Minn- Minnesota's Department of Employment and Economic Development, also known as DEED, held a roundtable on Friday focused on increasing vaccine accessibility for manufacturing employees.

Its commissioner, Steve Grove, met with manufacturers to discuss the importance of the state's manufacturing employees receiving the vacine.

"Over three hundred thousand Minnesotans work in manufacturing and them getting vaccinated means they can increase productivity on their manufacturing floors, they can return more safely to work, and they can recruit more new employees as our industries grow," explained Grove.

With over 3,000 Minnesotans working in the industry, manufacturing is Minnesota's second-largest industry and Grove wants as many of its manufacturers vaccinated as possible. He believes getting the shot will help the industry return to normal.

Managers are evening finding ways to motivate those who are skeptical of receiving the vaccine, to get it.

"They have posters around their sites encouraging people to get vaccinated, their gathering peer groups with each other so those on the fence can hear from those who got the vaccine, and they are just putting incentives out there," said Grove.

Grove is encouraging every manufacturing worker to sign up on vaccine connector which can be found here.




In this sense, Assist Card conducted a trend study to find out the new preferences of foreign and local tourists, as well as the new traveler profile during the pandemic.





The study shows mostly a young visitor's profile, who wishes to travel abroad for study or leisure purposes. These sight-seers prefer inexpensive locations. Thus, outdoor places are becoming more popular, such as beaches and rural areas.

"The pandemic has encouraged consumers to inform and prepare themselves to travel abroad (). For that reason, users in the region take between 40 and 80 calendar days in order to determine the destinations they will travel to soon," Assist Card Peru business manager Agustin Aveiro said.

Likewise, he pointed out Peruvians took 54 days in advance before traveling outside the country, planning on a 10-day stay in the United States, Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Colombia, or Panama.

Domestically, the resumption of international flights of over 8 hours long and the new regulations for national flights announced in March predict an increase in the tourism sector.

Thus, Peruvians took 31 days in advance to plan their local visits, intending to stay four days in the cities of: Cusco, Piura, Juliaca, Chiclayo, Arequipa, Lima, Tarapoto, Trujillo, or Cajamarca.

Furthermore, Aveiro stated that the tourism sector is currently being boosted by the flexibility of health measures and reactivation strategies.

(END) NDP/VLA/MVB

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The tourism sector, while it has been one of the most affected by the coronavirus pandemic, has shown a gradual growth since the reactivation of some operations, such as the reopening of borders and allowing tourist visits.Publicado: 17/4/2021
Dubais Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) today (April 17) announced the opening of Al Khawaneej Roads Improvement Project.

The project includes an underpass of three lanes in each direction at the junction of Al Khawaneej and Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Roads as well as a bridge of two lanes in each direction at the junction of Al Amardi and Emirates Roads in the direction of Al Awir, said a statement from RTA.

The construction of Al Khawaneej Roads Improvement Project follows the completion and opening of all phases of Improvements of the Airport Street Project involving upgrading four intersections: Rashidiya, Nad Al Hamar, Marrakech, and Casablanca.

The project had immensely improved the traffic flow, reduced the waiting time and sorted out congestions caused by overlapping traffic.

It also follows the opening of the Tripoli Road Improvement Project providing a link between Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Road and Emirates Road.

The opening of this 12-km road eased the traffic flow, improved the entry points of Al Warqaa and Mirdif along Tripoli Road and enhanced the safety along the corridor,

Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA, said: "It is one of the key strategic projects for improving the links between Dubai and Sharjah through the improvement of vertical roads linking with the Emirates Road and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Road up to the Airport Street."

"The project aims to accommodate the current and projected future growth of traffic. It contributes to slashing the travel time between the Emirates Road and the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Road from 25 minutes to 9 minutes, and the waiting time at the junction of Al Khawaneej-Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Roads (Al Khawaneej Roundabout) from 330 seconds to just 45 seconds," he noted.

"It also doubles up the capacity of the junction from 8,000 to 16,000 vehicles per hour, and halves the waiting time at the intersection of Al Khawaneej-Al Amardi Roads, which has been upgraded from a roundabout to a surface junction, from 120 seconds to 60 seconds," explained Al Tayer.

"The project includes the construction of a tunnel of three lanes in each direction extending 680 m at the intersection of Al Khawaneej Road with Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Road. Works also included the construction of a surface signalised junction to ensure free and safe traffic flow on Al Khawaneej Road, and upgrading the existing roundabout at the intersection of Al Khawaneej-Al Amardi Roads to a signalised junction," he noted.

"The intersection of Al Amardi-Emirates Roads has also been upgraded to a flyover of two lanes in each direction extending 201 metres above the Emirates Road in the direction of Al Awir," he added.

Al Tayer said work was currently under way for construction of a footbridge near Arabian Centre at Al Khawaneej Road, service roads extending 23 km along Al Khawaneej and Al Amardi Roads, and some improvements in three junctions at Algiers Street, which will be upgraded to signalised junctions.

Other construction under way include streetlights, rainwater drainage system, directional signs, road markings, and protection works for road safety, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
In another big, California based Space X has won a $2.89 billion contract by NASA to build a spacecraft that would carry astronauts to the moon as early as 2024. The news was announced by NASA in a press release wherein it stated that the firm-fixed contract to construct the Lunar Lander was given to the Elon Musk owned company. The lander would be used as a part of the US Space agencys ambitious Artemis Programme, which would safely land two astronauts on the lunar surface.

Meanwhile, taking to Twitter Musk hailed NASAs decision. NASA Rules!!, he wrote sharing a tweet that revealed that Starship has been selected for the project. In a subsequent tweet, he also reckoned that SpaceX was honoured to be part of the Artemis team.

We are honored to be part of the @NASAArtemis team  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 16, 2021

The Artemis is the first mission that would take humans to Moon since the Apollo 17 landing in 1972. Apart from Musks SpaceX, Jeff Bezoss Blue Origins and Defense Contractor Dynetics Inc. also participated in the bid. However, SpaceX which is already working closely with NASA experts during the HLS base period emerge as the ultimate winner of the contract.

"With this award, NASA and our partners will complete the first crewed demonstration mission to the surface of the Moon in the 21st century as the agency takes a step forward for womens equality and long-term deep space exploration, said Kathy Lueders, NASA's associate administrator for Human Explorations and Operations Mission Directorate. This critical step puts humanity on a path to sustainable lunar exploration and keeps our eyes on missions farther into the solar system, including Mars.

NASA's Moon mission

NASA has planned to send two American astronauts to the lunar surface in the first commercial human lander that will be built by Musk's SpaceX. The Starship is expected to have a spacious cabin and two airlocks for astronaut moonwalks. With a plan to make a fully reusable launch, a landing system is to be designed for travel to the Moon, Mars, and other destinations in space.

Image Credits: SpaceX/Tiwtter/ AP
Margot Cathcart has been appointed to be the inaugural CEO of a new organization that is charged with co-ordinating economic development functions across the broad swath of rural Manitoba south of the 53rd parallel, but not including the capital region.

Margot Cathcart has been appointed to be the inaugural CEO of a new organization that is charged with co-ordinating economic development functions across the broad swath of rural Manitoba south of the 53rd parallel, but not including the capital region.

The Rural Manitoba Economic Development Corp. (RMEDC) is part of the so-called "group of seven" economic development agencies which have been named strategic partners to the province as part of its economic growth action plan.

Margot Cathcart.

Based in Brandon, Cathcart currently has a position with Agriculture and Resource Development as manager of food and agri-product processing.

"Im energized and excited about the opportunities," she said. "When you look at the various regions around the province the different areas have different needs and priorities. There will not be a one-size-fits-all solution."

The RMEDC is the last of the seven agencies to be fully constituted and will likely not be operationalized for a few months yet.

The other agencies that have partnered with the province are: the Communities Economic Development Fund (responsible for northern Manitoba), the Winnipeg Capital Region (responsible for the capital region), Economic Development Winnipeg, North Forge Technology Exchange, World Trade Centre Winnipeg and Travel Manitoba.)

RMEDCs creation was announced in November 2019 but the hiring of a CEO was delayed by the disruptions caused by the pandemic.

Chuck Davidson, the co-chair of RMEDC and president and CEO of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, said there were more than 100 applicants for the position.

"We are thrilled to find someone with the skills set of someone like Margot," he said. "She will be able to lead with a strong background in economic development, both from the private and public sectors."

Davidson said there is still a lot of work to be done before the organization is up and running. Not the least of which, it is still in discussions with the province regarding funding.

Davidson said an annual budget of between $1.2 million and $1.5 million is being contemplated with a staff, based throughout rural Manitoba, of between seven and 10 people.

"Thats our goal," he said. "We are still in negotiations but the province has led us to believe this is the path they want us to continue to go on."

Cathcart grew up in Brandon and is a graduate of Brandon University. In addition to about 15 years with the province, she has had experience in the television, new media, information technology and financial services industries over the course of her career.

She said shes looking forward to hearing from folks across rural Manitoba.

"Were not there to replace local economic development, but to supplement and support and provide, in some cases unique expertise, like labour specialists, for example where you would not have that in every community every time."

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
The attorney for the Chicago police officer who killed Adam Toledo has claimed the cop made a 'split-second decision' that was 'consistent' with the law and use of force guidelines when he shot dead the 13-year-old boy.

Chicago police Officer Eric Stillman, 34, had 'no cover, no concealment' when he apparently saw Toledo with a gun and fired a single shot at the teen but is now being vilified as a 'villain', attorney Tim Grace told Fox News' Laura Ingraham Friday night.

Graphic body camera video was released Thursday, showing Toledo being fatally shot in the chest by the 34-year-old officer during a foot chase back on March 29.

In the video, police say Toledo can be seen with a gun in his right hand.

He then appears to drop the gun behind a fence and raise his hands up as he turns to face the officer.

Less than a second has passed between the time Toledo appears to drop the weapon behind the fence and Stillman shoots him. A gun was later recovered from the scene.

The attorney for Toledo's family has branded the shooting an 'assassination' because the boy was unarmed and had his hands up in the air in the moment he was shot.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki called the footage 'chilling' and said it served as a 'reminder' that 'too often in this country law enforcement uses unnecessary force, too often resulting in the death of black and brown Americans.'

Protests have erupted in Chicago this week demanding justice for the 13-year-old Latino boy, at a time when the nation is also reeling from the police killing of 20-year-old black man Daunte Wright and white cop Derek Chauvin is on trial for the murder of George Floyd.

The attorney for Chicago police officer Eric Stillman (right) who killed Adam Toledo (left) has claimed the cop made a 'split-second decision' that was 'consistent' with the law and use of force guidelines when he shot dead the 13-year-old boy

Chicago police Officer Eric Stillman, 34, had 'no cover, no concealment' when he apparently saw Toledo with a gun and fired a single shot at the teen but is now being vilified as a 'villain', attorney Tim Grace told Fox News' Laura Ingraham Friday night

Grace told Fox News Stillman had followed the Chicago Police Department's use-of-force guidelines and that the nation is 'vilifying a very good police officer.'

'The officer gave him multiple verbal commands, the officer told him to drop the gun, the officer told him he was Chicago police,' said Grace.

He said Toledo was holding a gun when he started to turn toward Stillman.

'At this point, this officer has no cover, no concealment. He sees this gun, he sees this individual turning towards him,' he said.

Grace said Stillman was forced to make a 'split-second decision' in this moment.

'At this point the officer needs to make a split-second decision and this is the hardest part that these officers need to make split-second decisions of life and death and he made a decision that was consistent with the Chicago Police general orders, use-of-force guidelines and with the law,' he said.

Grace said Stillman does not take what happened 'lightly' and the 'last thing' he wanted was to use deadly force.

'He doesn't take this lightly,' he said.

'He understands that what he did and what he had to do  and all law enforcement officers across the country, the last thing they want to do is to have to discharge their weapon and use deadly force.'

He urged people not to view the incident through '2020 hindsight' but 'to look at it through the perspective of the police officer.'

Grace said while Stillman is being treated as the 'villain', he said the blame for the boy's death should be leveled at the Latin Kings gang who he claimed 'recruited' Toledo and gave him the gun.

'The Latin Kings are the ones who recruited him, branded him with a tattoo and then had him out there in the middle of the night shooting at passing-by cars,' he said.

He called for charges to instead be brought against 21-year-old Ruben Roman Jr in connection to Toledo's death.

Stillman followed the Chicago Police Department's use-of-force guidelines and the nation is now 'vilifying a very good police officer', his attorney told Fox

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Roman Jr was with Toledo and fled on foot when they were confronted by the police. He was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest.

The attorney's comments come after Toledo's family attorney Adeena Weiss-Ortiz said Thursday the boy had complied with the officer's commands and was unarmed with his hands in the air when he was shot dead.

'Those videos speak for themselves. If you are shooting an unarmed child with his hands in the air it is an assassination,' she said in a briefing.

'His hands were empty when he was shot in the chest at the hands of the officer.

'Adam during his last seconds of life did not have a gun in his hand. Adam complied. He did not have a gun in his hand. The officer saw his hands were up and pulled the trigger.'

The attorney added: 'It is especially important to keep the peace. [The family] want justice.'

She said it was not relevant whether or not Toledo had a gun prior to turning toward Stillman but what matters is that he did not have a gun in his hand when he was shot.

'It could be a gun, I'm not going to deny that but it's not relevant, because if he had a gun, he tossed it,' she said.

The White House also condemned the shooting in a press briefing Friday with Psaki saying it was unnecessary after the bodycam footage showed he had apparently dropped the firearm.

Psaki said she hadn't spoken to Joe Biden before the morning briefing, so didn't know if he'd watched it, but reiterated the president's support for the House-passed police reform bill, George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which is currently stuck in the US Senate.

Graphic body camera video was released Thursday showing Toledo, 13, being fatally shot in the chest by the officer, 34, during a foot chase back on March 29. Stillman is seen frantically performing CPR on Toledo after shooting him once in the chest

A visibly upset Stillman is seen sitting on the ground and being comforted by his colleagues following the fatal shooting on March 29

'The president, again, has repeatedly said that he believes we need police reform,' she told reporters. 'That's what he says he's calling for Congress to send to his desk.'

Psaki also said the White House was also waiting to see how the independent investigation of Toledo's shooting would play out.

Stillman was identified this week as the officer who fired the fatal bullet in the incident on March 29.

He is five-year veteran who had never used deadly force prior to the boy's shooting and had no history of disciplinary issues

The Chicago Police Department typically doesn't release the names of officers involved in such shootings this early on in an investigation, but Stillman's badge number, name, age race were listed in the investigation reports released on Thursday.

Stillman joined the police department in 2015 and served as a patrol officer assigned to the Ogden District on the city's West Side.

In the five years leading up to the incident on March 29, Stillman has never shot anyone in the line of duty.

Records indicate that he also had nine 'use of force' reports, which officers themselves file if they have to resort to any kind of force in the line of duty. Only one of the reports involved a weapon, which was a baton.

Stillman received a Military Service Award from the Police Department and the Superintendent's Award of Valor, according to the Citizens Police Data Project.

Stillman was placed on administrative leave after the shooting.

The president of the Chicago Police Union, John Catanzara, told Chris Cuomo's Prime Time on CNN that an 'officer does not have to wait to be shot at or shot to respond and be able to defend himself.'

Catanzara added that Stillman 'would have been justified to shoot multiple times.'

'The officer did everything he possibly could to the letter of the law and the guidelines of the Chicago Police Department,' he said.

Toledo was carrying a gun in the moments before he was shot, and bodycam footage shows him throwing it behind a fence before turning to face Stillman

In the bodycam footage, Stillman is heard yelling: 'Stop right f***ing now!' Show me your f***ing hands! Drop it'. When Toledo turns around to face the officer, he appears to raise his hands.

A moment later, a single shot rings out and the teen collapses to the ground. Stillman is then heard radioing 'shot fired' as he lays Toledo flat on his back and begins frantically looking for the wound. He is heard saying: 'Stay with me, stay with me'

Despite efforts to revive Toledo, as seen in the body camera video the teen died from his injury

The Chicago Police Department released a photo of the gun that was recovered from the scene after one of its officers shot and killed Adam Toledo last Monday

Cop who shot 13-year-old Adam is named as Eric Stillman, 34 The Chicago Police Department typically doesn't release the names of officers involved in such shootings this early on in an investigation, but Eric Stillman's name, age and race  he's 34 and white  were listed in the investigation reports released Thursday. Adam's family attorney said that she looked into Stillman's record but found no prior disciplinary issues. The 10th district patrol officer - who joined the force in August 2015 - has been placed on administrative leave. Records show he received a Military Service Award from the Police Department. He was also awarded the Superintendent's Award of Valor, Block Club Chicago reports. Whether the officer is charged with a crime is up to the Cook County State's Attorney's office, which gets the accountability board's report after it completes its investigation. Advertisement

A still frame taken from Stillman's jumpy nighttime body camera footage shows that Toledo wasn't holding anything and had his hands up when Stillman shot him before 3am on March 29.

Police, who were responding to reports of shots fired in the area, say the boy had a handgun on him before the shooting. And Stillman's footage shows him shining a light on a handgun on the ground near Toledo after he shot him.

Earlier footage also appears to show the boy was carrying a gun in the moments before he was shot, throwing it behind a fence before turning to face the cop.

The video's release has left Chicago on a knife edge with police on high alert that the Latin Kings gang could retaliate for the shooting which took place in their neighborhood of Little Village.

Some businesses in downtown Chicago's 'Magnificent Mile' shopping district boarded up their windows in anticipation of protests turning violent. Mayor Lori Lightfoot called on the public to keep the peace.

The release of the footage comes at a sensitive time, with the ongoing trial in Minneapolis of former Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd and the recent police killing of another black man, Daunte Wright.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability, an independent board that investigates Chicago police shootings, released the graphic footage Thursday after allowing Toledo's family to view it privately on Tuesday.

Police had said they responded before dawn on the morning of the shooting after police technology detected gun shots there.

The teen, who was Latino, and Roman Jr, fled on foot when confronted by police, and an officer shot the teen once in the chest following a foot chase during what the department described as an armed confrontation.

Elizabeth Toledo (left) is pictured with her son, Adam (right), who she said was 'full for life' and wanted to pursue a career in law enforcement

The attorney for Toledo's family has branded the shooting an 'assassination' because the boy was unarmed and had his hands up in the air in the moment he was shot

Roman Jr was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest.

The footage shows that it took 19 seconds from which Stillman exited his squad car to when he shot the teen.

After getting out of the vehicle, the officer chases Toledo on foot down an alley for several seconds.

'Stop right f***ing now!' the officer yells at the fleeing teen. 'Show me your f***ing hands! Drop it'

When Toledo turns around to face the officer, he appears to raise his hands. A moment later, a single shot rings out and the teen collapses to the ground, with blood gushing from his mouth.

The officer radios in 'shot fired,' lays Toledo flat on his back and begins frantically looking for the wound. 'Stay with me, stay with me,' he implores the mortally wounded Toledo.

Another officer rushes over with a medical kit and the two begin administering CPR. 'I'm not feeling a heartbeat,' the officer says.

Bodycam footage of the shooting was not made public until Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago's police superintendent called for the video's release.

The release of the footage had been widely anticipated in the city, where the release of some previous police shooting videos sparked major protests, including the 2015 release of footage of a white officer shooting black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times, killing him.

Lightfoot said the city has been preparing for months for a verdict in the Chauvin trial and that it had activated a 'neighborhood protection plan.'

The Toledo family, meanwhile, issued a statement urging people to 'remain peaceful.'

People protest the March 29th shooting and killing of 13 year-old Adam Toledo near Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's home

Chicago Police officers mask up and prepare near Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's home as people protest on Friday

Demonstrators protest the shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo on Friday in Logan Park, Chicago

Mayor Lori Lightfoot called on people to keep calm and remain peaceful during a news conference at City Hall on Thursday ahead of the release of the video showing Toledo's shooting

During a press conference on Thursday, Mayor Lightfoot said too many young people in Chicago were left vulnerable to 'systemic failures that we simply must fix.'

'We live in a city that is traumatized by a long history of police violence and misconduct,' the mayor said. 'So while we dont have enough information to be the judge and jury of this particular situation, it is certainly understandable why so many of our residents are feeling that all too familiar surge of outrage and pain. It is even clearer that trust between our community and law enforcement is far from healed and remains badly broken.'

Asked whether the video showed whether the teen fired on the officer, Lightfoot said she had seen no evidence that he had. She described watching the jumpy footage as 'excruciating.'

'As a mom, this is not something you want children to see,' said the mayor. She declined to say if the footage showed whether the teen was holding a gun when he was shot, but she called a prosecutor's assertion at a recent hearing that Toledo had a gun when he was shot 'correct.'

Elizabeth Toledo, Adam's mother, came forward over the weekend and issued a plea for calm following reports that members of the Latin Kings gang planned on seeking revenge for her son's death by shooting at unmarked police vehicles.

'No one has anything to gain by inciting violence,' she said via a statement Sunday. 'Adam was a sweet and loving boy. He would not want anyone else to be injured or die in his name.'

Elizabeth said her son had hopes of pursuing a career in law enforcement in the future. 'He was so full of life. They just took it away from him,' she said.
Kangana Ranaut doesnt mince words when it comes to giving it back to haters or people who have wronged her a certain way and Karan Johar surely tops the list in this category. Just yesterday, it was revealed that Kartik Aaryan has been dropped from Dostana 2 and Dharma Productions vowed not to work with the actor ever again. In several online reports, Dharmas sources said that it was because of his unprofessional attitude, they dropped him and it didnt work out.

DNA had quoted a source close to the production house saying, Dharma has decided to replace Kartik Aaryan in Dostana 2. Kartik expressed creative differences over the script of Dostana 2 after one and a half years. However, he completed nearly 20 days of shoot in 2019 after reading the same script and agreeing to it.

Kangana never leaves an opportunity when it comes to bashing Karan and she came in support of Kartik. In a series of tweets, Kangana addressed Karan as a chindi and even went on to say that do not ruin Kartiks life as they did with Sushant Singh Rajput.

She wrote, Kartik has come this far on his own, on his own he will continue to do so, only request to papa jo and his nepo gang club is please leave him alone like Sushant dont go after him and force him to hang himself. Leave him alone you vultures, get lost chindi nepos...Kartik no need to be scared of these chillars.... after doing nasty articles and releasing announcements blaming only your attitude for fall out this moron wants to maintain dignified silence. They spread the same stories of drug addiction and unprofessional behaviour for SSR also.

She further wrote, "Know that we are with you, the one who did not make you cant break you either, today you must be feeling lonely and targeted from all corners. No need to feel so, everyone knows this drama queen JO, you will do very well dear, trust your instincts, and be disciplined. much love."

Kartik has come this far on his own, on his own he will continue to do so, only request to papa jo and his nepo gang club is please leave him alone like Shushant dont go after him and force him to hang himself. Leave him alone you vultures, get lost chindi nepos... https://t.co/VJioWHk38i  Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) April 16, 2021

Know that we are with you, the one who did not make you cant break you either,today you must be feeling lonely and targeted from all corners. No need to feel so,every one knows this drama queen JO, you will do very well dear, trust your instincts and be disciplined. much love   Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) April 16, 2021

People got upset as she dragged Sushant Singh Rajput and in her tweets, she claimed that he committed suicide because of how the Bollywood gang treated him. People reminded her that he was brutally murdered and she had no right to talk about SSR in this conversation regarding Kartik.

 Twitter/Kangana Ranaut

 Twitter/Kangana Ranaut

 Twitter/Kangana Ranaut

 Twitter/Kangana Ranaut

Isnt it unfair to drag Sushant for her own vendettas? What do you think about the entire fiasco? Let us know in the comments section below.
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - April 16, 2021) - Quantum Blockchain Technologies Ltd. (TSXV: QBC.P) ("Quantum") announces that it has entered into an Amended and Restated Amalgamation Agreement to extend the deadline for the completion of the proposed business combination (the "Transaction") contemplated by the Amalgamation Agreement dated February 26, 2021 with Ocumetics Technology Corp. from April 15, 2021 to July 31, 2021.

The Transaction is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"). Details with respect to the Transaction are set out in Quantum's press release dated March 1, 2021.

Trading of Quantum Shares

Pursuant to the policies of the TSXV, trading of the shares of Quantum has been halted on the TSXV and will remain halted until the conditions of the TSXV for the resumption of trading have been met.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Roger Jewett, CA

Director

(403) 650-7718

Completion of the Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, Exchange acceptance and if applicable pursuant to Exchange Requirements, majority of the minority shareholder approval. Where applicable, the transaction cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.

Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or filing statement to be prepared in connection with the transaction, any information released or received with respect to the transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of a capital pool company should be considered highly speculative.

The TSX Venture Exchange Inc. has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80759
(Photo : Screenshot From Commons.Wikipedia.org) Edward Snowden NFT Sold for $5.4 Million: 'Stay Free' is the ONLY NFT Produced by Snowden

The latest buzz in all the NFT craze is the former intelligence contractor and more popular whistleblower Edward Snowden, who recently auctioned off an original NFT art piece for around $5.4 million worth of cryptocurrency in Ether. The NFT is titled "Stay Free" and is a digital self-portrait made out of pages coming from a US Court of Appeals decision that previously ruled the NSA's widespread surveillance of private phone records a violation of the law.

Edward Snowden NFT

This was something that made Edward Snowden popular since he was the one who leaked the classified NSA secrets to journalists back in 2013. Snowden's popular portrait was officially snapped by the photographer known as Platon who gave permission for his work to be used in this particular NFT. This was according to the piece's description on Foundation, an online art marketplace.

Stay Free's official listing states that this is the only known NFT to be officially produced by Snowden. The NFT reportedly sold for a whopping 2,224 Ether which is estimated to be worth a little over $5.4 million during the time the news was published by Gizmodo.

Freedom of the Press Foundation

All the proceeds from this particular sale will reportedly go to the official Freedom of the Press Foundation which is a non-profit that works by developing open-source tools for particular whistleblowers as well as works to shield certain journalists from certain state-sponsored hackers as well as government surveillance. Snowden has reportedly led this organization as its president ever since 2017.

Snowden recently tweeted out that he wants to extend a very special thanks to those people that followed the NFT over the last 24 hours and that the deepest gratitude from everyone working at the FreedomofPress to those who had bid on the charity event. Snowden said that the people involved helped them make a better world.

Read Also: NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden Is Suing Norway To Prevent Extradition To US

Where is Edward Snowden Now 2021?

Snowden is currently facing a number of felony charges over in the US under the official Espionage Act of 1917 for leaking certain classified information about the official NSA global and domestic surveillance programs. This would include NSA's famous "bulk collection" of over billions of domestic phone calls and even text messages in the US. This was a practice that was later ruled as unconstitutional in response to an official lawsuit that was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

In order to avoid prosecution, Snowden decided to flee to Russia back in 2013 where he still remains until today. Russian authorities initially granted him safe temporary asylum and some time last year, he was then offered permanent residency. Despite currently residing in Russia, Edward Snowden's sale of the NFT for Freedom of the Press Foundation shows how he is still very much involved in the world of security.

Wow. Thank you to @Snowden and to the generous bidders today. We're humbled and grateful to have been a part of this historic auction. https://t.co/w2kHzakoYx  Freedom of the Press (@FreedomofPress) April 16, 2021

Related Article: Edward Snowden used web crawler software to dig into NSA files

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Urian Buenconsejo

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
In a major bust, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested two persons, including a marine biologist, for illegally growing cannabis in a 2-BHK flat in Maharashtra's Dombivli.

It was reported that the culprits were selling it to the high-profile customers in the city.

Representational Image/Pexels

As per a report in Times of India, 1 kg of cannabis worth Rs 80 lakh was seized during the raid. Investigators said the drug was being cultivated using hydroponics, which does not require soil, with seeds imported from the Netherlands.



Hydroponics is an effective method for growing plants that places the plants in a water solution thats rich in nutrients. Instead of using soil to grow the plants, the roots of the plants come into direct contact with the nutrient-rich solution.

Also read: Mumbai Police Bust Three Peddlers With Banned Mephedrone Drug Worth Over Rs 12.50 Crore

Representational Image/Pexels

It is a big case and we are investigating the entire network that was involved in the cultivation of Cannabis by hydroponic technique, NCBs zonal director Sameer Wankhede told PTI on Friday.



Earlier this week, acting on an intelligence input, the NCB raided a 2BHK flat in Palava City where they found Cannabis being cultivated. Two persons, Javed Jahangir Sheikh and Arshad Khatri were grilled by the NCB sleuths.

Also read: Major Drug Bust In Mumbai As 1800 Kilos Of Ganja Worth Rs 3.5 Crore Seized By Anti-Narcotics Cell

Representational Image/iStock

We found that Cannabis was being cultivated there through Hydroponic techniques. From the site we have recovered cultivation setup, PH regulators, plant nutrients, clay pebbles, water pumps, air circulation systems, CO2 gas cylinders, photosynthesis lighting systems, Wankhede said.



This indoor facility was running in the house of Rehan Khan who is in Saudi Arabia and financing all this activity.

Also read: 18-Year-Old Drug Dealer Caught Selling 'Cheapest Ever Cocaine' On Snapchat
The highest bids heard for such cargoes were $500-501 per tonne cfr northeastern China, though mills that are not actively seeking material or those that harbor bearish sentiment are bidding at $485-490 per tonne cfr northeastern China.Offers for Japanese and South Korean cargoes were heard at $505-515 per tonne cfr northeastern China.Market participants said transactions were concluded at $495-500 per tonne cfr northeastern China between Thursday and Friday.There was little negotiation going in in eastern China during the day. South Korean HRS101 scrap was offered at $510 per tonne cfr, and key market participants estimated transaction prices at about $490-495 per tonne cfr eastern China.Using scrap to produce steel gives mills higher margins. Mills in northern China are willing to pay higher prices for domestic scrap because they want to build up their scrap inventories, a Chinese mill source told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets price assessment for steel scrap, heavy recycled steel materials, cfr China , which takes into account prices at ports in eastern China, was $490-495 per tonne on Friday, unchanged from a day earlier There was talk of a 30,000-tonne cargo from the United States being discharged at a port in eastern Chinas Jiangsu province on either Thursday or Friday but a key steel mill source dismissed this as a rumor.In late January, Fastmarkets heard about negotiations for a sale involving a 30,000-tonne US cargo - consisting largely of shredded scrap - to China but the deal was never confirmed.But sentiment is slowly deteriorating among some Chinese steelmakers because scrap prices in the rest of Asia are losing their upward momentum, with some buyers still continuing to bid low and not committing to any cargoes.Vietnamese buyers have managed to purchase bulk cargoes of Australian and US heavy melting scrap 1&2 (80:20) at $455-463 per tonne cfr this week. A transaction involving a bulk cargo of Japanese H2 scrap was also reported at $452 per tonne cfr Vietnam.Demand in Taiwan, a key import market for containerized ferrous scrap, has also eased after a flurry of transactions on Wednesday and Thursday.Fastmarkets daily price assessment for containerized steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20), US material import, cfr main port Taiwan was $430 per tonne on Friday, unchanged for a second day but up by $15-17 per tonne from $413-415 per tonne a week earlier.The South Korean market was more favorable for scrap imports, with high prices for finished steel supporting purchase prices for the steelmaking raw material.Rebar prices are high in Korea. Importers cant get bars from China due to their [high] prices, so they have to buy from sources, a South Korean steelmaker source said.Japanese rebar has been sold to South Korea in larger volumes in recent weeks amid highly uncompetitive prices from China.A South Korean mill was also heard to have bought 10,000 tonnes of Japanese H2 scrap earlier this week at 43,000 ($395) per tonne fob Japan, up by 500 per tonne from the 42,500 per tonne fob that the same mill paid last week.A second South Korean mill purchased Shindachi busheling at 52,000 per tonne cfr earlier this week.
Novozymes after joining the call made an announcement that biofuels are cleaner than fossil fuels and are expected to contribute more to reducing global emissions in the decades ahead than any other technology  including battery power.

COPENGAHEN, DENMARK: Novozymes said it has endorsed a significant call for the US to make an ambitious contribution to tackling climate change by 2030, through cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to at least 50 percent below 2005 levels, and is committed to meeting these targets through bioinnovation. The call is part of a campaign by Ceres, a nonprofit organization transforming the economy, and the We Mean Business coalition  a global, nonprofit coalition that collaborates with progressive businesses, like Novozymes, to bolster action on climate change towards a zero-carbon economy.

Biofuels are cleaner than fossil fuels, and as their carbon footprint continues to shrink over time, they can also be net negative when made from waste or combined with carbon-trapping innovations. They are expected to contribute more to reducing global emissions in the decades ahead than any other technology  including battery power. It is estimated that 30 percent of transportation fuel could already be replaced, if nations are committed to achieving this.

"As the worlds largest industrial biotechnology company, with bioinnovation operations from Copenhagen in Denmark, to Milwaukee in the US, Novozymes is proud to support this effort, said Brian Brazeau, Novozymes president for North America. We can harness the renewable potential of millions of acres of cropland, sequester GHG emissions, boost yields, and increase the production of renewable energy made from farm crops, such as corn or soybeans. With smart policy and smart science, the Biden Administration can raise the bar for nations around the world, but to do that, it is vital that biofuels are core in the US strategy.

At Novozymes, we specialize in tapping into the power of nature to deliver advanced biology that does everything from boosting crop yields without added fertilizer to improving laundry detergents to cut energy and water waste. Our innovation helps biofuel producers get more energy out of every harvest. These technologies have already helped the US replace about 10 percent of liquid fuels with renewable alternatives, said Brazeau.

The vital importance of these bio-based solutions to address the climate crisis is already recognized, but ideas must be turned into action. Incentives that would allow the entire agricultural supply chain to invest in the future, and a fuel market that is open higher-biofuels blends, such as E15, that allow drivers to save money, while reducing consumption of fossil fuel, are essential. These opportunities would not only drive green economic growth in the US, but could also offer a roadmap for other countries.

 Worldofchemicals News
Denton, TX (76205)

Today

Mainly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mainly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.
Then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a media briefing at the State Department in Washington on June 10, 2019. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Pompeo Violated Ethics Rules While Secretary of State: Watchdog

Mike Pompeo, while secretary of state, improperly asked a political appointee to carry out personal tasks, a watchdog said in a report published Friday.

Pompeo and his wife, Susan, made over 100 requests to employees in the State Departments Office of the Secretary, including the unnamed appointee, for work of a personal nature, such as picking up personal items, planning events, and mailing Christmas Cards, the departments inspector general found.

The requests had no apparent connection to the official business of the Department and, thus, appear inconsistent with the Standards of Ethical Conduct regarding use of a subordinate employees time, the watchdog said.

Federal rules state that employees may not direct a subordinate to perform activities other than those required in the performance of official duties or authorized in accordance with law or regulation.

Directing a subordinate to perform activities other than those required in the performance of official duties or authorized in accordance with law or regulation during non-duty hours without appropriate compensation is an improper use of public office for private gain, the 26-page report stated.

In one case in 2018, Susan Pompeo asked a subordinate to research a way to obtain a profile of her husband that was published in Politico. In another, she asked an adviser to arrange for flowers to be sent to her friends, who were recovering from illnesses.

On at least six occasions, Mike Pompeo and his wife instructed the adviser to make or request prints of photographs so they could keep them as gifts or keep them as family records.

The couple also asked the same person to help care for their dog, including picking the animal up from their home and dropping it off with a boarder.

No compensation was offered for the tasks, Mike Pompeo told investigators.

Then-U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) and his wife Susan pose for a photo as they take a tour of the newly-inaugrated Al-Fattah Al-Alim mosque in Egypts New Administrative Capital, east of Cairo, Egypt, on Jan. 10, 2019. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

Pompeo said in his interview that he did not think the requests were improper, telling them that his wife was asking a longtime friend, the adviser, to take on a small simple task to help her out. He added that it was perfectly fine for friends to help each other.

However, the adviser told investigators that she performed the tasks not as personal favors, but because she thought they were part of her official duties.

Some other employees were also assigned personal tasks, even though they did not have relationships with the Pompeos prior to working for them in the State Department.

Mike Pompeos lawyer also noted that most requests were made by Susan Pompeo, who was not a department employee. Susan Pompeo in her emails often indicated her requests were on behalf of her husband, investigators said, such as saying The secretary would like you to or I have spoken with the Secretary.

Mike Pompeo, who left office on Jan. 20 with the changing of administrations, did not immediately respond to a request for comment through the Hudson Institute, where he is employed.

The State Department watchdog said it was providing recommendations to the department to mitigate the risk of future senior leaders committing similar violations.

Recommendations included amending ethics and travel guidance, amending a handbook to include examples or appropriate and inappropriate requests to subordinates, and publishing guidance on the use of a subordinates time for tasks of a personal nature. The State Department agreed with all of the recommendations.
The stock market debut of Coinbase, a startup that facilitates the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, is a watershed moment for digital money.

It also threatens to lock in a technology with an astonishing environmental footprint.

Cryptocurrencies use blockchain technology, which relies on specialised computers racing to solve complex equations, making quintillions of attempts a second to verify transactions. Its that practice, called cryptomining, that makes the currencies so energy-intensive.

Also read: Coinbase sizzles in market debut amid cryptocurrency frenzy

Researchers at Cambridge University estimate that mining Bitcoin, the most popular blockchain-based currency, uses more electricity than entire countries like Argentina do.

All this accounts for so little of the worlds total transactions, yet has the carbon footprint of entire countries. So imagine it taking off  itll ruin the planet, said Camilo Mora, a climate scientist at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Mora argued in a controversial 2018 paper that Bitcoin emissions alone could push global warming above the Paris Agreement target of 2 degrees Celsius, a level beyond which scientists warn the world will experience ever-more-catastrophic effects of climate change. (Some of the papers assumptions have since been called out as implausible.)

Still, cryptocurrencies heavy environmental toll is starting to roil climate policy.

Also read: Bitcoin's climate change impact under scrutiny

In a new paper published this month, researchers warned that, if left unchecked, Bitcoin mining in China  where an estimated two-thirds of the worlds blockchain mining takes place  could make it difficult for the worlds largest polluter to meet its climate goals.

Chinas Inner Mongolia region said recently that it was moving to ban the practice because it was hampering the provinces efforts to meet the new carbon emissions goals set by the national government. Iran has also cracked down on Bitcoin mining, calling it a burden on its electric grid, after blackouts hit Tehran and other major cities earlier this year.

Hand-wringing over cryptomining has even reached the art world, where some artists have taken a stand over NFTs  pieces of digital artwork stamped with a unique string of code and stored blockchains  for their outsized environmental impact.

On Wednesday, shares in Coinbase, the first major cryptocurrency company to list its shares on a stock exchange in the United States, immediately soared, pushing its valuation close to $100 billion, in what was hailed by investors as a landmark moment for the growth of digital currencies.

Coinbase, on its website, calls the notion that Bitcoin is bad for the environment a myth. It points to finance-industry research that calls the digital currencys energy consumption trivial compared to traditional banking. But though their use is surging, cryptocurrencies still account for just a fraction of global transactions.

Alex de Vries, who keeps track of the use on the site Digiconomist, estimates that each Bitcoin transaction requires tens of thousands of times more electricity to process than each Visa credit card transaction, for example.

Bitcoin minings heavy energy usage owes in large part to its reliance on whats called proof of work  a computing method thats intentionally designed to be inefficient to keep currencies transparent and decentralized.

Also read: The future of money is digital but is it Bitcoin?

Proof of work forces miners to compete to solve cryptographic puzzles in an intense race of trial and error, their computers together making more than 160 quintillion attempts a second to produce a new block. This competition keeps immense numbers of computers working at top speed, around the clock and all over the world.

The mechanism of proof of work is kind of counterintuitive, said Susanne Kohler, a researcher at Aalborg University in Denmark who has carried out life-cycle analysis of blockchain technology. While the machines are getting more efficient, the network does not reduce energy consumption, because an ever-growing number of miners must compete, making an ever-growing number of guesses.

There are efforts afoot to make blockchain technologies more environmentally sustainable  and to put them to use in climate policy. The nonprofit group Blockchain for Climate, for example, has led the way in developing ways to use blockchain for carbon trading  in other words, systems that allow one country, or company, to pay and take credit for carbon-emissions reductions in another country or company.

Also read: Atari creates blockchain division for cryptocurrency, games

And then there is a transition to a proof of stake method, which doesnt force miners to compete to add blocks to the blockchain, and instead awards miners new blocks based on how much cryptocurrency they already own. The worlds second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Ethereum, has said it is moving toward proof of stake (that switch is likely to take up to another year), and Bitcoin is expected to eventually follow.

That reduces your emissions to almost nothing, said Joseph Pallant, Blockchain for Climates founder and executive director. Cryptocurrency platforms like Tezos or Near Protocol already use proof of stake and have vastly lowered their energy use. And for individual Bitcoin users, reducing your impact through carbon offsets is another way forward, he said.

Rather than just be like, Ah, Im going to back away and not touch it, Id say dive in and then figure out what you need to do for your conscience, Pallant said.
Roger Stone, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, and his wife owe almost $2 million in unpaid taxes and fees, according to a Justice Department lawsuit. The lawsuit claims that Stone and Nydia Stone had been notified of their tax bill, which includes interest and other fees, but they had failed and refused to pay. According to the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Stone and his wife underpaid their taxes by $1.59 million from 2007 to 2011 and then did not pay $407,036 in taxes in 2018. The couple used accounting maneuvers, including setting up a commercial entity, to shield their personal income from enforced collection and fund a lavish lifestyle despite owing nearly $2 million in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties.

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Stone started falling short on paying his taxes in 2007, when he failed to pay a $205,410 tax bill that later increased to almost half a million dollars. Stone and his wife later sealed a deal with the IRS in 2017 to pay $19,485 every month to pay down their debt. But then in 2019, Stone set up a trust and used money that should have gone to pay the IRS to pay for a house in what amounted to an effort to defraud the United States, according to the lawsuit. They purchased the residence shortly after Roger Stones indictment and placed it in the name of the Bertran Trust just prior to defaulting on their installment agreement with the IRS, the filing alleges. The Stones have long owed back taxes, and they have been parties to numerous installment agreements, some of which were terminated by the IRS. They were aware that their default would result in IRS collection activity.

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That purchase took place as Stone faced a criminal indictment that accused him of lying to Congress regarding his actions during the 2016 campaign to try to dig up dirt on Hillary Clinton, Trumps rival. He was later found guilty of all seven counts against him, including making false statements and witness tampering. He was sentenced to 40 months behind bars. Trump commuted Stones sentence when he was on his way to prison in July 2020.

Stone characterized the lawsuit as political, claiming the case is motivated by blood lust and liberal hysteria. Stone claims he and his wife were working to pay off their tax bill but then the cost of defending himself financially destroyed them and they are now virtually bankrupt. He vowed to fight these politically motivated charges, which he characterized as yet another example of the Democrats weaponizing the Justice Department in violation of the rule of law.
A shot in the arm and then off to the beachthis is vacationing in 2021.

At least thats the plan for the government of the Maldives Islands, where the government has set a goal of hosting 1.5 million tourists in 2021 and to help get there, the island nation is implementing a program to vaccinate visitors on arrival.

Maldives is a small archipelagic state in South Asia, situated in the Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean. It lies southwest of Sri Lanka and India.

In an interview this week with CNBC, Abdulla Mausoom, the countrys tourism minister, explained the countrys 3V program: Visit, Vaccinate and Vacation. According to Mausoom, the campaign will provide a more convenient way to visit the island.

While the tropical paradise has been open to travelers from the U.S. and elsewhere since July 2020, today, visitors to Maldives need to show a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and proof of hotel booking to gain entry.

Mausoom said the country is set to make an announcement on restriction-free entry to vaccinated arrivals very soon  maybe even this week.

Mausoon did say that the 3-Vs process wont start until all Maldivian residents are vaccinated. To date, roughly 51.5 percent of the islands population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to Reuters worldwide vaccine tracker.

For the entire CNBC article, click here.
A grief-stricken Aboriginal teenager has taken his own life four years after his mother - his only surviving parent - also killed herself, leaving her eight children homeless.

The body of the Wongi and Ngadju boy, 15, was found by Western Australia Police on Tuesday in Perth scrubland near the overcrowded community home he was staying in with up to 13 others.

A woman, whose home the boy was sleeping on the floor of, described him as 'caring' but depressed and missing his siblings.

A single mum with five of her own children, she took the boy in and said at times up to 14 people were sleeping on mattresses on the floor.

Photos show the conditions the 15 year old boy had been living under in shared Department of Community housing in Perth

Some of the grieving children of the parents who passed away in 2015 and 2017 pose for a photo. Their identities cannot be revealed

'The situation these kids was in was pretty sadIt had been a complicated life for them,' she told The West Australian.

'They had nowhere else to go, no help, no guidance, no support ... Nothing.'

After the children's father died in 2015, his mother also took her own life in 2017.

Her death meant the traumatised children were sent to live with their grandmother in New South Wales.

She moved back to WA and since 2017 the siblings were spread between relatives and acquaintances across Australia - and they fared poorly as grief and depression set in.

Housing has been a major problem for the children, with most of them squeezed onto the floor or couches of already overcrowded government housing.

None had their own rooms.

'We pretty just went all over the place, different homes (there was) no support,' his sister, who is 24, told The West Australian.

A leading national suicide prevention advocate urged authorities to act immediately so his 'traumatised and vulnerable' siblings don't also end their lives.

'They are in a sea of grief,' Gerry Georgatos, director of the National Suicide Prevention and Trauma Recovery Project, told Daily Mail Australia.

'They've lost their parents and now they've lost their brother. In my view they are devastatingly at risk.'

Mr Georgatos said all were suffering 'acute levels of anxiety and depression' and desperately needed safety.

Living conditions in the government housing were the boy lived were constantly overcrowded

None of the children had their own rooms and all were in acute depression and anxiety, a suicide prevention advocate said

'These are major factors for suicidality, especially in people who are homeless and transient.'

The remaining children are between under 10 to 21 years old. Three of them, aged 19, 21 and 24, are not coping and are 'transient and homeless' in WA and 'urgently' need housing assistance.

A 21 year old sibling is working and able to support himself in NSW, while four others has secure housing with relatives.

One of the siblings featured in an Al Jazeera documentary on Aboriginal incarceration and talked about turning to drugs to deal with the pain of losing his parents.

'Everyone was saying my mum and dad, they died from taking drugs,' the boy, who was in Banksia Hill Detention Centre, said.

'So I just thought, well they died from taking drugs and I'm never going to see them again. So why don't I just like, you know just take drugs, see if I'll die,' the boy said.

Mr Georgatos said, this must not happen again.'

'Once the young boy has been farewelled it must not happen that the others are further uprooted.'

The eight children were spread between relatives across the country after their parents died

'The most important thing that can happen is we secure homes for the three siblings most at risk.'

'How these children managed to fall through the cracks is beyond belief, but there's no point in blaming anyone. We must close those cracks right now.'

He urged WA Government agencies to unite to give the remaining siblings the help the needed - especially housing.

Mr Georgatos claimed 20 per cent of all homeless people in Australia are 'aged under 12'.

He claimed to have mentored some of the children since January 2020, one in South Australia and two in Western Australia, and connected them with relevant support services - after they reached out to him a few years after their parents' deaths.

'I vividly remember the loss of both parents in 2015 and 2017.'

It is understood the deceased boy under the legal guardianship of a family member at the time of his death.

A statement from the WA Department of Communities denied having received any requests for assistance from his family members - a claim Mr Georgatos disputed.

'For the record, two boys from the family walked into my office in January 2020 and not longer after I contacted the Department of Communities, which is responsible for children protection and housing,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'Any imputation they didn't know about these children is completely wrong.'

The department also claimed it had inspected the property he lived at and found no evidence of overcrowding.

The National Indigenous Australians Agency provided a statement to The West Australian.

'Since learning of the tragic circumstances involving the suicide of a young man this week in Perth, NIAA engaged relevant Commonwealth and WA Government agencies, and funded service providers, to ensure appropriate and coordinated supports were being put in place for the family,' the statement read.

'This includes Emergency Relief (food and housing) and mental health services.'
What to wear? How often we all ask that question. Hardly surprising since how we dress is every bit as relevant to the impression we make as what we say or do, especially now that a photograph can travel the world instantly.

Take the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral yesterday, where traditionally the male members of the Royal Family would be in full military dress as part of a long-held custom.

But to avoid embarrassment for Princes Andrew and Harry, who for differing reasons could no longer be seen in the uniforms of their previous rank, it was decided the plainer option of morning coats would be worn.

If there's one thing the Royal Family infallibly get right, it is pageantry and pomp at momentous occasions. Fabulous uniforms are part of that.

So I'm a bit sad we were deprived of the full gold braid, sword, spur and epaulette-wearing display  especially at the send-off of a man who had the military so close to his heart.

David Cameron and Lex Greensill probably weren't aware how unsavoury that image of them on their Saudi camp night would appear a year down the line

Of course it's not only the Royals who have to watch what they wear. It's true for anyone in public life.

David Cameron and Lex Greensill probably weren't aware how unsavoury that image of them on their Saudi camp night  schmoozing Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman soon after he was accused of ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi  would appear a year down the line.

There they were seated on a splendid rug in front of a blazing fire, propped up by velvet cushions, sipping mint tea in near-identical blue suits, pale shirts and blue ties. Greensill's wearing a pair of what looks like Chelsea boots by the Australian brand RM Williams, which give him a dash of the rugged outdoors.

But the incongruity of those business suits adds to the discomfort now bouncing around about the whole trip.

Suits were a curious outfit for an evening in the desert  it's certainly not the kind of thing most holidaymakers wear when they leave their plush hotels for an 'authentic' night under the stars.

But then Cameron and Greensill were not on holiday  they were on what now looks like a spectacularly ill-advised business trip to the kingdom  and wearing suits was meant to show that this was work, not pleasure.

It's worth noting that were the situation reversed and their Saudi hosts (who had most likely been wearing the traditional white gowns of the region) had been taken glamping in the Cotswolds by prospective business partners, they would almost certainly have adopted Western dress to fit in.

Forget the cottage  get a 44m yacht

Speaking of Mohammed Bin Salman, another incongruous sight was of his 44 million 255ft super- yacht moored near Falmouth last week.

You now can't rent a house or get a hotel room in Cornwall for any amount of money until autumn but, of course, for the world's dictators and plutocrats there's always the sea.

Perhaps the Cornish harbours will resemble Saint Tropez and Portofino this summer, with floating palaces stacked up and their occupants dropped off for their crab lunch by the boat's tender.

The 175m flat that needs net curtains

Years back, I hosted a Vogue dinner at One Hyde Park, the apartments where developer Nick Candy's pad has just gone on the market for a cool 175 million.

At that time, the blocks were empty and the party was part of a marketing exercise to drum up some interest.

We had to tell guests they couldn't wear heels in case they damaged the pristine floors, which was a bit of a problem considering this was a high fashion dinner thrown at a time when towering stilettoes were very much the thing.

The sumptuous flats were being touted as some of the most desirable  and expensive  in the city, even though the positioning of the two blocks and their huge glass windows meant that, at some angles, you could look directly into rooms in neighbouring apartments.

For that much money you don't want to have to deal with net curtain syndrome.

It's probably why so much of the development was bought as off-shore investments by people who only ever spent the odd night in them.

Ding-dong! My witchy look is dead

Like anyone lucky enough to nab an appointment, I had my hair chopped last week, which was fortunate since I had begun to resemble the witchy-haired wife of a demonic cult leader.

Due to George Northwood's scissorhands I am greatly improved but I discovered haircuts and masks do not make ideal bedfellows.

I'm not sure when mandatory masks are going to disappear from salons but my advice to anyone thinking of a major revamp is to wait until your stylist can actually see your whole face before embarking on a radical transformation.

Mick Jagger (pictured) said he didn't want to waste his time looking back over his life

Mick's ghost writer gets no satisfaction

Mick Jagger has been explaining that he didn't want to waste his time looking back over his life, which was why he never finished an autobiography. I, too, frequently bore myself thinking back over my past but then his life has been way more interesting than mine.

Spare a thought, though, for the poor ghost writer who had the unenviable task of trying to wheedle interesting morsels out of a recalcitrant Jagger, eventually handed in a manuscript, only to discover that the great man didn't want it published.

We gained freedom  but lost our minds

I've missed two meetings recently simply because I didn't bother to check my diary since for months there has rarely been anything in it. And last week I've received several text messages cancelling dinner plans because of people double booking.

No doubt we will soon get back into practice but at the moment having to check whether we've anything 'on' is a muscle memory some of us seem to have lost.
On Thursday, US President Joe Biden announced a national emergency and declared that Russia had interfered in the [2020 US] election, expelling ten Russian diplomats and announcing a new round of economic sanctions.

President Joe Biden speaks in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, April 15, 2021, in Washington [Credit: AP Photo/Andrew Harnik]

If Russia continues to interfere with our democracy, Im prepared to take further actions to respond, Biden said. He added that US elections are sacred and an expression of the will of the American people. And we cannot allow a foreign power to interfere in our democratic process with impunity.

Bidens statement came in response to a 15-page report published March 10 by the US National Intelligence Council that concluded that Russia interfered in the election by spreading unsubstantiated or misleading claims about President Biden.

We will not address the substance of the report of Russian interference, which as with all intelligence reports of this character is based on nothing. By the intelligence agencies own admission, in any case, Russia did not attempt to change the outcome of a single vote. Nor is it necessary to dwell again on the fact that the United States, now with Biden at its head, is the principal source of interference, meddling and much more in the democratic process of virtually every country on the planet.

The more essential point is the following: There was a real attempt not only to interfere with but to overthrow the democratic process in the United States, but it did not come from Vladimir Putin, but from Donald Trump. It was not the Kremlin, but a section of the American ruling class.

Trump, backed by the Republican Party and elements within the military and police, attempted to overturn the result of the November 2020 election through the incitement of a fascistic coup to remain in power. On this question, Biden has been almost completely silent since his election, aside from the string of banalities and abstractions he delivered in his inaugural address.

The same week Biden denounced Russian meddling saw the publication of two reports exposing the scope of Trumps conspiracy, showing that it was abetted by a stand-down by police and a military command chain staffed by Trumps cronies.

On Sunday, the Associated Press reported that the US military repeatedly rejected demands by US Vice President Mike Pence to clear the Capitol of rioters, while revealing that members of Congress accused the National Security apparatus of knowing that protestors planned to conduct an assault on the Capitol while the riot was ongoing.

Then, on Wednesday, news reports carried excerpts from the findings of a report by the Capitol Police Inspector General showing that the Capitol Police were informed that Congress itself is the target on the 6th. Despite this foreknowledge, police were explicitly forbidden from using their most effective crowd-control tactics and equipment as the insurrection was taking place.

Separately, in a court hearing this week, federal prosecutors said the rioters had set up an off-site quick reaction force, armed with a large amount of weapons that would be able to move into position had the rioters succeeded in their aims.

The first key judgement of the US report on Russian interference is that we have no indications that any foreign actor attempted to alter any technical aspect of the voting process in the 2020 US elections, including voter registration, casting ballots, vote tabulation, or reporting results.

While Russia did not do any of these things, Trump did. The 2020 election has gone down in history has the greatest breach of democratic electoral proceedings in US history, after Trump attempted not only to interfere with the counting and certification of ballots throughout the country, but staged a violent insurrection aimed at stopping the official certification of the election results by the federal government.

In the run-up to Trumps coup attempt, countless local election officials received death threats, physical threats, intimidation, according to Georgia Election Official Gabriel Sterling. Trump and his political allies sought to force the courts to throw out tens of thousands of ballots on fraudulent grounds.

For his central role in the coup attempt, Trump faces no charges of any kind. The Senate failed to convict the ex-President in his second impeachment. He faces no criminal charges, nor do any of the co-conspirators inside and outside the administration. As for the rioters, Politico reports that Many of those who invaded the halls of Congress on Jan. 6 are likely to get little or no jail time.

For his part, Biden, whose election coup plotters sought to overturn, makes it policy not to even mention former president Trump by name. His response to the failure to impeach Trump is to demand that we end this uncivil war. He has never demanded that those who sought to overthrow the results of a US presidential election be brought to justice or suffer any consequences whatsoever. We need a strong Republican Party, Biden said in response to the coup attempt.

The Democratic Party refuses to carry out any serious investigation into the January 6 coup attempt because such an investigation would implicate not only their political allies in the Republican Party, but significant sections of the state.

The principal concern of the Democratic Party, a party of Wall Street and the military, has been throughout the election crisis and its aftermath to avoid any serious examination of what took place, and the social and political forces behind it, in the effort to avoid a social and political exposure that would threaten the entire capitalist order. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is continuing, particularly in relation to the pandemic and the intensification of militarist threats against China, the essential policies of its predecessor.

For five years, the US political establishment, and in particular the Democratic Party, has claimed that all divisions and social problems in America are manufactured by Russia. Trumps coup attempt, however, arose from social processes within the United States itself: the staggering growth of social inequality amid the relentless promotion of war and attacks on democratic rights. These are not fantasies conjured up by the Kremlin and its supposedly vast influence over the minds of the American population. They are realities that are rending the very fabric of democratic forms of government in the United States.

The threat to what remains of democratic rights in the United States lies not in the actions of Russia, but in the actions of the American ruling class and the nature of American capitalism. The defense of democratic rights, therefore, depends on the development of a movement in the working class for socialism.
Photo: (Photo : Carlo Navarro / Unsplash)

The baby was not due until April 30, yet decided to arrive earlier than the expected due date, on April 12. The good thing was the pregnant mom works from home. On the day of her unexpected home birth, her elder child would be dropped off at school shortly before she would deliver her baby at home.

Her Labor Story

Mothership revealed that the 35-year-old mother-of-one Lee started to feel contractions around 7 am. Her husband, 38-year-old Lin, would later drop off their elder child at school at around 9 am. Shortly after sending the child to school, the wife called her husband asking him to bring her to the hospital. It was time for her to give birth.

ALSO READ: Mom Gave Birth Between Sections of the Bar Exam

Unexpected Delivery of Baby

However, when the husband arrived, the couple realized there would be no time to rush to the hospital. The wife just finished sending a work-related email when her water bag broke, and she started to feel intense pain. The baby started crowning while mom was in the bathroom.

They knew then that they would have to change their plans of delivering the baby at the hospital. The couple would have to carry out the natural birth on their own. They had to make that decision on the spot in the bathroom of their apartment in Singapore. The parents wanted to deliver the baby safely, so they called for help from medical experts.

Paramedics Help Parents with Home Birth

The parents called paramedics and received instructions via phone call while help was on the way. Following the paramedics' guidance, the couple delivered the baby safely within just four minutes.

Lin recalled feeling frantic at first and very afraid but decided to calm down when he saw the baby's head. No matter what, this dad-of-two wanted the birth to go smoothly. So, he started to prepare a bucket of water, some towels and followed the instructions of emergency assistance 995.

Paramedics directed the husband to lay his pregnant wife on the towels on the bathroom floor. The wife was instructed when to push, and the husband was told to make sure to hold the head of his baby.

ALSO READ: Coma Induced Woman With COVID-19 Prematurely Gives Birth to Twins

Fortunately, the home birth was a success. Paramedics arrived within 10 minutes of the call and rushed the new mom and her newborn son to the hospital. Both mother and child are doing well. His father proudly recalls the moment saying that now he can tell his son he had been the one who delivered him into this world.

ALSO READ: Hilary Duff's 3rd Baby's Name and Gender Revealed

Planning a Home Birth

Mayo Clinic reveals that some parents may choose home birth over a hospital delivery. Such parents may want to go without medical intervention or labor induction. They may desire to give birth in a familiar place and be surrounded by their family during labor and delivery.

Yet, it is wise to note that home births are not always the safest option. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists advise against home births, even planned ones, with a pregnancy of multiple children, breech babies, and for women who previously had a C-section delivery. Also, be open to moving to a hospital amid home birth plans when labor is not progressing, there is much bleeding, or the mother has high blood pressure. WhattoExpect also advises parents who may need to go through unplanned home births to call 911 and stay calm.
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The Queen sat alone inside St George's Chapel today as Covid regulations forced her to be separated from her family and wear a mask.

The 94-year-old monarch cut a figure of silent dignity as she watched on while her beloved husband of 73 years was laid to rest.

Following strict social distancing rules during the pandemic, the queen set an example even in grief, sitting apart from family members arranged around the church. Other royals who are in family bubbles sat together.

The monarch had arrived at the service in the royal Bentley with her lady-in-waiting Lady Susan Hussey, 81, widow of former BBC chairman Marmaduke Hussey.

Such is her bond with the royal family that Lady Susan is one of the Duke of Cambridge's godparents, and also attended his confirmation in 1997.

During the past year she joined the Queen and Philip in HMS Bubble as one of about 20 staff who cared for the royal couple in lockdown at Windsor Castle.

Queen Elizabeth had to sit alone inside St George's Chapel for her husband's funeral service due to coronavirus restrictions

Her Majesty stands alone, head bowed, in the chapel as her husband's coffin was carried into the church to be laid to rest

She then looked towards the doors of the church as the coffin was carried by soldiers on its final journey

The 94-year-old monarch cut a figure of silent dignity as she watched on while her beloved husband of 73 years was laid to rest

Her Majesty, with tears in her eyes, looks on after she had a moment of quiet reflection by her husband's coffin

The Queen wipes a tear from her eyes as she arrives behind her husband's coffin as Prince Philip's funeral began this afternoon

The monarch had arrived at the service in the royal Bentley with her lady-in-waiting Lady Susan Hussey, 81, widow of former BBC chairman Marmaduke Hussey

The masked Queen, wearing a mask and dressed in all black, is led to her seat in the chapel where she sat alone

Remaining nearby in case the Queen should need her, Lady Susan was not seated with the Windsors in the Quire, nor in the Nave, but elsewhere in the chapel

Who is the Queen's lady-in-waiting Susan Hussey? Lady Susan Hussey, 82, also acts as a senior Lady-in-waiting to the Queen. She is the is the fifth and youngest daughter of Geoffrey Waldegrave, 12th Earl Waldegrave and Mary Hermione, Countess Waldegrave, and was married to the late BBC chairman Marmaduke Hussey. Like all ladies-in-waiting, Lady Susan accompanies Her Majesty on engagements and organises her diary, as well as dealing with her correspondence. She is not paid for her services. She has been described by royal sources as 'very approachable' and 'tries to help in any way she can'. Lady Susan is godmother to Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge. Already Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (DCVO), she was promoted to Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) in the 2013 Birthday Honours. Advertisement

Today, she accompanied the Queen in the State Bentley as she left the castle to join the rear of the procession carrying Philip's coffin to St George's Chapel.

Although entering the chapel, Lady Susan was there as a working household member and not one of the 30 guests.

Remaining nearby in case the Queen should need her, Lady Susan was not seated with the Windsors in the Quire, nor in the Nave, but elsewhere in the chapel.

Ladies-in-waiting are the unsung members of the Queen's household and are personally chosen by the monarch.

They have a variety of duties including attending to private and personal matters for the Queen and handling her correspondence.

They also assist the Queen on official engagements, from handing her money to being passed the bouquets of flowers presented to her.

In 2001, Lady Susan passed the Queen a pound coin so she could buy The Big Issue from a magazine seller while on an official day trip to Brighton.

She has also been present at unique moments in history - such as on the Spirit of Chartwell barge with the Queen and other members of the royal family for the Diamond Jubilee river pageant on the Thames in 2012.

This is the funeral procession for tomorrow's funeral, where William and Harry will not stand next to eachother with the Queen following behind in her car

Lady Hussey is the is the fifth and youngest daughter of Geoffrey Waldegrave, 12th Earl Waldegrave and Mary Hermione, Countess Waldegrave, and was married to the late BBC chairman Marmaduke Hussey

The Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex, who have a troubled relationship, did not walk shoulder to shoulder with their cousin Peter Phillips between them

The Royal Family's procession was led by Prince Charles and Princess Anne who looked emotional following the casket

Prince Philip's coffin has emerged from Windsor Castle as the Royal Family joined the Queen in mourning her husband at his funeral

The Duke of Edinburgh's casket was covered in his personal standard and carried his sword, naval cap and a wreath of flowers as masked pallbearers lowered him on to his extraordinary self-designed Land Rover hearse

Ladies-in-waiting often serve the Queen for more than 50 years and act as both friends and loyal assistants, and their discretion and support will be invaluable as the Queen mourns.

The late Marmaduke Hussey, who died in 2006, was BBC chairman when Diana, Princess of Wales gave her 1995 Panorama interview but, in accordance with tradition, he was not given a preview.

"Duke" Hussey was a leading newspaper industry executive for decades, taking the prestigious BBC post when he retired from News International.

Lady Susan is also a sister of the former Tory Cabinet minister William Waldegrave.

The Queen's ladies-in-waiting, personally chosen by the monarch, have a variety of duties including attending to private and personal matters for the Queen and handling her correspondence.

They have been part of HMS Bubble - the name given to the reduced selection of around 20 staff attending to the Queen at Windsor during lockdown.

Some of the ladies-in-waiting have been with the Queen for more than 50 years and act as both friends and loyal assistants, and their discretion and support will be invaluable.

Members of the military march ahead of the funeral service at Prince Philip's Windsor home

The detachments of service personnel from the military units the duke had a special relationship assembled on the green of the castle's quadrangle - while lining its edge are troops from the Household Cavalry and the Foot Guards
Kamala Harris still hasn't held a press conference on the migrant crisis 24 days after she was named Joe Biden's border czar, as the vice president has finally started making plans to visit Mexico and Guatemala.

The vice president was tapped by the president on March 24 to 'lead efforts' to tackle the ongoing crisis as the federal government struggled to cope with the influx of migrants crossing the US's southern border with Mexico.

At the time, the White House said Harris's focus would be on 'two tracks' - stemming the flow of irregular migrants to the US and establishing a strategic partnership with Mexico and the Northern Triangle.

But Harris has faced criticism since taking on the task as she has neither paid a visit to the border nor held a news conference, with Friday marking the 24th full day on from her appointment to the task.

Kamala Harris (speaking about the American Recovery Plan at the White House Wednesday) still hasn't held a press conference on the migrant crisis 24 days after she was named Joe Biden's border czar

Harris finally said this week she will travel to Guatemala and Mexico as part of her role in tackling the crisis.

'The president has asked Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas to address what is going on the border and he has been working very hard on that and is showing some progress because of his hard work,' she said at a Northern Triangle security roundtable Wednesday.

'I have been asked to lead the issue of dealing with root causes in the Northern Triangle, similar to what the then-Vice President did many years ago,' she said.

'But I will tell you these are issues that aren't going to be addressed overnight.'

Harris went on to say she intends to visit the nations of Mexico and Guatemala soon.

'We have plans in the works to go to Guatemala as soon as possible,' she said, later adding she will also visit Mexico.

Harris did not provide a timeframe for the visit.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki shielded criticism leveled at the vice president over her handling of the crisis Thursday telling reporters it is not a 'one-woman' job.

'It is not a one-woman, even a one-woman job, it is a multi-high-level official job,' Psaki said in a press briefing.

Migrants wait to board a US Customs and Border Protection bus to a processing center after crossing the border from Mexico this week in La Joya, Texas

A family from El Salvador walks ashore to the bank of the Rio Grande at the US-Mexico border on Wednesday in Roma, Texas

She said she found the 'confusion' surrounding Harris' role 'perplexing' when asked if the White House viewed the vice president's diplomatic role as being 'disconnected' from the border.

'All respect to you, but this confusion is very perplexing to me. I have to be honest,' she said.

Psaki then pointed out how Biden, when serving as Barack Obama's vice president, ran point on the Northern Triangle countries - Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras - during those eight years.

Biden has assigned Harris the same task.

The vice president has come under fire from Republicans for not traveling to the border or to the Central American countries from which the migrants are entering the US.

This week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, blasted Harris and Biden for 'standing by' while he said Mexican cartels are 'terrorizing' Texans along the border

This week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, blasted Harris and Biden for 'standing by' while he said Mexican cartels are 'terrorizing' Texans along the border.

'The cartels work internationally in Mexico as well as the United States terrorizing the people in South Texas,' he told Fox News Friday.

'The Biden administration is standing by while people in South Texas are terrorized. It could be murderers, it could be kidnappings, robberies, all kinds of crimes are taking place.'

Biden has also not paid a visit to the border.

Meanwhile, several Democratic and Republican lawmakers have made the journey and visited migrant facilities in recent weeks to see the crisis firsthand.

After taking office, Biden lifted the Remain in Mexico policy, which kept migrants south of the border while waiting for their hearings, effectively allowing migrants who have applied for asylum to cross into the US and begin legal proceedings.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki shielded criticism leveled at the vice president over her handling of the crisis Thursday telling reporters it is not a 'one-woman' job

He also narrowed the ICE's criteria for arrests and deportations and stopped the building of Trump's border wall.

These moves have led to thousands of migrants entering America in recent months, leaving the border's children's centers so full that kids are being forced to spend several days in cramped detention centers meant for adults and sparking a backlog and logistical nightmare in processing the new entrants.

Data released last week showed apprehensions of undocumented migrants on the border soared 70 percent in March to 172,331 - the highest level in 15 years.

That month, almost 19,000 children made the journey alone, marking the highest monthly total in all of American history.

The number of migrants showing up as part of families with small children jumped from under 20,000 in February to more than 53,000 in March.

Migrants cross the Rio Grande river that borders the US and Mexico. The vice president has finally started making plans to visit Mexico and Guatemala
A cruise ship rescued hundreds of people in St Vincent yesterday after delivering supplies to the volcano-hit Caribbean island.

Royal Caribbeans cruise ship Celebrity Reflection took 159 passengers, including 108 stranded Americans, from the island to Philipsburg in Dutch Sint Maarten.

It also delivered water and other vital supplies to people left on the island coated in ash from a week of violent eruptions.

La Soufriere volcano shot out another explosive burst of gas and ash earlier yesterday morning as thousands continue to be affected by the destruction.

The explosions that began on April 9 forced some 20,000 to flee the northern end of the eastern Caribbean island for shelters and contaminated water supplies across the island.

Royal Caribbeans cruise ship Celebrity Reflection rescued 159 passengers including Britons from St Vincent yesterday after delivering supplies to the volcano-hit Caribbean island

Plumes of ash rise from the La Soufriere volcano on the eastern Caribbean island of St Vincent yesterday

British, US and Canadian nationals were evacuated aboard from the harbor in the Kingstown, capital of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The tourists toting luggage descended from tour buses and cars at the port terminal and waited in a line that began in the parking lot.

They included students from the Trinity School of Medicine and families with young children in arms.

Canadian student Leah Ransai said: 'As of right now, we are being evacuated for our safety and to keep the island as safe as possible.

'Between the school, the government and the embassies of the US and Canada, we're being evacuated now.'

British, Canadian and US nationals line up alongside the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Reflection to be evacuated free of charge, in Kingstown on the eastern Caribbean island of St Vincent yesterday

The US Embassy said those aboard would have to make their own travel arrangements home.

It also noted in an official statement that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had recommended against travel on cruise ships because the chance of getting Covid and said people who had been in close contact with suspected Covid cases were barred from the trip.

All aboard were supposed to have a negative rapid antigen test taken within 24 hours of boarding.

Richard Robertson, lead scientist at the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Center, said yesterday morning's explosion reached around 26,000ft (8,000 metres).

Speaking on local NBC radio, he said: 'It wasn't a big explosion compared to the ones that we last weekend, but it was big enough to punch a hole through the clouds.'

During a comparable eruption cycle in 1902, explosive eruptions continued to shake the island for months after an initial burst killed some 1,700 people.

Royal Caribbeans cruise ship Celebrity Reflection took 159 passengers, including 108 stranded Americans, from the island to Philipsburg in Dutch Sint Maarten

Around 20,000 people on the island are at risk of food insecurity because of the loss of fisheries and agriculture

the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had recommended against travel on cruise ships because the chance of getting Covid and said people who had been in close contact with suspected Covid cases were barred from the trip

The new eruptions so far have caused no reported deaths among a population that had received official warning a day earlier that danger was imminent.

Thousands of locals are still stuck in emergency shelters with no idea when they might be able to return home.

Levi Lewis, 58, a retired public servant from the town of Fancy, said the eruption had left him trying to get by with practically nothing.

He said: 'I just reusing clothing cause i didn't walk with much. Plus water is an issue, so I'm trying to conserve it still.

'I want to go back home, or to whatever is left of it.'

A few people, however, never left, in defiance of evacuation orders.

Raydon May, a bus conductor in his late 20s who stayed in Sandy Bay throughout the eruptions, said he had always planned to stay if the volcano erupted and was trying to protect properties in the community while making occasional trips outside the evacuation zone to pick up water and supplies.

Ash rises into the air as La Soufriere volcano erupts again on the eastern Caribbean island of St Vincent Tuesday

A view from the Belmont Observatory in St Vincent. La Soufriere first erupted Friday for the first time in over 40 years, with continuous explosions over the following days

He said so much ash had fallen that the roofs of houses were collapsing under the weight.

'One roof might get on like three truckloads of sand,' he said. 'We trying to help ... but we cant help everybody.'

Didier Trebucq, United Nations resident coordinator for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, warned on Wednesday that the 'crisis' is likely to linger for several months even after the volcano goes quiet.

'So we are facing a situation with a great deal of uncertainty, and also a humanitarian crisis that is growing and may continue for weeks and months,' he told reporters.

He said around 20,000 people are 'estimated at risk of food insecurity, given the loss of the assets in terms of livelihood like fisheries, or agriculture'.

'This is a crisis that is going to certainly last more than six months in St. Vincent and other islands,' he added.

Fears are also growing about a surge in Covid infections as families pack into government shelters and into homes of friends and relatives after fleeing their homes.

Dr Simone Keizer-Beache, chief medical officer on the Caribbean island, said in a press briefing Thursday that around a dozen new cases have been reported in recent days.

 Slide me  BEFORE AND AFTER: Satellite images reveal how St. Vincent has been completely blackened by ash as La Soufriere volcano continues to blow on an almost daily basis and residents are facing 'chronic water shortages'

 Slide me  BEFORE AND AFTER: Aerial photos taken Tuesday show the Richmond Vale waterfront in Chateaubelair, just south of the volcano almost unrecognizable from images taken just two weeks before on April 2

The volcanic hazard map shows the different zones. Around 20,000 have been evacuated from the red zone

At least one of these cases was reported in a shelter, meaning around 20 people have been exposed to the virus, she said.

Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said the lack of water was adding to the risk of a new wave of the virus as he urged people to follow Covid safety precautions.

'If we're not careful, we're going to have a spike, which could create a real danger in addition to what we're having with the volcano,' he said.

'Washing your hands when you don't have a lot of water is problematic.'

Gonsalves previously said only people who had received the Covid vaccine could board cruise ships sent to the island at the weekend to transport them to neighboring islands.

No deaths have yet been reported since the first eruption Friday.

This NASA Earth Observatory handout image taken on Tuesday shows a satellite image of the volcano eruption

GoFundMe campaigns have been set up to donate funds and supplies to those worst affected, while pop star M.I.A has also launched an appeal.

Neighboring islands have shipped emergency supplies to St. Vincent and the Barbados Defence Force sent in 30 troops to provide on the ground support.

But these islands have also been impacted by the volcano's eruptions with the ash blowing across the sea to the Grenadines as well as further afield to Barbados, where both locals and tourists are stranded due to the closure of Grantley Adams airport.

The airport first shuttered on Sunday due to limited visibility from the ash, with officials announcing it will stay closed until at least noon on Friday as a gray haze continues to hover over the capital Bridgetown.

La Soufriere began rumbling back in December, with the explosions of recent days marking the first since back in 1979.

Prior to that, an eruption in 1902 killed around 1,600 people.
Beijing: China hit back at the US-Japan show of alliance during talks between President Joe Biden and Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, calling it an "ironic attempt of stoking division. China said Suga and Biden's news conference Friday, in which they issued a joint statement on shared values in democracy and human rights and aired concerns about China's activities in the Indo-Pacific region, had gone far beyond the scope of normal development of bilateral relations."

"It cannot be more ironic that such attempt of stoking division and building blocs against other countries is put under the banner of 'free and open,'" the spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said in a statement Saturday.

The statement by the Japanese and US leaders also mentioned the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, marking the first time a Japanese prime minister had spoken out in a communique with the United States on Taiwan since 1969 talks between Richard Nixon and Eisaku Sato. Japan, long cautious in managing relations with its neighbor, has become more outspoken with Suga.

The US and China have clashed over a wide range of issues in the last few years, including human rights in Tibet and the Xinjiang region, a crackdown on protests and political freedom in Hong Kong, China's assertion of its territorial claims to Taiwan and most of the South China Sea and accusations Beijing was slow to inform the world about the COVID-19 outbreak. China claims self-governing Taiwan as its territory and says, like Hong Kong, it should be under Beijing's control.

"The U.S. Should never try to play the Taiwan card," Le Yucheng, China's vice foreign minister, said in an interview with The Associated Press in Beijing on Friday. "It is very dangerous. This is our red line. The US should never try to cross it."

The US-Japan joint statement also expressed concern over human rights in Hong Kong and for China's ethnic Muslim minority. Both leaders declared they planned to work with China on areas of common interest."

China again reiterated its stance on Xinjiang, Taiwan and Hong Kong, all of which it considers domestic matters. "These matters bear on China's fundamental interests and allow no interference. We express strong concern and firm opposition to relevant comments in the Joint Leaders' Statement," it said.
Katmandu, April 17 : Six Nepali women have reached the top of Mt. Annapurna creating a record feat on the 8,091-metre tall peak, the Himalayan nation's Department of Tourism and an expedition organising company said.

Purnima Shrestha, Sharmila Tamang, Dawa Phuti Sherpa, Dawa Yangjung, Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, and Maya Sherpa became the first Nepali women the top of the mountain on Friday afternoon.

Bhisma Raj Bhattarai, section officer at the mountaineering section of the tourism department, told Xinhua news agency that these women reached the top of the mountain becoming the first to do so.

In 1978, two female climbers from the US became the first women to reach the top of the world's 10th tallest mountain.

Annapurna is considered among the world's most treacherous mountains to climb due to its extremely steep south face, a wall of rock that rises 3,000 meters.

Mingma Sherpa, chairperson of Seven Summit Trek, one of five expedition organising companies for thw assent, told Xinhua news agency that a total of 68 climbers, including the mountain guides, reached the top of Annapurna on Friday, which is the record high on the mountain in a single day.

It beats the record set on May 1, 2016, when 32 climbers had scaled the mountain.

The Tourism Department has so far issued permits for 44 Nepali and foreign climbers to summit Annapurna.
China on Saturday expressed firm opposition to a joint statement made by the U.S. and Japan on issues relating to China's internal affairs and reaffirmed the country's determination to defend its sovereignty, security and development interests.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga issued the joint statement on Friday, following their meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C. It noted their plan for the "Indo-Pacific" and their exchange of views on the impact of China's actions in the region. They also expressed concerns over issues relating to the East China Sea, the South China Sea and China's Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

In response, the Chinese Embassy in the United States issued a statement that said the comments by the U.S. and Japan were beyond the range of bilateral relations.

It harms a third-party's interests, regional countries' mutual understanding and trust, as well as the peace and stability in the Asia Pacific, the embassy stated, adding that the U.S.-Japan statement was in nature an endorsement for separatist activities.

The embassy rebuked the attempt as against the trend of the times and said it would only harm the two countries' own national interests.

Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang-related issues are purely China's internal affairs, while East China Sea and South China Sea issues concern China's sovereignty and maritime interests, the statement said. It reiterated that these matters are China's fundamental interests that allow no interference.

The Chinese Embassy in Japan on Saturday also expressed strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to the U.S.-Japan statement.

The embassy's spokesperson refuted unwarranted accusations against China by the U.S. and Japan, and accused the two countries of violently interfering in China's internal affairs and infringing on China's territorial sovereignty.

Calling the joint statement's so-called claim that "Chinese activities are inconsistent with the international rules-based order" groundless, the spokesperson emphasized that the international system with the United Nations (UN) at its core is the only system in the world, and that the only set of rules in the world is the basic norms governing international relations, based on the purposes of the UN Charter.

The spokesperson noted China's position and claims on East China Sea and South China Sea issues have sufficient historical and legal basis.

"We will continue to firmly safeguard territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, while committing to resolving relevant differences through dialogue and consultation and safeguarding peace and stability in relevant waters."

The spokesperson reiterated that the Diaoyu Islands and its affiliated islands are China's inherent territory. "No matter what Japan and the U.S. say or do, they cannot change the objective fact that the Diaoyu Islands belong to China.

"The United States and Japan are sticking to the Cold War mentality, deliberately engaging in group confrontation and stirring up political confrontation."

"It is completely going against the trend of the times," the spokesperson said, pointing out that the move by the two countries is against the common expectations of the vast majority of countries, both in the region and globally, for peace, development and cooperation.

The recent negative moves made by the Japanese side on China-related issues have seriously damaged the political mutual trust between the two sides and the efforts to develop bilateral relations, the spokesperson added.

The spokesperson urged the Japanese side to abide by the principles and spirit established in the four political documents between China and Japan, ensure that bilateral relations do not flip-flop, stagnate or backpedal, and not to get involved in the so-called confrontation between major countries.
Human rights groups say the only concern people have right now is the growing insecurity.

Video Transcript

- A mass to demand the release of 10 hostages taken by gangs in Croix-des-Bouquets, just outside Port-au-Prince.

[WORSHIPING]

Among those abducted were seven clerics. Two of them are French. People here say they're increasingly concerned over the rising kidnappings in the past year.

LAUNAY SATURNE: [NON-ENGLISH]

INTERPRETER 1: There are many people who have been kidnapped. They got raped and tortured. Many of them have never returned to normal. We ask ourselves when this end in our country.

[PROTESTING]

- During the service, protesters took over the church denouncing what they call a lack of democracy in the country and blaming the government over rising violence.

[SIRENS RINGING]

[GUNSHOT]

- The police fired tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.

[NON-ENGLISH]

INTERPRETER 2: As a teacher, my life condition is very bad. I can't live like this. That's why I'm in the street to protest against a president who has not been doing anything for us.

[GUNSHOTS]

- In recent months, kidnappings for ransom have sharply increased. The clerics were kidnapped by a group known as 400 mawozo gang. Locals say the gang seems to be in charge in some parts of the country. Manadala was kidnapped and taken for a week. She had to pay for her release. Women and children are now a target for kidnappers. She did not want to show her face during the interview.

- [NON-ENGLISH]

INTERPRETER 3: A car stopped in front of me. Four guys got out of the car. They drew their guns to force me into it, put the hood on my head, and pressed my neck. I cried a lot.

[PROTESTING]

- Protests have been ongoing in Port-au-Prince against the government of Jovenel Moise and his apparent inability to solve the problems people face every day. The president failed to hold legislative elections in 2019 and has been ruling by decree since then. Moise has said he plans to hold a constitutional referendum in June, which critics call part of a larger effort to consolidate power.

Story continues

[HONKING]

Human rights groups say the only concern people have right now is the growing insecurity.

ARNEL REMY: He's talking about Constitution. He's talking about a referendum. We can't have a Constitution in this situation. We can't have a referendum in this climate of insecurity.

- The opposition says the international community continues to support leaders who fail to improve people's lives. And that's why they say Jovenel Moise remains in power. While Moise says he's fighting a coup.

[MASS ONGOING]

While the confrontation between the opposition and the government continues, the lives of millions are caught in the middle threatened by kidnappings and violence that seem to be getting out of control. Betty Saul, Al Jazeera.
The federal government is buying more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech as it moves to offset reduction in supply from another producer. And while it offered to help Ontario distribute its shots, the hot-spot province turned down that assistance as the premier piled on more restrictions on Friday.

Three vials of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine are pictured in a new coronavirus, COVID-19, vaccination center at the Velodrome-Stadium in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Michael Sohn, pool

The federal government is buying more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech as it moves to offset reduction in supply from another producer. And while it offered to help Ontario distribute its shots, the hot-spot province turned down that assistance as the premier piled on more restrictions on Friday.

Prime Minister JustinTrudeau announced Friday a contract with Pfizer for eight million additional doses of its vaccine hours after Canada said Moderna would slash its deliveries in half through the rest of April.

The increasein Pfizer supply is coming at a time when COVID activity is rapidly spreading in parts of the country, including Canada's most populous province.

Trudeau said the federal government will provide more relief to Ontario, including deploying the Canadian Red Cross to help with their mobile vaccination teams; setting up additional hospital beds in Toronto and Hamilton; and sending equipment and drugs.

"In many places, numbers are higher than theyve ever been before," Trudeau said. "And far too many hospitals are already stretched far too thin. ... So we're going to do whatever it takes to help."

Ontario logged a record 4,812 new cases on Friday and 25 more deaths related to the virus. Its science advisers presented stark new projections predicting daily infections could soon approach 20,000, and that extending stay-at-home orders and administering 100,000 vaccine doses per day would be needed to flatten the curve.

Premier Doug Ford struck a dire tone as he announced a suite of severe measures to supplement the extension of the province's stay-at-home order for another two weeks.

"We're losing the battle between the variants and vaccines," Ford told a news conference. "We are on our heels. But if we dig in, remain steadfast, we can turn this around."

New restrictions include stricter limits on interprovincial travel, outdoor gatherings, businesses and religious services, and shutting down non-essential construction. Police are vested with special powers to enforce public health protocols.

Ontario also made an appeal to other provinces to send health-care workers to alleviate pressure on its hospitals.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responds to a question during Question Period in the House of Commons, in Ottawa, Wednesday, April 14, 2021. The Prime Minister says the federal government will deploy the Canadian Red Cross to help Ontario with their mobile vaccination teams. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

However, the premier seemed more tepid about Trudeau's offer to help with the vaccine rollout. Spokeswoman Ivana Yelich said the gesture was appreciated, but the province would not need the Red Cross to help administer vaccines "unless it is matched with an increase in supply."

"This isn't a capacity issue," Ford told reporters, "it's a supply issue."

Data from the federal government shows Ontario has received more than 4.8 million vaccine doses. The provincial data shows 3.6 million have been administered as of Thursday evening, suggesting 1.2 million doses are still to be used.

Earlier Friday, the Canadian Medical Association said further restrictions must be considered in regions experiencing rapid rates of COVID-19 transmission, including a "total lockdown" in Ontario.

"That means anything that's truly not essential ... needs to be closed completely for a period of time," said Dr. Katharine Smart, the president-elect of the CMA. "These half-closures and half-measures and not working."

Rapid growth in COVID activity continues to be seen as variants of concern escalate in parts of the country.

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief medical officer, said the ramped-up vaccine rollout has been positive, however, with seven million residents inoculated this week.

"Vaccines are reducing severe illness, death and outbreaks in high-risk settings and populations that were targeted in that initial phase of vaccination," she said. "These benefits are building, and they will be the bridge that takes us all to greater safety."

Health Canada said Friday that it's reviewing a submission from Pfizer-BioNTech to expand the use of its COVID-19 vaccine to young people aged 12 and older.

Canada's expanded contract with Pfizer will kick in next month, Procurement Minister Anita Anand said, with the first four million of the new eight million doses arriving in May.

She said two million more doses will come in June and July, respectively, and Pfizer is also moving another 400,000 doses from the third quarter into June.

Canada's initial shipment of approximately 300,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will also arrive during the week of April 27, Anand said, to be delivered to the provinces at the beginning of May.

The increased Pfizer doses help offset another production delay from Moderna, which will ship 650,000 doses of its vaccine by the end of the month, instead of the expected 1.2 million.

The company also told Canada that one to two million doses of the 12.3 million scheduled for delivery in the second quarter may be delayed until the third quarter.

"We are disappointed, and while we understand the challenges facing suppliers in the current global market for vaccines, our government will continue to press Moderna to fulfil its commitments," Anand said in a statement.

Moderna said in a statement there has been a "shortfall" in estimated doses from the European supply chain, and that it will be "making adjustments" to expected delivery quantities in a number of countries, including Canada.

Trudeau said he was "concerned" about the delays and production challenges facing Moderna, but added that Pfizer has been reliable. He said its doses will make up the "bulk of vaccines being given to Canadians in the coming months."

Quebec reported 1,527 new COVID cases on Friday while Manitoba reported 127. New Brunswick had nine new cases and Newfoundland had three.

British Columbia set another daily hospitalization record at 425 people including 127 in intensive care. The province recorded 1,005 new cases and six deaths.

In Alberta, there were 1,616 more COVID-19 infections but no additional deaths. There are 423 people in hospital.

Meanwhile, the CMA released a statement calling for "extraordinary" measures, including sharing provincial health-care resources and dropping the per capita approach to vaccine distribution, to address the COVID-19 crisis unfolding in several provinces.

The CMA said it wants the federal government to consider re-prioritizing its vaccine distribution strategy to focus on urgent areas instead of distributing to provinces on a per-capita basis.

Trudeau said conversations with provinces about vaccine allocation have been "ongoing."

"We're happy to continue to work with the provinces on adjusting (vaccine distribution) as the provinces see necessary," he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2021.
Ghana has assured Canadian investors of her readiness to serve as the entry point to the Sub-region for opportunities in the regional market.



Under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCF) there is an estimated market size of over 1.2 billion consumers with a growing middle class.



Mr Alan Kyerematen, the Minister of Trade and Industry, said this when Madam Kati Csaba, the Canadian High Commissioner to Ghana, called on him in Accra.



He said Ghana and Canada had enjoyed close bilateral relations for over a century, covering high level of cooperation in trade, investments, development, and humanitarian assistance.



The Trade Minister said that had reflected in both countries sharing common membership in many international organisations such as the United Nations, the Commonwealth, and the World Trade Organisation, where in most cases Ghana and Canada found common grounds on many global issues.



He recounted Canadas contributions to the development of the country in many critical roles stimulating sustainable economic measures and reducing barriers to doing business.



It was also evident in climate-smart agriculture as an engine for inclusive and sustainable economic growth, improving access to and use of affordable and nutritious foods, increasing access to sanitation and hygiene services in under-served areas and promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, Mr Kyerematen said.



"Trade between the two countries has grown steadily and doubled over the past decade from about $201 million in 2010 to over $540 million in 2019," he said.



Mr Kyerematen said the country intended to leverage that strong bilateral relation by making Canada a destination market for value-added goods under Ghanas Industrial Transformation Programme.



In that regard, he said, Ghana could benefit from Canadas experience in vehicle assembly and manufacturing of machinery and component parts, fertilizers and industrial chemicals.



The Ministry would actualize that by establishing strategic platforms such as the GhanaCanada Business Council Act to address potential commercial relations challenges and facilitate trade and investments between the two countries.



The Council would further support the Ministry's ongoing efforts to identify business opportunities and other trade and investments related activities that could be exploited by private sector operators of both countries for the enhancement of bilateral economic, trade and investment co-operation, Mr Kyerematen said.



Madam Csaba, on her part, said Canada was looking forward to exploring investment avenues in Ghana, especially opportunities offered by governments One District, One Factory programme.

Source: GNA









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Addressing a public meeting in Asansol of poll-bound West Bengal, PM Modi said, "Her politics isn't limited to just protests, but it has crossed a dangerous limit of vengeance."The complainant, named Siddik Ali Miah, said Banerjee makes various provocational statements through media for the "purpose of breaking peace and tranquility in West Bengal"."She hatched up a criminal conspiracy and delivered her speech for provoking the general public, especially the women to launch an attack on the paramilitary forces armed with hand made various weapons and in the consequence of such conspiracy the villagers, especially the Muslim community including women in large numbers launched an attack on the paramilitary forces with hand made various weapons on 10.04.2021at 11 pm at Booth No. 5/126," he stated in his complaint to inspector in-charge, Mathabhanga police station.As West Bengal is voting in the fifth phase of the Assembly elections today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said people in large numbers will vote for the "Lotus" to form the BJP government in the state.He further stated that the last four phases of voting have left the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in shatters, adding that the rest of the phases will eliminate 'Didi-bhaipo' (aunt-nephew) duo.PM Modi said, "Four rounds of voting, TMC is split into pieces. The remaining four rounds of polling, didi-bhaipo will be eliminated. In the fifth phase of voting, polling is underway where the button with the lotus symbol will be pressed in large numbers to form the BJP government."Taking a jibe at the TMC-led West Bengal government, the Prime Minister said the state needs a 'double engine' government rather than the one that blocks development.He said, "Centre formed law to free Muslim women from triple talaq, she (Mamata Banerjee) became angry. Centre formed law to free farmers from middlemen, she opposed this. Bengal wants double engine government and not the one that blocks development."The Prime Minister accused the West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee of betraying the people of the state by standing like a wall in the way of development."In the last 10 years, Didi betrayed you in the name of development. She stood like a wall in front of the development. Centre offered the facility of free healthcare up to Rs 5 lakhs, she became a wall. Centre formed laws to help refugees, she opposed this too," said PM Modi.Terming Asansol 'Mini India', the Prime Minister stated that people from all over India come here to work in various factories but the misgovernance of previous West Bengal governments have adversely affected the place."From bicycle to rail, paper to steel, aluminum to glass - people from all over India come here to work in such factories. In a way, Asansol is mini India. People from all corners of India are seen here. But the misgovernance of Bengal governments affected Asansol," said PM Modi."We will work for the aspirations of the people of Bengal. New investments will come in," said the Prime Minister.He further said, "When the central government enacted laws to free the farmers from middlemen, Didi came out in protest. When the central government started transferring money directly to the bank accounts of farmers, Didi also deprived the farmers of this."Targetting Mamata after she did not attend the recent meeting chaired by him with the chief ministers of states to discuss the COVID-19 situation, PM Modi said her ego has grown so big that she is unable to see anything beyond it."Didi's ego has grown so big, that she is not able to see anything beyond it. The Central Government has been calling so many meetings to discuss various issues, but Didi does not come to either of these meetings giving some reason or the other," said the Prime Minister.He further said, "In the last two meetings on COVID-19, the rest of the Chief Ministers came, but Didi did not. The rest of the Chief Ministers also participated in the meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog, but Didi did not come. Such a huge campaign started in the country for cleaning the Ganga river, but Didi did not even attend a meeting related to that."The Prime Minister's remarks came after Mamata skipped the COVID-19 review meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 8, 2021. The meeting, held through video conferencing, was attended by West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay.Over the past few years, the West Bengal Chief Minister has on several occasions missed the meetings convened by NITI Aayog. Banerjee had skipped the meeting of chief ministers chaired by the Prime Minister on March 17 over growing cases of COVID-19 and the vaccination drive.Meanwhile, West Bengal recorded a voter turnout of 54.67 per cent till 1.30 pm across 45 constituencies in six districts during the fifth phase of the state Assembly polls, according to the Election Commission (EC). Voting for the fifth phase of West Bengal Assembly polls began at 7 am on Saturday amid tight security.Polling is underway in a total of 45 constituencies covering the districts of Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, Darjeeling and a segment of Nadia, North 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman in the fifth phase. A total of 319 candidates, including 39 women are in the fray in Phase-V.There are 15,789 polling stations designated for this phase. The security for this phase has been beefed up with the deployment of 1,071 companies of central forces for ensuring a peaceful election. The voting for the sixth phase will be held on April 22.
Apr. 17SANTA FE  Bill McCamley, the face of New Mexico's unemployment system during the coronavirus pandemic, is stepping down.

The Governor's Office confirmed that McCamley's last day on the job would be Friday, though McCamley did not immediately provide a reason for his departure.

A former state lawmaker from Dona Ana County, McCamley was appointed as secretary of the Department of Workforce Solutions by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham shortly before she took office in 2019.

"I am grateful to Bill for his work over the last few years and in particular since the pandemic reached our state," Lujan Grisham said in a Friday statement. "COVID-19 affected everyone in New Mexico, and the Department of Workforce Solutions was asked to step up and meet the new and unexpected and ongoing needs of so many of our neighbors."

McCamley's department was swamped in April 2020 after a tsunami of jobless benefit claims related to the COVID-19 outbreak overwhelmed the state's unemployment website and phone hotline and left thousands of state residents fuming.

He apologized for the troubles many New Mexicans were facing, and added more than 100 staffers  many from other state agencies  to help run the agency's unemployment insurance call center, which also expanded its daily hours of operation.

But difficulties accessing the system have persisted, and McCamley acknowledged in recent interviews he has at times personally intervened to ensure state residents get jobless benefits.

He also received praise from some lawmakers during this year's 60-day legislative session for his prompt responses to constituents' issues.

While he did not respond directly to questions, McCamley said on social media Friday that agency employees' efforts over the past year had been "nothing short of heroic."

"People count on your work, and you delivered," McCamley tweeted. "Serving with you has been an absolute honor. Keep it up."

Story continues

Unemployment fund

Since the beginning of March 2020, the Workforce Solutions Department has paid out more than $3.5 billion in unemployment benefits across various state and federal unemployment programs.

While New Mexico's unemployment rate has improved in recent months, it was still among the nation's highest at 8.3% as of last month.

And the number of state residents employed in non-farm jobs has dropped by nearly 66,000 over the past year  from 856,200 in March 2020 to 790,600 as of this year, according to DWS data.

That's despite several rounds of state relief packages aimed at helping businesses and workers hit hard by the pandemic and restrictions imposed in response to it by the Lujan Grisham administration.

The spike in jobless claims has led to the state's unemployment fund being drawn down, and McCamley requested a loan of up to $285 million from the U.S. Labor Department last summer to ensure benefits would keep being paid.

A spending bill signed this month by Lujan Grisham includes up to $300 million to repay the federal loan.

But the governor used her line-item veto authority to strike down a proposed $600 million appropriation of federal relief dollars earmarked for the unemployment fund from a separate bill, with a Lujan Grisham spokeswoman later saying it was not clear whether such an expenditure would be an allowable use of the funds.

Department turnover

The Workforce Solutions Department has also struggled in recent years to deal with a huge backlog of wage theft claims connected to the state's minimum wage, which is currently set at $10.50 per hour.

In addition to wage enforcement, the department will also play a key oversight role once a new statewide paid sick leave law takes effect in July 2022.

That measure, which was approved by lawmakers and signed into law by Lujan Grisham in April, will require businesses to allow their employees to accrue and take up to 64 hours of paid leave annually.

Meanwhile, the departure of McCamley, who ran unsuccessfully for state auditor in 2018 before being appointed by Lujan Grisham, also marks the latest turnover in the Democratic governor's Cabinet. While some turnover in a governor's tenure is not unusual, at least seven agency heads have now either been fired or have left since Lujan Grisham took office two-plus years ago.

Moving forward, Ricky Serna, a former deputy Workforce Solutions secretary, will serve as the agency's acting secretary until a full-time replacement can be identified, according to the Governor's Office.

Serna is also temporarily serving as director of the State Personnel Office, after the state's former top human resources officer stepped down in February to take a new job with President Joe Biden's administration.
One of France's most-popular grab-and-go meals these days looks more like a burrito or a panini, but they're called "tacos."

"French tacos" are apparently so popular The New Yorker took a closer look in a deep dive article published earlier this week called "The Unlikely Rise of French Tacos."

"The New Yorker" traced the origins of the French's spin on the Mexican delicacy to the snacks (small, independent restaurants) of the Rhone-Alpes region around the start of the 21st century. The French tacos have some similarities to actual tacos  a tortilla is involved and so are a variety of protein choices.

SWEET!: Texas baker creates completely edible bluebonnet

Usually it's a flour tortilla, meat (typically halal) and other add-ons like fries, all doused in a cheese sauce. The stuffed tortilla is then folded into a packet and toasted, "The New Yorker" reported.

The French tacos have commanded such a presence overseas that they are now embedded in pop culture. Rappers include references in lyrics and chain restaurants dedicated to French tacos have amassed a cult following on Instagram.

Take for example O'Tacos, known as the "French Tacos Boss" with nearly 300 shops. The account has a whopping 316,000 followers.

According to "The New Yorker," French trade experts expect the sandwich-taco hybrid will "without a doubt" be the "product that will drive the market for dining for the next ten years."

READ ALSO: Shef is bringing Houstonians the taste of home

The trend is not without controversy, though. French-based Mexican restaurateurs who spoke with publication do see the "tacos" as a form of cultural appropriation.

Mercedes Ahumada, a chef from Mexico who owns a catering business in Paris, said she's shocked the French refer to the food as "tacos."

"It's like if we made wine and started calling it 'Mexican champagne,'" she told the mag.

Anyone interested in tasting what the French call "tacos" will likely have to wait awhile. French borders remain closed to U.S. travelers due to the pandemic.
Amid a surge in infections, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan spoke to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and reassured him of adequate and uninterrupted supply of medical oxygen and all possible support related to healthcare infrastructure, medicines and therapeutics.

In a tweet, Vardhan said additional 1,121 ventilators are being rushed to the state considering the surge in cases.

"Spoke to #Maharashtra CM Sh Uddhav Thackeray Ji. Reassured



@OfficeofUT of adequate & uninterrupted supply of medical oxygen & all possible support w.r.t healthcare infra, medicines & therapeutics. Additional 1,121 ventilators are also being rushed to them given the surge in cases," Vardhan tweeted.

"Discussed with @OfficeofUT regarding further stringent actions to be taken for containment, surveillance & treatment of #COVID19 cases. Reiterated the need to focus on the 5 pillars Test, Track, Treat, Covid Appropriate Behaviour and Vaccination to tide over the emergent health crisis," he said in another tweet.

Maharashtra is battling a massive surge in COVID-19 cases and reporting most new cases in the country. The state is among the 12 high-burden states in the country. Of the 2,34,692 fresh cases reported on Saturday, Maharashtra recorded 63,729, followed by Uttar Pradesh (27,426) and Delhi (19,486).

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
OTTAWA, ON, April 17, 2021 /CNW/ - The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement celebrating the life of His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh:

"Canadians were deeply saddened to hear last week of the passing of The Duke of Edinburgh. Our thoughts continue to be with Her Majesty and the members of the Royal Family as they mourn the loss of a beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.

"The Duke of Edinburgh was a lifelong companion to our Queen and a dear friend to Canada. He was also a devoted public servant whose contributions changed countless lives around the world, especially those of young people.

"To pay tribute to Prince Philip, and honour his commitment to the success of future generations, I am announcing that Canada will donate $200,000 to the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award (Canada). Since 1963, this award has helped over 500,000 young Canadians gain valuable skills and experiences, and become leaders of today and tomorrow. It has not only transformed the future of many Canadians, but also many communities from coast to coast to coast.

"I encourage young Canadians to find out more about the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award. Whether you want to develop a new skill, give back to your community, or set out on an adventure, this program is as much a personal challenge as it is a global opportunity.

"The Duke of Edinburgh leaves behind a legacy that lives on in the millions of people who pursued a 'Duke of Ed' and bettered their lives and the lives of those around them. As we mourn his loss, we pay tribute to his remarkable life and public service. His lifetime dedication to youth will continue to lift generations to come."

This document is also available at https://pm.gc.ca/

SOURCE Prime Minister's Office

Cision

View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2021/17/c4084.html
Bushrangers galore, Queen Victorias son Prince Alfred survived a shooting at Clontarf in 1868 (Sydney was so ashamed the people built the hospital in his name); serial murderer Albert Herbie Moss killed 13 (1939) while Ivan Milat slayed at least eight and Granny Killer John Wayne Glover killed six. Shooters Wade Frankum killed eight at Strathfield Plaza (1991), Martin Bryant 35 at Port Arthur (1996). The Bogle Chandler murders (1963), the Wanda Beach murders (1965) and the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain (1980), Juanita Nielsen (1975) and Donald McKay (1977) still mystify. The 1986 murder of Anita Cobby repulsed all. The Heralds homepage at the time of the Sydney siege. Credit:smh.com.au Remarkably, it was a ground-breaking crime story that highlighted how the internet had changed journalism  the drama of the 2014 Lindt Cafe siege in Martin Place when Man Haron Monis held 18 staff and customers hostage for 17 hours was covered in real time on the Herald website. But amid the memories, perhaps armed conflict continues to hold the firmest grip.

Thirteen years after Federation, it was the Heralds C.E.W. (Charles) Bean who not only single-handedly took the people into battle with his words but, as a historian, helped turn defeat into an enduring victory of the spirit. The new nation was under no delusion about what lay ahead when the King of England declared war on August 5, 1914.

It is our baptism of fire, the Herald editorial said a day later. Australia knows something of the flames of war, but its realities have never been brought so close as they will be in the near future. That future arrived on April 25 when troops from the British and French empires waded ashore on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Charles Bean, the Heralds first war correspondent. Credit:Australian War Memorial Bean, Australias official war correspondent, landed at Anzac Cove five hours after the first troops. But sniffy British censors, who considered him an unaccredited colonial, held up his report at GHQ. More than a fortnight later, Beans words cleared the clot of censors and telegraph repeater stations and Gallipoli was seen through Australian eyes for the first time. His report in the Herald on May 15, 1915, began:

GALLIPOLI.HOW THE AUSTRALIANS FOUGHT IMPERISHABLE FAME.

(BY CAPTAIN C. E. W. BEAN, OFFICIAL PRESS REPRESENTATIVE).

ALEXANDRIA, May 13.

The Australians and New Zealanders were landed in two bodies, the first covering a force to seize the ridges around the landing place, and the second or main body to begin landing about an hour later. The moon that night set about an hour and a half before daylight. This just gave time for the warships and transports of the covering force to steam in and land before dawn. It had long been known that the Third Australian Brigade, consisting of Queenslanders, South Australians, Western Australians, and Tasmanians, had been chosen to make a landing. This brigade consists largely of miners from Broken Hill and the Western Australian goldfields ... It was 18 minutes past 4 on the morning Sunday, April 25, when the first boat grounded ... The men leapt into the water, and the first of them had just reached the beach when fire was opened on them. The bullets struck fireworks out of the stone along the beach. The men did not wait to be sent, but wherever they landed they simply rushed straight up the steep slopes.  A few Turks awaited the bayonet. It is said that one huge Queenslander swung his rifle by the muzzle, and, after braining one Turk, caught another and flung him over his shoulder. I do not know if this story is true, but when we landed some hours later there was a Turk on the beach with his head smashed in. Colonial Australia When Ward Stephens, William McGarvie and Frederick Stokes started this newspaper, convicts were still being sent to NSW. A colonial joke was that Irish convicts who served their time went to Melbourne to work as servants while Cockney convicts stayed in Sydney to become real estate agents. That divide, shorthand for religion, job opportunity and class division, meant that 40 years after transportation to Sydney ceased, Australias most famous criminal, Ned Kelly, polarised the colonies.

Convict son, cop killer, bank robber, bushranger, horse thief, to some, gentleman thief, revolutionary to others, Kelly was captured in his ploughshare armour outside the Glenrowan Hotel in north-east Victoria at dawn on June 28,1880. A sketch of the Kelly gang in 1875. Credit:Fairfax Archives The following day the Herald ran 6907 gung ho words on why Kelly was game no more. At daylight, the gang were expected to make a sally out, so as to escape, if possible, to their native ranges, and the police were consequently on the alert. Close attention was paid to the hotel, as it was taken for granted that the whole gang were there. To the surprise of the police, however, they soon found themselves attacked from the rear by a man dressed in a long grey overcoat, and wearing an iron mask. The appearance of the man presented an anomaly, but a little scrutiny of his appearance and behaviour soon showed that it was the veritable leader of the gang, Ned Kelly himself. On further observation, it was seen that he was only armed with a revolver. He, however, walked coolly from tree to tree, and received the fire of the police with the utmost indifference, returning a shot from his revolver when a good opportunity presented itself. Three men went for him, viz., sergeant Steele, of Wangaratta, senior-constable Kelly, and a railway guard named Dowsett. The latter, however, was only armed with a revolver. They fired at him persistently, but to their surprise, with no effect, as he seemed bulletproof. It then occurred to sergeant Steele that the follow was encased in mail, and he then aimed at the outlaws legs. The first shot of that kind made Ned Kelly stagger, and the second brought him to the ground, with the cry I am done; I am done; Steele then rushed up, along with senior constable Kelly and others. The outlaw howled like a wild beast. Changing society is hard and one of the most telling moments may have been the 1967 referendum on including Aboriginal people in the census and allowing the Commonwealth to create laws for them. With White Australia policies still in place, a Yes vote was not a lay-down misere.

The Herald editorial of May 29, 1967, lamented opposition to the referendum was highest in Western Australia (18.5 per cent plus), South Australia (13 per cent) and Queensland (10 per cent  23 per cent in the far north electorate of Kennedy), states attracting the most criticism for treatment of first Australians. Nearly 8.5 per cent of NSW electors voted No. In the seat of Cowper, then taking in Coffs Harbour, Nambucca Heads and Grafton, the vote topped 18 per cent. What room for satisfaction is there in these figures? the Herald asked. They show, indeed, how urgent it is for the Commonwealth to use its new powers, to help remove the economic and social deprivations of Aborigines which foster racial prejudice. Australians voted yes to same-sex marriage in a postal vote held in 2017. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Forty years on, and federal legislation to allow same-sex marriage passed Parliament on December 9, 2017, following years of pain.
At last we are to get out of Afghanistan, a country to which we should never have sent a single soldier.

I am still full of fury at the shallow and ignorant politicians of all the main parties who sent young men and women into that futile war, to die or to be maimed, for absolutely no purpose.

But as this long-overdue moment arrives, a frantic lobby in this country and in the USA wants to get us into a new and equally pointless war against Russia. As I know a bit about Russia, and once lived there, I'd like to warn against this.

Yes, Russia is ruled by nasty, sinister despots. But it is not a major threat to us. We have no disputes about territory or trade. Its leaders and people care little about us. It is a defeated, poor country with an economy about the same size as Italy's, which has been in headlong retreat and decline since the 1980s.

Once it ruled a vast empire that began at Marienborn in the middle of Germany, less than 500 miles from Calais. Now it is almost 1,500 miles from the Channel to Russia's western frontier. It controlled a vast military alliance and an economic bloc, now both very dead.

At last we are to get out of Afghanistan, a country to which we should never have sent a single soldier

It maintained a global navy, most of which was long ago turned into fridges and washing machines. Much of the rest is so decrepit it can barely leave harbour. It was the headquarters of a stupid dogma, now finished and gone, which it tried to spread throughout the world.

All this is over. Moscow has abandoned control of tens of thousands of square miles of territory in Europe and Asia and knows it lacks the power to get it back.

Let me explain how this feels to Russians by asking you to imagine a mirror image. Imagine that the USA had lost the Cold War and the USSR had won it. Think how it might be if Moscow had then treated the USA as Washington has treated Russia. This is what you might have seen:

US President Joe Biden speaks from the Treaty Room in the White House

Instead of Ukraine being detached from Moscow rule, and slowly reeled into Nato and the EU, imagine that an equally huge, fertile, productive and strategic chunk of the USA, including Texas and California, was encouraged to declare independence and form a new Spanish-speaking nation hostile to the USA.

Impossible? Hardly. This part of the US was seized by armed force from Mexico in the 1840s, and it is only the USA's superpower status which prevents this grab from being questioned in the same way that Russia's former hold over Ukraine, the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Baltic states was questioned after 1989.

Imagine constant efforts to get this new North American nation to join the Warsaw Pact military alliance, and Comecon, Moscow's economic and trading bloc. And picture at the same time the spread of the Warsaw Pact and Comecon into most central and South American countries, along with major gifts of modern Soviet weapons and aircraft.

Vladimir Putin could turn out to be mild compared with what we get if we stir up the true spirit of Russian nationalism

Imagine that Nato has been abolished under Soviet pressure, as the Warsaw Pact was wound up under US pressure. And imagine also that almost all of Nato's non-US members have not stayed neutral, but have been gathered into the Warsaw Pact under the ultimate command of Moscow.

The permanent stationing of large numbers of well-armed Soviet and Warsaw Pact troops and warships in Cuba would undoubtedly follow. And to add to the mix, think how it might be if Quebec finally broke away from Canada, with Moscow's encouragement, and allowed Warsaw Pact troops to be based along the USA's northern border.

At 335 miles from New York City, this is nothing like as close as Nato troops (often to be seen in Narva, Estonia) now are to Russia's second city St Petersburg, 99 miles from the Estonian frontier. I think the people of what was left of the USA, and its political leaders, would chafe quite a lot at such an arrangement. In fact they would be fearful and angry and perhaps inclined to lash out.

Militant American nationalists would sweep to power in the Capitol and the White House. They might even re-annexe Texas, if they got the chance, in the face of international disapproval.

They would ask which country the Warsaw Pact was aimed at. They would object to every move which brought Moscow's military power and alliances closer to the borders of a diminished USA. They would wonder what the ultimate aim of these actions was. And they would be quite within their rights to do so.

The best test of whether your own policy is good or bad is to imagine how it would feel if your foes did the same thing to you. On this basis, our policies towards Russia are dangerous and aggressive.

If we want a peaceful and friendly Russia, then our actions are stupid, ignorant and counter-productive. Vladimir Putin could turn out to be mild compared with what we get if we stir up the true spirit of Russian nationalism. Please don't be seduced into supporting this folly.

A war on European territory could be a truly terrible thing.

Kind Shirley's cruel legacy

The long, bad legacy of Shirley Williams will continue to blight the country for decades after her death.

As it happens, I liked her and knew her to be a kind and thoughtful person. But her part in destroying good state education, by abolishing grammar schools, cannot be forgotten or forgiven. Nice people can do bad things.

Those few hundred academically selective schools, which favoured talent over wealth, kept our whole education system honest.

They rivalled or beat the expensive 'public' schools at their own game. Once most of them closed, our entire exam system had to be watered down and weakened, because the new comprehensive schools couldn't cope with proper standards.

The long, bad legacy of Shirley Williams will continue to blight the country for decades after her death

And now, with many universities openly abandoning the requirement that work should be done in good English, we see the depth and strength of this damage. These are universities, supposed to be nurseries of excellence. But increasingly they are nothing of the kind.

Education is about authority. People with knowledge, and a clear idea of what it is important to know, pass this on to the next generation. The process starts with reading itself, and such things as times tables.

Both of these require hard learning and the marking down of mistakes.

When the time comes to take responsibility, and to think critically, people who have never learned the basics properly will not know where to begin.

And we now see this in so much of our daily life and politics.

In the end, even people such as Shirley Williams will not be insulated from the dire results.

David Cameron was one of the worst Prime Ministers we ever had

Much as it delights me to see David Cameron in trouble over his lobbying, I have to ask why it is that we have to wait for sleaze to bring such people down. Why do they so seldom fall because of their political bungles and wrongdoing?

Sleaze may sweep away individuals, but it does not undo their policies nor replace them with anyone better.

Mr Cameron was one of the worst Prime Ministers we ever had. His Blairite takeover of the Tory Party (which has not been reversed, whatever they may tell you) robbed conservative-minded people in this country of any true voice at Westminster.

His foolish war in Libya turned that nation from a stable tyranny into a pit of fire and blood, which will end up as a tyranny again but after countless avoidable deaths which are Mr Cameron's fault.

It also breached a major defence against people-trafficking and helped to destabilise the whole of Europe.

That's what matters. If he hadn't done these things, a bit of cronyism wouldn't really trouble me all that much.

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Shrines of Sufi saints in Kashmir are an important public space in the larger vacuum of spatial avenues for Kashmiri women. Shrines provide demarcated spaces and roles for women in its property and rituals, and facilitate religious education, socialisation, as well as political mobilisation. Despite being steeped in piety and devotion, mystic legacies and practices still pose as a relatively liberal alternative to the male-dominated public sphere in the valley. Drawing on ethnographic research, this paper seeks to unpack the gender politics in a religious public space and its ramifications for our larger understanding of the public sphere itself.

Pragash, an all-girls band from Srinagar, was widely condemned for its participation in the Battle of the Bands, a local rock band music competition. The grand mufti of Jammu and Kashmir, Bashiruddin Ahmad, issued a fatwa against the band stating that singing is un-Islamic (Indian Express 2013). While the girls were compelled to retract upon this ruling, male participation in such music festivals and other programmes continues unabated. This was not the first time that the competition was being organised, but the first time when a girls band participated in it. While criticism against the state is rampant in Kashmir, we fail to see such outrage over gender discrimination.

In this paper, I look at the complex intersection of gender and religion in the public sphere in Kashmir Valley, focusing on shrines. In particular, I examine the nature of spaceprovided by shrines, as public institutions, to the women of Kashmir. Spatial settings profoundly impact a womans notion of (her)self and her location in society. Likewise, it is in the negotiations of space and its intersection with gender that power and struggle are discreetly positioned. While this paper endeavours to demonstrate that shrines can proliferate womens access to public space, it also illustrates that these religious places maintain their own gender patterns. This paper has emerged from my doctoral research project, fieldwork for which was conducted from mid-2018 to late 2019. Insights presented here are based on ethnographic research in different shrines and mosques in the valley, and critical discourse analysis.
A church in Tennessee has reportedly baptized more than one thousand people since December.

In a recent report, Faithwire featured Robby Gallaty who is the senior pastor of Long Hollow Baptist Church in Hendersonville, Tennessee. He said that after a season of what he describes as "silence and solitude," their church has seen 1,048 baptisms since Dec. 20.

In a Zoom interview, Pastor Gallaty recounted the backstory of the incredible "spontaneous baptisms" at his church.

"Here's what happened. I began sitting with the Lord for 10 months. Then, finally, Dec. 15, 2020, I'm on the porch, and I hear as clear as day these words in my head, after a season of silence and solitude: 'Spontaneous baptism,'" he said.

Gallaty admitted that he had never done nor seen one before but resolved to be obedient to the directive. The next Sunday, according to the pastor, was the lowest attended service in his first year as overseer of Long Hollow. That was the time when Tennessee was grappling with reported cases of COVID-19 infections.

Though the circumstance seemed contrary to the mandate he received, Gallaty was confident that he heard right from the Lord. As if to confirm his faith, 99 people came forward for baptism on that Sunday, says Faithwire.

"I'd never seen anything like this before in my life!" he exclaimed.

Satisfied at the experience, he assumed that the Sunday event was the culmination of the revival he had sought. Apparently, God wasn't finished yet. He gave the pastor another vision on Sunday evening.

"The Lord gave me this visual," he said. "He showed me, 'These are the heavy raindrops, Robby, before the torrential downpour that' coming.'"

Pumped with the latest spiritual breakthrough which transpired at Long Hollow, Gallaty convened with his fellow ministers. The church decided to host a baptism-only service on Tuesday where 81 people reportedly came. That was the beginning of successive baptisms which attracted even those from the outside of the state.

Gallaty said he never asked anyone to show up for baptism in Tennessee but those who did told him that they "felt compelled by the Holy Spirit" to fly to Hendersonville.

So in less than four months, Long Hollow documented over 1000 baptisms of individuals from 15 different states, reports Faithwire. Additionally, each of these newly baptized believers was reportedly "plugged into community groups at Long Hollow or have been encouraged to seek discipleship in their hometowns."

Faithwire noted that Long Hollow has baptized in 162 people in 2018 and 222 in 2019.

"It's a genuine pulling and tugging of the Holy Spirit," declared the preacher.

Gallaty went on to explain that the spiritual awakening they have witnessed as church came after a time of "silence and solitude" with God. The preacher admitted that he had been complaining to the Lord and that he wanted Him to fix everything that's wrong in his church and the country. Two months later, he got an answer from the Lord in the form of a rebuke.

"About two months in, God showed me, 'The problem is not with your church. It's not with your staff. The problem is you. You're the problem,'" recalled the preacher.

Humbled, he did what he had to do to resolve the besetting sins in his life namely pride, jealousy, and arrogance.

So speaking from his experience, Gallaty urged his fellow ministers to also search their hearts before they start making demands from God. He also told Christians to "get out of the Western reciprocity mindset of, 'God if I do this, you do this.'"

"That doesn't work with silence and solitude," he said.

The interview ended with a good note on prayer where Gallaty said, "I'm convinced prayer births revival and revival births prayer."
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - April 17, 2021) - Gary Gensler was sworn into office today as a Member of the Securities and Exchange Commission by U.S. Senator Ben Cardin. He was nominated to Chair the SEC by President Joseph R. Biden on February 3, 2021 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 14, 2021.

I feel incredibly privileged to join the SECs team of remarkable public servants, Gensler said. As Chair, every day I will be animated by our mission: protecting investors, facilitating capital formation, and promoting fair, orderly, and efficient markets. It is that mission that has helped make American capital markets the most robust in the world.

Im honored that President Biden nominated me, and Im grateful to Vice President Harris and the Senate for their support, Gensler added. Id like to thank Acting Chair Allison Herren Lee for her leadership the last few months and all of my fellow Commissioners for being so generous with their time and advice.

Before joining the SEC, Gensler was most recently Professor of the Practice of Global Economics and Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Co-Director of MITs Fintech@CSAIL, and Senior Advisor to the MIT Media Lab Digital Currency Initiative. From 2017-2019, he served as chair of the Maryland Financial Consumer Protection Commission.

Gensler was formerly chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, leading the Obama Administrations reform of the $400 trillion swaps market. He also was Senior Advisor to U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes in writing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002) and was Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury from 1997-2001. In recognition for his service, he was awarded Treasurys highest honor, the Alexander Hamilton Award. He is a recipient of the 2014 Frankel Fiduciary Prize.

Prior to his public service, Gensler worked at Goldman Sachs, where he became a partner in the Mergers & Acquisition department, headed the firms Media Group, led fixed income & currency trading in Asia, and was co-head of Finance, responsible for the firm's worldwide Controllers and Treasury efforts.

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Gensler earned his undergraduate degree in economics in 1978 and his MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, in 1979. He has three daughters.
The Czech Republic has announced that it is expelling 18 Russian diplomats it considers spies after intelligence agencies concluded that Russian military agents were involved in a massive ammunition depot explosion on Czech soil in 2014.



Prime Minister Andrej Babis said in an emergency press conference on April 17 that the decision to expel the diplomats was made on the basis of "unequivocal evidence" provided by investigators from the Czech intelligence and security services, and that there was "reasonable suspicion regarding a role of members of Russian military intelligence GRU's unit 29155 in the explosion of the munition depot in Vrbetice in 2014."



Babis said that the blast in the country's eastern Zlin region, near the Czech-Slovak border, "inflicted immense material damage, seriously endangered and disrupted the lives of many local residents, and, most importantly, killed two of our citizens -- unsuspecting, innocent fathers of their families."

As a sovereign state, Babis said, the Czech Republic "must react to these unprecedented revelations in a corresponding manner."



The explosion October 16, 2014, blast in Vrbetice set off 50 metric tons of stored ammunition. Two months later, another blast of 13 tons of ammunition occurred at the same site.



Interior Minister Jan Hamacek said that all diplomats in the Russian Embassy who had been identified as intelligence operatives had been ordered to leave the Czech Republic within 48 hours.



Czech police announced the same day that they were searching for two suspected Russian agents carrying various passports, including Russian documents in the names of Aleksandr Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov.

The names match those of suspects in the poisonings of former Russian intelligence agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in Salisbury, England, in 2018. Both Skripals survived the attack carried out using the banned Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok.



Russia has denied any involvement in the poisonings.



An investigation by Bellingcat later identified the suspects as Aleksandr Mishkin and Anatoly Chepiga.

Hamacek said the situation would significantly harm Czech-Russian relations, saying, "Were in a similar situation like Britain in the attempted poisoning case in Salisbury.

A representative of the Russian Embassy in Prague confirmed to Interfax that it had been informed of the expulsions and that Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Zmeyevsky had been summoned to the Czech Foreign Ministry.

Moscow warned about consequences in a response to the expulsions from the Russian Foreign Ministry.



"Prague is well aware of what comes after such hocus-pocus," spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, according to Interfax.



Vladimir Japarov, first deputy chairman of the Federation Councils International Affairs Committee, told the state news agency TASS that any reaction "should be proportionate."



Following Babis's announcement, the U.S. Embassy in Prague tweeted that the United States stands with its steadfast ally, the Czech Republic. We appreciate their significant action to impose costs on Russia for its dangerous actions on Czech soil.

With reporting by AP, Seznam Spravy, Reuters, TASS, and Interfax
Or should she take the path urged by fellow progressives in the City Council, demanding that the police release the records to the public  and risk unsettling the victims and poisoning her relationship with the powerful police union?

This week, Ms. Janeys choice became clear.

As a mother and as a grandmother I was heartbroken and angry to learn nothing was done to keep Mr. Rose away from children, or to terminate him, for that matter, she said. Transparency cannot wait any longer.

Her decision points to a larger political calculus, said Daniel Medwed, a law professor at Northeastern University.

She has probably made the calculation that she is better off without the police, which is amazing, he said. Because the support of the police is, to some extent, code for the support of white voters in Boston.

This election will provide a snapshot of a city undergoing rapid change, as professionals move into neighborhoods once dominated by middle-income Irish-American and Italian-American families.

Though Bostons white population had dipped to 44 percent by 2017, white voters historically turn out in far greater numbers in city elections, and police union endorsements, telegraphed early in the race, were signals to them.

This year, however, none of the top-tier candidates are shopping for police support, said Erin OBrien, a professor at University of Massachusetts Boston.
2021-04-17

Maeci

The undersigned members of the Media Freedom Coalition express their deep concern with the continued efforts by Myanmars military and police to crack down on media freedom.

Media freedom is a cornerstone of democratic societies. It is essential to the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Access to information is vital and journalists must be free to report on the developments in the country, including the protests, without fear of reprisal or intimidation. Independent reporting is all the more important in the current context, helping to counter the disinformation campaigns in Myanmar, both online and offline, and to provide the public with factual accounts of events taking place in the country. The importance of the work of journalists, particularly in remote areas, cannot be underestimated.

Since the military coup on February 1, 2021, attacks against media professionals by the security forces and their offices have increased significantly. At least 60 journalists have reportedly been detained and some of these now also face charges. The military has revoked the licences of five news organizations, suspended access to local and international news networks, and imposed draconian measures that repress free speech and the diffusion of reliable and verified information. Internet shutdowns have also been used to restrict news coverage, communications and access to information.

We strongly condemn the military coup and the ongoing violence and call for the restoration of Myanmars democratically elected government and parliamentary assemblies elected in November 2020.

We call on the military to immediately and unconditionally cease attacks on, and intimidation and harassment of, journalists and media workers, and to release all those who have been arbitrarily detained.

We call for the perpetrators of violations and abuses, including attacks on journalists and media workers, to be held accountable.

We demand that the military respect the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, refrain from the use of force, and respect the medias freedom to report protests independently, safely and without fear of violence or arbitrary detention.

We call for the end of all Internet restrictions in Myanmar that suppress media freedom and violate the right to freedom of expression, including freedom to seek, receive, and impart information.
Most conservatives would agree that the federal government concentrates too much power in too few hands. It was not always so. Regarding representation in Congress, Article One of the Constitution states, "The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand." In a nation of three hundred sixty million people, that would compute to twelve thousand representatives instead of the four hundred fifty we now have.

Now wait, you say  that would make the government too big. No, it would decrease the amount of power that each representative has. There would be no one representative who has enough clout to command the presently vast millions of dollars in campaign funds, and certainly, none that would be worth bribing for that kind of money. Most importantly, each private citizen would have vastly more say in his government than is now the case.

I have stated this as quickly as possible, because whenever I have made these points before, the reflexive reaction of too many conservatives is to say that more representation equals bigger government. Exactly the opposite is the case. Twelve thousand representatives, although greater in number, would be more responsive to their voters, and more closely in touch with them. Yes, their raw numbers would be larger, but their individual power would be thinly diluted, and their influence would be minuscule compared to the top ten representatives now in Congress. (There would be no need to pay them exorbitant salaries.)

The Capitol building could not house so many, but there would be no need for that. Bear in mind that government buildings in the District of Columbia already house many thousands of staff, bureaucrats, and employees. Many of those jobs would not be needed in a smaller government, and certainly not in the capital city. Most representatives could work solely from a local office in their district, where they now have satellite offices  but there would be a big difference: you could actually meet with your congressman, instead of getting in line with eight hundred thousand others whom he presently purports to represent.

In addition to reducing the power of individual congressmen, we should also do the same with judges and justices. The Democrats are presently trying to pack the Supreme Court with partisan jurists, partisan to their leftist interests. Their intent is to dilute the power of each justice, as a bulwark against any future conservative influence. Instead, we should dilute the power of individual members of the court. The exact formula for doing this could take many forms, but the same principle should apply. No one justice should have the power to impose his ideology on the entire nation in a five-to-four decision.

By increasing the number of representatives in Congress, we would effectively reduce the power of government, despite a numerical increase in its size. The power of government would be smaller and the power of the citizenry greater. There would be no need to try to patch up the excessive size of governments by such artificial means as term limits.

Yes, it is counterintuitive, but we can reduce the power of government by increasing the number of representatives.

Image via Max Pixel.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
Australia's Health Minister confirmed on Saturday in Melbourne that the death of a 48-year-old woman due to a rare blood clot is 'likely' linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine the woman was injected with. "The TGA Vaccine Safety and Investigation Group, or what's known as VSIG, met late yesterday and concluded that a recently reported case of thrombosis or blood clots in the arteries and veins with thrombocytopenia, which is a low platelet count condition, in a 48-year-old New South Wales woman is likely to have been linked to vaccination," said Greg Hunt.

Australia on Friday reported its first death linked to the AstraZeneca shot after 885,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine suspected of causing rare blood clots were administered across the nation. The 48-year-old woman was injected with the vaccine on April 8, hours before Australian authorities recommended people under the age of 50 take the Pfizer shot instead because of the small risk of blood clots associated with AstraZeneca, Therapeutic Goods Administration, the vaccine regulator, said in a statement.

"We know that this is the third case that has been likely linked to this condition within Australia. I believe the first two have been confirmed and this one is in the 'likely' assessment at this stage," said Hunt. She was admitted with blood clots to a Newcastle hospital in New South Wales state four days later and died on Thursday, the statement said.

"The government will ask ATAGI (Australian Technical and Advisory Group on Immunization) to ensure continuous review, continuous review of all of the vaccines in terms of their safety and their efficacy. That work is already conducted by the Therapeutic Goods Administration but continuous review is exactly why we have prioritized safety above all else," Hunt told reporters.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
At the beginning of 2020, Painter was living on the streets, struggling with addiction and the physical and mental scars from an abusive relationship.

Fast forward a year and on Sunday she is holding an art exhibition - From Adversity to Creativity - hosted by the owner of serviced apartments in East Melbourne whom Painter credits with saving her life.

Painter with some of the artworks from her exhibition From Adversity to Creativity. Credit:Wayne Taylor

Painter was one of more than 2000 homeless Victorians put up by the government in hotels during the pandemic to combat the spread of COVID-19.

She was placed in Birches Serviced Apartments in East Melbourne, which usually hosts affluent guests attending sporting events or concerts at the Rod Laver Arena.
KYODO NEWS - Apr 17, 2021 - 16:35 | All, World, Japan

Family members of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s renewed their call Saturday for the return of the missing and demanded clearer action on the issue from Japan and the United States following a bilateral summit.

President Joe Biden reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the immediate resolution of the abduction issue during his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in Washington on Friday, the president's first in-person meeting with a foreign leader since assuming office.

Suga also said at a joint press conference that their countries "will work together to seek an immediate resolution by North Korea."

Sakie Yokota, 85, whose daughter Megumi was abducted when she was 13 in 1977 on her way home from school in Niigata Prefecture, welcomed the commitment.

"It is significant that this matter has gradually become more recognized on the global stage, compared with the time when nothing was moving with regard to the issue," said Yokota, adding the relatives' ultimate goal is for the abductees to "set foot on Japanese soil."

Yokota, with her late husband Shigeru, had long lobbied the United States for support in their efforts to secure the return of their daughter and the other abductees.

Shigeo Iizuka, 82, head of a group representing abductees' families, called for concrete actions by both countries.

"It is unclear how the United States can actually help and cooperate," said Iizuka, whose sister Yaeko Taguchi was abducted in 1978 at the age of 22.

"We cannot be satisfied with just words. I hope (the United States) will decide on what it can do and by when," he said.

Tokyo has been struggling to resolve the issue with Pyongyang.

Suga, who served as state minister in charge of the abduction issue under his predecessor Shinzo Abe, has said he is willing to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "without preconditions."

Japan officially lists 17 people as having been abducted by North Korea, with five already repatriated in 2002 following landmark talks between the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and then Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

But Pyongyang maintains the issue has already been resolved, saying eight of the abductees have died, including Yokota's daughter, and the remaining four listed never entered the country.

Related coverage:

Suga, Biden commit to take on China challenges, affirm Taiwan stance
Dublin, April 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "United States Real Estate Market by Segments (Private, Public) Construction, Category (Residential & Non- Residential), Company Analysis, Forecast" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



United States Real Estate Industry was USD 1,208 Billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 1,751 Billion by 2027.

In the United States, the market of Real estate is surging despite the pandemic COVID-19 crisis. For many Americans, residence is the highest source of prosperity and investment. Non-Residential or Commercial construction includes lodging, Office, health care, Educational, temples, Amusement and recreate, transportation, manufacturing, etc. It provides a source of more revenue in return.



The United States is among the largest construction market globally. Infrastructure constructions take lots of time and capital to build and design project. In the United States, massive numbers of infrastructure and construction industry are built with government and private companies' support. Constructions made to provide support to the maximum population.

The construction project is booming in the country, changing lifestyle and increasing population will propel the Real Estate market in this country. As per this report, Real Estate Market in the United States will grow with a CAGR of 5.45% from 2020 to2027.



U.S real estate is growing year on year, and numerous infrastructure projects are being introduced every year. Northern Arizona University is planning for large construction projects that include STEM disciplines and the Biological Sciences Building renovation.

The Southwest Florida International Airport is planning an enormous US$ 250 Million terminal expansion, and Citizens in the city of Shoreline will see a US$ 64.3 Million roadway reconstruction project launched in 2022 and many more cities. The upcoming year promises to bring a construction project to every region of the United States.

Report Scope

Company Analysis



1. Jones Lang Lasalle Incorporated

2. Cbre Group Inc.

3. Brookfield Properties LLC

4. Berkshire Hathaway home services

5. Cushman & Wakefield Holdings Inc.



Real Estate Market of United States have been broadly Studied from 2 Segments



1. Private Construction

2. Public Construction



Private Construction Market has been divided into 2 Categories and its Non-Residential Category is further divided into 14 Sub-Categories



A. Residential

B. Non-Residential



1. Lodging

2. Office

3. Commercial

4. Health care

5. Educational

6. Religious

7. Public safety

8. Amusement and recreation

9. Transportation

10. Communication

11. Power

12. Sewage and waste disposal

13. Water supply

14. Manufacturing



Public Construction Market has been divided into 2 Categories and its Non-Residential Category is further divided into 12 Sub-Categories



A. Residential

B. Non-Residential



1. Office

2. Commercial

3. Health care

4. Educational

5. Public safety

6. Amusement and recreation

7. Transportation

8. Power

9. Highway and street

10. Sewage and waste disposal

11. Water supply

12. Conservation and development



All companies have been covered from 3 viewpoints

Overviews

Recent Developments

Revenues

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/kw06za
During the years of Google Photos , new search features has been introduced to easily locate the photos. As per tipster Jane Wong, Google is currently working to upgrade its search tools.For now, the users can check the library for unique items such as images of pets, vehicles, people, locations, and many more. Google photos will use AI and categorize them so that it will be easy for people to locate them whenever they want without any effort. One can search several items in the search bar like images captured in Toronto, but the results will get complicated as long as the searched item is complex. This latest Google Photos feature would greatly enhance the app's search functions. Wong posted a screenshot on Twitter that displays the latest search feature of Google photos and how it works. This feature will allow users to search for several filters in one go. By applying multiple filters at the same time, it will much easier to find the searched photo.The new app feature is likely still in development, but it appears to be nearing completion, so it can be expected that it will be included in a potential Google Photos update.Google Photos has always been number one app when it comes to photo management. Google Photos include archives, map search, memories, and album. All these features allow users to compile photos according to their own choice. The photo management app also enable users to create collages, GIFs, and movies for the sake of memories. It is compatible with Android devices and provides limitless cloud storage for images and videos, but this might upgrade and new changes will be made. iOS users can also avail this app, all they need is a Google account to sign in and get the app.The team behind Google Photos is working hard to launch a couple of new features for the users. Recently, a number of features has been introduced into the app including Video editor. The image editor feature is also updated for enhanced functionality. Changes were seen on the tablet version of the app as well. No other photos managing app can surpass the top rated Google photo app.Read next: Google Assistant Can Trigger Find My Phone Alerts on iOS Devices Really Soon
A veteran Cook County prosecutor was placed on administrative leave after he 'failed to fully present the facts' during a bond hearing for cop who shot dead 13-year-old Adam Toledo.

On Friday, Kim Foxx, Cook County State's Attorney who famously presided over the Jussie Smollett case, placed Assistant State's Attorney James Murphy on paid leave after he suggested Toledo was still armed when Officer Eric Stillman pulled the trigger.

'In court last week, an attorney in our office failed to fully present the facts surrounding the death of a 13-year-old boy,' Foxx spokeswoman Sarah Sinovic said in a statement. 'We have put that individual on leave and are conducting an internal investigation into the matter.'

Murphy had been speaking at a bond hearing on April 10 for Ruben Roman, 21, who was with Adam when he was killed.

'The officer tells [Adam] to drop it as [Adam] turns towards the officer. [Adam] has a gun in his right hand,' Murphy said. 'The officer fires one shot at [Adam], striking him in the chest. The gun that [Adam] was holding landed against the fence a few feet away.'

However, viral video of the March 29 incident showed the teen drop his weapon before he was gunned down by a Chicago police officer.

'The language of the proffer (prosecution statement of charges) did not fully reflect all the evidence that had been given to our office,' Foxx wrote in an internal memo, according to The Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Scroll down for video

Cook County Assistant State's Attorney James Murphy is pictured in 2019. He has been placed on paid leave while the office investigates comments he made during an April 10 bond hearing

Kim Foxx, Cook County State's Attorney, has put Murphy on paid leave after he suggested on April 10 that Adam was still holding the gun as Officer Eric Stillman pulled the trigger

This image from Chicago Police Department body cam video shows the moment before Chicago Police officer Eric Stillman fatally shot Adam, who is pictured with his hands empty

Toledo dropped or tossed the weapon away less than a second before the officer pulled the trigger, video showed. Police found the gun next to a fence a short distance away after the shooting.

Sinovic had suggested earlier on Friday that Murphy may not have had access to all of the video that was released to the public on Thursday when he made the comments.

She said in an email on Saturday that the office would not comment on who else in the office viewed the video footage before the April 10 hearing.

'Its still under investigation what videos were available to (Murphy). Were still trying to figure out what he had access to when he made the statements in court.'

Adam Toledo, 13, is pictured before he was shot to death by Chicago cop Eric Stillman

Despite the video showing that Adam was unarmed, Stillman's attorney Tim Grace claimed the boy was holding a gun at the moment he was shot

Stillman's attorney Tim Grace told the local outlet Block Club Chicago on Thursday that he doesn't expect his client will be charged with a crime for the shooting. He told that he was retained by a police union to represent his client.

'I do not think he will be prosecuted for a crime, and I do believe that if COPA and the Police Department are fair and look at the undisputed evidence, he will be exonerated of any type of a charge,' Grace told the outlet.

Despite the video showing that Adam was unarmed, Grace claimed the boy was holding a gun at the moment he was shot, Block Club Chicago reported.

'He has a gun in his right hand,' Grace said of Toledo. 'There's no doubt in the world that he has a gun in his right hand.'

Roman was arrested at the scene on misdemeanor charges of resisting or obstructing a peace officer.

He was later charged with felony counts of child endangerment, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and reckless discharge of a firearm after investigators determined that he fired the gun several times before police arrived.

Roman remains in custody at Cook County Jail after a judge ordered him held on $150,000.

Images of the boy raising his empty hands as he was shot have elicited anger in the Little Village neighborhood where he lived and died, and elsewhere the city.

On Friday night, two people were arrested by Chicago police as thousands of protesters marched through Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood to demand justice after Adam's death, WMAQ-TV reported.

Anthony McCollom, 20, was charged with reckless conduct after he was allegedly part of a large crowd seen shoving cops, officials told the outlet.

Graham Lefauve, 18, was charged with aggravated battery of a police officer after he was riding his bicycle when he allegedly 'split into a vehicle of Chicago police, striking one of the officers,' WMAG-TV reported.

Protesters on Friday noted that the video showed Adam's hands up when he was shot

On Friday night, two people were arrested by Chicago police as thousands of protesters marched through Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood

Activists rally and protest near Mayor Lori Lightfoot's home in the Logan Square neighborhood in Chicago, a day after the release of body camera footage that shows a Chicago police officer fatally shooting Adam Toledo in late March

On Friday night, two people were arrested by Chicago police as thousands of protesters marched through Chicago to demand justice after Adam's death

A man holds a sign that reads 'Adam's Life Mattered!' as protesters gathered in Chicago on Friday

Thousands of protesters take streets for Adam Toledo on Friday

A protester holds a sign claiming that the Chicago Police Department 'murders children'

The prosecutor did not 'make an error.' He lied,' the Democrat Representative from New York's 14th congressional district wrote. 'He lied about the police killing a child,' she added. 'Ending this isn't just about consequences for who pulls the trigger. It's about admitting to and confronting an entire system that exists to protect, defend, and cover up state violence.'

After the body camera footage was released, U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accused Murphy of lying in a tweet on Thursday.

'The prosecutor did not 'make an error.' He lied,' the Democrat Representative from New York's 14th congressional district wrote.

'He lied about the police killing a child,' she added.

'Ending this isn't just about consequences for who pulls the trigger. It's about admitting to and confronting an entire system that exists to protect, defend, and cover up state violence.'

U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., a fellow member of 'The Squad' - a group of progressive Democrats - tweeted: 'He was 13 years old and the police executed him' last on Thursday after the released of the footage of the shooting.

Police had said they responded before dawn on the morning of the shooting after a police technology detected gun shots there.

The teen, who was Latino, and a 21-year-old, named as Ruben Roman Jr, fled on foot when confronted by police, and an officer shot the teen once in the chest following a foot chase during what the department described as an armed confrontation.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability, an independent board that investigates Chicago police shootings, initially said it couldn't release the video because it involved the shooting of a minor.

Chicago cop Eric Stillman allegedly shot a boy who was unarmed with his hands raised

Stillman's attorney said he doesn't expect that he will be charged with a crime for the shooting

The Chicago Police Department released a photo of the gun that was recovered from the scene after one of its officers shot and killed Adam Toledo last Monday

However, it changed course after Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago's police superintendent called for the video's release.

The footage shows that it took 19 seconds from when Stillman, 34, exited his squad car to when he shot the teen.

After getting out of the vehicle, the officer chases Toledo on foot down an alley for several seconds.

'Stop right f***ing now!' the officer yells at the fleeing teen. 'Show me your f***ing hands! Drop it'

When Toledo turns around to face the officer, he appears to raise his hands. A moment later, a single shot rings out and the teen collapses to the ground, with blood gushing from his mouth.

Adam's family attorney Adeena Weiss-Ortiz said Thursday: 'Those videos speak for themselves. If you are shooting an unarmed child with his hands in the air it is an assassination.

'His hands were empty when he was shot in the chest at the hands of the officer.

'Adam during his last seconds of life did not have a gun in his hand. Adam complied. He did not have a gun in his hand. The officer saw his hands were up and pulled the trigger.'

The attorney added: 'It is especially important to keep the peace. [The family] want justice.'
Suspects are still at large following a shooting at a Nebraska mall that has left one person in the hospital with critical injuries, law enforcement officials say.

The shooting took place at Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska, on Saturday around noon local time.

Suspects fled the scene and are at large. OPD is searching the entire mall as a precaution, the Omaha Police Department tweeted.

Residents are asked to avoid the area as the police continue to search for the suspects involved. The mall has been closed for the day as an investigation takes place.

One man is in critical condition at Bergan Mercy Hospital, police say. A second victim, a woman, went to Immanuel Hospital for a non life-threatening injury to her leg, Lt. Neal Bonacci said during a press briefing.

People took shelter in the mall after gunshots were fired near a JCPenney.

Police are looking for two suspects involved in the shooting, but they have yet to release any details as they work to identify them.

This is the second reported shooting at Westroads Mall in the last month. Jeffrey Wittstruck, an Omaha police officer, was shot four times by a 21-year-old male who was accused of shoplifting T-shirts at the JCPenney store on 12 March. Officer Wittstruck survived the shooting.
In Paraguay, the government of Taiwan has built thousands of homes for the poor, upgraded the health care system, awarded hundreds of scholarships and helped fund a futuristic Congress building. But the alliance is facing an existential threat as Paraguays quest for Covid-19 vaccines becomes increasingly desperate.

Paraguayan officials across the political spectrum say the time has come to consider dumping Taiwan, which doesnt export vaccines, to establish diplomatic ties with China, which does.

Beijings one-China principle forces countries to choose between having full diplomatic relations with China or Taiwan, an island that it regards as Chinese territory. In recent years, three countries in Latin America severed ties with Taiwan after secret talks with Beijing. All three were early recipients of Chinese vaccines.
New Delhi:

Around 300 children of Saraswati Shishu Mandir in Uttar Pradeshs Shamli district complained of vomiting and burning eyes after a reported chemical leakage in a nearby sugar mill on Tuesday.

Uttar Pradesh Yogi Aditya has ordered an inquiry by Commissioner Saharanpur and directed district magistrate to provide all help to children affected due to toxic emission.

The students were rushed to Shamli district hospital for medical care. According to sources, more than 150 students have been referred to hospitals in Muzaffarnagar and Meerut.

According to reports, students of the school fell ill after an alleged gas leakage from Sir Shadi Sugar Mill.

According to locals and parents of the wards, the gas leak was reported after the Sugar mill a few meters away from the school used chemical to destroy factory wastage.

Also read: Officers confirm death of 38 children in Bareilly hospital in month of August



A basic siksha adhikari who rushed to the hospital on learning the incident said ,Due to gas leakage in a nearby sugar mill the students fell ill.

A student of the school said, We all started vomiting after a pungent smell.

Another student of the school said that several students fell unconscious after the pungent smell which was coming from outside.

Also read| Uttar Pradesh: 49 children die due to lack of oxygen in one month at a Farrukhabads hospital



The students are being treated at government hospital. According to doctors all childrens admitted in the government hospital our out of danger.

According to doctors of government hospital in Shamli, a few students fell unconscious, several complained of uneasiness and difficulty to breathing.

He added all students are out of danger.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
KIMT NEWS 3 - With turkey hunting season here, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is offering online firearm safety courses for children under the age of 18.

Communications Coordinator of the Division of Enforcement Joe Albert says that firearm safety courses are a hot ticket. Due to Covid-19, kids can now participate in those classes by using a computer.

Following the class, young hunters then need to take a field day, in-person instruction with the firearm. Anyone 14 and older may do that online as well.

Even with the changes, Albert says students are still getting the same experience.

"The online course covers everything that's covered in the classroom session as well," he said. "Kind of the foundational information is all there. What you get in the classroom is obviously some more hands-on instruction. At the end of the day, the online course gives people the information they need."

Spring courses are being offered until June.
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Violent clashes erupted in Minneapolis, Chicago, New York and across the nation after initially peaceful anti-police protests descended into chaos on Friday night.

Thousands gathered on streets across America to demonstrate the fatal police shootings of black men Adam Toledo and Daunte Wright.

But as the night went on, skirmishes and clashes broke out between protesters and cops, leading to dozens of arrests and multiple injuries.

Minneapolis entered its sixth day of protests in the wake of Wright's death last week while Chicago saw cops using tear gas and kettling against protesters, as unrest continues to bubble in many major cities.

Police bull rushed, kettled and attacked protesters at Brooklyn Center on Friday night

Law enforcement officers pepper spray protestors and working media outside the Brooklyn Center police station

Law enforcement officers pepper spray protestors and working media outside the Brooklyn Center police station Friday

An unlawful assembly was declared at the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Friday night

People protest the March 29th shooting and killing of 13 year-old Adam Toledo near Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's home

Chicago Police officers mask up and prepare near Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's home as people protest on Friday

Chicago Police officers stand near Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's home as protesters march through Logan Square Friday

Chicago

In Chicago, thousands of people marched for Adam Toledo, the 13-year-old who was killed by the police last month, before video was released on Thursday showing the shooting, sparking outrage.

The protests began before 6pm, with hundreds of people gathering in Logan Square Park, planning on marching to Mayor Lori Lightfoot's residence.

The number of protesters swelled into the thousands as the night went on, with the intersection of Milwaukee, Diversey and Kimball shut down around 7:30pm, according to ABC7.

Hundreds took to the streets on Thursday night after the video was first released, blocking traffic in the West Loop and protesting outside of the city's police headquarters.

People in the city anticipated the protests ahead of the video's release, boarding up windows and stores to prevent looting.

There were no reports of violence during Friday night's protests earlier, but heavy clashes did break out with police later in the night.

Demonstrators protest the shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo on Friday in Logan Park, Chicago

A protester holds a placard accusing the Chicago Police Department of murdering children following Adam Toledo's death

People in Chicago take part in a demonstration a day after officials released a video showing Adam Toledo's death

People protest the killing of 13 year-old Adam Toledo near Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's home on Friday

People continue to protest the killing of 13 year-old Adam Toledo near Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's home on Friday

Protesters march through the Logan Square neighborhood during a rally on Friday in Chicago

Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis

Brooklyn Center, the site of the death of Daunte Wright, 20, last Sunday entered its sixth day of protests on Friday, with things quickly descending into chaos.

The police headquarters in the city remains fenced off, but that didn't prevent almost 1,000 people from gathering there by 9pm, according to the Star Tribune.

The protests began peacefully in the afternoon, with people barbecuing, giving away food, and writing messages with chalk on the sidewalks.

Things grew more tense as the sun went down, however, with one speaker saying, 'We're going to make their lives miserable every night,' a message directed at law enforcement.

Protesters were demanding greater charges for Kimberly Potter, the former Brooklyn Center police officer who fatally shot Wright last week.

She was charged this week with second-degree manslaughter, which protesters and members of Wright's family believe is not enough.

An unlawful assembly was declared at the Brooklyn Center Police Department Friday night as protests continued

Police lead away a protester during Friday night's clashes at the Brooklyn Center Police Department

An unlawful assembly was declared at the Brooklyn Center Police Department Friday night where many gathered

A protester getting treated after having been hit with both pepper spray and a rubber bullet at the Brooklyn Center

Pictured: Protesters behind a security fence in front of the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Friday

A protester getting hit with both pepper spray and a rubber bullet at the Brooklyn Center Police Department

Protesters gathered together on Friday night in Brooklyn Center, holding up their phones as lights

Over the course of the night, clashes between the police and protesters grew, even as police stood behind fences

Many protesters carried umbrellas with them to shield themselves from pepper spray from the police

There was a brief incident when Black protesters attempted to prevent white protesters from shaking fences and climbing barricades.

Just before 10pm, however, the protest outside of the police department was declared an unlawful assembly, according to KSTP.

Police began deploying flash bangs to scatter the crowd, some of whom shielded themselves with umbrellas.

Within ten minutes, the Minnesota State Patrol arrived and stated to form a blockade. State troopers then began making arrests using zipties.

Pepper spray was used against some protesters, with members of the media also being affected by the pepper spray.

The city then issued a curfew from 11pm to 6am Saturday, despite earlier indications that there would be no curfew on Friday night.

Law enforcement patrol an intersection near the Brooklyn Center police headquarters on Friday night

Law enforcement stand guard in an intersection near the Brooklyn Center police headquarters on Friday night

Guardsmen line up near the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Friday night

A demonstrator is pepper-sprayed outside of the Brooklyn Center police headquarters on Friday

People take cover from pepper spray being used by law enforcement from behind a fence at Brooklyn Center PD Friday

A demonstrator is attended to after getting pepper-sprayed by police officers during a protest outside in Brooklyn Center

Demonstrators clash with police outside the Brooklyn Center police station on April 16, 2021 in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

Earlier on Friday, the Minneapolis City Council voted 11-1 against the use of tear gas and other munitions amid the protests.

In Brooklyn Center, cops have used gas and nonlethal munitions against protesters at the police station, according to FOX 9.

While the resolution passed almost unanimously, it doesn't have any legal effect because the Minneapolis Police is controlled by Mayor Jacob Frey, not the Minneapolis Council.

Minnesota is also preparing for more protests in the coming days with Derek Chauvin's trial in the death of George Floyd winding to an end - closing arguments are set to take place on Monday.

A peaceful crowd gathered at the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Friday afternoon

Protesters in front of the Brooklyn Center Police Department hold up flags and signs on Friday afternoon

New York City

In New York City, some protesters held up signs saying the names of victims, such as Daunte Wright.

There was also a memorial in Washington Square Park for Wright and Dominique Lucious, a black transgender woman recently murdered in Missouri.

As the night went on in New York, there were clashes between Black Lives Matters protesters and the police in Brooklyn near the Barclays Center, where hundreds of people had gathered.

Some people were also arrested, although it's not clear what sparked the clash.

Police officers take a protester into custody as hundreds of BLM protesters are gathered at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn

Hundreds of BLM protesters are gathered at the Barclays Center and took to the streets on Friday night

A woman carries a sign that reads 'Daunte Wright' as demonstrators protest against police in New York City

People look at a memorial in Washington Square Park for Daunte Wright and for Dominique Lucious in New York City

Meanwhile, protests continued around the rest of the nation on Friday night, with major cities such Atlanta, and Washington DC seeing various protests throughout the day.

In Atlanta, Black Lives Matters protesters marched peacefully through downtown.

Some held signs, including one with the anti-police slogan 'ACAB.'

Washington DC saw similar protests on Friday, with people holding signs and marching through the Black Lives Matter Plaza.

As the night went on, more and more people in the city joined in with the protests, which marched down busy streets.

According to the Washington Post, around 175 people rallied at the Black Lives Matter Plaza.

A crowd then walked down U Street, getting into a clash with police after trying to confront diners outside around 10pm.

Police were also forced to push protesters away from a police station, leading the protesters to shine laser pointers at the cops, as well as nearby diners.

At one point, protesters threw fireworks at police officers, with one even throwing a scooter, before the crowd dispersed around 11:20pm.

Demonstrators march in Washington, D.C. to protest the death of Daunte Wright on Friday night

Diners film demonstrators marching down U Street in Washington, D.C. to protest the death of Daunte Wright on Friday

Demonstrators march in Washington, D.C. to protest the death of Daunte Wright on Friday night

Black Lives Matter protesters march in downtown Atlanta, Georgia on Friday afternoon
Today was the day that hundreds of college students at Texas Tech University and up to 1,500 others in Lubbock, one of last years coronavirus hot spots, were going to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Today was also the day that some members of the Petersburg Mission Baptist Church, a Black church in the rural Texas community of Athens, were going to be fully vaccinated.

And in Corpus Christi, a city-sponsored effort was about to get underway in the coming days to vaccinate the citys homeless population.

All of that was upended when providers across Texas paused usage of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week after federal and state health officials urged the action because a small number of recipients developed blood clots.

It messes up our plans, said Katherine Wells, director of public health for Lubbock, which is now sitting on about 7,000 unusable  at least for now  doses of the vaccine that were supposed to be administered to residents at the countys vaccination hub before it shuts down in two weeks.

Firefighters wait to check people out of a vaccination site in the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center on April 14, 2021. Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune

The pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine came after a rare and severe type of blood clot was reported in six women across the nation after they received the shot, out of 6.8 million doses administered, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

RELATED: US recommends 'pause' for J&J vaccine over clot reports

The CDCs Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday delayed making any recommendations to the CDC on whether to continue the pause, promising instead to meet again by the end of next week and give the CDC time to gather better data. They also noted that more than half of the Johnson & Johnson doses in the U.S. have been administered within the last two weeks, within the time frame in which the clots appeared in the six recipients, and more data could come as health officials monitor those outcomes.

But members and other attendees from the medical community agreed that a quick resolution is vital to the continued vaccination of underserved communities who benefit from the convenience of the one-dose regimen.

"The extension of the pause will invariably result in the fact that the most vulnerable individuals in the United States, who were prime candidates for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, will remain vulnerable, the most at risk will remain at risk, and those who would benefit immediately from vaccination will remain unvaccinated for an unknown period of time," said Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention and a nonvoting member of the panel.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, lauded by many as being particularly well-suited for some of most hard-to-reach and highest-risk people, was key to Texas effort to fully and quickly vaccinate most of its population of 29 million people.

In Texas, half a million people already have gotten the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. More than 9 million people in the state have been given at least one dose of vaccine, including the two-dose vaccines manufactured by Moderna and Pfizer. Nearly 6 million have been fully vaccinated.

Going by sheer numbers of doses allocated, the biggest impact in Texas was likely on larger retail pharmacies such as H-E-B and other chains, which were anticipating that about two-thirds of the supply being delivered this week would be Johnson & Johnson, officials have said.

But because states were already experiencing a large, but temporary, dip in the number of Johnson & Johnson allocations, many of the states limited doses landing in Texas this week went to smaller providers and regional hubs that could most benefit from the easier-to-manage vaccine. Nearly 60% of this weeks 143,000 Johnson & Johnson doses were slated to go to the hubs in Houston, Dallas and Arlington, with the rest going to local providers and smaller hubs.

Now, with 59,000 Johnson & Johnson doses arriving and unable to be used until further direction from the CDC, the impact is being felt in some of the states hardest-hit communities.

We were planning to give probably close to 1,000 J&J shots here today and another 1,500 Moderna first and second doses, said Wells, the Lubbock health director. So instead of about 2,500 appointments, we have about 900. It ends up being a big, empty room with a lot of volunteers sitting around. And a lot of very expensive firemen.

READ MORE: St. Edwards becomes one of the first universities to require vaccine for in-person activities

Unlike vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna, both of which require two doses to be fully effective against the virus, the Johnson & Johnsons one-and-done regimen, combined with its ability to be stored for months at regular refrigeration temperatures, made it ideal for homeless people, residents of rural areas and mobile vaccination efforts.

It is also well-suited for young people whose busy social lifestyles not only contribute to community spread but also sometimes prevent them from returning reliably for a second dose, providers say.

And its an attractive vaccine for those who are worried about what they consider to be the newer technology in Pfizer and Moderna  although in reality, the mRNA technology behind those two vaccines has been studied for more than 30 years  said Dr. Carolyn Salter, who co-owns Sycamore Medical Clinic in rural Palestine, about 100 miles southeast of Dallas in Anderson County.

Salters clinic is set to receive its second shipment of 100 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week, and we had plans for all of them, she said. Since March, local providers in Anderson County have been allocated 3,000 Johnson & Johnson doses.

Salter had partnered with the church in neighboring Athens, about half an hour away, to do an on-site vaccination event during Bible study Wednesday evening, she said. Thats now been postponed.

Its disappointing, Salter said, because communities of color were especially hard hit by the virus, and rural counties have a lot of residents who are low-income and cant easily travel to out-of-town clinics for even one dose, much less two.

READ ALSO: Can I take painkillers before or after a COVID-19 vaccine?

Anderson County, home to five prisons, was considered a national hot spot for the virus at one point during the summer peak, so residents there are anxious to move past the pandemic, Salter said. The county of nearly 60,000  about one-third of whom are incarcerated, Salter said  reported more than 2,000 confirmed cases, or 37 cases per 1,000 people, during June and July last year. The county has seen 116 deaths from the virus as of Tuesday.

It was pretty bad here, she said. We have a lot of multigenerational households, a lot of crowded households, which made COVID spread through our community worse than in some others, I think.

In Corpus Christi, another one-time hot spot, where there are an estimated 850 people experiencing homelessness, a city effort to vaccinate that population  who are often difficult to follow up with for second doses because they dont have permanent addresses  will have to switch to the two-dose regimens until the problem is rectified, Mayor Paulette M. Guajardo said in an emailed statement. Last summer, Nueces County, which is home to the city, saw a surge in cases in part due to tourist activity. Cases ballooned quickly, doubling from 3,000 to 6,000 total cases over 10 days in early July.

Bruce Wilson, a retired Episcopal priest who now spends his time working in a homeless camp in Corpus Christi, said Johnson & Johnson is the best option because getting people to return for a second vaccine dose is so challenging. So far, Nueces County has been allocated 8,400 Johnson & Johnson doses.

You never know for sure whos going to be in the camp that day or not, said Wilson, executive director of Coastal Bend Neighborhood Empowerment. Some are out looking for a house or a job or on some other errand, so they might not be there.

Volunteers and firefighters vaccinate patients against COVID-19 at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center on April 14, 2021. Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune

In Lubbock, officials have administered about 106,000 shots, about 2,600 of which were Johnson & Johnson, since December, Wells said. The county has been allocated 16,700 Johnson & Johnson doses since early March, including about 10,000 in the past two weeks for use by the citys hub.

The effort has been particularly urgent in Lubbock, where last fall more than 40% of hospitalizations in the trauma service area servicing Lubbock were COVID-19 patients, putting a strain on the areas hospitals.

About 1,500 doses per day were going through the city hub at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center, and more were being administered through the local United pharmacy chain  which had planned to fully inoculate students at Texas Tech on Wednesday but had to switch from Johnson & Johnson to Modernal, which complicates the effort, Wells said.

Through March, the vaccine being used in Lubbock was mainly Moderna, Wells said, but the hub switched to Johnson & Johnson at the beginning of April in anticipation of shutting down on May 1 because the center was needed for other city uses, she said.

The city has long planned to transition its vaccination efforts to smaller locations like mobile clinics and pop-up events, with the idea of halting two-dose vaccine use and just using Johnson & Johnson for the final weeks, she said.

Now things are more complicated without the Johnson & Johnson doses. The city must switch back to Moderna, and with only two weeks left at the hub, Wells will have to line up alternate locations to administer the second dose four weeks later, she said.

She also said many people who showed up for the Johnson & Johnson shot this week were offered the Moderna shot instead, but declined and said theyd wait.

I just feel like were missing opportunities, Wells said.

Disclosure: H-E-B and Texas Tech University have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans  and engages with them  about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
New Delhi, April 17 : Stating that the national capital reported as many as 24,000 new Covid cases in the past 24 hours, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday that the city hospitals are running out of oxygen stock, beds and the life-saving drug Remdesivir due to the exponential surge in the number of Covid cases in the last one week.

"Delhi is fast running out of beds, oxygen and the life-saving drug Remdesivir as Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours have reached 24,000. The situation is very serious and worrisome. The cases have gone up really fast.

"That is why we are facing shortages even though everything seemed under control until a few days ago. But the speed at which this virus is growing, no one knows what its peak will be," Kejriwal said while addressing a press conference on Saturday.

He also asserted that any health infrastructure has its limitations, and so has Delhi.

"The AAP government is trying its best to increase the number of beds. I hope that we will be able to add 6,000 more beds in the next two to four days, and all the new beds will have oxygen sets," Kejriwal said.

He added that any government hospital that denies beds to Covid patients despite having them would face stern action.

"People have complained that they have been denied beds despite the availability of beds in the hospitals. The government will take tough action against such acts. All the district administrations have been directed to keep a close watch on the situation," Kejriwal added.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The Mayor of the city and county of Limerick has proposed that Limerick be designated a Fairtrade county.

Mayor Michael Collins' proposal followed a presentation by Dolores O' Meara, Chairperson, Limerick Fairtrade City Committee at the monthly meeting of Newcastle West Municipal District.

Sinead McDonnell, Environmental Awareness Officer with Limerick City and County Council thanked the councillors in the Newcastle West area, particularly Mayor Michael Collins, for facilitating the presentation, with a view to Newcastle West becoming a Fairtrade town.

Fairtrade is a wonderful volunteer-led initiate that has been rolling out in Limerick since 2004 and before that. In 2005 the city became a designated Fairtrade city because the councillors passed a motion in favour of Fairtrade, Ms McDonnell explained.

Fairtrade is an alternative approach to conventional trade and is based on a partnership between some of the most disadvantaged farmers and workers in the developing world and the people who buy their products.

When farmers and workers can sell on Fairtrade terms, it provides them with a better deal: an opportunity to improve their lives and plan for their future. Fairtrade offers a powerful way to reduce poverty through everyday shopping.

Since 1996, work with businesses to promote the availability of Fairtrade certified products in Ireland has been the main activity of Fairtrade Ireland.

Fairtrade certified products are widely available in shops, restaurants and cafes throughout Ireland and in all the main supermarkets.

The range of products continues to grow, and includes coffee, tea, sugar, bananas, chocolate, cocoa, confectionery, cosmetics, biscuits, fresh and dried fruit, cut flowers, ice cream, nuts, spices, fruit juice, honey, jams, rice, wine, oils, cotton and gold.

Ms OMeara informed councillors that women have to be involved in the cooperatives which is life-changing in developing countries because women generally dont have much of a voice and for the many of the women its the first time they have ever had a voice in making decisions in their community.

Following the presentation Mayor Michael Collins said that now we are a unified authority, we should really be a Fairtrade Limerick.

I think Newcastle West as a county town should become a Fairtrade town. I think we are a little bit along the way already in that we have Fairtrade products in the town. Desmond College is a participant in the whole Fairtrade movement so that is a good start as well, said Cllr Collins who formally proposed that the municipal district of Newcastle West become a Fairtrade town as of today and we formally set up a group to work on promoting and making people aware of the Fairtrade brand.

The proposal was seconded by Cllr John Sheahan who commended Ms OMeara for her work. You have a great lieutenant in Sr Delia OConnor (deputy chairperson of the group) from Glin, he said.

Cllr Liam Galvin said the presentation was an eye-opener for everyone and yes of course well support it.

The question I have is why arent we promoting it in all the towns in the county? We havent that many of them.

I think there should be a minimum of one town in each municipal district, a Fairtrade town, he added.

Ms OMeara said it would be lovely if all the towns became Fairtrade towns. Donegal, I understand, is trying to become a Fairtrade county, she said.

Cllr Galvin proposed that when Newcastle West is up and running as a Fairtrade town that we would seriously look at their remaining towns being included. The proposal was seconded by Cllr Jerome Scanlan.
Sebastian Vettel says he has turned down the chance to be vaccinated against covid-19.

Several drivers have already contracted the notorious virus, including Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly, Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll and Lando Norris.

Others, including all four Red Bull drivers, have now received the vaccine.

But quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel said he has turned down the opportunity to be vaccinated until now as "a matter of principle".

"We had the offer to be vaccinated in Bahrain," said the Aston Martin driver, "but I deliberately refrained from doing so because it's not my turn yet.

"It is questionable whether my vaccine, which I did not use, will benefit someone else, but to me it's a matter of principle," German Vettel, 33, told RTL.

"There are many people who want to be vaccinated. Many are waiting," he explained.

"Younger people are not as much at risk as older people, so while I will get vaccinated, I'll only do it when it's my turn."

(GMM)
by Shafique Khokhar

Lack of water is a problem, especially for women who have to walk miles to get it. Along with the inauguration of a new pump, neem and berry were planted as part of Caritas Pakistan's One Million More Trees campaign.

Sindh (AsiaNews)  Ahsas Raza Goth is a village in Sindh province. It had a water problem because its old submersible water pump was damaged and its new pump needed fixing. The community asked for help; Caritas Pakistan Karachi provided it.

For Raza Barkat, a 60-year-old resident of the village, the Catholic charity restored our life; we lived in a dire situation without water, especially our children, and women were suffering due to the water problem, but now everyone in the village is happy with the availability of water. The submersible pump stands at the entrance to our village.

A grateful Raza heartily thanked Caritas Pakistan Karachi on behalf of the village for responding to their request and providing the pump after a long period of hardship.

Due to the damage to the old pump and the breakdown of the pump installed by the Sindh government, which was the only source of water for the community and their livestock, residents were suffering badly, especially women who had to walk miles to get water to drink and cook.

Caritas Pakistan Karachi traditionally works with and for underprivileged communities through various community development programmes and by raising awareness. Water shortages for human use (drinking, cooking, etc) and agriculture (farming and livestock raisin) are a permanent problem

Yesterday, the Catholic charity finally came through with its WASH[*] initiatives in remote areas of Pakistan and replaced the defective pump in Ahsan Raza Goth, restoring residents' only water supply.

Mansha Noor, executive secretary of the Caritas Pakistan Karachi, together with Amir Robin and John Rehmat (Caritas coordinator), visited Ahsan Raza Goth to meet the villagers and inaugurate the new pump.

Sporting a big smile along with village volunteers and Caritas staff, Mansha Noor pressed the button to activate the device. In his address, he expressed satisfaction with the result, noting that Caritas was aware of local water problems for some time and wanted to solve them, but could not due to a lack of resources.

Thank God, somehow we were able to help you solve a major problem, he said, congratulating the women and telling them that their problem was now over and that they did not have to go far to get water.

Amir Rubin congratulated the people of Ahsan Raza Goth and said the water will serve not only for drinking and cooking, but also for the livestock. He added that the submersible pump should be closely monitored or it could be damaged again.

To mark the day and as part of Caritas Pakistan's One Million More Trees campaign, neem and berry were planted.

[*] Water, sanitation and hygiene.
Washington: US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga have pledged to work with India and Australia to strengthen the Quad to build a free, open, accessible, diverse and thriving Indo-Pacific, as the two leaders discussed the impact of China's actions on peace and prosperity in the region.

The two leaders met at the White House on Friday in Biden's first face-to-face talks with a foreign leader as president.

"Together, we will continue to work with allies and partners, including with Australia and India through the Quad, which has never been stronger, to build the free, open, accessible, diverse, and thriving Indo-Pacific we all seek," said the two leaders in a joint statement issued after their maiden in-person meeting.

I was honored to welcome Prime Minister Suga to the White House today as we usher in a new era of friendship between the U.S. and Japan. Both Pacific nations, we are also united by our shared commitment to the universal values of freedom, democracy, and human rights. pic.twitter.com/QJgbjNnceE  President Biden (@POTUS) April 17, 2021

Quad is the grouping of India, the US, Japan and Australia.

"We support ASEAN's unity and centrality in the Indo-Pacific, as well as the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. We also concurred that trilateral cooperation with the Republic of Korea is essential to our shared security and prosperity.

Announcing the launch of the "US-Japan global partnership for a new era", the joint statement said the United States and Japan renew an alliance that has become a cornerstone of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world.

"An ocean separates our countries, but commitments to universal values and common principles, including freedom, democracy, human rights, the rule of law, international law, multilateralism, and a free and fair economic order, unite us," they said.

"Together we pledge to demonstrate that free and democratic nations, working together, are able to address the global threats from COVID-19 and climate change while resisting challenges to the free and open rules-based international order. Through this new era of friendship between the United States and Japan, each of our democracies will grow stronger still," it said.

The US-Japan alliance, the statement said is unwavering, and they are more prepared than ever to address regional challenges.

Today, President Biden hosted Japanese Prime Minister Suga for his first foreign leader visit. The two leaders renewed an alliance that has become a cornerstone of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region and the world  and recommitted to addressing our shared challenges. pic.twitter.com/zBeXJ38J7n  The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 17, 2021

"Our alliance advances a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific based on our commitment to universal values and common principles, and the promotion of inclusive economic prosperity," it said.

"We respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity and are committed to peacefully resolving disputes and to opposing coercion. We promote shared norms in the maritime domain, including freedom of navigation and overflight, as enshrined in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea," the statement said.

Biden and Suga exchanged views on the impact of China's actions on peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and the world and shared their concerns over Chinese activities that are inconsistent with the international rules-based order, including the use of economic and other forms of coercion.

Beijing claims almost all of the 1.3 million square miles of the South China Sea as its sovereign territory. Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan have counterclaims.

China is engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea. Beijing has built up and militarised many of the islands and reefs it controls in the region. Both areas are stated to be rich in minerals, oil and other natural resources and are also vital to global trade.

"We will continue to work with each other based on universal values and common principles. We also recognise the importance of deterrence to maintain peace and stability in the region. We oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East China Sea," the joint statement said.

They reiterated their objections to China's unlawful maritime claims and activities in the South China Sea and reaffirmed their strong shared interest in a free and open South China Sea governed by international law, in which freedom of navigation and overflight are guaranteed, consistent with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the statement said.

"We underscore the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues. We share serious concerns regarding the human rights situations in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region," the statement said.

"The United States and Japan recognised the importance of candid conversations with China, reiterated their intention to share concerns directly, and acknowledged the need to work with China on areas of common interest," it said.

Observing that COVID-19 has shown them countries and the world that they are not prepared for a biological catastrophe, the joint statement said that the United States and Japan will also strengthen cooperation to advance health security, respond to future public health crises, and build global health.

"At the first-ever leaders' summit of the Quad on March 12, 2021, we established the Quad Vaccine Experts Group designed to expand safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing, procurement, and delivery for the Indo-Pacific region to supplement multilateral efforts," the statement said.

The two leaders also condemned the violence committed by the Myanmar military and police against civilians.

"We firmly condemn violence committed by the Myanmar military and police against civilians, and commit to continue taking action to press for the immediate cessation of violence, the release of those who are detained, and a swift return to democracy," they said.
Actor Damian Lewis and his wife Helen McCrory pose as they arrive for the London premiere of "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood", in London, Britain (Photo : REUTERS/Simon Dawson)

Helen McCrory, the "beautiful and mighty" British actress known for playing steely female characters on stage and screen, has died of cancer at the age of 52, her husband, Damian Lewis, said on Friday.



The shock announcement drew tributes from author JK Rowling, fellow actors including Michael Sheen and from the artistic director at London's National Theatre who hailed McCrory as "unquestionably one of the great actors of her generation".



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On screen she starred as Narcissa Malfoy in Harry Potter films, as the matriarch of a crime family in Peaky Blinders and as the wife of former prime minister Tony Blair, Cherie.



On stage she appeared as Medea, Lady Macbeth and Hester Collyer in The Deep Blue Sea.



"I'm heartbroken to announce that after an heroic battle with cancer, the beautiful and mighty woman that is Helen McCrory has died peacefully at home, surrounded by a wave of love from friends and family," the "Homeland" actor Lewis said.



"She died as she lived. Fearlessly. God we loved her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. She blazed so brightly. Go now, Little One, into the air, and thank you."



The couple, who had two young children, married in 2007.



They had recently raised over one million pounds to give health workers restaurant meals during the pandemic.



Sam Mendes, who directed McCrory in the James Bond film "Skyfall," said she was an astonishing talent. "The film and theatre world has lost a one-of-a-kind actress, and her family and friends have been robbed of an extraordinary, indomitable spirit," he said.



Rufus Norris, artistic director at the National Theatre, said she had an incisive wit. "We are shattered and will miss her terribly," he said.


Johannesburg, April 17 : Western Cape province, a top tourist destination in South Africa, witnessed an increase in domestic travel over the Easter weekend, as it seeks to attract travellers, the provincial government said in a statement.

The increase, which was recorded across the province, especially in small towns, reflects the "pent-up" demand by travellers looking to take advantage of the long weekend and explore family-friendly, wallet-friendly and world-class experiences in the Western Cape, Xinhua news agency quoted the statement as saying.

Over the Easter weekend, the occupancy rates of accommodation establishments reached to at least 70 to 80 per cent, in which camping and self-catering establishments were most popular, said the government, adding that outdoor activities and experiences such as farmers markets, cycle and hiking routes, nature parks and beaches were well supported.

However, the tourism sector also experienced a "notable increase" in last-minute cancellations and bookings as a result of uncertainty brought by Covid-19 and possible stricter restrictions, according to the government.

Figures from Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) showed that the domestic terminal at Cape Town International Airport, located in Western Cape's capital city, received over 61,000 passengers for the Easter weekend, reflecting a 65 per cent recovery compared to the 2019 Easter weekend.

According to the release, international arrivals continue to be affected by global restrictions on travel, which will continue to have a significant impact on the tourism and hospitality sector in the Western Cape.

Western Cape's coastline stretches over 1,000 km, the longest in South Africa's provinces, which includes sandy beaches with rocky to steep and mountainous features in places.

Twenty-eight of the 44 beaches in South Africa that are recognised as Blue Flag beaches are in the Western Cape.

It is also famous for its touring routes for wine farms, as well as wildlife sanctuaries, nature reserves and national parks.
As Karl Quinn says The Crown is fiction, of course (How The Crown made us feel for Philip the man, April 11). Unfortunately, too many seem to think that the series is the truth when in fact it almost entirely invents dialogue and is designed to reinforce the stereotypes already fed to us about the goodies and the baddies of the piece. Given that this series is about real people who cant set the record straight, it is best taken with a generous pinch of salt. Judy Hungerford, North Curl Curl

If its true that Prince Philip didnt suffer fools gladly it would have been refreshing to hear his comments to Donald Trump on his visit to the Old Dart (Didnt suffer fools gladly: Prince Philips four children pay tribute, April 11). Even more interesting, how he reacted after receiving a knighthood from our own Tony Abbott. I hope he left a diary. James Cheeseman, North Ryde

I am not a monarchist but, for us oldies, this death is like the end of an era; childhood memories of the wedding, coronation, children arriving. Newsreels, radio and newspapers kept us informed, no television. And there was Prince Philips many visits to Australia. I had a brief encounter in the 60s at the university in Canberra where he commented on our children as young students. His careful support of the Queen, his refusal to be constrained by the hierarchy of the palace all pointed to a man who knew how to make the most of life. Nola Tucker, Kiama

Pollies have us over a pork barrel

Jacqueline Maley raises issues that should worry all Australians, the perversion of our system of democracy by politicians (MPs a protected species high above the tide of accountability, April 11). The rorting of grants at state and federal levels is misuse of public funds for the benefit of political parties. This should be a criminal offence. Our Premier thinks that pork barrelling is OK because everyone does it. This indicates a serious lack of integrity.
Sydney, April 17 : Australia-based Swinburne University has confirmed that details of more than 5,000 staff and students were inadvertently made available on the Internet.

The information made available was name, email address, and in some cases, a contact phone number.

The University said it was advised last month that this information was available on the Internet.

According to the varsity, their investigation showed that the source of the data was an event registration webpage that is no longer available.

"We took immediate action to investigate and respond to this data breach, including removing the information and conducting an audit, across other similar sites," said the varsity in a statement.

"We sincerely apologise to all those impacted by this data breach and for any concerns it has caused," it added.

The varsity also said it is currently in the process of contacting all individuals whose information was made available to apologise to them and offer appropriate support.

"We have reported the breach to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), followed by the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner (OVIC), the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TESQA) and the Victorian Education Department," the varsity added.

"Swinburne is committed to protecting personal information. We have a proactive approach to cybersecurity and continue to strengthen our systems to prevent future incidents," it said.
Their bottoms gloriously aloft, the troupe of twerkers who performed at the commissioning of the navy ship HMAS Supply were the best thing to happen to the government this week.

It was a sign of the times that everyone scrambled to have an opinion on the dancers after footage was aired of them on the ABC - footage that was deceptively edited, as it turns out, to depict military dignitaries and the Governor-General watching awkwardly on as flesh was jiggled in their honour.

The 101 Doll Squadron performs a twerking routine at the launch of the navys latest ship, HMAS Supply, in Sydney. Credit:ABC News

Actually, neither Governor-General David Hurley nor Vice Admiral Michael Noonan were present. It was fake-ish news.

But it is true that the womens dance routine was urban rather than traditional in style and involved twerking, which the Oxford English Dictionary describes as dancing in a sexually provocative manner, using thrusting movements of the bottom and hips while in a low, squatting stance. This dance form has been popularised in recent years by various female pop stars.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 05:19:09|Editor: huaxia

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ROME, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and Italian companies can fruitfully cooperate in the broad energy transition process towards carbon neutrality, an Italian official said here on Friday.

"In sectors such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, digitalization of the energetic infrastructure ... Chinese and Italian enterprises can cooperate successfully," said Minister for Ecological Transition Roberto Cingolani.

The minister made the remarks in a video message sent to the conference "Italy-China: Energy transition -- Towards Sustainable Development," that brought together officials, experts and entrepreneurs from the two countries.

His address preceded three separate panel sessions, each dedicated to different aspects of the energy transition (the future of fossil fuels, innovative decarbonization projects and the 2030 roadmap for smart and sustainable cities).

Renowned experts, scholars and representatives of private companies exchanged views on how fossil energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions could be minimized by 2030 and eliminated by 2050 in the EU and by 2060 in China.

The panelists detailed the transition efforts of the most relevant economic sectors, such as mobility and transport, with an increasingly larger use of new energy sources, or agriculture with the reduction of chemical fertilizer use and the improvement of productivity and energy efficiency. The discussions were conducted within the broader framework of the circular economy.

"The circular economy is a universe still quite unexplored and Italy, with its innovative firms, appears well positioned," Cingolani said.

In the context of Sino-Italian relations, the official said that a strong link existed between the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) -- which will be co-hosted by Italy in November -- and the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) scheduled to open in China in October.

"Both events are focused on the fight against climate change, which also involves safeguarding and restoring biodiversity," he said.

The speakers at the conference also included Italy's Ambassador to China Luca Ferrari and head of China's National Energy Administration Zhang Jianhua.

The event was organized by the Italian Embassy in China, the Italian Trade Agency (ICE) and the Italian Chamber of Commerce in China in the framework of the Italian co-presidency of COP26 and of the celebrations of the Italian Research Day in the World. Enditem
SAINT VINCENT, GRENADINE ISLANDS  The controversy erupted on Twitter even as the 32,000-foot-high plume of smoke from Saint Vincents La Soufriere volcano was still rising in the sky. The firestorm on American social media platforms over reports that only those vaccinated against COVID-19 would be allowed to evacuate the eastern Caribbean island sheds light on the architects of the biosecurity state who have descended on Saint Vincent & the Grenadines (SVG) to explore the limits of mandatory public health protocols in the midst of a natural disaster now projected to last months.

Global organizations, NGOs, and members of the scientific community are coordinating emergency response efforts in Saint Vincent. Power outages, no clean water, and continued volcanic eruptions have rendered parts of the island virtually uninhabitable, plunging Vincentians who have managed to escape into a condition of quasi-statelessness where notions of human rights and civil liberties become malleable.

Refugees are in a position of complete vulnerability, says Dr. Diego Garcia Ricci, from the Ibero-American University in Mexico City, speaking to MintPress. The constitutional law professor and data privacy expert addressed some of the issues surrounding the plight of refugees as biometric data like retinal scans, fingerprinting and even gender, become a pillar of identity documentation and incipient travel requirements in the wake of the pandemic. While biometrics can be useful for identification purposes, mistakes do happen, Garcia Ricci warns.

Most at risk from these mistakes, abuse and racial profiling arising out of biometric digital identity systems are those whose need for the state is made indispensable by virtue of being rendered stateless. Free agents with no agency are prime targets for global entities like the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), which claims to speak for close to 80 million forcibly displaced people.

Vincentians who are unable or refuse to leave the island are likely to be reclassified as internally displaced persons or IDPs, another kind of refugee as defined by the UNHCR. Such classifications are part of a vast structure of laws and guidelines enshrined in the archives of supranational state entities like the European Commission and the United Nations, based on the Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, which establishes international rules governing the treatment and rights of refugees, whose numbers have nearly doubled since 2012, ballooning from 45.2 million displaced to 79.5 million as of the last count.

Economic sanctions, the war on terror, and other policies imposed by the very interests represented in New York and Brussels are causing a human tsunami emanating from places like Venezuela and Yemen, to name just two of the most salient examples. A natural disaster has conferred instant refugee status on the citizens of Saint Vincent, who join their number as the incipient biosecurity apparatus secures its grip on border control technology and as health-based digital identity systems can be glimpsed on the horizon.

A roadmap

In the spring of 2018, the European Commission (EC) revealed its intention to create a vaccination card/passport in a proposal titled Strengthened Cooperation Against Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, which touches on many of the topics making the rounds today, such as ways to address vaccine hesitancy and the safety and potential side effects of different vaccines.

A year later, the EC unveiled a roadmap that projected the common EU vaccination card to be fully implemented by 2021. As a result, the EU is right on schedule to become the first region of the world to adopt a full-fledged medical credentialing border policy for its 27 member states.

#COVAX has now delivered vaccines to 100 countries. This is a real milestone. I'm proud of #TeamEurope's contribution to this global effort of solidarity. Our common fight against #COVID19 continues, to make sure no one is left behind. pic.twitter.com/Xz9qqkC3aw  Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) April 8, 2021

With the EUs 27 member states launched on this trajectory, leading health credentialing developers like The Commons Project, Pathcheck and IBMs Digital Health Pass have formed their own policy recommendation club, with the bioinformatics and life sciences industries finding a nexus under one roof created by the ID2020 Digital Identity Alliance called the Good Health Pass Collaborative (GHPC)

GHPC seeks to influence policy decisions around the technologys implementation in border control situations specifically. While many of its members offer credentialing apps for uses outside of these scenarios, GHPC makes clear that its mission is exclusively to establish the correct border policy frameworks that will maximize the return for its core partners as they go about developing an interoperable, trusted framework and ecosystem for the issuance, use, and management of COVID-19 test and vaccination credentials for international travel, per the GHPC whitepaper.

Garcia Ricci describes the problem. We dont really know how theyre going to work, he states, adding that as mechanisms to control border entry, the policies regarding their use are still not very clear or defined. Every country is implementing its own policy.

Dakota Gruener, GHPC executive director and executive officer for private sector engagement of Bill Gatess GAVI (officially Gavi  The Vaccine Alliance), is tasked with making sure such policies bend to the will of the broader biosecurity state in order to overcome the risk of fragmentation and keep their options open while the smart infrastructure required to scale up is put in place.

Gruener even doesnt rule out using paper in the meantime, insisting that to be valuable to users, credentials need to be accepted at check-in, upon arrival by border control agencies, and more, adding that eventually a common governance framework would solve the problems presented by the surfeit of vaccine credential apps and cards in development.

The Queens Subject

The eruption of La Soufriere (Sulphur) has provided a unique opportunity to push the envelope in matters of mandatory public health policy, which Saint Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves had taken the initiative to begin implementing in March, ordering mandatory vaccinations for the islands minibus operators and calling for teachers to get the jab in a radio interview the day before the volcanic disaster hit.

Mandatory vaccination protocols have now been extended for anyone wishing to leave the island, breaking with standard procedures that place the onus of status verification on the port of entry. Gonsalves issued the directive at a press conference the day before the eruption, calling for mandatory vaccinations for those living near the volcano. In February, Gonsalves signed emergency legislation authorizing the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine along with Pfizers, Johnson & Johnsons, Modernas and three others.

The first shipment of vaccines arrived just two days before the volcanic eruption, courtesy of COVAX  a global consortium distributing vaccines throughout global south countries comprised of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI); Bill & Melinda Gates-funded GAVI; UNICEF; the World Health Organization (WHO); and its credit vehicle, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), which operates a revolving fund comprised of more than 200 donor partners to purchase vaccines for COVAX.

Some 24,000 doses of the highly problematic AstraZeneca vaccine arrived in the Caribbean nation as part of a larger vaccine distribution operation in the region by COVAX, which commenced delivery of 728,000 doses to five countries in the region in March. The so-called Oxford vaccine has been discontinued in many countries due to serious blood clotting issues, which in some cases have led to death.

By virtue of their newfound refugee status, Vincentians are left with little protection against the emergency measures currently enforced by their prime minister, who is a subject of the Crown serving under the Queens representative, Governor-General Susan Dougan.

Fish in a barrel

The nexus between Big Pharma, Big Tech, and the national security state is revealed in the health-credentialing industry, where major players from each sector and their partners tackle the different tasks required to build the biosecurity state. Vaccinating even half of the 80 million forcibly displaced people protected under the UNHCRs official charter, collecting their biometric data, and creating digital identity cards or apps to store and retrieve that data would be a significant step in that direction

The UNHCR has assumed the role of a diplomatic outreach operation on behalf of COVAX to persuade countries to include refugees in their national inoculation strategies. Serbia, Nepal and Rwanda are among the countries that have vaccinated asylum seekers and refugees as a result of UNHCRs campaigns, which touts refugee vaccination against COVID-19 as key to ending the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Northrop Grumman is building the largest biometric and biographical database of foreigners and citizens in the U.S., called the Biometric Identification Transnational Migration Alert Program, or BITMAP, as reported by MintPress in March. Operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in 14 countries, including the three Central American countries whose drug war refugees are currently flooding the border, BITMAP is only one of several biometric capture operations targeting refugees.

The extraction of any type of biometric data represents an intrusion into your privacy, explains Garcia Ricci, adding that, though such intrusions are not necessarily prohibited, they must not be arbitrary or illegal. In other words, there must be a legal basis for the collection of such data and that the legal basis itself be in pursuit of a legitimate purpose.

Its unclear if the purposes of the GHPCs core partners, like Mastercard, fit this juridical framework. The credit card behemoth has been working with the UNHCR and tech companies, who are also part of GHPC, to test their novel biometric ID cards on refugee populations such as the Rohingya. Described as ID2020s most ambitious project yet, GHPC is focused on delivering a global, interoperable health pass system can only happen if we come together in a way that meets the needs of everyone involved, asserts Ajay Bhalla, president of Cyber & Intelligence at Mastercard.

Ann Cavoukian, executive director of the Global Privacy & Security by Design Centre, poses as the organizations watchdog but seems to have capitulated early to the idea of health passports, which she claims to personally oppose. However, having acknowledged that they will be used, as she told Biometric Update, Cavoukian concedes that biometric technology seems likely to be a necessary component of Good Health Passes to bind the credential to the individual.

Binding people to credentials can prove problematic. Garcia Ricci uncovers the principle of proportionality in the question of biometric data collection, citing fingerprints, which are a biometric marker that has been used to identify people and can be said to exhibit an adequate level of proportionality, in terms of invasiveness.

But what happens, he asks, when the United States or any other country crosses the line from ink on the fingers to DNA extraction? Thats where the questions arise regarding legitimate purposes, Garcia Ricci contends, since DNA contains the most intimate information about a human being and can be used to derive many other kinds of information, such as a propensity for certain diseases or genetic defects.

While biometrics can be useful for identification purposes, he continues, mistakes do happen and we must be vigilant to make sure that any errors that might lead to the misidentification of an individual through faulty biometric data are able to be corrected in the system.

If the Global Privacy & Security by Design Centre is the designated protector of civil liberties and human rights at the dawn of vaccine passports, a closer look at the organization does not inspire much confidence. Sitting on its board of directors is none other than former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, who is also on the advisory board of Carbyne  a cybersecurity emergency management company with ties to Israels notorious human rights-abusing Unit 8200. Carbyne also has direct business ties with Peter Thiel, who runs his own health data management and pre-crime analytics company called Palantir and has operated a joint research center with Carbyne in Israel since 2013.

Despite her questionable alliances, Cavoukian is confident that her endorsement of Global Health Pass and health credentialing, in general, will assuage the fears of privacy and data-integrity advocates. In March, the newly-formed non-profit urged the White House to establish official guidance on the development and deployment of health passes in a letter signed by its 80 signatories.

Refugees are the first-to-market, so to speak, for the digital identification cards with biometric features. But, as so-called vaccine passports and similar health data apps get closer to becoming a reality for regular, already-documented citizens, it should be clear to those willing to look beyond the facade of public health that the implementation of the biosecurity state is only part of a longer-term project intended to reshape the global economy to run on data.

Early warning

Vincentians were given relatively ample warning after scientists at the Seismic Research Center at the University of the West Indies (UWI-SRC) made a 3 a.m. phone call on April 8 to the prime ministers office alerting officials to a pending volcanic event.

The island had been under an Orange Level alert since December 2020. The color-coded volcanic activity monitoring system is managed by the regional Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDMEA), headquartered in Barbados, with data provided by the UWI-SRC in coordination with the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO).

NEMO came into existence in 2002, one year after USAID organized a workshop at the University of the West Indies (UWI) on Volcanic and Seismic Hazards in the Eastern Caribbean, which produced the Volcanic Hazard Atlas, designed to provide an essential blueprint for planners and public officials with responsibility for managing the economic infrastructure of Eastern Caribbean islands.

The original Early Warning System (EWS) project was funded by Brussels through the office of the General Directorate of Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid of the EU and its European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) financing vehicle. Original program partners in Saint Vincent included the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) and The Red Cross.

The volcanologist

On April 7, the same day COVAX delivered the first batch of vaccines to Saint Vincent, an article appeared in the Hawaii Tribune Herald showcasing a new study to predict the impact of future volcanic eruptions. Led by Prof. Bruce F. Houghton from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the researchers posited that the damage caused by volcanic eruptions could be predicted weeks in advance through careful analysis of lava-flow geologic signatures.

Comparing census data to the median cost of land and household income among three areas located in Hawaiis lava hazard zones, Houghton marries economic indicators to maps of geological disruptions caused by the Kilauea event of 2018 in order to produce what is, in essence, a financial projection tool masquerading as a scientific paper.

Houghtons idea to mitigate damage from volcanic eruptions is to curb population growth in lava hazard zones. The Malthusian focus is striking and perhaps tacitly admitted by the author himself when he chose to include the words social dilemma as part of the studys title.

While Houghtons work shows that seismic traces and lava flows leave enough scorching data of its own behind to allow for a detailed analysis of the social and economic implications of a volcanic event, that information may or may not help to prevent any actual damage from a volcanic eruption. But it will suit just fine the needs of World Bank and IMF reps, who often carry studies like these in their leather briefcases when they pitch the latest debt-financing scheme to a developing country, like Saint Vincent.

The bankers

As the Covid crisis raged on in the summer of 2020, SVG Prime Minister Gonsalves was confronted over a Facebook post in which he stated quite clearly that hed secured financing from the World Bank to build a 140-bed modern acute referral hospital. After denying he had ever made such a claim, political opponents tore into the man who has ruled Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for almost half of its independent existence.

The World Bank advises that the funding they provided is only for the design, Gonsalves countered his critics, asserting that the global financing organization provided no funds for the construction of that hospital. The issue remains in the hands of his finance minister, Camillo Gonsalves  also his son.

It is a recurring game throughout Latin America and the Caribbean when international debt-peddling consortiums like the World Bank approach governments in the region to propose all kinds of infrastructure projects, which they offer to finance and then pay the foreign contractors to build while collecting interest and fees from the target countrys taxpayers in set-ups that allow creatures like Gonsalves to take all the credit.

Saint Vincents emergency warning system (EWS) was one of these types of projects brought to the shores of the exotic Caribbean island nation by large foreign agencies like the UNDP and the EC. The Sulphurs first volcanic eruption since the year SVG ceased to be a Royal colony in 1979 provided a rare chance to put recent changes made to the EWS to the test.

New York, Brussels and NGOs proffered their advice on population crisis management and other SDG-based recommendations to upgrade the system after an 18-month-long reappraisal, carried out by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and partners, in line with its Strategic Plan 2018-2021 to help countries achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The resulting reports identified failures and suggested corrective action, as well as multiple changes and additions to the system itself. Some of the details are laid out in Roadmap to Strengthening Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems for Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, published in 2018. The report focuses heavily on gender-differentiated risk analysis and the creation of databases for this purpose.

Disaster simulations are also encouraged in the report and, despite a paltry budget allocation of $40,000 dollars, implementation of NEWS got going with workshops organized by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO), to assure the incorporation of gender considerations into all aspects of the EWS, according to NEMO Director Michelle Forbes.

The question of where all this gender and any other such biometric data collected during the project is going and who will have access to those databases is not addressed directly in any of the materials examined by MintPress. Most countries have laws that govern who can access private data but, as Garcia Ricci explained:

Even within national data privacy laws, certain kinds of cooperation between countries is typically embedded in the legislation itself. This is whats known as data transfer and obliges nation states to share the data with other countries in cases where it is deemed necessary.

SVGs current data privacy laws were fashioned by many of the same global organizations cited in the preceding paragraphs, organizing workshops and seminars that would eventually lead to the Harmonization of ICT Policies, Legislation and Regulatory Procedures in the Caribbean HIPCAR, governed by the Caribbean Community CARICOM and enforced through the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.

UNDRR Caribbean Advisor Maria Kontro clarifies the use for all this data by framing it in her terms: Every dollar invested in risk reduction and prevention can save anywhere up to 15 dollars in post-disaster recovery, Kontro said during a consultation and training session for Gender and Vulnerable In Early Warning Systems in SVG back in 2019.

Black Caribs

Vincentians come from a long line of people forced to resettle, move and escape. Nearly seven-tenths of the islands population are directly descended from West African slaves. Before their arrival, the native Ciboney, Arawak and Caribs spent generations fighting a protracted war against the Western European invaders and found common ground with self-liberated Africans.

Centuries later, Vincentians must call on the strength of their forcibly displaced and enslaved ancestors to endure another colonial assault on their freedom as they suddenly find themselves in a de facto testing ground for mandatory vaccination procedures, health status documentation, and pandemic evacuation protocols.

A UN spokesman has declared that the eruptive crisis will last more than six months and looks for it to extend to Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda. Most Vincentians are choosing to stick close to home and forgo the even more uncertain scenario of evacuation, that requires an injection that just might kill them anyway.

Either way, Vincentians are in the eye of the biosecurity storm that is traversing the world in search of easy data to plug into its burgeoning human capital market toys. Chances of escape from the encroaching health surveillance and data mining operations currently unfolding around the world are getting slimmer.

But  just like the Dutch slave ship that sank off the coast of Saint Vincent in 1635, freeing hundreds of Africans who swam ashore and made new families with the native Carib people  the fate of this new form of digital servitude is foreshadowed by the resilience of the Saint Vincentians.

They said they want to stay at home, Gonsalves told the BBC. I have been around several of the camps and thats the message.

Feature photo | A healthcare worker helps an evacuee with his luggage as British, Canadian and U.S. tourists flee St. Vincent, April 16, 2021. Orvil Samuel | AP

Raul Diego is a MintPress News Staff Writer, independent photojournalist, researcher, writer and documentary filmmaker.
Murad Ebrahim, leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, addresses diplomats and other visitors at Camp Darapanan, the former guerrilla groups base in Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao province, southern Philippines, July 6, 2017.

A fragile peace in an autonomous Muslim region in the southern Philippines is at risk from armed groups who could sabotage the slow process toward normalization as economic momentum lags, an international conflict-monitoring group is warning.

The normalization process, which aims to bring a lasting peace to the Bangsamoro region after decades of war is behind schedule, with the coronavirus pandemic partly contributing to this, the Brussels-based International Crisis Group said in a report released Thursday.

The peace process in the Bangsamoro, the majority-Muslim region of the southern Philippines, requires disarming some 40,000 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters and ensuring both their smooth integration into civilian life and peace dividends for communities where they live, the report said.

Two years into a three-year transition period mapped out in a 2014 peace agreement, progress toward these goals, which the deal describes as normalization, is lagging.

At present, fewer than one-third of the former guerrillas have laid down their weapons, and the government has failed to speed up economic aid that would have enticed them to disarm, the report said.

Ex-guerrillas of the MILF, it added, also are growing impatient with the governments failure to distribute promised economic packages and delays in bringing development programs to camps where many of their members live.

Murad Ebrahim, the leader of the MILF who also heads the transitional government in the Bangsamoro, is due to step down in 2022, but he has been lobbying to have his term extended. Murad has taken his case to President Rodrigo Duterte, who has agreed, although it is up to the Philippine Congress to decide whether Murad can stay in power beyond 2022.

And with the transition period nearing its end  as stipulated in a peace deal struck between Manila and the MILF seven years ago  the government should step up its support to the former rebels and work towards disbanding private armies that could cause problems in the region, the International Crisis Group reported.

Already, the military and police have their hands full in trying to control various armed groups in the region, including the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters. BIFF is made up of ex-MILF guerrillas who splintered from the group after it settled for autonomy.

Philippine authorities have blamed BIFF, which has declared support for the Islamic State (IS) extremist group, for a spate of attacks and bombings in recent years on Mindanao Island.

According to the report, continued delays in reforms could push former MILF fighters into returning to the jungle to fight, or other militant groups may step up attacks and further erode peace prospects for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), as the regional government is known.

There are plenty of armed groups in the Bangsamoro that might exploit the moments fragility. A loss of momentum could also threaten what are currently reasonably peaceful relations among the majority Moro Muslims, Christians and other ethno-religious groups, the report said.

Whether or not the government extends the 2022 deadline for the political transition, delays in carrying out these measures could frustrate former insurgents and raise the risk of violence, the International Crisis Group said.

The transitional government led by Murad and the MILF controls the autonomous region until local voters go to the polls next year to elect their own leaders.

According to a Philippine analyst, pro-IS groups are exploiting the perceived failure in the transitional governments performance and using it to recruit new members.

Their performance deficit is being used by pro-ISIS elements in encouraging young people to continue the arm struggle, Rommel Banlaoi, executive director of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, told BenarNews, using another acronym for Islamic State.

Leaders in the autonomous region cannot perform well because they are busy fixing the bureaucracy and trying to exert [themselves] on services needed by their people, he added.

Naguib Sinarimbo, a spokesman for Murad and who serves as BAARMs interior minister, acknowledged that there was dissatisfaction among MILF members due to delays in the implementation of the socio-economic component of the roadmap to normalization.

Those are legitimate grievances that we are working on and there is no indication our members will be joining other armed groups, Naguib told BenarNews.

The leadership is still in control.


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FILE PHOTO: The team lead from Humber River Hospital's mobile vaccine clinic, Ruben Rodriguez, administers the first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to an employee of pharmaceutical company Apotex, as part of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccin

By Allison Martell and David Ljunggren

TORONTO/OTTAWA (Reuters) -The Canadian province of Ontario expanded and extended a stay at home order on Friday and said police will be given new powers to stop and question people who leave home as expert advisors warned that new cases of COVID-19 will continue to soar, overwhelming hospitals.

Ontario also announced restrictions on non-essential travel from neighbouring provinces starting Monday and said non-essential construction, including building projects at malls, hotels and office towers will shut down as of Saturday to deal with a raging third wave.

"The reality is there are few options left," said Premier Doug Ford. "The difficult truth is, every public health measure we have left comes with a massive cost to people."

New projections published by a provincial advisory group on Friday showed new cases rising above 10,000 per day in June if "moderate" public health measures remain in place for six weeks, and vaccination levels remain roughly flat. Ontario, home to 38% of Canada's population, announced a record 4,812 cases on Friday.

Adalsteinn Brown, co-chair of the advisory panel, said the moderate scenario was equivalent to a stay at home order announced last week. The number of patients in need of intensive care could reach 2,000 in May, up from 695 on Friday, the forecast showed.

The dire forecast came as Moderna said it would cut its next delivery to Canada by nearly half to 650,000 doses, and Canada announced a deal to buy 8 million more Pfizer vaccine doses.

In recent weeks Ontario has closed schools, restaurants, limited in-store shopping, and cancelled elective surgeries as a surge of admissions threatened to overwhelm hospitals.

HOSPITALS UNDER PRESSURE

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Canadian government would help hard hit Toronto, the province's capital and the country's largest city.

"We're going to do whatever it takes to help," Trudeau told reporters. "Discussions are ongoing about extra healthcare providers, and we are ready to step up."

Trudeau said Canada had agreed to purchase 8 million extra doses of Pfizer's vaccine, including 4 million to be delivered in May, nearly doubling Pfizer's shipments that month. Federal officials had previously said most Canadians should receive a first dose by the end of June.

In the north end of Toronto, Sunnybrook Hospital is preparing to open a mobile health unit, effectively a field hospital, for some COVID patients as soon as next week, a spokesman said in an emailed statement.

The city's University Health Network (UHN) is installing tents at two emergency rooms to increase space.

The number of patients at UHN on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, an artificial lung treatment sometimes used to keep the sickest COVID patients alive, reached 23, including 20 with COVID. The hospital network had previously said it could treat up to 30 patients.

Separately on Friday, Health Canada said it had received an application from Pfizer and BioNTech to expand the use of its vaccine to children 12 years and older, down from 16 years and up.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Steve Orlofsky, John Stonestreet, Nick Macfie and Diane Craft)
The three leaders said that their organization, the GU272 Descendants Association, represented a majority of descendants in a memorandum of understanding that they and the Jesuits signed in 2019. At the time, about 490 people had signed the groups declaration, but fewer than 50 had become members, according to Karran Royal, the associations former executive director and a founder of the group.

About 5,000 living descendants of the people sold by the Jesuits in 1838 to keep Georgetown University afloat have been identified by genealogists at the Georgetown Memory Project, a nonprofit group. The group estimates that about 10,000 descendants of the other people enslaved by the Jesuits are alive today.

Mr. Stewart said that the language in the memorandum was intended to reflect the hope that the organization would become a home for most descendants, not the groups actual membership.

We could have been more clear about our aspirations to represent all descendants, living and deceased, said Mr. Stewart, the acting president of the newly created foundation, the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation. We are still open and eager to work with anyone who wants to be a part of whats been created.

Mr. Stewart said that he and the other leaders had shared the goals of the foundation, including its focus on supporting racial reconciliation projects, with descendants over the years with the support of the associations board and membership. The specific details of the agreement with the Jesuits were not shared, even with some members of the board, until last month.

But Ms. Thompson said the Jesuits had an obligation to ensure that they were negotiating with leaders who represented a broad cross-section of descendants and to ensure that those descendants were consulted.
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It was perhaps the moment that would have made Prince Philip the most happy.

After a funeral service meticulously curated by the Duke himself, a touching interlude between two divided brothers became one of the most indelible images of the day.

Princes William and Harry yesterday appeared to signal at least a temporary thaw in the frosty relations between them as they chatted after the service. It was more than a year since they were last seen in public together.

Only weeks have passed since the devastating Oprah Winfrey interview, which was said to have left William 'incandescent' with rage. Despite this, he and Harry looked relaxed in each other's company as they walked the short distance from St George's Chapel back to Windsor Castle.

It was the Duchess of Cambridge, ever the peacemaker, who smoothed the way for one of the most talked-about reconciliations in years.

Prince Harry speaks to Prince William as they leave the service at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle yesterday afternoon

The Duke of Sussex is seen speaking to the Duke of Cambridge following the service at St George's Chapel, in their first public appearance together since Megxit

Kate, William and Harry speak together as they leave St George's Chapel yesterday afternoon following the funeral service

As the Royals filed out of the chapel, Prince William spoke to the Right Reverend David Conner, the Dean of Windsor, while Harry chatted with Kate behind them.

Eschewing a waiting fleet of Rolls-Royces, the family then began to walk up the hill.

William was initially ahead of his wife and brother but turned back towards them to speak to Kate while Harry exchanged pleasantries with the Dean.

Harry then caught up with his brother and sister-in-law and they walked together for a while as William removed his face mask. Then, Kate delicately stepped away to speak to the Countess of Wessex and her daughter Lady Louise  leaving the brothers alone.

The apparent rapprochement was a welcome moment after a day of palpable tension. Earlier, the siblings had maintained stony expressions as they walked behind their grandfather's cortege, separated by their cousin Peter Phillips.

The Duke of Cambridge strode ahead of his brother as they entered the 15th Century chapel, and once inside the atmosphere remained decidedly frosty.

William sat with Kate directly opposite Harry but did not appear to make eye contact, instead preferring to focus his gaze towards his grandfather's coffin.

Sources told The Mail on Sunday that Harry has experienced 'a great deal of frostiness' from many of his relatives since arriving in Britain a week ago and self- isolating at Frogmore Cottage, the house given to him and Meghan as a wedding present by the Queen. 'Ironically the only one who has expressed any sympathy towards him is Prince Andrew,' said one source.

'He knows from Sarah Ferguson  and now first-hand  how it feels to be the outsider, which Harry very much is.

A 'moment of connection' appeared to take place between Prince William and Prince Harry (pictured together centre) at the end of the service, as they left the chapel

Prince Harry and Prince William walk together out of St George's Chapel as Kate Middleton also walks alongside them

It was suggested the grief-stricken Queen looked relatively relaxed compared to her grandson Prince Harry (pictured right), 36, who appeared anxious

Prince Harry appears to talk with Kate Middleton as they leave the service at St George's Chapel this afternoon

'As far as the others are concerned, there is a deep sense of protection towards the Queen and resentment towards Harry. There is little sympathy for him after what he and Meghan said on Oprah.'

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex accused the Royals of institutional racism during the bombshell 90-minute interview last month and claimed one member of the family  not the Queen or Prince Philip  questioned what colour their son Archie's skin would be.

Princess Anne, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie failed to acknowledge Harry before or during yesterday's service.

'They are still very upset,' the source added. 'They are putting on a united front for the Queen. They all think he has behaved appallingly.'

However, it was reported last week that William had spoken briefly with his brother on the phone, although the source said communication had been 'more texts than calls'.

Harry has spoken to his cousin Princess Eugenie who remains a steadfast friend. 'He is thought to have seen Eugenie, most likely outside since she's being strict with her new baby,' said the insider. According to one report, William requested that Peter Phillips stand between him and Harry during the funeral cortege.

Asked about the claim, a friend of Harry said: 'He's just doing what he's told and getting on with it.'

The last time the brothers were seen together in public was on March 9 last year when they attended a Commonwealth service at Westminster Abbey  with the tension between the Cambridges and Sussexes clear to see.

Aides were yesterday reported to have 'been walking on eggshells' all week as the funeral plans were tweaked, but there was relief that the brothers have spoken and done so publicly.

Earlier: Prince William (centre) and Prince Harry (right) walked either side of their cousin Peter Phillips (left) at Windsor today

Prince Harry and Prince William walk next to each other as they leave the funeral service at St George's Chapel this afternoon

Massed military bands stood still as the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin past by in a Land Rover that he had built himself

The Foot Guards Band are seen marching ahead of the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle

The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin, covered with his Personal Standard, is carried on the purpose built Land Rover Defender followed by the Princess Royal, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, the Earl of Wessex, the Duke of Cambridge, Peter Phillips, the Duke of Sussex, the Earl of Snowdon and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Snowdon David Armstrong-Jones, Peter Phillips, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence during the funeral of Prince Philip

Members of the Royal family march behind the coffin during the ceremonial funeral procession of Prince Philip

Members of the Royal Family walk behind the Land Rover hearse carrying Prince Philip's coffin

Pallbearers of the Royal Marines carry the coffin at the West Steps of St George's Chapel

The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin on the back of the Land Rover with royal family members walking behind

Philip's coffin was carried on a custom-built Land Rover Defender hearse designed by the duke and modified over 16 years

Plans for a wake at Windsor Castle are understood to have been dropped, although a source said that Prince Charles, who was clearly emotional before and during the service, intended to spend some time with his younger son, perhaps taking him for a walk.

'There has been talk that Charles will walk around Windsor with Harry to look at some of the tributes and spend some time together,' the source said.

However, Harry is understood to be anxious to return to America to be with Meghan, who is thought to be seven months pregnant with their second child.

He could fly back to Los Angeles as early as today or tomorrow.

The Queen wiped away tears and was forced to mourn alone away from her family in St George's Chapel during Prince Philip's Covid-hit Windsor Castle funeral yesterday as she said an emotional final goodbye to her 'strength and stay' after their extraordinary 73-year life together.

Her Majesty looked grief-stricken and bowed her head in reverence as she accompanied her beloved husband's coffin on its final journey while their eldest son Prince Charles cried as he walked behind the casket into church followed by other devastated royals.

The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin was covered in his personal standard and carried his sword, naval cap and a wreath of flowers with a handwritten note from his wife as pallbearers placed him on to his extraordinary self-designed green Land Rover Defender hearse in the castle's quadrangle packed with hundreds of armed personnel.

Alone in grief, the Queen sat on the opposite side of the church as she says goodbye to her husband at his funeral in extraordinary and poignant circumstances due to the pandemic

A picture of the then Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip in Malta, where the Duke of Edinburgh was stationed with the Royal Navy. There is no suggestion the Queen kept this photo with her during the funeral

The emotional Queen wipes away a tear in the back of the royal Bentley as she saw the procession

A tear rolled down Prince Charles' cheek as he walked behind his father Prince Philip's coffin at Windsor Castle

Prince Charles blinks away tears as he follows the coffin into the church with his brothers behind him

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, James, Viscount Severn and Sophie, Countess of Wessex listen to the service

Prince Harry was sat directly across from his older brother and his wife Kate having flown in without his wife Meghan

The Queen's Bentley followed the coffin from the castle to the church, behind the Land Rover and her family marching together

The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin, covered with His Royal Highness's Personal Standard is carried to the purpose built Land Rover

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Snowdon David Armstrong-Jones, Peter Phillips, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence prepare to set off from the castle behind the coffin

The purpose built Land Rover Defender hearse waits for Philip's coffin to be carried out from the castle

The Queen kept her husband poignantly close during the service by carrying special mementoes from their life together inside her handbag.

According to a Royal insider, the Queen was planning to include one of Philip's trademark white handkerchiefs, made by his Savile Row tailors Kent & Haste. The crisply folded squares, inserted into the breast pocket of a sharply cut suit, were an enduring feature of the Duke's classic sartorial style.

In honour of their long marriage, she is also said to have carried a small photograph of the two of them together, thought to have been taken in Malta.

The island was a deeply special place for both the Queen and Philip. As newlyweds they lived in Villa Guardamangia, on the outskirts of the capital Valletta, between 1949 and 1951, while the Prince was stationed there as a naval officer with HMS Magpie.

The Queen later described it as one of the best periods of her life as it was the only time she was able to live 'normally'. The couple returned often, including to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary in 2007.

During her husband's Covid-secure Windsor Castle funeral, the grief-stricken monarch left a personal, handwritten message to Philip placed alongside a wreath of white lilies, small white roses and white freesia chosen by her.

Photos from yesterday afternoon show only a glimpse of the note, which appears to be written on official card from Buckingham Palace. However, the Palace has not yet confirmed the content of the note.

After the eight minute procession and the 50 minute service, Prince Philip's coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault yesterday afternoon.

A lament was played by a lone piper of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and the Last Post was then sounded by buglers of Philip's beloved Royal Marines who then played Action Stations at the specific request of The Duke of Edinburgh.

The masked soldiers who carried the lead-lined coffin carrying Philip gently lift it into place in front of the Queen

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby praised the extraordinary life of the Duke of Edinburgh

(top row, left to right) Zara and Mike Tindall, Jack Brooksbank, Princess Eugenie, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Princess Eugenie, (front row, left to right) the Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke of Cambridge, the Earl of Wessex, James Viscount Severn, the Countess of Wessex, Lady Louise Windsor, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Prince of Wales during the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh

The Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke of Cambridge look towards Philip's coffin before it was lowered into the Royal Vault

The Queen stands alone as she watches Prince Philip's coffin being carried by soldiers on its final journey into St George's Chapel, Windsor today for the funeral of her beloved husband

Around 700 members of the Armed Forces were involved in the organisation of the funeral - the ceremony planned by Prince Philip before his death

Members of the royal family line up behind Prince Charles and Princess Anne as they follow Prince Philip's coffin

All of the royals wore black suits with medals after Prince Andrew and Prince Harry's attempts to wear Navy uniforms were denied

The Royal Family stand at the bottom of the steps of St George's Chapel as the coffin is carried up into the church

Members of the Household Cavalry lined the route of the ceremonial procession and lowered their heads as the coffin passed them

Members of the military stand for a minutes' silence before the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh

Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, looks emotional as she leaves the funeral at Windsor yesterday

The coffin is carried up the world famous steps of St George's Chapel on its final journey

Prince Philip had links to 42 regiments before he died on April 9 aged 99

Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, pronounced the Blessing before the 30 royal mourners silently filed out of the church into cars to take them the short journey back to castle. Harry and William decided to walk back with Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, and were seen smiling speaking animatedly as they were reunited for the first time in a year where their relationship became fractured.

The emotional Queen had arrived at the funeral as the national anthem played and the royal Bentley stopped next to her beloved husband's coffin, where she poignantly paused for a moment of reflection as cannons fired and bells tolled in remembrance of the duke, wiping tears from her eyes.

Her Majesty was then driven to St George's Chapel with her lady in waiting Susan Hussey, before being sat alone at the front of the church where she stood and bowed her head during the national minute's silence. She looked at the coffin throughout the poignant service, where the majority of her children and grandchildren were on the verge of tears.

Following behind the coffin was the royal procession, led by Philip's children Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. The grandchildren, including Prince William and Prince Harry, followed but the feuding brothers were separated by their cousin Peter Phillips, viewed as a 'peacemaker' between the two.

The Duke of Cambridge entered the chapel one place ahead of his younger brother, as the mourners filed into the historic gothic chapel without saying anything to each other. But they later spoke as they walked back to the castle, with Kate taking a step back to let them spend time alone.

The Queen had decided that no royals should wear military uniform after Prince Andrew demanded to dress as an Admiral and Prince Harry was stripped of his titles. They were allowed to wear their medals, however. Andrew was seen driving away in a casual suit and aviator sunglasses around an hour after the funeral ended.

The Queen wore Queen Mary's Richmond Brooch, while Camilla wore the Rifles Brooch. The Duchess of Cornwall wore the brooch in July 2020 when Philip's role as Colonel-in-Chief of the infantry regiment The Rifles was formally handed over to her.

Kate wore a necklace and earrings borrowed from the Queen.

After the funeral ended at 3.49pm, the Queen led the Royal Family from the chapel, followed by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.

She had a brief conversation with the Dean of Windsor outside the chapel before being driven away.

Other members of the royal family walked away from the chapel in small groups, chatting as they walked through the sunlit grounds, including William and Harry.

Many of the royals only stayed at the castle for a short period before heading home.
Tendaji said the standoff between police and protesters lasted at least 30 minutes as she and others went from police car to police car to find McCollum. The group ultimately left to provide jail support at the police stations where they were told to look for the people arrested, she said.
Just as it appeared New Jersey was headed for a third wave of coronavirus cases, the number of new cases took a strong downturn this week.

New Jersey added 23.7 new cases of COVID-19 per 10,000 people for the week of April 8-14. Thats down from 27.9 a week ago, a 15% drop. On the whole, 17 of the states 21 counties added fewer cases this week than last.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Businesses that are open | Homepage

The largest number of new cases came in Essex County with 29.5 new cases per 10,000 residents. They were trailed closely by Passaic County (28.6 new cases per 10,000), Sussex County (28.3), and Warren County (28.2). Three other other counties had more than 25 new cases per 10,000 people.

Is the map not displaying? Click here.

For the fifth straight week, Cape May County had the states lowest rate of new cases, and it was not particularly close. This week, Cape May was the only county to drop under 10 new cases per 10,000 residents, as they came in at 7.7. The county with the second-fewest new cases, Mercer County, had 17.7 new cases per 10,000, more than double Cape Mays rate.

Cape May also had this weeks biggest decline in cases, falling to 7.7 new cases per 10,000 people from 13 a week ago, a 41% drop.

The biggest spike in new cases this week came in Cumberland County, which went from 14.2 new cases per 10,000 a week ago to 19.6 this week, a 38% increase.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Nick Devlin is a reporter on the data & investigations team. He can be reached at ndevlin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @nickdevlin.
HOUSTON, April 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Saturday, April 17 marks the culmination of the three-year Fueling Good, Rebuilding Lives charitable partnership between CITGO and Rebuilding Together Houston. Appropriately, TeamCITGO volunteers will gather to repaint a local residence in the Independence Heights community.

Launched to help Houston-area communities in need recover from 2017's Hurricane Harvey, the program has done enormous good in the community, supporting the renovation of more than 186 homes for those in need in the Independence Heights community and surrounding areas.

"The people of CITGO are proud members of the Houston community," said CITGO President and CEO Carlos Jorda, "It's been a privilege to pitch in to help our neighbors in need recover from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Harvey."

For more than three decades in the greater Houston area, Rebuilding Together Houston has repaired the homes of low-income, elderly homeowners  as well as those of veterans and people with recognized disabilities.

The Fueling Good, Rebuilding Lives program also included a charitable partnership with Habitat for Humanity that helped rebuild 31 homes in Rockport, Texas.

When back-to-back winter storms struck the region in February 2021, CITGO again worked with community organizations to help meet ongoing needs for food and water and medium to long-term assistance for home repair in Houston, Corpus Christi and Lake Charles, La. The Company supported several organizations, including SBP, the Independence Heights Redevelopment Council and Rebuilding Together Houston, with funds for wellness checks, food distribution, plumbing repairs and guidance on completing FEMA applications.

"We can't predict when or where disaster will strike," said CEO Carlos Jorda, "We can be sure, however, that the people CITGO will be ready to lend a hand when it is needed most."

About CITGO



Headquartered in Houston, Texas, CITGO Petroleum Corporation is a recognized leader in the refining industry with a well-known brand. CITGO operates three refineries located in Corpus Christi, Texas; Lake Charles, La.; and Lemont, Ill., and wholly and/or jointly owns 42 terminals, six pipelines and three lubricants blending and packaging plants. With approximately 3,400 employees and a combined crude capacity of approximately 769,000 barrels-per-day (bpd), CITGO is ranked as the fifth-largest, and one of the most complex independent refiners in the United States. CITGO transports and markets transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products and supplies a network of approximately 4,600 locally owned and operated branded retail outlets, all located east of the Rocky Mountains. CITGO Petroleum Corporation is owned by CITGO Holding, Inc.

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Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

Last summer, as the movement against racial injustice swept the country, officials in the Albuquerque Police Department asked the Drug Enforcement Administration for the assistance of special agents to do undercover operations and surveillance at protests, according to an investigative report from the nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington published on Friday.

The government watchdog group published emails from Kyle Williamson, the DEAs special agent in charge at the El Paso division, to officials with the Department of Justice. It also published similar requests from police departments in Chicago and Philadelphia.

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The requests were sent before reports began coming out of Portland, Oregon, about federal agents policing and arresting activists. In July, as hints about federal agents coming to Albuquerque with Operation Legend circulated, the city sent out statements from Mayor Tim Keller, then-Police Chief Michael Geier and City Attorney Esteban Aguilar denouncing the practice, saying it is an unconstitutional affront to representative democracy.

In response to questions Friday, both the Mayors Office and Chief of Police Harold Medina vehemently denied knowing about the request for assistance from the DEA. Medina, who was the deputy chief over field services, was involved in overseeing the departments response to the protests.

Chief Medina is livid about this report of the departments possible involvement with federal, undercover agents, Gilbert Gallegos, an APD spokesman, wrote in a statement. As Deputy Chief at the time of last years protests, Medina was not aware of any such involvement, nor were any of the other deputy chiefs. The Commander in charge of the Narcotics and Special Enforcement Sections is no longer with APD.

Matt Ross, the mayors spokesman, said the city leadership was not aware of the request and would have opposed it as out of line with our values.

Along with removing the former Chief of Police last summer, we also have new leadership over special investigations, the division that maintains the relationship with the DEA, Ross wrote in a statement. We will refer this information to our new Superintendent of Reform to find out how this went down under the former leadersahip.

Geier said Friday night that he had no idea the DEA had been asked to help at protests.

According to emails published on CREWs website, the first request from an APD commander was made two days after protests began in earnest in Albuquerque. On the night of May 28, APD officers wearing riot gear and deploying what appeared to be tear gas clashed with protesters along East Central.

On May 30, someone using a cabq.gov email address (the name is redacted) sent an email to a DOJ official sharing the operational plan for the scheduled protests over the next few days.

I know that your agents and APD Narcotics detectives work numerous ops together and work well with each other, the email states. I am requesting that your agents be approved to assist us with undercover operations as needed during these events.

The request reached Williamson who passed it along to the Chief of Operations with the DEA, saying our personnel will be working with APD narcotics detectives on the fringe of the crowd to identify any possible persons armed or with intent to inflame the situation. Our personnel will not engage but will advise APD uniform personnel who will engage the threat.

On June 5, Williamson told the DEAs principal deputy administrator that APD had renewed the request for the weekend. That request was approved.

Seven SAs (special agents) from the Albuquerque DO (Division Office) will provide surveillance support, Williamson wrote. Large protests are expected on all downtown Albuquerque courthouses (including Fed) by Black Lives Matter, Free Them All, and Fight For Your Right.

And on June 11, the special agent in charge of the Albuquerque office said there was a planned community healing event at Civic Plaza where the mayor and police chief will make speeches.

At the same time thats going on, we will also have a couple agents stationed in the uptown area, reference a secondary protest alleged to occur there, the agent wrote.

Activists who spent the summer organizing protests and fighting for change said they were not surprised to read the investigative report.

LaQuonte Barry, an organizer with the Black New Mexico Movement, said the groups already knew they were being watched all the time.

It confirms everything we knew before, Barry said. They treat us as if were the threat every time we go out to protest or exercise our rights.

Nikki Archuleta, an organizer with Black Lives Matter, questioned why APD  which is supposed to keep the communities safe from violent threats  would need more surveillance on the activists.

This is exactly why reform is not an option , Archuleta said. These entities continuously show us that the surveillance, demonization, brutality, dehumanization, and violence perpetuated on our communities is more important than the safety they preach  They arent really concerned with doing better but more so doing anything in their power to oppress people who are literally fighting for the right to simply exist.

After hearing that the Mayors office and the current chief denied knowing about the request for surveillance, Archuleta said she still doesnt see accountability from them.

The system policing is built on is inherently violent and racist by default and building on that is impossible, she said.
The reason Brooklyn Center police pulled over Daunte Wright is unclear and largely irrelevant. The Departments chief of police said the car he was driving had expired tags. His mother said he thought he was pulled over because he had air fresheners hanging from the rearview mirror. Regardless of the reason, 20-year old Wright was shot to death by a police officer minutes after the traffic stop began.

Traffic stops figure prominently in some of the most high-profile police killings of Black people. We remember many of their namesWalter Scott, Sandra Bland, Philando Castile but they are just a few of the many people who have been killed or died as the result of law enforcements expansive authority to enforce traffic laws.

Traffic stops might seem like a local matter, or a subjective police decision, but actually the practice is built on five decades of Supreme Court precedent, a set of decisions that has successively opened the door to  and given police an incentive to  use traffic stops as an invasive tool of policing aimed mostly at people of color, primarily Black people.

As a result, reckoning with police violence must include a reckoning with how U.S. Supreme Court precedent has enabled it through its decades-long campaign to empower law enforcement in the so-called War on Drugs. Litigators must continue to push the Court to revisit these damaging decisions with the goal of overturning or weakening the precedents that have put too much power and discretion in the hands of police. Federal, state, and local policymakers, meanwhile, must recognize that these precedents provide a constitutional floor for police behavior; laws and policies can and should be adopted to hold police to a higher standard.

Driving While Black is a tongue-in-cheek expression that describes a frightening realitypolice can, and often do, find any reason to pull over Black drivers. Given the glut of traffic rules, police rarely have to concoct a reason to pull over any driver they choose. Their job as traffic enforcers enables police officers to pull over Black drivers whenever their implicit or explicit biases tell them that a Black driver is up to no good. Harassment, intimidation, violence, and sometimes death, too often ensue.

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The Supreme Court opened the door to legally permissible racialized policing with the 1967 case Terry v. Ohio, by allowing police to conduct certain cursory searches, now known as stop-and-frisks, based on the low legal standard of reasonable suspicion. As our countrys experience with stop-and-frisk vividly demonstrates, however, for police, reasonable suspicion is too often synonymous with being a Black or brown person in public.

The practice of racially profiling Black drivers was effectively endorsed by the Court in the 1996 ruling in Whren v. United States, which decided that police are allowed to use minor vehicle infractions as a pretext to initiate traffic stops with the goal of investigating other possible unrelated crimes.

According to an analysis of over 100 million traffic stops, Black drivers are about 40 percent more likely to be pulled over than their white counterparts. This analysis also reveals that Black and Hispanic drivers are twice as likely as white drivers to have their cars searched after being pulled over.

If you dont believe that race is a factor in these traffic stops, consider that the racial disparity is smaller for stops performed at night, when its too dark for police officers to visually confirm a drivers race prior to pulling them over.

Nearly two decades after Whren, in Heien v. North Carolina, the Supreme Court gave law enforcement further motivation to abuse traffic enforcement by holding that evidence of a crime discovered during a traffic stop is still admissible even if the stop itself was based on a police officers factual or legal mistake. In that case, the police officer initiated a traffic stop for a broken taillight, even though it was not a violation of North Carolina traffic laws to drive with a broken taillight.

As long as the mistake was reasonable, the Court decided, the police could benefit from the improper stop by being allowed to admit evidence of the unrelated crime. These decisions were a clear statement to police: Feel free to use traffic laws as a pretext to target and harass Black drivers.

The permissiveness with which the Court treats policing is not limited to stops and searches. In the earlier 1982 case Harlow v. Fitzgerald, the Court made the lethal decision to create the doctrine it called qualified immunity, which has since allowed police to injure and kill with little or no consequence unless their conduct violate[s] clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known, a standard that has proven difficult to overcome.

The cumulative impact from these court decisions is that the Supreme Court has broadly empowered police to stop Black drivers and pedestrians under the flimsiest justification, and if the officer injures or even kills the person, their families may have no recourse to hold the officer accountable.

Recent trends at the Court, however, may provide a glimmer of hope for civil rights advocates and litigators seeking redress for law enforcement abuses. In last Decembers decision in Taylor v. Riojas, the Court rejected a claim of qualified immunity in what some Court watchers interpreted as a loosening of the requirement needed to overcome qualified immunity, though the facts of that case were particularly egregious.

Just last month, the Court decided in Torres v. Madrid that police violated a womans constitutional right against unlawful seizure when, in an attempt to execute an arrest warrant for a different person, they shot and injured her as she drove away from them. Police claimed they did not violate her rights, because she successfully fled from them. The Courts decision may seem obvious to most of us, but it is notable that two conservatives, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, joined the three liberal justices in the majority. These cases demonstrate that, as greater attention is paid to police violence, civil rights advocates and litigators must continue to push the Court to meet the moment, despite its more conservative composition.

Even if the Court refuses to recognize the rightful role of the Constitution in restraining police harassment, intimidation, and violence against Black and brown people, or takes their time in doing so, there are other ways the federal government can make a difference right now. The Department of Justice must begin to aggressively pursue investigations and require systemic reforms of state and local law enforcement agencies that demonstrate a pattern of violating constitutional rights. This is a powerful tool that was abandoned when Jeff Sessions oversaw the DOJ and which Attorney General Merrick Garland and the DOJs Civil Rights Division must now reinvigorate.

Legislatures could also speed up police reform by changing the laws themselves and not waiting on the courts. New Mexico and Colorado have both passed legislation to remove qualified immunity at the state level, Maryland has passed sweeping police reform, and there are other states looking to follow suit.

Similarly, at the local level, there should also be serious consideration given to eliminating or curtailing law enforcements role in traffic enforcement. There are several ways to enforce traffic laws without relying on armed (and potentially racist) police officers, such as automated traffic enforcement cameras, unarmed civilian traffic enforcement, or deprioritizing traffic enforcement more broadly.

Taken together, these and other creative solutions could help substantially reduce the opportunity for law enforcement to use traffic stops as a pretext to engage Black drivers and weaken the legal scaffolding that these practices have been built on for decades.

Daunte Wright is only the most recent in a too-long list of Black people killed during police traffic stops. He will not be the last unless we substantially change the legal framework that empowers over-policing and police violence.
US-Japan actions are stoking division: China

The Chinese Embassy in Washington said in a statement that Beijing firmly opposes any interference in its domestic matters. Image: Shutterstock

China hit back at the US-Japan show of alliance during talks between President Joe Biden and Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, calling it an "ironic attempt of stoking division.



China said Suga and Biden's news conference Friday, in which they issued a joint statement on shared values in democracy and human rights and aired concerns about China's activities in the Indo-Pacific region, had gone far beyond the scope of normal development of bilateral relations.



"It cannot be more ironic that such attempt of stoking division and building blocs against other countries is put under the banner of 'free and open,'" the spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said in a statement Saturday.



The statement by the Japanese and US leaders also mentioned the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, marking the first time a Japanese prime minister had spoken out in a communique with the United States on Taiwan since 1969 talks between Richard Nixon and Eisaku Sato.



Japan, long cautious in managing relations with its neighbor, has become more outspoken with Suga.



The US and China have clashed over a wide range of issues in the last few years, including human rights in Tibet and the Xinjiang region, a crackdown on protests and political freedom in Hong Kong, Chinas assertion of its territorial claims to Taiwan and most of the South China Sea and accusations Beijing was slow to inform the world about the Covid-19 outbreak.



The US should never try to play the Taiwan card, Le Yucheng, China's vice foreign minister, said in an interview with The Associated Press in Beijing on Friday.



It is very dangerous. This is our red line. The U.S. should never try to cross it.



The US-Japan joint statement also expressed concern over human rights in Hong Kong and for Chinas ethnic Muslim minority.



China again reiterated its stance on Xinjiang, Taiwan and Hong Kong, all of which it considers domestic matters.



These matters bear on Chinas fundamental interests and allow no interference. We express strong concern and firm opposition to relevant comments in the Joint Leaders Statement," it said. (AP)
Matt Chandler-led Acts 29 celebrates 'Church Planting Sunday': 'Critical to fulfilling the mission of Jesus'

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Church planting is God's primary mission strategy for expanding His work  and every member of the Body of Christ has a role to play in bringing the message of Jesus Christ to people in all contexts, the head of a global church planting network has said.

Church planting is critical to fulfilling the mission of Jesus. Its a myth that there are enough churches already. We need to be treating North America as a mission field in the same way that we in the West have oftentimes seen the rest of the world, Brian Howard, executive director of Acts 29, told The Christian Post.

Church planting is not just the thing for pastors; it's something that we all need to be involved in, he said, adding that Acts 29 strives to take the importance of church planting beyond just pastors and seminary classrooms and into congregations.

Church planting not only revitalizes older congregations, but its the best way to reach new people groups and generations and achieve diversity, he said. And we all have a role to play in that, whether we give financially or volunteer.

As part of this goal, Acts 29 will celebrate this Sunday as its first-ever Church Planting Sunday  and is urging other gospel-focused churches to join them in commemorating the church-planting movement.

On Church Planting Sunday, were celebrating what God has done through Acts 29 and other networks, Howard said. Were just so excited about what is going on all over the country.

In 2014, Village Church Pastor Matt Chandler assumed the role of president of Acts 29, and Howard became executive director of the network in May 2020  just months after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization.

Howard revealed that despite the pandemic, the network was a part of planting 25 new churches last year. These churches, he said, are reaching their communities in new and innovative ways.

The biggest thing that stands out to me is churches that are feeding people in their communities, Howard shared. These churches are coming together during COVID, looking for ways to serve and honor their communities, even during difficult times.

One church the group planted, he recalled, called every person living alone in a particular community to figure out what kind of support they needed during the pandemic.

It hasnt always been easy, but these churches are really sensing the needs in their communities and meeting them, he said. Theyre really stepping into this cultural moment.

Founded over two decades ago, Acts 29 has nearly 700 member churches worldwide, with about 500 in the United States. This year, Acts 29 Espanol and Acts 29 Urban were launched to start and grow Gospel-centered churches in diverse contexts.

Its really important for us to be planting churches for new immigrants and in difficult places like cities and rural places, Howard said. When we look at the kind of ministry we're doing, we are planting churches in places where there are new generations, new residents, new people groups, immigrants from all kinds of different countries. New churches are essential to reach people in those demographics.

Earlier this year, Acts 29 also announced a new partnership with Grimke Seminary, a diverse, reformed seminary solely devoted to training pastors for church ministry. Grimke is named after Dr. Francis Grimke, a biracial man born a slave but was later freed, becoming a pastor and a leading advocate of civil rights.

There is, Howard stressed, an urgency to church planting, though it might look a little different post-COVID.

Church planting is not slowing down, he said. But I don't think we expect to have a completely normal year this year because church planting oftentimes is a year or two long processes before you launch a church. COVID has made that a little difficult.

I still think we're going to see church planting really move forward, he added. Because despite the pandemic, weve seen the church move past tremendous barriers and impact their communities for Christ.
Bengaluru, April 18 : In the wake of exponential surge in Covid cases in Karnataka expecially in Bengaluru, many private hospitals are not able admit patients due to shortage of Oxygen and life saving drug Remedesivir.

This became evident, when Bengaluru's Swastik Hospital's owner Dr Vijay Raghav Reddy, whose video clip of 44 seconds, went viral on social media on Saturday.

According to this clip, Reddy categorically stated that Karnataka handled the Covid pandemic in a much better manner despite no experience.

"Three major companies that supply liquid oxygen are busy in supplying it to the industrial sector instead of life saving sector. The government must act fast as it is a very grave situation. Small and medium hospitals will run out of oxygen in a day or two and if this happens, we are going to lose many lives in Bengaluru," he said.

He appealed Karnataka government to restore the supply of both Remedesvir drug and oxygen at the earliest.

Soon after this clip went viral, the Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (PHANA) too wrote to Karnataka Health Minister K. Sudhakar highlighting an acute shortage of oxygen supply due to the increased demand in Bengaluru this week.

"Some of the hospitals have close to zero stock and others are soon running out of stocks. The suppliers have either stopped supply or are not responding to deliver the required stocks," the letter by PHANA to the Health Minister stated.

The association collected data from 18 hospitals in the city to check the status of oxygen supply.

"As of now, thirteen hospitals reported that they will run out of their current stock of oxygen in the next 6 to 12 hours. Six hospitals said that they will run out of oxygen in under six hours. This is extremely worrying," Dr. Rajashekar Y. L., the secretary of PHANA said on Saturday evening.

The list of hospitals reporting a shortage of oxygen supply include smaller hospitals like Santosh Hospital, Blossom Hospital, NRR Hospital, Ananya Hospital, Axon Specialty Hospital, Good Health Hospital and Sri Sai Hospital. One hospital - Jeevika Hospital - told the association that it had run out of oxygen supply on Saturday.

PHANA officials met the government officials on Saturday urging them to prioritise the need for oxygen supply in all hospitals in Bengaluru. In bigger hospitals, the oxygen supply is regulated through a centralised system connected by pipelines and not through a system of refilling cylinders.

For the last three days, Karnataka Health Minister Sudhakar had been strongly denying about shortage of Remedesvir drug and beds in Hospitals.

Even on Friday, after attending the meeting with the Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, Sudhakar had said that the state government will order more oxygen cylinders to ensure the adequate supply.

However, PHANA's letter to Karnataka government and a video clip of owner of a hospital tell a different tale.
DRAIN, Ore. -- Crews from the Douglas Forest Protective Association and North Douglas County Fire and EMS extinguished a natural cover fire Friday evening that was located about two miles northwest of Drain, near Hardscrabble Road.

Firefighters arrived to the scene around 6:40 p.m. and reported that the fire was about one and a half acres in size and slowly backing down the hillside. Crews remained at the scene until 9:30 p.m., securing the perimeter of the fire.

The Hardscrabble Road Fire went on to burn approximately three acres of grass, brush and Scotch Broom before crews contained the blaze.

No homes were threatened by the Hardscrabble Road Fire and the cause of the fire is under investigation, according to officials.

Firefighters were assisted at the scene by landowner representatives.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size When The Sydney Herald first hit the presses in April 1831, the nations population had just hit 70,000. There was no prime minister as federalism had not yet arrived on our shores, Melbourne didnt exist and Australia had just made a major technological advancement: the first paddle steamer. And while there may have been no federal election to cover, the Herald newsroom  which now houses hundreds of staff  had officially been born. Just 750 copies of the four-page newspaper were printed by its three founding members. It sold for seven pence. So how has the Herald changed in 190 years? And what does the future hold? The Columbian Press first used to print the Herald. Credit:SMH How was the first edition of the Herald printed? Initially printed as a weekly paper, the Sydney Herald was founded by Alfred Ward Stephens, Frederick Stokes and William McGarvie, who were staff of the now-defunct Sydney Gazette.

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Stephens, 27, and McGarvie, 21, had sent to England for a small, hand-operated Columbian press in 1830. The only problem was that neither of them had any printing experience. Stokes father was a printer from Surrey and so the young Frederick (one of 19 siblings) joined his two colleagues in the endeavour of printing their own paper, which they did  in a two-storey stone building near the Gazettes office in a laneway off George Street. The paper was named loosely after the Glasgow Herald at the suggestion of McGarvie, who had a brief connection with the Scottish paper. The top of page one featured a motto that hangs in the Herald newsroom today: In moderation placing all my glory, while Tories call me Whig, and Whigs a Tory. The paper became a commercial success very quickly, with the Herald becoming daily on October 1, 1840. It was later changed to The Sydney Morning Herald after it was bought by John Fairfax in 1841. The Fairfax family would own the paper for almost 150 years. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video How did a newspaper look back then? With just four columns on each of the four pages, there were no photographs, graphics or line drawings in the first Herald. Instead, the front page featured government notices, shipping news, notices as to which prisoners had been given tickets of leave and classified ads.

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The first front page featured a call-out for an apprentice to join the paper, along with which police officers that week had been sacked for highly improper conduct. It even featured the auction of a 40-acre farm on the Nepean in which the contents of the house  40 pigs, some tea, a bag of sugar and a pistol  were also for sale. In fact, the Herald was one of the last newspapers to jump on board the trend of putting news on the front page instead of classified ads. In 1908, photographs came to the Herald, forever changing the way we consume news. The first photo in the paper showed the arrival in Sydney of a visiting United States Navy squadron on August 21. Photographs continued to be used at a very small size and sparingly until both photos and news began to creep their way onto the front page. The first edition of the Sydney Herald on April 18, 1831. Credit:SMH How has technology changed the way we produce newspapers?

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In 1853, the paper imported its very first double-cylinder Cowper press, with the Herald becoming the first newspaper in Australia to be printed by steam. It allowed 3000 copies to be printed a day. Towards the late 19th century this was upped to 24,000 copies an hour thanks to the Heralds purchase of a rotary-letterpress, stereotype web-perfecting press. The paper would be placed on a central cylinder, surrounded by impression cylinders and inking rollers. Men operate linotype machines at the Herald. Credit:Fairfax By 1908, the newsroom would be alive with the sound of reporters smacking away with heavy upright typewriters. The Herald started using Hattersley typesetting machines at the turn of the century, soon followed by Monoline and Mergenthaler linotypes. During this time, to print the paper you would first have to cast each letter of every word into molten lead and wait for it to cool before slotting it into place. News, back then, was quite literally hot off the press. Even the fastest typesetter could manage just 14 lines a minute. Many of the typesetters were deaf because printing rooms were so noisy.

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This slow process would continue until the birth of phototypesetting in the late 1970s, which worked by projecting text onto a light-sensitive medium which is then used to transfer the material to print the newspaper. The reign was brief, though, with the introduction of the first full-blown word processors and a move to completely digital production processes occurring in the 1980s. With computer technology able to send the paper straight to the presses, the Herald is printed at a rate of 100,000 copies an hour. The other big change for the Herald was moving from a broadsheet to a smaller size to align with UK papers  which were moving to a Berliner format. In May 2007, Fairfax said it would be making the change but dumped the plans later in the year. Eventually, the change would come with the Herald switching to the smaller compact in 2013. Herald journalist Connie Roberts in sunglasses and white coat during World War II. Credit:Fairfax How did journalists jobs change? When the paper first started, journalists would rely heavily on personal contacts to get stories. Partying with politicians, drinking with underworld figures and lots of knocking on doors was the day-to-day norm for the newsroom.

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Mitchell boys basketball coach Todd Neuendorf named Hamlin head coach

Todd Neuendorf has resigned after four seasons as Mitchell boys basketball coach, the school announced Friday afternoon.
VERMILLION COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - Police say crews are trying to find a missing man after his boat was found overturned in the Wabash River.

Around 2:40 Friday afternoon, dispatchers received a 911 call from Duke Energy workers. The workers told dispatchers they found fishing equipment and later an overturned boat floating down the Wabash River southeast of Cayuga.

Right now, police are not releasing the identity of the person they are searching for so family members can be updated on what's happening.

Officials did say the person they are looking for is a 64-year-old man from Danville, Illinois.

Crews from several departments are working to locate the man.
U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, walks to the chamber as senators arrive to vote on President Joe Biden's nominee for United Nation's ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a Louisiana native, at the Capitol, Feb. 23.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 22:06:04|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The China-France-Germany leaders' climate summit held via video link on Friday has drawn wide acclaim from overseas experts for strengthening China-European Union (EU) cooperation in tackling climate change, and reviving global economy.

The leaders of the three countries, Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, exchanged in-depth views on cooperation on addressing various issues at the summit, including climate change, China-Europe relations, anti-epidemic cooperation, and major international and regional issues.

"I announced that China will strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060," Xi said during the summit, which experts say demonstrates China's firm commitment and important contribution to the global response to climate change.

Noting that China's commitment to carbon neutrality is "crucial and ambitious," Lyazid Benhami, vice president of the Paris Association of French-Chinese Friendship, told Xinhua that through this summit, the three countries conveyed positive messages to the international community.

China and the EU are the driving forces behind climate actions, and close cooperation between these two sides is of great importance, said the expert.

China has adopted reform strategies to restructure its industry, consuming less fossil fuels and developing new types of energy, said Oleksiy Koval, a member of the Board of the Ukrainian Association of Sinologists.

"All of this suggests that China is doing its part in the global effort to tackle climate change," Koval said, adding that "over the past decade, China has become the world's leader in meeting climate commitments."

Stressing that reinforced cooperation plays a significant role in tackling climate issues, Sonia Bressler, a French writer and sinologist, said the summit is therefore "a very good omen for forging deep links and shaping a jointly responsible future."

Climate change is a global challenge that warrants urgent, joint measures from different countries, said Berthold Kuhn, a senior researcher at Free University of Berlin.

This video summit is important in the way that both China and Europe are sending signals of continuous cooperation and joint endeavor, Kuhn said.

During the summit, Xi stressed that he always advocates building a community with a shared future for humanity and stands ready to strengthen cooperation with France and Germany on climate change.

Kwon Ki-sik, head of the Korea-China City Friendship Association, said in order to maintain sustainable development of the earth's ecosystem, it is very important to strengthen multilateral cooperation among the international community.

The video summit among leaders of China, France and Germany is of practical significance and will play an important role in raising the attention of the international community to climate change, he said. Enditem
Charges confront the suspect in Kansas City's 44th murder so far this year . . . Read more:

Jackson County prosecutors have charged a Kansas City man in the fatal beating of a woman at her south side apartment.Anthony D. Jones, 35, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Michelle Long, 35.According to court records, Kansas City police were called Thursday to apartments in the 10600 block of East 98th Terrace to check on a resident.
Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez have lately been in the news as they recently announced the decision to break off their engagement. The celebrity couple had a huge fan following across the globe and fans have been naturally wondering what went wrong with their relationship. According to a report by E! News, the couple had been working on their issues for the last few months as they reportedly had trust issues with each other. The report also suggests that Jennifer and Alex have a cordial relationship at the moment and plan on maintaining a good rapport in the future.

All about JLo and Alexs breakup

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez announced their decision to split after being in a relationship for more than three years. They went on record on April 15, 2021, and announced that they wish to end their engagement as they believe they are better off as friends. They also specified that they will continue to work together on their shared business and projects.

According to an E! News source close to Jennifer Lopez, the actor has been unhappy in the relationship for the last few months and hence the move was expected to some extent. The couple had been working on their issues but have now decided to take a call on it. The source also suggested that Jennifer Lopezs trust was broken and she currently has a good feeling about the decision they have arrived at. She is also reportedly relaxed as the two have ended on good terms and Alex Rodriguez will continue to be a supportive friend especially because they are connected through a joint business venture.

According to the E! News report, Alex Rode has still been hoping for reconciliation while simultaneously being supportive of JLos decision. He reportedly tried his best to fix the situation and also visited the pop artist on the sets of her film in the Dominican Republic to make things work. The source suggests that Alex has been doing anything in his power to make JLo happy. Fans, on the other hand, have also been hopeful as they want the Yankees star and Jennifer Lopez to have their happy ending.

Image Courtesy: Alex Rodriguez Instagram

Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment.
Brussels, April 17 : Trade in goods between the European Union (EU) and the UK has been deeply affected by Brexit, according to figures published by Eurostat, the bloc's statistical office.

In the first two months of 2021, exports from the bloc to the UK fell 20.2 per cent compared to last year, while the EU's imports from the UK recorded an even sharper decrease of 47 per cent, the figures published on Friday revealed.

As the Brexit transition period ended on December 31, 2020, duties are now imposed on goods traded across the English Channel, which discourages customers on both sides, reports Xinhua news agency.

The UK remained the EU's third largest trading partner in January and February, following China and the US.

The EU's imports from China grew 13.6 per cent year-on-year in the first two months, while its exports to China went up 9.3 per cent, according to Eurostat.

The bloc's international trade has been heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, causing a sharp decrease from February 2020 onward and a patchy recovery since then.

In February, the EU's exports to the rest of the world fell 3.6 per cent and its imports dropped by 3 per cent compared to the same month of 2020.

Intra-EU trade remained unchanged in February year-on-year.
Ahead of the silage-making season, Limerick farmers are being reminded to ensure their silage base, associated effluent collection channels and silage effluent storage facilities are ready-for-use are fit-for-purpose.

Limerick City and County Council is appealing to farmers to thoroughly power-hose the silage base and effluent conduits and to check for any damage and carry out repairs where necessary.

They are also being reminded that the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine has specific building specifications relating to silage storage  see agriculture.gov.ie or teacasc.ie.

Any repair works must be completed to the specifications laid down by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The local authority says farmers should seek advice from a suitably qualified engineer prior to commencement of works.

It is important to remember that silage effluent is a particularly potent pollutant and can cause significant harm to our waters and aquatic life, said a spokesperson.

Farmers should not make pit silage where where facilities are defective and they are being encouraged to act responsibly at all times.
NEW DELHI: Union Public Service Commission is all set to conduct UPSC NDA I Exam 2021 on Sunday (April 18). The examination will be conducted in offline mode across the country in various exam centres. In order to avoid large gatherings at the exam centres, the UPSC National Defence Academy exams will be conducted in two shifts. The first shift will begin at 10 am and the second shift will commence at 2 pm.

The UPSC NDA 2021 admit card has been released only recently by the commission. Candidates can visit upsc.gov.in to download the admit card in order to appear for the examination. It is advised to keep a check on this page and the official handle for more updates on UPSC NDA 2021.

The written examination will comprise questions in Mathematics and General Ability Test and the exam duration will be of 5 hours. The maximum marks are 300 for mathematics and 600 for the general ability test. The written examination will comprise of Objective Type Questions.

Check out these important instructions issued by the commission for candidates appearing for the UPSC NDA I exam 2021:

1. Candidates coming to the exam centres will be required to carry their admit cards to the exam centres. They will also have to produce the printout of their e-Admit Card at the allotted Venue for appearing in the Examination, along with a Photo Identity Card mentioned in the e-Admit Card.

2. Candidates must use a black ball pen only for both writing and marking answers in the OMR sheet (Answer Sheet). Pens with any other colour are prohibited for the exam.

3. Candidates will also be required to carry two passport-sized photos with them.

3. If the photograph is not visible/blurred or not available on the e-Admit Card, candidates are advised to carry two (2) identical photographs (one photograph for each session).

4. Candidates will have to reach the exam centre an hour before the commencement of the exam. Entry into the examination venue will be closed 10 minutes before the scheduled commencement of the examination.

5. All the necessary guidelines issued by the Government of India regarding COVID-19 will have to be followed by the students. Wearing face masks, carrying sanitizers, and maintaining social distancing is mandatory for all students, invigilators, and other staff.

The examination will be conducted by the Commission for admission to the Army, Navy, and Air Force wings of the NDA for the 147th course and for the 109th Indian Naval Academy commencing from January 2, 2022. This examination drive will fill up 400 posts in the organization.

The UPSC candidates have been demanding the government to cancel the UPSC NDA exams 2021 in view of the spike in coronavirus cases across the country. However, there is no information on postponement or cancellation of the UPSC NDA I Exam 2021 so far. Candidates are advised to regularly visit the official website of upsc.gov.in to check latest updates.

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A woman who whipped off her top and ran half naked down Windsor High Street just after the minute's silence to the Duke of Edinburgh has been accused of insulting his memory.

The woman removed a jacket to expose her breasts as she shouted 'save the planet. Save the trees'.

She was apprehended by police and screamed as she was handcuffed while a security guard covered her with his jacket before she was led away.

Teenager Aida Inauat, 17, who witnessed the incident, said: 'I was quite shocked. But it was totally inappropriate.

The woman took her top off before running down Windsor High Street in an apparent attempt for attention

The topless woman was quickly stopped by police after sprinting down Windsor High Street

'She may have been thinking that she was going to draw attention. But it was actually embarrassing.

'There must be better times and better places to do something like this. Not when we are trying to remember someone who has died.'

Her sister Sara, 16, added: 'It looks like she came prepared for this. She had a yellow jacket on and then threw it off and exposed the top of her body.

'She timed it just when the minute silence had finished and people had been clapping for Prince Phillip.

'This should not have happened.'

Jaspreet Singh. 66, of Southall, said: 'It was a disgraceful way to interrupt what was a very respectful minute silence for the Duke of Edinburgh.

'This woman seemed to have no morals exposing herself like that. If she is trying to save the planet, that is not the way that she should be doing it.'

The woman was apprehended by police and screamed as she was handcuffed while a security guard covered her with his jacket before she was led away

One person who witnessed the topless woman running around described the incident as 'inappropriate' and 'embarrassing'

Linda Merryweather, 51, of Wimbledon, said: 'What a rubbish way to protest.

'There are perfectly good ways to protest and try to save the planet. Not like that, when somebody has just died who has done such great service for the country.

'I hope that people soon forget what happened and remember Prince Phillip with respect and dignity. The same way that he respected and lived his life dignified.'

The woman was handcuffed and taken away by police.

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: 'At around 3.05pm Thames Valley Police made an arrest of a 55-year-old woman from West Sussex, on suspicion of using threatening/abusive words/behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress. 'She is currently in police custody.'
A nurse fills up a syringe with a COVID-19 vaccine at a senior center in San Antonio, Texas, on March 29, 2021. (Sergio Flores/Getty Images)

Fully Vaccinated Person Dies of COVID-19 in Texas, Officials Say

A person who was fully vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19 died of the disease in Texas, officials announced Friday.

One of the 15 deaths reported in Dallas County was an immunocompromised individual who had received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine but was a solid organ transplant patient, Judge Clay Jenkins, the top elected official in the county, said in a statement.

Immunocompromised individuals are still vulnerable to this deadly virus even after vaccination. If you have family members who are high-risk, its critical that you get the vaccine and avoid large crowds so that you can best protect them, Jenkins said.

COVID-19 is the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Fully vaccinated refers to a person who has received two shots of the Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines or the single-shot Johnson & Johnson jab, followed by a period of at least two weeks.

Roughly 5,800 Americans have contracted COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated against the CCP virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told The Epoch Times on Thursday. The figures were for cases through April 13.

The federal health agency declined to provide a state-by-state breakdown.

Of the fully vaccinated people who still contracted COVID-19, 74 died.

But a CDC spokesperson said the figures were not unexpected, given that no COVID-19 vaccine provides more than 95 percent protection. As of April 15, more than 78 million people were fully vaccinated against the virus in the United States.

To date, no unexpected patterns have been identified in case demographics or vaccine characteristics, the spokesperson said in an email.

COVID-19 vaccines are effective, and are a critical tool to bring the pandemic under control. All of the available vaccines have been proven effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalizations, and deaths. However, like is seen with other vaccines, we expect thousands of vaccine breakthrough cases will occur even though the vaccine is working as expected.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told members of Congress during a hearing in Washington this week that in some cases, the breakthroughs are caused by failure of an immune response in the host.

Others may stem from the virus variants that are circulating, she added.

We are keeping a close eye on this. We are reaching out to all of our state health officials as well as to our hospitals to make sure that people who are identified as a breakthrough infection, defined as two weeks after your second dose, or two weeks after your final dose, so that we can identify the cases that were having, she said.
Foreigners from many countries are eagerly awaiting a chance to return to Vietnam, buoyed by news that the country's considering entry permission for vaccine passport holders.

"I have been fully vaccinated with Pfizer vaccine mid-February and I long to go back to Vietnam soon," said Charlie Bowland, a resident of Maryland in the U.S.

Bowland's eagerness has been given an edge this month after Vietnamese authorities said three groups might be able to enter Vietnam with a vaccine passport, including Vietnamese stranded abroad, foreign investors, and vaccinated tourists. They said the country's information technology infrastructure for handling Covid-19 vaccine passports was basically ready and fully adapted to international preparations for vaccine passport deployment.

Charlie Bowland with a nun at a church in HCMC in 2019. Photo courtesy of Charlie Bowland.

Bowland, a veteran and semi-retired insurance agent, has visited Vietnam every year since 2011 to do different charity works on his own.

He has made donations to poor people and taught children English in Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Da Lat, Phu Quoc. He said he had made many friends and felt like Vietnam was his second home.

However, he could not keep to his regular schedule in 2020 because of the pandemic. After getting vaccinated, Bowland sent a letter to Vietnamese embassy in Washington DC to ask to return to HCMC at the end of April. He attached documents showing his health status.

"This time I may look at buying property in Vietnam so I can have a longer stay."

Bowland said he would be willing to take tests and be quarantined if he can return to Vietnam. Though he has been infected with the virus, he has proof of negative tests and subsequent vaccination.

In England, Rebecca Jennings received two shots of the Pfizer vaccine in February. She wants to come back to Vietnam to work as a teacher, she says. Jennings is currently a babysitter.

"I miss teaching, I miss a wonderful country with amazing people, weather and food," she said.

With a Covid-19 vaccine card, Jennings looked at the chances of her return to Hanoi, but found it would be very expensive at this time. She is now hoping to get back in July or August with a business visa.

Rebecca Jennings (L) with her friends in Thanh Hoa Province in central Vietnam in 2019. Photo courtesy of Rebecca Jennings.

Jennings thinks it is reasonable for overseas Vietnamese people to be prioritized for return ahead of foreigners. She is also okay with undergoing tests, quarantine and "anything else I have to do." She hopes everything will be back to normal soon.

Working as an immigration consultant in HCMC, Rey Concepcion of the Philippines has heard that its not easy to get vaccinated in Vietnam. So he flew to Canada and get himself vaccinated with the Moderna vaccine. He got two shots in March and has a certificate issued by Vancouver. He is waiting to get back to Vietnam to run his business with partners.

Concepcion said he would prefer that vaccinated are not quarantined, but he is ready to accept it, along with testing and contact tracing.

"Covid-19 in Vietnam is under control thanks to those rules. I am happy to see that."

In the queue

Yuliana Leon, a teacher in Hanoi, returned home to Mexico for her holiday last February and has not been able to return since. All of her family members have been vaccinated and have certificates. Nonetheless, she does feel that such "simple cards" are not safe enough for traveling.

Leon wants to return to Vietnam, but she has not heard about any official policy. She plans to go to the U.S. to get vaccinated if Vietnam opens its borders. She said she will be prepared to get quarantined, but hoped the authorities are more flexible with hotel options.

"I am still waiting. I miss Vietnam a lot."

Viktor Kryvachok, a Ukrainian living in the UAE, has "urgent" reasons to return. He wants to get married to his Vietnamese fiancee. He has been stuck outside since March 2020. Kryvachok said he will take the first Chinese vaccine shot at the end of April "if everything is fine.

"I'm in the queue and I'm ready to come back to Vietnam".
The ex-boyfriend of a missing Melbourne woman has been taken into custody following a police raid and charged with offences unrelated to her disappearance.

Maryam Hamka was last seen leaving a Woolworths supermarket in Brunswick at about 5.30pm on Saturday April 10.

The 36-year-old, who was wearing a black dress, told her family she was going to visit a friend in Brighton.

Victoria Police have grave fears for her safety and said missing person's detectives are doing all they can to locate her.

A man has been arrested by police as they continue to search for missing Melbourne woman, Maryam Hamka (pictured)

On Friday night, police executed a search warrant at a home in Brighton and arrested a 45-year-old man - Ms Hamka's ex-boyfriend.

'The Brighton man has been charged tonight with matters unrelated to Maryams disappearance,' police said in an update on Saturday.

The man has been remanded in custody to appear in Melbourne Magistrates Court on April 30.

Police have are yet revealed what the charges are.

Detectives scoured her car and home after Ms Hamka was reported missing on Thursday April 15.

Her phone remains switched off and Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper said serious concerns are held for her safety, and her family is distraught - despite their sometimes problematic relationship.

He has told reporters it was not unusual for her to be out of contact with her family for several days but relatives became more and more concerned as the days passed.

They have been unable to reach her on her phone, and she has not been active on social media.

Ms Hamka was last seen leaving a Woolworths store in Brunswick at about 5.30pm on Saturday April 10

'They have serious concerns, as we do, for her welfare,' Det Insp Stamper told reporters on Saturday.

Police have released images of Ms Hamka as part of their search.

Detectives trying to piece together her movements have appealed for anyone who saw her to come forward and contact police immediately.

Ms Hamka is 165cm tall, with a thin build and long black hair, brown eyes and an olive complexion.
Ruben Vartazarian told the Hraparak newspaper that he was formally charged with obstruction of justice on Thursday hours after the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) agreed to suspend him pending investigation.

Neither the SJC nor the Office of the Prosecutor-General gave any details of the criminal case.

Under Armenian law, judges and other judicial officials cannot be prosecuted on charges stemming from their professional activities without the SJCs consent. The SJC said on Thursday that the case against its chairman not connected with the performance of his duties.

Vartazarian asserted, however, that he stands accused of abusing his powers to interfere in the work of a court. He confirmed reports that the accusation is based on incriminating testimony given by Andranik Simonian, a newly appointed deputy director of Armenias National Security Service (NSS).

Simonian worked as a judge of the court of first instance of the countrys northern Lori province until being moved to the NSS by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian late last month.

Lawmakers representing Pashinians My Step alliance harshly criticized Vartazarian during a parliament debate earlier in March. They implicitly accused him of encouraging courts not to allow pre-trial arrests of opposition figures arrested following last years war with Azerbaijan. Vartazarian denied those claims.

Speaking to Hraparak, Vartazarian dismissed the charges leveled against him, saying that they are part of government attempts to oust and replace him with Gagik Jahangirian, another SJC member reputedly allied to Pashinian.

Everything is very clear and simple, said the SJC chairman, who is also a district court judge.

Jahangirian will head the SJC pending the outcome of the criminal investigation because he is the oldest member of the body overseeing the Armenian judiciary.

Zhanna Aleksanian, a human rights activist, also suggested that Vartazarian is prosecuted for political reasons. She deplored the lack of official information about the case.

The authorities do not like transparency at all and I dont exclude that they want to remove Vartazarian in this way in order to install a candidate acceptable to them, Aleksanian told RFE/RLs Armenian Service.

Nikolay Baghdasarian, a pro-government parliamentarian, denied any political motives. If the authorities wanted to persecute him there were many ways of doing that, he said. But the existence of a criminal case means the prosecutors have more evidence than they do in the case of ordinary citizens.
New Delhi: As India continued to record high number of new COVID-19 cases and deaths, the Centre and Maharashtra government were embroiled in a political war of words on Saturday on the issue of supply of medical oxygen and anti-viral drug Remdesivir.

The BJP and the Shiv Sena blamed each other of playing politics over the grim COVID-19 situation.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said he had tried to contact Prime Minister Narendra Modi on phone regarding the supply of medical oxygen for the state but was told the PM was not available since he was busy campaigning for the West Bengal elections.

Thackeray was speaking to industrialists and representatives of trade bodies like FICCI and CII via video conferencing. "Maharashtra needs oxygen supply and all oxygen produced is being used for medical purpose. I contacted Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the need for oxygen supply, but he wasn't available on phone yesterday since he was busy with the West Bengal poll campaign," Thackeray is quoted as saying in a release issued by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO).

While earlier in the day, Union minister Piyush Goyal attacked Uddhav Thackeray on the issue of availability of oxygen in the state, saying Maharashtra has so far received the highest supply of oxygen in India and the Centre will assess all their needs.

"Maharashtra is suffering from an inept and corrupt government and the Centre is doing its best for the people. People of Maharashtra are following 'Majha Kutumb, Majhi Javabadari' dutifully. It is time the CM (chief minister) also follows his duties in the spirit of 'Majha Rajya, Majhi Javabadari'," the commerce and industry minister wrotein a tweet.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra added 67,123 new cases on Saturday taking the state`s overall tally to 37,70,707 while the death toll mounted to 419, the second highest so far, health officials said.
I want to start with a simple question: Why do you think were seeing so much of a focus from Republicans now on anti-trans legislation?

We are seeing a lot of focus right now on anti-trans legislation from Republican legislators in Republican trifecta states that are totally controlled by Republicans. They lost the federal elections in 2020, and because of that, they are trying to figure out what is the next thing that keeps their coalition together.

For them, the worst common denominator that they go back to is singling out and stigmatizing the very people theyre elected to represent. It is turning a civil rights discussion into: Theyre trying to take things from you. Theyre trying to change what you know. Theyre trying to uproot social norms and things that we enforce. So we have to fight them, so that we can reclaim America.

Heres the thing that just gnaws at me: I cannot stand manufactured victimhood or people who are trying to say, We are the ones who are under attack, when they are the ones attacking other people. The same people who will tell you that they are against identity politics are the ones who are leading attacks based on identity and based on canceling out entire groups of people.

Do any of these state legislators actually know trans kids in their life? No, they dont. Its not about the issue. Its manufacturing an issue to defeat Democrats. It bothers some parts of their base; some of them dont like our existence as trans people.
Three residents of the Karaganda region were detained by law enforcement officers of Kazakhstan after 274 saiga horns and hunting weapons of various brands were found in their car, the deputy chief of the police department of the region, Abil Abildin, informed.

"During the examination and investigative actions, the police seized 274 saiga horns and weapons of various brands from the detainees," he said, adding that the detainees are currently in custody.
About 7 p.m. Friday, the man and a 44-year-old woman were inside a business in the Lawndale neighborhood, in the 3600 block of West 16th Street, when someone entered, pulled out a weapon and opened fire, striking him in the chest and face, police said.
Japanese chip manufacturer Renesas on Saturday restarted production about a month after a factory fire that threatens to worsen a global chip shortage

Japanese chip manufacturer Renesas on Saturday restarted production about a month after a factory fire that threatens to worsen a global chip shortage, local media said.

The fire on March 19 at its plant near Tokyo came with car makers already battling semiconductor supply problems, in part because of increased demand for chips from manufacturers of laptops, tablets and gaming devices.

Renesas Electronics, a key supplier of automotive semiconductors, saw 600 square metres (6,500 square feet) of factory floor damaged in the blaze.

The company said on April 10 it completed repairs in the fire-hit cleanrooms and they came online for initial output.

Jiji Press and other news reports said the firm partially began production Saturday morning, with plans to ship initial products in about a month.

Immediate confirmation of the reports was not available.

Renesas has so far hoped to restart operations at the factory unit producing 300 mm wafersa key piece of tech for modern carsin around a month.

But the plant will not return to 100 percent capacity for "between 90 days to 120 days", CEO Hidetoshi Shibata said late last month.

Company officials were tight-lipped about which of their customers would get early supplies of semiconductors, and also said it would take more time to pinpoint the cause of the fire.

With the blaze sparking concern about the impact on the world's chip supply, Japan's government and some of Renesas's own customers, including auto giant Toyota, have offered help.

During a summit on Friday in Washington, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and President Joe Biden agreed to "partner on sensitive supply chains, including on semiconductors, promoting and protecting the critical technologies that are essential to our security and prosperity," according to their joint statement.

Explore further Fire-hit chipmaker Renesas says recovery could take four months

 2021 AFP
(CNN)  Helen McCrory, the British actress best known for her roles in the 'Harry Potter' films and 'Peaky Blinders,' has died, her husband, actor Damian Lewis, announced on Friday.

McCrory, who was 52, died "peacefully at home" after "an heroic battle with cancer," the "Homeland" star said in a tweet.

The London-born actress, who starred as Narcissa Malfoy in the "Harry Potter" franchise, had an arch, mysterious quality that served her well in villainous roles, including the period dramas "Peaky Blinders" and "Penny Dreadful" and the "Vampires of Venice" episode of the long running "Doctor Who."

Last year, she appeared in two miniseries: The Masterpiece production "Roadkill," in which she played the UK's Prime Minister opposite Hugh Laurie; and "Quiz," a fact-based drama about the "Who Wants to be a MIllionaire" scandal.

She was no stranger to political roles, playing Cherie Blair -- the wife of British prime minister Tony Blair -- twice, in "The Queen" and the TV movie "The Special Relationship," both times with Michael Sheen and "The Crown" writer Peter Morgan.

McCrory was also an accomplished stage actress, playing strong women from Lady Macbeth to Medea in London's West End.

"She died as she lived. Fearlessly. God we love her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. She blazed so brightly. Go now, Little One, into the air, and thank you," Lewis said in his tweet.

McCrory and Lewis shared two children together. Speaking about the unique juggling their lives sometimes required to British Vogue in 2013, McCrory credited her desire to be there for her children for her impressive resume.

"It's got to be a damn good offer to coax me away from them," she told the publication. "Which is probably why the projects I've worked on since they were born have been such interesting ones."

Fellow actor Matt Lucas paid tribute to McCrory in a post.

"Helen McCrory will be remembered not just for her remarkable stage and screen performances, but also for her selflessness and generosity," Lucas wrote. "She and Damian were the motor driving FeedNHS, working tirelessly during the pandemic to raise millions for others. What a tremendous loss."

This story was first published on CNN.com 'Helen McCrory, 'Harry Potter' and 'Peaky Blinders' star, dead at 52'
The billionaire brothers who own supermarket giant Asda have struck a secret deal to snap up fast food chain Leon for up to 100million.

Mohsin and Zuber Issa are understood to have agreed to buy the business, co-founded by Boris Johnsons food tsar Henry Dimbleby, in the early hours yesterday.

The Mail on Sunday understands that Leon chief executive and co-founder John Vincent has signed the deal off and is preparing to issue an announcement to staff tomorrow.

Sold: Leon has 70 restaurants across the UK and mainland Europe

Sources said Leons 70 restaurants across the UK and mainland Europe have been sold to the Issa brothers giant petrol forecourt business EG Group for between 80million and 100million.

It is the latest acquisition in a buying spree that has seen the brothers hoover up petrol forecourt and roadside service chains around the world and even consider buying Topshop. They have also been in a long-running battle to buy the Caffe Nero coffee shop chain.

EG Group  part-owned by private equity firm TDR Capital  is chaired by former Marks & Spencer chief executive Lord Rose, who is also chairman of food delivery firm Ocado.

Leon, which was advised by Rothschild, was in discussions with a number of other parties. They include other hospitality businesses and private equity firms.

The sale will crystallise a multimillion-pound stake held by Vincent, who remains the largest private investor after founding Leon in 2004, with smaller stakes owned by Dimbleby and co-founder Allegra McEvedy.

Leon was majority-owned by two private equity firms, Active Partners and Spice Private Equity.

Mohsin and Zuber Issa are understood to have agreed to buy Leon yesterday

Its UK sites are mainly London-based but it also has outlets in cities such as Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester, plus overseas sites in the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and Gran Canaria.

Leons directors said it enjoyed solid trading before the pandemic. But its restaurants  primarily based in city centres and transport hubs  have been hit hard by the collapse in commuter numbers and 11 UK sites are closed.

Vincent stabilised the business before Christmas through a CVA restructuring that switched most of its sites to turnover-based rents and raised cash from shareholders, who agreed to inject up to 3million. It also exited its business in the US.

Leon says its mission is to provide naturally fast food at affordable prices and it has been increasing its number of plant-based dishes. Its biggest seller is its vegan burger.

A Leon spokesman declined to comment. EG Group also declined to comment.
New York, April 16, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Unified Monitoring Market Research Report by Component, by Deployment, by Industry - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06063143/?utm_source=GNW



Market Statistics:

The report provides market sizing and forecast across five major currencies - USD, EUR GBP, JPY, and AUD. This helps organization leaders make better decisions when currency exchange data is readily available.



1. The Global Unified Monitoring Market is expected to grow from USD 3,489.27 Million in 2020 to USD 9,573.69 Million by the end of 2025.

2. The Global Unified Monitoring Market is expected to grow from EUR 3,059.45 Million in 2020 to EUR 8,394.39 Million by the end of 2025.

3. The Global Unified Monitoring Market is expected to grow from GBP 2,719.86 Million in 2020 to GBP 7,462.63 Million by the end of 2025.

4. The Global Unified Monitoring Market is expected to grow from JPY 372,393.52 Million in 2020 to JPY 1,021,755.32 Million by the end of 2025.

5. The Global Unified Monitoring Market is expected to grow from AUD 5,066.88 Million in 2020 to AUD 13,902.27 Million by the end of 2025.



Market Segmentation & Coverage:

This research report categorizes the Unified Monitoring to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets:



Based on Component, the Unified Monitoring Market studied across Services and Solution. The Solution further studied across Application Monitoring, Cloud Monitoring, and IT Infrastructure Monitoring.



Based on Deployment, the Unified Monitoring Market studied across On-Cloud and On-Premises.



Based on Industry, the Unified Monitoring Market studied across BFSI, Consumer Goods & Retail, Healthcare & Life Sciences, IT & Telecommunication, Manufacturing, and Transportation & Logistics.



Based on Geography, the Unified Monitoring Market studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas region surveyed across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The Asia-Pacific region surveyed across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa region surveyed across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom.



Company Usability Profiles:

The report deeply explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Unified Monitoring Market including 8x8 Inc., Acronis International GmbH, AppDynamics, AT&T, Inc, Broadcom Inc., CloudAware, Dynatrace, Fata Informatica, Google LLC, HelpSystems, LLC, Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P., Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., International Business Machines Corporation, Juniper Networks Inc., Kaseya, Microsoft Corporation, Netvisor Oy, OP5 Monitor, Opsview Ltd., Paessler, ScienceLogic, SolarWinds Inc., Verizon Communications Inc., Zenoss Inc., and Zoho Corporation.



Cumulative Impact of COVID-19:

COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, so for and, the long-term effects projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlaying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report is delivering insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecast, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market.



FPNV Positioning Matrix:

The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Unified Monitoring Market on the basis of Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape.



Competitive Strategic Window:

The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies. The Competitive Strategic Window helps the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. During a forecast period, it defines the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth.



The report provides insights on the following pointers:

1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players

2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyzes the markets

3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments

4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players

5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and new product developments



The report answers questions such as:

1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Unified Monitoring Market?

2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Unified Monitoring Market during the forecast period?

3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Unified Monitoring Market?

4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Unified Monitoring Market?

5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Unified Monitoring Market?

6. What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the Global Unified Monitoring Market?

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06063143/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



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Angus Taylor is against it and Scott Morrison might insist that Australian policy will not be set in Brussels, but according to one of its key architects the European carbon tariff is not only all but inevitable, but fair and reasonable too.

The tariff, which would hit energy intensive imports from nations without their own carbon price flowing into the European Union has long been speculated about but became far more likely when the EU Parliament voted in support of the proposal last month.

Pascal Lamy, former director general of the World Trade Organization believes a European carbon tariff is inevitable. Credit:Andrew Meares

In February The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age reported that the Morrison government views a carbon tariff as protectionism rather than environmentalism, and would fight against it in international forums.

We have always been against tariffs in this country under this government, Energy and Emissions Reductions Mr Taylor told Sky News in February. Weve actually made great gains in entering into free-trade agreements to eliminate tariffs, We are dead against tariffs, and we believe in the role of trade in driving prosperity.
London, April 17 : Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II, will be laid to rest at Windsor Palace on Saturday in what will be a small family affair due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The funeral is set to begin at 2.40 p.m. (local time) with the coffin leaving the Castle, followed by a funeral march and a nationwide minute of silence, according to Buckingham Palace.

After a service at St. George's Chapel held by the Dean of Windsor, the Archbishop of Canterbury will give the blessing after the coffin has been lowered into the Royal Vault, reports dpa news agency.

In line with health regulations currently in place in England, only 30 guests will attend the ceremony, most of them members of the Royal Family.

Queen Elizabeth II, the couple's four children, eight grandchildren, the Queen's niece and nephew and three of her cousins will all be attending the service on Saturday.

In addition, the Prince's German relatives Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Baden, Prince Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse and Prince Philipp of Hohenlohe-Langenburg will be in attendance.

The Countess Mountbatten of Burma, a close friend of Prince Philip, will also be attending the service.

Some of the spouses of the Queen's children and grandchildren have been included on the guestlist.

But Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry's wife, is not going to the funeral due to her pregnancy.

The funeral will be broadcast live on television.

The Duke of Edinburgh passed away at the Windsor Castle on April 9 at the age of 99.

Prince Philip was born on the Greek island of Corfu on June 10, 1921.

He married Princess Elizabeth in 1947, five years before she became Queen, and was the longest-serving royal consort in British history.

In May 2017, the Duke retired from his own program of royal duties after carrying out more than 20,000 solo public engagements.

He left hospital last month after a month-long treatment. He underwent a procedure for a pre-existing heart condition, according to Buckingham Palace.
Two influential US lawmakers have applauded the Indian government's move to increase foreign direct investment in the sector from the existing 49 per cent to 74 per cent, saying it will further deepen bilateral trade and investment.

India's Parliament last month passed the Amendment Bill 2021 to increase the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the sector.

We are very encouraged by the inclusion of a proposal to raise the limit on foreign direct investment in the Indian Insurance sector from 49 per cent to 74 per cent," Congressman Brad Sherman and Steve Chabot said.

"This long-awaited reform holds the promise of expanding insurance coverage for Indian consumers and businesses, promoting both financial inclusion and economic resilience in India, they said.

Sherman is the Democratic Co-Chair of the House Caucus on India and Indian Americans. Chabot is the Republican Co-Chair of the Caucus.

In a letter to the Indian Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, the two lawmakers said that such a move proposed in the recent annual budget would also increase the availability of capital to support India's ambitious infrastructure goals.

Finally, in addition to advancing Indian economic development, this reform would further deepen US-India trade and investment ties at a critical moment for bilateral relations.

Considering these benefits, we urge you to take all available steps to ensure that this reform is expeditiously implemented law without requirements that would undermine its efficacy and its consistency with international norms, the two lawmakers said in their letter to Sandhu.

According to Berman and Chabot, given the opportunity to increase their investments in the Indian market, US insurers will be able to expand their offerings of innovative, competitively priced insurance products - serving existing demand and stimulating new demand - and thereby help improve Indian public safety, health, and security.

Berman and Chabot said the increased investment would also support India's funding and maintenance of infrastructure that will boost India's growth and development over the long term.

The reform would also eliminate a longstanding barrier in the bilateral economic relationship.

A durable and mutually beneficial economic relationship requires reciprocity. Raising the limit on foreign direct investment in the insurance sector from 49 per cent to 74 per cent is an important step toward establishing reciprocity in the insurance sector between the United States and India, as the United States imposes no foreign equity limitations in this sector, they said.

Taking this step now would signal to the US Congress and the Biden administration that India is willing to conquer historical barriers to increasing bilateral trade and investment, the two lawmakers wrote in the letter to Sandhu.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
NEW YORK, April 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Juan Monteverde, founder and managing partner at Monteverde & Associates PC, a national securities firm rated Top 50 in the 2018 and 2019 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report and headquartered at the Empire State Building in New York City, is investigating Cadence Bancorporation ("CADE" or the "Company") (CADE) relating to its proposed acquisition by BancorpSouth Bank. Under the terms of the agreement, CADE shareholders will receive 0.70 shares of Bancorp South and a one-time cash dividend of $1.25 per share they own.

The investigation focuses on whether Cadence Bancorporation and its Board of Directors violated securities laws and/or breached their fiduciary duties to the Company by 1) failing to conduct a fair process, and 2) whether the transaction is properly valued.

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LOS ANGELES - A California woman admitted killing her three children, saying she hugged, kissed and apologized as she drowned her infant daughter and the girls 2- and 3-year-old siblings last weekend to save them from what she said would be a lifetime of sexual abuse.

FILE - In this April 14, 2021, file photo, Liliana Carrillo, right, appears with her representative, Deputy Public Defender Brandon Mata, during her arraignment in Kern County Superior Court in Bakersfield, Calif. The California woman suspected of killing her three children in the midst of a bitter custody battle said Thursday, April 15 that she drowned them to keep them away from their father, a television station reported. In a jailhouse interview, Carrillo told KGET-TV that she wanted to "protect" them from abuse, the station reported. (Alex Horvath/The Bakersfield Californian via AP, File)

LOS ANGELES - A California woman admitted killing her three children, saying she hugged, kissed and apologized as she drowned her infant daughter and the girls 2- and 3-year-old siblings last weekend to save them from what she said would be a lifetime of sexual abuse.

In a jailhouse interview, Liliana Carrillo told KGET-TV that she wanted to "protect" her kids  3-year-old Joanna Denton Carrillo, her 2-year-old brother, Terry, and 6-month-old sister, Sierra  from their father amid a bitter custody battle.

Carrillo has alleged that the father, her ex-boyfriend, is part of a sex trafficking ring that she claimed runs rampant in Porterville, a small city in central California where the family lived until the end of February.

The kids' father, Erik Denton, has denied Carrillo's allegations and wrote in court papers seeking custody that she is delusional and it was unsafe for their children to be around her. Carrillo has not yet been charged in the children's deaths in Los Angeles, and the investigation remains ongoing.

"I drowned them," she said in the Thursday interview inside a Kern County jail.

"I did it as softly, I dont know how to explain it, but I hugged them and I kissed them and I was apologizing the whole time," she said. "I loved my kids."

Carrillos children were found dead Saturday by their maternal grandmother in her apartment in Los Angeles. Carrillo was arrested later that day in Tulare County, nearly 200 miles (322 kilometres) north.

FILE - In this April 12, 2021, file photo, 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. A California woman suspected of killing her three children in the midst of a bitter custody battle said Thursday, April 15 that she drowned them to keep them away from their father, a television station reported. In a jailhouse interview, Liliana Carrillo told KGET-TV that she wanted to "protect" them from abuse, the station reported. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

"I know that Im going to be in jail for the rest of my life. Its something Ive come to terms with," she said in the TV interview.

Many of Carrillo's behaviours and claims appear to be associated with altruistic filicide, or when a parent kills a child out of love to end real or imagined suffering.

An altruistic motive is when a parent is "thinking that its in the best interest of the child, to protect the child from a future that would be worse than death" and it's among the most common motives associated with a successful insanity defence, according to Dr. Renee Sorrentino, a Boston-based forensic psychiatrist.

Sorrentino, who has not treated Carrillo, said mothers in these situations often have delusional beliefs that their kids will be sex-trafficked or sold into slavery and "killing the child is actually the lesser of the evil."

Carrillo told the television station she had tried to kill herself but her car had gotten stuck in a ditch and she had to steal someone else's vehicle. She pleaded not guilty to carjacking-related charges during her arraignment Wednesday in Kern County.

The children's deaths were preceded by a hostile custody battle. Denton wrote in court papers that Carrillo had become increasingly delusional and she refused to tell him where the kids were. Carrillo, in turn, filed a restraining order against him and said Denton was an alcoholic who may have sexually abused their eldest child.

Denton did not respond to a Facebook message seeking comment on Friday.

"I am very concerned about my partner," Denton wrote in the custody documents, "and want to get her the help she needs to recover from this mental break and to become stable. I want her interactions with the children to be safe and healthy."

Carrillo, who wore a brown jail jumpsuit, had her arms shackled to her waist. There was a cast or bandage on her left arm. She cried several times during the nearly half-hour interview. She said she did not have an attorney, although a public defender had been appointed to represent her. The public defender's office did not return a request for comment Friday.

Carrillo described herself in the interview as a "social justice warrior" who used to travel California advocating against human trafficking. She said she met the childrens father when she was his Uber driver.

Carrillo told the TV station that she had promised her children when they were born that she would protect them and did not want them to be further abused.

"I wish my kids were alive, yes," she said. "Do I wish that I didnt have to do that? Yes. But I prefer them not being tortured and abused on a regular basis for the rest of their lives."

Sorrentino said mothers who kill their children out of altruistic motives will often say days later that they would do it again because they felt it was their only option.

Dentons court filings tell of Carrillos post-partum depression following the birth of their middle child. In texts and social media posts, she said things like "I wish I never had kids" and threatened to kill herself.

Last February, the couple's oldest daughter fell and landed on her groin area and later said it hurt, according to court documents. Carrillo believed the pain was from Denton molesting her, which he denied, the documents said.

He said a doctor found no evidence of abuse, but Carrillo contended that the examination wasnt thorough enough, the court documents said.

In her interview, Carrillo said she had dealt with depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress syndrome her entire life and had sought out a therapist for post-partum depression. She contended that it was Denton who posed a threat to the children.

Asked about her final message to her children, she replied: "I love you, and Im sorry."
A small minority believe that we need to make our peace with the populist impulses that have driven President Trumps choices, said Kori Schake, who directs foreign and military policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute and served on the National Security Council under President George W. Bush. But my sense is that an inchoate larger plurality is converging around the notion that we havent done our jobs well enough of explaining to Americans, who dont spend all their times thinking about foreign and defense policy, why the positions that we advocate make the country safer and more prosperous.

This is hardly the only area where Mr. Trump has scrambled Republican orthodoxy by shifting his party in a more populist direction. As I wrote last week, the cracks that he has created between Republicans and their traditional allies in the business community have become a chasm. The huge amount of new spending during his time in office has made it difficult for the party to revert to its traditional position of fiscal responsibility and argue against the huge price tags of Mr. Bidens coronavirus relief and spending bills. On Friday, Mr. Bush published an op-ed article striking a gentler tone on immigration, quite a contrast from Mr. Trump and his calls to build the wall.

There is very little unity in the G.O.P. right now when it comes to setting a policy agenda. And there doesnt appear to be overwhelming interest in confronting these divides.

During the first months of the Biden administration, Republicans have been consumed with issues like so-called cancel culture, re-litigating the election and corporate wokeness. Those culture-war topics fire up the conservative base, leading to interview requests and campaign cash for Republican candidates and politicians.

But in all of this discussion of conspiracy theories and culture wars, theres little room  or apparent desire  to sort out what the post-Trump Republican Party stands for on the biggest issues of the day.

Mr. Lugar died in 2019. Just two years later, the bipartisan comity that he championed certainly feels like a relic from a bygone era. Whats far harder to see is whether his partys leaders, activists and voters can find their way to a future where they agree even with themselves.
The University of Reading has paid tribute to His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who died on 9 April and whose funeral is tomorrow (17 April).

Extending condolences on behalf of the University, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Robert Van de Noort, paid tribute to the Duke, who was an Honorary Graduate of the University and Honorary Life Member of Reading University Students Union.

Professor Van de Noort said: The thoughts of the students, colleagues and community of the University of Reading are with Her Majesty The Queen and members of the Royal Family as they mourn the death of His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh.

The Duke demonstrated extraordinary dedication in supporting The Queen fulfil her duties, and supported many key causes in his own right. In particular, I note with admiration Prince Philips life-long commitment to the education and development of young people, his interest in science and technology, and passion for environmental conservation.

We have been honoured at the University of Reading to have been connected with Prince Philip at several key points in our history, for which we are proud and very grateful.

Prince Philip visited the University of Reading on several occasions. On 22 March 1957 the Duke accompanied the Queen when she opened the Faculty of Letters Building at Whiteknights  now known as the Edith Morley Building.

Watch video of The Queen and Duke of Edinburghs 1957 visit >>>

The Duke served as Honorary President of Reading University Students Union, from 1957-58, and was honorary life member. On 24 November 1958, the students union gave a dinner for the Duke at Wantage Hall with more than 100 guests.

Buckingham Palace said in letters arranging the details for the dinner that this was the first time that the Duke of Edinburgh had made a special visit to a Students Union. The Duke arrived driving a black Lagonda convertible and was greeted by Patrick Hamilton, the President of the Students' Union. They ate Julienne soup, salmon mayonnaise, roast turkey and peach surprise, before celery creams and coffee.

Following dinner, the Duke chatted informally to the other dinner guests in the junior common room. According to press reports at the time, The Duke said after the event: It is interesting to see the nonconformity of students and their flouting of authority. It is sad that they are not able to continue this in later life.

Students are not really different from other people, it is only that they are in different circumstances.

The Duke of Edinburgh was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Science from the University of Reading in July 1960, on the occasion of the 8th International Grassland Congress, held at Whiteknights, which he attended as the then President of the Congress.

Presenting him for his degree, the then Vice-Chancellor, Sir John Wolfenden, said  the direct freshness of his approach to any problem, human, mechanical, organisational or constitutional, is of a kind to displode the complacent and to tear the stuffing out of any shirt.

Sir John added: If he were not the husband of Her Majesty The Queen he would in his own right be one of the most distinguished men of his generation; that he combines these personal qualities with his Royal position is one of the greatest piece of good fortune which this country, in its long history, has ever enjoyed.

More recently, The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited Henley Business Schools Greenlands campus in 2012, as part of the celebrations for the Diamond Jubilee, where they watched a river pageant on the Thames along with thousands of invited guests from the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.

Professor Kate Williams, royal historian and Professor of Public Engagement with History at the University of Reading, said: HRH The Duke of Edinburgh devoted his extraordinarily long life to the support of Her Majesty The Queen, as a consort, as a loyal subject, but most of all as a husband.

History will remember Prince Philip as not only as the longest ever serving consort to a reigning monarch, but perhaps the most successful, in helping the monarchy to change and adapt to modern times, while the people themselves have stayed the same.
It is still not clear whether Canada will host its scheduled Formula 1 race this year - although the signs are not good.

Many sources are predicting that the Montreal round will be scrapped, as regional and federal health authorities worry about the ongoing covid-19 pandemic.

However, deputy federal public chief health officer Dr Howard Njoo said he is yet to hear officially from his counterparts in Quebec.

"We are still waiting for letters of support from the provincial and local levels before starting to do our own analysis," he is quoted by La Presse. "So far we have not received anything."

Dr Njoo said the perspective of the local authorities is "very important" because "it is they who are in the field and know the situation best".

Quebec's economic minister Pierre Fitzgibbon, meanwhile, said he is expecting to hear official news about the Canadian GP "within 48 hours".

Francois Dumontier, whose Octane Management company promotes the annual event that was also cancelled in 2020, is still declining to comment.

(GMM)
Brazils health ministry has asked women to avoid becoming pregnant until a better moment as the countrys health system buckles under the strain of the Covid pandemic.

Officials said the recommendation was partly due to the stress on the health system but also because the more contagious Brazilian variant known as P1  currently ravaging the country  appears to affect expectant mothers more than earlier versions of coronavirus.

A study last month concluded that the variant was likely twice as transmissible as earlier ones, and may evade immunity built-up naturally by past infection.

The data, collected in Manaus, Brazil, suggests the variant probably arose in mid-November 2020 in the city. It has now spread to the rest of Brazil and at least 37 other countries, including Canada and the United States.

Hospitals in Brazil are said to be buckling under the strain, while stocks of drugs needed for intubating severely ill patients are running dangerously low.

Health ministry official Raphael Parente told a press conference on Friday: If its possible, delay pregnancy a little until a better moment.

The clinical experience of specialists shows that this new variant acts more aggressively in pregnant women.

Previously, Mr Parente said, Covid infections in pregnant women were affecting the final trimester and birth, whereas lately there have been more serious cases in both the second and occasionally first trimester.

Younger people seem to be more affected by the P1 variant too  hospital data in Brazil from last month showed that more than half of all patients in intensive care were aged 40 or younger.

Brazil is one of the worlds Covid epicentres, with more Brazilians dying of the virus each day than anywhere else in the world. On Thursday alone, the country registered an additional 3,560 deaths. For comparison, the UK registered just 35 the same day.

The P1 variant is likely a major factor behind the second wave of infections, which has brought the countrys death toll to over 365,000  the second highest in the world behind the United States.

But Brazils struggling healthcare system is also thought to be a factor, with 85 per cent of intensive care beds occupied in Sao Paulo alone and officials relying on international suppliers for hospital provisions.

People hold banners depicting Brazilian president Jair Bolsonado reading The Bolsonaro strain, world danger during a protest at the Brazilian embassy in Buenos Aires on Wednesday (AFP via Getty Images)

An emergency shipment of sedatives needed for patients who require mechanical ventilation arrived in Brazil late on Thursday from China, while further donations from Spain are scheduled to arrive some time next week.

Vaccinations were also reportedly paused in several Brazilian cities this week due to supply shortages, according to local media.

Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo  Brazils richest and most populous state  have both flagged the shortages to government and the press. Jean Gorinchteyn, Sao Paulos health secretary, went as far as saying this week that the citys inability to care for seriously ill coronavirus patients meant collapse is imminent.

Yet, with the economy to consider, Sao Paulo announced on Friday it would forge on with plans to begin reopening stores and restaurants. Officials claimed the number of new hospitalisations had fallen enough that the city could handle the process safely.

Brazils far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro  whose Covid response was on Thursday branded the worst in the world by Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders)  has opposed lockdowns and held large events throughout the pandemic, where he is regularly pictured without a face mask.

I have to be very clear in this: the Brazilian authorities negligence is costing lives, MSFs international president, Christos Christou, told reporters on Thursday.

Meinie Nicolai, the groups general director, added: There is no coordination in the response. There is no real acknowledgment of the severity of the disease  The government is failing the Brazilian people.
Being a law officer in this day and age takes someone who is willing to take a bullet on our behalf. It also takes someone who is willing to b Read more
Oregon officials announced 704 new confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases and two new deaths Friday, continuing a multi-week trend in increasing daily case counts that is expected to continue into May.

Hospitalizations climbed to 199, the Oregon Health Authority said, though they could grow to 330 a month from now, according to Oregon Health & Science University forecasts.

The good news, however, is that every Oregonian 16 and older will be eligible for a vaccine against COVID-19 starting Monday, April 19. Officials Friday announced 1.5 million Oregonians have now been partially or fully vaccinated.

If you havent already had a chance to get vaccinated, make a plan to do so now, Gov. Kate Brown said Friday. Tell your loved ones and neighbors you plan to get vaccinated, and share your reason why. And if you have already signed up for an appointment, help a friend sign up, too.

CORONAVIRUS IN OREGON: LIVE DATA, STATS AND MAPS

Vaccines: Oregon reported 47,407 newly administered doses, which includes 28,146 Thursday and the remainder from previous days.

Where the new cases are by county: Baker (9), Benton (7), Clackamas (79), Clatsop (3), Columbia (6), Coos (6), Crook (15), Curry (3), Deschutes (59), Douglas (7), Grant (25), Hood River (3), Jackson (54), Jefferson (3), Josephine (29), Klamath (43), Lake (2), Lane (57), Lincoln (6), Linn (20), Malheur (1), Marion (63), Morrow (5), Multnomah (88), Polk (13), Tillamook (3), Umatilla (9), Union (2), Wallowa (1), Wasco (6), Washington (69) and Yamhill (8).

Deaths: Oregons 2,456th death connected to the coronavirus is a 45-year-old Columbia County man who tested positive April 12 and died April 15. The state is still determining where he died and whether he had underlying health conditions.

Oregons 2,457th death is an 80-year-old Klamath County man who tested positive April 8 and died April 12 at Sky Lakes Medical Center. He had underlying health conditions.

Hospitalizations: 199 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 are hospitalized, four more than on Thursday. There are 52 patients with COVID-19 in intensive care, one fewer than Thursday.

Since it began: Oregon has reported 173,626 confirmed or presumed infections and 2,457 deaths, among the lowest per capita numbers in the nation. To date, the state has reported 2,446,086 vaccine doses administered.

-- Fedor Zarkhin

503-294-7674; fzarkhin@oregonian.com
For German custom garage Thunderbike , a group that has made a name for itself over the past 30 years by giving Harley-Davidson motorcycles new looks and at times improved capabilities, naming their creations is pretty straightforward: it just takes the name of the most prominent pierce of hardware it slaps on the bike, and extends it to become the entires build moniker.The same happened with this incredibly fresh-looking motorcycle we have here. Born in Milwaukee as a Street Glide , it was rechristened Streemaster because thats the name of the massive 26-inch front wheel: a milled monoblock piece that, according to the shop, is suitable for all Harley touring machines made starting with 2009.But the front wheel is not the only added hardware on the bike, nor is it the most in-your-face. The Street Glide was gifted with a long front fender that covers almost half of the front wheels diameter, a bolt-on rake kit, and a custom body kit that spreads its magic all the way to the back.All the body modifications have been wrapped in various shades of yellow and white, perfectly contrasting the blackness of the frame and the engine supported by it.Although they might not look like it, the modifications made to the two-wheeler come close to about 13,600 euros, which amounts to about a little over $16,000 at todays exchange rates. Of that, the Streetmaster wheel alone is worth close to $9,000, according to Thunderbike For reference, the price of a stock and brand new Street Glide kicks off at $21,999.
Bank of America's chief executive is the latest business leader to speak out about restrictive voting legislation in states such as Georgia and Texas, calling for a federal bipartisan commission to investigate the measures.

"The right to vote should be distributed in the broadest sense and anything that goes against that shouldn't be tolerated," said CEO Brian Moynihan in an interview with CNN's Poppy Harlow on Friday.

The comments come just two days after more than 100 executives from major companies took out a full page ad in The New York Times defending the right to vote for all and opposing "any discriminatory legislation" that infringes on that right.

Moynihan acknowledged that states have the right to set their own voting standards, but he argued that businesses should speak out when they see something they feel is unjust.

He did just that a few years ago when the governor of North Carolina, the state where Bank of America is headquartered, signed a bill that banned transgender people from using public bathrooms for the sex they identify as.

Coca-Cola and Delta, which are both based in Atlanta, each have criticized the restrictive new laws in Georgia.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has also been vocal about his concerns regarding violence against Black Americans and social and economic injustice. Dimon told CNN's David Axelrod earlier this week that "the American dream is fraying and income inequality is like the fault line."

Moynihan said he agreed with Dimon, and stressed that his bank plans to invest even more in local minority entrepreneurs as well as programs to help boost job skills.

Economy on the mend, but must be careful about spending

Moynihan also spoke to Harlow about the economy and President Joe Biden's proposal to raise corporate taxes. He said that he's bullish about a rebound, citing forecasts from Bank of America's own economists that call for a 7% surge in GDP growth this year and another 5% increase in 2022.

"That's much faster than the past few years," he said, adding that it was encouraging to see the number of people filing for weekly jobless claims as well as the unemployment rate coming down.

But Moynihan hedged when asked if he supports Biden's plan to boost the corporate tax rate to 28% (from 21%) to help pay for the federal government's $2 trillion stimulus package.

"We have to see what they come up with," he said.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Lyft CEO John Zimmer are some of the corporate leaders who have said they are in favor of a tax hike.

Moynihan told Harlow that although he thinks America needs a "well-focused infrastructure plan" to stay competitive with the rest of the world, Washington needs to also be worried about the size of the spending package in order to preserve the nation's credit rating.

And like many other business leaders, Moynihan stressed that his biggest concern about the US economy remains Covid-19, saying that America must "get the health care crisis" behind us and boost vaccinations.




LG Energy Solution said Saturday it will build a $2.3 billion electric vehicle (EV) battery factory in Tennessee in a joint venture with automaker General Motors.







The joint venture, Ultium Cells, will be housed in LG's second U.S. factory and have an annual capacity of 35 gigawatt-hours, similar to the first one under construction in Ohio, LG Energy said.







"With the joint venture's factory construction, LG Energy Solution has secured additional EV battery production capacity in the U.S. and will actively target the rapidly growing U.S. market," the company said in a statement.







The Tennessee factory's capacity  when it opens in late 2023  is enough to provide battery packs for more than 500,000 electric vehicles, it added.







LG Energy said in a regulatory briefing Friday that it and GM will each invest $933.5 million in the facility through 2023.







The planned construction comes as GM plans to phase out internal combustion engine cars by 2035 and has set a goal of offering 30 all-electric models by the middle of the decade, which requires a stable supply of EV batteries.







LG Energy currently operates a lithium-ion battery factory in Michigan and is building a new factory in Ohio  also through Ultium Cells  which will be completed in 2022.







The world's No. 2 battery maker said last month it plans to invest more than 5 trillion won to expand U.S. battery production capacity by 2025, including the two new plants.







LG Energy vowed to step up its EV battery business in the U.S. after recently reaching an agreement on a two-year-long trade secret suit with SK Innovation, which agreed to pay it 2 trillion won. (Yonhap)


Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-15 16:41:07|Editor: huaxia

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Indonesian police officers carry the body of a suspect terrorist at Bhayangkara hospital in Makssar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, April 15, 2021. A terrorist suspect in the Indonesian city of Makassar in South Sulawesi province was killed by the National Police counterterrorism squad Densus 88 after allegedly trying to attack officers with machetes during a raid, police said on Thursday. (Photo by Niaz Sharief/Xinhua)

JAKARTA, April 15 (Xinhua) -- A terrorist suspect in the Indonesian city of Makassar in South Sulawesi province was killed by the National Police counterterrorism squad Densus 88 after allegedly trying to attack officers with machetes during a raid, police said on Thursday.

"When (the suspect) was going to be arrested, (the suspect) resisted and attacked officers who then took measurable firm actions," South Sulawesi police's spokesman E. Zulpan told reporters in Makassar, as reported by local media.

The suspected terrorist, identified as MT, was allegedly linked to the suicide bombers who attacked a cathedral in the city late in March. MT was shot to death in Biringkanaya sub-district.

To date, at least 31 suspected terrorists have been arrested by Densus 88 following the suicide bombing in Makassar.

Those suspects are allegedly affiliated with the Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), an IS-inspired organization suspected of suicide attacks on churches in the city of Surabaya, East Java, in 2018. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 19:32:46|Editor: huaxia

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BAGHDAD, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The militants of the extremist Islamic State (IS) group on Saturday detonated two bombs near two oil wells in Iraq's Kirkuk Province, a security source said.

The attacks took place at dawn in Bai Hassan oil field in the al-Dibis area northwest of the namesake provincial capital Kirkuk, some 250 km north of Iraq's capital Baghdad, causing minor casualties in the oil wells, a provincial police source told Xinhua.

The Iraq North Oil Company confirmed in a brief statement that the attacks did not cause fires or stop oil production and pumping from the two wells.

Iraq's oil installations and pipelines have been frequently attacked by extremist IS militants despite the improvement of the security situation in the country since the government declared the full defeat of the IS throughout the country late in 2017.

IS remnants have since melted in deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. Enditem
As Indias daily tally of Covid-19 infections surged by a record 200,000-plus cases on two consecutive days, public health experts worry that a new -- possibly more virulent -- variant could be racing through the crowded nation of more than 1.3 billion people.

The new variant, which has a so-called double mutation, is thought to be fueling Indias deadlier new wave of infections that has made it the worlds second worst-hit country, surpassing Brazil, and has already begun to overwhelm its hospitals and crematoriums. The Asian nation has reported more than 14 million Covid cases so far and more than 174,300 fatalities.

This is a variant of interest we are following, Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organizations technical lead officer on Covid, told reporters Friday. Having two of these mutations, which have been seen in other variants around the world, are concerning, she said, adding that there was a similarity with mutations that increase transmission as well as reduce neutralization, possibly stunting the ability of vaccines to curb them.

The new strain underscores the insidious nature of viruses and threatens to thwart containment efforts in India, despite stringent measures such as the worlds largest last year. An exploding outbreak in India risks undoing a hard-won victory over the pathogen for others too, especially as this strain has now jumped to at least 10 other countries.

Heres what we know so far:

How did the double mutation variant emerge?

The new variant, called B.1.617, was initially detected in India with two mutations -- the E484Q and L452R. It was first reported late last year by a scientist in India and more details were presented before the WHO on Monday, according to Van Kerkhove.

Viruses mutate all the time, as part of evolutionary biology. Some mutations weaken the virus while others may make it stronger, enabling it to proliferate faster or cause more infections.

Indias health ministry first acknowledged the presence of such a double mutant at the end of March, but has downplayed it since. While its a variant of interest, it has not been stamped as a variant of concern so as to say that it is more lethal or more infectious, Aparna Mukherjee, a scientist at the Indian Council of Medical Research, which works under the nations health ministry, told Bloomberg TV on Friday.

Is it causing the record surge in infections in India?

Genome sequencing indicates the variant as a possible culprit. The average prevalence of the variant surged to as high as 52% of samples sequenced in April from almost nothing in January, according to website tracker outbreak.info, which uses data from global repository GISAID.

In some districts in Maharashtra state -- home to the nations financial hub Mumbai and epicenter of the current wave thats currently under lockdown-like rules -- the prevalence of this variant was more than 60%, according to Anurag Agrawal, director of the state-run Council of Scientific and Industrial Researchs genomics institute thats conducting sequencing. The B.1.617 was present in samples from about 10 Indian states and while the percentage may vary, it was expected to rise as it has two critical mutations that make it more likely to transmit and escape prior immunity, Agrawal said.

We did the math -- we do believe that a lot of the increase in the reproduction number can be explained by these mutations, Nithya Balasubramanian, the head of healthcare research at Bernstein India, told Bloomberg TV this week. So, yes, the mutations are a big cause for worry.

After slowly mapping virus genomes in recent months -- India did sequencing for less than 1% positive samples as of last month -- the country is now scrambling to cover lost ground. We are attempting to do at least 5% of whatever samples are there, said ICMRs Mukherjee.

It looks like that it is spreading faster than pre-existing variants, said Rakesh Mishra, the Hyderabad-based director of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology -- another Indian lab doing genome sequencing of Covid samples. Sooner or later, it will become prevalent in the whole country, given the way it is spreading.

Has it been found outside India?

This variant has been detected in at least 10 other countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Australia and New Zealand, according to the situation report on outbreak.info.

As of April 16, 408 sequences in the B.1.617 lineage have been detected of which 265 were found in India, the report shows. A surveillance report by the U.K. government said it has found 77 cases in England and Scotland so far, designating it as a Variant Under Investigation.

New Zealand has temporarily suspended arrivals of its citizens and residents from India due to the spike in the number returning with Covid. Brazil was also shunned as a Covid superspreader by its neighbors who were nervous about the virus strain next door.

Indias second wave -- given its size and rapid pace -- will worry other nations that have just about managed their own outbreaks after weeks of economy-devastating lockdowns.

Is it deadlier than other variants out there?

Researchers are still trying to figure that out. The features of the double mutant variant are under investigation, but the L452R mutation is well characterized in U.S studies, according to Agrawal. It increases viral transmission by around 20% and reduces antibody efficacy by more than 50%, he said.

Globally, three worrisome variants that have so far emerged in the U.K., South Africa and Brazil have caused particular concern. Studies suggest they are more contagious, and some evidence points to one of them being more deadly while another drives reinfections.

The double mutant strain, first found in India, has begun troubling virologists everywhere.

The B.1.617 variant has all the hallmarks of a very dangerous virus, William A. Haseltine, a former professor at Harvard Medical School wrote in Forbes on April 12. We must do all that is possible to identify its spread and to contain it.

Do vaccines work against it?

Its hard to know for sure without adequate data and research. India is testing whether the new variants, including the B.1.617, are capable of immune escape or not, according to ICMRs Mukherjee.

Immune escape refers to a pathogens ability to evade human bodies immunity response. This means antibodies created after vaccination or prior infection may not protect a person from getting infected. If the new India variant shows immune escape behavior, this would have deep ramifications for Indias vaccination program, which has picked up after a sluggish start and administered 117 million doses so far.

India has currently authorized three vaccines. Two of them are already in use while the third, Russias Sputnik V, was approved this week. India also fast-tracked approval for foreign vaccines this week. All of these efforts risk being jeopardized if the shots turn out to be less effective against this double mutation variant.

It is one of the ones thats on our radar, and in doing so, it means its on the radar of people around the world, said Van Kerkhove.
Knoxville police work the scene of a shooting at Austin-East Magnet High School Monday, April 12, 2021, in Knoxville, Tenn. AP Photo/Wade Payne

A 17-year-old in Knoxville, Tennessee, was shot and killed by police on Monday.

Officials first said the teen, Anthony Thompson, had shot an officer, before walking back the claim.

Community members are calling for the body camera footage to be released.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

A 17-year-old in Knoxville, Tennessee, was shot and killed by police on Monday during a confrontation in a high school bathroom. Anthony J. Thompson Jr. was later identified as the student.

Officers from the Knoxville Police Department arrived at Austin-East Magnet High School in response to a call that a possibly armed teen was in the school. When officers arrived, the subject, Thompson, was in a school bathroom, which they entered.

Initial reports from law enforcement said that Thompson had shot an officer, prompting officers to return fire, killing the teen. But 48 hours later, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation walked back the initial report, saying "the bullet that struck the KPD officer was not fired from the student's handgun."

Read more: Daunte Wright's killing is tragic proof police need massive reforms. But calls for 'ending policing' are unpopular and counterproductive.

In its updated report, TBI acknowledged the changed narrative: "During investigations, agents discover facts that may clarify initial reports. This is why our agency uses terms in our releases such as 'preliminary,' 'possibly,' and 'reportedly.'"

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Scant details have been released about how the incident unfolded. The latest TBI report says that after officers entered the bathroom there was a "subsequent struggle" and "the student's gun was fired," followed by the officers firing twice.

Additional details have not been given about the bullet that struck Officer Adam Wilson, who is recovering from surgery as a result of the injury.

TBI has not given details about how many officers were in the bathroom or which may have shot Thompson.

Story continues

Amid the lack of available details, community members and local officials have called on the body camera footage to be released. Those calls have been unsuccessful, despite being joined by three of the four officers involved, local outlet Knox News reported.

"In an effort to accurately inform the public, all three officers fully support the release of all unedited body camera footage related to this incident," a statement from the officers provided to Knox News said.

Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon and KPD Chief Eve Thomas have also called for the footage to be released, but District Attorney General Charme Allen has declined to release the footage while the investigation is ongoing.

Have a news tip? Contact this reporter at kvlamis@insider.com.

Read the original article on Insider
Libya on Saturday launched its coronavirus vaccination campaign for the general population in Tripoli, with the elderly and healthcare workers given priority in the conflict-hit North African nation.

Those over 70 would get the AstraZeneca jab while the Russian Sputnik V vaccine would be administered to medical personnel and those aged 50-60, the National Centre for Disease Control said.

NCDC head Badreddine al-Najjar told AFP the vaccines would be distributed across Libya "in the coming days", adding that China's Sinovac jab would also be available.

Libya has so far received 400,000 doses, including 200,000 Sputnik V shots, 57,600 AstraZeneca jabs and 150,000 from Turkey thought to be China's Sinovac.

The AstraZeneca doses were delivered through the Covax programme for lower and middle income countries.

The country is struggling to emerge from decades of violence and political rivalries following its descent into chaos in the aftermath of the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that ousted dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

Although rich in oil, the economy has been hit hard and the situation was further compounded by the pandemic with nearly 1,000 cases registered per day in recent weeks.

Since the pandemic emerged last year, there have been 171,131 confirmed Covid cases in Libya, including 2,882 deaths, out of a population of seven million, officials say.

On Saturday, dozens of men and women wore face masks and sat on chairs which were spread out to ensure physical distancing in the courtyard of a vaccination centre in Tripoli as they waited to get a jab.

Libyan authorities have appealed on the general population, including illegal migrants, to register for vaccination and set up an electronic portal in March for that purpose.

But no lockdown measures are currently in place, and while masks are obligatory in public places, the measure is widely flouted.

Libya officially launched its vaccination campaign a week ago with Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah getting the first jab.

Dbeibah was selected earlier this year through a UN-backed inter-Libyan dialogue to lead the country to national elections in December 2021.

rb/hha/hkb/dv
The Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex were seen speaking to one another after the funeral of theirgrandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh  a possible sign of reconciliation after their bitter fallout.

The ceremony for Prince Philip took place on Saturday afternoon at St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle, after the Duke died on 9 April at the age of 99.

It was the first time that the brothers had seen each other in over a year and comes after Harry and Meghans explosive Oprah interview last month.

William and Harry walked separately in the Dukes funeral procession, either side of their cousin Peter Phillips  Princess Annes son  behind their grandfathers coffin en route to the chapel.

They sat apart inside the chapel, opposite one another. The 30 guests in attendance at the ceremony sat separately within their respective household bubbles.

Following the funeral, as the family filed out of the chapel, the brothers walked together, along with the Duchess of Cambridge, and were seen chatting as they did so.

The decision for Harry and William to walk separately in the procession prompted speculation that they could not be reconciled.

During Harrys interview with Oprah Winfrey, he explained that the brothers were having space at the moment, but added, time heals all things, hopefully.

He added: As Ive said before, I love William to bits. Hes my brother. Weve been through hell together. We have a shared experience, but we were on different paths.

They were said to have spoken on the phone last month in the wake of the interview.

However, according to CBS News presenter Gayle King, their conversation was unproductive.

The image of the brothers walking in the procession brought to mind that of 15-year-old William and 12-year-old Harry walking behind the coffin of their mother, Diana, the Princess of Wales, at her royal ceremonial funeral on 6 September 1997.

Prince Philips funeral adhered to strict Covid guidelines, with only 30 guests in attendance, all of whom are wearing masks and complying with social distancing.

The Duchess of Sussex did not attend the funeral. She had been hopeful to attend, but was not cleared for travel by her doctor, due to the stage she is at in her pregnancy. Instead, Meghan watched remotely from her Los Angeles home.

She did, however, pay tribute to the Duke by leaving a handwritten note for him on a wreath that Harry laid at St Georges Chapel behalf of himself and his wife at the chapel.
Prince Philip was laid to rest Saturday in a somber and scaled-down funeral procession that honored his lifetime of service. But the image that everyone talked about was of his widow, Queen Elizabeth II, who sat alone inside St. Georges Chapel dressed in black while wearing a face mask. The striking image was the result of COVID-19 restrictions that require everyone not part of the same household to socially distance. The photograph of the queen sitting alone seemed to bring home the reality that the queen lost her partner of 73 years. It was an image that led many to sympathize with the queen, showing her as a lonely widow rather than a powerful leader.

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Seeing the Queen sat alone is a deeply upsetting sight - my heart goes out to her, but also to the many thousands of families whove also had to grieve lost loved ones during the pandemic



I wouldnt wish that experience on anybody #PrincePhilipfuneral pic.twitter.com/Q7LiHVyvSz  Eve (@_evebennett) April 17, 2021

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A moving and poignant service to mourn the loss of a remarkable public servant.



Seeing the Queen sitting alone will have reminded the nation of the hardship we have faced together in this most difficult of years.  Anas Sarwar (@AnasSarwar) April 17, 2021

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Sitting alone in her husbands funeral also served as a reminder of how many people had to grieve alone during the pandemic. These pictures really bring home one of the horrible truths of the pandemic, journalist Jane Merrick wrote on Twitter: that there can be no tearful hugs with reunited family right at the time when you need it most. So many wrote about the image on social media that the term seeing the queen trended in the United Kingdom.

Seeing the Queen sitting alone grieving her husband is one hell of a heart-breaking pandemic image.  Lulu (@lourdesgnavarro) April 17, 2021

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Although there were 730 members of the armed forces at the funeral procession, only 30 mourners were allowed to attend the service for Philip, who died April 9, a little more than two months before his 100th birthday. Sitting a safe distance away were the queens four children and eight grandchildren, including Prince Harry and his brother William, who spoke in public for the first time since the explosive Oprah Winfrey interview last month. Although the Royal Family had asked people to watch the service from home to avoid a large gathering, hundreds of people lined the streets outside the castle to pay their respects.
Re: Homeless site on the move

Has anyone heard the homeless camp is moving to a new temporary location?

The plan is to plant vegetation to hide and beautify the camp and provide soft ground to allow the tent pegs to be hammered in easier. The rail trail entrance East side of Richter will be through the new camp or at least beside it.

Several businesses within 100 metres have lone female office staff this could be an extreme threat to their safety, not to mention a seniors apartment overlooking the camp 20 metres away.

Most businesses in the area had NO notice, while a select few had less than 24 hours. The letter was dated April 14, 2021. Work started April 15th 2021 at 7am. There was no other prior notification or contact about the move.

The cost of the new temporary camp must be huge. The move involves heavy duty equipment for excavation and landscape boulders, also the planting of greenery. Not to mention the lamp stands, lights and cameras. All this to move the temporary site 100m to the new temporary site. The old site had NO businesses within 100m, was a more secure site and had access from 2 roads. The new site has access from 1 road and has several businesses and residences within a 100m. This seems less suitable than the old site.

The city has not defined temporary. With the current work being performed and the planned landscaping, it does not seem temporary.

I do see an intercity power transmission pole in the middle of the camp. Is this a safety hazard to the campers? Does the electro magnetic radiation affect the campers? The lamp standards are also under the main transmission lines. Could the high voltage spark across to the lamp stands and electrocute the campers? Does this seem like a suitable site to you? Would you camp there?

Could this spark also back feed into the grid and blow up near by heavy equipment and computers? Was Fortis consulted about this?

Was Canada post consulted? The camp borders the post office through a chain link fence where there is a couple dozen post office vans. The rural route workers and letter carriers work out of this office, most of them are women. What about the safety of these workers? Was the union notified or consulted?

It seems the city has again abandoned tax paying citizens and businesses and increased financial strain on already Covid beaten down businesses. The cost of the increase in theft and vandalism will be down loaded on the neighbouring businesses as well as the increased threat to health and safety

The stain on the reputation and safety of the rail trail tourist attraction will now continue for the foreseeable future.

Alan Ewbank
On Wednesday, the weekly Cabinet meeting convened in a downbeat mood after 48 hours of chaos and setback in relation to the countrys vaccine rollout programme.

The decision of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee to advise not to give the AstraZeneca vaccine to anyone other than the 60-69 age group combined with the news that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was being paused was a double hammer blow.

The fact the bad news came just as the country took its first meaningful step out of level 5 lockdown restrictions was painfully ironic and sought to foster a sense that we would never be free of this nightmare.

Ministers have described the gloomy atmosphere in the Cabinet room, even though Taoiseach Micheal Martin sought to accentuate the positive.

'Very glum'

It was very glum. The Johnson & Johnson decision was a real kick in the gut and we gathered in a pretty dire state on Wednesday, one minister has said.

Suddenly, Mr Martin said he had to step out to take a call from EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

A short while later, he came back to say he had some very good news about the Pfizer vaccine but was not in a position to tell the Cabinet for fear it might leak out.

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar interjected by saying the news that Ireland would be getting an additional 545,000 vaccines was already out there.

Notwithstanding Mr Martins predilection for caution, the upshot was transformative to the disposition of ministers in the room.

The net effect of the extra Pfizer jabs was to nullify the impact of the Johnson & Johnson decision the day before and, in better news, ministers expect a favourable decision from the European Medicines Agency on the J&J vaccine next week.

Added to this is the ever-improving situation in terms of Covid-19 cases numbers, particularly among the elderly and the vulnerable categories, the numbers in hospital and those in ICU.

From the peak in mid-January when there were 2,020 people in hospital and 221 in ICU, on Thursday, there were just 181 in hospital with 51 in ICU.

All of this has fed into the pent-up demand for the country to be allowed to reopen faster than what has been envisaged so far.

Certainly, the scenes from the UK this week with revellers enjoying themselves in pubs outdoors has brought a degree of envy and jealously from a weary Irish public who has suffered under some of the most stringent restrictions on personal liberties for too long.

But in the midst of all this is the news that the EU is progressing with plans to introduce a digital green certificate or vaccine passport with a view to allowing international travel to recommence in earnest, perhaps by July.

As reported in recent days, Brussels wants vaccine passports to be operational across the EU by the end of June.

Pilot schemes will be launched at the beginning of that month, with the aim to have the whole system up and running by June 21, Didier Reynders, the European commissioner for justice, told MEPs on Tuesday.

The European Commission had wanted the so-called digital green certificates to be fully operational by the end of May, with some member states more dependent on tourism, such as Greece and Spain, pushing for an even earlier start.

But, for now, that target has been dropped.

"Its urgent," Reynders told MEPs. "Of course, we want to be ready before the summer. For the end of June, we want to be ready with the regulation."

If approved by the European Parliament, the Irish Government would be obliged to issue digital green certificates when they are requested by citizens for international travel.

Civil liberty groups have cried foul that such plans are an infringement on our freedoms.

Irish Council for Civil Liberties head Liam Herrick has said there are many reasons why people cannot or do not want to receive vaccines, including because of a medical condition or lack of access to the vaccine.

In Ireland, we have not gone down the route of mandatory vaccinations, but vaccine passports would effectively be mandatory vaccination by the back door," said Mr Herrick. "That has huge knock-on implications for our rights, creating a two-tier society."

Leading Government figures such as Mr Varadkar have suggested such certs could also be used to allow vaccinated people to access services at home earlier.

All going to plan and if approved by the Oireachtas, it is possible to see fully vaccinated over-60s being able to travel within the EU by air, which, of course, would be a welcome development for the aviation sector which has been strangled over the past year.

It has been somewhat curious for a country that is so reliant on aviation for trade and for a people who are so fond of travelling that there has been so little discussion at political level to protect it.

Qualms and difficulties aside, it appears the vaccine passport is the preferred method of allowing travel to recommence and on that basis must be given top priority.

The level of lockdown here is no longer proportionate either with the scale of the virus or the number of deaths because of it in our society.

We keep hearing about an abundance of caution but in reality that has meant an abdication of duty and responsibility from our political class.

From an EU perspective, after a disastrous year in relation to Covid-19, it desperately needs a major win.

Such has been the failure, Ms von der Leyen has been open to charges of running a pathetic kakistocracy, not worthy of public confidence.

Dented confidence

From an Irish perspective, even though we remain overwhelmingly pro-European, the calamity in January over the Northern Irish Protocol combined with the glacial pace in the vaccine delivery has dented confidence in Brussels at a time of great change.

As Mr Varadkar said this week, the Troika experience here a decade ago strained relations with Europe and fresh concerns are on the horizon.

He also cited referendum defeats linked to concerns about the diminution of our sovereignty and military neutrality as other negatives on Irelands relationship with Europe.

He said it is also a relationship which is undergoing profound change.

We are now a net contributor and that will inevitably change how we look at things," said Mr Varadkar. "Also, any shift towards protectionism or competence creep will concern us. And, of course, the impact of Brexit is profound and will forever change the web of relationships across these islands and Europe.

The vaccine passport is a golden opportunity for the EU to reclaim some credibility and it would be a fitting recompense to the people of Europe who have been so woefully let down by its political masters.
Eight dead after shooting at FedEx facility in U.S. state of Indiana

Xinhua) 09:54, April 17, 2021

A FedEx delivery truck is pictured in Manhattan, New York, the United States, June 25, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

CHICAGO, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Eight people were killed and multiple people suffered gunshot wounds that required hospitalization after a shooting late Thursday night at a FedEx facility on the southwest side of Indianapolis, the capital of the U.S. Midwest state Indiana.

Of those suffering gunshot wounds, at least one person remained in critical condition by 3 a.m. local time (0800 GMT) Friday, said Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Spokesperson Genae Cook at a follow-up news conference.

An unknown number of others went to local hospitals with injuries. No law enforcement officers were among the wounded.

Cook said that the eight people were killed in and around the facility. The shooter has taken his own life.

This is the fourth mass shooting in Indianapolis this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

The FedEx hub employs more than 4,500 people and is the second-largest hub in the company's global network, local media reported.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Bianji)
Johannesburg, April 17 : South Africans over the age of 60 have been urged to start registering online in order to be vaccinated next month, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said this when launching the vaccination electronic data system which would allow people to register online.

"The president, myself, hundreds of thousands of healthcare workers and now you, the citizens of South Africa, have or will all access the vaccines through the same process, by using this system," he said on Friday.

The minister said this was the first time in history that a major public health campaign will be supported by one digital system for all South Africans, Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.

The launch was held as government was preparing for the start of the second phase of the vaccination campaign set for May.

The first phase only included healthcare workers.
Vice Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee Khuat Viet Hung talks about proposals to the Government to promote green and environmentally friendly traffic in Vietnam.

Vice Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee Khuat Viet Hung.

Electric cars are a current trend around the world. What do you think?

It is an irreversible trend. Electric cars are a choice for the present and the future. And we can feel it by the way the market responds positively to VinFast's electric scooter products (when the company put the product on sale, there were 4,000 orders after 12 hours). It is not only the credibility of the market with a car manufacturer, but also because people are really looking forward to and excited about electric cars.

In the world as well as in Vietnam, environmental issues are becoming more urgent. Encouraging people to switch to low-emission vehicles such as electric cars, electric motorcycles, electric buses and trains is one of the effective solutions to reduce environmental risks. Some countries have a roadmap to stop use of gasoline cars in the next decade and replace them with electric cars.

So, although I am a bit surprised at the time, I am not surprised when VinFast affirms its vision of becoming a global smart electric car company and announced the development of three electric models. In the near future, the auto market is likely to be more active with the participation of foreign electric models. But regardless of brand, what both manufacturers and users are waiting for is a system of appropriate support policies to gradually form and develop a stable and sustainable market for electric cars in Vietnam.

What should the supportive policy system be to promote the electric car market?

The Government needs to have a comprehensive programme, including a system of solutions to encourage and support users as well as manufacturers. Specifically, for manufacturers, those are policies to encourage research, development, commercialisation, and supply chain construction (from research and development of battery technology, fuel cells, operating systems to a complete car). For users, there are specific support policies to help them easily own, use and gradually create a habit of driving an electric car. All countries developing electric vehicles must have a very specific and strong market-making strategy and policy.

Can you give us more details about effective market making policies?

Each country has different market-creating policies, but the US, European nations, Japan, South Korea, China all focus on reducing the cost of owning and using cars. For example, the German government waives the annual sales tax on electric vehicles, and provides direct subsidies to electric vehicle buyers of between 3,000-5,000 euros (US$3,600 - $5,980).

South Korea provides a one-time subsidy of 14 million won ($12,500), tax relief, insurance fees, highway tolls and parking fees for electric vehicle owners. China subsidises 20,000-40,000 yuan (over $3,050 - $6,100) depending on electric vehicles; at the same time, plans and invests in a nationwide network of electricity supply infrastructure. In addition, each locality has its own incentives, for example, the city of Shanghai gives free licence plates to electric cars.

These are all developed countries that have the conditions to directly support people switching to electric cars. Is this feasible in Vietnam when the budget has to prioritise more urgent goals?

First of all, it is necessary to be aware that the rapid development of electric cars is an opportunity to rise in the global auto industry and an inevitable trend.

Therefore, the policy of the Party and the State to encourage the development of electric cars in particular and environmentally friendly vehicles in general needs to be concretised with clear policies and legal provisions, transparency, so that both users and manufacturers can be assured of the issue.

Next, it is difficult to ask the Government of Vietnam to provide direct subsidies to buyers of electric cars like the aforementioned countries in limited budget conditions. But its entirely feasible for the Government to support part of the cost of vehicle ownership for people, for example, a partial or full reduction of registration fee, special consumption tax, or partial or full reduction of road user fees.

For manufacturers and businesses, the Government may consider reducing import tax on electric vehicle components, supporting related infrastructure such as land allocation, land use tax exemption or reduction for automobile factories or ancillary products as well as charging station systems. Of course, these market-making policies are only for a certain period, maybe 10 years.

Will such policies be enough to bring about the change?

The goal is that the subsidy policies for a certain product or service of the Government would create a universal cultural value in the whole society for that product or service. Therefore, policies will be continuously observed, evaluated and adjusted. But I believe that after a period of support, the market size will be large enough, the culture of using electric vehicles will form and have enough momentum to develop itself.

Of course, to create the habits of users, the issue also depends on the ability of technology, services, and convenience of electric vehicles to meet the wishes of people. Therefore, apart from creating conditions for the electric car industry, we need to create open directions to other related supporting industries, such as battery production, to shorten technology development time for green means.

Where should we begin?

In my opinion, the Government needs to set a clear goal, for example, by 2025 or 2030, how many per cent of cars in the market are electric cars; how emissions reductions and environmental goals should be achieved; determine which agencies and individuals are responsible for promulgating, guiding, implementing and monitoring the implementation of market-making policies, etc.

From these goals, the Government needs to calculate in detail the problem of financial, economic and environmental benefits that electric cars bring when replacing fossil fuel-powered cars. Then it balances the total financial resources and the specific conditions that the government and local authorities can support, in a certain time to concretise into legal, transparent documents.

Of course, change does not come overnight, but we have a partial advantage when there is a generation of young people exposed to the culture of electric vehicles very early, from electric bicycles to electric motorcycles. That is the generation of the green future. And our job is to prepare that future generation, now.

VNS

When will Vietnam begin to make electric cars? On March 24, Vinfast made headlines after releasing its statement about receiving orders for its first electric car model VF e34 for VND690 million (about $32,000), to be delivered in the third quarter of 2021.
Many moons and several governors ago, Bob Straub famously asked why Oregons state government couldnt be more like the local Les Schwab Tire Center:

Accessible. Reliable. Responsive. Service-oriented.

Straub didnt live to see the tumult of the pandemic or the roll-out of the vaccines. Whatever he might have thought about the Oregon Health Authority, I know he would have loved the Facebook group, Find a COVID Shot Oregon.

The group has one mission and one mission only: Were all about shots in arms. When you join, 9,000 of your neighbors are working to find you that precious vaccine appointment in Oregon or southwest Washington.

Crowdsourcing doesnt get any better than this.

The page was launched on February 11 by JoLene Krawczak, a long-time editor at The Oregonian/OregonLive. But it was energized a day or two later when Krawczak was approached by an elderly couple at the Walgreens in Oregon City.

They asked me, Where do you get the vaccine? Krawczak says. At the time, the pharmacies werent in the business yet, so I said I think you have to register online for the convention center.

They said, We dont have a computer. They looked so lost and helpless. Thats going to haunt me for a long, long time. If only Id known a bit more, I could have helped them.

It broke my heart. And it upped my investment in this Facebook group. It was no longer just about me and a couple people I knew.

Krawczak thought state health administrators did an abysmal job in the roll-out of the vaccine. They werent prepared, and I dont know why. Everyone knew the vaccine was coming. In the early days, it was like throwing people out with the garbage.

Many cities and counties didnt have a vaccination site. Everyone in Portland was herded to the airport or the Oregon Convention Center. When pharmacies finally entered the fray, searching the individual websites was a frustrating, time-consuming and despairing ritual.

Even in mid-April, there continues to be an unsettling disparity in delivering the vaccine to communities of color.

Lena Evans, the founder of the Poker League of Nations and a good friend, helped Krawczak start the page. The mechanics are simple. When a group member works their way through the maze and discovers available vaccine appointments at a pharmacy in Tigard or the Grand Ronde gym, they post news of that small miracle on Facebook. The bulletin is quickly shared with other members who signed up to receive notifications on their phones and laptops.

Find a Covid Shot Oregon went to a whole nother level when Sami Unrau and Jeff McNamee joined the band.

Unrau runs social-media engagement at Nike. Shed struck out on landing vaccines for her parents until she found the Facebook page. Two hours later, both her parents had shot appointments, and Unrau was messaging Krawczak, asking if she could help.

I had a baby a month and half into the pandemic, Unrau says, and I was dealing with the feeling that everything was out of my control. The newborn. The virus. Uber-quarantined. Then this landed on my plate, and I realized, This is it. This is what I can do. I have the skill set. Im finally able to have an impact.

Krawczak suggested she join the group as a moderator. JoLene just trusted me, Unrau says, I had some ideas. She said, Cool, go for it.

One idea was to recruit McNamee, an IT project manager at Kaiser Permanente. McNamee was well-versed in what the state was doing right and wrong with the vaccine, and he immediately put together a Google doc, Vaccine Finding 101.

That primer, searchable and mobile-friendly, is a glorious cheat sheet on eligibility, availability for first and second doses, and links to county health departments.

Krawczak, Unrau and McNamee are an extraordinary team, all the more amazing because, as Krawczak notes, Weve never met. Weve never even talked on the phone.

Yet together, theyve simplified a vaccine-delivery system that has confounded many of the most vulnerable Oregonians.

Theyve turned social media into a force for good. Imagine that.

It never feels like a commitment. It just feels like Im helping people, Krawczak says. You see it every day. I got my shot, thanks to this site, thanks to what I learned here. Its shocking and wonderful.

The beauty of the community weve set up is that its purpose and mission driven, Unrau says. The moderators have a grasp of messaging that eludes the OHA, and they also have an ability, unlike a public agency, to police comments that interfere with that mission.

One of our rules, and we have very few, is no vaccine shaming, Krawczak says. Nor are there anti-vaccine rants. Find a COVID Shot Oregon is pushing shots in arms, not political cheap shots.

And its mission will become more crucial Monday when, even as the Johnson & Johnson vaccine remains in hiatus, all Oregonians 16 and older become eligible.

The moderators are game. So many shots need to be found. So much community must be restored.

Selfishly, I want to go back to a normal life sooner rather than later, McNamee says. The more people that get vaccinated, the sooner that happens. When people arent mad or cynical, they dont give up. They stay motivated. They take care of themselves. They tell their neighbors and friends.

Theres a lot to be said for keeping peoples hopes up.

-- Steve Duin

stephen.b.duin@gmail.com
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias on Saturday reaffirmed his country's full support for Libya and also announced its willingness to strengthen cooperation in areas of common interest
India saw the highest spike in coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. Over 2.34 lakh coronavirus cases were reported in the past day, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data showed on Saturday. India reported 2,34,692 fresh cases and 1,341 deaths. This is the third consecutive day of over 2 lakh cases in the country. The overall COVID-19 cases in the country has shot up to 1,45,26,609, and death toll has reached 1,75,649.

The number of people who have recovered from the disease has gone up to 1,26,71,220, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.21 per cent, the data stated.

Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, and Karnataka have contributed the most to the rising cases of coronavirus. Maharashtra reported 63,729 cases, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 27,360 cases, Delhi with 19,486 cases, Chhattisgarh with 14,912 cases and Karnataka with 14,859 cases. Cases from these five states amount to 59.79 per cent of the new cases, while Maharashtra alone is responsible for 27.15 per cent.

India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7 last year, the 30-lakh mark on August 23, the 40-lakh mark on September 5 and the 50-lakh mark on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and the one-crore mark on December 19.

Meanwhile, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said that till Saturday 26,49,72,022 samples have been tested, including 14,95,397 samples from Friday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke to Swami Avdheshanand Giri and said that since two shahi sans (royal baths) have taken place, Kumbh Mela should now be symbolic in view of the rising coronavirus cases. Kumbh is slated to continue till April 30.

Also read: Third COVID-19 vaccine dose within a year, annual revaccination possibility: Pfizer CEO

Also read: 'Kumbh Mela should now only be symbolic,' says PM Modi
The Uttarakhand government imposed night curfew from 10 pm to 5:30 am every day and allowed only 50% occupancy on public transport. All social, religious, political, or weddings of over 200 people were barred but exempted the Mahakumb from all restrictions despite experts saying the rampant violation of mask protocol and social distancing guidelines.
Take a sip. Cheers. Like they do in Ireland, right?

The question was asked casually and jovially  the defence attorney trying to establish quick rapport with a prosecution witness ahead of his cross-examination.

Cool and calm, the expert witness finished his sip of water as he sat in the witness box. He smiled and gave a muted yes.

Dr Martin Tobin, of Freshford, Kilkenny was giving his evidence on Thursday in a US murder trial that has captivated the attention of millions of people. Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer accused of killing George Floyd last year, faces manslaughter, second degree murder and third degree murder charges.

The key witness delivered his testimony succinctly and largely free of the alienating, technical jargon that might have lost a layman juror  or indeed, any of those television and online viewers looking on. They were riveted as Dr Tobin gave his assessment of the factors contributing to the death of George Floyd.



A mural in memory of the late George Floyd. Image by F Muhammad from Pixabay

With the time difference coming into play, some people here described how they had skipped an evening meal or stayed up into the early hours to see the events unfolding in a courtroom hundreds of miles away. As he sat in the witness box, the familiar accent stood out from the other speakers, and made events seem even closer to home.

READ MORE: WHO IS DR MARTIN TOBIN?

Following Mr Floyds death in 2020, Dr Tobin was asked by the prosecution to review documents and videos depicting the circumstances of the death. Apparently, he watched some of the videos from the day hundreds of times.

Last Thursday, prosecutor Jerry Blackwell had asked Dr Tobin if he had formed an opinion to a reasonable degree of medical certainty on the cause of Mr Floyds death. The doctor said that he had - Mr Floyd died from a low level of oxygen. This caused damage to his brain and it also caused an arrhythmia that caused his heart to stop, he said.

In his opinion, Dr Tobin said, the cause of the low level of oxygen was shallow breathing. This, he said, was a result of a combination of his prone position, being in handcuffs, and the knee on the back of his neck. Asked if he was aware of Mr Floyds pre-existing health conditions, Dr Tobin said he was.

A healthy person subjected to what Mr Floyd was subjected to would have died, he submitted.

With video footage, he carefully explained the mechanics of breathing to the jury, and also went through a birds eye view graphic of how the events of the day unfolded.

It was expected the Defence would highlight the coroners report of the presence of the drug Fentanyl in Mr Floyds system. Counting aloud for the jury, he pointed to the rate of breathing as evidenced in video footage, and said the rate appeared normal and not significantly depressed as would be the case were Fentanyl the issue.

He said that Carbon Dioxide levels found in Mr Floyds body were consistent with not having taken a breath in nine minutes and 50 seconds by the time medics intubated him. Dr Tobin testified that he did not thinkFentanyl had been a contributing factor in the depression of respiration.

Dr Tobin was this week recalled to the stand as the Prosecution sought further testimony in rebuttal, after another witness yesterday testified that carbon monoxide may have played a role in the death of Mr Floyd. Dr Tobin said he did not agree with the carboxyhemoglobin proposition put forward by this other witness.

TELEVISED COURTROOM

Its still somewhat alien to us here, but cameras in courtrooms took off Stateside in the 1990s, with Court TV bringing the likes of the high-profile OJ Simpson trial to the American public. Popularity waned in recent years, but it is undergoing a revival.

Televised proceedings and the high profile nature of the case have resulted in the Derek Chauvin murder trial pulling in a major audience. Millions of people from the US and around the world have been tuning in on Court TV or livestreaming through a digital device. Several cable channels broadcast much of the trial live.

The defendant, Mr Chauvin, decided not to take the stand to give evidence. The trial continues, with closing arguments to follow.
New Delhi, April 17 : The Department of Telecommunications had repeatedly warned e-commerce companies in 2016 and 2019 for sale of unauthorised mobile signal boosters and illegal facilitation.

The matter has heated up once again as Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has asked DoT to ban sale of such illegal equipment.

In a letter to all e-commerce companies on May 1, 2019, DoT had said that ecommerce firms are facilitating and acting as a party to the illegal sale of unauthorised mobile signal boosters.

In response to a statement that e-commerce sites are intermediaries only, DoT had said that they are operating as "online marketplace" and are covered under the provisions of Section 79 of the IT Act.

The DoT said there is a need to have a Dealer Possession License (DPL) under the provisions of the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act 1933 by the seller for the wireless equipment.

"Therefore, it is reiterated that if there is an licensing/statutory requirement on telecom equipment being sold or purchased it will be the responsibility of those purchasing or selling it as well as of the intermediaries facilitating such sale and purchase that the relevant statutes of the Government are not violated", DoT said.

E-commerce sites had been asked to take corrective action to remove the sale and display of unauthorised boosters from the website and compliance to be intimated to DoT.

This letter was addressed to Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Shopclues, Rediff, Indiamart, Alibaba, Aliexpress and Ebay. Similar warnings were issued in 2016 also.

In March 2019, COAI sent letters to Flipkart and Amazon stating that these boosters fall under the category of "Wireless Telegraphy Apparatus", and the act prohibits possession of such apparatus without a licence.

COAI had asked these companies to cease and desist from selling mobile signal boosters on the platform.

COAI had yesterday asked the Department of Telecommunications to ensure complete ban on sale of illegal repeaters and boosters, offline or online through e-commerce websites.

It has also asked DoT to take up the issue with Ministry of Commerce and Industry to prohibit import of such illegal boosters in the country with immediate effect.

DoT has also been asked to request MHA to issue appropriate directions to State DGPs/CPs/Chief Secretaries to take action under law against the sellers of illegal repeaters in the country.

COAI has pointed out in a letter that the grey market outlets and online ecommerce stores are making illegal low cost repeaters available for anyone to buy and install illegally.

"The concern is that, such wide band devices draw in network signals to provide connectivity to a particular building or area in an unregulated manner, thereby depleting the network strength in other surrounding areas and results into call drops and depleted network quality", COAI said.

The telecom industry has voiced its concerns as to how these illegal repeaters have become a major nuisance and are one of the biggest cause for customers facing mobile network issues like call drops and low data speeds, especially in densely populated localities.

"Available freely in electronics markets, these repeaters are installed by unauthorised agencies at homes, offices, hostels and guest houses to boost mobile signal strengths. Even landlords and home owners are illegally installing such devices in densely populated areas to attract tenants, thereby adversely impacting mobile network availability in the entire given area, be it 2G, 3G or 4G networks", COAI said.
New Delhi: Remdesivir, an injectable COVID-19 drug which has been in high demand as the country is hit with a second wave of novel coronavirus cases. The massive sale of the anti-COVID-19 drug in many states has led to an alleged shortage.

To assist people get access to the drug easily, Dr Reddy's Laboratories' official website has posted details about the availability of Remdesivir as well as Favipiravir tablets used to treat COVID-19 patients.

One only need to visit the website -- readytofightcovid.in -- which has a list of all the hospitals and pharmaceutical shops across different cities where the two drugs are available. It also mentions phone numbers and addresses.

A 24/7 helpline number -- 1800-266-708 -- is also provided for all queries related to the COVID-19 drugs. Remdesivir is being used for the treatment of COVID-19 patients with severe complications. States like Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have reported a dip in Remdesivir stocks, adding to the crisis.

The website is intended to provide contact details of the local distributors who are engaged in the sale and distribution of the COVID-19 medicines and vaccines distributed by Dr Reddy's Laboratories.

On Wednesday, the government said that the production of Remdesivir will be ramped up and its prices will be reduced.

Meanwhile, with 2.34 lakh COVID-19 cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's active count rose to 16.79 lakh. The country's total coronavirus caseload has now soared to 1.45 crore. According to the official data, there were 2,34,692 new COVID-19 cases, 1,23,354 recoveries and 1,341 deaths, as per the Union Health Ministry on Saturday.
Jianna Curbelo attends a career-focused public high school in New York City, works at McDonalds and lives in the Bronx with her unemployed mother, who did not graduate from college.

So when her high-school counselor and her Ph.D.-educated aunt urged her to apply to Cornell, on her path to becoming a veterinarian, she had her doubts. But she also had her hopes.

It was one of those, Ill give it a shot, boost my ego a little bit, she said, laughing infectiously, of her decision to apply.

Then she got the unexpected news: She was accepted. She figured she was helped by the fact that Cornell, like hundreds of other universities, had suspended its standardized test score requirement for admission during the coronavirus pandemic. She also said she believed that protests kindled by the death of George Floyd had caught the attention of admissions officers, inspiring some to draft essay questions aimed at eliciting students thoughts on racial justice and the value of diversity.
Vine buds and leaves damaged by the frost in southern France

French Prime Minister Jean Castex on Saturday pledged more than one billion euros in aid for farmers and winemakers reeling from the worst frost in decades.

Across France, agriculturists are counting their losses after the freeze -- which followed a period of unseasonably warm weather -- affected hundreds of thousands of hectares of crops and vines in 10 of the country's 13 regions.

"An exceptional situation, exceptional measures. I have just announced a significant effort on the part of the state of over one billion euros ($1.2 billion) as the situation justifies it," Castex told a meeting of farmers' representatives and local elected officials in southern France.

He said emergency aid would be given "in 10 or 15 days" to local officials to help the worst-affected farmers.

Arborists or tree growers qualifying for compensation under the current state of agricultural calamity regime would be paid for 40 percent of their losses.

They are usually paid up to 35 percent under European rules.

Other measures will include tax breaks.

As well as vines, growers of kiwis, apricots, apples and other fruit have been badly hit along with farmers of other crops such as beet and rapeseed.

"The government has taken stock of the seriousness of the situation," Christine Lambert, the president of the main farmers' union FNSEA told AFP, adding that it had reacted "speedily".

Agriculture minister Julien Denormandie said the government funds would be used for "rapid compensation."

Bruno Darnaud, the head of another agricultural lobby, said France could see its fruit harvest dwindle by half -- meaning losses of around 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion).

And the FNSEA says at least a third of the production in vineyards -- representing two billion euros -- will be lost due to the frost.

lpb-jk-ref/ach/dl
Calvert City Giving Away 150 Free Trees

By West Kentucky Star Staff

CALVERT CITY - To observe Earth Week and Calvert City's sesquicentennial, Calvert City has partnered with Holly Nursery to give away 150 free trees to city residents and business owners.Residents will be able to choose from either a Nuttall Red Oak or a Silky Dogwood, beginning Monday at Holly Nursery on US 62. Pick-up hours will be from 8 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday, and 8 am till 12 pm on Saturday.Calvert City has a goal of planting 150 trees in honor of the city's sesquicentennial year.For more information, contact City Hall at 270-395-7138 or by email at info@calvertcity.com.
An inquiry into lobbying by David Cameron should also examine a meeting that the former Prime Minister had with Philip Hammond amid suspicion that he may have used it to pressure the Government into supporting a lucrative 700 million UK -China investment fund, according to the Chairman of the Commons Standards Committee.

As PM, Mr Cameron  the subject of an independent inquiry by lawyer Nigel Boardman over his lobbying of Ministers and Whitehall officials on behalf of loans firm Greensill Capital  hailed a 'golden era' in trade relations between Britain and China.

After leaving Downing Street, he seemingly hoped to cash in with a new private equity fund proposed by his friend Lord Chadlington, who had donated thousands of pounds to his Tory leadership campaign.

Mr Cameron flew to Beijing in September 2017 to discuss the plan with China's Vice Premier Ma Kai.

In October that year  15 months after stepping down as PM  he met with Mr Hammond, the then Chancellor, and two months later the Treasury gave its crucial support for the fund for which Mr Cameron was to be Vice-Chairman.

By January 2018, Mr Cameron was back in Beijing, this time for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping (pictured together) about the initiative which could potentially net him millions

By January 2018, Mr Cameron was back in Beijing, this time for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the initiative which could potentially net him millions.

'Excellent meeting & enjoyable dinner with President Xi Jinping in Beijing, to talk about the 'Golden Era' in UK-China relations & plans for the new UK-China Fund,' he tweeted at the time.

Mr Cameron's office last night said his meeting with Mr Hammond had been only to seek Government support for the 'concept of a bilateral fund' and he had not lobbied Ministers on behalf of the fund's investors or partners.

He informed the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), which advises former Ministers and civil servants on outside employment, about the meeting, his representatives added.

Under the ministerial code, former PMs and Ministers are banned from lobbying the Government for two years after leaving office but Chris Bryant, the Labour MP who chairs the Commons Committee on Standards, last night said the inquiry into Greensill should now be extended to cover the UK-China Fund.

Calling for the release of minutes or any related documents about the meeting and the Treasury's decision to back the fund, he said: 'I could not understand the rationale for supporting this fund at the time. It seemed mysterious. A lot of MPs were worried about the security implications of pursuing this 'golden age' of relations.'

Mr Cameron was a keen supporter of developing ties with Beijing. He welcomed President Xi to the UK for a state visit in 2015 and controversially opened up the UK's nuclear industry and communications sector to Chinese firms.

The fund's mastermind, Lord Chadlington, has been close to Mr Cameron since he became the Tory candidate for Witney, Oxfordshire, in 2001 (pictured together)

The fund's mastermind, Lord Chadlington, has been close to Mr Cameron since he became the Tory candidate for Witney, Oxfordshire, in 2001.

In 2011, Mr Cameron spent almost 140,000 on buying a patch of land next to his Oxfordshire home from the peer.

Acoba approved Mr Cameron's role as the fund's Vice-Chairman in December 2017  the same month the Treasury gave its support to the scheme  but told him he could not lobby the Government about the fund from that point.

By then, however, he had already met Mr Hammond, although he would still have been subject to the restrictions on lobbying imposed by the ministerial code.

Mr Hammond visited China in December 2017 where he also met Mr Kai, the Chinese official who had hosted Mr Cameron two months earlier.

The Chancellor's officials used the trip to announce a package of measures, including Chinese and UK support for the fledgling investment fund.

'Both sides welcomed the proposal for a bilateral UK-China investment fund with an initial round of $1 billion,' a Treasury statement said.

The idea behind the UK-China Fund  which was to be based in Ireland  was that it would invest money from institutions in British and Chinese interests.

Such funds typically charge management fees of about 2 per cent of the assets under its control and performance fees of around 20 per cent on profits.

As Vice-Chairman, Mr Cameron is likely to have been in line to make a fortune if it was successful.

In November 2018, as Mr Cameron tried to gather support for the scheme, he met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

His wife, Samantha, who founded the fashion brand Cefinn, accompanied him on the trip to China where she attended a banquet to welcome her to China with fashion entrepreneur Wendy Yu.

Mr Cameron's (pictured in 2019) office last night said his meeting with Mr Hammond had been only to seek Government support for the 'concept of a bilateral fund' and he had not lobbied Ministers on behalf of the fund's investors or partners.

But as relations between Britain and Beijing have soured in recent years, the UK-China Fund has reportedly struggled to find investors.

The boom in bilateral trade envisaged by Mr Cameron has suffered because of concerns over China's human rights records and the Government's decision to remove Huawei from the 5G mobile network.

Despite the setbacks, it is understood plans are still being drawn up for the launch of Mr Cameron's fund.

A spokesman for the former PM said: 'David Cameron sought advice from Acoba about the establishment of a UK-China Fund in late 2017. He made clear he had held discussions with Ministers in both the Chinese and UK Governments.

'He was also clear that if and when necessary, he would facilitate dialogue with the UK (and Chinese) Governments, but that he would not lobby Ministers, departments or officials on behalf of Fund investors or partners He has never lobbied Ministers on behalf of the fund's investors or partners.'

The Treasury said: 'The investment fund was a private, commercial venture. Like other private initiatives it did not involve Government participation or funding.'

Greensill-backed finance firm Taulia got lucrative contract with Transport for London while Boris Johnson was Mayor and Lex was a No 10 adviser

By Emma Dunkley

A finance company backed by Lex Greensill negotiated a lucrative contract with Transport for London while Boris Johnson was Mayor and the businessman was working as an advisor in No 10.

The fresh revelation about Government contracts linked to Mr Greensill and his collapsed loans firm last night prompted renewed calls for a fuller investigation into the Australian financier's access to Whitehall and how he was able to benefit from his ties to David Cameron and other senior figures.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the process for awarding the contract  potentially worth millions of pounds  began in December 2015 when Mr Cameron was Prime Minister and Mr Johnson was Mayor of London, a position that governs TfL.

Mr Greensill later appointed Mr Cameron as a paid adviser, awarding him share options reportedly worth more than 40 million.

A finance company backed by Lex Greensill (pictured) negotiated a lucrative contract with Transport for London while Boris Johnson was Mayor and the businessman was working as an advisor in No 10

Government documents show that TfL handed a supplier payment contract to the US firm Taulia, which was financed solely by Greensill Capital at the time.

It meant Greensill would get a fee for paying suppliers early.

However, the contract was never used and terminated in 2019 after only one supplier signed up. It is understood a 150,000 fee was still paid to Taulia.

Last night, Dame Margaret Hodge, former chairwoman of the Public Accounts Committee, said: 'Greensill's relationship with the public sector is murky and open to lots of questions.

'This is why the relationship between the company and politicians, civil servants, and the public sector should be subject to a thorough, total and complete investigation.'

A spokesman for TfL said: 'In December 2015, when the previous Mayor was in office, TfL ran a competitive tender for a supplier to provide an early payments solution, which would allow its global supply chain to be paid earlier, with an affordable rate of finance. No Government Ministers or officials were involved in the procurement, the selection of supplier or the award of the contract.

'The previous Mayor did not have any role in this procurement.'

Mr Johnson last week announced an inquiry into the Government's use of supply chain finance connected to Greensill. The National Audit Office is also probing Greensill Capital's involvement in the Government's pandemic loan scheme, including how it was accredited to take part.

Greensill Capital and Taulia declined to comment. The Cabinet Office said that the contract was 'done entirely by TfL'.

Tories accuse Sir Keir Starmer ally David Evans of getting 200,000 in taxpayer contracts from the council where his ex-lover was deputy leader

By Glen Owen, Political Editor

Labour rejected Tory claims of cronyism last night after a company owned by Sir Keir Starmer's most powerful official won contracts together worth six figures from a council where his former lover holds a top position.

The Campaign Consultancy, owned by David Evans  Labour's general secretary and one of Sir Keir's closest allies  won a series of taxpayer contracts from Croydon Council that had been advertised as being worth nearly 200,000.

The contracts, for 'local engagement' and 'policy development', were awarded between 2014 and 2017 after Alison Butler, his ex-lover and mother of his child, became deputy leader of the council.

The Campaign Consultancy, owned by David Evans (pictured)  Labour's general secretary and one of Sir Keir's closest allies  won a series of taxpayer contracts from Croydon Council that had been advertised as being worth nearly 200,000

When Mr Evans took up the Labour job in May 2020 he relinquished his 90 per cent shareholding in the company, at the same time that his wife, Aline, took up a 75 per cent holding.

A Labour Party spokesman said: 'These contracts were secured with full propriety after a transparent and robust procurement process, which included competitive tendering.'

The row comes as Sir Keir tries to exploit the David Cameron lobbying scandal as an example of 'Tory sleaze'  although it has so far failed to dent Boris Johnson's double-digit opinion poll lead.

Mr Evans, 60, who fathered a daughter with Ms Butler during a relationship in the 1990s, was credited with helping to run the campaign that won the council for Labour in May 2014. Ms Butler became deputy leader and five months later The Campaign Consultancy won a 130,000 contract from the council, followed by three further deals for a 'borough-wide engagement exercise to develop asset-based policies for the area that would reduce disadvantage and lack of opportunity'.

Mr Evans, who was an activist during the 1984 miners' strike, founded the company in 2001. Sir Keir's chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, also worked there for two years.

Croydon Council's growing financial problems have forced it to announce hundreds of job losses and take out a 120 million Government loan to avoid bankruptcy.

Last night, Tory MP Richard Holden said: 'This reeks of a crony contract with yet another now literally bankrupt Labour council.

'If Sir Keir Starmer wants to look into cronyism, maybe he doesn't need to look far  he could start by speaking with his own top official and right-hand man at Labour headquarters.'

A Labour source said: 'This is a pathetic attempt by the Conservatives to distract from the sleaze they have ushered into the heart of Government.

'Health Secretary Matt Hancock, Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson should all account for the crony contracts and dodgy deals they've dished out to their mates and the billions of pounds of taxpayers' money wasted as a result.'

It is understood that Mr Evans has argued that several different councils have awarded contracts to his company, including Tory-led ones, that Ms Butler had no involvement in the procurement process and the contracts were worth less than the 200,000 advertised.

Revealed: David Cameron's lobbying emails to the head of NHSX on behalf of Greensill Capital said the company was 'the UK's leading fintech firm'

By Glen Owen

The emails sent by David Cameron in which he lobbied on behalf of Greensill Capital were revealed last night for the first time.

David Cameron's wife Samantha accompanied him on the trip to China where she attended a banquet to welcome her to China with fashion entrepreneur Wendy Yu (Samantha and Wendy pictured together)

In a message in April 2020 to Matthew Gould, head of NHSX, the health service's digital arm, Mr Cameron described Greensill as 'the UK's leading fintech firm'. The lender fell into administration in March.

Mr Cameron lobbied Mr Gould, who previously worked for him in government, about 'one of the businesses I now work with'  Greensill Capital, whose Earnd app was being piloted in several NHS trusts, the Sunday Times reported.

He also offered to introduce Mr Gould to Bill Crothers, previously one of Britain's most senior civil servants who, it emerged last week, took a job with Greensill while working in Whitehall.

The message raised further questions for Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, as Mr Cameron wrote to Mr Gould to say that the Health Secretary was 'extremely positive about this innovative offer'.

Last week it emerged Mr Hancock met Mr Cameron and Mr Greensill for a 'private drink' in 2019 to discuss a new payment scheme for the NHS.

The 2020 email to Mr Gould read: 'Greensill have recently launched a digital solution (recently rebranded from Greensill Pay to Earnd) which helps with one of the SOS's [Secretary of State's] and your key priorities: helping all NHS employees' welfare, morale, and wellbeing.'

The former Prime Minister asked NHSX to grant it access to the data of NHS employees.Within months, Earnd announced a partnership to deliver rapid payment to up to half a million NHS staff, having secured deals to get access to the sought-after data.

A spokesman for Mr Cameron told the Sunday Times: 'These discussions were about the mechanics to ensure Earnd was delivered for NHS workers in an efficient way.'
Prince Philips unwavering loyalty to UKs Queen Elizabeth II and his wife will be praised at his funeral that will take place at Windsor Castle on April 17. As per Sky News report, the longest-serving consort with the official title of Duke of Edinburghs courage, fortitude and faith will also be lauded on Saturday as his funeral is majorly muted due to the COVID-19 pandemic with only 30 official attendees. As per the request of Prince Philip, who died on April 9 at the age of 99, the service will be a highly religious one without a sermon.

As per the report, during the funeral service several hymns will be sung by a small chorus of three choristers and a soprano. Further, Bible passages will also be readout. Among the songs that have been selected is the hymn Eternal Father, Strong To Save, which are traditionally associated with members of the navy like that of Prince Philip. The same was sung at the funeral of Duke of Edinburghs uncle, Earl Mountbatten of Burma, who was murdered by the IRA in 1979.

No royal family members to read

Reportedly, none of the members of the UK royal family will be giving a reading and attendees are even forbidden from singing. Due to novel coronavirus restrictions, the congregation is limited to just 30 people. Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, other children of Queen and Prince Philip, the couples grandchildren including Prince William and Prince Harry, three of Philip's German relatives, three of the Queen's cousins and Philip's carriage driving companion Countess Mountbatten of Burma are among the attendees.

The Duke of Edinburgh was a loving husband and a devoted father, grandfather and great-grandfather.



The Queen and The Dukes enduring marriage has seen them support each other through many years of Royal duties and raising a family together. pic.twitter.com/qEvDwNbBlm  The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 16, 2021

The Queen will be sitting along at the funeral of their husband whos been by her side for over 73 years and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be watching the service on television from Chequers. Further, the report has also stated that in the Bidding, the Dean of Windsor will be saying, With grateful hearts, we remember the many ways in which his long life has been a blessing to us."

He would add, "We have been inspired by his unwavering loyalty to our Queen, by his service to the Nation and the Commonwealth, by his courage, fortitude and faith. Our lives have been enriched through the challenges that he has set us, the encouragement that he has given us, his kindness, humour and humanity." The order of the entire service for Prince Philip is reportedly similar to Queen Mothers funeral in 2002.

(Image credits: @theroyalfamily/Instagram)
The Nation Speaks (April 17): As Riots Return, What Lies Ahead; Supreme Court Under Review; Out of Afghanistan

In Minnesota, former police officer Derek Chauvin is on trial for murder in the in-custody death of George Floyd. Then, last week, barely 10 miles from the courtroom, now ex-officer Kim Potter accidentally shot her gun, instead of her taser, at another black man during a traffic stop, killing 20-year-old Daunte Wright. Demonstrators poured into the streets. Cities across the country have seen nights of arson, looting, and violent clashes with police.

To help us gain perspective on whats happening and what might lie ahead is Sgt. Betsy Smith, spokesperson for the National Police Association and Andy Ngo, independent investigative journalist and author of Unmasked: Inside Antifas Radical Plan To Destroy Democracy.

On the campaign trail, packing the Supreme Court became a hot topic. Candidate Joe Biden refused to say whether he was in favor of it or not, but promised to study the matter. To that end, on April 9 he established a 34-member bipartisan commission to hold public meetings, evaluate reform proposals, and deliver a report in 6 months.

How much teeth does this commission have? Two guests weigh in: Adam Carrington, associate professor at Hillsdale Colleges Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship. And Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch.

And this week, President Biden announced that the U.S. military will end its 20-year presence in Afghanistan, and there are widely divergent views on the wisdom and risks of the move. Those divisions are inside parties and among veterans themselves. Here discuss the decision is Gunnery Sgt. Jessie Jane Duff. She served 20 years of active duty with the U.S. Marine Corp.

Finally, we have America Q&A. This week we ask if governors should have unlimited powers to deal with pandemic-related issues. And, we find out how much Americans value our elderly.
President Joe Biden has decided to end the war in Afghanistan. He feels its time, and so do a lot of Americans.

I feel it too. Im just not sure feelings should win the day.

In his televised address announcing the decision, Biden reiterated that American withdrawal cant be tied to conditions on the ground because no one can say what conditions must be met in order to depart.

As a senior administration official explained to reporters, This is not conditions-based. 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.

Lets be clear: not conditions-based is another way of saying unconditional.

But what if the problem isnt with the answers and rather with the questions?

We have police, firefighters and paramedics. No one outside the defund the police crowd would say, We have to get rid of them because no one can describe what the conditions would look like when we wouldnt need them anymore. How does this end? is the wrong question because there will always be crime, fires and medical emergencies. We dont dismantle dams because we cant imagine a scenario when theyll no longer be necessary. We do dismantle them when theyre no longer needed.

Before you take this analogy and go where I do not intend, Im not saying we should be the worlds policeman. Were not and cant be. Indeed, terrible things are happening right now in all sorts of places  Myanmar, Tibet, Hong Kong, Ukraine, parts of Africa, etc.  and were not sending in our globalist gendarmerie to stop it. But we are in Afghanistan, not to police the world, or even Afghanistan. Were there to ensure that the Taliban doesnt take over the country and make it a safe haven for terrorism again.

Some argue that our presence isnt needed. I dont find the arguments persuasive, in part because if that were true, why say conditions on the ground dont matter? Why not say, Weve met the necessary conditions.

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That the White House wont or cant make that case tells you that the determinative condition for withdrawal isnt in Afghanistan, but in America. And that condition is exhaustion.

I wouldnt say enough is enough, retired Gen. Colin Powell, who was secretary of state when we invaded Afghanistan in 2001, told The Washington Post. Id say weve done all we can do.

The Soviet Union, which occupied Afghanistan until early 1989, did it the same way, Powell added. They got tired, and they marched out and back home. How long did anybody remember that?

Put aside the shabby moral equivalence  were not in Afghanistan to build an empire. The lesson of Soviet withdrawal has nothing to do with how long people remembered it  which was quite a while, by the way  but with what happened after.

Theres a robust debate among scholars about how much the Soviet war in Afghanistan led to the demise of the Soviet Union. Theres no debate that Soviet defeat led to the rise of the Taliban and al-Qaeda. The myth of the superpower was destroyed not only in my mind but also in the minds of all Muslims, Osama Bin Laden recalled about the Afghan victory. Slumber and fatigue vanished.

The idea that our departure, pegged to the 20th anniversary of al-Qaedas successful attack on America, wont be seen as a defeat for the United States by the Taliban and other Islamists is preposterous. (Of all the aspects of Bidens decision, picking Sept. 11 as the deadline is the most baffling.)

The White House insists that the American-backed Kabul government can hold back the Taliban on its own and that we will still be able to conduct operations against terrorist safe havens with drones or other assets based outside of Afghanistan. This is dubious. So is the claim that the administration can use diplomatic pressure and sanctions to keep the Taliban from once again murdering heretics and brutalizing women and girls. If 20 years of war couldnt do it, banning travel and freezing bank accounts seem unlikely to be more effective.

Again, I feel the exhaustion too. And I sincerely hope Biden is right. But feelings and hope arent arguments. The more likely scenario is that a civil war will come soon, Kabul will fall with Saigon-like rapidity and horror, and this president or the next will have a worse problem to contend with than maintaining a token force that has kept the Taliban at bay for 20 long years.

Jonah Goldberg is editor-in-chief of The Dispatch and the host of The Remnant podcast.
Two men who were arrested during a racial justice protest, after police fired tear gas and rubber bullets into a large crowd in downtown Huntsville last summer, were convicted in city court today.

Both were charged with and found guilty of disorderly conduct. A third man was found not guilty after body camera video showed a Huntsville police officer drag the man from his car as he tried to leave.

The city dismissed a dozen other cases, as Huntsville looked to settle a large chunk of the arrests linked to the tumultuous protests near the courthouse last summer.

The three men were among about two dozen people arrested on the night of June 3, 2020, in downtown Huntsville. Almost all of them were charged with disorderly conduct and accused of failure to disperse after police had ordered the crowd to go home.

But the scene was chaotic, the event permit time was unclear, and police have since said they acted that night not in response to violence but to head off the possibility of rioting or looting seen in other cities after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The outcomes in city court today were just as uneven.

The three men were the only protesters to fight their charges at the specially set trial today in Huntsville Municipal Judge Jeff Grimes courtroom.

The three men were accused of failure to disperse from an intersection near the park, where a group of protesters lingered.

That group of about 50 people were the only protesters who remained in the area after police fired tear gas, pepper spray and flash bangs to clear demonstrators from the courthouse square and Big Spring Park. In charging documents, police alleged the protesters were standing in the street yelling and causing an alarm and causing a public inconvenience.

Six Huntsville police officers, ranging from a captain, to patrol officers, to the sergeant who signed all of the charging documents, testified that the protesters ignored several orders to leave the intersection given over a 30- to 45-minute time period. The prosecution played several clips of body camera footage, though no such orders were heard on the videos.

Police arrested 19 people on disorderly conduct charges that night at the intersection near the torch in Big Spring Park. Elijah and Tyler Webb (no relation) were both convicted today and ordered to pay court costs and fines totaling about $500 each. Both men said they are discussing appeal options with their attorney Joel Sullivan.

Elijah Webb and Tyler Webb testified at the trial and said they didnt hear clear orders from police to disperse. Both men told AL.com they do not have criminal records and werent protest leaders.

Sullivan said its unfair that their cases were taken to trial instead of being dismissed like the majority of the disorderly conduct arrests.

City prosecutors dismissed 12 of the 19 cases. Blair Dawkins, an assistant city attorney, said those cases were dropped because the defendants didnt have criminal records and because police didnt believe they had a leadership role in the group that gathered at the intersection.

Those defendants signed release forms agreeing not to sue the city. Dawkins said those forms are standard in cases that are dropped.

Those who pleaded guilty received similar sentences. No one was sentenced to jail. Disorderly conduct is a Class C misdemeanorthe lowest level of misdemeanor in Alabamaand is punishable by up to three months in jail.

Another man, Antwon Witchard, was found not guilty today. Body camera video that was played in court showed police pull Witchard from his vehicle, which was running with the headlights on, and put him in handcuffs. His attorney, Brannon Ford, argued that Witchard was not guilty because he was trying to follow police orders to disperse when he was arrested.

Witchard said he appreciated the judge listening to the evidence and finding him not guilty. Im thankful this is over, he said.

Two men, Alan Boone and Garrick Rawls, pleaded guilty before todays trial. Each said they were disappointed with how their cases ended, but that they didnt want to risk a jail sentence by arguing their cases at trial.

Boone said protesters should never have been arrested for exercising their First Amendment rights to speak out against racism and police violence

Its just a bad system, said Boone. I just didnt want to chance it.

Rawls said he took the plea because he didnt want to risk a harsh sentence at trial. He decried the actions police took that night -- firing tear gas and arresting demonstrators.

Its cruel to do that to people who are asking for justice, he said.

Three other criminal cases from the night of June 3-- two for people accused of stealing fire extinguishers from a downtown parking garage and one for a man accused of throwing a tear gas canister back at police-- are still pending in city court.

One other person accused of stealing a fire extinguisher pleaded guilty, according to the prosecutor.

At least two people are still facing charges in Madison County court for bringing guns to the protest. Those cases are set for trial later this year.

Todays trial came as the city prepares for a long-awaited report to be presented to the City Council next week. The Huntsville Police Citizens Advisory Council, a group of 10 volunteers, reviewed the actions police took on the nights of June 1 and June 3. They will release their report on April 22.
The Minneapolis Public Schools are shutting down next week in anticipation of a verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial:

Minneapolis Public Schools are suspending in-person learning next week as the state awaits a verdict in the murder trial against Derek Chauvin.

Why? In anticipation of riots, looting and arson, presumably:

Our community is moving through an extraordinarily challenging time as we react to the killing of former MPS student Daunte Wright by a Brooklyn Center police officer, just as testimony in the trial of former officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd concludes and the case goes to the jury, Ed Graff, the district superintendent, wrote to parents. We anticipate that a verdict in the Chauvin case could impact in-person learning in Minneapolis Public Schools.

So the schools will be closed Wednesday through Friday next week. What if the jury hasnt reached verdict by Friday? Presumably they will stay shut down the following week.

Like so much that is going on these days, this is utter madness. Did the Los Angeles schools close down when the O.J. Simpson jury was deliberating? Not that I remember. Is it really probable that rioters incensed over the Chauvin jurys verdict (whatever it may be) will attack elementary schools in a fit of rage? Doesnt seem likely. Or maybe the concern is that students in the older grades will themselves riot and destroy their own schools.

One thing for certain is that school seems increasingly dispensable. It used to be considered important for children to go to school. Covid, which was less serious for young people than the average seasonal flu and yet caused schools to close down across the country, showed how little parents, students and educators value learning. The absurdity of a school shutdown in anticipation of a jury verdict is just icing on the cake.
President Joe Biden swiftly backtracked on Friday on a decision to keep United States refugee admissions restricted to 15,000 this 2021. He is currently facing criticism within his party. According to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, in a statement issued on Friday, the administration anticipated increasing the number of refugees allowed into the U.S. for the remainder of the year.

Biden on Refugee Entry

On Friday, the White House declared that the President would restrict the number of refugees allowed into the U.S. this year to the historically low level set by his administration. He reversed a previous promise to welcome over 60,000 individuals escaping war and persecution.

However, the move to cap the number at 15,000 set forth such an immediate denouncement from human rights activists and Democrats that the administration then retreated and vowed to declare a final, increased number by May 15.

Biden's decision marked a break from his pledges on the campaign trail and in the White House. It also includes his more vast rhetorical commitment to hastily replace former President Donald Trump's nativist-fueled immigration policies with a more humane move. Critics denounced the administration more strongly than they have on any issue in his initial months in office. It prompted a retreat from the White House within hours.

According to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), whose family fled civil war in Somalia, "There are simply no excuses for today's disgraceful decision. It goes directly against our values and risks the lives of little boys and girls huddled in refugee camps around the world. I know, because I was one," reported Los Angeles Times.

Joe Biden Wants to End War in Afghanistan, Says Making Troops Stay Not Worth It Anymore

Previously on Friday, an emergency determination signed by the president indicated the admission of up to 15,000 refugees set by the previous president this year is still justified by humanitarian concerns and is otherwise in the national concern. Biden had taken into consideration raising the cap to 62,500. Instead, he opted for a policy, officials remarked, that would accelerate the admissions process.

Psaki's clarification arrived hours following the White House, indicating it would maintain Trump's low cap first set. This statement broke a vow Biden uttered in February to raise the number and one that Psaki acknowledged that resulted in confusion. The episode marked a rare flip-flop-flip for Biden. His key allies had earlier heaped praise on the administration for vowing to rebuild the refugee resettlement program.

The secretary did not identify the number of refugees that would be permitted into the country. However, she stated the president's initial goal of allowing 62,500 appeared "unlikely." The wavering displayed the Biden administration's bout to find its footing as it attempts to reverse Trump's reportedly unfair immigration policies during a record surge of adolescents and children crossing the southwestern border.

According to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), she would like to reflect her deep concern regarding the extremely low refugee cap declared by the Biden administration. She finds it unexpected.

The number of refugees permitted to resettle in the United States per year decreased between 85,000 and 15,000 under Trump. Trump's hardline "America first" agenda repeatedly portrayed migrants as a security threat.

Joe Biden Administration to Withdraw U.S. Troops From Afghanistan by September 11

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On a rainy night in 2013, three veterans were walking the Appalachian Trail through Schuylkill County in an attempt to heal from what they experienced in war. They passed the New Ringgold home of author Cindy Ross, who invited them in for some trail magic  a shower and a hot meal.

Ross doesnt remember what they ate that night  probably lasagna  but she does remember what they talked about. Ross asked the three, Steve Clendenning, Adam Bautz and Stephanie Cutts, to share their war stories, expecting reserved replies. Instead, it turned into what Ross calls a very emotional evening.

Right away they trusted us, Ross said as she remembered that night in 2013. There were lots of people crying because the guys were crying as they were talking.

That night, those of every religion held hands and prayed before they ate.

The incident inspired Ross and her husband, chain saw carver Todd Gladfelter, to found River House PA, a nonprofit that promotes healing through nature.

Also, Ross turned their stories, and the stories of many other veterans, into Walking Toward Peace: Veterans Healing on Americas Trails. Ross ninth book, it was released on April 1.

Ross first hiked the Appalachian Trail 40 years ago.

Theres so much life out there, she said. Theres so much beauty. Sure theres hardship trying to hike thousands of miles and carry everything you need on your back, but life is watered down to just the basic simple things of walking and being one with nature. I go out for a hike every day of my life because I need it.

Hauling nightmares

To Ross and Gladfelter, hikes and campfires are everyday occurrences. But to the veterans, they can be part of lifes best memories.

For the book, Ross researched how hiking is beneficial to mental health, and the psychological effects of war on the young people who go off to fight it. Ross writes that the 19-year-old male brain is characterized by passion without much reason, reproduction without much responsibility, and performance without caution, just the right time in a young mans life to convince him to go off to war to kill, but especially traumatizing afterward.

Walking Toward Peace contains dozens of interviews with veterans, many of whom served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I was never one for war to begin with, Ross said, and Im convinced 100% more that the damage that is done to these veterans cannot ever be worth it. There need to be alternatives to war, and to not go into them as quickly as we have been.

On the trail, the veterans, many suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, may have nightmares in their sleeping bags. Off the trail, they may be plagued by guilt, alcoholism, drug addiction and lasting trauma, including thoughts of suicide. Many are on disability and dont have to work, but if they do not have anything meaningful to do in their lives, their conditions deteriorate.

It wasnt enough to pack 30 pounds on sore knees and aching muscles, Ross writes in the introduction. They also hauled war-induced nightmares and memories up the mountains.

The book took five years to write and research.

Sometimes it was pretty complicated, Ross remembered.

Building trust

When she first met veteran Shawn Murphy, he lived in the Arizona wilderness with no phone or means of contacting him.

The desert is beautiful and harsh, Murphy said. That, and the fact that there arent many people around, is why he loves living there.

At first, he did not want to appear in the book, but he changed his mind when his years of hiking put him in contact with veterans who, like him, experienced addiction and homelessness.

I realized that with all the time Cindy spent on trail, Murphy said, she would be the one person who would understand how nature heals.

It was a big deal for them to tell me their story, Ross said about her subjects. For most of the vets, I had to build a pretty close relationship before they would trust me to do that.

Another veteran, Travis Johnston, drove all the way from New Mexico to Schuylkill County to sit on Ross sofa and tell his story. Johnston organized a memorial climb in memory of Zach Adamson, an Army Ranger who committed suicide at the age of 25. The book contains a heart-wrenching letter from Adamson to his parents, who walked the Appalachian Trail in his honor.

Johnston also introduced Ross to his friend Dan Stein, who happened to live down the road from her. After several serious accidents while serving as an Army Ranger from 2007-11, Stein lived as a recluse in Reading, hiding his physical and emotional scars. Over time, he opened up to Ross and shared the poems that he wrote about his experiences.

He stayed in Ross cabin for two nights and the two hiked to Hawk Mountain. It was the first time in years that he stepped outside. After all the time that he spent in the hospital, even simple tasks like going to the grocery store became difficult. Ross now calls Stein her surrogate son.

It was a whole process of building trust and getting to know each other, Ross said.

That, she said, was the easy part. The hard part was experiencing the veterans pain alongside them.

They have relapses, she said, they have times where they doubt themselves, they forget that going out there brings them peace.

Similarities, not differences

The trail to healing, she said, is not a straight path that always moves forward.

One year on Christmas Eve, sometimes the worst time for people with mental illness, three veterans announced to her via phone and text message that they were going to kill themselves. One called her as she and her family were playing cards. She told him to pour his bottle of moonshine down the drain, call his wife and daughter and go for a walk with his dog. She managed to talk him away from the cliff.

Military people, a lot of them are wary because they dont think (civilians) understand, Ross said. I would never have believed seven years ago that this was gonna be a good fit, especially with the way the whole political arena was in the last years  but it doesnt matter when it comes to helping these veterans, she said. Thats so refreshing today to not see differences but similarities, just to reach out to someone in need.
The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Mitchell Kukulka.

Thursday, April 15

10:39 p.m.  Deputies were dispatched to Lincoln Township to speak with a 24-year-old man in reference to his 19-year-old ex-girlfriend calling him non-stop. Deputies attempted to speak with the 19-year-old, but were unable to make contact with her. The man was informed of the process of obtaining a personal protective order through the courts.

10:38 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched to a Lee Township residence in reference to an anonymous caller that heard a possible gunshot and thought one of their neighbors might be poaching. The deputy checked the area and attempted to contact the possible suspect. Nothing suspicious was located in the area  their house was dark and no one answered the door.

10:35 p.m.  Deputies initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle at a Greendale Township location. The driver, a 26-year-old Madison Heights man, had open intoxicants in the vehicle and his drivers license was suspended. He was subsequently cited for both violations.

7:22 p.m.  Officers responded to a report of malicious destruction of property in the 4500 block of North Saginaw Road.

6:08 p.m.  Deputies were dispatched to a Larkin Township residence in reference to a 38-year-old suicidal man. The man was located at an area hotel, and was transported to the ER for a mental health evaluation after texting suicidal comments.

6:01 p.m.  Officers responded to a vehicle crash in the 5000 block of Eastman Avenue.

3:58 p.m.  An Animal Control officer received a complaint from a Geneva Township dog groomer who was working on a dog and discovered an infected wound under a matted area of its coat. She was concerned the owner might have been neglecting to get proper veterinary care for the dog. The owner was contacted and immediately made arrangements to have the dog examined by his vet.

3:58 p.m.  A deputy made contact with a 56-year-old-Homer Township woman who reported she dropped her dog off at a 29-year-old Midland woman's residence for the night, and the other woman would not give her dog back. The deputy made contact with the Midland woman, and the dog was returned.

3:27 p.m.  Officers responded to a vehicle crash in the area of Jefferson Avenue and Bayliss Street.

3:22 p.m.  Officers responded to a vehicle crash in the area of East Buttles and Rodd streets.

3:06 p.m.  Officers responded to a vehicle crash in the area of Eastlawn Drive and South Saginaw Road.

12:20 p.m.  Officers responded to a larceny in the 400 block of South Saginaw Road.

4:34 a.m.  Officers performed a death investigation related to a drug overdose in the 2700 block of East Ashman Street.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 19:42:29|Editor: huaxia

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Trucks loaded with fodder, donated by China as disaster relief to southern Mongolia's Omnogovi Province following blizzards and sandstorms, have left the Chinese border city of Bayannur, in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous region. (Xinhua/Li Yunping)

HOHHOT, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Trucks loaded with fodder, donated by China as disaster relief to southern Mongolia's Omnogovi Province following blizzards and sandstorms, have left the Chinese border city of Bayannur, in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous region.

According to the city authority, all 150 tonnes of donated fodder has passed through the border port between Bayannur and the neighboring Mongolian province across the border.

He Lei, director of the municipal foreign affairs office, said that the Mongolian province has suffered from several rounds of blizzards and sandstorms since the winter, resulting in a severe shortage of forage for livestock in the area. It requested assistance in the form of forage from the city of Bayannur.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of sister relations between Bayannur and Omnogovi Province. The donation of disaster relief carried China's good wishes, supporting Mongolia in fighting the COVID-19 epidemic and coping with disasters, said He. 
Four Sikhs, including three women, were among eight people who were killed in a at a FedEx facility in the US state of Indiana staffed by a large number of Indian-American employees, shocking the community leaders who appealed to President Joe Biden to tackle the growing hate crimes and gun violence in the country.

The gunman, identified as 19-year-old Brandon Scott Hole, a former employee. He allegedly died by suicide after the shooting on late Thursday night at the FedEx facility in Indianapolis. He was last employed by FedEx in 2020.

Hole was interviewed by FBI agents last year, after his mother called police to say that her son might commit suicide by cop", the bureau said on Friday.

This is the worst Sikh massacre in the US after the Oak Creek Gurdwara in Wisconsin on August 5, 2012, where seven members of the community were killed.

About 90 per cent of the workers at this delivery service facility are said to be Indian-Americans, mostly from the Sikh community.

"This is very heart-breaking. The Sikh community is devastated by this tragic incident," community leader Gurinder Singh Khalsa told PTI over the phone after meeting family members of the employees of the FedEx facility.

Late Friday night, the Marion County Coroner's Office and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) released the names of the victims.

Four victims who belong to the Sikh community are: Amarjeet Johal (66), Jaswinder Kaur (64), Amarjit Skhon (48) and Jaswinder Singh (68). The first three deceased are women.

Other victims include Karli Smith, Alexander Matt, Samaria Blackwell and John White.

Another Sikh community member, Harpreet Singh Gill, 45, was hit by a bullet near the eye and is now in hospital.

The IMPD said the coroner's office will determine the causes of death after autopsies are completed.

US President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have expressed condolences over the tragic killings.

Vice President Harris and I have been briefed by our homeland security team on the at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, Indiana, where a lone gunman murdered eight people and wounded several more in the dark of night, Biden said in a statement.

Biden issued a proclamation in honour of the deceased. He ordered that the flag be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all federal buildings.

Visiting Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, at the start of his bilateral meeting with Biden at the White House expressed his condolences to the victims and his sympathies to the families.

Innocent citizens must not be exposed to any such violence. Freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law are the universal values that link and are prevalent in the Indo-Pacific, he said.

Khalsa said community members are in touch with the officials.

"Post 9/11, the Sikh community has suffered a lot. It is high time that strong measures be taken to bring an end to such mass shootings. Enough is enough," he said. Indiana has about 10,000 members of the Sikh community. Community leaders, like Khalsa, are engaged in philanthropic and charitable activities.

We have families in our country that are grieving the loss of their family members because of gun violence. There is no question that this violence must end. And we are thinking of the families that lost their loved ones, Vice President Harris told reporters.

The shooter allegedly turned his weapon on himself before law enforcement arrived at the scene. FedEx has confirmed that he was a former employee at the Indianapolis facility. No further information was released.

The Indian Embassy in the US has conveyed its heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the "shocking" mass shooting incident.

India's Consul General in Chicago, Amit Kumar, spoke to the Mayor of Indianapolis Joe Hogsett, who assured full support.

We are closely monitoring the situation and remain ready to provide all possible assistance, the Indian Embassy said in a statement on Friday night.

Khalsa said: This should be a wake-up call for the entire country, in particular, the and Asian Americans, against whom there has been a sudden spurt in hate crimes."



Not ruling out the possibility of a hate crime, Khalsa said community leaders are meeting on Saturday to discuss the tragic incident and the way forward.

We request the president of the United States that he needs to come forward and be serious about hate crimes, especially against the Sikh community because they are very vulnerable due to their appearance and look, he said.

The president should take it seriously -- gun controls, automatic semi-automatic guns -- they are very lethal, he said.

We are deeply saddened by this latest killing in Indianapolis. It is very troubling to hear random mass shootings taking place in America almost every week. This kind of senseless killing and gun violence needs to stop, Rajwant Singh, chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, told PTI.

I am heartbroken to confirm that my naniji (maternal grandmother), Amarjeet Kaur Johal, is among those killed in the senseless shooting at the FedEx facility in Indianapolis, said Komal Chohan.

We are still working to identify others who were injured and killed on Thursday night. I have several family members who work at the particular facility and are traumatised. My nani, my family, and our families should not feel unsafe at work, at their place of worship, or anywhere, she said.

Although began settling in Indiana more than 50 years ago, the first gurdwara was established in 1999. In the last two decades, the Sikh population around Indianapolis has experienced significant growth; today, there are 10 gurdwaras across the state and an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 Sikh Americans who have made Indiana their home.

I am deeply shocked and saddened by the loss of eight FedEx employees following the tragic shooting at FedEx Ground facility in Indianapolis. This FedEx facility was staffed by a large number of Asian Indian Sikh employees. I am saddened to know that at least four of those killed are members of the Indianapolis Sikh community, said Democratic leader Ajay Jain Bhutoria.

Meanwhile, the AAPI Victory Alliance has demanded an immediate investigation into whether or not these shootings were racially biased.

(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.)
Italys Salvini to stand trial for 2019 migrant standoff View Photo

ROME (AP)  A judge on Saturday ordered former Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini to stand trial on kidnapping charges for having refused to let a Spanish migrant rescue ship dock in an Italian port in 2019, keeping the people onboard at sea for days.

Judge Lorenzo Iannelli set Sept. 15 as the trial date during a hearing in the Palermo bunker courtroom in Sicily.

Salvini, who attended the hearing, insisted that he was only doing his job and his duty by refusing entry to the Open Arms rescue ship and the 147 people it had saved in the Mediterranean Sea.

Im going on trial for this, for having defended my country? he tweeted after the decision. Ill go with my head held high, also in your name.

Palermo prosecutors have accused Salvini of dereliction of duty and kidnapping for having kept the migrants at sea off the Italian island of Lampedusa for days in August 2019. During the standoff, some migrants threw themselves overboard in desperation as the captain pleaded for a safe, close port. Eventually after a 19-day ordeal, the remaining 83 migrants still on board were allowed to disembark in Lampedusa.

Salvini, leader of the right-wing League party, had maintained a hard line on migration as interior minister during the first government of Premier Giuseppe Conte, from 2018-2019. While demanding European Union nations do more to take in migrants arriving in Italy, Salvini argued that humanitarian rescue ships were only encouraging Libyan-based human traffickers. He claimed that his policy of refusing them port actually saved lives by discouraging the risky trips across the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe.

His lawyer, Giulia Bongiorno, said she was serene despite the decision, saying she was certain the court would eventually determine that there was no kidnapping.

There was no limitation on their freedom, she told reporters after the indictment was handed down. The ship had the possibility of going anywhere. There was just a prohibition of going into port. But it had 100,000 options.

Open Arms, for its part, hailed the decision to put Salvini on trial and confirmed it has registered as a civil party in the case, along with some survivors of the rescue, the city of Barcelona where Open Arms is based, and other humanitarian aid groups.

The groups founder, Oscar Camps, said the decision to prosecute Salvini for actions taken when he was interior minister was historic, showing that European political leaders can be held accountable for failing to respect the human rights of migrants.

This trial is a reminder to Europe and the world that there are principles of individual responsibility in politics, Camps told a press conference Saturday. The decision to prosecute shows its possible to identify the responsibility of the protagonists of this tragedy at sea.

Salvini is also under investigation for another, similar migrant standoff involving the Italian coast guard ship Gregoretti that he refused to let dock in the summer of 2019.

The prosecutor in that case in Catania, Sicily, Andrea Bonomo, recommended last week that Salvini not be put on trial, arguing that he was only carrying out government policy when he kept the 116 migrants at sea for five days.

Italy and other southern EU nations like Spain and Greece have long argued that other members of the 27-nation bloc must do more to help them cope with an influx of migrants.

___

Follow APs global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

By NICOLE WINFIELD

Associated Press
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-17 00:37:38|Editor: huaxia

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If you had the chance to build a new city, today, for the lives we will be living tomorrow, what would you do? In the latest episode of #XinhuaSpecial, we traveled to Xiong'an, China's newest city, to find out the country's answer to this question. Check it out!

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
Soil and rock cover a 200 meters stretch of National Highway 279 following flash floods in Lao Cai Province, April 17, 2021. Photo by Lao Cai Newspaper.

Flash floods triggered by heavy rains swept through a village in Lao Cai Province early Saturday, killing two people and leaving another missing.

The sudden flood at 2 a.m. brought down with it a large volume of rocks and soil as it hit the village in Minh Luong Commune, Van Ban District, damaging 25 houses and five hectares (12.35 acres) of crops.

"The entire scene is a mess with soil and rocks entering peoples houses, and we are still looking for the missing person," Quang Van Viet, deputy head of the Command for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue of Lao Cai Province, said.

Lao Cai is home to the resort town of Sa Pa.

The flood also dumped hundreds of cubic meters of soil and rock on a 200-meter stretch of National Highway 279 in Minh Luong Commune, paralyzing traffic.

Lao Cai received heavy rains from late Friday to early Saturday due to a cold spell from the north.

The northern mountain provinces recorded rainfall of up to 100 mm on average, with the weather station in Lao Cai reporting 96.2 mm, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.
A convicted killer has been released from prison against his wishes after a judge discovered he should have been freed 20 years ago.

Osvaldo Longobuco, 75, told a lawyer who tipped off the authorities he was happy behind bars because he had a roof over his head and guaranteed food.

He remained in maximum-security Sierra Chica prison 200 miles south-west of the Argentine capital Buenos Aires despite completing his sentence on October 8, 2001.

He could have been released on parole five years earlier but never applied, claiming he had no house to go to.

Convicted killer Osvaldo Longobuco, 75, was released from Sierra Chica prison, 200 miles from capital Buenos Aires

He left prison on Monday the same day judge Alejandro Horacio Lugo signed his release order, stating: 'Prison is the place where he feels secure, has food, a roof over his head and social bonds, but this incarceration cannot continue.'

The case was exposed by Argentinian daily Clarin, which revealed Longobuco had been arrested on February 28 1979 and convicted of an aggravated homicide 10 months later.

His victim, thought to be his then-partner, has been named locally as Elvira Casimira Orellana although full details of the crime have not been made public.

Longobuco, whose full name is Osvaldo Alejandro Longobuco Calidoni, reportedly told a defence lawyer who interviewed him in prison that he had no relationship with his children and no friends and wanted to stay behind bars to repay society for his crime 'from start to finish.'

His fellow inmates during his 44-year, six month-long prison overstay included notorious serial killer Carlos Eduardo Robledo Puch.

Osvaldo Longobuco, 75, completed his sentence in 2001 but remained in prison when he was not released

Robledo Puch, also known as The Angel of Death and The Black Angel, was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of 11 murders, one attempted murder, 17 robberies and sex crimes in a 1980 trial.

He took a blowtorch to the face of a robbery accomplice shot by a nightwatchman in order to stop police identifying his partner-in-crime's body and prevent suspicion falling on him.

But he forgot he had left his identity card in criminal Hector Somoza's trouser pocket and detectives arrested him shortly afterwards.

Robledo Puch also ended up in Sierra Chica Prison, scene of a bloody eight-day riot which began on March 30 1996 and caused eight deaths.

The jail, built in 1882 and one of Argentina's oldest lock-ups, is a short drive from the town of Olavarria.
Last October, Christine Holgate was forced to stand down as CEO of Australia Post (AP), the national government postal service, in a manufactured scandal over the gifting of four Cartier watches to executives who secured a deal with the countrys largest banks in 2018.

Holgate speaking at the Senate inquiry last week [Screenshot: Australian Broadcasting Corporation]

At the time of Holgates ouster, it was evident that far more than Cartier watches was involved. The federal Liberal-National government was heavily involved. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and senior ministers publicly denounced her even though there was no suggestion of malfeasance. The furore, moreover, erupted amid the imposition of an Alternative Delivery Model (ADM) that constitutes the largest restructure of AP in decades.

The underlying issues that drove the management conflict have only come to the surface in a current Senate committee inquiry into Holgates removal.

In detailed submissions, Holgate claimed she was forced out in a coordinated campaign orchestrated by the government and a section of the AP board, led by its chair, Lucio Di Bartolomeo.

Holgate testified that she was bullied out of my job. Along with her supporters, she has presented this as an expression of sexism and gender discrimination. These assertions have played to an ongoing crisis of the government over its response to a series of sexual misconduct allegations.

Holgate has been aggressively backed by the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU), which covers the AP workforce, as well as right-wing populists, such as Pauline Hansons One Nation Party, and feminist commentators.

Their attempts to present Holgate as a champion of postal workers, franchisees and a government-owned postal service, however, have been undermined by material that has come out amid the inquiry.

Underlying the management conflict were competing plans for a sweeping pro-business restructure of AP. Holgate and her opponents, such as Bartolomeo, differed over the means to be employed, but both advanced proposals aimed at slashing costs, including through mass job-cutting. And the trajectory of both plans was privatisation.

Holgate revealed that she opposed the recommendations of a November 2019 review into AP by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) that coincided with Bartolomeos appointment as chair of the board. The government-commissioned report remained secret until Holgate partially released its findings during her testimony last week.

The thrust of the BCG recommendations was for AP to be broken up, its assets to be divested in a fire sale and its most lucrative section, the parcel division, to be privatised.

The report called for rapid cost-cutting via a set of near-term efficiencies. It advocated the closure of either 106 or 190 unprofitable metro post offices to streamline the post office network. This was to be coupled with a reduction in the frequency of letter-delivery from five to two or three days per week.

The review floated the possibility of divesting a range of AP subsidiaries. This included a proposal to investigate a full or partial divestiture of the parcels business. The plans would have resulted in mass job cuts, with some estimates placing the figure at between 5,000 and 8,000 positions.

The review reflected the position of rapacious sections of the corporate elite that wish to do away with a national postal service forthwith. It was clearly pitched to the government as a drastic austerity program. A divestiture of the parcel business would leave the rest of AP a loss-making shell. Last financial year, parcel revenue increased by 25.9 percent to $3.4 billion. This accounted for some 75 percent of total revenue. The letter delivery section lost $74.2 million, the latest in a series of losses.

The BCG recommendations would have been a boon to the corporate interests that picked up APs parcel division. They also would have benefited other competitors by opening up market space. AP currently controls between 75 and 80 percent of the parcel market. A fully-privatised AP parcel division would no longer have the benefit of being part of a larger organisation, with direct ties to the government. It would become one of several corporations vying for dominance in the sector.

This would assist companies such as Toll and DHL that are seeking to expand their market share. Significantly, Holgates replacement as AP CEO, Paul Graham, whose appointment was announced last week, was previously the chief of DHLs global operations, before a stint at Woolworths where he was involved in planning warehouse closures and the elimination of more than 1,000 jobs.

Holgates own recommendations, first presented in May 2018, and published in the financial press over the past days, did not differ with the need for a pro-business restructure and drastic cost reduction. Some of her proposals advocated greater cuts than the BCG.

For instance, Holgate called for letter delivery to be reduced to just one day a week. This would result in a $124 million cut to annual labour costs for deliveries, along with another $60 million in processing through the consolidation of letter sorting centres into three or four regional facilities. In other words, Holgate was also mapping out plans for mass job destruction and closures.

Holgate further called for the divestiture of parts of AP, including the StarTrack Courier enterprise, which provides lower-end parcel delivery services for businesses. Holgate argued that this had been a loss-making venture for several years.

The key difference between the BCGs recommendations and those of Holgate is that she advocated an expansion of aspects of APs operations. This included the provision of banking services at regional and rural postal outlets, the deal for which the Cartier watches were gifted, and an entrance into the cold chain distribution market. Holgate also called for the retention of the profitable aspects of the parcel sector, including StarTracks premium service.

In line with its broader agenda of shutting down AP, the BCG report differed with Holgates proposals for expansion.

The fact that Holgate advocated sweeping cost and job cuts, however, demonstrates the fraudulent character of claims that she was an opponent of privatisation. Her perspective was to keep the business whole, restructure it under nominal government ownership and make it as profitable as possible, clearly in preparation for an eventual sell-off.

While Holgate has not spelt this out publicly, some of her supporters in financial and corporate circles have.

The Australians business columnist Robert Gottliebsen condemned the moves against Holgate last October. He hailed the 2018 deal with the banks that Holgate oversaw, saying it had placed AP in great shape to win the next round of the battle with competitors DHL, FedEx, TNT and Toll. The attempts to remove Holgate, he wrote, served to open up the parcel market to APs international competitors.

Gottliebsen made clear in a subsequent article that he was not opposing eventual privatisation. He touted the fact that AP had secured almost three quarters of Australias booming online retail parcel delivery business. It should be floated like Commonwealth Bank, CSL, Qantas and Telstra. Each of these sell-offs involved close collaboration between Liberal-National and Labor governments, the boards of the respective companies and the trade unions.

Gottliebsen voiced the sentiments of sections of national business, fearful of a frenzied bid to cannibalise AP and divest its parcel division, spearheaded by sectional interests such as DHL and Toll. This could jeopardise the interests of the corporate elite as a whole, under conditions in which deliveries play an ever-greater role in business operations. It would cut across a profitable privatisation of APs entire business.

In comments to the Australian Financial Review published yesterday, Rico Back, the former CEO of Royal Mail, Britains privatised postal service, backed Holgate based on similar arguments. Both Christine and I put our investments into the growing sector. You cannot stick to the past, you have to deliver the present but get fit for the future. Christine invested even earlier than me into automation and the digital world, he said.

Back said it was possible to maintain postal enterprises with both letter and parcel sectors, but this required the tough structural reform Holgate advocated more automation, as well as drastic increases in stamp prices to accelerate the demise of snail mail.

Many recommendations advanced by both BCG and Holgate have been implemented over the past year, in the form of the Alternative Delivery Model. This has reduced letter delivery to every second day, reallocated 2,000 posties to parcel delivery, and created a new class of workers, dubbed floaters, who can be shunted anywhere in the business.

The CEPU has enforced the ADM in the face of widespread opposition from postal workers. The union signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Holgate last May, behind the backs of workers, pledging to enforce the restructure and banning any industrial action for 12 months.

The government regulatory relief that allowed the ADM to proceed is set to expire in May. The CEPU has responded by entering into backroom negotiations with management for a new enterprise agreement. The unions record, and its fulsome support for Holgate, is a warning that these talks are aimed at deepening the pro-business overhaul.

After decades of pro-business restructures and mass job cuts imposed by the unions, AP has been thoroughly corporatised. Conditions are increasingly unbearable, more and more resembling those of contractors in the precarious gig economy.

Workers face a turning point. Both sections of management, Holgate and her opponents, along with the unions, support massive cuts and privatisation.

To defeat this agenda, postal workers have established a rank-and-file committee, completely independent of the unions. It must be built, so that it can bring together the widespread hostility to the ADM and prepare unified industrial and political action against the restructure.

This raises the need for an alternative political perspective. The question of who owns and controls AP is now posed. It will either be major financial corporations, intent on slashing wages, conditions and jobs to boost profits, or the workers themselves. The transformation of AP into a publicly-owned utility, democratically run by the workforce, and operated on the basis of social need, not revenue, requires the fight for a workers government and the socialist reorganisation of society.

To discuss this struggle and how to get involved, contact the Postal Workers Rank-And-File Committee at auspostalworkers@gmail.com.
LONGUEUIL, Quebec, April 16, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reunion Gold Corporation (TSX-V: RGD) (the "Company") is pleased to announce the completion of an airborne magnetometric and radiometric geophysical survey of the NW Extension Project in Suriname.



The survey consisted of 3,000 kilometers of flight lines spaced at 100 and 200 meters and flown by a fixed-wing, high-resolution system operated by Terraquest Ltd., a Canadian company with solid experience in the region. The interpretation of available geophysical data indicates that the large, greenstone belt-scale geological structures associated with gold mineralization at the Rosebel gold deposit extend to the northwest under cover of recent sediments, underlying the project area footprint. The Company expects this geophysical survey to help refine the area's structural geology interpretation and generate targets. Results should be available for interpretation in the next few weeks.

The NW Extension Project is part of the Strategic Alliance with Barrick Gold Corporation and the exploration costs are funded on a 50:50 basis. The 925 square kilometres project area sits within the Northern Greenstone Belt of Suriname, 60 kilometres to the west-southwest of the capital, Paramaribo, and 70 km northwest of the Rosebel mine (Figure 1). The Company has an option to acquire the NW Extension Project from a Surinamese company.

The technical information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Carlos. H. Bertoni, P.Geo., the Company's Acting CEO. Mr. Bertoni is a qualified person under Canadian National Instrument 43-101.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the TSX Venture Exchange policies) accept responsibility for this press release's adequacy or accuracy.

Cautionary statement

This news release contains "forwardlooking information or statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements regarding exploration plans, potential mineralization and other statements beliefs, expectations or intentions of the Company. Although we believe the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on our management's beliefs, estimates, and opinions on the date the statements are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements except as required by law.

About Reunion Gold

Reunion Gold Corporation is a leading gold explorer with a portfolio of projects in Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, all located in the Guiana Shield, South America. The Company's common shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol 'RGD.' Additional information about the Company is available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and the Company's website (www.reuniongold.com).

For further information, please contact:

REUNION GOLD CORPORATION

Carlos Bertoni, Acting CEO

Paul Fowler, Manager, Corporate Development

Telephone: +1 450.677.2585

Email: info@reuniongold.com

Figure 1: Location map of the NE Extension Project permits, showing the outcropping greenstone belts of eastern Suriname (green) with interpreted geological structures related to gold mineralization in the region (dashed grey lines). Also shown are the Rosebel, Saramaca and Merian gold deposits.




Leaving nearly 3 million households without power, Winter Storm Uri swept across Texas in February and was one of the most devastating winter events in decades. Almost immediately, experts began pointing fingers, looking for a culprit that let the states energy grid go dark. But as the events were unraveling in real-time, our Permian Basin Petroleum Association members and so many across the state were working around the clock, in harsh conditions, to produce solutions and get natural gas to electric generation. Texas natural gas producers led us out of the worst weather related disaster in modern Texas history and much of that challenge was caused by power outages we saw in the field.

Many have asked, and some in the media have noted, that oil and gas operators failed to designate field operations, like production facilities, compressor stations and more, as a way to have prevented electricity loss. However, prior to March 2021 oil and gas field facilities were expressly prohibited from being designated as critical load facilities, and because of that, natural gas production and processing facilities experienced power disruptions throughout the storm that created a chain reaction. The loss of power at compressor stations and processing facilities forced gas wells still in operation to be shut inin other words, gas was readily available, but there was no way to get it where it needed to go.

As Railroad Commission Chairman Christi Craddick noted in her testimony to House and Senate panels, electrification is the best winterization for natural gas producers. To prepare for the storm natural gas operators brought equipment from across the country ahead of the storm and located personnel in the field to minimize drives on roadways. Despite those efforts, dangerous travel conditions existed in the Permian Basin and across the state, and many field workers risked their lives and left their homes and families to keep millions of Texans warm. In some cases, their work kept their fellow Texans alive.

While weather conditions continued to deteriorate and power loss was sustained, surface equipment and processing plants began to seize up, further complicating any efforts to get these facilities back up and running. In the meantime, Texas power grid was relying on record-breaking withdrawals from natural gas storage facilities across the state.

In addition to the increasing natural gas production to account for the decline of other fuel sources, natural gas continued to flow to human needs customers across the state, which allowed Texans to heat homes and use their cooking appliances to feed their families. Yet, against this backdrop, some are still calling on Texas to ban natural gas hookups to new homes and buildings.

PBPA worked closely with the Railroad Commission of Texas, Offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, Texas Electric Reliability Council (TERC), Public Utility Commission, members of the Texas Legislature and more to address the issues and challenges we faced. For example, PBPA staff worked directly through the TERC to gather specific metered connections for natural gas operators and provide that information directly to transmission companies to individually return power to operations and produce the natural gas that was fueling the states electric grid.

We recognize that the Texas Legislature focused on encouraging reliability and ensuring this does not happen again, and we support those efforts. Just this week ERCOT announced that the vast majority of issues faced by Texans were not caused by the lack of natural gas fuel, as had been initially claimed. Issues related to fuel limitations only accounted for 12 percent of the loss of power supply stemming from fuel. The largest percentages, accounting for 83 percent of all issues include; 54 percent caused by weather related issues at power plants, 15 percent in existing outages, and 14 percent for equipment issues.

In addition to being a small part of that 12 percent of fuel limitations that caused outages, natural gas production actually increased as a portion of the fuel mix that was responsible for generating electricity during the storm.

While ERCOT notes the natural gas industry was not a large part of the problem, we firmly believe that our industry is part of the solution, and are working with lawmakers to develop a process that maps out where critical facilities are located and ensuring they are registered under the newly adopted form that ERCOT has now established.

We also know that greater communication is vital to prepare and prevent future energy challenges and there are several efforts to more formally establish the Texas Energy Reliability Council, which will include state agencies and regulated entities to promote reliability for Texans across the state by ensuring all parties are able to effectively communicate the challenges that may exist before, during and after any other energy emergencies that may occur.

PBPA will continue to work to ensure that Texans are cool in the summer, and warm in the winter, and we are proud to represent all those who left their homes so that many others across the state could be safe and warm in theirs. They are to be commended for their valiant efforts in this storm, but also for their consistency in providing safe, reliable, abundant and affordable energy for Texans across the state.

Ben Shepperd is president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association.
RTHK: Myanmar junta leader to join ASEAN summit

Junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing is set to join Southeast Asian leaders at a special summit in Jakarta next week, the Thai foreign ministry said Saturday, in what will be the coup leader's first official trip since the military deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Since the February 1 coup, Myanmar has been in turmoil  with hundreds of thousands of protesters taking to the streets to demand a return to democracy.

The junta has sought to quell the anti-coup movement with lethal force, killing more than 720 people and detaining some 3,100 activists, journalists and dissidents, according to a local monitoring group.

The international community has largely condemned the junta for its use of force against unarmed civilians  deploying targeted sanctions against top military brass, their families and army-linked businesses.

But regional leaders have sought to open communications with the regime, and on Saturday Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed a summit in Jakarta over Myanmar's situation will include Min Aung Hlaing.

"Several leaders have confirmed their attendance including Myanmar's MAH (Min Aung Hlaing)," said spokesman Tanee Sangrat in a message to reporters.

The meeting of the 10-country bloc of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is expected to address the ongoing crisis in post-coup Myanmar, and will be on April 24 in Jakarta.

The junta has consistently justified the putsch by alleging widespread fraud in November's elections, which Suu Kyi's party had won in a landslide.

The military said it will hand back power to a civilian administration after elections are held in about a year  though they recently extended the timeline to a two-year period.

News of the junta leader's attendance comes the same day the country's prisons are set to release more than 23,000 prisoners nationwide.

In February, the junta released a similar number of prisoners, with some rights groups at the time fearing the move was to free up space for opponents of the military as well as cause chaos in communities. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2021-04-17. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Czech police on Saturday connected two Russian men suspected of carrying out a poisoning attack in Salisbury, England, with a deadly ammunition depot explosion southeast of the capital, Prague, per Reuters.

Driving the news: Czech officials announced Saturday they're expelling 18 Russian diplomats they accuse of being involved in the blast in Vrbetice, AP notes. Czech police said later they're searching for two men carrying several passports  including two with the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov.

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The Czech organized crime squad said these two men suspected of the 2018 Salisbury attack "were present on Czech territory" when the Vrbetice depot exploded and that they also used "Tajik and Moldovan identities," per the Guardian.

The big picture: Two people died in the explosion in 2014 and hundreds of others were evacuated.

Czech officials said "unequivocal evidence" showed the 18 diplomats were spies from the Russian GRU and SVR intelligence services involved in the blast in an eastern town of Vrbetice. They were given 48 hours to leave the Czech Republic.

"[T]he expulsions and allegations have triggered its biggest row with Russia since the end of the communist era in 1989," Reuters noted.

What they're saying: "The Czech Republic is a sovereign state and must adequately react to those unprecedented findings," Prime Minister Andrej Babis said, per AP.

"The explosion led to huge material damage and posed a serious threat to the lives of many local people, but above all it killed two of our fellow citizens, fathers of families," he added.

The U.S. "stands with its steadfast ally, the Czech Republic," said Jennifer Bachus, charge d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Prague.

"We appreciate their significant action to impose costs on Russia for its dangerous actions on Czech soil," she added.

The other side: Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, "Prague is well aware of what will follow such tricks," AP reported, citing the RIA Novosti news agency.

Story continues

Russia also denies any involvement in the Salisbury poisonings of Sergei Skripal, a Russian former double agent, his daughter and a British woman who died following exposure to Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent used in the attack.

Worth noting: The U.S. said this week it is sanctioning dozens of Russian officials and entities, expelling 10 diplomats from the U.S., and setting new restrictions on buying Russian sovereign debt in response to the massive SolarWinds hack of federal agencies and interference in the 2020 election.

Russia responded Friday, saying it will expel 10 U.S. diplomats and add eight current and former U.S. officials to its no-entry list.

Flashback: How the Skripal poisoning unfolded

Editor's note: This article has been updated with details of the suspects.

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Anglo-American institutions are leading anti-China campaign with false accounts of repression in Xinjiang, a special report found

People's Daily Online) 11:02, April 17, 2021

A screenshot of the Special Report on the official website of the Australian Citizens Party

The Australian Citizens Party, formerly the Citizens Electoral Council of Australia, recently published a 40-page Special Report, entitled Xinjiang: Chinas Western Frontier in the Heart of Eurasia, which elaborates on Chinas long and grueling battle against its convoluted domestic terrorism threat at home and in the wider region, while unraveling the Anglo-American sponsorship of East Turkistan separatism and the fostering of radical Islamist terrorism.

The report outlined its research into multiple terrorist attacks that occurred in China spanning the period from 1990 to 2016, during which more than one thousand civilians were killed in thousands of terrorist attacks, committed by East Turkestan groups in Xinjiang, with attacks including bombings, assassinations of government officials and Uygur and Muslim religious leaders, mass murders, and attempts to hijack and blow up planes.

Artists prepare to perform during a culture and tourism festival themed on Dolan and Qiuci culture in Awat County of Aksu Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous region, Oct. 25, 2019. (Photo/Xinhua)

In referencing three horrendous attacks that were planned and committed not in Xinjiang alone between March and May 2014, the report highlighted that the terrorist threat facing China at the time had escalated towards a new level of expertise, timing, and coordination. Following terrorist attacks in Kunming, Yunnan Province on March 1 that killed 31 and injured 141, a knife attack and bombing on April 30 at the Urumqi Railway Station that took the lives of three and injured 79 more, and a vehicle-ramming attack in Urumqi on May 22 that left 39 dead and 94 wounded, the report added that the then-Xinjiang Communist Party chief Zhang Chunxian announced an intensive counterterrorism and anti-extremism campaign, with a warning that Violent terrorist attacks have become the most immediate and realistic peril to social stability in Xinjiang.

The crescendo of terrorist acts up through 2014, as well as a different type of disturbancemade it clear that economic development would not deter the instigators, the report read.

Participants of a joint drill perform an anti-hijacking exercise on Aug. 13, 2019. The joint drill "Cooperation-2019," held by the Chinese People's Armed Police Force (PAP) and the National Guard of Kyrgyzstan, concluded Tuesday in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Tian Xiaopeng/Xinhua)

Chinas efforts to educate and rehabilitate individuals either guilty of crimes or being influenced by religious extremism, including by providing vocational training, civics classes in Chinese law, improvement in the national language where needed, and religious education led by Islamic scholars have proved successful in ending the terrorist threat within China, with all the vocational education and training centers having been transformed into public education facilities by 2019. And, after all is said and done, there has not been a terrorist incident in China for the past three years [now four years as of 2021], according to the report.

Chinas painstaking counterterrorism efforts and its hard-won success in eliminating domestic extremism and radicalism, unfortunately and unsurprisingly has become a handy tool to drive a narrative of indiscriminate oppression of Xinjiangs Uygur Muslim population for the American, British and allied geopolitical strategists who are bent on conflict with China, and their helpers in the media.

Adrian Zenz Photo: Screenshot of an online video

The baseless accusations against China soon morphed into extravagant revelries fed on by disinformation and fabricated reports, in which a cunning albeit third-rate academician could suddenly turn himself into a guru of statistical and investigative data, with dubious documents in hand worshiped as if they were the holy verse  taken upon face value as sacrosanct and immutable. A recent article co-authored by Gareth Porter and Max Blumenthal exposed anti-China zealot Adrian Zenz, a German scholar who testified several times before the US Congress in 2018-19 during the run-up to passage of the Uygur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020, having uncovered flagrant data abuse, fraudulent claims, cherry-picking of source material, and propagandistic misrepresentations in Adrian Zenzs works.

The same Anglo-American institutions that are leading the anti-China campaign, based on false accounts of repression in Xinjiang, had weaponized human rights issues long ago, for regime-change goals, the report read. By deploying a support base within the Uygur diaspora, they aim at not only destabilizing or even fragmenting a given country but also setting thought rules for public opinion and political circles elsewherefor example, in the USA or Australia.

Graphic/Peoples Daily Online

One of their tactics is to continuously fund separatist groups in Xinjiang. The National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a notorious organization sponsored by the US Congress, has funneled 8.76 million dollars since 2004 to separatist groups operating in the autonomous region. According to its published Asia Program and Annual Reports, the NED in 2010 prioritized the rights of ethnic minorities in projects focused on Xinjiang/East Turkistan. In December 2020, NEDs Twitter account posted a map on which Xinjiang was labeled as East Turkistan and colored with the East Turkistan flag.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, both of which have long records of selectively targeting their human rights campaigns in alignment with British and American foreign policy, have also ganged up with NED in their targeting of China. Amnesty Internationals founder, Peter Benenson, who had previously served in the UKs Intelligence Corps during the Second World War, once said that its ultimate objectives were more or less aligned with those of Her Majestys Governments. On the other hand, in 2014, more than 100 scholars, including two Nobel Peace Prize laureates and a UN Special Rapporteur on human rights, publicly called on Human Rights Watch to close the revolving door through which it shares personnel with the US Government, as pointed out in a statement published at the time.

Amnesty International has released two reports on Xinjiang, one in September 2018 and another in February 2020. The first report was compiled based on interviews with residents from Kazakhstan, with a Kazakh activist group named Atajurt having been responsible for arranging the interviews. Atajurts Xinjiang-born leader is known for his fiery statements, having once proclaimed that If my brother works for the Chinese, if my brother sells himself to the Chinese, I would kill him. The follow-up report published in 2020 was compiled by Patrick Poon, a Hong Kong-based China researcher for Amnesty International, which was based mostly on anonymous interviews and a questionnaire circulated among a closed pool of trusted Uygur contacts.

A September 2018 Human Rights Watch report rallying against Chinas campaign of repression in Xinjiang also relied on related interviews, having been arranged by the same Kazakhstan-based activists, with anonymous ethnic Kazakhs who had left Xinjiang, according to the seventh section of the Special Report.

U.S. soldiers inspect the site of suicide car bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 17, 2015. Four people were killed and several others wounded when a suicide car bomb exploded near the airport of the Afghan capital Kabul on Sunday, sources and witnesses said. (Xinhua/Ahmad Massoud)

The final two sections of the 40-page Special Report, entitled The East Turkistan narrative, was issued by the Australian Citizens Party on April 10, at a time when the USA, UK, and European Unionwith applause from the Australian governmentslapped sanctions on China for alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and the weighty term genocide was thrown around without evidence, and four days ahead of Joe Bidens announcement that the US would withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan by September 11, ending a regime-change effort and aerial bombardment campaign orchestrated by the US and supplemented by the UK government that has decimated the entire nation and fostered the emergence of more terrorists than existed before.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Bianji)
Sexual assault reports and wait times for counselling have soared in recent months as womens issues have dominated the national agenda, but hundreds of cases in Victoria may be going undocumented because a world-leading reporting mechanism has been shut down.

Katherine Dowson, Sexual Assault Services Victoria board member. Credit:Sexual Assault Services Victoria.

Victims are waiting up to three months to meet with a counsellor in Victoria, up from an average of about five weeks, and the number of calls to the states crisis hotline has more than doubled to 700 per month.

Katherine Dowson, a Sexual Assault Services board member who runs the South Eastern Centre Against Sexual Assault (SECASA), said a perfect storm had been created by the growing awareness of sexual crimes and pandemic-induced service reductions.

We are experiencing huge demand, Ms Dowson said, adding the surge was driven by younger women who were inundating the system.
WhatsApp's privacy update will come sooner on the platform. However, authorities from Brazil have called out the app about it since it will tackle users' data security as well as their privacy rights.

By May 15, the changes will be implemented in the application. To prevent this from happening, non-profit org IDEC (Instituto Brasileiro de Defesa do Consumidor), which focuses on consumer rights, has spoken to other governing bodies in the country.

The Federal Prosecution Service, the National Data Protection Authority, and the National Consumer Secretariat will join forces to bar the app update from taking effect.

What's WhatsApp Privacy Update All About?

ZDNet reported that Facebook will now aggregate all the data from the users in all of its platforms through the app's privacy policy update.

This triggered huge public complaints about data concerns since the company has postponed the implementation of new terms from February 9 to mid-May, the planned date of the action.

For IDEC's lead lawyer, Michel Roberto de Souza, who was assigned to the digital rights program, it is important for the authorities in the country to ask Facebook for its response since the Brazilians' data protection rights should be respected through administrative procedures.

Read Also: WhatsApp 'Sign Out' Feature: Users Can Now Log Out Without Deleting Your Account

According to a survey spearheaded by Opinion Box, the most used app among Brazillian users is Whatsapp, which accounts for 54%. It was followed by Instagram at 14%. Facebook recorded 11% while YouTube ranked last at 2%.

It was also noted that Brazilians appeared to be spending the most time in WhatsApp as stated by 29% of participants. Again, Instagram ranked second at 24% while 20% said that they are using Facebook more often.

At the moment, IDEC stated that upcoming changes and their possible drawbacks are still unclear to the Brazillian users. NGO pointed out the mandatory consumer data-sharing practice as "abusive" because there is no "opting out" option for the new terms and the app's basic features.

Furthermore, Idec continued that users do not receive respect through their rights because they are only forced to agree with the new terms of use that the app has imposed.

"Sharing user data across Facebook's companies to improve targeted advertising is in no way necessary for the execution or the existence of the messaging app, nor is it in the best interests of the user", Juliana Oms, an Idec digital rights researcher, and a lawyer said.

Oms added that the usage of the application should depend on the informed consumer consent. This means that it should not compromise a person from accessing the application.

WhatsApp Disrespects Consumer Protection Code

The NGO tapped the public about 40 questions that remain unanswered. Additionally, it highlighted that Whatsapp strongly disrespects the consumer protection code, as well as the Internet's civil framework.

IDEC notified the authorities that the application did not also adjust to the new legislation about data protection.

Furthermore, the consumer protection group said that the updated terms about user privacy are different from the approaching rules that will be implemented in various countries in Europe this year. For Souza, this counts as irregularity of the social media giant.

When asked about the issue, WhatsApp did not give any response to ZDNet.

Related Article: WhatsApp Clarifies Privacy Policy Change, Publishes What It Can and Can't Do After Update



This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joen Coronel

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
By Chris Campos

Bay City News Foundation

OAKLEY (BCN)

City Manager Bryan Montgomery announced his resignation Friday after guiding the East Contra Costa County city's administration for nearly 16 years.

Montgomery assumed the position in Oakley in 2005 after having served as city manager of Mesquite, Nev. for more than seven years. He has over 28 years of experience in local government management and has also served as an adjunct professor at San Francisco State University and Los Medanos College.

Montgomery told the mayor and City Council in his announcement that he has accepted the city manager's position with the southern California city of Indio and will step down from his Oakley position May 7.

"Bryan has been a strong leader for Oakley and has helped Oakley move from a newly-incorporated city, to a financially sound and safe city that has a very bright future. We will always be grateful for the foundation and solid employee team that Bryan helped build and we know he will continue to be successful in his public service career," said Oakley Mayor Sue Higgins. Kevin Romick, a former Oakley mayor, added Friday "It's a loss for Oakley. In the over 15 years he's been a part of the Oakley team he's been involved in the positive growth of our community."

"It is very bittersweet to leave Oakley and many wonderful friends we have made here. It has been a great place to raise our family and it has been an honor to serve with such outstanding City employees and elected officials, as well as with so many others that help make Oakley such a great community. We will always cherish the memories and friendships, and look forward to seeing you and the entire City of Oakley continue to succeed and flourish," said Montgomery.

Indio's population is more than twice that of Oakley, which boasts about 41,000 residents compared to Indio's nearly 90,000, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Montgomery will replace Indio City Manager Mark Scott, who has led the city for the past three years and who previously announced his retirement.

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.
Twitter is currently suffering from a login error. Some users of the popular social media platform say that they are receiving the "Something Went Wrong" error message.

Aside from the login issue, Twitter users also experience infinite loading tweets, unsent messages, and more. Down Detector also confirmed that it is still receiving surging reports, saying that the popular social media app is not working properly.

Is twitter down?

The latest Twitter login issue and other app errors that many users experience began on Apr. 17. Right now, Down Detector was able to record a peak of more than 9,000 reports.

On the other hand, the United Kingdom, version of the popular tool, received more than 5,000 reports, saying that Twitter is malfunctioning.

This is the second time that Twitter received a massive outage. On the other hand, the first login issue hit around 2:00 a.m. U.K. time.

Also Read: Twitter Reportedly in Talks to Buy Clubhouse for $4 Billion: Could 'Spaces' Be Having a Hard Time Competing?

Compared to the current Twitter errors, this one affected more than 55,000 users, as stated by Express UK's latest report. This number was based on the global version of the Down Detector tool.

Meanwhile, Down Detector UK recorded more than 16,000 reports of Twitter down.

"Tweets may not be loading for some of you. We're working on fixing a problem and you'll be back on the timeline soon," said Twitter via its support website.

"The Twitter data team is investigating a possible system irregularity currently affecting all Twitter API v2 endpoints starting at 2021-04-17 12:00 UTC," the giant social media platform added.

How to fix Twitter's login issue

If you are one of the users that are also having trouble using your Twitter app, you can follow these simple methods provided by Twitter's blog. However, these are not 100% effective, but they are still worth the try.

Try clearing your browser's cookies or your app's cache. You can do this by going to the settings menu of your Twitter mobile browser.

Always check if you are using the correct login name and password. Sometimes, this prevents you from logging in and could lead to the "Something Went Wrong" error message.

If you can't use your Twitter account through your smartphone, you can try it on your desktop to see if it is really an ongoing outage.

For more news updates about Twitter and other social media platforms, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: Twitter to Roll Out Initivate That Will Investigate Bias on The Social Media Platform

This article is owned by TechTimes.

Written by: Giuliano de Leon

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.




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Nearly 750,000 vehicles built by Chevrolet, GMC, and Cadillac are the subject of a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation due to non-deploying driver-side airbags. While the investigation is ongoing, the agency believes the issue is likely due to rust particles that form on the inflator's connection terminal interface.

The list of nameplates included in the investigation includes Chevrolet's Silverado, Tahoe, and Suburban, GMC's Sierra, Yukon, and Yukon XL, plus Cadillac's Escalade, Escalade ESV, CT4, CT5, and XT4. All of the potentially affected vehicles are 2020 or 2021 models, according to a bulletin published on the NHTSA's website.

Investigators launched the probe in April 2021 after 15 consumers reported airbag-related issues, including nine who said an airbag malfunction light appeared in the instrument cluster. More alarmingly, the NHTSA is aware of six accidents that caused significant damage to the car's front end yet didn't trigger the driver's airbag. It adds that there are no fatalities linked to the issue, but there are six crashes and eight injuries reportedly blamed on it. No evidence suggests this problem is related to the millions of potentially deadly Takata inflators recalled over the past few years.

General Motors is aware of the defect. It sent a technical service bulletin (TSB) to its dealers in March 2021 to address the aforementioned warning light. The note explains the issue is due to "rust particles in the connection terminal interface of the driver's airbag inflator." The company hasn't issued a safety recall yet, however.

Whether it will partially depends on the NHTSA's findings. It's currently looking into the scope and the severity of the problem, and it wants to understand its implications on driver safety. Investigators will decide whether General Motors needs to recall the 749,312 cars that are part of the probe when they close their investigation.

Story continues

General Motors has already spent a significant amount of money replacing defective airbag-related parts in its cars. In November 2020, it was ordered by the American government to recall nearly 6 million pickup trucks and SUVs equipped with potentially dangerous Takata airbag inflators. It repeatedly argued that testing proved the inflators were safe, and it petitioned the agency four times starting in 2016 to avoid a recall, which cost an estimated $1.2 billion (about a third of its net income in 2020). It ultimately announced it wouldn't fight the decision.

Chevrolet models affected by the 2020 recall included the Silverado, the Suburban, the Tahoe, and the Avalanche built between the 2007 and 2014 model years. Cadillac's Escalade and GMC's Yukon were included, too.

Takata's inflators (which can explode and spray the front passengers with shrapnel) are responsible for the largest series of recalls in American history. Over 67 million inflators have been recalled by 19 carmakers as of January 2021, and the airbags have caused the death of at least 27 people globally, including 18 in the United States.

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The second crew member of the capsized Seacor Power lift boat who was found dead was 69-year-old Ernest Williams of Arnaudville, Louisiana, according to the Lafourche Parish coroner.

Williams exact cause of death remains under investigation, said the coroner, Dr. John King, who has jurisdiction of the case because the Seacor Power capsized off the coast of Lafourche.

King said that crews recovered Williams body on Thursday night in the vicinity of Cocodrie, which is west of where the ill-fated lift boat overturned.

Williams was publicly identified a day after King released the name of another Seacor Power crew member who was found dead following the disaster: David Ledet, a 63-year-old captain from Thibodaux.

Six crew members were rescued in the hours after the capsizing, and 11 remain missing. Rescuers were clinging to hope Friday that some of the missing may be alive in air pockets aboard the crippled vessel.

The Seacor Power capsized about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday en route to Main Pass 138, which is in the Gulf of Mexico about 40 miles east of Venice, Louisiana.

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The weather was relatively clear when the jack up boat left three hours earlier, but about 2:30 p.m., forecasters warned that there would be tropical-storm caliber winds and potentially deadly waves in the area where the crew was headed.

Those winds quickly became much stronger than forecast, reaching hurricane strength. The Seacor Power took on water, turned over on its starboard side and became mostly submerged, setting off a frantic rescue effort in its fourth day Friday.

In a dramatic scene late on Tuesday night, Coast Guard rescuers found five crew members on the Seacor Powers hull. Two jumped off the hull and were saved, and two others who were provided with life jackets and radios went back into the ship as stormy conditions complicated rescue efforts.

One of those five fell into the water and wasnt seen again. Without naming Williams, a Coast Guard official said an agency helicopter team found the Lafayette-area native relatively "near" the Seacor Powers wreckage on Thursday night. A Coast Guard boat picked up the man and brought him to an agency station in Grand Isle, where he was pronounced dead.

On Friday, a relative of a missing crew member told a reporter that Coast Guard officials had told missing crew member's families that a second dead man was found about 30 miles from the scene of the capsizing. While the Coast Guard wouldnt confirm that, a spokesman said 30 miles would qualify as "near" in terms of the Gulf.

Rescuers last heard from the pair on the hull on Tuesday night. But they are the reason that the Coast Guard hopes there may still be survivors aboard the Seacor Power.
Friendly Kia is offering added incentives for model trade-ins with the help of the Vehicle Stimulus Program.

Times are tough for companies all across the country and Friendly Kia is looking to get things moving in the right direction after qualifying for a new trade-in program. The Vehicle Stimulus Program has been created to help local dealerships replenish their inventories that have been depleted of product over the last few months and Tampa Bays Friendly Kia dealership meets the qualifications. As a part of this program, the dealership is ready to pay car owners across St. Petersburg, Clearwater, New Port Richey and the Tampa Bay area a pretty penny for their current vehicles.

As a part of the Vehicle Stimulus Program, Friendly Kia is looking to get as many vehicles onto its lot as possible and is offering to pay top dollar for trade-ins. The dealerships team is ready to pay a premium over market value for qualifying trade-ins, on top of an additional cash premium incentive.

Theres never been a better time than now to trade in a vehicle around Tampa Bay and Friendly Kia is ready to make owners an offer they wont be able to ignore. After trading in their vehicle at Friendly Kia, locals can check out the lineup of new Kia models available on the dealerships lot.

The Friendly Kia showroom has the newest Kia models on deck, including 2022 models such as the 2022 Kia Carnival and 2022 Kia Stinger. On top of the additional trade-in offers available at Friendly Kia, the dealership is offering budget-minded lease and finance offers to fit the needs of any local drivers.

Individuals looking for more information on the Vehicle Stimulus Program at Friendly Kia are encouraged to visit the dealership online, friendlykia.com. Those looking for a more personal interaction can contact a member of the dealership team by phone at 877-544-6706.
New Delhi: Subramanian Swamy, a Rajya Sabha member who took a target on the central government, has once again slammed the Modi government. However, this time the issue is not related to coronavirus or vaccine. Rather this time the issue is related to Pakistan. Swamy has tweeted about his efforts to talk to the Imran Khan government of India on Twitter. Not only this, he has even said that the memory of the Modi government has gone away on the issue of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

In fact, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was questioned by a Twitter user regarding the Pakistan and Kulbhushan Jadhav case. Swami wrote tightly on this, saying, Shut up! At the behest of Arab sheikhs, we are forgetting old things and making a pact with Pakistan. We are a big Hindu heart emperor". In another tweet, Swamy criticized the talks with Pakistan, saying, "The Russians have persuaded the Pakistani army to negotiate with India".

Swamy further wrote that "The Arab Sheikh, who rules over Asia's sin capital - Dubai, has forcibly asked the Indian leadership to negotiate with Pakistan". about what? That Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) has to be evacuated? No!! The Modi government has lost its memory on that issue. Why? Can we smile at it and bear it?"

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This market research report includes a detailed segmentation of the global cardiac assist devices market by product (Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump and Ventricular Assist Devices (Left Ventricular Assist Devices [LVAD], Right Ventricular Assist Devices [RVAD], and Biventricular Assist Devices [BIVAD]), and by region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World).

Overview of the Global Cardiac Assist Devices Market Research

Infoholics market research report predicts that the global cardiac assist devices market will grow at a CAGR of 11.7% during the forecast period. The market has witnessed steady growth in the past few years and the advancement in technology coupled with the introduction of novel products have augmented the acceptance of heart assist devices in the market. The market is fueled by upsurge in the incidence of heart failure, growing elderly population, and shortage of heart donors for transplantation.

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The market continues to grow and the devices are most widely used for the functioning of heart in case of failure and weakened heart patients. The field is getting revolutionized with the availability of improved technology. The key market players are focusing towards approvals, new product launches, and targeting towards end-users perspective. The market generates the revenue from the key players operating in this field and some of them includes Abbott Laboratories, Berlin Heart GmbH, Maquet GmbH (Getinge AB), SynCardia Systems, LLC, and ReliantHeart, Inc.

According to Infoholic Research analysis, North America accounted for the largest share of the global cardiac assist devices market in 2018 and is expected to remain the leading region in terms of value during the forecast period.

According to American Heart Association, an estimated 92.1 million population in US have at least one type of CVD and by 2030 it is projected that close to 44% of the US adult population to have some form of CVD. Increasing incidence of cardiovascular diseases, promising reimbursement policies, presence of dominant vendors, and accessibility of advanced technologies will increase the demand and adoption of the cardiac assist devices in the region.

Europe is the second largest region in terms of cardiac assist devices market. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) causes 3.9 million deaths and over 1.8 million deaths in EU countries. In UK alone, around 60,000 new cases of advanced chronic heart failure are diagnosed every year out of which 40% die within a year.

Asia Pacific is expected to grow at mid-double digit CAGR during the forecast period, owing to factors such as growing healthcare expenditure, high prevalence of lifestyle related disorders, and increasing acceptance of advanced technologies in the market.

By Product

Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump (IABP)

Ventricular Assist Devices (VAD) Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVAD) Right Ventricular Assist Devices (RVAD) Biventricular Assist Devices (BIVAD)

Total Artificial Heart (TAH)

In 2018, the ventricular assist devices segment occupied the largest share and is expected to grow at mid-double digit CAGR during the forecast period. The ventricular assist devices market is further segmented into left ventricular assist devices, right ventricular assist devices, and biventricular assist devices. Among these, left ventricular assist devices occupied a major share and is expected to grow at high CAGR during the forecast period. Increasing number of patients suffering from last-stage heart failure, advancements in technology leading to better effectiveness & high survival rate, and decreased risk of the devices makes the segment the most common among other VAD devices.

By Regions

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Rest of the World

The market is dominated by North America, followed by Europe and Asia Pacific. The US occupied the major share of the North American market due to the presence of key vendors and obtainability of advanced technologies.

Cardiac Assist Devices Market Research Competitive Analysis  The global cardiac assist devices market has massive growth opportunities in both developed and developing regions. The upgradation and advancements of devices will increase the competition among the market players. Many companies are concentrating on new approvals, funding, and development of new products related to cardiac assist device because of the increase in implantable procedures. For instance, Teleflex announced FDA approval for intra-aortic balloon pump in 2017. The AC3 Optimus device delivers intra-aortic balloon pump therapy to assist in pumping blood.

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In October 2018, FDA approved HeartMate 3 left ventricular assist device developed by Abbott, as a destination therapy for patients with advanced heart failure. In January 2018, Canada regulatory body issued a Class IV License with conditions to HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Assist System (LVAS) developed by Thoratec Corporation. BiVACOR Pty Ltd is developing a rotary Total Artificial Heart (TAH) device and its initiative is funded by OneVentures, a venture capital firm and the Federal Government of Australia. In addition, other leading vendors are focusing in investing huge on research and development activities to develop new products to obtain high share in the market.

Key vendors

Abbott Laboratories

Berlin Heart GmbH

Maquet GmbH (Getinge AB)

ReliantHeart, Inc.

SynCardia Systems, LLC

ABIOMED, Inc.

BiVACOR, Inc.

Medtronic plc

XENIOS AG (Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA)

Teleflex Incorporated

Carmat SA

Calon Cardio-Technology Ltd.

LivaNova, PLC

Key competitive facts 

The market is highly competitive with all the players competing to gain market share. Intense competition, rapid advancements in technology, frequent changes in government policies, and the prices of devices are some of the key factors that confront the market.

The requirement of high initial investment, implementation, and maintenance cost in the market are also limiting the entry of new players.

Benefits  The report provides complete details about the current and forecast market size of every type of cardiac assist devices and market values by region. Through this report, the key stakeholders in the cardiac assist devices ecosystem can also know about the major trends, drivers, investments, vertical players initiatives, and government initiatives towards the medical devices segment in the upcoming years along with details of the pureplay companies entering the market. Moreover, the report provides details about the major challenges that are going to impact the market growth. Additionally, the report gives complete details about the key business opportunities to key stakeholders in order to expand their business and capture the revenue in specific verticals and to analyze before investing or expanding the business in this market.

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Key Takeaways

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Affirming his "ironclad" support for the US-Japanese alliance, President Joe Biden on Friday said that both the countries are committed to work together to take on the challenges posed by to ensure the future of free and open Indo-Pacific.

"Today, Prime Minister Suga and I affirmed our iron-clad support for the US-Japanese alliance and for our shared security. We committed to working together to take on the challenges from and on issues like the East Sea, the South China Sea as well as North Korea to ensure the future of our free and open Indo-Pacific," Biden said after a meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

"Our commitment to meet in person is indicative of the importance and value we place on this relationship between and the United States," he added.

This statement comes amid growing aggression from China in East China Sea and the South China Sea.

Biden said that and the United States are two strong democracies in the region and we are committed to defending and advancing our shared values and including human rights and rule of law.

"Today, we are announcing a new competitive and reliance partnership (CORE) between and the United States that will enhance our ability to meet the pressing challenges of time. Together meet those challenges," he added.

The United States and Japan will increase cooperation on 5G telecommunications, supply chains for semiconductors, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence, Biden said.

"We're going to work together across a range of fields, from promoting secure and reliable 5G networks, to increasing our cooperation on supply chains for critical sectors like semiconductors, to driving joint research in areas like AI, genomics, quantum computing and much more," Biden added.

This meeting is their first face-to-face meeting since Biden took office in January.

(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 French National Assembly on Saturday approved the creation of an "ecocide" offence as part of a battery of measures aimed at protecting the environment and tackling climate change

Paris, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Apr, 2021 ) :The French National Assembly on Saturday approved the creation of an "ecocide" offence as part of a battery of measures aimed at protecting the environment and tackling climate change.

The ecocide measure was passed by 44 votes to 10 in the lower house of parliament and will, if it becomes law, apply to "the most serious cases of environmental damage at national level", said Environment Minister Barbara Pompili.

Transgressors will be liable to up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 4.5 million Euros ($5.4 million).

Pompili stressed that the draft bill is aimed at national events, such as the pollution of a French river.

"When we think of the attacks on the Amazon rainforest, that is not something we can tackle within our own laws," she said.

The aim is to strengthen the sanctions available to deal with "serious and durable" cases of intentional pollution of water, air or soil.

Some right-wing MPs complained about moves towards "punitive ecology.

Julien Aubert of the Republicans voiced the "serious concerns" of companies facing "legal insecurity" created by such environmental justice measures.

MPs on the left judged the offence being debated insufficient to tackle the problem, highlihting that it will only apply in cases of intentional pollution and not to problems caused by negligence or recklessness.

Some opposition members complained that the very term "ecocide" was an "abuse of language", preferring a more straightforward offence of "attacking the environment".

The Assembly also gave the green light to an offence of endangering the environment, on the model of endangering life, punishable by three years in prison and a 300,000 euro fine. The amount of a whole series of fines provided for by articles of the Environmental Code may also go up to 100,000 euros.

The entire draft bill will go to the Assembly for a vote next month before heading to the upper house Senate.
EUGENE, Ore. --- The Lane County Sheriff's Office has identified a suspect involved in a shooting at the 29000 block of Kelso Street in Eugene Friday night, as 55-year-old Darren Woods.

The involved firearm has not been recovered yet, so Woods should be considered armed and dangerous, according to officials.

Woods is a white male, about 511 tall and 165 pounds with grey hair and green eyes.

He was last seen driving a white 1998 Dodge 1500 with Oregon license plate 125MEA, officials said.

The truck has a sticker across the back window with black lettering. The wheels on the truck were described to be chrome and the truck is lifted and sporty.

At about 10:05 p.m., the Lane County Sheriffs Office received multiple reports of gunshots from the 29000 block of Kelso Street in Eugene.

The Sheriffs Office, with the assistance of Oregon State Police and Eugene Police, responded to the location.

A victim was found with gunshot wounds, transported to the hospital and is currently in stable condition. The victim is a 56-year-old man from Eugene.

The suspect fled the scene before law enforcement arrived, officials said.

Police are asking anyone who sees Woods to call 911.

The shooting is believed to be related to an ongoing feud between the people involved, according to officials.

Anyone who knows any other relevant information is asked to call 541-682-4141.
One hundred people, Muslims and non-Muslims, were vaccinated April 10 in the gymnasium at the Islamic Center of the Capital District in Colonie in a joint COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign by the Islamic Center of Capital District, Al-Fatemah Islamic Center and Central Ave Pharmacy. They received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. After getting the vaccine, many Muslims said they felt comfortable about attending the mosque services during Ramadan and getting together with family and friends.
Iran's position on the issue of uranium enrichment doesn't help negotiation processes on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear issue, US President Joe Biden said.

According to him, Iran's statements about its intention to enrich uranium up to 60% contradict the agreement. However, commenting on the negotiations, he noted that it is too early to speak about the results. "We are still negotiating," he said.

Biden stressed that the United States is happy with Iran's agreement to participate in direct negotiations. We are happy that Iran continues to agree to engage in direct negotiations with us and with our partners on how we will move forward and what will it take to return to the JCPOA. We never should have left it, in my opinion," Biden said.

According to him, the United States doesn't want participants in the JCPOA to concede to Tehran.
The Federal Government announced, on Saturday, that it will commence the Digital Switch-Over (DSO) in Lagos, on April 29, as the country gradually transitions from analogue to digital broadcasting.

It also said over one million jobs are expected to be provided from the scheme.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, disclosed this when he led the Ministerial Taskforce of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture on Digital Switch Over (DSO) on a courtesy visit to Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the Lagos House, Marina.

Mr Mohammed said that the decision to transit to digital television followed an agreement signed at the Regional Radio Communication Conference (RRC-06) in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 16, 2006, to usher in all-digital terrestrial broadcast services for sound and television by a target date of June 17, 2015.

He said that this would create a more equitable, just and people-centered information society, which would connect underserved populations and remote communities, thereby bridging the digital divide.

Jobs

According to him, the proposed rollout in Lagos will be a critical milestone for the DSO and the creative industry, as over one million jobs would be provided nationwide.

We launched the DSO rollout in Jos, Plateau State, on April 30, 2016. Since then we have rolled out in four more states, Kwara, Kaduna, Enugu, and Osun, in addition to the Federal Capital Territory, bringing the total to five states and the FCT.

We are now moving rapidly to cover the remaining 31 states. We are kick-starting the new rollout here in Lagos State on April 29, 2021.

Kano State follows on June 3, 2021, Rivers State on July 8, 2021, Yobe State on July 15, 2021 and Gombe State on August 12, 2021, with more states slated thereafter.

The rollout in Lagos reflects our decision to take the DSO to commercial centres across the country.

With a population of over 20 million, and projected TV households of over five million, the launch of FreeTV in Lagos State will be a critical milestone for the DSO and for Nigerias broadcast and creative industry, he said.

The minister added that with the FreeTV of the DSO, Nigerians would have opportunities to watch over 60 channels with great content, at a cheaper rate, and without subscription to payTV.

Presenting Governor Sanwo-Olu with the Set-Top-Box for the DSO, he said that it would also enable government to get the data of every household with television.

Mr Mohammed said that this would make the collection of television and radio licenses easier, adding that the Nigerian Broadcasting Code (NBC) had been amended to make provisions for the switch over from analog to digital.

The minister disclosed that six months after the rollout of the DSO in Lagos, the NBC would ask television stations to shut down their analog broadcast equipment, thereby making more spectrum available for data and other telecommunication services.

He stressed that the DSO was relevant to the Lagos Smart City Project and the Lagos Broadband initiative.

Mr Mohammed, therefore, urged Mr Sanwo-Olu to direct the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA) to provide out-of-home boards, lamp post and other publicity support for the DSO launch for at least three months.

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Lagos State, which is the hub of the Creative Industry, will take a large share of the one million jobs to be created.

Since FreeTV helps to provide Value Added Services, the 20 Local Government Areas and 37 LCDAs in Lagos State will be supported in the collection of Television and Radio Licenses from residents.

With FreeTVs push system for information services, the FreeTV platform can be used to broadcast information on Lagos State activities to all viewers.

A major advantage of the DSO is that viewers will not pay subscription fees. Once they have acquired the Set-Top-Box and pay the once-a-year access fee, which is a token, it is free viewing all the way.

Millions of Nigerians, who cannot afford to pay the rising subscription fees being charged by the PayTV platforms, can now enjoy the benefit of digital television. This is the meaning of bridging the digital divide, he said.

Response

In his response, Mr Sanwo-Olu said that his administration would support the switch-over, as it would enhance job creation and content development.

He said that the DSO would also provide opportunity for government to use the content coming out of it to inform and engage with the citizens, as well as bringing governance closer to the people.

The governor advised the Ministerial Taskforce to make the FreeTV box and after sale support easily accessible.

The movement from analogue set up that we currently have to digital is apt and it speaks to the reality of what we have today.

Everywhere in the world, technology is now a fundamental and critical deliverable of government. It presents an opportunity for citizens to have access to local, national and international space.

As a forward looking state, we are in partnership and we see it as bringing the future to our citizens, so we do not have a problem with it at all.

Even for us as a state, we have been developing what we call a metropolitan fiber optics to provide fiber connectivity as one of the solutions for our citizens to have access to cheaper data.

We will support the DSO. We will help. We want Lagos to continue to set the space for the nation. We will help our people to be exposed to modern and international best practices. We will be willing to work with you and ensure that we deliver jointly on April 29, he said. (NAN)
Amid the rise in COVID-19 cases in the state, the government has restricted the entry of people in the state secretariat.

The order was issued by the Chief Secretary of the state Om Prakash on Friday said that only ministers and staff will be allowed to enter the secretariat.

"The journalists are also not allowed to enter the secretariat," the order said.

Meanwhile, the schools in Dehradun, Nainital, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar and Kotdwar Bhabar districts in will remain closed till April 30.

According to the order issued by Higher Education Minister Dhan Singh Rawat, the educational institutes in four districts including Dehradun will teach students through online mode.

"The schools in the remaining districts will continue in both offline and online mode amidst the Covid-19 pandemic," Rawat said in his order.

According to the Union Health Ministry, there are 12,484 active COVID-19 cases in

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
NEW YORK, April 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Juan Monteverde, founder and managing partner at Monteverde & Associates PC, a national securities firm rated Top 50 in the 2018 and 2019 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report and headquartered at the Empire State Building in New York City, is investigating Weingarten Realty Investors ("WRI" or the "Company") (WRI) relating to its proposed acquisition by Kimco Realty Corp. Under the terms of the agreement, WRI shareholders will receive 1.408 shares of Kimco and $2.89 in cash per share.

The investigation focuses on whether Weingarten Realty Investors and its Board of Directors violated securities laws and/or breached their fiduciary duties to the Company by 1) failing to conduct a fair process, and 2) whether the transaction is properly valued.

Click here for more information: http://monteverdelaw.com/case/weingarten-realty-investors. It is free and there is no cost or obligation to you.

About Monteverde & Associates PC

We are a national class action securities litigation law firm that has recovered millions of dollars and is committed to protecting shareholders from corporate wrongdoing. We were listed in the Top 50 in the 2018 and 2019 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report. Our lawyers have significant experience litigating Mergers & Acquisitions and Securities Class Actions. Mr. Monteverde is recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in Securities Litigation in 2013, 2017-2019, an award given to less than 2.5% of attorneys in a particular field. He has also been selected by Martindale-Hubbell as a 2017-2019 Top Rated Lawyer. Our firm's recent successes include changing the law in a significant victory that lowered the standard of liability under Section 14(e) of the Exchange Act in the Ninth Circuit. Thereafter, our firm successfully preserved this victory by obtaining dismissal of a writ of certiorari as improvidently granted at the United States Supreme Court. Emulex Corp. v. Varjabedian, 139 S. Ct. 1407 (2019). Also, in 2019 we recovered or secured six cash common funds for shareholders in mergers & acquisitions class action cases.

If you own common stock in Weingarten Realty Investors and wish to obtain additional information and protect your investments free of charge, please visit our website or contact Juan E. Monteverde, Esq. either via e-mail at [email protected] or by telephone at (212) 971-1341.

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Canada held a surprise draw right before the weekend. The draw is the second-largest in Express Entry's history.

Express Entry CRS drops to 417 as IRCC invites 6,000 candidates Canada held a surprise draw right before the weekend. The draw is the second-largest in Express Entry's history.

Express Entry CRS drops to 417 as IRCC invites 6,000 candidates Canada held a surprise draw right before the weekend. The draw is the second-largest in Express Entry's history.

Canada held a new Express Entry draw, inviting candidates who had scores of at least 417 points on Friday April 16, 2021.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) invited 6,000 Canadian Experience Class candidates to apply for permanent residence in the new invitation round. IRCC issued 1,000 more invitations compared to the previous CEC-only draw and the score requirement was 15 points less than the last draw.

The draw was a rare Friday evening one, right before the weekend in Canada. Express Entry draws usually take place during the week to give immigration candidates and their representatives more time to prepare their permanent residence applications.

It was also the second-largest draw in Express Entrys history. The three largest draw sizes have all occured within the last few months as IRCC has increased draw sizes to compensate for the decline in immigration to Canada in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The previous record was 5,000 permanent residence invitations, before it was shattered when 27,332 candidates were invited on February 13.

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For todays draw, candidates who had the minimum score of 417 were only invited if they submitted their Express Entry profile before March 1, 2021 at 19:53:46 UTC, as per the tie-break rule. IRCC publishes the cut-off time for the tie-break rule as an administrative requirement, regardless of whether there was an actual tie.

IRCC continues to work overtime in 2021, said David Cohen, Senior Attorney at Campbell Cohen. This late-Friday draw shows just how committed they are to achieving their 401,000 newcomer target this year in support of Canadas economic growth.

A busy week in Canadian immigration

This week has been an eventful one in Canadian immigration. IRCC held an Express Entry draw Wednesday inviting 266 Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates to apply for permanent residence.

IRCC made the biggest announcement of the week on the same day, and the biggest announcement in quite some time. IRCC introduced six new permanent residence streams that will launch in May. The purpose of the new streams is to provide some 90,000 additional permanent residence spots to temporary residents already in Canada. These include temporary foreign workers in essential occupations in Canada, recent international graduates, and francophones. These streams, in combination with Express Entry draws, and other initiatives such as the PNP are aimed at helping Canada to achieve its 401,000 immigration target in 2021 despite the coronavirus pandemic.

The PNP has also been active this week with BC, Alberta, Ontario, and PEI each holding draws.

Express Entry draws in 2021

Canada has now invited 55,390 Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residence so far in 2021, nearly double what it was at the same time last year. This is largely because on February 13, IRCC sent 27,332 invitations, one for every eligible CEC candidate in the pool.

Canada is ramping up its Express Entry intake in order to meet its 2021 immigration targets. Last fall, the federal government committed to welcome 401,000 newcomers this year, and about a quarter of these would come through the Express Entry system.

Since the start of 2021, Canada has held 13 draws. All of them have either targeted CEC candidates or PNP candidates.

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PNP-specific draws require a higher score cut off because of the 600-point award that comes with a provincial nomination. CEC-only draws tend to have lower minimum score requirements because they are not competing with candidates of other classes, so more top-scoring candidates can be invited in a given invitation round.

IRCC has stated it is prioritizing candidates who are already in Canada for the time being while Canadas COVID-19 border restrictions remain in effect. The immigration department provided CIC News a snapshot of the Express Entry pool on April 7. About 95 per cent of CEC candidates were already in Canada, the largest proportion of any Express Entry-managed program. There were more than 21,000 CEC-eligible candidates in the pool.

All PNP candidates are eligible for at least one other Express Entry-managed program, as it is possible to qualify for immigration through more than one Federal High Skilled program. These candidates have demonstrated to a province or territory that they have the connections and experience to succeed in the labour market that nominated them. PNP had the smallest number of candidates in the pool at 104, but about 69 per cent of them were in Canada.

Although there were more than 141,000 Federal Skilled Worker candidates in the pool, about 95 per cent of them were outside of Canada. Almost 55 per cent of Federal Skilled Trades candidates were in Canada, out of a total of 669 candidates.

What is Express Entry?

Express Entry is an application management system for three federal immigration programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and the Canadian Experience Class.

If you want to immigrate to Canada through an Express Entry-managed program, the first step is to check to see if you are eligible. If so, you get a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score based on your work experience, education, age, and official language ability, among other factors.

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IRCC then issues Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to candidates through regular rounds of invitation.

Most provinces and territories have a PNP that is aligned with the Express Entry system, Quebec and Nunavut are the only exceptions. Provincial governments may invite certain Express Entry candidates to apply for a provincial nomination based on their profile. In some cases, candidates need to file an Expression of Interest with the province that they want to immigrate to. Receiving a provincial nomination improves your ranking in the Express Entry pool. Provincial nominees automatically receive 600 CRS points, and they are effectively guaranteed to receive an ITA.

Who was invited?

The following is a hypothetical example of someone who may have been invited in the new invitation round.

Sehar is 38, holds a bachelors degree and has been working as a management consultant outside of Canada for six years. She has an advanced English language proficiency and worked in Canada for a year. Sehars CRS score of 445 as well as her eligibility under the CEC would have allowed her to receive an ITA in the new Express Entry draw.

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